Welcome back to the Colin Cowherd podcast.
I feel like this is an emergency podcast being that I live in Chicago and have Bulls season tickets, and Danny Parkins loves the Bulls.
He joined me on the pod to discuss this weekend’s NCAA Tournament games between UConn and Illinois, and Michigan and Arizona.
Colin Cowherd on Illinois vs. UConn
Hard Rock Bet has UConn listed at +2.5 against Illinois. Michigan is a 1.5-point favorite over Arizona.
Illinois is fascinating. They went heavy into the European market and Brad Underwood has built a team that is intentional, that is efficient, that’s got size. They’ve got Peja Stojakovic’s son, the Ivisic twins from Croatia and an under-recruited freshman guard, Keaton Wagler, who is impossible to defend at the college level.
I think they’re going to be a handful for UConn.
I think Illinois is better offensively. I think they have more weapons. I think they’re going to be really hard to defend.
I’d probably say Illinois is going to win it, but I think it’s a one or two-point game. I would take UConn with the points.
Colin’s Pick: UConn +2.5
Colin Cowherd on Arizona vs. Michigan
I went to the United Center because I wanted to see Michigan in person. They’re the best passing college team I’ve ever seen.
Watching Michigan live, you see different things. To go on a 21-0 run in the Elite 8 on a neutral floor is like, whoa whoa whoa.
Between Michigan and Arizona, we could have nine NBA players on the floor at the same time. This is why NIL is great.
I look at Michigan and I’m like, they don’t really have great guard play. But when it comes to passing, shooting threes, and size, they may have the best players.
I’ll take Michigan in this one.
Colin’s Pick: Michigan ML (-120)
Danny Parkins on the semifinals and status of Cinderella
I have some UConn futures that I’m just going to let ride, so I won’t be placing a bet on the other side of it.
The argument for backing UConn is that their coach is just much better.
Arizona-Michigan feels like the NFC Championship game to me. We knew the winner of Rams-Seahawks would win the Super Bowl.
I would be pretty floored if the left side of the bracket, the Illinois-UConn winner, beat the Arizona-Michigan winner. I think that Arizona-Michigan game is going to be all time.
And as someone who said after the opening weekend of the tournament that Cinderella was dead and that they’ve taken some of the madness out of March, allow me this opportunity to say these games have delivered.
The end is now much better than the beginning. The second weekend was so great. And this weekend in Indy should deliver the greatest semifinal matchup ever based on KenPom’s ratings between Arizona and Michigan. They’ll become the two highest-rated teams to meet in a semifinal, ever.
Then you’ve got Dan Hurley, who’s going for three titles in four years. And Illinois is a wildly talented, high-end offensive team that can score 90 points. It’s great – it’s so great.
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