Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to full court, full field, full count. I'm Leonardo Mejia and today we'll be discussing my NFL mock draft, my New York fandom, March Madness and much more on the episode today. Getting started, I'd like to talk about my NFL mock draft which will be more in depth as we get further on into draft season. But as for now I have a top 10 next mock draft I want to do top 32. It's just hard to keep up with doing it like podcast style with no visuals.
[00:00:39] But next week we should have a full first round mock draft and as we approach closer, maybe trades, maybe a two round mock draft. We shall see. For the Raiders at number one, this pick isn't changing. As I said, it's Fernando Mendoza, the qb. No more needed to discuss. At number two got Arbel Reese, the linebacker out of Ohio State also. So think that this one likely doesn't change, but the jets could have someone else in mind, especially an edge rusher like a David Bailey, like a Reuben Bay in there at 2. But I expect them to go Reese who's just the best prospect, best defensive prospect in my opinion.
[00:01:15] At three I got the Cardinals getting Francis Maliaga. I think it's the best tackle in the draft. I think he's the only one taking top three. And the Cardinals desperately need the protection on their offensive line. It'd be nice to pair Ma up with Paris Johnson.
[00:01:32] It would make a great tandem there. As for the Titans at number four, this is where it gets interesting. I got them drafting Jeremiah Love, the running back.
[00:01:41] So Titans need a lot of things offensively, but to truly help Cam Lord, yes, drafting offensive line wide receiver very important, but drafting Jeremiah Love would be almost as important, if not more important, especially given that the offensive line has been addressed in the last couple drafts in the first round, whereas running back hasn't been addressed since Derrick Henry has left. And you know they've been rocking with Tony Pollard who's a solid running back. But Jeremiah Love is better in so many ways and I think he would just be a great pairing with a young qb. And Cam Ward getting a bit of pressure off of him. Having a running back like javai Love in the backfield at number five. I got the Giants drafting Caleb Downs. We're going to go more in depth about the Giants, who they could select in this NFL mock draft, what those players are looking like and the type of needs that they have on their team. But safety is certainly one of them. We have Javon Holland who it's more of A free safety. So Caleb Downs would work as your strong safety kind of box safety type of guy, but he's also extremely versatile. He can't play deep safety, can't play in the slot.
[00:02:55] I think he'd just be a great fit for this Giants team and what the current culture is trying to find, they're trying to find players who love football. Caleb Downs loves football probably more than anyone else in this draft, maybe not Mendoza, but that's different.
[00:03:09] And I just think positionally the Giants could use a safety. They really could use help on the defense, which was atrocious last year. And it's a new system. It'd be nice for, for, for Harbaugh and his guys to get a guy like Caleb Downs who is kind of similar to a Kyle Hamilton, who is arguably the best safety in the league, if not the best safety in the league. At number six. I got the Brown trapping Carnell Tate, the receiver out of Ohio State.
[00:03:38] Tate, I think is clearly at this point the first receiver off the board regardless of his 40 time. He excels at a lot of other things such as deep route running.
[00:03:48] And for the Browns, they just desperately need a wide receiver. I don't think they're going to go into next year with Jerry Jeudy as the number one guy once again.
[00:03:57] And if they're going to give a chance to Shedeur, he's definitely going to have to be throwing the ball to someone. I think Carnell Tate is hands down the best wide receiver in this draft class, at least currently.
[00:04:10] I really do like Jordan Tyson and Malik Lemon. Lemon, Malachi Lemon. Lemon's just given some bad answers in terms of like press conferences and, you know, just personality concerns there. But like, I think that he will be a great player and for Tyson, it's more of the injury concerns, whereas Carlo Tate doesn't have that. He was a five star recruit coming out of high school and even though he played with Jeremiah Smith and was the wide receiver too on Ohio State, he would have been wide receiver one for literally any other team last year.
[00:04:42] Anyway. Got the Commanders at seven, drafting David Bailey, the edge out of Texas Tech. Bailey is really twitchy. I think this would be a great move for the commanders who really need to bolster up their defense, especially the. The edges. Yes. They brought in adopt owe. So it would be really great to pair him up with Bailey who might take some time to develop, but if you get away, you get Bailey eventually once he develops.
[00:05:10] This could be a formidable pass rush and that's what you're looking for. For the Commanders, that defense was atrocious last year. And one of the best ways to build up a defense is drafting an edge rusher highly in the first round at number eight. Got the Saints going. Delane, the cornerback out of lsu. I personally think he's the best cornerback in his draft class. Had a great 2025 season. One of the shining spots on the LSU team that was rather disappointing.
[00:05:41] The Saints desperately need a cornerback.
