 What's going on here? Ryan Hammer on the fangirl channels with the legend himself, John Ross seen for a nice bracket breakdown about 27 hours before the first tip off of the round of 64 games. John, how are you? Never better, man. Never better. We sleep in May. Of course. Best time of the year, right? Best time of the year, baby. All right. Let's get started. Let's just kick things off. We're going to start in the South region, top left of the bracket, Alabama overall one seed. When you first look at this bracket, John, what is the, what's your, what was your first takeaway on Sunday night and what are you, what are you looking at right now? Well, it's the region of opportunity. That's what I've named it, Ryan, because I think Alabama has a great path to the final four. I think if you look at the top of this region, Virginia looks very vulnerable without Ben van der plas. So I think Furman could push them there in that four, 13 matchup. I also think San Diego state a program that hasn't won an NCAA tournament game since 2015 now has a scenario where it can win some games here. I mean, the mountain West was owned for in the NCAA tournament last year. And now you see a little bit of a path for San Diego state, Maryland, West Virginia in the eight, nine game, first to 45 ones. Funny you mentioned the San Diego state, Charleston game. It feels like everyone right away loves Charleston. I think because not because of the match necessarily more just because they're Charleston, they're hot. They, they love the way they play the fast pace, a lot of threes. I think standing with a matchup, well, the athletic system, physicality, where do you lean if you do in that game? Or how do you think that's going to play out? Cause there are two very, very different styles of opponent. Well, I think the one thing we have to look at San Diego statewide is obviously the fact that their physicality, their age, their experience, they've got seven seniors and two juniors in their rotation. So that's something that isn't going to be taken lightly. And, you know, they have the wherewithal defensively to guard Charleston from out top. So, you know, it's going to be a different, different dynamic for guys like Ante Berzovic and players that are going to be playing up front for Charleston. The thing is, are we going to be able to see, you know, a scenario where Charleston can kind of go over the top of San Diego State's defense, but just bear with me right here. I got some Arizona State news for tonight. I just want to tweet out. So keep setting the table here and I'll try to spike it like I'm Ben Stiller or meet the parents. You're good. I love it. Love the reference. Love the metaphors too. I'll, I'll go on because I think the same thing that San Diego State, Nathan Menza downloads is going to get Berzovic a little trouble. I saw Berzovic have trouble at mom if when he had, he faced a little physicality back in, I think it was late January. But I think San Diego State, people are sleeping on them a little bit. They're kind of going with Mountain West or own four. Like you said last year, oh, and eight in the last eight tournament games, which is absolutely crazy. They are due for one and it feels like this is the opportunity they are. There are other mountain West teams in the bracket. We'll get to them. But I also agree on Alabama. I think they have a good path. I'm a Maryland fan. It kind of, it's, it's tough. We have tough draw, but like you said, Maryland, West Virginia, going to be a dog fight, going to be a really good game. I call it the Mellow Trimble revenge game because a couple of years ago in the NCAA tournament, Maryland, play West Virginia. I think it was around a 32 and Mellow Trimble against press Virginia got injured pretty badly. Got hurt from some physical altercation. Maryland wasn't able to go through, but I don't see a world where either of these two teams be Alabama. I'll be completely honest. I think you're right. Where the region of opportunity for Alabama, right? Yeah, I think so too. This is the region of opportunity. Look at the path of the top of the bracket. Who could you see of those teams beating Alabama? I can't see Alabama losing before the elite eight. Yeah, I agree. I think every bracket I've had so far has Alabama at least going that far. I think on the right day, if San Diego State's a defense is playing umbilical or Virginia is defense is still completely in sync. They could do it. But like you said, we have Charles and we have firm and they're going to have to play each other. Like it takes a lot to even get there as we move to the bottom of this region. I think it's a complete, completely different world because you go creating NC State, Baylor, Santa Barbara, Missouri, Utah State, Arizona, Princeton completely different from the top because it's offense, offense, offense, offense across the board. And a lot of these games, especially I look at creating NC State, Missouri, Utah State could be in the 160s on total points. It's going to be a lot of points here. Yeah, there's going to be a ton of points here. And I also think that the Baylor UCSB matchups interesting because it's kind of an introduction