Adam Morrison on what Gonzaga's win at Kentucky means for its NCAA Tournament hopes
Former Gonzaga All-American Adam Morrison breaks down the Bulldogs' big win over the Wildcats and what it means for their NCAA Tournament hopes
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01:20 [Music]
01:29 Welcome to Season 3, Episode 17 of The Perimeter, presented by McGillivray Environmental.
01:34 Got Brandon, the producer, with me.
01:37 Gonna recap Kentucky. What a great win for us.
01:41 Getting down to kind of the back half or final third of the WCC season.
01:48 And then talk about what that means for us, bracketology-wise.
01:51 Where I think we will be, you know, in the net and all that.
01:57 And where we stand in the NCAA tournament.
01:59 It's funny, I've been in town, obviously, coming back from Rupp.
02:02 And, you know, people are asking, "You guys in now?"
02:07 And I'm like, "Maybe it's one win. I mean, it helps."
02:10 But, you know, Kentucky's kind of faltering.
02:14 Not that they're not super talented and can't put it together,
02:18 but it doesn't help that they've lost two games before that.
02:22 Crazy stat that they've never lost three home games since like 1966 in a row.
02:29 And we were one of those, so that's kind of a cool little nugget to have.
02:35 Really cool to have the experience of going to Rupp.
02:38 Obviously, I've never been to Kentucky and never been to Rupp Arena.
02:43 It was really nice. Really huge.
02:47 It's like 20,000, almost 20,000.
02:49 And they made it smaller, you know, in recent past.
02:53 I think cut it down by like 2,000 seats and built like bars and stuff or suites or whatever.
02:58 Which makes sense. It was sold out.
03:02 Lexington's kind of a different town.
03:04 It's smaller than Louisville, obviously, but it's not...
03:10 It's got like a Spokane feel. The airport's about the same size.
03:12 Two wings, one restaurant. Same thing.
03:15 You know what I mean? Like one Starbucks, two Starbucks or whatever on each wing.
03:21 And then there's just like a row of nice restaurants and a decent downtown.
03:25 I think their downtown's a little bit nicer, but it had that same feel.
03:30 But like same thing, like they love hoops and that's all they really care about.
03:37 So that leading up to the game was kind of cool to, you know, go out and go have dinner
03:41 and then people recognize you, you know, if I'm wearing like a gunsega hat.
03:45 "Oh, you going to the game tomorrow?" And that type of stuff.
03:47 And they're like, "Oh, we love Big Blue."
03:49 And, you know, then you get their take on Calipari, whether good or bad.
03:53 Like some people hate him, some people think he's great.
03:55 And it's just curious to kind of go through all that stuff and experience it.
04:02 I mean, it's, you know, the other similarity is there's no pro team.
04:07 Yeah.
04:08 Right? So it has that feel.
04:11 You know, so there's no pro team and no NFL team.
04:17 Like the Bengals are kind of it or the Titans, you know what I mean?
04:19 So like it's the same thing where like, "Oh, you kind of have to like the Seahawks if you live over here.
04:23 You don't really have to, but that's the closest thing we got."
04:25 Totally, yeah.
04:27 So yeah, leading up to the game was interesting.
04:33 You know, the whole pageantry thing they do there is really cool
04:36 because they have all the jerseys hanging up.
04:39 You know, like, "Whoa, I forgot that guy played there."
04:41 And then all the coaches and then their pregame, you know, video is pretty cool
04:47 because it goes from like the 60s on.
04:49 And you're like Adolph Rupp and then, you know, Tubby Smith, Patino, and then now Kyle,
04:56 but they've all won one championship, which is kind of weird.
04:58 I think Rupp won multiple, but all the other guys have won one.
05:02 Just one.
05:03 Just one.
05:03 They're looking for that second one.
05:05 Yeah, and it's weird to think about, but like Tubby Smith won one.
05:08 I think Patino only won one, and he should have won two,
05:11 but the Christian Layton are turning around, you know what I mean?
05:13 And then obviously Kyle's only won the one with the Anthony Davis crew.
05:18 He's had talented crews after that.
05:21 So yeah, it was interesting to go through the pageantry.
05:28 I mean, and this is not trying to sound like weird,
05:31 but there's like literally like 50 cheerleaders.
05:33 Somebody told me that before the game.
05:34 Like, "It's going to be weird seeing how many cheerleaders, male and female."
05:38 But you're like, you know what I mean?
05:40 Like, it's like, holy crap.
05:42 It's kind of BYU kind of does that too, where there's like dancing ones,
05:45 and then there's traditional ones.
05:46 You know what I'm saying?
05:47 Like, it's just weird.
05:48 Like, I don't know.
05:49 It's just different.
05:50 Yeah, it seems like it's just a lot.
05:52 It seems bigger than this really big.
05:55 Like, yeah.
05:55 Yeah, exactly.
05:56 Like the whole, and then, you know, like I said,
05:58 the pregame stuff is pretty cool, and the videos, and you know,
06:01 all the highlights, but I thought coming in, the matchup was favorable,
06:06 and I'm not just saying that because we won,
06:08 but it was a team that gets up and down.
06:09 They score 89 points a game.
06:11 We were at 85.
06:13 So I said it.
06:13 I'm like, "I like this matchup better than UConn or Purdue just because there's not like a ridiculous,
06:20 tall, big guy inside that you've never seen or super skilled one."
06:23 They had, you know, they had seven-footers.
06:24 They had three of them, but it wasn't like a Klingon or Zach Eaddy,
06:31 you know, where you're like, "Holy crap, you know, this is crazy."