[00:05:44] They address a couple other positions. They could go wide receiver here. I definitely do see that as a scenario, but I think cornerback is one of their biggest needs. Delaine is clearly the best on the board given the injury concerns with with other cornerbacks in this draft class. So Delane at number eight, number nine got the Chiefs going. Ruben Bane, the edge rusher out of Miami, would be interesting to see him slip to nine, but it's definitely possible.
[00:06:14] Could see teams like the Titans draft him at 4.
[00:06:19] Could see even the jets draft him as high as 2, but I think this is the lowest he slips, which is to 9. Because if Reuben Bain is on the board at number nine, the Chiefs are taking him. I think with no doubt in their mind they, they really needed edge rusher next to Carloftis, that Bane they could move inside as well. But imagine D line, Chris Jones, Reuben Bain and Carloftis.
[00:06:45] You're getting a lot of pass rush there. And Bane good run defender, Chris Jones good run defender. So the run defense would be good too. It just overall make the Chiefs defensive line much, much better. And I think that's what they're looking for here, especially because they have two first round picks edge with this one and then could go receiver, could go running back, could go cornerback with the second first round pick.
[00:07:08] As for the Bengals, got them going. Sonny Styles, the linebacker who I guess he could convert to safety. The Bengals really need that. I think that the Bengals just need to draft best defensive player on the board. They could also go Spencer Fado here, who's still on the board and that would be interesting, but his draft slot stock has been slipping a little bit, whereas Sunny Styles most definitely hasn't. I think 10 is kind of low for styles. Could easily go 5 to giants, maybe even 4 to the titans.
[00:07:41] He's a great player that we're going to talk about more because I think that he is a potential fit for the Giants, but he'd also be a great fit for the Bengals. So let's get into my New York fandom.
[00:07:52] We were just speaking about the Giants so we can get to them and how they should target players in the draft. So obviously in this current mock draft I have them drafting Caleb Downs who is a player who has a very high football iq, which would be great for Harbaugh. Like I said earlier, he's looking for guys that love football, guys with high football IQs. Downs is one of those guys just be a perfect fit for the Giants. He also has elite instincts and versatility. He's a box safety that can also play a deep safety or could play in the slot. So you know that versatility, very valuable, high football iq, very valuable. I think he'd be a great fit for the Giants defense. Sonny Styles on the other hand, a high end, versatile linebacker who was a former safety and his physicals are just absolutely insane. A 43.5 inch vertical 446-40 yard dash as a linebacker. I think that the Giants also need linebacker almost as much as they need safety. Bring in Tremaine Edmonds is great. Micah McFadden coming back is good but still could use a third really valuable linebacker there for the Giants. I also think Carnell Tate would be a great player to draft for the Giants.
[00:09:13] Currently the wide receiver corps is neighbors who's coming off an injury but we know he can be the wide receiver one on this team.
[00:09:19] Darnell Mooney who can be a wide receiver two and Calvin Olson who could be a wide receiver three. But imagine if Mooney was your wide receiver three, Austin as your four and Tate slides in as the wide receiver too. Could make this offense even more fearsome next year. But Carnell Tate's a player that just he has elite hands, he really excels at deep route running and he has great body control which helps him get contested grabs all the time.
[00:09:46] And I think he'd be a great player player for the Giants at number five. And then of course Jeremiah Love who's the only player of which I have going earlier than five. I have him going forward to the Titans obviously, but he's a dual threat player do it all playmaker 4, 3, 6, 40 yard dash and Jeremiah Love is one of the better running back prospects we've seen in recent memory.
[00:10:07] So it would be great if the Giants could draft any four of these. Even Spencer Fano if Francis Maliaga switched falls a bit.
[00:10:16] He could also be a target going into my New York fandom. Further, let's talk about some basketball and let's talk about my New York Knicks who were coming off of a seven game winning streak last week and now this week. Of course when we're talking they lost three Straight games. Let's talk about those games. The Knicks lost to the Hornets 114 to 103. Jalen Brunson had 26 points on 10 of 23 shooting and 13 assists. Definitely wasn't his fault. Also wasn't Josh Hart's fault who had 16 points on 7 of 11 shootings, 7 boards, 4 assists.
