- 10 months ago
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00:00College basketball, Texas and Kentucky tonight from Kentucky.
00:04You take a look at this one, Joe.
00:05Opened up around 7.5, still sitting at 7.5 this morning
00:08and a total of 154.5.
00:11Kentucky, come on now, Mr. Pope.
00:13You got to start stacking up some dubs tonight.
00:14They're favored by roughly a touchdown.
00:16What's that spread line here?
00:18Saw it open at 6, got up to 7, then back down to 6,
00:23and now we wake up this morning 7, 7.5.
00:26Listen, this is the anxiety game.
00:28Why? Because if Texas wins this game,
00:32they have a 90% likelihood of being and making the tournament, right?
00:36Being considered a tournament team.
00:38Kentucky has just won back-to-back games, Donnie,
00:41in which they were down more than 10-plus points
00:44in the final couple of minutes of a game
00:46and somehow managed to figure out a way to come back and win it.
00:49Can they do that again? I have my doubts.
00:52Squeeze in one more, Joe.
00:54Cincinnati and Arizona, that line currently sits at 13.5
00:57as a favorite for Arizona, and a total of 153.5.
01:00Big 12 basketball. Let's go.
01:02Number one, Arizona, by the way, laying 13.5.
01:06Cincinnati is going to be in for a very long night here tonight.
01:10That's for sure.
01:12Sometimes it's time to turn the page, people.
01:14We are winding down.
01:15College football's done.
01:16The NFL's got two games left this weekend,
01:18then the Super Bowl, and off into the sunset we go
01:20because the focus will start to go to the NBA,
01:22and more importantly, college basketball.
01:24Donnie, right side, along with Joe Renier, we welcome in Isaac Trotter,
01:2724-7 Sports and CBS Sports.
01:29I need some help, Isaac.
01:31Thank you for joining us today.
01:33Of course. Thanks for having me.
01:35Fantastic. Let's get right into it and have some fun.
01:37The SEC, one of the better basketball conferences in the land.
01:40Who would have thought that 20 years ago?
01:42It's now reality.
01:43Yesterday, Bud Walton was rocking with a 93-68 victory
01:47with the Razorbacks down the Commodores.
01:49Yesterday, Coach Cal, a little bit up and down the SEC,
01:52bounces back in that performance.
01:54What did you see last night from Bud Walton?
01:56Yeah, pure raw domination.
01:58I think if Arkansas could play every single home game,
02:02I would be all in on them to win the title at 35-1.
02:05They are a different team at home,
02:07and this is probably the most talented roster in the SEC.
02:11I think Florida is definitely the team to beat right now,
02:14but Arkansas' talent is overwhelming.
02:16Malik Thomas and Darius Acuff,
02:18they're thunder and lightning, those freshman guards.
02:20Acuff's been terrific this year.
02:22Thomas, just instant offense.
02:24Both those guards also don't turn the basketball over a ton.
02:27Arkansas is great size.
02:28They bring great dudes off the bench.
02:30They just have a good top eight,
02:32and that's a team that when they're dialed in and ready to go,
02:35I think they can beat anybody.
02:37The problem is that when they go on the road,
02:39it feels like sometimes they slack off.
02:41But Arkansas is the story.
02:44The secondary story is Vandy is not big enough to win the title.
02:46There were some people that have proclaimed that Vanderbilt's a tier one national title contender.
02:54I don't see it like that.
02:55I think Tyler Tanner's a really good player.
02:57I think he's a potential NBA player,
02:58but Vanderbilt's lack of interior size and rim protection and thump on the glass is really jarring,
03:05and they've gotten brutalized on the boards by Arkansas, brutalized on the boards by Florida.
03:10And I think we're starting to see the real Vanderbilt where they're a good team,
03:14a team that potentially could make the second weekend with the right draw.
03:17But this is not a national championship contender.
03:20So I got to ask, guys, because, you know, scheduling this time of year is interesting,
03:25especially now that we have teams flying halfway around the world to Orlando to play UCF like we did Arizona a few days ago.
03:34And boy, oh, boy, that was a little too close for comfort for Arizona.
03:39But now they travel home and they're taking on Cincinnati, who, listen, they're going to bring the defense.
03:45Do they have enough of it in order to limit to keep this game close here tonight?
03:50Or are the Bearcats likely going to get run out of the building?
03:54So the thing with Cincinnati all year is if they can keep you out of transition and get their half court defense set,
04:00it's a very, very good unit.
04:02And that's easier said than done, though, against Arizona.
04:05Arizona is one of the elite transition offenses in college basketball.
04:09And they play with such violence.
04:10They're terrific on the glass.
04:12And when they get out and run, it feels like they got eight or nine guys that can really, really hurt you.
04:17And it feels like they really have eight guys that could score double figures every night.
04:21And so Cincinnati, I just I don't see a scenario for Cincinnati to take good enough shots in this half court offense
04:28to keep Arizona out of transition because it feels like Arizona is going to force contested jumpers.
04:33And that those long shots are long rebounds that Arizona just turns and books the other way for easy shots in the open floor.
04:40If Cincinnati can't get the defense set.
04:42So it all comes down to Cincinnati shot selection tonight, because I think that'll impact if they can get that unit set.
04:48But for me, if I don't have a play on this game, if I was looking at one, I think the Cincinnati team total under 69 and a half is a certainly a solid look.