06:35 So I thought if we could play fast but under control and not turn the ball over,
06:41 we would have a chance because my keys to the game were control of the glass.
06:46 It was weird.
06:47 Kentucky was only plus one on the glass, which is a really crazy number.
06:51 I was like, and my other one was establish the inside presence, you know,
06:55 get Graham going, Braden, you know, and we'll talk about that,
06:58 but I was, that's something like, always like, "Graham's got to have a good game,"
07:02 and then Braden off the bench because he's got to have a good game.
07:04 It just makes us a bunch better when we're scoring inside.
07:06 And then I had guard the three line.
07:10 They shoot it at, it was 43% as a team was leading the country.
07:13 So to start the game, we were fantastic on the glass.
07:19 Ben Gregg was amazing early in that game of just flying around, grabbing balls,
07:24 you know, tipping stuff, you know, doing all the stuff he likes to do.
07:29 Knocks down a three early, and then he gets that, you know, miss,
07:32 but then he gets it back and gets the dunk, or they get, yeah,
07:35 the rebound and he gets the pass, gets the dunk.
07:38 He had a couple where he, you know, tipped it away from guys where they should have cleared it.
07:42 And what it did is it took the crowd out of the game early
07:46 because it was, you know, hyped in there, which it normally is,
07:49 but they know Gonzaga and we beat him last year.
07:52 And I didn't know it was a six-game series, which is crazy.
07:55 - Oh, wow. - Yeah.
07:56 I thought it was just home and home, but they're coming here, I think,
07:58 - battling Seattle next year. - Ah.
08:00 Then I think we're doing, like, I think it's Nashville with them.
08:04 And then I think we're going, they're going to Kenilworth.
08:07 - Oh, wow. Oh, that's awesome. - Yeah.
08:09 - That's so cool. - It's pretty cool.
08:10 - I didn't know that. - So, I thought his energy really slowed down
08:19 any chance they would have to kind of get, you know, the crowd into it and get going.
08:26 Defensively, I loved our plan because they're a dribble-drive, space-U team,
08:31 and you can't overhelp, so you have to play, you know, you can't, like, sit in gaps.
08:37 You have to, like, stunt and get back, and then you have to tell your guys, like,
08:40 "Look, you have to play one-on-one defense and contest and make them take tough twos.
08:45 You can't overhelp," because then they got seven-footers in the dunker spots.
08:49 And then, obviously, 43%, they got great shooters on the perimeter.
08:52 And our guys were, you know, closing out short, you know, and then sliding their feet
08:58 and making them take tough, contested twos.
09:00 They missed some that they, I think, normally would make, but that's, you know,
09:04 obviously a break that we got. So we started the game fantastically.
09:08 Graham was great inside, you know, got his stuff going as well.
09:14 I like that he didn't force anything, too.
09:18 Like, there was times when he had to up fake a few times, and sometimes he shoots,
09:23 you know, like a 12-foot fadeaway that might be a little bit more difficult,
09:26 and he was kicking it out or stepping through a double-team.
09:28 Or it's called a split, you know, splitting the double-team with a pivot.
09:33 So I thought that was fantastic.
09:35 Nolan was great early in the game, and that first half was knocking down shots,
09:42 and, you know, looked like he had something to prove, because he committed there,
09:46 originally. Never visited campus, which is just interesting to think about,
09:51 but he committed to Kentucky.
09:53 So I think it was kind of just a weird, not a prove-it game,
09:58 but it's just something to have, you know what I mean?
10:00 - Yeah. - Just like, all right.
10:01 You know, and he was going against that Reed Shepard kid,
10:05 and I'll talk about him in a bit.
10:07 But all in all, that first half was, just our energy was fantastic.
10:13 You know, we weren't shooting it lights out, but we were making, you know,
10:19 like winning plays.
10:20 I know that sounds cliche, but there's been times this year when we haven't done that.
10:24 You know, so we go into the first period, after the first half, up by 10.
10:31 And, you know, like I said, I thought it was a good matchup for us schematically,
10:37 and then personnel-wise, I thought, you know,
10:40 the only thing that I was really afraid of was maybe the shot blocking on the backside
10:46 with their guys, because they had, you know, that big kid off the bench,
10:51 the Bicevic, I can't say his name.
10:54 They call him Big Z, and then they had the other two 7-footers.
10:58 Like, they literally had like three 7-foot legit bigs, you know?
11:03 It was like an NBA, it literally was like an NBA, built like an NBA team,
11:06 and you just play whoever's playing good, pick and dive guys.
11:08 But it was, besides that, I thought we matched up well with their guards,
11:15 I thought they were good, but I thought, you know, our guards,
11:18 they weren't particularly like physical and over the top that could maybe give trouble
11:23 to Hickman and Nembhard from a size standpoint.
11:28 So yeah, that first half was great, man, I was really impressed.
11:31 Obviously excited that the, you know, we were rolling, we shot it decently,
11:36 we were 18-39, 3-14 from three, obviously that's not great.
11:41 But it was nice to not shoot it well from three and not have to discuss it,
11:47 or like be the end-all thing, you know what I mean?
11:50 - Yeah, I was thinking the same thing when I was watching,
11:52 I was like, because I watched the stats during the game,
11:55 and I was just like, it's weird that we're up by 10,
11:59 and we've shot so poorly from the three-point line,
12:02 but that was because they were getting rebounds,
12:06 it just felt like they were getting the ball a lot more and going on runs, which was great.