[00:10:52] As for the Hornets, Con Knippel 269 of 14 shooting, 11 boards, 8 assists. Great game there for the rookie trying to make a statement in that rookie of the year race even though Cooper Flag should get it. LaMelo Ball 227 of 14 from the field, six assists, five boards. Good game here for LaMelo Ball. Brandon Miller 217 to 12, eight boards these are the big three for the Hornets currently and going forward all still relatively young. Well I guess Lamelo is entering more so his prime now, but still young players and the Hornets have just been one of the hotter teams in the NBA. Coming off a seven game win streak, this is an excusable loss for the Knicks. You obviously don't want to lose any games, but if you lose one to a hot Hornets team coming off his seven game win streak it is what it is. Now losing two in a row, that's not quite as good and I know it was against the Thunder, but you definitely don't want to lose two in a row. Especially because in the fourth quarter the Knicks kind of just collapse a bit.
[00:11:54] The Thunder defeated them 111 to 100. Jalen Brunson had 32 on 13 of 22 shooting, five assists, five boards. Once again a great game for Brunson, but the Knicks still lose Karl Anthony Towns 15 points, but he only attempted nine field goals which he made five of. He also had 18 boards which was great but honestly Towns didn't score enough in this game. He wasn't aggressive enough in this game. Whereas the Thunder obviously shay dropping his 30 points on 8 of 18 shooting, 4 assists, J Dub 22 on 7 of 11 shooting.
[00:12:27] Thunder were just able to close out the Knicks and they have owned us recently. I don't know the last time the Knicks beat the Thunder, but it definitely was not in the last two years and it hopefully isn't longer than that. But as good as the Knicks have been these last two years, the Thunder have been on even higher level than them and then to lose three in a row, that's extremely disappointing. Regardless of coming off a seven game winning streak knowing that your place in the standings they're only one game ahead of the Cavs and going on A three game winning streak.
[00:13:01] Not exactly how you want to keep that lead, especially when the rockets defeat you. 11194 where KD had 27 on 10 of 18 shooting 8 of 6 six boards.
[00:13:12] Amen Thompson 178 of 14 shooting 8 assist, four boards. So good games there. Sengun had a double double as well. Tar eason also had 17 points. As for the Knicks, really only Carl Anthony Township had 22717 shooting, eight boards. Solid game for Towns. Definitely wasn't his fault that the Knicks lost. Brunson had a poor game last night, more so on him that the Knicks lost, but just to lose three in a row at this point in the season, not what you want to see.
[00:13:44] It's becoming more and more apparent that the Knicks won't end up being the second seed in the east, which is fine as long as they can keep the third seed. Now the issue is that the Cavs are within reaching of the third seed and easily could snag it away, especially with how well they've been playing recently. And I know the Knicks were just on a seven game winning streak, but now they're on a three game losing streak. So they need to lock in a bit and get things going against the Grizzlies tonight and hopefully they will. Now let's talk about the Yankees who unlike the Knicks have been winning a lot of games this week Starting with the 70 win over the Giants which was the opening day.
[00:14:28] Great game there. Now let's hop into game two. Yankees feed the Giants 3 0. Judge 1 for 4 home run, two RBIs with his two run bomb in his first of the season.
[00:14:41] Giancarlo Sandon 2 for 4 home run for him as well and RBI Cam Schlitler 5.1 innings, eight strikeouts, only one hit and zero earned runs. A great start for Schlitler who completely shut down the Giants offense and the only person to get a hit was Helio Ramos who went one for three with the double. So he did get an extra base hit, but that was the only hit that the Giants were able to get off of Schiller.
[00:15:09] As For Robbie Ray, 5.1 innings, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, 4 Ks. Solid start for Robbie Ray, just Giants offense was not awake and Yank Yankees pitching. Just great one there Yankees. Then they complete the sweep and Defeat the Giants 3 to 1 as Judge goes 1 for 4 with the home run in RBI. Cody Bellinger goes 2 for 3 with the triple.
[00:15:32] William Warren 4.1 innings, five hits, three strikeouts and only one earned run. Pretty solid start for. For Will Warren might have not gotten to the fifth inning, it might have not gone in into the sixth inning or later, but at least you know, he got one out in the fifth. So it's solid for Warren. And he's not even expected to really be a starter for this Yankees team, but with the current injuries, he kind of has to be. As for the Giants, they scored their first run on the sea of the season in their third game.
[00:16:07] Devers went 2 for 4 with the double, Chapman went 1 for 4 with the lone RBI of the giant season, at least at this point. And Tyler Melley, four innings, five hits, five strikeouts, two earned runs. Not a bad start, but also not a great start. Only going four innings. And the Giants got swept by the Yankees. And Yankees just look great, especially their pitching staff. Judge had two home runs in three games, standing had multiple hits in every game, which, well, let me just tell you, he continues to do that, which is great.
[00:16:43] And the Yankees just come away with the opening series sweep, which is what they did last year against the Brewers. The Yankees always seem to do well in March as they pick up their first loss in March though against the Mariners 2 to 1, where Stannon once again had his fourth straight two or more hit games where he went 2 for 4 with the double.