04:57I just don't see a lot of pass for them to be able to score against this Arizona front line.
05:02Xavier going to be on the road in the Big East to take on Greg McDermott's Creighton Blue Jays tonight.
05:06About a touchdown favorite here for Creighton at home in this Big East battle to 155 and a half.
05:11Any options here for you, Isaac, in this game between Xavier and Creighton?
05:14Yeah, I like Xavier team total under 74 and a half.
05:17You know, last time these two played, Creighton ran them out of the building, held Xavier to 57 points.
05:22And Creighton's just built to give Xavier trouble.
05:25I sell Creighton against athletic teams and I buy them against unathletic teams.
05:29Xavier's not in a very athletic group.
05:31And Xavier's really kind of gotten their confidence and swagger a little bit by playing a five out option right now at the five.
05:38They have a lot, basically five shooters.
05:40They basically play centers off the floor.
05:42Creighton doesn't have a center.
05:43They play a 6'8", 240-pound Jason Green at the five.
05:47So they're very switchable, very mobile.
05:49They can really, you know, kind of shut down a lot of what Xavier wants to run.
05:52And two aspects, two stats that I thought were interesting.
05:56Xavier relies heavily on transition offense so far to generate their offense.
06:00Creighton's one of the elite transition denial teams that just keep teams out of transition.
06:04So that's one factor.
06:05Then you kind of look back at that first game.
06:07It's like Xavier took 65 shots.
06:10If you look at shot quality, only six of them were graded as high quality shots.
06:14It was a ton of contested jumpers.
06:16It was a ton of long, late clock threes.
06:20It was a ton of tested runners in the middle of the floor.
06:23Like Creighton just guarded them really well.
06:25Guarded their action.
06:26Stayed in front and forced a lot of tough shots.
06:28I don't see a scenario.
06:30Yeah, like they'll maybe play a little bit better than the first time, but I just don't
06:33see a scenario where Xavier magically creates a bunch more great shots to get over 74 and
06:38a half on the road.
06:41Isaac, I've been telling these guys for the last couple of weeks, you got to watch Miami
06:45of Ohio to Red Hawks play basketball.
06:47It's one of the most fun things you will see.
06:50They are undefeated.
06:52We talked about Arizona.
06:54They are undefeated.
06:55And then you got Nebraska as the last undefeated team, and they're taking on Washington here
07:01tonight, laying a big number.
07:04I think the Red Hawks certainly can finish the regular season undefeated, but Nebraska
07:08is going to lose, right?
07:09Eventually, maybe.
07:11I do think Nebraska is going to lose.
07:13I don't think they're going to lose tonight, but I do think 11 and a half is a few too much
07:17to lay.
07:17I'm on Washington plus 11 and a half.
07:19I think Washington has great size and their best two shooters, two of their best three shooters,
07:23honestly, are healthy.
07:24Jacob Ognesiewicz and Wesley Yates.
07:26Those are huge, huge variables against a Nebraska defense that's been terrific this year and
07:31basically forces you to make contested threes.
07:34So I do think Washington has the shooting now to be able to hold serve.
07:38They also have the size that you need to counteract some of Nebraska's double big lineups.
07:42And I like targeting Nebraska or going against Nebraska with big, strong guards.
07:48Washington has two of those and Wesley Yates and Zoom Diallo.
07:51So I think Yates is really the key X factor here.
07:54Him getting back, he has two games back underneath his belt after a mid-season injury.
07:58When he's his best version, he's an all Big Ten type of guard.
08:01And I think Washington can stay inside the numbers.
08:04Isaac, we're getting closer and closer to we get to selection Sunday.
08:08You take a look at some of the national championship favorites.
08:10It's Michigan plus 390.
08:11Is there a team out there that you're really looking towards to cut down those nets?
08:15Yeah, I think UConn's undervalued right now.
08:1714 to 1 is crazy.
08:19You know, I think that they're very much on pace to be a one seed in the NCAA tournament.
08:24They have a great draw.
08:25I also think 3 to 1 to make the final four is an extremely good bet for an offense that
08:28will only get better with time.
08:31Isaac Trotter, thank you.
08:32Follow him on X.
08:33Isaac double underscore Trotter.
08:35Time to roll, people.
08:43Joe went with an undefeated bunch yesterday and came away with an overtime victory.
08:47Where are we going tonight?
08:48College basketball, NBA, NHL.
08:51What is it?
08:52We're going to go college hoops.
08:54I'm going to head to Rupp Arena where Texas will be taking on Kentucky here.
09:00And Kentucky and Mark Pope with a couple of back-to-back wins.
09:04Desperately needed wins.
09:07The only problem is they had to actually come from behind down at least 15 or more points
09:12in both of those wins, Donnie, in the second half.
09:15That is just ridiculous.
09:18Now they take on a Texas team with Sean Miller that I like.
09:23And this is a team that is more than capable of not only reaching the tournament, Donnie,
09:27but doing some damage.
09:28They're coming off a disappointing loss to A&M on Saturday.
09:32But now you're giving them seven and a half points with some of the most experienced big
09:38guards and big men in the game.
09:40Yeah, no.
09:41Kentucky is not there for me.
09:43They may win this game.
09:45But expecting them to win it by margin?
09:48No, no.
09:48I got to see it to believe it.
09:50I'll take the seven and a half points with Texas tonight.
09:52Let's see.