12:11 - Yeah, we were getting on transition too, and then, you know, Braden had that steal dunk,
12:17 like we got some weird plays, like I said, Ben was getting hands on balls,
12:22 and you know what I mean, where you just get extra possessions,
12:24 and it was those type that, you know, you could hear the crowd groan,
12:29 and they're a really educated fan base, and I mean that, you know, not that we aren't,
12:35 but like every time there's a tip ball that they could have got, they groan as a group,
12:41 you know what I mean, because they know the game, they love the game,
12:43 and it was kind of cool to be in an atmosphere like that.
12:47 We're similar in the kennel, but it was 20,000 people,
12:50 like, why isn't that guy getting through a screen, you know what I mean?
12:52 Normally, it's not that intense.
12:57 So yeah, come out of half, it was one of those deals.
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13:40 So yeah, come out of half, it was one of those deals where like,
13:44 all right, you know, we've been in this situation before,
13:47 we've yet to win a road game, we have to, you know, come out with great energy,
13:52 but, you know, we've had teams sneak up on us and come out kind of flat.
13:58 And, you know, Kentucky did what Kentucky does,
14:03 is made a, you know, early run in that second half.
14:11 And I thought our guys did a really good job of managing the crowd.
14:16 You knew they were going to make a run.
14:18 It's one of those teams that shoots it so well and so talented.
14:21 You know at some point, team's going to go 6-0, 8-0,
14:24 and you have to be able to manage it and respond the correct way.
14:29 And I think schematically for them,
14:32 they started to go with just a high ball screen with that Reed Shepard kid,
14:37 who was one of the better guards I've seen all year live.
14:42 The kid was so good.
14:44 Ended up 8 of 14, 0 of 3 from downtown, 5 of 5 from the free throw line,
14:49 5 rebounds, 21 points in 28 minutes.
14:53 True freshman.
14:54 I guess dad played there.
14:56 Mom played volleyball.
14:58 His dad was the MOP in one of the final four runs,
15:00 I think when they won the national championship in like '96,
15:02 or one of those teams.
15:07 Apparently scored 3,700 points in this kid, Reed, in high school.
15:12 So, like, holy shit.
15:13 Yeah, it's like, holy cow, exactly.
15:15 You're like, whoa.
15:17 And you could see why.
15:19 Like, 6-- I think he was like 6'3", 6'4" maybe.
15:23 Yeah.
15:26 But just like lightning quick, under control.
15:30 What I was most impressed was in the first half,
15:33 he wasn't really rolling.
15:36 But every time he touched it, and if there was nothing, you know,
15:42 his advantage, he would ping it to somebody else.
15:45 And so you're just watching from a non-biased--
15:48 you're like, well, the ball's like--
15:50 he's on the floor, the ball's going where it needs to go
15:52 almost every single time.
15:54 It's never sticky.
15:55 You know what I mean?
15:56 I'm always impressed with that.
15:58 And that's something that I think sometimes not the average fan
16:02 notices or understands.
16:03 Like, if you're looking at totality as a point guard,
16:07 is the ball getting to the right places every single time?
16:10 And sometimes that means that you might not
16:13 shoot a lot tonight.
16:14 You might not score it, but you're going to win.
16:16 You know what I mean?
16:17 It's like throwing check downs as a quarterback.
16:19 Like sometimes you can't throw off that 15-yard crossing route.
16:22 Just take the eight yards, and then we win.
16:24 Yeah.
16:25 You throw for 220 instead of 320.
16:27 You know what I mean?
16:28 It's that similar mindset.
16:30 So I was really impressed with that.
16:32 But in the second half, they just started going high ball
16:35 screen with him.
16:38 And he got downhill, I mean, multiple times.
16:40 He had that steal on that side OB against Nembhard.
16:45 Just kind of took it from him with an and one.
16:48 And then he had just layup package,
16:52 and he was getting by our big on the show or on the plug
16:56 or on the switch, like whatever coverage we were doing.
17:01 Super impressed with him.
17:02 I saw Neil Olshay.
17:04 He used to be the GM at the Blazers.
17:07 I think he's working with the Sixers now.
17:08 I think that's what I saw.
17:10 But just ran into him on the flight back.
17:14 And I was like, how'd you like that little point guard?
17:18 He was like, yeah, he's pretty good.
17:19 You know what I mean?
17:19 I was like, yeah, that kid seems like a lottery pick.
17:23 I mean, super talented.
17:26 So my point was, he led the charge.
17:30 He got the crowd back into it.
17:33 But I thought Nembhard and Hickman
17:36 played one of their best games from a floor standpoint,
17:40 as a point guard situation.
17:42 They have all year.
17:45 I said this on the radio, and I'm going to say it obviously
17:50 on this thing.
17:51 Nembhard plays 40 minutes.
17:53 He goes one for seven, 0 for three from downtown,
17:55 makes all his free throws, has six points.
17:58 He has nine assists, four turnovers.
18:00 Some of the turnovers not his fault.
18:02 I thought it was just one of his best games he's played, right?
18:05 Because in that situation, they go up six, right?
18:08 And that-- where Shepard's going crazy.
18:12 We don't get anything going offensively.
18:15 Anton, who was great, was quiet for about 28 minutes
18:19 of that game, and then really took over down the stretch,
18:21 which I'll talk about in a second.
18:24 But we ran the same action.
18:27 People are watching.
18:28 Sometimes maybe they notice it, but obviously I do.
18:34 We ran the same action like 12 times in a row.
18:38 Did you notice that?
