Vanderbilt Baseball took two out of three from Florida last weekend. We got some stellar pitching from Bryce Cunningham Thursday and Carter Holton on Friday. We smacked four home runs Thursday, and lost a tough one Saturday when Florida Coach Kevin O’Sullivan protested that our pitcher, JD Thompson, was using a foreign substance on his arm. JD was ejected, unbelievably, and we lost in shocking fashion. Hope to see Florida and O’Sullivan again in the SEC Tournament. JD disposed of them in the semifinals last season on our way to the SEC Championship.

We’ve got UT Martin today at 6 PM at the Hawk and Mississippi State Friday through Sunday at home. Friday Night’s game versus State is at 6 CT, Saturday is 2 PM CT., and Sunday is 1 PM CT. All games will be broadcast by SEC Network+.

Need a good week. Playing pretty solid baseball. Just need to keep progressing forward. We’re now 29-11 overall and 10-8 in the SEC. We’re third in the eastern division behind Kentucky (15-3, 32-7) and Tennessee (12-6, 33-7). Georgia is 9-9 and 29-10 overall. In the west, Arkansas leads at 14-4, 34-6 overall. A&M is 13-5 and 35-5 and State is 10-8 and 26-14. We are ranked No.11 in the D-1 Baseball.com Rankings. A&M is still No.1, Arkansas is No.2, UT is No.3, and Kentucky is No.4. Wow, what a conference. Clemson is No.5, and Duke is No.6. Alabama is No.23 and South Carolina is No.24. Our remaining SEC series after State are @Georgia Friday, 5/3-Sunday, 5/5, vs. Tennessee, Friday, 5/10-Sunday, 5/12, and @Kentucky, Thursday, 5/16-Saturday, 5/18. We’ll play Louisville in our rivalry game with them on Tuesday, 5/7, at the Hawk. Will have those times and TV coming up in a later column. 

The SEC Tournament commences Tuesday, May 21st with the top 12 teams competing for the SEC Tournament Championship, which will transpire on Sunday, May 26th at 2 PM CT at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama on ESPN2. The top 12 out of 14 teams compete in the SEC Tournament as always.

Vanderbilt Men’s Golf plays in the SEC Championships in Sea Island starting Wednesday with the Championship Match set for Sunday, April 28th. Gordon Sargent is coming back for his senior season, which shows an amazing amount of maturity and integrity. Love what GS can do in this postseason along with fellow junior Jackson Van Paris, senior Cole Sherwood, graduate Matthew Riedel and graduate William Moll. Gordon wrote a column in Golf Digest where he explained he wanted to compete with his teammates this season and next season and try to win championships, improve as a player for the next level and get a degree. I hear ya, Gordo. I know he gets some NIL funds, but just a really mature decision.

Wednesday through Friday are three days of stroke play with 18 hole rounds each day. The top eight  scoring teams from the 14 team field will qualify for the Match Play beginning Saturday.

The quarterfinals will commence on Saturday morning and the semis will take place Saturday afternoon at 2 with SEC Network+ broadcasting. The SEC Network will televise the Championship match on Sunday starting at 7 AM CT.

So, huge week for the team as “Championship Season” begins. Will keep you informed on our guys’ progress. Auburn is ranked No.1 in the Scoreboard Men’s National Golf Rankings and we’re No.2.

Football concluded spring drills and had a really nice scrimmage on Saturday. The offense did well as quarterback Nate Johnson did a nice job leading the offense. Nate, Diego Pavia, who’s coming in June, Drew Dickey and Blaze Berlowitz will be competing for the QB 1 job in August. Johnson transferred from Utah and Pavia and Berlowitz have come from  New Mexico State. Dickey has been on the team since his freshman year. The defense has looked stellar. The secondary could be superb, and I like our linebackers and our guys up front.

The O line has played through some injuries this spring, but there will be key guys coming back and we just added a couple of 300+ pounders in the transfer portal last Friday. Will try to get maybe a couple of more linemen, and a few more wide receivers in the portal from the intel I’m gathering.

