The NCAA Tournament “matriculates” into the Elite 8 today and Sunday. The No.4 seeded Crimson Tide put on a phenomenal showing Thursday Night at Crypto.com Arena in L.A. defeating the No.1 seed North Carolina Tar Heels in the West Regional, 89-87. Grant Nelson finished with a double-double with 24 points and 12 boards in a terrific performance on both ends of the floor. Nelson shut down North Carolina center Armando Bacot on defense in the second half. Rylan Griffen, who was draining trifectas, going 5 for 8 on the night, finished with 19 points along with his teammate, Aaron Estrada. Mark Sears, who’s been stellar throughout the tournament, added 18. The next step in reaching the Final Four is squaring off with the Clemson Tigers. Prediction below.

The No.2 seeded Tennessee Vols also made the SEC look good with an 82-75 victory over No.4 seeded Creighton in the Midwest Regional in Detroit.

Here’s a look at today and Sunday’s action along with predictions for which teams White’s World

Sports Confidential likes to advance to State Farm Arena in Phoenix next Saturday for the Final Four.

Sweet 16 results

SU: 5-3

ATS: 6-2

Today

East Region

No. 3 Illinois (29-8) vs. No.1 UConn (34-3)

TD Garden, Boston

5:09 PM CT

TBS/truTV

Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy, Andy Katz

Huskies by 8 1/2

UConn looks unstoppable right now, but you never know. The Illini is a very good team with dynamic offense and pretty good D. But gotta go with UConn. They’re a machine right now. Not saying they’ve got the national championship in the bag because they don’t. I just like’em today.

Huskies 80, Illinois 70

West Region

No.6 Clemson (24-11) vs. No.4 Alabama (24-11)

Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles

7:49 PM CT

TBS/truTV

Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson, Allie LaForce

Bama by 3 1/2

Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Nick Pringle are game time decisions for the Tide today, but I would think Pringle would play, and I know the Tide’s hoping they’re excellent shooting guard will join him. The Crimson Tide has found lightning in a bottle in the NCAA Tournament and their victory over the Tar Heels Thursday Night was a stellar performance by the entire team. Grant Nelson took over in the second half and Rylan Griffen was on the money from three. The Tide lost to Clemson in Tuscaloosa back in late November at the ACC/SEC Challenge, 85-77, but they’re a different team this NCAA postseason. They’re hot, and that can take you a very long way in March.

Alabama 75, Clemson 71

Sunday

Midwest Region

No. 2 Tennessee (27-8) vs. No.1 Purdue (32-4)

Little Caesar’s Arena, the Motor City

1:20 PM CT

CBS

Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas, Evan Washburn

Purdue by 3 1/2

Tennessee is a highly talented and athletic team led by their great forward Dalton Knecht, who poured in 26 versus Creighton last night in an 82-75 Vols’victory. Point guard Zakai Zeigler is just as valuable to his team. He finished with 18 and 6 assists last night. But I’m going to take Purdue to take the next step and advance to Phoenix led by their seven foot, 260 pound big man Zach Edey, who averaged 24.6 points and 12 rebounds this year and will very likely be the Wooden Award winner for the best player in college basketball this season. That would be back to back for Edey. He finished with 27 and 14 last night in their 80-68 victory over Gonzaga.

Boilermakers 73, Vols 69

South Region

No.11 NC State (25-14) vs. No.4 Duke (27-8)

American Airlines Center, Big D

4:06 PM CT

CBS

Ian, Bill, Grant, Trace

Duke by 6 1/2

I picked the Wolfpack to go to the championship game versus Connecticut in my bracket, and while that’s not set in stone as far as Connecticut and NC State go, I like the Pack here led by their all everything big man, DJ Burns Jr., who only finished with 4 points and 4 rebounds last night, but added 7 assists. The 6’9”, 275 pound senior has been a dominant player in March and is one of the best passing big men I’ve seen in a while in the college game He’s a strong scorer and rebounder as well They have other key assets as well. This would be their ninth victory in a row if they can outlast the Blue Devils. They split the season with Duke losing to the Blue Devils on Monday, March 4th @ Raleigh, 79-64, but then defeating Duke i in the second round of the ACC Tournament in D.C. 74-69, as part of their winning 5 in a row to capture the ACC Tournament Championship. Give me Burns Jr. and the Wolfpack. They just seem special to me like the Crimson Tide.

NC State 76, Duke 74

The Sweet 16 tips off Thursday with the Crimson Tide and Tennessee Vols representing the SEC as teams compete to earn the right to play in the Final Four at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix on Saturday, April 6th. Game times on Saturday, 4/6 are at 5 and 7:30 PM CT. The Championship Game is Monday night, April 8th, at 8:20 PM CT. All 3 games will be broadcast by TBS.

State Farm Stadium holds 63,400 fans, and will be rocking. The pressure and electricity of the Sweet 16 will be ratcheted up for the players Thursday and Friday as they compete for the ultimate goal of making it to Phoenix and cutting down the nets on Monday Night, April 8th at approximately 10:30 CT.

Auburn and Kentucky took tough losses in the round of 64. John Calipari’s coaching acumen is being questioned after No.3 seed Kentucky lost to 14th seed Oakland in the South Regional. Calipari looks to still recruit the five star freshmen heavily, but add older transfers as well. I like 60-40 freshmen to transfers mix. You gotta like the 5 stars, but you also need veterans to go along with them. Calipari’s on floor coaching has always been a question mark for me.

Pearly had a tough ending as No. 14 Yale, like Oakland, couldn’t miss from trifecta in defeating the No.4 seeded Tigers. That seems to happen in the NCAA Tournament. Sometimes the Cinderella team doesn’t miss from 3 and they’re unbeatable. That’s what happened to the Tigers and Wildcats. Pearly is a yeller and screamer and sometimes you wonder if he overdoes it and makes his team tight in key moments. That’s something to examine more closely in 2025.

The Crimson Tide won a slugfest over Grand Canyon last Sunday Night, 72-61. The defense was outstanding, and Mark Sears was sensational. Sears poured in 26 as he was 8 of 18 from the field, 5-of-11 from trifecta, and 5 of 6 from the stripe. He also pulled down 12 boards and added six assists. What an effort. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. suffered a head injury in the game in the first half, but will be playing Thursday Night versus North Carolina. Sears will need to get more help from Aaron Estrada and Rylan Griffen as well. Both are capable. Nick Pringle will have to lock down on D like he did against Grand Canyon and Grant Nelson will need to be a factor. One guy who really gave the Crimson Tide a lift Sunday was freshman Mouhamed Dioubate. The 6’7”, 215 pound power forward scored 9 key points and pulled down 5 boards in a superb performance in 13 minutes of action versus the Lopes. He was the difference maker along with Sears, of course.

So there is some electric action forthcoming in the Sweet 16. Here are my predictions for the matchups.

Numbers in front of teams are seedings for the Region.

All times Central

Thursday, 3/28

West Region

No.6 Clemson (23-11) vs. No. 2 Arizona (27-8)

Cryto.com Arena, Los Angeles (formerly the Staples Center, 19,079)

6:09 PM

CBS

Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson, Allie LaForce

Zona by 7 1/2

Clemson coach Brad Brownell said after the matchups had been announced on Selection Sunday that the ACC played a much tougher non-conference schedule than the Big 12 did even though the Big 12 got 8 teams in the tournament and the ACC got only 5 in. He pretty much said the Big 12 was overrated. Four teams from the ACC have advanced to the Sweet 16 while only two from the Big 12 have. Clemson defeated Baylor 72-64 last Sunday in the round of 32. So Coach Brownell has a strong argument. Arizona usually struggles by the Sweet 16, so I like Clemson to pull off the upset.