18:39 So we ran a 1-4 set, and it was called an Iverson cut,
18:42 with Nolan going over the top, going to his left,
18:46 court left, facing our basket.
18:49 And then a high ball screen with Nembhard and EK
18:52 with a hard roll, and then Anton popping to the top of the key.
18:58 Remember, we ran it literally 12 times in a row.
19:00 And my point is, I thought Nembhard
19:03 made the right decision almost every single time
19:06 of where the ball was needed to go.
19:07 He had that beautiful pass to Graham, the lob over the top,
19:11 that got us back-- and one, got us back to three,
19:14 settled the crowd down, settled us down.
19:17 He had a couple where he looked the defense off, and then
19:21 hit the roll again.
19:22 You know what I'm saying?
19:23 Then he'd wait for Graham to sit and seal,
19:26 and he did that little swivel pass, which is harder
19:29 than people understand.
19:30 It's a skill set.
19:31 So I thought he was tremendous from a floor game standpoint.
19:35 Obviously, you'd want to shoot it better,
19:37 but I said it on the radio.
19:38 I'm like, hey, man, that's a good barometer
19:42 for a point guard.
19:43 How well did you control the action?
19:46 Did you slow down the pace when it needed to?
19:49 Did you pick it up when it needed to?
19:50 Did you understand the situation to try to go hero ball
19:53 and take a shitty shot in that spot?
19:55 Throw it to Graham, right?
19:56 It's one of those where you just throw it
19:58 to the big guy that's at eight feet with a seal in the middle,
20:01 and he did that.
20:02 So I was really impressed with him understanding that
20:08 and not freaking out that this freshman on the other end
20:12 was kind of getting-- not best of him, best of everybody.
20:15 But you know what I'm saying?
20:16 That's a tough matchup for anybody
20:17 because they were running just high ball speed
20:19 and letting him go.
20:22 But my point overall, as well, I was
20:25 super impressed with how we managed that run.
20:29 They went bonkers in there.
20:30 And then we get down six.
20:32 And it was natural.
20:33 And I think a lot of fans maybe were like, dang it,
20:36 played well again.
20:36 And we're going to win one on the rope, right?
20:38 And that's kind of happened to us all season.
20:41 That's just a fair take.
20:43 It's not even a take.
20:44 It's the facts.
20:44 Like, outplayed Washington for most of the game.
20:47 You know what I mean?
20:48 Purdue had a chance 0 for 16 from three
20:51 at the very start of the season.
20:52 UConn kicked our ass.
20:54 San Diego State, remember, we came all the way back.
20:56 Got within like four with the press.
20:59 And then, fuck, you know what I mean?
21:03 It crept into my mind.
21:04 I was like, man, this is going to-- especially this one,
21:06 because these guys played hard.
21:08 Everybody's kind of shitting on them, right?
21:10 And saying what if and all this stuff.
21:14 So I'm like, man, this one will suck if they can't--
21:17 just because they played good.
21:18 And they played hard and played as a team.
21:22 But we came back with that action.
21:28 And I thought Anton was good in passing him that, too,
21:31 because he always popped.
21:33 So Nem Harbord either hit, boom, or we had a reversal to Nolan.
21:38 And then he can come off a pick and roll action.
21:40 So we literally-- he was calling it for something,
21:43 but I ran it.
21:44 It's an Iverson cut, something similar.
21:45 Everybody runs it.
21:47 But literally, I was looking over at Kentucky's bench.
21:49 I'm like, are they going to fucking do anything different,
21:51 defensively?
21:53 It was weird.
21:54 They didn't trap, or they didn't do anything.
21:56 They just let him roll and then seal Barry and played 1-on-1.
22:01 But we literally ran the same thing 12 times in a row,
22:04 like the last 10 minutes of the game.
22:06 It was crazy.
22:07 Yeah, I guess what I saw was this--
22:10 and this must be what it is, is getting so close to the hoop
22:12 to get lay-ins, get dunks, and get close shots.
22:17 And so I was just like--
22:20 when we were going back and forth, I was just like,
22:22 can we keep this up?
22:24 And I was just--
22:27 I just-- it felt like this was like they were figuring it out,
22:32 I guess, maybe.
22:32 I don't know.
22:33 Or they were just exposing Kentucky
22:34 because they weren't switching.
22:36 Yeah.
22:36 I think it's just-- it was a great coaching scheme for a few,
22:43 just sticking to what works.
22:45 Yeah.
22:46 You know, the Thiero kid for them was super athletic.
22:50 He was at 15 points.
22:51 But he was catching lobs and all that stuff
22:55 and getting the crowd into it.
22:56 But he had a difficult time guarding ball screen action
22:59 and then getting sealed deep.
23:01 And he's a vertical player, but he's not a tall player.
23:05 So we kind of went after that.
23:07 But when Graham got his fifth, I think it was what, 2 and 1/2?
23:14 No, it was probably like 3 and 1/2 minutes left,
23:16 4 minutes left if my memory serves.
23:18 Anyway, he gets his fifth, and you're like, man, all right,
23:22 let's see what Braden Huff can do.
23:26 And during that same--
23:30 when he gets subbed in, we ran the same actions.
23:33 And Braden scored on a layup.
23:35 He scored on a goal 10, and he got fouled on--
23:40 one of them made both his free throws.
23:41 So my point is, Braden didn't play a ton.
23:45 He played 15 minutes.
23:46 But he wasn't going to play in that stretch
23:49 if Graham didn't get his fifth.
23:52 Because Graham played one of his best games of the year.