Quincy Skinner has looked spectacular at wide receiver and Cole Spence, back from injury, and Kam Johnson are looking stellar at tight end. Like what Sed Alexander, AJ Newberry and Diego Benson can do for us running the ball. One player that has stood out, particularly on defense, is inside linebacker Prince Kollie. Listened to interviews with Prince, Nate and fellow inside linebacker Langston Patterson and they all sounded super and pumped. Those will be three key players for us this season. I’m not counting out Pavia, Dickey or Berlowitz at QB though.

Also, love what CJ Taylor can do on the edge rushing the passer and wreaking havoc. CJ forces and recovers fumbles. He’s a game changer. Really looking forward to seeing what sophomore corner Martel Hight can do this season. He’s aiming for a terrific year. And our high four star freshman, Dontae Carter, is turning heads at safety. Our secondary is stacked with game changers. 

Love what Clark can do with the defense and the team, and what offensive coordinator Tim Beck, who came over from New Mexico State where he had major success, can do with that side of the ball. 

VA Tech game 1 Saturday, August 31st @ FirstBank Stadium in Vegas. That’s Nashvegas, the real Veg
 

The National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League have already commenced their respective playoffs as NBA and NHL teams compete for the Larry O’Brien and Lord Stanley Cup Trophies, respectively.

Can Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets repeat and capture the Larry O’Brien Trophy as the world champion in the NBA once again? Can the Vegas Golden Knights repeat in the NHL as the Stanley Cup Champions? Here’s a look at both postseasons and White’s World’s predictions for which teams I like to hoist their respective trophies in June.

NBA Playoffs

There has already been some terrific action. Last night the New York “Knickerbockers” as an announcer called them, first time I’ve heard of that nickname in a while, came back from 6 points down to the Philly 76ers in the final minute to win by three, 104-101, fueled by a trifectas from Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo, who were both key parts of the Villanova National Championship teams in 2016 and 2018. Jay Wright had some superb teams in Philly. It was a spectacle last night as the great Joel Embid (Kansas) scored 34 and pulled down 10 rebounds on a bad wheel, and Tyrese Maxey, from (where else?) Kentucky, poured in 35 and added 9 boards. Quite a contest.

So what about moving forward. Which teams will advance and which team will ultimately capture the O’Brien Trophy.

TV

ESPN, ABC, TNT and NBA TV are covering all the action.

ABC will carry the Finals.

Finals

Game 1, Thursday, June 6th

Game 2, Sunday, 6/9

Game 3, Wednesday, 6/12

Game 4, Friday, 6/14

Game 5, if necessary, Monday, June 17th

Game 6, if necessary, Thursday, June 20th

Game 7, if necessary, Sunday, June 23rd.

Game times are 7:30 PM CT all days except Sundays, which will tip at 7 PM CT.

Predictions

Eastern Conference Semifinals

Boston Celtics over Cleveland Cavaliers in 5

Knicks over Milwaukee Bucks in 6

Eastern Conference Finals

Celtics over Knicks in 7

Western Conference Semis

Oklahoma City Thunder over Dallas Mavericks in 7

Denver Nuggets over Minnesota Timberwolves in 6

Conference Finals

Nuggets over OKC in 7

NIkola Jokic just gets over the top over the great 7’1” Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga) and another MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder. (SGA is from Kentucky).The third MVP candidate is Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks). The Most Valuable Player Award winner will be announced later this week. Jokic is a two time Most Valuable Player from the 2021 and 2022 seasons, and could very well win it again this year. Joel Embid won it in 2023.Holmgren is a future MVP as is SGA. SGA might win it this year. Should be a classic.

