00:00We are standing at the scene of the crime.
00:04There's a chalk outline and a glass slipper cast to the side.
00:09There was no Cinderella in last year's tournament.
00:13Has Cinderella died?
00:17I hope there's no Disney kids on the way to school right now.
00:23It's early enough.
00:24Yeah, hopefully.
00:25You and I are going to be Sherlock Holmes.
00:26We're going to investigate this.
00:28Is this because, well, at the mid-major level now, your players get poached.
00:33We don't have as many juniors and seniors who have played three and four years together.
00:37Are we going to get Cinderella's this year in the tournament?
00:41Well, we had none of them last year, and it was Arkansas that was, what, a 10 seed last year.
00:48They're the only team, a double-digit seed, that made it to the Sweet 16.
00:52But I don't think, in my definition of a Cinderella, you can't have a power for a team that played
00:58a regular season schedule against big-time competition ever be a Cinderella.
01:03I don't think an average ACC or an average SEC or Big Ten team can be Cinderella.
01:08When you have the resources of a power school, you're not Cinderella.
01:12Cinderella's a team that's got a track around their gymnasium.
01:14You know, they've got bleachers that fold up with the games.
01:18It's a multi-use building.
01:19Yeah, exactly.
01:20And you've got to make the Sweet 16 at least to be a Cinderella.
01:23Well, here's the other thing, too.
01:25And just in context, if Cinderella has died, then last year was the first year.
01:33Because there was no team ranked 12 or seeded 12 or lower that made it past the opening round.
01:43And part of it is exactly what you're talking about, is the poaching of all the best players.
01:49And you look around the country, and you look at the teams that are seeded 1, 2, 3.
01:53Obviously, a lot of them have, not all, but a lot of them, a high percentage, have transplants.
02:02Guys that started somewhere else, maybe played in JUCO and smaller schools, and then have made it to.
02:08And Yaxal Lindeborg is a great example of a guy that started at all the lower levels
02:15and now is playing for a one seed in Michigan.
02:19Now, you're looking at all those.
02:22There is an opportunity this year, I think.
02:27And maybe moving forward, this is where Cinderella can actually be resuscitated.
02:34When you have those schools that, hey, they're feeder schools for the bigger ones.
02:41But you also have a number of those players that were blue-chip recruits that just never panned out at
02:50whatever school.
02:51And they are also transferring down to take some of those vacated spots.
02:56And I'm going to give you one in terms of a number 12 seed.
03:00Well, when you do it, let's have some fun with this.
03:02Let's go through a bunch of Cinderella schools.
03:04Paul, can we hit it?
03:06Let's do this, John.
03:07Let's see if we can find and resuscitate Cinderella.
03:10Cinderella, get CPR.
03:11All right.
03:11I'll tell you what.
03:12I was going to give one, but I don't want to jump the gun.
03:15Do you have any that you'd like to start with?
03:18Yeah, I'll start with Santa Clara.
03:21It's their first tournament since Steve Nash 30 years ago.
03:24I think they fit the bill.
03:25Top 25 offense.
03:27Best in their conference, which includes Gonzaga.
03:30Long, athletic.
03:31They share the ball.
03:32They don't turn it over.
03:33And they can shoot the ball with their bigs, which I think gives them a little bit of that mismatch
03:39potential.
03:39John, their first game is against Kentucky.
03:41Could be the game that Mark Pope gets fired in.
03:44And then Iowa State, which has been uneven.
03:47Santa Clara could be a Cinderella this year.
03:49Wow.
03:49That would be big time.
03:52Let me give you another one.
03:53South Florida, an 11 seed.
03:55That's typically where you look these days is the 11 seed.
03:57They've won 12 straight games.
04:00Five scorers in double figures.
04:01Outside of Bama, they're the fastest tempo team.
04:04And they've got the number three offensive rebound rate.
04:06Possessions, possessions, possessions.
04:09They'll face Louisville, whose second score is hurt, may be limited if he plays.
04:14Louisville's 4-4 in their last eight games.
04:16And if they win, they get Tom Izzo and the Spartans, who can go cold any given night.
04:21South Florida could be Cinderella this year.
04:23Mm-mm-mm.
04:27It's returning a little bit of excitement to Thursday and Friday of the tournament.
04:32If we can get some of these upsets, see if they can get through that opening.
04:35We can get to that round of 16.
04:37And I'm going to give you two that I've been looking at.
04:40And I haven't filled out my bracket yet.
04:42But I'm looking at High Point.
04:44It's a 12 seed.
04:45And they are playing Wisconsin, number five seed, in the opening round.
04:50And here's where High Point can really make something happen.
04:53They average 90 points per game.
04:57They like to run.
04:58They create as many turnovers as anybody else.
05:02They're nation leaders in turnovers and steals.
05:05If they can create a bunch of extra possessions.
05:08And against a team in Wisconsin that wants to slow it down.
05:12They want to play a much slower pace.
05:15But they attack the boards.
05:17They get extra possessions.
05:18They get turnovers.
05:19I just mentioned that.
05:21And they can chuck it from deep.