[00:17:06] Weather's 4.1 innings, 4, 4 hits, 7 strikeouts and 1 earned run. The Yankees might have lost, but I don't necessarily think that this is Weather's fault.
[00:17:16] Once again, a guy that wasn't supposed to start, but given the injuries of the current staff, he has to. And the seven strikeouts was definitely good.
[00:17:25] Looked kind of nasty at certain points, but didn't go deep enough into this game for the Yankees. But it was also the Yankees offense, they only scored one run. And the offense, I mean honestly, it hasn't really been that great, but it hasn't really needed to be because of how good the the starting pitching and the bullpen has been on the season. As for young, he goes 3 for 4 with the RBI.
[00:17:48] Kyle Raleigh ends up pitching, pinch hitting, going 1 for 2 with the game winning RBI. And Luis Castillo, Castillo, great start against the Yankees, which he always tends to do as a Yankee fan that's been watching for many years. Luis Castillo always tends to dominate us in this game. He goes 6 inn 2 hits, 7 Ks. And the Yankees pick up their first loss of the season. But they bounce back last night against the Mariners 5, 0 where Ben Rice went 2 for 2 with the double on RBI and two walks. John Carlos Stanin once again fifth straight game by the way with multiple hits, goes 2 for 4 with the double and RBI. He also has three extra base hits on the season so it's not like he's just punching in singles. Max Freedom worth every penny of that contract we signed him to last offseason. Seven innings, three hits, no earned runs and six strikeouts. Freed once again has an amazing start as he continues his stellar start to the season and we shall see if he continues that. But I'm sure he will. Max Freed is looking like one of the best pitchers in baseball once again which he started off as last season as well as for the Mariners in this game. Julio Rodriguez want 1 for 3. Logan Gilbert 5.1 innings, 7 hits, 6 strikeouts with 5 Aaron runs which isn't acceptable from the one of the Mariners two best pitchers but just another great win for the Yankees and for the Yankees as a whole. Just how they have pitched this season has been utterly ridiculous. We look at the runs against the Yankees have the lease with three runs in five games. They're allowing 0.6 runs per games currently. Per game currently which obviously isn't going to be able to be kept up. It's 162 game season, it's only been five. But for the Yankees to have allowed eight less runs than the Braves who are the second best team in this category allowing 11 to five games is very, very impressive for the Yankees.
[00:20:01] Just like I said, three runs in five, five games, three shutouts already this season.
[00:20:07] Kind of crazy when you look at it that way.
[00:20:10] It's three shutouts in five games. If this pitching staff continues to do what they're currently doing, this definitely is the best team in the American League and it could be the best team in baseball but we shall see if we get to that point. Obviously as a Yankee fan I'm hoping that's the case but I know what happens especially in the first five.
[00:20:35] The. The first five games. I mean it's 162 game season. It's not really going to be these five games don't matter as much but it's always great to start off the season well and the Yankees are doing that once again I want to get into some NBA discussions. Not too much here but just some rest of the NBA. We have talked about the Knicks obviously and we always talk about the Knicks on the show but now I want to talk about Luka Doncic who is someone that has owned the Knicks throughout his whole career. Not gonna lie.
[00:21:11] Especially that damn 70 point game. Still have nightmares out. Well, not the 70 point game, the 60 point, 20 rebound, 10 assist game where he defeated us in overtime. I watched that game, by the way. I wanted to cry to sleep and I probably did cry myself to sleep because the Knicks were up by like 10 with like a minute or two left and they somehow lost because of Luca Magic. Anyway, Luca Magic continues to be magical.
[00:21:38] He has had 30 or more points in 13 straight games.
[00:21:41] Tremendous stretch. He's had 40 plus and seven of those 13 games. So over 50 of his last 13 games, Luke is going to give you 40 and he said 50 plus in two of those games, which he had 60 in one, one of which and I believe 55 in the other.
[00:21:58] During this stretch he's averaging 48 and seven. The Lakers are the third season in the west, which it looks like they're pretty cemented as the third seed in the West. That shouldn't change at all.
[00:22:11] Luka during this stretch, 48, seven, like I said.
[00:22:14] And for the Lakers and for Luka, are they contenders?
[00:22:21] I think the Lakers, I mean they're, they're in a different tier than the spurs and the Thunder and that that's obvious. As great as of a stretch as they've gone on in the second half of the season, I don't think that they're able to beat either of those two teams.