NBA Championship

Celtics vs. Nuggets

It’s hard to go against the basketball “Joker,” Jamal Murray (Kentucky) and the Nuggets, but I like the Celtics with their greats’ Jayson Tatum (26.9 ppg, 8.1 boards, 4.9 assists reg season, Duke), Jaylen Brown (23 ppg, 5.5 boards, 3.6 assists Cal-Berkeley) and Kristaps Porzingis (20.1, 7.2 boards, no college, Euro from Latvia) to help raise the banner in TD Garden for the first time since 2008 when Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce brought the Larry O’Brien Trophy home to Boston.

I also like their great veteran, Al Horford, at 37 years old to secure his first championship ring in his illustrious career in the NBA. He was a national champion at Florida in 2006 and 2007 under Billy Donovan, and has been a stellar player and person in the National Basketball Association throughout his career. Brad Stevens, of Butler University fame, where he took the Bulldogs to the national championship games in 2010 and 2011 against Duke and UConn respectively, which was quite a feat even though his teams fell just short, is the Celtics president and has done a phenomenal job building and developing the roster. Tatum has been a Celtic for 7 years and Brown for 8 years and they’ve been heartbroken along with all the Celtics fans for the last several years, barely coming up short. Will they get over the top this time. That is the $64,000 question.

The Celtics have captured 17 NBA Championships in their remarkable history and second year coach Joe Mazzulla, Tatum and Brown clear that very high hurdle and capture banner number 18 for the C’s over Joker, Murray and the Nuggets. It won’t be easy, however. The Nuggets will not go down without an intense fight.

Celtics over the Nuggets in 7

Finals MVP: Jayson Tatum

Stanley Cup Predictions

These teams are prolific in the National Hockey League Playoffs and the Stanley Cup Playoffs are as stellar as it gets. Who will capture Lord Stanley’s Cup? Lord Stanley was the Governor of Canada and donated the award to the top ranking amateur ice hockey club in Canada. It became the trophy for the NHL in 1910, the oldest trophy in professional sports.

TV: ESPN, ESPN 2, TNT televises the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

ABC will televise the Stanley Cup Finals. All times 7 PM CT

Game 1, Saturday, June 8th

Game 2, Monday, June 10th

Game 3, Thursday, June 13th

Game 4, Saturday, June 15th

Game 5, if necessary, Tuesday, June 18th

Game 6, if necessary, Friday June 21st

Game 7, if necessary, Monday June 24th.

Eastern Conference Semifinals

Florida Panthers over Toronto Maple Leafs in 7

New York Rangers over Carolina Hurricanes in 7

Both series will be all out wars.

Eastern Conference Finals

New York Rangers versus Florida Panthers

In another classic series, give me the President’s Trophy winner (best record in the regular season). Home ice advantage is the differnece.

Rangers over Panthers in 7

Western Conference Semis

Edmonton Oilers over Vancouver Canucks in 6

Dallas Stars over Winnipeg Jets in 7

Conference Finals

Oilers over Stars in 7

Stanley Cup Finals

Rangers versus Oilers

Twenty seven year old Connor McDavid finished with 132 points individually this season (goals and assists combined points) and led the league with 100 assists from his center position. But I think it’s the New Yawk Rangers’ year. Thirty-two year old Artemi Panarin, from Korkine, Russia, not my favorite country, but it produces some tremendous hockey players, and the Rangers capture their first Cup since 1994 when the great Mark Messier played for that stellar team. Interestingly, the President’s Trophy winner, or the team with the best record in the regular season, has not won the Stanley Cup since the Chicago Blackhawks did it in 2012-13. I like Panarin, 31 year old Mika Zibanejad from Sweden, and 32 year old Chris Kreider from Boxford, Mass. to lead their team to the championship. Igor Shesterkin, the Rangers’ 28 year old goalkeeper from Moscow?, gets the job done tending the net.

Rangers over Oilers in 6, Home ice prevails again

Conn Smythe Trophy Winner. Most Valuable Player in the Stanley Cup Playoffs

Artemi Panarin

The Vanderbilt Baseball team won two of three @ LSU last weekend with freshmen Jayden Davis and Braden Holcomb having major weekends at the plate. Jayden was named SEC player of the week for his prolific hitting last weekend. Braden cranked two long ones Saturday and Carter Holton was exceptional on the hill. Will have more stats coming up after this weekend. We run-ruled MTSU  on Tuesday, 14-1.