for the country to AJ Mitchell, the talent to guard for the gouchos average 24 in the big West tournament, but UCSB's depth is seriously lacking. Code, Keith and a Jari Sonny, two rotation players have been out for the season. You know, they lost them in the last month. So I think that hurts UCSB's upset chances. Yep. Um, it definitely doesn't help. I do think Santa Barbara luckily plays a similar style to Baylor. They both lack a little front court depth, especially in rebounding, which could play to their advantage. It might not because Baylor is the better version of it. But we'll see. Creighton, John, I think people or people consider them for dark horse, but I think they're not really a dark horse because they're a really, really strong six. Uh, they're, we can call them a dark horse national title team, dark horse final four. But what do you think the ceiling is for Creighton? Well, look, Creighton is capable of beating anybody in this lower part of the bracket. You know, remember Creighton took Arizona to the wire in the Maui Invitational, you know, in November. So I think he got a scenario where Creighton can win multiple games in the tournament, but also I wouldn't be surprised to get knocked out and played poorly against NC State. So I think, you know, Easter famine type situation for Creighton here. Yeah. It's a, everyone's gotta be risking their brackets, but this is a risk that some might not be willing to take, which is pretty understandable. I talked about the Creighton Arizona matchup, which pound for pound player, player is a really, really strong matchup. And I think that's what, that's what fed into a really good matchup. But in the first game, it could be a second one in the, in the sweet 16 here. What do you see for Arizona's path? You know, Arizona, I like, you know, to win its first two games and if Baylor can get itself right, I thought all season long that Baylor has had the requisites of a final 14. The thing is, I just don't know if Baylor is going to remedy itself after the way that it's played against Iowa State in its last two games, but you look obviously at the makeup of this team, you've got terrific guard play, you've got Flagler, you've got Crier, you've got Chianti George, you've got a bona fide format in jail and bridges. And you've got size up front with Chamo Chachua and also Flo Thambo. So I think Baylor's still got to be an opportunity to be a good NCAA tournament team, but they have to prove it. Yeah, exactly. I think the defensive side, especially they haven't really, even when Jonathan Chachua returned, they haven't really flipped the switch defensively, which is very unlike a Scott True program, but they're guard heavy. So we kind of get that. It makes sense. If you see, is there, are there any upsets that you love in this region that you're definitely taking? And is there a team that you're 100% taking out to come to the final four? You know, I'm going to take Alabama to go to the final four. You know, the one thing I do like is I like Furman over Virginia, a big fan of Mike Boff. Well, a big fan of Slawson, think Bob Ritzy does a great job. And they have the ability to go over the top of Virginia's defense. This is something that you have to do when you face Virginia defensively. You have to be able to make shots and go over the top. Now, I think when you try to evaluate what you're trying to see from other games in this region, I think, you know, obviously Utah state could beat Missouri if their offense is humming and flowing. But I also think, you know, we need to take into account, you know, the other aspects of this game and the other aspects of, you know, this bracket, you know, right now I call it the region of opportunity because of Alabama. But as you know, college basketball is where the unexpected becomes the ordinary. Just when we think and we find out the answer, somebody else is going to change the questions, Ryan. Exactly. We say Alabama has got an easy path to the elite eight. All of a sudden, I'm saying this to manifest it. Maryland beats him in the round of 32. You never know. I'm also taking Alabama to the final four out of this region. I do think I'm going to be taken firm and also because I'm taking the Aztecs to the sweet 16 anyway. But I don't see it. Maybe Creighton makes a run here. That's about it. I have, John, I have my nitroglycerin pills. How do you feel about my terrapins tomorrow? I like Maryland in this game. I think Jamir Young's the difference. I mean, just better guard play for Maryland than there's for West Virginia. Therefore I've got the Terps moving forward. Yes, sir. Go Terps. There we go. I see you guys asking the comments. What are your top upsets you guys have? We're going to do it in every single region. We're going to move down to the East region in the bottom left. They play the sweet 16 elite eight at the Mecca MSG massive square garden itself. John, let's talk about Purdue first. Purdue, I think is the one seed and the high seed that people are down on relatively, I think for good cause. They got a tough draw with Memphis or FAU. Do you think that they prefer one team over another? How do you see their path going? How