Clemson 70, ‘Zona 68

East Region

No. 5 San Diego State (26-10) vs. No. 1 UConn (33-3)

TD Garden, Boston, 19,580

6:39 PM

TBS/truTV. Channel 780 on Spectrum, 247 on DirecTV

Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy, Andy Katz

UConn by 11 1/2

The Huskies look as dominant as last year. I don’t know if they’re any better, but they’re just as good.

UConn 74, SDSU 61

West

No. 4 Alabama (23-11) vs. No.1 North Carolina (29-7)

Crypto, L.A.

8:39 PM

CBS

Anderson, Jackson, Allie

UNC by 4 1/2

North Carolina has the studs in guard RJ Davis (21.3 ppg), 6 ‘11”, 240 center Armando Bacot (14.4 10.2 rebounds), Harrison Ingram (12.2 ppg 39% trifecta), Cormac Ryan (11.3) among other stellar players. However, I do like the athletes for Alabama even more. This will be hard fought. I’ll take Chapel Hill, but I like the Crimson Tide to give the Tar Heels everything they want.

North Carolina 87, Alabama 84

East

No. 3 Illinois (28-8) vs. No.2 Iowa State (29-7)

TD Garden, Boston

9:09 PM

TBS/truTV

Harlan, Bonner, Van Gundy, Katz

Iowa State by 1 1/2

Vegas expects this to be a close one. I like the Illini to pull off the slight upset.

Illinois 64, Iowa State 60

Friday, 3/29

South Region

No.11 NC State (24-14) vs. No.2 Marquette (27-9)

American Airlines Center, Dallas, 20,000

6:09 PM

CBS

Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Trace Wolfson

Marquette by 6 1/2

I don’t like picking against one of my Final Four selections, so I’ll stick to my guns and take the Wolfpack.

NC State 75, Marquette 74

Midwest

No.5 Gonzaga (27-7) vs. No.1 Purdue (31-4)

Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, 20,491

6:39 PM

TBS/ truTV

Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas, Evan Washburn

Boilers by 5 1/2

The Zags are clutch, and Mark Few is one of the best coaches in college basketball, if not the best. Give me the Zags to upset the Boilermakers.

Gonzaga 80, Purdue 76

South

No. 4 Duke (26-8) vs. No.1 Houston (32-4)

Big D

8:39 PM

CBS

Eagle, Raft, Grant, Trace

Houston by 4 1/2

I don’t think any other team is playing as well as Duke is right now. Maybe Gonzaga. Give me the Blue Devils in the upset. Another ACC over Big 12 victory.

Duke 69, Houston 66

Midwest

No. 3 Creighton (25-9) vs. No.2 Tennessee (26-8)

Motor City

9:09 PM

TBS/truTV

Catalon, Lappas, Washburn

UT by 2 1/2

Give me the Bluejays from Warren Buffet country in Omaha in the slight upset over “Regular season” Rick and the Vols.

Creighton 67, Tennessee 64

2024 MLB Predictions

The changes that were implemented into Major League Baseball last season turned out to be a resounding success. The 20 second pitch clock, the removal of the defensive shift, the larger bases (though not sure about that) and the regulation of pickoff moves to two helped speed up the games to 2 to 2 1/2 hours, and led to better hitting and more stolen bases. It was a much more exciting season with the Texas Rangers capturing the World Series in 5 games over the Arizona DBacks.

My daughter, a native of Fort Worth, was ecstatic with the ultimate outcome. I was, too. The two of us and her boyfriend went to a Rangers-Mariners game at plush Globe Life Field last June and had a complete blast. The Rangers looked great that night in a 2-1 victory over the Mariners in a 2 hour 10 minute game that saw the stars, Marcus Semien, Corey Seagar and Jon Gray flash their brilliance. Really got into the guys from DFW after that. Going back to see Fairbanks and Hayden again in June and we have tickets to the Rangers/Giants.

After the Wild Card round, I picked the Rangers to defeat the Braves in the Fall Classic in 7 and for Seagar to be the MVP of the Series. They defeated the DBacks in 5 in the Series, but Seagar was the MVP. In my preseason picks, I projected the Braves over the Rays in 6.

Now it’s a new season and the Dodgers have loaded up spending $1.2 billion in free agent acquisitions. The great Shohei Ohtani has signed up with the Dodgers for the largest contract in sports history; 10 years, $700 million. The former LA Angel came up I-5 from Anaheim to Chavez Ravine where he will showcase his immense talent as a Dodger this season. Ohanti’s interpreter is accused of stealing millions from him to pay off gambling debts and to buy expnsive items, so there is pressure and controversy surrounding Ohtani, though I think he’s innocent of any wrongdoing. Seems like a good guy to me and an all world hitter and pitcher. He will not pitch this season as he’s recovering from an arm injury. But he will DH for the Dodgers. Then you have Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman hitting in front of him. That’s dynamic.

The Braves have another prolific lineup. One to nine, they look just as strong as the Dodgers, if not stronger. If their pitching can come through, they can win another World Championship; their third in franchise history along with the 1995 and 2021 titles. Ronald Acuna, Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley among others are hitting machines/sluggers at the plate They remind me of the 1970’s with the Pirates featuring Stargell and the great Clemente and the Big Red Machine with Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench and George Foster. The Braves with Hammerin’ Hank and Rico Carty, “the Beeg Boy” were big time sluggers, too, in the ‘70’s.

So, here are my postseason predictions for MLB 2024 along with my World Series champion, and MVP’s and Cy Young’s.

American League

Divison winners

AL East- Baltimore Orioles, tragic what happened in Baltimore two nights ago on the Frances Scott Key Bridge.

AL Central- Minnesota Twins

AL West- Houston Astros

Wild Cards, 1. Rangers, 2. Rays, 3. Mariners.

AL Wild Card games, Best 2 out of 3

Mariners over Twins in 3

Rangers over Rays in 2

ALDS, best 3 out of 5

O’s over Mariners in 3

Rangers over Astros in 5

ALCS, Best 4 out of 7

Rangers over O’s in 7

Like the defending champs to make it back to the Fall Classic. Bruce Bochy is the best manager in baseball.

National League

Division Winners

NL East- Braves

NL Central- Cubs

NL West- Dodgers

Wild Cards, 1. Phillies, DBacks, 3. Giants

NL Wild Card Winners

Cubs over Giants in 3

Phillies over Dbacks in 3

NLDS

Braves over Cubs in 3

Dodgers over Phillies in 5

NLCS

Braves over Dodgers in 7, slight upset, but not really.

World Series

Braves over Rangers in 7. The defending champs don’t go down without a fight.

World Series Most Valuable Player- Matt Olson

NL MVP

Shohei Ohtani-gets through the controversy and excels.

NL Cy Young

Spencer Strider, Braves

AL MVP

Corey Seagar, Texas

AL Cy Young

Gerrit Cole, Yanks

Vanderbilt University has hired former James Madison head coach Mark Byington as its new men’s head basketball coach. I like this hire a lot.

I’ve read where some are disappointed about this, but I’m elated.

Byington just went 32-4 at JMU this season and defeated Michigan State on the road the first game of the season and also defeated Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last Friday. His team got hammered by Duke yesterday in the second round, but they looked a little nervous having not been on this stage before. Duke played out of their minds as well and they’re a terrific team already.