[00:22:36] Now for the other teams I think they could. Now it will get interesting. Like teams such as the Nuggets who have had good history against the Lakers, especially with how good Nicola Jokic is and how good Jamal Murray's been this season. Or a team like the Timberwolves who defeated the Lakers in the playoffs last season, who's gone to back to back Western Conference finals and Anthony Edwards has been fantastic in the playoffs. So it is going to be interesting to see who they match up with in the first round. But for the, for the Lakers, I think that they are, they are contenders, but they're not, they're obviously not. Thunder, Thunder, spurs. Levels of contenders, at least in my opinion.
[00:23:19] And the question for Luka, is he the mvp? And honestly to look at it at this point in the season, I personally think that he is.
[00:23:29] And this stretch that he's having right now is helping him even more. Obviously Wemby's making a late season push. Shay's always going to be in that conversation. If as long as Jokic qualifies, he's going to be in that conversation as well.
[00:23:47] But personally I have Luca right now. He's going to win the scoring title.
[00:23:51] He's averaging a 348 and 8 on 47% from the field by the way. And he's just continued to play like so well this season. Like I think he deserves his first mvp, especially with the Lakers who weren't really supposed to be contenders this season but somehow end up as the three seed now.
[00:24:14] Very impressive for Luka and I think it's deserving of of the mvp.
[00:24:20] As for who do I think is going to win the west, it's between the spurs and the Thunder right now and if we look at the current standards standings, the Thunder are up by two and a half games and we don't have many games left in the NBA season. We have six left so it'd be very hard for the Thunder to blow this lead. So I don't see it happening. But I think the spurs will continue to play well down the stretch and I would like to give my predictions for records and seating for the playoffs. We have six games left so I expect the the Thunder to finish the season at 65 and 17, which would mean that the number one state in the west followed by the Spurs 63 and 19 right there. But 6319 should be good enough to win the west. But then again it's the west and this OKC Thunder team is fantastic. The Lakers 54 and 28 got them in as the 3 seed. They could fall but right now they're just looking good as the three seed as they are currently up on the Timberwolves, Rockets and Nuggets who I think are the three teams that will end up falling between four and six. But they're up two games on the Nuggets. It definitely could be choked with the way Luke is playing right now. I expect the Lakers to to be the three seed for the four seed. I got the Timberwolves at 52 and 30.
[00:25:47] The five seed got the Nuggets at 51 and 31. The six seed got the Rockets at 51 and 31. Imagine being 51 and 31 and the sixth seed. Not like it would have made that big of a difference. In the east it would have been the fifth seed. But still winning 50 plus games and not even being a top five seed is kind of crazy how stacked the west is. At the 7 seed got the Suns 45, 37, 8 seed Clippers 43 and 39, 9 seed Trailblazers 42 and 40 and the 10 seeded Golden State warriors at 39 and 43.
[00:26:28] The playing teams are pretty much locked in unless really bad stress from the Rockets, Timberwolves or Nuggets and A great stretch from the Suns. That's the only way the playing teams can change. Everyone else is clinched and really it's only gonna take two wins from the Rockets slash Timberwolves or two losses from these Suns. And then it's hard because I, I have, the Nuggets are currently the 4 seed but I, I have them switching places with the, with the Timberwolves. I think that they have an easier schedule down the path, but it wouldn't matter. They'd be playing the first round which I would want to, I do want to talk about these hypothetical picks.
[00:27:13] I'm gonna be quick with it. So in the plan we would have the Trailblazers go up against the warriors where I would have the Trailblazers defeating the warriors and playing the, the loser of the 7, 8 matchup which would be Suns versus Clippers. I expect the Clippers to win, that being the seven seed and then the Suns to defeat the Trailblazers being the eighth seed. So that means that the Thunder would play the Suns which I think the Thunder would take care of business. The spurs would take, would play the Clippers who once again would take care of business. But ADG and Kawhi have been really good lately. But the spurs are just a different type of team. Lakers, Rockets. This is the matchup that I really want to see because I think it could go either way. I think the Rockets, you know they would have the, they would have the hypothetical formula to beat this Lakers team but I would have the Lakers advancing in seven games whereas the other ones are more so four games, maybe five.
[00:28:15] And then Timberwolves, Thunder, this one would definitely go seven and I would have, I would have the Timberwolves advancing in this one. It's so interesting. I really don't know what to think of the, the Nuggets this season. Like I think that they should be in the level, the level of contender as the spurs and the Thunder. But in the playoffs recently the Timols have just kind of.
[00:28:40] They've been great in the playoffs recently and that. So that would be kind of chalk but that's how I would have the first round going. I'm not going to go deeper because once again this first round is already hypothetical enough.
