Boomo Bugg Show 031626

[0:00] Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. Your exclusive inside track to the Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC. Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Good afternoon and welcome here to the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Valley. Brett Beaird, welcome in. We're a huge honor for the top line at UNA.

And on the flip side of the coin, not exactly the best way for an Alabama star to tip off his week. Good afternoon, welcome in, and how are you? Happy Monday to you and the listeners. First of all, Harold, let me mention this. A lot of tree damage, a lot of what I call minimum damage in the shows from the storms last night, and particularly in Lexington. But thank God, no serious injuries or fatalities. God blessed this area once again. Alabama basketball player Aidan Holloway was arrested this morning on a first-degree possession of marijuana charge after a search of a residence by West Alabama Narcotics Task Force.

No word from the university or Nate Oates yet. On a positive note for Nate Oates, Alabama is the number four seed in the Midwest, playing Hofstra in the first round in Tampa Friday at 2.15. Auburn didn't make the NCAA tournament because of 16 losses, but accepted to play in the NIT, hosting South Alabama tomorrow night at 9. It's always a joy to begin the week with Adam. Spencer is here right now to preview the SEC and the men's basketball tournament. Adam and Spencer busy there, fine editor and columnist, podcast host, place called Saturday Down South.

Adam, welcome in. Which is crazier, whether this time of the year or NCAA basketball teams, particularly Alabama, Florida, a host of others. How are you? I'm doing great, guys. Glad to hear that all went well with not too much damage down there. We had a funnel cloud go over my house the other day, yesterday. Ouch. And now there's a couple inches of snow on the ground. So, yeah, weather this year, I mean, March Madness is a coverall term. You know, it could describe the basketball or the weather, I think.

So, equal parts craziness there. Yeah, snowballs and basketballs. Let's start with the craziness, also known as Alabama basketball. First of all, a head-scratcher Friday night. A lot of folks saying, have you seen Ole Miss' record? And Ole Miss said, well, that's a lack of respect. Your thoughts on what went wrong there for Alabama? And then, not exactly the best way to get ready for the pride and the tie this week with Hofstra. With the news this morning with Holloway, I think his bum was $5,000 arrested on marijuana charges.

We don't know what that means in terms of his availability and if, whatever the punishment is going to be. But, Adam, the last thing Nate Oates needed was this. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think that it was already going to be hard enough because I think that what it really was with Ole Miss was that Alabama got caught looking ahead and being like, hey, maybe we have a favorable path now. You know, this is a great, better draw than we could have ever imagined having in this stage of the tournament.

And Ole Miss said, well, surprise, here we are. Yep. We're red hot. And, you know, we're going to shut you down from what you like to do best. And, you know, Alabama's defense is, you know, theoretical at this point. So, you know, it was already going to be a tough job for Nate Oates to sort of repocus his group. And then, obviously, you have the Aiden Holloway arrest, which is just not a good story there. And, you know, we'll see how the legal process plays out.

But, yeah, I mean, you know, at this point of the year, you're kind of wondering, you know, will he be suspended for the Hofstra game? If not, you know, how much does that distract from the team by, you know, I'm sure if he's not suspended, there will be plenty of people calling out Nate Oates. And then, in addition to all that, you have Auburn fans complaining that Charles Betiaco playing against Auburn is what kept the Tigers out of the tournament. So, there's a lot of noise around the Alabama program right now.

None of it particularly good. And that's not where you want to be during March Madness. No. Yeah, poor play, Kev, Auburn out of the NCAA basketball tournament. You mentioned Ole Miss in one of the most impressive runs I have ever seen through the SEC tournament, a team that was given up for dead before they got to Nashville. But it just all came together. It was a magical run for him. They pushed Arkansas as far as they could. And this stuff, well, after two games, you're going to be exhausted.

[5:23] Chris Beard, again, they've had injuries, they've had other issues, but I was very impressed. He was, he's a very intelligent guy, did a great job in the press conference. What a tremendous run by Ole Miss. Yeah, and now he's got to just, that was, you know, they were playing their best basketball there. They got hot after being left for dead. The team really took a long time to kind of figure any sort of cohesion out. It really took until the SEC tournament. You know, they have the talent with Malik Dia.