Byington is a 47 year old native of Salem, Virginia near Roanoke in southwestern Virginia. He coached Georgia Southern from 2014-2020 and his last 3 teams won 20 or more games. He didn’t take those teams to the NCAA Tournament, but Georgia Southern wasn’t exactly a basketball powerhouse to begin with. He took over at James Madison for the 2020-21 season and in four seasons compiled an 82-36 record, 70%. His team went 13-7 in a shortened 2020-21 season, 15-14 in ‘21-22, 22-11 and 12-6 in the Sun Belt which they transitioned to in ‘22-23, and this year achieved massive success.

This is a very positive hire by Candice. I appreciate her getting the right person for the program. That’s well done by our Athletics Director.

 Bucky McMillan would have been a good hire, but he is only 40 and has only four years of experience as a college head coach. He would have been worth a shot, but I like Byington just as well, if not more. 

Coach Byington will have to assemble a team after some defections from the program. Vandy Sports was reporting that he might be able to keep Tyrin Lawrence. Ezra Manjon is unfortunately out of eligibility. Colin Smith, Lee Dort and Paul Lewis are transferring. Smith is the biggest loss as Dort has legal issues and Lewis struggled this season as Ezra Manjon was tremendous and hard to get off the court.

He’ll have to prove he can recruit in the SEC, so that’ll be a challenge. But I believe in Coach Byington. He does well with the portal, and hoping he can bring in some stellar freshmen also. You still have to recruit talented young players who are solid people for the foundation of your program.He’ll need to hit the ground running to assemble a 2024-25 team. I’m looking forward to seeing his product next season. Like what he’s accomplished and what he can do in Memorial. The Collective is much better for recruiting and retaining players, and the new facilities are exceptional.

Byingron likes the athletic, uptempo style that gets after it on defense, which is what you want in this day and age of college basketball. I’m excited about Coach Byington and I like what we’re getting.

Vandy Boys

Baseball needs to regroup for Valparaiso tomorrow, Tuesday, at 6 PM @ the Hawk and Thursday through Saturday at the Hawk vs Missouri. Game time Thursday is 6 PM on SEC Network+. Friday’s game is also at 6 PM and will be broadcast by SECN+. And Saturday’s game will commence at 1 PM on the SEC Network. Will try to get something out later this week. Took some major body blows at South Carolina, as we got swept, so we just need  to put that behind us, as painful as it was, and improve this week and go undefeated starting tomorrow versus Valpo.

Our No.3 Vanderbilt Baseball team (D1 Baseball.com rankings) completed a tremendous sweep of Auburn over the weekend at the Hawk, and last night got stellar pitching and defense in a 3-1 victory over Belmont at First Horizon Park in Nashville.

First to the Auburn series’ victories. Friday Night, our great junior Carter Holton went 7, gave up one earned run, 4 hits with a walk and 9 K’s in a spectacular performance as our Dores blasted the Tigers, 11-1. Freshman Brennan Seiber of Newport Beach, Cali, finished off the final 8th inning with 1 hit, 0 runs, and 1 walk. We run-ruled them in the 8th as we went up by 10 runs , 11-1 after 7, and if a team is up by 10 at that point, the game is over. Jayden Davis had a tremendous night going 4 for 5 with a triple and 2 Ribbies. Catcher Alan Epinal, maybe the leader of this team, but there are several, had two hits, and shortstop Jonathan Vastine hit a there run shot, his third of the season. We don’t hit a ton of home runs, but when you pound out 13 hits and score 11 runs, just enough home run hitting is enough. And we CAN hit it out of the yard. We seem to do so in the clutch, which is what you need. After the Belmont game last night, we are hitting .326 as a team and have posted a 3.85 ERA as a pitching staff. Our defense is fielding at a .982 clip, which is excellent. Coach Corbin calls it, “solid.” We are a complete team right now, but Corbs says we will not get complacent. He is not going to let that happen. I certainly believe our great coach and our stellar players also won’t allow that to happen. Want to be playing deep into June, so we’re going to have to battle every day in practice and in games. There are no let-ups in the SEC.

Saturday, our awesome first baseman RJ Austin, more on RJ in a second, was 3 for 4 with 3 Ribeyes including his second homer of the season; a leadoff shot to start the game. And the great Espinal was 4 for 4 with 4 RBIs. Davis was 2 for 5 with an RBI, and Calvin Hewitt and Vastine both had two hits and each drove in a run. We pounded out 17 hits on the day. Junior Bryce Cunningham went 5, gave up 4 hits, with 3 runs, only one of which was earned, 3 walks and 5 K’s. Miller Green, Alex Kranzler and Ryan Ginther finished it off.

Sunday, we won 9-6 pounding out 17 hits again. Vastine was 4 for 5 with 3 Ribeyes. Austin, Espinal, Troy LaNeve, who’s another leader on the team as a fifth year senior, and Davis, each had two hits. Devin Futrell got roghed around a little bit giving up 5 earned on 9 hits with a walk and 2 K’s, but I like having Devin on our team because he’s such an awesome competitor and a tremendous strike thrower. Love Futrell. Greyson Carter came in and hit 99 and 101 on the radar gun. Wow. Greyson went 3, gave up 3 hits, 1 earned with 0 walks and 4 K’s. Greyson was totally stellar. And Ginther came in for the 9th, gave up a walk but 0 runs and earned his third save. Feel good with Ginther as our closer. He’s got great stuff, and, like a lot of our guys, throws a lot of strikes.

Last night, freshman stud left hander Ethan McElvain started in place of JD Thompson, whom I guess was getting a break. Ethan pitched well, going 4, giving up 3 hits, 0 runs with a walk and 3 K’s. Sam Hliboki, Kranzler, sophomore lefty Levi Huesman, David Horn Jr., and Seiber finished it off as we emerged victorious, 3-1. Sophomore catcher Logan Poteet, giving Espinal a break behind the dish, hit a homer, his second of the season. Poteet has been impressive in midweek games as Espinal’s replacement. Alan still DH’s. Have to have his bat in the lineup as much as possible, along with his competitive spirit, leadership and superior defense.

RJ did not play last night as he took a ground ball to his face, sorry to be graphic, in warmups and was unable to go. Coach Corbin just said he was sore afterwards. Don’t need to lose RJ for any length of time. We’ve shown to have great depth as we’ve had injuries with Chris Maldonado out for the season and Jack Bulger missing a lot of time though Jack is back. Some other nicks and bruises. Hoping we can get RJ back for South Carolina this weekend.

As I wrote earlier, we are hitting .326 as a team. Our hitters are superb. Espinal is our leading hitter at .392. RJ is hitting .376 and has stolen 15 of 18 bases. Jayden is hitting .341. Vastine, who is a weapon in the nine hole in the batting order, is on fire hitting .329. Calvin Hewitt is hitting .322 and is 14 of 15 in stolen bases. LaNeve is hitting .313 and leads us with 23 RBIs. He also has 7 doubles on the season. Vastine leads us in that category with 9. We have 54 doubles on the season in 22 games. That’s awesome. Third baseman Davis Diaz has his bat going again and is hitting .286. He was at .260 going into last weekend, so it’s good to see our junior back to hitting like he can. He also plays excellent third base. I love our entire defense. Calvin is doing a tremendous job in centerfield. RJ’s been good at first and Jayden Davis has really improved as a second basemen, and looks highly capable there. Love Vastine at short. He’s a stud there. Jacob Humphrey provides great depth in the outfield. If we have any injuries there, Jacob can start. He has great speed, defensive skills and an excellent bat. He’d start for a lot of teams. He’ll get his opportunities this season. Freshman Braden Holcomb started in RJ’s spot at first base last night. The frosh is trying to get his sea legs under him on defense, but his bat will be electric for us. A lot of power there, and he might need to help us soon. Camden Kozeal is just getting back from injury. Cam has an awesome bat, so he’s a factor at DH.