23:55 He goes 10 for 17, 23 points, five rebounds,
23:58 makes all his free throws, no turnovers, one assist,
24:02 one block shot, just played good.
24:04 Played solid, only 24 minutes.
24:05 But like I said, he was really concise
24:08 when he caught it in there.
24:09 He didn't try to force against longer opponents.
24:12 He was using fakes and all the step-throughs
24:14 that you have to, because Graham's not--
24:17 he's a vertical player, but he's not over the top vertically.
24:21 He's serviceable, and that's not a knock.
24:23 But for example, I probably had a 35-inch vertical maybe.
24:29 It's enough for Division I basketball.
24:32 He's probably something similar.
24:33 Where he's not going to dunk over the top of people,
24:37 but he can catch and rip and--
24:39 you know what I'm saying?
24:40 Going against a 7-footer, you've got
24:42 to start using your fakes and all that stuff.
24:45 So when Braden comes in, you kind of go, OK,
24:49 this is a big moment for this kid.
24:51 He's been fantastic all year.
24:52 I think he should be playing more, whatever.
24:55 But obviously, Fuey sees things in practice.
24:57 And it's not like he's burying him,
24:59 but I think his stretches should be longer.
25:01 I think he should be in the 18 to 22 minutes, not 15 to 18.
25:05 You know what I mean?
25:06 It's a minor difference.
25:08 But he scores those three straight possessions
25:11 basically, gives us six points, takes the wind out
25:15 of their sails, because you could feel when Graham got
25:17 his fifth, you know what I mean?
25:19 They're super excited.
25:21 Big moment in the game.
25:23 I thought it was just a great thing for him to have that.
25:29 And he kind of sealed the game for us in that situation.
25:33 He scored six straight points and really kind of
25:37 led the charge for us to kind of take that home
25:40 and then Anton down the stretch was unbelievable.
25:46 I mean, he had that rip go with a little floater in the lane
25:52 when the game was tied.
25:53 And then he has that offensive man rebound put back
25:58 to put us up and kind of seal the game.
26:00 So he was great.
26:01 Played 37 minutes, 6 to 13.
26:04 Makes a huge three.
26:06 Goes four for five, seven rebounds, three offensive,
26:08 five assists, only one turnover, two steals, two block shots,
26:11 plus four on the plus minus.
26:14 One of his better games just overall.
26:16 I know he had those bonkers one against UCLA and Santa Clara.
26:21 But this one was like making plays on the road,
26:25 down the stretch against a really good opponent.
26:28 And then it's cool, like he's a senior obviously.
26:30 Like he's got that always.
26:32 Hey, I had one of my better games at Rupp.
26:35 And it's a story, a win for this program.
26:39 There's not very many left of those things to have for us.
26:43 We've won everywhere besides--
26:46 the next two are like Cameron somehow, if we can play there.
26:51 Just to play there, obviously you want to win.
26:53 But just play a game there.
26:54 And then Fogg Allen at Kansas.
26:56 But if you go down the line, you're like,
26:59 I've been to all of them.
27:00 You know what I mean?
27:01 The pretty cool ones.
27:03 And so yeah, man, I was just super impressed.
27:05 Overall, I thought every guy that checked in the game
27:10 had like a moment and contributed to it.
27:14 Graham was fantastic.
27:15 Anton Watson, Ben Greig, Nemhardt,
27:18 I talked about one for seven, but one of his best floor
27:20 games, controlled the pace, was terrific as a point guard.
27:24 Nolan was great in the first half, gives us 17.
27:27 He really was great in the first half.
27:29 Dusty had four rebounds, right?
27:30 OK, like played his tail off, only took one field goal,
27:33 but he had four rebounds.
27:34 We just talked about Braden.
27:36 I thought Luka, he played 2 and 1/2 minutes,
27:37 but he comes into a first half of a big game.
27:40 And I'm always looking like defensively
27:42 how he was completely fine.
27:44 You know what I mean?
27:45 So really impressed, man.
27:49 It was really cool for this club to get that type of win.
27:54 And like I said earlier, we shoot four for 18.
27:58 We don't shoot it really good, and I don't have to sit here
28:00 and talk about it.
28:01 It's like, because we made other plays, right?
28:03 And we controlled the glass.
28:04 We killed them on the glass, plus 12.
28:06 18 offensive rebounds.
28:09 So we get 15 second chance points.
28:12 We get 50 points in the paint, which is crazy.
28:16 So we really just kind of won the hustle game situation.
28:24 The free throw shooting was good.
28:25 21 and 24 is obviously fantastic.
28:28 They go 23, 28, so both teams pretty much awash.
28:31 And I thought the whistle was actually really fair.
28:34 They missed that one out of bounds
28:36 where the kid stepped out.
28:39 And then I thought the chop down on Nolan,
28:41 where they called a jump, was really weird late in the game.
28:44 That was a foul.
28:44 It was like his arm was clearly across his leg.
28:50 Yeah, he hammered him.
28:51 He was like, jump.
28:53 But I was like, well, we're going
28:54 to get homework on the road.
28:56 But Ben Gray got the play, the defensive play
29:01 at the end of the game to block that lob, steal that lob.
29:04 Which I love Cal.
29:05 And I think he's actually good for college basketball.
29:10 I think he actually tries to help dudes out.
29:12 You know what I mean?
29:14 But that's the weirdest play call,
29:16 is to call a backdoor lob in that situation.
29:19 Because it just leaves you with one action.
29:22 And then if it doesn't work, then you're fucked.