You know, they have AJ Storr who can fill up the stat sheet, but not necessarily a guy that has proven that you want to rely on him too much. So the roster construction around Malik Dia was always a bit head-scratching going into this season. So this offseason, he's going to have to figure out what the centerpiece of his team is, if it's Dia again, or if they're going to have to find some more players in the portal and build around that. So he's got to build a more cohesive team that fits his identity, you know, before, you know, instead of having to whip them into shape by March, you know, you want to have a non-conference be sort of that style of play.

So it'll be interesting to see. He's got an important offseason in terms of, you know, really regrouping and figuring out what kind of roster he wants to construct for next season. Adam Spencer, there's a center down south. There are people overlooking Arkansas. Everybody's talking about Florida and Alabama coming in and maybe even Oklahoma because in the context of the time then, they were hot. What about the Razorbacks? And has anybody got a more promising guard than the Razorbacks? Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, guards winning March, superstar guards.

I mean, heck, we saw it with Derrick Rose leading Memphis. Yeah. Under a guy named John Calipari. So, you know, he knows how to coach top-tier guards in March. Malik Thomas has really come on strong lately. Billy Richmond has been a revelation during the back half of the season. So this has the talent in Trevon Brazil. I mean, you know, he's not a guard, but, you know, he's playing with a lot of confidence right now, and that's what you need in March. So, yeah, I mean, it's just like it seems like it's a bit with the NCAA selection committee at this point to send Cal's teams as far away from home as possible.

Yeah, agreed. They're heading out to Portland now as the fourth seed as the SEC tournament champion. So it just seems like it's like an inside joke with the committee at this point. But I think that they'll make it through the first round, and then, you know, they'll have to head back out west. But, you know, that's what March is. You know, nobody's going to feel sorry for the Razorbacks despite any protests that are made. So I think that they have the talent to make it through.

Hawaii is not a great matchup. It's not a great matchup for Hawaii. I think Arkansas will avoid the upset there. And then, yeah, I think that they have a pretty decent path to the 316. Yeah, I was impressed with the four teams. Omi, as we talked about Vanderbilt, who got to the – in fact, Vanny kind of ran out of gas, but Brazil just took over that game. He played really well. Porter Moser saved his job at Oklahoma, we found out, over the weekend. Then, of course, Arkansas won it all.

So, Adam, which team, be it Arkansas or certainly the Gators, who can go the deepest in the NCAA tournament from the SEC? Yeah, I think it's one of those two teams. You know, I think, you know, you have to consider Tennessee there, too, if Nate Amant is healthy and playing the way that he has. You know, I just don't like that they've struggled against Vanderbilt twice down the stretch here and lost. But, yeah, Nate Amant, you know, he's a guy that can elevate his game in March, as we've seen freshmen do time to time.

So, you know, I'll still stick with Florida. You know, I think that that's a tough draw for them, having to play Houston, the two seed, potentially, in Houston for the – for the Elite Eight to get to the Final Four. But, I mean, they went into San Antonio last year and beat Houston in the state of Texas. So, I mean, it's not that much different. So, you know, I think that that's definitely a potential looming Elite Eight matchup that would be a must-see television to rematch last year's title game.

So, but, yeah, I think it's either Arkansas or Florida that's the answer to which team. You know, it's a chalky pick, but they're the top-seeded teams for a reason. Adam, let's circle back to Alabama. According to the so-called experts, that bastion of sports knowledge, CBS, dude yesterday, he was asked for his upset special, and he picked the pride over the tide. He's got Hofstra knocking off Alabama. Of course, they played like they did Friday night. He may have some merit. But your thoughts about Hofstra, the pride, if you want to call it that, and the tide from Alabama?

[10:24] Yeah, I think that, you know, it depends on this Aiden Holloway situation, because if he's suspended for that game, then obviously that becomes a lot tighter. You know, Aaron Estrada obviously is familiar with Nate Oates and the style of play that they have there. So, you know, he'll be giving his team valuable advice. But, you know, LeBaron, Phylon, they have a great guard on Hofstra that scores a lot of points. But Phylon, better. He's done it against tougher competition. And, you know, if you want to get into a one-on-one battle with those two, then, you know, I think Phylon has the edge there.

So, you know, as long as nothing crazy, nothing else crazy happens with Alabama between now and then, which isn't a given the way that they're going, you know, I think that Alabama still avoids an upset. But if Holloway's not there, then, you know, we'll have to reassess. And how many teams from the SEC can advance to the Sweet 16? Yeah, I mean, that's a tough question. I think Mizzou got a favorable draw. I just happened to head a couple hours down the road to St. Louis to face Miami, which, you know, that's a pretty – as a 10-seed, that's a pretty favorable draw.