Holton is 3-0 with a 3.96 ERA, and it keeps getting better and better. Love our Friday Night lefty from Guyton. GA, near Savannah. Our Saturday guy, Cunningham, is 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA. Holton has walked 8 and K’d 39, Cunningham has walked 12 and K’d 36. Futrell is 2-0 with a 4.67 ERA. He’s walked three and struck out 20. I’m sure Devin wants to get his ERA down, but give me Devin Futrell all day on Sundays. Love his competitive spirit. He’s a warrior.

Ginther has an 0.90 ERA, has walked 4 and K’d 9. Our middle relief has been solid.

So I love where our team is at right now. We are now 19-3 and ranked No.3 in the country by both D-1 Baseball.com and Perfect Game. In the D1 poll, Arkansas is No.1, Oregon State is No.2- it’s been a minute since they’ve been back in the top 5 though they won it all in 2006, 2007, 2017 and 2018-we’re No.3, Clemson is 4, LSU is 5, Florida is 6, A&M is 7, Tennessee is 8, Duke is 9, and East Carolina is 10. Alabama is 11, Mississippi State is 21 and Auburn is 22.

South Carolina fell out of the poll this week after going 1-2 @ Ole Miss last weekend. They are 16-5 overall and 1-2 in the SEC.

Friday’s game is at 6 PM CT, Saturday’s is at 3 PM CT, and Sunday’s first pitch is at 12:30 PM CT. All three games will be broadcast by SEC Network+.

One last note: Espinal was selected SEC player of the week for his performances against Indiana last Tuesday and over the weekend against Auburn. Espinal posted eight hits for the weekend, which tied him with Jayden Davis for the most in the conference. For the week, he had 10 hits and had multi-hit performances in all 4 games, including a four hit game on Saturday. So great stuff from our senior from Viera, Florida.

We’ve got an outstanding team of terrific competitors. Just need to stay as healthy as we can. Will keep you posted on Gamecocks series. Another big weekend for us in the SEC.

Men’s Golf dominates at Pauma Valley Invitational

Our Vanderbilt Men’s Golf team bounced back from a fourth place finish at the Cabo Collegiate with a resounding victory at the Pauma Valley Invitational played Monday and Tuesday in California. We finished 20 under and defeated second place San Diego by 7 shots. They finished -13. Cole Sherwood finished tied for 4th individually with a score of six under par. Wells Williams, competing as an individual, shot 5 under. Gordon Sargent shot -3, with a 4 under 67 in the first round. Matthew Riedel and Jackson Van Paris, coming off his stellar 10th place showing at the Puerto Rico Open on the PGA Tour where he got an exemption to play, shot 2 under for the tournament. And, collectively, our team was a machine. I know Coach Limbaugh was happy with the guys bouncing back from Cabo. What a performance. Fourth place at Cabo is good for a lot of teams, but our expectations are so high, we feel like we can win every time out, and a lot of times we do. Just gotta keep building off this victory.

Our No.3 ranked team heads to Palm City, Florida next Monday to play in the Valspar Collegiate Invitational. The tournament is a two day event Monday and Tuesday. I don’t know this for a fact, but I’m thinking there will be two rounds Monday, like there were at the Pauma, and then a third round on Tuesday. Will keep you posted on our tremendous team. Good to have them back in the winners’ circle. Fourth place in a loaded field at Cabo is a good showing for a lot of teams, and it’s fine for us. We’re just so good, we expect to win every time out. That’s what Scott Limbaugh has built at Vanderbilt. We’ve got a shot to go a long way this season and win it all like we always do. Auburn is presently ranked No.1 in the country and UNC is 2. We’re next. Just gotta keep building during the regular season. The Valspar is next.

Women’s Basketball at the NCAA Tournament

Our terrific women’s basketball team will play Columbia at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, VA. in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with tip off at 8 PM CT today. The game will be broadcast by ESPNU. We are 22-9 and they are 22-6. Both teams are 12 seeds. Hoping Coach Shea Ralph and the team can emerge with a victory and advance in the tourney. It’s great to be good again in women’s basketball. Love what Coach Ralph is doing with our team and the program. If you can’t watch it, I’ll let you know what happens tomorrow in a blast and a tweet.

Another name in our Men’s Basketball Coaching Search

Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang is another name that has come up for our job. He’d be a good hire. His K-State team went to the Elite Eight last season in his first year and made the NIT this season. His teams are fast, athletic, play great D and can score a lot. I like the look of his teams. He was Scott Drew’s assistant at Baylor for several years before getting the K State job. Still like the Bucky McMillan (Samford), Mark Byington (James Madison) or Darian DeVries (Drake) options also, but Tang would be an excellent hire, too. Byington is linked to the West Virginia job as well. There are others. Pat Kelsey of Charleston is a hot commodity. Dusty May of Florida Atlantic took his team to the Final Four last season and they’re back in the NCAA Tournament this season as is Kelseys’ Charleston team. Both of those guys would also be excellent hires. Some really good names out there along with these guys, so there are stellar possibilities. Will keep you apprised.

Spring Football has commenced

Football has started spring practice. We don’t have a spring game this year because of all the construction in and around FirstBank Stadium, so will miss seeing the guys compete. Might have to head up for a practice and give you guys a report. I’m excited about what Clark’s “Team 3” can do. We’ve got a lot of talent at quarterback through the transfer portal, Drew Dickey, who’s been on our team, and the two freshmen. There are good players around the QB’s and I really like our talent on defense with Clark coordinating. Love Tim Beck as our offensive coordinator and associate head coach. It’s going to be like having a second head coach on the field and in practice. Beck came over from New Mexico State and brought two of his quarterbacks by the transfer portal. Like Nate Johnson, the transfer from Utah, as well at QB for this upcoming season. Clark also hired Jerry Kill, who was the head coach at New Mexico State last season and who’s had a lot of success as a head coach. He’s going to be a special adviser to Clark. That’ll really help, too. Recruiting for 2025 is active. We have one commit, 89, 3 star Carson Lawrence, a safety from McCallie School in Chattanooga.

So, great stuff going on at West End. Love what our baseball, men’s golf and women’s basketball teams are doing. Looking forward to keeping you posted on our next men’s basketball coach as well and our football team’s progress this spring.

After more meditation, hypnosis and acupuncture, here is White’s World’s bracket attached for this 2024 season. Please click on the “here” button below. Enjoy the games.

Click here for Bracketology 2024

It doesn’t get any better than the fifth major in March. If the Saudis and the extremely controversial LIV players hadn’t messed with the tour, this would be even better. But those guys have made their beds. They’re playing on that joke tour that has no substance or legacy. But guys like Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris, Viktor Hovland and Wyndham Clark decided they want to play for a legacy, and that’s admirable. They can also make some really good money themselves to go along with it and also really know what it’s like to be a competitor.

Do I want the LIV players to return to the PGA Tour if there is a merger with the Saudis and the PGA? Not clear on that yet. Still working on it.Part of me wants to say see you later, but there are a few guys that would be nice to have back.I wish Jon Rahm hadn’t left; that was a blow. But what do you do. I know the guy got $300 million from the Saudis and that’s extremely hard to pass up. But he did say a year and a half ago what’s the differnce between $65M and $300M. There is a big difference, but $65 million or most likely more ain’t too bad either. And you play on a serious tour.