29:24 So it was just a weird call.
29:25 Thank you for calling that.
29:28 They're hard to set up.
29:30 And then if it doesn't--
29:32 you can't have one action at this level.
29:34 You know what I'm saying?
29:35 You've got to have multiple options.
29:37 If I was him, I would have just gave it to that Reed kid
29:40 and just fucking space the floor.
29:42 You know what I mean?
29:43 It's easy to say, but he's rolling them.
29:44 Just space the floor, high ball screen,
29:47 and then make us have to read and react to what he does.
29:53 But yeah, overall, great win.
29:56 This will help us at large thing.
30:01 But I don't think it puts us guaranteed in the NCAA
30:05 tournament.
30:05 No.
30:06 It just doesn't.
30:06 No.
30:08 We moved up a little bit on the net.
30:09 Obviously, it gives us a quad one win.
30:13 The number was-- what was the number?
30:18 I think we were four and six, quad one and quad two wins.
30:23 OK.
30:24 So when people always talk about quad one,
30:27 they usually list quad one and quad twos.
30:29 What you are is--
30:30 Oh, together.
30:31 Yes.
30:31 Well, yeah, they talk about them both
30:33 because there's a lot of good quad two teams, right?
30:37 Hundreds and 75s.
30:39 You know what I mean?
30:40 That are close and are good teams.
30:44 So obviously, it helps.
30:48 But again, I don't think it just--
30:50 I think-- I don't think it puts us in the tournament.
30:54 So I think if we can get a win at St. Mary's, absolutely,
30:58 would help.
31:00 San Francisco is going to help.
31:01 And I think it helps that we're not playing at USF.
31:05 We've kind of struggled there.
31:07 So playing in Chase will help.
31:08 Chase Center where the Warriors play.
31:10 And that'll be a lot of our fans, just how it works.
31:13 That does take the game down from like a--
31:16 because it's a neutral site, technically, correct?
31:18 No, it'll count as a home game.
31:20 Oh, it does sound kind of-- OK.
31:21 Yeah.
31:22 That's how they do it.
31:23 So even though we played at--
31:27 when we played Pepperdine, it still counts as a home game.
31:30 Right, OK.
31:30 Even though it's neutral.
31:32 I know what you're saying.
31:33 But on paper, it says it's a home game.
31:37 That's why a lot of times, people
31:39 would ask FUE why in the past.
31:42 Like, how come you're not playing Eastern or Washington
31:47 State there?
31:48 If it counts as a home game, I want to be at home then.
31:51 You know what I'm saying?
31:53 That stuff matters.
31:54 People don't realize sometimes those little variations
31:57 do matter.
31:59 So yeah, I mean, it definitely helps.
32:00 Like I said, if we get a win at St. Mary's and a win at USF,
32:05 it gives us good fodder.
32:06 And then-- all right, I'm going to go scenario,
32:10 worst case, best case.
32:13 I know we still have Pacific, LMU coming up.
32:17 LMU will be difficult down there, in my opinion.
32:19 Pacific stinks.
32:20 Like 350 and then that.
32:21 Like, whatever.
32:23 I know we only beat them by nine.
32:24 We usually do better at home against them.
32:27 But we'll be fine.
32:29 Our guys will handle-- take care of business.
32:32 But let's say we beat San Francisco, St. Mary's.
32:36 We went out and we finished second, right, by a game.
32:41 And St. Mary's wins out but loses to us, right?
32:44 So we finish second.
32:45 I think if we have those two wins
32:47 and then we get to the championship game,
32:52 and let's just say, God forbid, we lose to St. Mary's
32:55 and they beat us close and we lose by really close,
33:00 I think that's the worst case scenario for us--
33:04 or the best case by not winning it that we get in.
33:10 If we slip up other than that before then,
33:12 we're going to have to win the tournament no matter what.
33:15 Now is that 100% true for--
33:17 I think it gives us a great shot.
33:19 But obviously, we'd have to delve into the numbers
33:22 when it gets closer.
33:23 But I think that's the best worst case scenario we got left.
33:29 Get what I'm saying?
33:30 Yeah, 100% agree.
33:31 We have to win out and then get to the championship game.
33:34 And then maybe lose--
33:36 but look good losing, if that makes sense--
33:38 but lose closely.
33:40 But also, I've talked about this in the past.
33:44 We've had other groups in the situation just go win
33:48 bleep in two games in Las Vegas and then
33:50 you don't have to worry about it.
33:52 And I think this team is really starting to come together.
33:55 And it's not just the Kentucky win.
33:58 They kicked the shit out of Portland.
34:00 You could see Ben Gregg's been in the starting lineup
34:04 for 11 games now.
34:05 And I think it's the right move and playing hard
34:09 and all those things and gelling together at the right time.
34:14 And sometimes it takes that where you have some doubt
34:17 and there's some anxiety.
34:19 And then also, these guys probably hear the noise.
34:23 And just to be fair and honest, it's probably not
34:25 fun to listen to.
34:26 But some of the criticism is they're smart kids.
34:29 It's natural to be like, oh, are we
34:31 going to go to the tournament this year?
34:32 So I really think this team is treading
34:36 in the right direction.
34:37 St. Mary's going to be a hell of a challenge down there.
34:40 They're hard to beat.
34:41 But if you think back to that game,
34:44 we had so many opportunities to win.
34:45 And we didn't play great.
34:46 And they beat us by two.
34:48 So that's where you keep going like,
34:51 if we just put a complete game against these suckers,
34:53 we should win.
34:54 We're more talented.