far do you think they can go? I think it's a really difficult path because Memphis, I expect to beat FAU and Memphis obviously is a relentless team defensively. That could really get into Braden Smith and Fletcher Lawyer. Something that we've seen has been a big, big Achilles heel for Purdue. And then I think, you know, you look at the dynamic we have with Duke being the five seed there in the East, which I'm calling the region of misdirection. You know, Duke, if it can, you know, obviously with stand or Roberts and then beat a Tennessee team that is 45 assists, the 39 turnover since it lost to Kai Ziegler, you're in a situation where Duke couldn't be playing Purdue at Cameron indoor stadium North at Madison square garden in the sweet 16. So I think it's a tough path for Purdue, but the bottom line is this. Everybody wants to try and find, you know, a perfect, easy, simple path to a final four. You have to beat people to get to a final four. It's just the way it is. Yeah, I'll add this. So this and Marquette's in this region also that no top two seed that started the season unranked has ever even made the final four. So the odds are definitely against Purdue and Marquette, which makes you look at all the teams in here. And honestly, you go through the top 10, 11, hold on to that. Just keep going. This might be a breaking news. Hold on. You're good. Go ahead. Go ahead. And realistically, the top 11 seeds just top 11 seeds, any of them can make the final four. I think Providence may be pushing it, but 10, and we're talking about Memphis FAU, we will wait, await John's, John's news, by the way, we'll keep going here. But Memphis FAU is a great first round game. I lose sleep over it a little bit. Memphis, John mentioned the defense. Their three point defense is electric, one of the best in the country. They only hold opponents like 30% from three, top 20, top 30 in the nation. Purdue shoots 33% from three in losses this year. They've shot 25% from three, which is bottom, bottom, bottom of the country. So Memphis has a great matchup because Zach Evie is going to get his, the rebounding margins. I really wouldn't worry about a ton. But I think Memphis has a really great matchup against Purdue if they can get past FAU, which the game might be worried about most. And we talked about Duke and Oral Roberts. Oral Roberts struggles against good defensive teams, slower pace that crunch the game down. They got their, they got whooped by Houston. They got whooped by St. Mary's earlier in the season. Duke is in their, in their forming their own form. They are a very similar style to those teams. They play, they crunch the game down. And I think they're going to be able to handle business against Oral Roberts. That being said, Oral Roberts is a great squad. Could they make a run? Of course, we saw it two years ago. They're much better. But I do think Duke handles business here. John, what's up? Minor news, but you know, you got to obviously cover everything if you want to be thorough. So Fordham is finalizing a contract with extension for Keith Urgo through the 27, 28 season. Urgo was the Atlantic 10 coach of the year and led the Rams to 25 wins. Well, very deserving. But oh yeah, everyone knows that. But yeah, cracking on this region, we talked about the top half a lot, produced tough path. Even FAU could be tough magic, but Memphis is there. Duke is there. Tennessee's obviously wavering a little on the trending down, but still a blistering defense. The bottom part, Kentucky Providence. John, you have any thoughts on the Bryce Hopkins revenge game? Well, I mean, what about that? Obviously combined with the fact that Kentucky is in a situation where for all intents and purposes, you know, they are obviously trying to kind of, I don't want to say remedy what happened last year, but at the same time, Ryan, they are still kind of coming into this NCAA tournament with a bad taste in their mouth because the last NCAA tournament game that they played was the St. Peter's game. You know what I mean? Yeah, that's, I think that's definitely lingering in their heads. I think people nationally speak about it too, because they just think they see Kentucky's name. They think about last year is the only thing they can think of right now. So Kentucky needs to put together a couple of wins and I think they actually have a decent path. Providence, I don't think is a super strong team. It's going to be a good match-up, but Kansas State is a solid team. I just think they're not deep at all. They are a good offensive team. I think Kentucky can have their way, especially down low if they really want to. I see a good path for Kentucky to get this week 16 to get to MSG. Well, you know, here's the thing that's interesting because you know, Kansas State in that region as well, you know that as well as anybody, you're in a scenario now where Kansas State had a great season, right? I voted, you know, Jerome Tang as my national coach of the year. That's how much I thought of Jerome Tang. So he's the national coach of the year, but you know, I feel like when you have a season like this, if you are not a traditional blue blood and it's such a rare opportunity