I do like the Signature Events this year. They make the season more fun. And this one is the best outside the 4 majors. The Players purse is $25 million with $4.5M going to the winner. So winning is a highly desirable goal . And it’s also a history making victory. People remember who wins the Players. From Hal Sutton’s “Be the right club to-day,” to Tiger’s “better than most,” there are some very historic and memorable moments in this tournament. Nothing like stepping up the to the tee on the Island Hole, No. 17, with the wind blowing 10 MPH or so on Sunday and having to execute an 8 iron or such and keep it from going into the water with everything on the line and the intense pressure that goes with it. Now that’s dramatic. Then you go to one of the most underrated and best holes on tour, the 18th, with everything still on the line, and left is the water and right are mounds and trees. The pressure is ratcheted up to the max. These are the electric, historic moments these guys play for. So that’s what’s in store this weekend.

The defending champion is Scottie Scheffler, who also won last week at the Arnie and with a new Taylor Made Spider putter that has weighing on the back to help straighten out the misses. He’s starting to putt lights out again. He was fifth for the week in Strokes Gained: Putting at the Arnie and No.1 on Sunday. He’s such a tremendous ball striker that if his putter is working, he’s the best in the world. And he is ranked No.1 at present. Guys like Jon Rahm and Cam Smith aren’t playing. No Koepka. No Dustin. No DeChambeau. That’s a shame, but it doesn’t take away from the extraordinariness of this event.

Here are this week’s odds for the Players:

Scottie Scheffler, 5 1/2:1

Rory: 12/1. I failed to mention Rory among the admirable PGA players, and he certainly is one and the leader for the Tour or he has been. He’s had me a little worried lately that he might defect as he’s been more empathetic towards the LIV players.

JT: 22/1. A previous winner here in 2021. Would like to see him really return to form.

Xander: 22/1. Another one I didn’t mention. Certainly in that group of stars who are dedicated to the Tour.

Hovland: 22/1. Definitely a contender this weekend.

Cantlay: 25/1

Zalatoris: 25/1

Hideki: 28/1

Max Homa: 33/1. Another guy who’s a stellar player and leader on the tour.

Ludvig Aberg: 33/1. Has come on lately. Not real knowledgeable about him.

Wyndham Clark: 33/1. The reigning U.S. Open champion.

Sam Burns: 33/1. Definitely a threat here. And another guy on the list above.

Morikawa: 35/1. Former Open and PGA champion. Trying to get his game back in form. If he does he’ll be a factor this weekend. The talent is there.

Spieth: 35/1. It would be awesome if he could get his game back in gear.

Shane Lowry: 40/1

Tommy Fleetwood: 45/1. What a likable, pleasant guy.

Jason Day: 45/1. Would like to see him get it going again like Jordan. He’s shown flashes in the last 2 years.

Sahith Theegala: 50/1. A young up and comer, who’s already making his mark. Watched an interview with him at the Arnie. Awesome guy.

Cam Young: 50/1

Min Woo Lee: 55/1

Sungjae Im: 60/1

Si Woo Kim: 60/1. Has won here in 2017.

Russell Henley: 60/1. In contention a lot.

Tony Finau: 60/1. Another leader on the tour who can break out at any moment.

Brian Harmon: 65/1. The defending Open Champion is very much a factor many times.

Harris English: 65/1. Like Henley and Harmon from that talented University of Georgia lineage. Always competitive.

Matt Fitzpatrick: 70/1. Another leader and a heckuva player when he’s on.

Adam Scott: 80/1. The veteran is still competitive and won the Players in 2004.

So, superb field for this 5th Major. Really loaded. Meanwhile, the member guest LIV Tour meanders on its boring path. Those guys don’t play again until April, the week before the Masters, the Miami tournament at Trump National. I know great players on this blog who are talented and have 10 times the heart that those guys have.

Weather

Thursday: 78, Sunny. Wind NE 9

Friday: 84, Partly Sunny. Wind S 11.

Saturday: 83. Chance of T storms in the PM. Wind WSW 10.

Sunday: 82. Chance of T storms, but only 38%. Wind SW !2.

No. 17 will be riveting on Sunday. So will 18.

TV

Thursday-Friday, 12-6 PM CT. Golf Channel.

Saturday, 1-6 PM CT. NBC

Sunday, 12-5 PM CT. NBC.

The great Gary Koch and the great Roger Maltbie will be on the call for NBC as well this weekend along with Dan Hicks and others. I wish they’d bring back those two legends permanently. They’re just what you think of when you think about key events on the PGA Tour.

Winner

It is so hard to pick against the 27 year old from Ridgewood, New Jersey by way of the University of Texas. There is fierce competition at the Players and nobody has won it back to back. There have been multiple winners like Tiger and Hal Sutton, but no-one has repeated as champion, which is interesting in and of itself. But I can’t go against a guy who is arguably the best ball striker on tour and has now gotten back his putting stroke. I just can’t go against him. He’ll win his 8th tournament on Tour in his young, illustrious and always ascending career.

Scottie Scheffler

Sleeper

I’ll take the 150/1 30 year old from Vienna, Austria by way of the University of Georgia.

Sepp Straka

The always entertaining SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament gets underway Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville at 6 PM CT as the Vanderbilt Commodores take on the Arkansas Razorbacks. That game will be followed by Missouri and Georgia. Will be a stellar five days of basketball action. Here are predictions for the tournament, and which team I like to cut down the nets at 2:30 PM CT on Sunday.

All times are Central

Last year, 10-3 record. Alabama pick correct on SEC Champion

Wednesday

No.13 Vanderbilt (4-14, SEC, 9-22) vs. No. 12 Arkansas (6-12, 15-16)

6 PM

SEC Network

I would love to pick my Commodores. Vanderbilt defeated Arkansas at Bud Walton on Tuesday, February 27th, 85-82. But I like the Hogs to get the job done and advance. Doesn’t mean I won’t be pulling for the Commodores to pull off the upset.

Arkansas 78, Vanderbilt 74

Game 2

No.14 Missouri (0-18, 8-23) vs. No.11 Georgia (6-12, 16-15)

8:30 PM

SEC Network

It’s been a rough one for Mizzou. Georgia has done OK under Mike White in his second year. I like the Dawgs to adcance.

Georgia 65, Missouri 54

Thursday

Game 1

No.9 Mississippi State (8-10, 19-12) vs. No. 8 LSU (9-9, 17-14)

12 PM

SEC Network

Both teams are fighting for their NCAA Tournament hopes. Both need to win a couple and maybe win the whole thing to pass the Lunardi test and make it in. Give me the Bullies in a rock fight.

State 68, LSU 67

Game 2

Arkansas vs. No.5 South Carolina (13-5, 25-6)

2:30 PM approximately, depending on if there is OT in the first game

SEC Network

South Carolina is solid all around. Give me the Gamecocks.

South Carolina 62, Arkansas 58

Game 3

No.10 OIe Miss (7-11, 20-11) vs. No.7 Texas A&M (9-9, 18-13)

6 PM

SEC Network

Ole Miss needs to win the tournament to make the NCAA’s, while A&M needs to win at least two games if not make it to the championship game. I’ll go with the Aggies.

Texas A&M 58, Ole Miss 54

Game 4

Georgia vs. No. 6 Florida (11-7,21-10)

8:30 PM CT

SEC Network

Florida needs to win a game to ensure its inclusion into the NCAAs. I like them to get it. But it won’t be easy. This is a rivalry in everything.

Florida 78. Georgia 72

Friday

Quarterfinals

MS. State vs. No.1 Tennessee (14-4, 24-7)

12 PM

ESPN

The Vols are playing for a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. I like them to take that first step over the Bullies. But I like State to give them everything they want. State will be hovering on the brink on Sunday. Lunardi has them as a last four bye. I keep going to Lunardi because he got 63 of the 64 top 64 teams last year and 62 the year before.