Our No.7 team now heads to College Station to square off with the third ranked Texas A&M Aggies (Both rankings are D1 Baseball.com rankings). 

We are now 26-7 and 8-4 in the SEC in second place in the SEC East behind Kentucky, which is 11-1 in the conference and 27-5 overall. Kentucky is ranked 8th by D-1. We face them in May in the last series of the season @ Lexington.

A&M is 29-4 overall and 8-4 in the conference, behind No.1 ranked (nationally) Arkansas in the west. The Razorbacks are 11-1 in conference and 29-3 overall. We do not play Arkansas in the regular season.

Loved what we got from our team after a tough game Friday Night with 8-6 and 13-3 victories on Friday and Saturday, games 2 and 3, respectively. 

This Friday’s game commences at 6 PM CT on SEC Network+, Saturday’s game is at 7:30 PM CT on the SEC Network and Sunday’s game begins at 1 PM CT on SEC Network+.

The way the rotation has worked out with these Thursday games, Holton has been moved to Saturdays and Sundays, game 3 games. I loved what I saw out of freshman Ethan McElvain last Friday Night. Ethan is a complete stud hitting mid 90’s with great off speed stuff. Would love to see him pitch Saturday if Corbs and Brownie choose to go that route. With Ethan and the great Holton, that’s stellar weekend pitching. But we’ll need a third guy to step up. We  still have Greyson Carter and Bryce Cunningham as potential starters Friday and Saturday, but both struggled last weekend in Baton Rouge, so there could be some shakeup. Like both pitchers a lot, they’ve both been excellent a lot of the season, so fine with them starting. But would personally love to see Ethan get a shot. Will let you know if there is any announcement on our weekend starters. Coach Corbin likes to keep that confidential, so we’ll probably have to wait till Friday and Saturday Nights to find out. Will keep you apprised through the weekend. Huge series for our team.

Loved what we did last weekend at Baton Rouge after a tough Thursday Night. We’ve got our momentum back. Love the competitive spirit of this team.

Our Vanderbilt  Men’s Golf team won the Mason Rudolph Championship played at our home course the Vanderbilt Legends Club South Course in Franklin last weekend. That was our fifth straight victory in the tournament.

The great Gordon Sargent came back with a vengeance and was special winning top individual honors. Gordon was named SEC Golfer of the week for his effort. Everybody played well. Jackson Van Paris, Cole Sherwood, Matthew Riedel and William Moll all contributed heavily in our victory. So, great stuff from Coach Limbaugh and the guys.

Next up for our No.3 Dores are the SEC Championships Wednesday, April 24th through Sunday April 28th at the Sea Island Golf Club Seaside Course in St. Simon’s Island, GA.

The first three rounds will be stroke play with the top eight scoring stroke play teams competing in Match Play Saturday and Sunday. Saturday will feature the quarter and semifinals and the Championship match will take place on Sunday. The SEC Network will televise the championship match Sunday. Will keep you posted for sure on our guys.

Clark got another key commitment this week when when 5.7, 3-star (Rivals, highest three-star ranking) Austin Howard committed. Austin is a 6’3″, 225 pound linebacker. Clark will use him both inside and outside. Austin is from Bartlett, TN. in the western part of the state, 10 miles from Memphis. He joined 5.7, 3 star safety Carson Lawrence, who is from McCallie School in Chattanooga. Carson is 6’2″, 185. Both players are all over the field, they’re hitters and Carson posted 4 ints last season. Austin was active piling up the sacks and TFLs. Like what we have in those two guys. Good start to the 2025 class. 