I mean, no disrespect to the Hurricanes, it's just they're two similar style teams that neither one takes a lot of threes, neither one shoots free throws particularly well. So, I mean, you know, that's basically a 50-50 toss-up, which is when you're a 10-seed, that's fine. You know, you'll take that to have a 50-50 chance. And, you know, that late-night arena in St. Louis, their last game of day one or day two of the tournament, I mean, that place will be rocking. I expect Mizzou fans to show out.

So, I think that they can advance as a lower seed. You know, I do expect a couple of upsets or, you know, some of the, like, nine-seeded teams to lose. Like, I think Georgia's vulnerable in the first round. You know, I think Texas A&M is also vulnerable because, I mean, Bucky Ball running up and down, meeting the grinded-out, you know, slowest-paced team, St. Mary's. That's going to be a clash of styles, and I think we'll know within the first three minutes of that game which team is controlling the pace and which team will win.

So, you know, there's a couple of upsets, but I'll predict six or seven of the ten teams advance to the second round. Adam, before you jump off, you'll indulge our zip code here. Your thoughts about Auburn? Obviously, Bruce, right down to the bitter end, still going to bat for his boy. And the folks on the desk basically said, Bruce, we love you, but if you're going to put a ribbon on the Auburn story, they're going to the postseason, just not the NCAA. They're going to the NIT, taking on South Alabama tomorrow night.

Your thoughts about Auburn? I think the committee made the right call. They weren't being punished for playing a tough schedule. They were being punished for bad losses that they had. If they played that tough schedule and, you know, they still had like an 18-15 record, you know, I know the 17-16. I wouldn't put them in regardless with the 17-16 record. But if they had made it to 18-15, you know, and they didn't lose the bad games and just lost more of the elite games that they played, you know, maybe they have a case.

But they lost some bad games, and that's on them. But I will say this, kudos to them for playing in the NIT, taking on that challenge. I think that that's great. I think that, you know, there's some guys on the team that might be back next year that could, you know, use their action. I mean, I'm just glad to see Auburn taking on the challenge. There's a lot of teams that immediately put out, like, oh, we don't want to accept an invitation to the NIT. You know, I think that's silly.

So, you know, I like that they're taking on the challenge at least. And I'm always good to start the week with you, bud. I know SDS is going to be having a lot of previews with the SEC teams, how they will do in the first couple of rounds. Where can we get online to get all the good stuff? Yeah, SaturdayDownSouth.com. We've got a newsletter coming out tomorrow with some round one upset picks. We've got plenty of previews, stuff to know about SEC teams, round one opponents.

And then, of course, later in the week, Joe Cox will have his baseball power ranking. So, lots of good stuff going on. And a great time of the year to do it. Listen, Adam, great way to tip off the week. Stay safe out there. And thanks so much for your time today. Yeah, thanks for having me, guys. Always appreciate it, bud. You too. Adam Spencer, Saturday Down South. We mentioned at the top of the show, huge verbal bouquets to Dr. Josh Looney, the UNA Athletics Director, named the NACDA Athletics Director of the Year across the country.

Congratulations to Dr. Josh Looney. A huge honor for the top line at UNA. Coming up, what's going on behind the scenes in Tuscaloosa, Andrew Bone to tell us on that and more straight ahead. Stay with us. Did you know about one in three people with plaque psoriasis may also develop psoriatic arthritis, which causes joint pain, stiffness, and swelling? Does this sound like you? Listen to what it sounds like to be a million miles away. Trimphia, Gucelcomab, taken by injection, is a prescription medicine for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, who may benefit from taking injections or pills or phototherapy, and for adults with active psoriatic arthritis.

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That's 800-575-6759. Tax relief advocates. Real solutions for real people. I lost my son Johnny to suicide after he became psychotic from marijuana. THC increases the risk of anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia in developing brains. Educate your teen on the harms of marijuana. A public service message from johnniesambassadors.org. From the University of Alabama, this is Crimson Tide Today. It's a daily update on Bama sports and it's brought to you by Guthrie's, America's original chicken finger restaurant and a proud partner of the Crimson Tide. For more information, visit guthrie'schicken.com.