[00:28:52] So anyway got the east standings now. The Pistons at 59 and 23 as the 1 seed. The 2 seeded Celtics 56 and 26. My Knicks holding on to the 3 seed at 53 and 29. The Cavs holding on to the 4 seed. Not being able to steal it. The 3 seed from the Knicks 52 and 30.
[00:29:13] The Hawks 47 and 35 who have been fantastic recently. Like I believe they're like 16 and 2 in the month, month of March.
[00:29:22] Some along the lines of that might be even better than that.
[00:29:27] And then the Raptors coming in as the 6 seed at 46 and 36, who's had a really underrated season but not one of the top contenders in the east. The Heat with legend legendary player Bam Adebayo, who of course 83 points, 44 and 38.
[00:29:46] The Sixers also got them going 44 and 38. That's eight seed also got the nine seated Hornets going 44 and 38.
[00:29:54] And the 10 seeded Magic at 42 and 40. So in a hypothetical plan, I'm taking the Hornets over the Magic, I'm taking these Sixers over the Heat and I'm taking the Hornets over the Heat being the eighth seed there. So the Pistons would play against the Hornets and wow, I this would honestly be one of the best 18 matchups we have seen in the past couple years because most of them have been chalk. But I think it would honestly take the Pistons at least six games to defeat the Hornets and it could go even further. And the Hornets really could be the team that tests the Pistons because they don't have a secondary. You know, ball handler Cade Cunningham is fantastic and Jalen Duran is fantastic, but it's not like the Hornets don't have talent. Con Knippel, fantastic three point shooter, LaMelo Ball, he's able to run this offense. Brandon Miller, it's perfect third option who's averaging near 20 points a game.
[00:30:52] It's.
[00:30:53] It's just like this Hornets team is really dangerous as a playing team, I'll tell you that right now. But I think the Pistons would advance the Celtics going up against these Sixers here. I think the Celtics would win this one probably in five or six games. Sixers are sneaky decent in the east, but the Celtics are, they might be the best team in the east. Honestly, like in looking at it in a playoff perspective, they're probably the top contender in the East. As for the Knicks versus the Raptors, this would be really fun division rivals, but I think the Knicks would take care of business in five or six games.
[00:31:31] Probably six games. Knowing how the Knicks usually play in the playoffs. I mean Detroit took us to six games last year and this Raptors team's probably on a similar caliber.
[00:31:41] And then Cavs Hawks would be an interesting four or five matchup but obviously it would have to have the Cavs advance there So I think it really could be chalk in the NBA in terms of the playoffs this year. But I think if the Hornets end up making well, they're going to end up making a play. And if they end up making the playoffs, they're going to be really dangerous as a playing team. Whether they're the seven or eight seed, they could upset someone. But that's the only real upset I see coming Now. I'd like to get into March Madness as the last portion of this episode.
[00:32:17] So March Madness this year it's been a little chalky I guess. But in the final four we have two one seed to two seed and three seeds. So honestly, at least it's not all one seeds. That's what we had last year and for like there's been some fantastic games. So I want to talk about this one. The Duke Dukon game. Duke just and collapse. Let me read out some stats for you. So number one teams were previously 134. 0 when leading by 15 plus at halftime. Duke now makes that 134 and 1 being the only team that were the number one team. They were the number one team in the whole tournament by the way. But this is just for number one seeds.
[00:33:02] When they're leading by 15 plus and a half, they typically win. The largest lead of this game was 44 to 25, which is with about a minute left in the first half.
[00:33:13] Largest second half lead was 46 to 29. So still a 17 point lead with 18 minutes left. Should be able to hold on to that. Duke, you know you were the best team in college basketball this year.
[00:33:23] I actually picked UConn in this game.
[00:33:26] My, my final four picks ended up being three for four. The only one I got wrong is I thought Arkansas was going to be Arizona and then beat Purdue and be here. But Arizona was clearly an amazing matchup against Arkansas and I should have considered that.
[00:33:40] Anyways they had a double digit lead with less than seven minutes left and in the last three years Duke had just found more ways to collapse. Obviously the Houston one last year was really bad, but in my opinion this, this game was even worse. Duke should have been in the final four and I mean I'm glad they aren't I guess since I picked Yukon to win this game. But nonetheless Duke still, it's still disappointing to see a team this talented with the Boozer Twins, with SAR and just overall just a very, very talented team. But they're. They got eliminated in Elite 8 which kind of seems to be for the. I know they made to the Final Four last year, but it's kind of been the kryptonite over the last couple years. Now I want to talk about who of the four teams had the easiest path to the Final Four.
[00:34:40] I think this is very interesting.