Our team is in the middle of spring drills and I really like quarterbacks Nate Johnson and Diego Pavia. Nate is practicing and showed a lot of talent at Utah the past two seasons. He’ll be good for us. Diego, from New Mexico State, will join us this summer, and he was awesome in dominating Auburn last season @Auburn. New Mexico State transfer quarterback  Blaze Berlowitz, along with Pavia, is making some nice throws in the spring and possesses a cannon for an arm. Drew Dickey, a rising junior, who has shown a lot of loyalty to the program when others have transferred, definitely deserves a shot. So, I like our QB situation.

O line is still working towards getting their chemistry down, but there’s great size and strength, just need some more development, which is what spring and summer are for. And I like our skill players and our defense. I think we’re going to have a strong D with CJ Taylor and company doin’ some serious work on Saturdays.

Game 1 at First Bank Stadium in Nashvegas, the renovated First Bank Stadium, is Virginia Tech on Saturday, August 31st. No time has been announced yet. Will keep you posted on that. Can’t wait to see what team 4 under Clark looks like.

Coach Mark Byington has added two transfers with former James Madison 6’8″ power forward Jaylen Carey and Virginia Tech 6’7″ wing Tyler  Nickel joining the fold. Like what I’m seeing and reading about both guys.

We have some guys in the portal, including T Lawrence, Colin Smith, Paul Lewis, Jason Rivera-Torres and Carter Lang, but they are all considering their options and could return. All of them except for Lee Dort, who has transferred to Cal-Berkley. 

So Coach Byington wants to keep those guys along with Isaiah West, who has massive potential, “JQ” Roberts, Malik Presley, two players who I’m real high on who really came on at the end of the season, Jordan Williams and the great Ven-Allen Lubin. We also signed three freshmen: 6’2″, 180 point guard Karris Bilal from Atlanta, 6’0, 160 point guard Tyler Tanner from Brentwood, TN. and 6’11”, 210 center Jamie Vinson from Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, a very fine program traditionally in the country.

I think one of Coach Byington’s major strengths is development of his roster. I’m excited to see what he does with this coming year’s group. Think we’ve got a shot to be playing significant games next March. Love our new coach. 

Will check back soon.  Have an awesome weekend and Anchor Down. 
 

Danny Hurley and UConn were an unstoppable force this season and in the NCAA Tournament. Just wasn’t even a contest. They were a Phenom. The big news on Monday that preempted the Championship game John Calipari heading to Arkansas. He signed the contract today and will make plenty of money for the rest of his life. Now we’ll see if he can coach at another place that has great basketball resources, and is close to, but is not Kentucky.

Meanwhile, Kentucky looks for its next coach. Brownie and Derrick were going with Scott Drew of Baylor and he is the odds on favorite. I agree with them. But don’t count out Billy Donovan just yet. He’s the best available now that Hurley is committed to UConn. The question is now: can anybody keep up with the Huskies? Duke is ranked No.1 in the ESPN very early poll for 2024-25 season. Gonzaga is second, Kansas is third and UConn is fourth. If Hurley reloads again, which he will do, he and his team will be cutting down the nets at the Alamodome in San Antone in April, 2025.

What a spectacle the tournament was. The Crimson Tide had an awesome run and I know the Auburn Tiger faithful were disappointed with their result. Bucky McMillan and Andy Kennedy set their programs up for future unlimited potential with their performances this season at Samford and UAB respectively. Next season with the Big Four each reloading, basketball will be a spectacular in this state.

My final ESPN bracket finished at 86.7%. I was ranked 3,562,874 out of approximately 20 Mil entrants. So pretty decent. Had UConn defeating N.C, State in the championship game, so came up a little short there.

In my Sweet 16 to Championship game predictions, I went 11-4 straight up and 11-4 against the spread,

With that said, it’s onto the 88th Masters.

The Masters

Augusta National Golf Club, 7,555 yards, Par 72.

Defending champion: Jon Rahm. Back from the LIV Tour to defend his title.

Rahm shot 12 under par last year and won by 4 shots over FIGJAM, Koepka, and five over Spieth, Patrick Reed (what a guy), and Russell Henley. Cam Young and Hovland finished tied for 7th at six under.