Tennessee 72, State 70

Game 2

South Carolina vs. No.4 Auburn (13-5, 24-7)

2:30 PM

ESPN

Like Johni Broome (16.4 points per game, 9th SEC; 8.5 boards per game; 2nd behind Anderson Garcia of A&M, who has 9.1) and the Tigers to survive and advance in a tussle. South Carolina is still safely in the NCAAs.

Auburn 74, SC 72

Game 3

A&M vs. No. 2 Kentucky (13-5, 23-8)

6 PM

SEC Network

Like the ‘Cats to keep their great momentum going. They are the hottest team in the SEC and they couldn’t have picked a better time than now to be sizzling. The first game for a team is always tricky however. A&M going to be sweating it out come Sunday. Lunardi has them as the first team out right now.

Kentucky 81, A&M 77

Game 4

Florida vs. No.3 Alabama (13-5, 21-10)

8:30 PM approximately

SEC Network

Should be another 15 rounder here. Give me the SEC’s leading scorer, Mark Sears (21.1 per game), and the Crimson Tide to just outlast the Gators and advance to the semis.

Crimson Tide 84, Florida 83

Saturday, Semifinals

Auburn vs Tennessee

12 PM

ESPN

Give me Pearly and the Tigers in a slight upset. It’ll be a battle of attrition and a superb basketball game.

Auburn 85, Tennessee 84 (OT)

Alabama vs. Kentucky

2:30 PM, approximately, probably, later

ESPN

I like the red hot Wildcats to advance in an extremely hard fought contest. Both teams are tourney bound as are the semifinal teams above. Four very solid teams. Both these teams rely on the three quite a bit. If they’re falling, this game will be a spectacle.

Kentucky 90, Alabama 88

Championship Sunday

Auburn vs. Kentucky

12 PM

ESPN

Both teams are playing for a higher NCAA tourney seed and a championship, so the stakes are high. Both will get a higher NCAA seed by making it to the SEC final. Kentucky is shooting for a 3 seed, and Auburn a 4 or 5; a 3 with a championship ring. Kentucky could possibly earn a two seed with a victory. Seedings are important in the NCAAs for matchup purposes. The higher the seed you earn, the more favorable matchups you get in the NCAA tourney. So a lot to play for.

Auburn will give the Cats everything they want, but John Calipari has a 410-121 career record (77%) for a reason. He has also hoisted 6 SEC trophies in 2010, 2011, and 2015-18. It’s been a minute since 2018, so I like Cal and his Wildcats, which are playing superb basketball ball right now, to prevail over a tough, hard-nosed Bruce Pearl coached Tigers team.

Kentucky 75, Auburn 73

‘

Our basketball team pulled off the seemingly improbable Saturday at Memorial Coliseum defeating the Florida Gators, 79-78, on Graduates Day. One of our stellar seniors, Tyrin Lawrence, was spectacular once again. After freshman JaQualon “JQ” Roberts clutchly converted two free throws to cut the lead to 78-77, the great Tyrin stole the inbounds pass with 23 seconds left and passed it to graduate point guard Erza Manjon, who immediately passed it back to Lawrence, who then drove to the left side of the bucket and put up a highly contested lay-up that caromed off the backboard and fell through the net with 15 seconds left. Our guys still had to play defense and stop Florida in the last 15 seconds of the game but did so as sophomore Ven-Allen Lubin stole the ball with a second left and the Dores captured a “Magical” 79-78 victory in front of 6,442 in attendance. We moved to 9-22 overall and 4-14 in the SEC. Florida dropped to 21-10 and 11-7.

It was a monumental effort by the team and Stack. Just hustle play after hustle play. We won it with grittiness and heart.

Ven-Allen finished the regular season tremendously pouring in 25 points and pulling down 11 boards. Tyrin, who’s been such a terrific player for us the last two years and has a very bright future in the game, added 14 and 7. Ezra and graduate Tasos Kamatoris added 8. Tasos was 2 for 2 from trifecta. If we can get some production out of Tasos and some others going forward, we’ve got a shot to win games in the tournament because Tyrin, Ezra and Ven-Allen will definitely show up. “JQ” was also phenomenal with 7 points and hugely important 7 rebounds. “JQ” was five for six from the line added a massive dunk to go along with his 7 points that kept our momentum alive in the second half. We were 19 of 20 from the charity stripe. Ven-Allen was 7 for 7, Tyrin was 3 for 3 and Isaiah West, who also connected on a crucial three in the second half, was 2 for 2. We also out-rebounded them, 41-35. That’ll win you a lot of basketball games if you’re good enough from trifecta and you defend. They shot 52% from the field, which we’ll need to improve on, but they were only 5-for-17 from triple, 29%. We had struggled guarding the three before Florida, but Stack and the coaches obviously made that a priority going into the game. We were only 36% from the field and 6-for-16 from three, but we sank some key threes. And, another key stat, we forced 16 turnovers and gave it up only 8 times ourselves.

Just superb victory for Stack and the team. Loved what I saw out of the guys on Saturday.

We now continue on our March quest as the 13th seed in the SEC Tournament. We play no.12 Arkansas Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville with a 6 PM tip on the SEC Network. We have already gone over to Fayetteville this season and defeated the Hogs. That was on Tuesday, Feb. 27th, when we emerged victorious, 85-82. But we’ll need to put our hard hats on as Arkansas has been playing a lot better lately. They are 15-16, and 6-12 in the conference. They are coming off a tough overtime loss @ Alabama, 92-88, in a game which they looked like they had won in regulation, but the Crimson Tide battled back to send it into OT where they outlasted the Razorbacks. The Razorbacks defeated LSU at home, 94-83, last Wednesday and gave Kentucky a pretty good game prior to that before losing that 111-102 on the road. Kentucky is the hottest team in the SEC right now. Six foot six guard Tramon Mark is leading them as he is averaging 16.7 points per game and has 52 assists and 35 steals on the season. Six-five guard Khalif Battle is averaging 14.3 per game and is 46-of-127 from trifecta, 36%. Mark is 34-of-92, 37%. They made a run at us in Bud Walton Arena back on 2/27 as they started draining trifecta after trifecta to cut the lead to 83-82, but we sank a couple of free throws at the end and they barely missed a trifecta as the buzzer sounded. We’ll have to guard behind the arc for sure. Six foot 10 power forward Trevon Brazile is averaging 8.4 points, and leads the team in rebounds averaging 5.8. They shoot 45% from inside the arc, 32% from deep and 75% from the line. They average 35 rebounds per game and 77 points per game and are giving up 79 per game. We need to lockdown on D for sure.

Ezra leads us in scoring at 14.2 and has 109 assists on the season, 3.7 per game. Ezra is shooting 44% from the field and is 83% from the stripe. Tyrin is averaging 14.1 and has pulled down 5 boards per game. Ven-Allen adds 12 points and 6.2 boards. He has brought it lately. Tyrin has 37 steals this season, Ezra has 34, and freshman Jason Rivera-Torres has 27 this year. We’ve got a good nucleus of younger players to go along with our veterans. I like what Evan Taylor, Paul Lewis, Isaiah , and Malik Presley are doing to contribute lately.

We’re shooting 39% from the field, 28% from three and 71% from the line. We average 34 rebounds per game, and our opponents are at 37. We average 67 points per game and give up 75.

But all that, except for what our leaders have done, should be thrown out the window as it’s a new season for the team, and we’ve got a new opportunity. I’m not going to project how far we can go because, like Stack and the Boys, I want us to win it. But we’ve got to take care of business with Arkansas Wednesday. It’ll take as good if not a better effort as we put forth against Florida on Saturday. I think the guys can do it. I’ll keep you posted. What a win Saturday. It was something that we can build off of going forward.