to move the needle, you're in a situation if you're Jerome Tang in Kansas State where if you don't at least get to the second weekend, you are in a scenario where you're going to feel like the season, you know, was not a failure, but you left something, you know, on the table a little bit. Does that make sense? Because I felt the same way last year with Providence and Ed Cooley. Now, why do I say that? Providence won a big East regular season title last year for the first time. Providence was in a situation where it was a high seed in the NCAA tournament, but you know, with all that said, if Providence didn't make the sweet 16, I feel like they would have left something on the table. I think you can say the same thing about Kansas State this year. Yeah, I think that's very fair. Those teams like they want to keep going. They don't, they don't just play to the lower standards just because they were put to those lower expectations earlier in the year, but at the same time, like they just, they're raising the bar, raising the bar, raising the bar. I think they're going to be happy out of their way with their year, but they're not going to be content if they lose first round and lose second round. But they don't have an easy path. The bottom part of it, Michigan State USC, a good seven, 10 Michigan State is basically going to be playing a home game in Columbus, Ohio, and then Marquette and Vermont. What are your thoughts? You know, Vermont is obviously in a situation where it's had a great, great, you know, run under John Becker. I mean, at least a share of seven straight America East titles. That is incredible. I like obviously Marquette there, but I do think the forgotten team in this area of the bracket is USC. Now USC, as you know, has not been really healthy for the majority of the season. We've seen a scenario where USC, when healthy has been really, really good. They've beaten UCLA. They've won games that, you know, obviously they've shown that they're capable. They've got good guards in Boogie Ellis and Drew Peterson. They've got size up front with Joshua Morgan and Vincent with Shuku. I like the length they have on the wings with Kobe Johnson and Trey White. So I think USC is the team that nobody's talking about in this part of the bracket. I think USC is good enough to win multiple games here. Yeah. I don't, I don't disagree. I do think Michigan State, again, almost like it feels like a very opposite of Kansas State because there are Michigan State and the brands and everything. And we know them and no Izzo, but it feels like after their big 10 tournament loss right away, they need to do something to kind of prove that this season wasn't a loss for them. And I don't think, I think Marquette's probably the weakest two seed out there. And I think the Michigan State also has a chance to get out of here. And that's what we talked about in this region where one through 10, one through 11 could all make the elite eight final four. Well, and look at this region and you, you hit the nail right on the head with Marquette, you know, it's the same type of thing when we talk about the idea of maybe leaving something on the table. Marquette's got to win two games here and get back to the garden for this season to feel like obviously you get run out the sponge. Now Marquette, you could say, even after the way it played last week, has got a great chance to get to a final four. But, you know, you always are concerned when a team enters the NCAA tournament without winning experience in the NCAA tournament. I mean, you think back to obviously the last couple of years, Villanova season team last year, Kansas season team, you know, North Carolina hadn't won in the NCAA tournament, but they had great talent. Marquette's a team whose chemistry, rhythm, role allocation, I think supersedes its talent. Cause here's the interesting thing, Ryan, you know, every single player on this Marquette team could come back next year. That'd be something else. Cola, Cam Jones, that'd be, that'd be a different beast next year in the Big East if they all came back. I know everyone's in the country has been falling in love with Tyler Colick for good reasons. Any big upset you love here and any team that you're like definitely taking out into the final four. You know, I'm going to take Duke to the final four, but I've got USC winning two games. Okay. I liked I had Michigan State winning two games, but I could see the USC also. I think whoever wins that game does be Marquette also. I think Duke is the right choice. I, I have a thing against Duke. I don't want to go with the crowd. I'm taking Memphis out of here. I think, I think it's a chance to take a flyer because I don't think one of the top seeds are going to come out. I think Memphis has a chance to get out. So yeah, I can't exactly on in a couple of days when they, when they, when they're out already in round one, you call me and you'd say good for me again. We'll head to the midwest, the top right of the region, Houston Cougars trying to get to Houston, Texas to the final four. And we got some good teams in here, Texas, another national title team. What are your thoughts on the region? Well, you