It’ll be interesting again to see how the LIV players fare. Rahm is trying to make that Tour more competitive asking the Saudis to make it a 72 hole format. I think the guy wants back on the PGA Tour. He’s been talking about a merger lately. I’ve come around. I want the LIV guys back. It’s just better for the game. They should face some penalties for defecting because the guys who stuck around should be rewarded. Maybe they need to earn their way into the Signature Events by FedEx Cup Points if there is a unification of the PGA Tour and the LIV Tour. They shouldn’t be allowed to come back without any consequences for leaving.

Anyway, as for this electric Major, where the Back Nine on Sunday is beyond prolific, contenders abound. Here are odds for the 88th edition.

Scottie Scheffler: 4/1. No reason why the 2022 champion can’t repeat. He won the Arnie and the Players back to back. Wow. His putter is the key.

Rory, 10/1. Will he ever complete the career Grand Slam? That’s a question that will loom over him until he wins at Augusta National. He’s got more time, but it’s getting kind of questionable.

Rahm, 11/1. Of course he’ll be a factor this week. He always is.

Xander Schauffele: 14/1. I’m not positive he can get it done at Augusta National. Maybe he’ll surprise.

Koepka: 20/1. Always possible with him. The talent is enoromous.

HIdeki Matsuyama: 20/1. Donned a Green Jacket in 2021. Highly capable.

Jordan Spieth: 22/1. Capable, but I’m not seeing it. He’s got a wrist issue, and he’s loses his composure so easily. Got to be composed out there.

Joaquin Niemann: 28/1. The Chilean is a real factor this week in my opinion. Been doing well on LIV.

Ludvig Aberg: 33/1. Good player, having a good year, but don’t see it yet.

DeChambeau: 35/1. Not seeing this at all. Too much of a head case.

Matt Fitzpatrick: 35/1. Possible. If you’ve won a U.S. Open, you’ve got a shot anywhere. DeChambeau did too in 2020, but I’m liking Fitzpatrick more. Fitz won the Open in 2022 at The Country Club of Brookline just outside of Boston.

Viktor Hovland: 35/1. Ready to win a major. Could happen at Augusta National this week.

Tony Finau: 40/1. If he’s putting well, he definitely has a shot. Awesome ball striker.

Wyndham Clark: 40/1. Another U.S, Open champion from last year at Los Angeles CC, who is certainly in the mix.

Others:

Tommy Fleetwood, 45/1. Theo’s favorite.

Cam Young, Sahith Theegala, Cam Smith, JT, 50/1.

Shane Lowry, 55/1.

Russell Henley, 60/1.

Si Woo Kim, 65/1.

Max Homa, Brian Harmon (Open Champion in 2023), 75/1.

Reed, Jason Day, Sam Burns, 80/1.

Weather:

Thursday: 79, 99% chance of T-storms in the AM, turning to partly cloudy in aft. Wind S 17.

Friday: 73, Sunny, wind W 17.

Saturday: Sunny, Wind WNW 9.

Sunday: Sunny. 85, Woind WSW 8.

There will most likely be a delay Thursday, but after the AM, the weather should be excellent. The wind will wreak havoc Thursday, and Friday is no walk in the park, but Saturday and Sunday are more typical though No.12 is always gut wrenching on Sunday afternoon. Par 3 over water with the wind in your face. Play hard.

No.2, the par 5, has been lengthened 20 yards to 585 yards,. What can be an eagle opportunity, may just be a birdie hole.

Of course, as we all know, the backside on Sunday is an epic. Actually, all 18 are spectacular on Sunday. Can’t wait for that. Thursday-Saturday is pretty strong as well.

TV

Thursday-Friday: 2-6:30 PM CT, ESPN

Saturday: 2-6 PM CT, CBS

Sunday: 1-6 PM CT, CBS.

You can also get more coverage on the ESPN App at much earlier times.