05:24This is a game where you're going to see there's not going to be a shot that none of these
05:28guys don't like.
05:29The aptly named High Point.
05:31They'll score a lot of points.
05:32And so I'm going to give you one more.
05:34And we're going even lower in this one.
05:36Number 13, Hawaii.
05:39Hawaii's playing number four.
05:41And some of that is, I'm looking at this going, you know what?
05:43I don't like.
05:44In football, I'm fine with the Razorbacks.
05:46In basketball, I'm not a big fan.
05:48But when you look at Hawaii, and again, these are two teams where they have attracted talent from high major
05:56programs that have transferred down.
05:58They're juniors and seniors.
06:00So the big scene, the big setting, it's not going to be too big for them.
06:05But Hawaii is this team that plays ferocious defense.
06:11And I'm looking at it going, they've got a big in the side, Isaac Johnson, who's seven foot tall.
06:16He can negate some of the athletic ability that you're going to see from Arkansas in the middle.
06:21If they can get hot from deep and they rank in the top 25 in rebounding discrepancy.
06:32I think this is a team that could even take down number four, Arkansas.
06:38Okay.
06:38So I'm glad you brought up Hawaii.
06:40Yeah.
06:41I love college basketball because you have so many different identities, different styles.
06:47Hawaii's defense is super unique.
06:49I got into this rabbit hole yesterday.
06:51The guy's breaking it down.
06:52They run a no help defense, which is rare.
06:55Everybody switches.
06:56Everybody helps.
06:57They say, no, no, no.
06:58You're not getting assisted baskets.
06:59You're going to have to go ISO.
07:01And a lot of college teams don't have people who can create their own shot.
07:04The problem?
07:06Arkansas does.
07:07I know a cuff is a cast tech kid, a Detroit kid, and he's maybe the best guard Calipari's
07:11had.
07:12That's what people were saying.
07:13And he's coached Derek Rose and John wall and others.
07:15He can create his own shot in isolation.
07:17They've got multiple guards who can create their own shot in the last note on Hawaii.
07:22I want them to be a Cinderella.
07:23They are untested.
07:25Zero quad one games.
07:26Oh, and four and quad two games.
07:28I like the creativity.
07:29I don't see it.
07:30The true definition of a Cinderella and okay.
07:34A cup junior is going to have to make his shots every single time.
07:39Can't miss.
07:39Right.
07:40And if they can get in the freshmen's head, maybe that's your path.
07:43Yeah.
07:43And we talk about the veteran presence of both high point and Hawaii.
07:47If he can't, if he doesn't start hot and how do March upsets happen?
07:53Yeah.
07:53Limit opportunity.
07:54You create more for yourself and it goes to the rebounding that Hawaii can, can do and
08:01give themselves the best chance.
08:04And I think a lot of these have to happen early in the game.
08:07They're going to have to create that doubt for a young player in a cuff.
08:11Okay.
08:12I have a few more because I'm the small school guy.
08:14Sure.
08:14I want Cinderella to be back.
08:15Everybody gets a gold star guy.
08:17Exactly.
08:17John Akron zips.
08:19I got to go to my action and I didn't go Miami.
08:21I went Akron.
08:21This is their third straight tournament.
08:23Their coach, John Gross, won tournament games at Ohio.
08:26He's done this before with Mac teams.
08:30John, Texas Tech is famously missing their best player.
08:33Bama in the second round may be missing their number two score.
08:37Hashtag pound of weed.
08:38And think about this, John.
08:40You mentioned shooting and the ability to steal a game.
08:43Akron's motto is shoot to get hot, shoot to stay hot.
08:46The Akron zips could be a team with the glass slipper.
08:49I'd also like to nominate Penn.
08:51You mentioned players on the way down.
08:53Yeah.
08:54How about their leader, TJ Power, who had 44 in the Ivy League championship, former five
09:00star, former Duke Blue Devil.
09:03The Ivy League's had teams do this before.
09:05Princeton made a sweet 16.
09:06Yale has won opening round games.
09:08John, they get Illinois and they struggle in the tournament.
09:14Bryce Underwood's, not Bryce, Brad Underwood's teams for the last five years haven't made it
09:19out of the opening weekend.
09:20You're doing all kidding.
09:20Yeah, no kidding.
09:22For the last five tournaments, Illinois bounced in the opening weekend.
09:25So I think there are some teams with the Cinderella, the vibe, the vibe, UNC, North Carolina
09:34is going to play VCU.
09:37UNC doesn't have their leading score.
09:3811 seed VCU could be a team.
09:40And the other one I have is McNeese State, who won a game a year ago.
09:44Yep.
09:45Amir Khan is back with his boombox and they're forcing even more turnovers than they did a
09:49year ago.
09:50I would take a look at them because they get Vandy and then the winner of Nebraska, Troy.
09:55Nebraska's never won a tournament game.
09:57Could this be boombox part two, McNeese State?
10:00I don't know.
10:01We'll see.
10:01The only manager with an NIL deal.
10:03And that is our look trying to resuscitate Cinderella.
10:08It's 97.1.
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