know, it's the region of guard play because look at what we have right here, you know, from top to bottom, Sasser and Shed for Houston. Then you look obviously at Miami, more guards than Shawshank. You know, you've got, you know, Isaiah Wong, you've got North, not North, I don't hear you have Nigel Pack, Jim Laranaga just texted me that North, Edelmere has not practiced yet. So we're waiting to see an official update, you know, for his status against, you know, Drake coming up. Indiana plays Kent State. I've just gotten word to that, you know, Giovanni Santiago is going to be out for that game. Jalen Hood, Shafino is, you know, Indiana's guard. And then look at the other guards. We saw Pitt obviously have great guard play last night against Mississippi State and Dayton, a tremendous performance by Nellie Cummings and Jamarious Burton. Suley Boom for Xavier, Wade Taylor, the fourth for Texas A&M, Jalen Pickett for Penn State. And then Texas has Serge Bari Rice, Marcus Carr and Tyrese Hunter. That's why to me, this is the region of guard play. And I also think, you know, you have so many different storylines here. If Xavier and Pitt win, it could be Sean Miller against the Zama Modder of Texas and Texas A&M win. It could be an in-state rivalry type game. So there's a lot of different storylines here. But, you know, we've had so much and we've heard so much about the idea of Houston going home to its home city for a final four. We haven't talked enough about Texas playing in its home state for a final four. And out of the teams in this bracket, nobody is playing better basketball than Rodney Terry and the Longhorns right now. Yeah. I think trending up, is it trending down and trending up are both massive things coming into the tournament. I do think I love Texas. Like I was, I'm almost fully committed to them being one of my final four teams, national title teams, contenders, but they have a tough draw. Texas A&M got underceded for sure. They were a five or six quality. They're not a seven and Penn State is not playing at the quality of a 10. They're playing at the quality of a five or six also because they had a run in the big 10 tournament. They're really tough to guard. Jalen Pickett, you have to double team them. They have so many shooters around him. So I think Texas and Colgate, the great shooting team also. So Texas has a tough draw to get out. But like you said, you're going to have to win six games to win national title. You have to get out there. We're into the comments. King of Cubs. Do you think Colgate as the best three-point shooting team in the nation can make some noise against Texas? You know, I hate the matchup for Colgate. I mean, I think Colgate is underceded as a 15, but I hate the matchup for Colgate. I think if they were a 14, which is where I thought they would be to have a better time. I mean, look, I have no doubt that Matt Langles going to devise up certain schemes, but I think to ask them to go and to rebound and deal with the athleticism with Texas is just a big, big ask. Yeah. I definitely agree. And I think they have a really good three-point shooting side because of maybe some of the competition they played and they haven't seen a team like Texas. I think they would have thrived because of team like Xavier, if they were the 14 where Kennesaw State is in this region, an offensive team, they'd be able to keep up with maybe try to shoot out the gym. Xavier, who has a relatively weaker sub region over there, obviously Zach Fremantle is injured, not going to be a part of the team, but, um, but they're still a great team. Colby Jones, Jack Nanje, Suley Boone, like you said, and Iowa State has been very hot and cold and then, or they get a pit and then Kennesaw State, I think is not the toughest matchup. So maybe Xavier has the easy way to the sweet 16. Yeah. I think, you know, Xavier's got a great chance to go to a sweet 16. And, you know, I think too, we should look at, you know, how well Sean Miller has done, you know, at Xavier. Obviously he was at Xavier over a decade ago, but I looked this up, Ryan, the last three NCAA tournament seeds for Xavier under Sean Miller, a three right now, a four in 2009 and a three in 2008. Oh, it's good to know. I never knew those things. Yeah. Got to dig, got to dig into the archive. Got to dig into the archives, baby. This is March. Exactly. Uh, we'll talk about offsets. People want to know about the offsets. Miami, like you said about Nortje de Mere, I think Nortje de Mere is the key for them, not only winning two or three games, but winning one game. I think Drake is super experienced. Both teams are really efficient offenses and it's going to be who's hitting more to an extent. Uh, do you think Drake has a good chance to be Miami? I do, especially if I'm near can't go, which reminds me, since we got on, I hadn't tweeted that out. So bear with me. I'm going to tweet that out. You're good. Cause I'm going to talk about Kent state, the golden flashes. They have an injury, but they don't have an injury to one of their best players since your carry and Malik Jacobs against Indiana. Trace is awesome. He's going to get his, he gets 30, 10 and five almost