34:55 We're better.
34:56 You know what I mean?
34:57 If you just play the way we know we can, I think we'll be fine.
35:03 So all in all, Kentucky was great.
35:06 Atmosphere was cool.
35:08 Highly recommend if you're just a fan of college basketball,
35:11 you can make it to a game there, go.
35:13 It's cool.
35:13 The pageantry is cool.
35:14 People are super nice.
35:16 I was wearing my Gonzaga hat all around.
35:18 Nobody gives you shit.
35:19 Walking to the game, there's tons of fans waiting outside.
35:22 Sometimes you get people that are just kind of rude
35:27 or whatever.
35:27 Oh, hey, guys.
35:28 Good luck today.
35:29 You know, like Southern Charm.
35:30 Like, it's real.
35:31 Yeah, that's awesome.
35:32 Super nice people.
35:34 I'll be curious to see.
35:37 They've never lost four home games in a row.
35:39 And they got Ole Miss coming up.
35:40 So yeah, it was weird after the game.
35:46 They do.
35:47 So the perimeter will be right back
35:50 after a word from our sponsor.
35:52 Hey, it's Olive.
35:53 I just got my first ICCU debit card.
35:56 Now I just need some money in my account.
35:58 If only there was someone who could transfer in some allowance.
36:02 Wow.
36:08 It was weird after the game.
36:11 They do.
36:11 So Huddie and I obviously have our post-game show,
36:15 which sucks, by the way.
36:16 It doesn't suck, but it can be long.
36:18 30 minutes would be better, but anyway, it pays bills.
36:21 They have their radio show, and it goes over the loudspeaker,
36:26 right?
36:27 Like their post-game.
36:28 Calipari comes out and fucking sits there
36:31 and does a radio show for like 20 minutes after the game.
36:35 And there's probably--
36:36 I'm not even joking-- 200 people sitting in the stands
36:40 and just sitting there listening to him.
36:42 So we're doing our thing, and there's still
36:44 a ton of Kentucky fans behind us.
36:46 And they just lost.
36:48 And he has to come out and do a radio show live.
36:51 And it's going on.
36:53 And people have basketballs for him to sign and stuff.
36:55 It was a weird--
36:56 That's crazy.
36:57 It's weird.
36:58 It was awkward because you're like, you know,
37:02 are they going to yell at us?
37:04 You know what I mean?
37:04 I don't know.
37:05 It was awkward.
37:06 And then also, I know he gets paid a ton, so I get that.
37:11 But it would be weird after every time
37:14 you have a failure at a job, you have to go sit there and wear
37:17 it every time.
37:18 You know what I mean?
37:19 There's one thing going to the press box,
37:20 but then going on a radio show and people watching you,
37:24 and you have to be like, well, our guys
37:26 weren't very good tonight, but I suck too.
37:28 You just have to wear it.
37:29 This is awkward, man.
37:32 I could never imagine Phiu doing that.
37:34 Hell no.
37:35 But that's why the big blue is such a different world, man.
37:38 Totally.
37:39 It's one of the top--
37:41 it's got to be the top five jobs easily for college basketball.
37:46 You go Duke, them, who else?
37:50 I think Arizona is one of those now.
37:53 I think we were in that echelon, but not as big as of school
37:59 and resources as far as backside money.
38:04 Who else?
38:05 I mean, it used to be UCLA, but--
38:06 UCLA, but yeah, I don't think anymore.
38:09 I know it's football, but their head coach
38:12 is left to go take a coordinator job.
38:14 It tells you collectives and NIL right there.
38:16 You know what I mean?
38:17 That tells you right there, that's scary.
38:20 If your head coach leaves to go be a coordinator,
38:24 that takes a pay cut.
38:26 It's like, I'm out, man.
38:27 Screw this.
38:27 Maybe Michigan State?
38:29 That's a good one.
38:30 Michigan State, yeah, you're right.
38:32 For the Midwest, Ohio State used to be kind of there.
38:36 But yeah, Kentucky is one of the all-timers, man.
38:41 So it was really cool, again, that the university
38:45 gets that win, has that notch.
38:47 There's not very many left of special things
38:50 this program can do.
38:51 Obviously win a national championship,
38:53 but I'm talking about home games in a row,
38:56 like all these weird streaks.
38:57 Or if you won here or there, you played there,
38:59 there's not many left.
39:01 So I was really proud of the guys, really cool.
39:05 And like I said, I didn't know it was a six-game series,
39:07 so it's pretty sweet.
39:08 So I think-- I'm not completely sure,
39:12 but I think next year that's what the battle in Seattle
39:15 will be.
39:16 Or we're playing them in Seattle.
39:17 I don't know if it'll be labeled as that,
39:19 or whatever it's called now.
39:21 You know what I mean?
39:23 What we did with UConn.
39:24 UConn, yeah.
39:25 But then I think we go Tennessee or something like that close,
39:31 Nashville or something, or something like that.
39:34 And then it goes home and home.
39:35 So that'd be cool.
39:36 Yeah, that would be cool.
39:37 A few years to have Kentucky come to our place.
39:39 And then I think we go back there one more time.
39:42 It's cool that they did a six-game series,
39:44 because Cal and Philly are buddies.
39:47 So it's cool that they had the guts to do that.
39:51 Most programs don't.
39:53 We'll play you neutral, neutral.
39:54 And it's just like, man, this is stupid.
39:57 It's dumb.
39:57 Neutrals are dumb.
39:58 I get them.
39:59 They make more money.
40:01 But sometimes it's just like, OK.