Baseball playing Terrifically

Our No.9 Commodores (are you kiddin’ me? Not ranked higher? more fuel for this motivated group) swept Illinois State over the weekend at the Hawk, winning 14-9 Friday, 7-2 Saturday and 4-0 Sunday behind stellar starting pitching, excellent defense and timely and, at times, explosive offense. We are now 14-3.

On Friday, our stud junior Carter Holton proved that he is back from his injury struggles from a year ago. Carter went five, gave up only four hits, 0 runs, with 3 walks and 11 K’s. Our relief pitching wasn’t at its best, though I sill trust those guys. But our bats were. Alan Espinal, Troy LaNeve and Matthew Polk all went deep. It was Alan’s third of the season, Troy’s second and Matthew’s second. These guys have been stellar hitters for us all season. Espinal was 3 for 5 with 2 Ribeyes, Matthew was 2 for 5 with two Ribbies and Troy was 3 for 4 with 6 Ribeyes. Wow. Troy also had a double, his seventh of the season, and his second triple of the season. He was a single away from hitting for the cycle. So awesome night from the great Holton and those three big guns for us at the plate.

On Saturday, another super junior for us, right hander Bryce Cunningham, from Headland, Alabama, pitched a gem. Bryce went 8, gave up 4 hits, 2 runs with one of them unearned, 0 walks and 11 K’s. in a 7-2 Commodores victory. it was a phenomenal performance from Bryce, who looks like he’s hitting his stride in his junior season. Just a remarkable performance. Junior Ryan Ginther, who could be our closer going forward, came in for the 9th and closed it out with us converting a 6-4-3 double play to secure the victory. Our great now-first baseman RJ Austin had a hit and two Ribeyes. RJ has really found a home at first. Awesome move by Corbs to put him there. RJ is outstanding on the first base bag.

On Sunday, another junior, Devin Futrell, who does nothing but throw strikes, pitched a beauty. Devin pitched a complete game shutout, allowing 5 hits, 0 runs, with 0 walks and 7 K’s in our 4-0 victory. Matthew and RJ each had two hits each and RJ drove in a pair of runs, and Troy, a junior as well, hit a solo shot, probably over 400 feet, to right central in the bottom of the 8th for an insurance run.

Three things stood out to me: 1. our starting pitching was extraordinary and can lead us to several victories in the SEC if we can help in the field and at the plate. Coach Scott Brown has groomed a stellar staff. 2. Our defense was spectacular. Only one error all weekend and several web gems. Maybe the best was centerfielder Calvin Hewitt’s grab of a sinking line drive into shallow center. Calvin is superb on defense. Calvin was hit by a pitch on the helmet and close to his face on Saturday and didn’t play yesterday. He should be back soon though. 3. The bats came through again. Friday, we exploded and Saturday and Sunday got the hits when we needed them.

Right now freshman Camden Kozeal still leads us in hitting at .344. RJ is hitting .343 and is 13 of 16 on stolen bases and playing elite defense at first. Our sophomore is a sparkplug for this team along with Polk, Espinal, Holton, Cunningham, Futrell and LaNeve. They are all tremendous competitors. Espinal is hitting .339 with 3 homers and 14 RBIs and LaNeve is hitting .317 with 3 homers and 19 Ribbies. I like our power and run driving in ability a lot. We’ve got some power guys in our lineup. Freshman second baseman Jayden Davis is hitting .302 with a homer and 14 Ribbies. We are hitting .314 as a team, and our opponents are hitting .224.

Holton is 2-0 with a 5 ERA, but that’ll keep coming down. He’s too good and I love him on Friday Nights in the SEC coming up. Cunningham is 2-0 with a 2.62 ERA. Futrell, who was just named SEC pitcher of the week, is 2-0 with a 3.68 ERA. JD Thompson has solidified his role as our fourth starter during the midweek and is 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA. JD could be crucial for us when and if the postseason comes around.

What I love the most about our pitchers, besides their great competitiveness, is their strike throwing ability. Carter has walked 7 and K’d 30, Bryce is 9 and 31, Devin is 2 and 18, and JD is 2 and 22. That’s strong to say the least.

Would like to see our ‘pen do a little better, but we have the arms to do that. Our defense has gotten better and better and was superb over the weekend. We are now fielding at a .987 percentage. Our opponents are at .968. We have stolen 43 of 48 bases and that’s a weapon. Besides RJ, Calvin is 11-of-12 swiping bags and extremely fast junior Jacob Humphrey is 7-of-7. We are 7th in stolen bases nationally.

Ginther is looking like a Tyler Brown-type closer for us. Tyler was our closer on our 2019 National Championship team who continually closed out games for us and was instrumental in us winning it all. Ginther can be that guy. Need some of our younger bullpen arms to keep developing and for guys like senior Sam Hloboki to pitch well and be a leader out there. There is a lot of talent out there for sure.

Arkansas is No.1 in the D-1 Baseball.com rankings. LSU is No.2, Oregon State is 3, A&M is 4, Tennessee is 5 (Don’t care much for Vitello and that team), Duke is 6, Wake Forest is 7, Florida is 8, we’re 9 and Clemson is 10. Auburn is 18 and South Carolina is 20.

Big week ahead for us. Indiana, which is 9-6, comes to the Hawk tomorrow, Tuesday, for a 6 PM CT first pitch. Friday-Sunday, the No.18 Auburn Tigers come to Nashville for a weekend set. Friday’s game is at 6 PM CT, Saturday’s contest is at 2 PM CT, and Sunday first pitch is at 1 PM CT. All four games will be broadcast by SEC Network+. Auburn is 12-3

Huge week for the team. Love where we’re at. Gotta “Keep on truckin” as Eddie Kendricks said.

Van Paris Excels on the PGA Tour

Our junior from Pinehurst, N.C., Jackson Van Paris, shot an 8 under 64 on Sunday to finish in a tie for 10th place at the 2024 Puerto Rico Open. Jackson’s 64 was the lowest score posted yesterday. What a job by Van Paris. I know Coach Limbaugh and his teammates are proud of him. Now it’s time to get him back as our team heads to the Pauma Valley Inivitational in Pauma Valley, CA., close to San Diego, to compete in an event next Monday, 3/18, and next Tuesday, 3/19. I may have been a little hard on the guys last week after the Cabo Collegiate because the bar is so high for our team this year. They are so talented that you unfairly expect them to win every tournament. That’s not realistic. We finished fourth out of 15 teams at the Cabo Collegiate, as Arizona State won it. But this team will be back. If you shoot for perfection, as a friend of mine quoted Vince Lombardi, you can achieve excellence. They’re an awesome group of guys and Coach Limbaugh is as good as it gets. Our expectations are high because we are an elite team nationally. We are currently No.3 behind No.1 Auburn and No.2 UNC. We’ve just got to take the next step and that’s at Pauma Valley next Monday and Tuesday.

Will keep you apprised on our basketball, baseball and golf teams. Great stuff going on with our athletes and our teams.

Our great freshman designated hitter, Camden Kozeal, put up some tremendous numbers at the plate over the weekend as the Commodores swept all three games at the Astros Foundation College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston, including an improbable and sensational 14-11 victory over then No.15 Texas on Sunday.

Our great freshman, who was honored as SEC freshman player of the week for last week, led the SEC with 14 hits, led the conference in RBI’s with 11, and also tied for the lead in doubles with 3.