every game it feels like, especially in the last month or two. Jalen hood, Shafino is the key, I think here. And Kent state is great against defending against guards because Malik Jacobs is going to try to shut him down. One of the best defenders in the nation, one of the most underrated players and defenders in the entire nation, but can stick and play both ways. Since your carry can score the team can score their defenses blistering, they force a ton of turnovers turnover margin. Such a good key for winning in March, especially with big upsets. There's a good chance we see a 12, 13. We usually see one in the bracket somewhere and we see one of those double digit seeds get to the sweet 16. When you look at this Miami, Drake, Indiana, Kent state with the injuries with the matchups, it could be Drake, Kent state playing for a game to play against Houston, which Kent state would be a rematch from earlier in the year in a game. They almost beat Houston. No, they were really, really good in that game. Kent state remember almost beat, you know, Houston and Gonzaga. I mean, Kent state is a very good team. And I think another guy that's going to come to the forefront is obviously, you know, sincere carry as a mid major guard that a lot of people are going to fall in love with here in this game. Yeah. And I think I feel like when you go back and look at all the guards in the past that have had these great runs, like Thomas walk up comes to mind. You think like they have great names. I don't know what are they great names and sincere carry can carry the golden flashes to win a couple of games. I agree, man. So who's your pick to get out of here and who's your favorite dark horse or under upset? I am going to go with Texas and I'm going to go with an upset. I have Houston playing Miami in the sweet 16. And then on the other side, I'm going to have Texas Xavier. So this is a little chalky. Okay. But you never know. You might see a first round one. I have Texas coming out also. I think Ken state goes to the sweet 16 to play Houston in that tough matchup before they drive it, but Houston and Texas texts to the final four for me. The last region we got the West region, the bottom right branding the region. Oh yeah, makes sense. I'll let you take the reins fire away with that. The region of branding because look at the four seeds Kansas, UCLA, then you have Gonzaga, then you have Yukon. It's the region of branding, but all eyes are on that four 13 matchup in Albany when you have obviously, you know, Yukon and Dan Hurley against Rick Patino and Iona jam packed arena. Both campuses are within 150 miles of Albany, New York, which so I, Iona obviously, maybe that doesn't want to play Yukon because they are super balanced. I think they can get to the final four and compete for a title, but Iona wants to play by home and I think this is a great draw for them in that sense. Yes, I agree with you. I agree with you a thousand percent. Kansas, John, simple question. Can they go back to back? They can. Will they? I don't know yet. And I'm still trying to investigate, you know, the health of Kevin McCuller as well. Yeah. Yeah, I know he might be on limited minutes. I saw something that on Twitter, but I do think Kansas has a relatively good draw. Arkansas, Illinois are super talented, but they don't have a lot of roster continuity. They don't have good outside shooting on either side. So I don't know how both either are really going to compete with Kansas. Unless Kansas has a complete off night, but I think Yukon and then St. Mary's and VCU are both great defenses. I think it's going to be a pretty even game, but Yukon, St. Mary's and VCU can definitely give Kansas a game. Do you think any one of them could take them down? I think, well, I think the thing with St. Mary's is, and you know, I told, I said this to somebody recently, playing St. Mary's is a lot like playing Wisconsin under Bo Ryan. You know, they're going to take care of the ball. You know, they're going to minimize their turnovers. You know, they're going to be in a situation where obviously they can affect things by making minimal mistakes. That will be like going to the dentist if you're Yukon. And do you think VCU has a good chance at beating St. Mary's because they play a similar style and they do force a lot of turnovers? Well, I think the interesting thing is, you know, we have a 5-12 game and usually, you know, that is a power conference team against the mid-major team. This matchup is going to be a team that won 26 games and a team that won 27 games. So it's a fascinating, fascinating 5-12 against two of the best, you know, non-power conference programs in America. Yeah. I agree. And I like VCU. Maybe make a little run, but I think Yukon can definitely give Kansas some noise in the sweet 16. We move to the bottom of the bracket. UCLA without Jaylen Clark. Is the national title still their ceiling without JC? You know, UCLA doesn't have what it had, but it still has enough. UCLA can get to a final four without Jaylen Clark. Can they win a national championship? I'm not sure yet, but I don't know if you feel this way, Ryan, but I have a completely different feel about