Predictions

Winner

It’s hard to go against Scheffler, really hard, and Rahm, but I’m going to give it a shot. Give me the 32 year old from Matsuyama Ehime, Japan. Pretty cool to seemingly have a town named after your family. But it’s actually named after the Iyo-Matsuyama Domain. Some sort of warrior clan back in the day in Japan. Like the 1600’s days.

He’s won 9 times on tour and is the 2021 Masters champion. He recently won the Genesis Invitational in Pacific Palisades, CA. back in mid-February. I love his ball striking and he’s a fierce competitor. I like him to step up his putting this week and for him to throw on another Green Jacket on Sunday.

Hideki Matsyama

Sleeper:

Give me the 34 year old from Macon, Georgia, by way of the University of Georgia, to have a good shot this week and be right there on Sunday in hopes of throwing on his own Green Jacket.

Russell Henley

John Calipari is finalizing the deal to become the head coach at Arkansas. He is set to be Arkansas head coach. That’s a sure thing.

I have some questions about that. The guy has recruited stellar five-star talent to Lexington every year he’s been there, no doubt. But it’s what he does with the talent once it gets there that I question. The results have not been there. Five star after five star, you look at the NBA and it might as well be called the Kentucky Invitational with Anthony Davis at the LA Lakers, Karl-Anthony Towns at the Minnesota T-Wolves, Jamal Murray at Denver, Devin Booker at Phoenix, Tyler Herro and Bam Adabayo at the Heat. The list goes on and on. Yet, there is only one national championship banner at Rupp in the 15 seasons Calipari has been there. And talk about underachieving with this talent lately. In 2020-21, the Wildcats went 9-16 and 8-9 in the SEC. In ‘21-’22, they were 26-8, but lost in the first round to Saint Peter’s? Saint Peter’s? You gotta be kidding me. In ‘22-’23, they went 22-12 and lost in the round of 32 to Kansas State. Then this past season, they finished 23-10, 13-5 in the SEC, but lost in the first round to Oakland? Oakland? Again, are you kiddin’ me? So the guy is overrated for sure. Arkansas is a better fit for him because the pressure isn’t as intense as the rabid intensity at Kentucky. But he’ll be expected to win and Arkansas does take basketball seriously and has had a lot of success through the years. Eric Mussleman, their most recent coach, took the USC job after having a pretty weak season this year (16-17, 6-12 SEC), but had taken the Razorbacks to two Elite Eights prior to this season. The guy is out of control though in my opinion, so I bet Arkansas said good riddance to Musselman. We’ll see how Calipari fares at a place you can win big at. Nolan Richardson won a national championship in 1994 there, and they’ve had a lot of good teams through the years. There is good tradition, so there will be high expectations for Calipari. We’ll see if he can deliver. He can recruit, but his development of his talent and his on floor coaching is highly suspect.

And there are “rumors” that Bruce Pearl is a candidate for the Kentucky job. Another coach that can recruit, but is too out of control on the court and gets his players flustered. Pearl is coming off a first round loss to Yale? in the NCAA Tournament. Yale? I know that a lot of Auburn fans are not happy with that, and not happy with him. He’s a recruiter, so maybe it would work at Kentucky. He’s obnoxious, and they like that too in Lexington. The guy whom I think should get the job is Danny Hurley, if he wants it. He’s in line to repeat as a national championship coach at Connecticut. He’s what Kentucky likes. He’s brash, cocky and arrogant, all the qualities Kentucky fans like. And he’s a heckuva coach to boot.

He “checks the boxes.” The question is, does Hurley want the job? He’s got a great situation at UConn, but he may want to try it somewhere else. He’s quite a coach and would work well for the rabid, obnoxious Kentucky fan base. I’ve been to several Kentucky-Vanderbilt basketball games and it’s not a safe place to be even in Nashville. I’ve come close to blows with a couple of their fans. Not my favorite group of people.