[00:34:42] A lot of people would say Illinois. I'm not going to say that because I think the Houston team they played is really great. I think Michigan had the easiest path. Not to knock Michigan, they played the 616 seed Howard who really wasn't that good. They played nine seeded St. Louis who was a good team but Michigan was much better. They played the four seeded Crimson Tide and Alabama was a great offensive team but missing Aiden Holiday at the end of the day kind of made this a bit of an easier matchup. And then they defeated Tennessee. They destroy Tennessee but playing a six seed in the, in the Elite eight, I mean Illinois did play nine seed in the Elite, but still.
[00:35:26] But yeah, I think Michigan had the easiest path. There's no easy path to Final Four no matter what. But they did, they definitely, of the four they had the easiest one. Who had the toughest path though that's between Arizona and Yukon in my opinion.
[00:35:44] And Arizona because the reason why I consider them is because of how good Arkansas I think is. I think Arkansas was better than a Sweet 16 team. They were better than the 4 seed. They were the best team in the SEC this season.
[00:35:59] I think had they played Tennessee they would have beaten Tennessee but they ended up matching up against Arizona who had a fantastic, who were just a fantastic matchup for Arkansas with how good they are on both sides of the ball and just how good of a team Arizona has been this season. But I think Arkansas was a, was a good matchup for Arizona and I mean should have been harder matchup. And then they also defeated Purdue pretty handily. Which Purdue was a good two seed. Well, they're probably the worst two seed but they, they were a solid two seed I guess.
[00:36:34] Whereas for Yukon I think, well let's be honest, I think they had the toughest run. They defeated Furman, UCLA, Michigan State and Duke. So they defeated a one seed, a three seed, a seven seed and 15 seed. So I mean those are the best teams they could have possibly faced. I think UCLA was probably better than even a 7 seed. UCLA was pretty good team. They had a great run in the Big Ten tournament. But yeah, now I want to get into my predictions of the final four games and then my potential matchup in the national championship and who I would have winning that. So let's talk about Arizona, Michigan, where Arizona went 162 in Big 12 played. They won the Big 12 tourney. Like we said, like I've already previously mentioned, they defeated Liu 92 to 58, defeated Utah State 78 to 66, defeated Arkansas 109 to 88, defeated Purdue 79 to 64. Braden Burry is a five star recruit 18 and six co op. Another five star recruit for them 18 and seven. They have, they got three five star recruits this season by the way. Arizona that is so they've been relying on their freshmen but they also have other guys such as like Jaden Bradley who's probably top five player remaining in the tournament.
[00:37:54] Arizona has a top five offense. They're, they really like to get points in the paint. They don't really shoot a lot of threes and they utilize the pick and roll to get to the rim. So a lot of pick and rolls, screen action trying to get to the paint. That's how they're going to score. On defense they have an elite interior defense, they play multiple bigs and they like to force contested threes which Michigan might take a lot of in this game.
[00:38:20] So Arizona most likely is going to win the points in the paint battle whereas for Michigan they won 191 in Big Ten play. They lost in the Big Ten final though. Whereas Arizona 1 and won the Big 12.
[00:38:35] They defeated Howard 101 to 81, defeated St. Louis 95 72, defeated Alabama 9277 and defeated Tennessee 95 to 62 which was just a crazy blowout especially in the Elite eight. And just like given how well they've been playing, how well Jax Lindenberg has been playing what 21, 7 and 4 throughout March Madness.
[00:38:59] They have the sixth best offense, the second best defense whereas their defense they have a lot of size, a lot of versatility.
[00:39:08] Switch, they're great switching. They can play three bigs together.
[00:39:13] Their drop coverage defense is really good and it forces teams to take a lot of mid range shots.
[00:39:19] They're very good at blocking the ball and they take away the paint on defense where, which is obviously where Arizona is going to look to score the majority of their points. The Michigan also likes to run which I think is an advantage for them in the fast break and they use a lot of post ups, they use a lot of movement to generate three point shots as well. 41% of their shots are from three. So Michigan very much a three point shooting team, three point shooting threat and they're also threat in the paint whereas Arizona is more so just a threat in the paint. So I think Michigan has a better matchup. These are, these have been the two best teams in college basketball this season with Arizona and Michigan. Obviously Duke beat Michigan head to head, but Duke's eliminated right now. So I'd say these two have had better seasons.
[00:40:13] But yeah, I'm going to take Michigan by three points, 83 to 80. I think this will be a fantastic game. I absolutely cannot wait to watch this one.