UCLA after watching them in a game against Arizona where they should have won. They just did not play well offensively down the stretch, but they didn't have Jaylen Clark, who's the best defensive player in college basketball. They didn't have a Dembono as the Pac-12 freshman of the year. And then with six or seven minutes to go, they're two remaining centers, Mack Etienne and Kenny Nowuba fouled that at the game. So they're playing Jaime Haca as its center, and they still should have won the game. Which is crazy against Azul Sabela and Omar Bala, who's the best front-court duo in the country. So, again, nothing is going to be easy against UCLA. I think the Bruins still have enough to make the final four, but they got to have a Dembono to get to a final four. I don't think they can go probably past the sweet 16 without a Dembono. Your friend on the broadcast said that Jay Wright mentioned about Villanova without calling the LSP a couple of years ago and getting ready and practicing the days coming up. And you can improve them because Nick Cronum has built a really good defensive system. They can do a lot to get there, but how far can you get in four days of practice and getting ready? It's going to be tough for them, I think. Well, I think it's going to be tough, but I also think we've seen elements of their bench improve here with more time. Mack Etienne is a good, capable rotation player. Will McClendon is limited on offense, but he does a lot of things intangible-wise when he gets extended minutes that you can see. So, the one thing I don't like is, you know, with Jalen Clark out of the lineup, David Singleton becomes a starter, so you miss his offense off the bench. Yeah. But like I'll say it again, UCLA doesn't have what it had, but it still has enough. Yeah. And Amari Bailey, I think it has been taken big steps up. It could do even more. The Jalen Clark injury, it sucks because, like you said, I agree he's the best defensive player in the country, but his offensive impact is, I think, where they're going to miss him most. He's been a great shooter and a great supplemental player to Jaime and Tiger. And I think that showed him on Saturday in Latin throughout the tournament where their offensive prowess really wasn't there as much without JC. And like you said, Singleton will come on the bench, et cetera. But we talked about Gonzaga also. I think Gonzaga has an easy path this week, 16. We could see a Gonzaga UCLA rematch of the Jalen Suggs final four game. That would be electric. So you're, you're sleeping a little bit here on TCU. I am for sure. You got to believe on TCU. All right. You know, you're a great American. You have a right to be wrong. Exactly. I love TCU's backcourt. They've, they've proved okay with that Eddie Lamkin so far. We'll see how that goes. But I think Gonzaga has been under the radar for way too long. Their guard play is unbelievable. I think Drew Timmy, he said he's in his last year. He said he's done after this. So we're going to see how that goes. I like Gonzaga's chances to make a run, but are there any teams that you're definitely taking out to the final four and any big sleepers, big upsets that you love in this region? I'm taking UCLA, I'm taking UCLA in the first to go to the sweet 16 and I'm going to take Gonzaga to go to the final four. I'm taking the same exact thing. I do think whoever wins that game does get to the final four. I also have Yukon beating Kansas and I like VCU over St. Mary's. One, because I have Yukon winning anyway after that, but two, because I think the matchup is dead even. So I think it's a really good opportunity to take an upset. But yeah, I mean, we went through the bracket pretty well. We got a final four. Do you like a certain team with the national titles? Do you have a pick yet? I'm going to take Alabama. I've got Alabama, Duke, Texas and Gonzaga, but you know, I've set up a four and I'll say it again, you know, if you are planning on filling out a bracket for the NCAA tournament, be sure to keep a bottle of kerosene right next to it. That's the best way I can say it. I was just about to say, yep, I have Memphis as an eight seed in the final four. Although we do have three of the same final four teams, which is Gonzaga, Texas and Alabama. That makes me think we're both going to be wrong in some capacity. But I have Texas been the national title. I think they're super balanced. When you look at teams in the past that have won via tempo and pace, it's teams that can play both ways. I think Texas has the best balance of doing that. So any last huge things that you want to bring out about the bracket to get people ready or to get people ready for the first day of games? Expect the unexpected. Again, be familiar with your good friend, Jack Daniels, if you haven't visited him this season, because you are going to see incredible theater, incredible drama. It's the greatest event in sports. It's the NCAA tournament. Of course, John, appreciate you as always for insight and great times. Bracket breakdown. Hope you have the best of luck to you and hope you enjoy the tournament. Thanks, Ryan. Always good visiting with you, buddy. Sweet. Save him. Bye-bye.