So it’ll be interesting to see what transpires at Kentucky. The pressure will be ratcheted up for whomever the coach is. I like them to go after Dan Hurley, if he wants it.

National Championship Game Prediction

No.1 Purdue (Midwest, 34-4) vs. No.1 UConn (East, 36-3)

State Farm Stadium, Phoenix, 70,000

8:20 PM CT

TBS

Ian, Bill, Grant, Tracy (will need a step ladder to talk to Edey or Clingan), Gene (Rules)

Huskies by 6 1/2

How do you deny 7’2”, 280 pound Donovan Clingan, Stephon Castle, Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer and the Huskies? Zach Edey is a load for Purdue at 7’4”, 300 pounds and the Boilers can stroke if from trifecta, But UConn has the 9th ranked scoring defense in the country allowing 63.3 points per game. Purdue is 81st at 68.8.

The Crimson Tide gave the Huskies their toughest game of the tournament and were in it for a long time until the Huskies did what they always do: they completely went off for a minute and a half. They’re explosive as Derrick Henry through the middle of a defensive line. . I like Clingan as much as Edey. In fact, I think he’s better. Give me the Huskies to go back to back for the first time since Billy Donovan’s Florida Gators did it in 2006 and 2007.

Connecticut 70, Purdue 60

The great Mark Sears and the Crimson Tide have put on shooting spectacle in this NCAA Tournament. So have the N.C. State Wolfpack and DJ Burns Jr. Can those two decided underdogs slay their respective Goliath opponents in Connecticut and Purdue? It’ll take great effort on defense and rebounding from both teams and a lot of shot-making, particularly from behind the arc for the Crimson Tide. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. is expected to play for the Tide, so that should help their cause. But can anybody defeat this dominant Huskies team led by their 7’2”, 280 sophomore pound center Donovan Clingan? It’s tough.

Here are a couple of brief previews of the games along with predictions for Saturday’s Final Four contests at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix.

Sweet 16/Elite 8 record

SU: 9-3

ATS: 10-2

Game 1

No.11 N.C. State (26-14, South Region) vs. No.1 Purdue (33-4, Midwest Region)

State Farm Stadium, 63,400

5:09 PM CT

TBS

Ian Eagle (Bird), Raft, Grant, Tracy, Gene Steratore (Rules analyst)

Boilers by 8 1/2

Burns Jr. has been phenomenal for the Wolfpack at 6’9”, 285. But he’ll face his stiffest test yet in 7’4”, 300 pound Purdue center Zach Edey. Edey has a very good shot at winning his second Wooden Award in a row as the best player in college basketball, and appears unstoppable. But the Pack has more than Burns underneath. Six foot 10, 215 pound power forward Mohamed Diarra and 6’10”, 240 power forward Ben Middlebrooks also supply a lot of muscle underneath. I like the Wolfpack’s guards a little better than Purdue’s. Give me the upset here.

N.C. State 78, Purdue 76

Game 2

No.4 Alabama (25-11, West) vs. No.1 UConn (35-3, East)

State Farm Stadium

7:49 PM CT

TBS

Same crew as above

Huskies by 11 1/2

Can the Crimson Tide keep it close and maybe have a shot to shock the Huskies and the college basketball world at the end? It’ll be hard. It’s like Ole Miss playing Alabama in football. They’ll have to play the perfect game. The Tide certainly has the shooters to stay in it with Sears, Rylan Griffen, the emerging freshman Jarin Stevenson, Aaron Estrada, particularly from mid range with him and his occasional threes, Grant Nelson and Wrightsell Jr., if he’s healthy. But can the Tide shoot well enough from 3 and get Clingan in foul trouble. Nick Pringle and Nelson will really have to be as physical as possible with Clingan on defense and hit the boards. Pringle will be crucial on defense and rebounding.I like the Crimson Tide to keep it close, but for the Huskies to prevail in the end. The Tide has a shot at pulling it off, and, regardless, what a season it’s been for Nate Oats and his team.

Huskies 86, Tide 82