40:04 Even if you have a really big brand,
40:08 normally it's only like 3/4 full, if that, half full.
40:13 The only time it's been full full
40:15 is when we played Duke in Vegas that one year, or two years.
40:19 We won Chet's deal, Chet and Ben Carroll.
40:22 Right?
40:23 But other than that, it's just like, uh.
40:27 The Seattle one used to be cool just because we
40:30 were growing so much.
40:31 But I get it that they do it now.
40:33 But it does.
40:34 You're losing a home game.
40:36 You're losing a home game.
40:37 Exactly.
40:37 So I just wish that we would just do the home and home.
40:41 But I get it.
40:42 There's dollars.
40:43 You make way more money doing the neutrals.
40:45 And you split up the revenue.
40:46 Blah, blah, blah.
40:48 But yeah.
40:50 I was going to ask.
40:51 As a player, when you were playing for Grand Saga,
40:53 after a win like this, what is a vibe around with the team?
41:00 Did you just feel like we did it,
41:01 we're-- this is a great momentum boost?
41:04 Yeah.
41:05 I mean, we had-- I'm trying to think of-- we had one
41:08 where we played my sophomore year.
41:10 We played Oklahoma State, who I think
41:12 was three in the country.
41:14 And we played them in Oklahoma City.
41:19 And they had Oklahoma and Oklahoma State
41:21 played back to back.
41:23 And we were the second game.
41:24 And that's when they had the Graham brothers.
41:26 And I think they had-- I think John Lucas was on that team,
41:29 too, I think.
41:31 But they were number three in the country.
41:32 Really good.
41:33 We were in the mid-20s or unranked.
41:37 But we were starting to have a good--
41:39 this is my sophomore year.
41:40 So Rav was new.
41:43 I'm new to the starting lineup.
41:45 It's Roney's year, senior year.
41:48 And kind of overlooked.
41:51 We needed a big win.
41:52 And we just kind of-- similar thing.
41:54 Like outplayed them, out-hustled them.
41:55 They had more talent.
41:57 We didn't win by like four or six or something like that.
41:59 And it was a great vibe afterwards.
42:01 And then it gives you the confidence like, hey,
42:03 we can beat anybody now.
42:04 You know what I mean?
42:05 So I think that would be the vibe.
42:08 And then just to get over the hump with the road
42:10 thing for this team.
42:11 Yeah.
42:11 You know what I mean?
42:13 I understand they beat--
42:15 it was the other team.
42:16 But like a true great road game.
42:19 And then not have the--
42:21 to come back home and everybody's, oh, we're shitty.
42:25 Like you feel bad, man, after a while.
42:26 It's like, OK.
42:27 Like they just haven't executed down the stretch
42:32 with some of these bigger teams.
42:33 It's not like we're losing to just absolute shitters here.
42:36 You know what I'm saying?
42:37 And there's some weird things that happen in the game.
42:40 I think-- look at Santa Clara.
42:41 I mean, it's not the crap on Nembhar.
42:45 But if he makes two free throws, we don't-- probably lose.
42:49 Right?
42:49 You know what I mean?
42:50 And then we're not even talking about that.
42:52 And then U-Dub game, if we don't go on that weird stretch
42:55 where we don't score for however long, we win that game.
42:59 You know what I'm saying?
43:00 Anyway.
43:01 So it's definitely a confidence booster for the guys.
43:07 And they'll feel good about themselves.
43:09 And they should.
43:10 Great win.
43:11 Definitely gives us a better chance for a--
43:14 at large.
43:15 But I still think we got to handle a lot more business.
43:18 But it's so weird if you look at our-- what's our net?
43:21 24.
43:22 So then you're like, I think I've read somewhere--
43:25 or Huddy said it--
43:27 nobody has not made the tournament
43:28 if you're in the top 30 in the net.
43:30 So it's just like, where do we really stand?
43:34 Because, you know, Leonardi and CBS and Fox
43:37 have us the next four out.
43:39 But then we're like, we're 24th in the net.
43:43 It's weird.
43:44 So it's not like we're 68 and begging to get in.
43:47 It's just, I don't know.
43:48 So it's literally going to be, let's just keep stacking wins
43:53 and get to Vegas.
43:54 And then we have a real--
43:56 obviously, we want to win those.
43:57 But we have a real understanding where we stand nationally.
44:01 Yeah, I mean, I think at the end,
44:02 I mean, a lot of things have to fall in place for us
44:06 if that happens to be in that large bid.
44:08 But when you look at the--
44:11 even the losses that we've had, this
44:12 is why Gonzaga plays this type of schedule,
44:15 is because even the losses against quad one teams
44:19 are--
44:19 they're good losses.
44:21 It's not like we're losing--
44:23 we're not playing cupcakes and--
44:26 And losing to them.
44:26 Yeah, exactly.
44:27 No, I agree.
44:28 So it'll be curious.
44:31 Like I said, this definitely helps.
44:33 But we still got a lot of game--
44:36 not a lot of games, but a few games left.
44:38 And only two home games, one on Saturday coming up in specific.
44:43 And then the last one will be Santa Clara.
44:45 And that's obviously a revenge game.
44:48 And then that trip, the USF and St. Mary's is going to be huge.
44:53 So looking forward to that.
44:54 And we'll talk about that when it gets
44:56 closer on another episode.
44:58 Appreciate everybody listening.
44:59 Thank you to our sponsors, McGill for Environmental,
45:03 Idaho Central Credit Union, HDG Architecture.
45:06 See you next week.
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