[00:40:25] And that leaves us with UConn versus Illinois with the chance to advance to the national championship, which for Illinois being the Final Four this first time in believe 21 years when they had Darren Williams. As for Yukon, they were obviously they've been in the final Four recently as they've won two national championships in the last three years.
[00:40:54] For Illinois though, 155 in the Big Ten, they lost in Big Ten quarterfinals so they kind of got eliminated early in Big Ten play.
[00:41:02] They defeated the UPenn 105 to 70, defeated VCU 75, 76 to 55, defeated Houston 6555 and defeated Iowa 71 to 59. That Houston win obviously being a big one for Illinois. Their offense is so good, which is obviously head by Keenan Wagler who's going to go top seven in the draft. He's been averaging 18 seven and four in March Madness. Mirkovich 15:11 they have a top two offense, top three pick and pick and roll, usage rate and efficiency.
[00:41:37] Keenan Waglers obviously their go to guy. He's going to run the offense. Him and Markovich. In the pick and roll game they like to berate the defense with three balls. They're going to take a lot of threes, whether that is Waggle or Mirkovich or any other players on this team and they also are top three in terms of offensive rebounding. So they're going to get a lot of second chance points and they're going to shoot the three ball. They're going to run the pick and roll. Their offense is just really good. Their defense on the other hand, it's top 20 so it's a pretty solid defense. Not even solid, it's a really good defense.
[00:42:10] They, their defense has a deeper drop coverage so they like to force mid range shots which UConn doesn't take that much of. And they're also top 30 defensive rebounding team. So at the at the end of the day, just like straight up a good rebounding team, especially offensively. So second chance points will make a huge difference for Illinois if they want to win this game and also if they can limit their Turnovers. As for UConn, they won 17 and three in the big east, lost in the Big east final, defeated Furman 82 71, defeated UCLA 73 to 57, defeated Michigan State 6763 and of course defeated Duke 7372 off of the Braden Mullins game winning shot who will likely be a lottery pick this year.
[00:42:54] Dan Hurley is 20 in the final four, obviously the 20, 20, 23 and 2024 national champions. He's also 100 in the Sweet 16 or later with UConn.
[00:43:06] Terrence Reed has been the best player in the tournament. Well, Darius Akuff was the best player in the tournament, but the best player remaining, Terrace Reed, 22 points, 14 rebounds, two blocks a game, Caravan 18 5. UConn's a top 30 offense. They use offensive sets off boy off ball screens and they like to slow the game down with their interior looks and they have a top 12 defense. They defend the three ball well.
[00:43:34] I'm going to pick UConn to win this one. 7872 I think that the difference in this game will just be terrorist Reed and his ability to rebound. So obviously Illinois is a top three offensive rebounding team, but they'd be going up against Terrence Reed, who's one of the best offensive rebounders in the game and he's also one of the best defensive rebounders in the game. So he's going to, he's going to get the boards and he's going to make sure that UConn doesn't win the board battle. And as long as they win that, I think that they win this game against Illinois because they're eliminating the second chance points that Illinois could generate. And although Illinois has a better offense, UConn could slow down the pace where it's more so in their favor. So I would have a Michigan UConn final in this hypothetical scenario where I would have Michigan advancing and I would have them winning the national championship. In that hypothetical game, I think the winner of Michigan, Arizona is likely going to win the national championship.
[00:44:37] I if I had to rank in terms of odds, I would go Michigan has the highest odds, Arizona is second highest, UConn third and Illinois fourth. But all they're all final four teams so they're all great teams and any of them have a great opportunity opportunity to win the national championship.
[00:44:57] But for now let's get into some trivia as once we are done with trivia we'll be done with this episode as I am pulling it up right now.
[00:45:12] So with the final four finally here, we have two great matchups. Yukon versus Illinois and Arizona versus Michigan, of course, is courtesy of my dad. Thank you.
[00:45:21] Of these four, four schools, which team has had them the most? First round picks in the NBA. 30 seconds on the clock. Gotta give a guess here. So UConn. Only ones I could really think off the top of my head.
[00:45:34] Kemba Walker, Andre Drummond, Stefan Castle. So I don't think they have the most. Illinois. I also don't think they have the most. So it's between Arizona and Michigan. I'm gonna guess Arizona here.
[00:45:45] They have a lot of guys in the NBA. So let's see.
[00:45:50] It's Michigan, who's 6 all time with 31, Arizona second. So I guess it was close. Guess. With 27 players drafted, 10th all time is UConn, who's tied for 10th with 24. And Illinois has 19. So it was right by ruling out illinois and considering UConn that knew it was between Michigan and Arizona and ends up being Michigan here. But for now, that's going to wrap it up on this episode of Full court, Full field, full count. I will see you guys next week.