The Dores won Friday over Louisiana, 7-4. Senior catcher Alan Espinal hit a clutch 3 run shot to secure the victory. Carter Holton pitched pretty solidly, going 5, giving up 4 hits, three earned, with a walk and 6 K’s. Carter is a strike thrower with terrific stuff and there were some soft hits that fell in against him. Feel great about our Friday Night guy going forward. Greyson Carter pitched three solid innings in relief of Holton. Greyson is hitting high 90’s on his fastball. As I said last Wednesday, if Carter can locate well, he’ll be a force. Freshman Miller Green came in for the ninth and finished the job with a hit, a run and a K. It got a little sketchy there at the end, but Miller closed the door for us. Like his stuff also.

On Saturday, we got a terrific start from our great junior Bryce Cunningham. Bryce, from Headland, Alabama, went 5.2, and gave up 4 hits, 1 earned, with 2 walks and 8 K’s in our 3-1 victory over Houston. Freshman Ethan McElvain gave us 1.1 and allowed a hit with 0 walks and 2 K’s. Like what we have in another one of our great freshmen. And there are several of them. Freshman Brennan Seiber finished it off with 2 innings of scoreless work with 0 walks and a K. Think Seiber is special.

Sunday was beyond spectacular. After looking really slim early, we made a charge in the last 4 innings with our bats. The Longhorns took an 11-3 lead into the bottom of the fifth as our superb junior pitcher, Devin Futrell, was knocked around hard. Not like Devin, but Texas was locked in at the plate. Devin was throwing strikes; he just had a tough day. Still like Futrell a lot going forward. That’ll happen. Andrew Dutkanych IV came in and was hit hard, too. So we found ourselves in a serious hole. But then the bats came alive as we scored 2 in the bottom of the 5th, 2 in the sixth, 5 in the seventh and 2 in the eighth. Kozeal, Espinal and our outstanding shortstop, Jonathan Vastine, all homered. Kozeal also doubled and posted 3 Ribeyes. Another great veteran player for us, fifth year senior left fielder Troy LaNeve, had a huge day at the plate going 2 for 3 with 4 Ribeyes including a huge three run triple in the bottom of the seventh, which was the hit of the game along with Kozeal’s at bats. Junior Sawyer Hawks and junior lefty Ryan Ginther closed the door for us. Hawks pitched two scoreless innings with 2 hits, one walk and three K’s. And Ginther, who could be our closer going forward, went 2, gave up a hit, 0 runs with 0 walks and 2 K’s. So those guys finished strong for us, which we had to have. By the way, Camden Kozeal is from Omaha, Nebraska. Love having those tough Midwestern guys on our team. We’ve got a hard-nosed team of great competitors who are team first guys and first class people. Really like the makeup of this group. We’ve got a long way to go, but I like our chances in April, May and June. This team looks special. The SEC is tough, but we’re tough and ready for the challenge.

Kozeal is hitting .367 with 2 homers and 14 Ribeyes. Our awesome, versatile, now first basemen, for the time being, RJ Austin, is hitting .365 with a homer and 14 RBIs. Centerfielder Calvin Hewitt, who is stellar defensively, has gotten his opportunity and is hitting .355. Espinal, a superb defensive catcher, is also knocking the cover off the ball hitting .340 with 2 long ones and 12 Ribbies. I love our situation in the outfield with Hewitt in center, and a platoon of stud juniors Jacob Humphrey and Matthew Polk, who had a big day Saturday at the plate hitting a homer and a double with 2 huge RBIs. Matthew also made a terrific catch at the wall on a drive to right. Then we have LaNeve in left. Right now Jack Bulger, who was knocking the cover off the ball before he was injured, and fist baseman Chris Maldonado, are on the shelf. Hopefully they will be returning soon. Our team batting average is .327, our team ERA is 4.74, and our team fielding is .984. Good numbers for sure, particularly at the plate and on defense. Still need to tighten it up a little more defensively and get more consistent performances on the hill from our older guys. Our freshmen are doing well, but the older guys need to take the lead for us to have real success this season.

We have Eastern Michigan today at 4:30 PM @ the Hawk with SEC Network+ broadcasting. This weekend, Illinois State comes to Nashvegas for games Friday-Sunday with a 4:30 PM, a 4:30 PM and a 1 PM start respectively for those games. Next Tuesday, 3/12, we’ll play Indiana at home at 4:30 PM. Then we’ll open SEC play versus Auburn at the Hawk Friday-Sunday, March 15th-17th, with a 6 PM first pitch on Friday, a 2 PM first pitch Saturday and a 1 PM first pitch on Sunday. All those games coming up will be broadcast on SECN+, the app for the SEC Network. So huge week and a half ahead. Ready for the SEC. Ready for today. Weather is a little questionable today, but we still might get it in. It’ll be interesting to see who Corbs and pitching coach Scott Brown decide on as our starter today. Like what I’m seeing from our baseball team. We are now No.9 in the country as ranked by D1 Baseball.com. Wake is No.1, Arkansas is No.2, LSU is 3, Florida is 4, and TCU is 5. Tennessee is 8, we’re 9, Alabama is 15 and Auburn is 19.

Men’s Golf is almost done at the Cabo Collegiate on holes 16-18 in today’s final round and not our best this time around. We were the defending champion, but we are presently in fourth place at +1 and a shot back of Arkansas, which is even. We can catch Arkansas and finish third, but I’m surprised with this result. Just too much inconsistency from our key guys. One of our best players, Jackson Van Paris, did not play as he’s competing in an individual tournament, amateur or pro, not sure, but not on the PGA Tour. But we just didn’t have it this tournament. We need to get better if we want to achieve our goals, which are lofty; Final Four, win it all. That’s our standard every year, and we’re going to need to figure it out soon. Looks like we’ll finish in fourth at +1 for the tournament. We are three shots back of Arkansas and almost finished.

Our next tournament will be the Pauma Valley Invitational in Pauma Valley, California, in San Diego County close to San Diego. That’ll be Monday, 3/16 and Tuesday, 3/17. Need to get to work getting prepared for that and put this performance behind us. Need to do better.

Our great women’s basketball team won Sunday over Georgia, 72-55, to finish its season 22-8 overall and 9-7 in the SEC. Our awesome graduate guard, Jordyn Cambridge, scored her 1,000th career point on Sunday. Jordyn now has 1,006 for her illustrious career at Vanderbilt. Jordyn finished with 13 points. She is the only Commodore in program history to account for 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists and 300 steals. Wow, what a resume.

Junior guard Iyana Moore finished the afternoon with 28. So awesome effort from Coach Shea Ralph’s team. Coach Ralph has this team playing lights out as we matriculate into the SEC Tourney, which commences Wednesday. The tournament will be held at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. We are the sixth seed and play the winner of Wednesday’s No.14 seed Missouri versus No.11 seed Florida on Thursday. Our game Thursday is scheduled for approximately 7:30 PM CT, or 25 minutes after the 5 PM CT game. It will be televised by the SEC Network.

South Carolina is the No.1 seed, LSU is No.2, Ole Miss is No.3 and Alabama is No,4. Tennessee is fifth. We are one of the last four in the NCAA Tournament according to Charlie Creme of ESPN. These committees sure follow Joe Lunardi’s bracket for the men, so I bet Creme’s bracket is highly credible for the women as well. We need to take care of business Thursday Night and take it from there. A win might secure us a spot in the NCAA’s, but we want to win this thing too.

Will keep you apprised in the next couple of days with a lot of good stuff coming up.

Will have more on football in the near future. Just need a good spring and then we welcome in some awesome true freshmen and excellent transfers in June. Our key players from last year’s team who are back want to keep on getting better and we’ve added have some strong early enrollees. Like the potential of this team. Game one is Saturday, August 31 versus Virginia Tech at FirstBank Stadium, Wow, what an opener. We’ll need to be locked in. Like Clark to have the guys ready.

Men’s basketball is just not working out.