Hello again, everybody. I'm Roger Hoover. Here are thoughts from baseball head coach Rob Vaughn after this weekend's series at Kentucky. Listen, guess what? We played bad this weekend. We didn't play good enough. We deserved what we got this weekend. But my message to them was just, man, if you start believing it, if you start caring what people on the outside think, man, it's not going to go great. Like, play for the dude next to you. Keep showing up for the guy next to you. And, man, they fought.

I'll give them that. We just, man, if you look back at the weekend, it's just there wasn't much we did well. You know, we didn't throw the baseball great. We didn't defend the baseball good at all. We didn't hit with runners in scoring position great. And that's what happened. So, to me, it's like we got to acknowledge where we fell short and not make any excuses about everything. But, man, stick together and show up on Tuesday against the good South Alabama team and be ready to compete.

I'll have more in a moment. This year, we honor the most important anniversary ever, an event that reshapes civilization as we know it. A day that would lead to something so flawless that nothing could ever really compare. People have tried to match it, but have failed. This year, we celebrate the 60th anniversary of Guthrie's, the home of the original Chicken Finger. Just talking about it gets me all choked up. And hungry for a chicken finger. Guthrie's, an original obsession for 60 years. Join us tonight for Hey Coach and the Nate Oates Show, presented by Alpha Insurance.

Live at 6 p.m. Central from Baumhauer's Victory Grill in Tuscaloosa. You can listen to Hey Coach across our full radio network, the Varsity Network app, as well as watch the video stream. Streaming live on all CTSN social media platforms at UA underscore CTSN. Crimson Tide Today is brought to you by Guthrie's. Crimson Tide Today is a production of the Crimson Tide Sports Network from Learfield. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. We really appreciate the free ride around the Tennessee Valley. And for Andrew Bone, taking time out of his busy schedule there at BamaOnline.com.

That's part of the On3.com family. And his book is called The Road to Bama. Andrew, welcome in. How are you? Doing great, guys. How are you all doing today? Good, man. We appreciate you taking time out. Nate Oates, he loses a game, and now he's probably losing his mind and losing his hair over what's happened over the last three or four days. Andrew, your thoughts on Nate Oates and the news. It started with the news this morning about Holloway. Yeah, not great. You know, definitely not something you think you're going to see on a Monday morning, the week of the start of the NCAA tournament, a couple days after returning home from Nashville.

[21:29] So, you know, disappointed for sure for Coach Oates. And obviously, Hayden put Alabama in a bad light with this. So, interested to kind of see how this all is going to play out. Yeah, obviously, it would be very surprised if we saw him on Friday against Hofstra. But, you know, you're going to have to have some guys that are going to have to step up this week. You know, we didn't really see that from some of their star players this past week. And Reitzel or Murray Allen said that, you know, we're going to have to see some more out of them in Aiden's place this week.

This Alabama team, if they've got the right mindset, they defend and rebound, Andrew. They can get back to the Sweet 16. We'll see after that. Michigan might be waiting for them. But they took Ole Miss too lightly. And I give Ole Miss a lot of credit. They had one of the most impressive runs I've ever seen. But I really do think for this tournament, once they decide what the plan is going to be if Holloway is suspended, I think the mindset is going to be there. This team is perfectly capable of winning a minimum of two games and getting to the Sweet 16.

Yeah, there's no doubt about it. And, you know, you brought up a good point. I mean, Ole Miss, you know, watching them, they certainly underachieved this year, you know, with their roster and their talent. I mean, you know, they really took it to, you know, to Arkansas, who ends up being the tournament champions and beat Texas and obviously beat Georgia. So, you know, those are some good teams. They're all, you know, tournament teams. So, you know, it was an impressive run for them. And, you know, it was kind of their last breath.

You know, they had to win the tournament just to, you know, just to make it to the NCAA. But, you know, also for their season not to be completely over. So, you know, credit to them. But, you know, with Alabama, you know, getting that, you know, bye and, you know, thinking that it was going to be kind of a cakewalk, you know, a team that they had beat, you know, sadly by, you know, in Oxford just a few weeks ago. They probably just looked beyond them.

So, as far as, you know, moving forward, I mean, I think this is a team that, you know, can play really well. I think they've got a, you know, they've got a pretty good setup, in my opinion, to make it to, you know, the second weekend. You know, they're a team that, you know, can get beat in the first round or they can make a run to the, you know, to the Elite Eight, potentially. So, you know, really kind of intrigued to kind of see what team's going to show up.

You know, can they, you know, they still have to get better. I mean, you know, you can't go into the tournament and, you know, miss a lot of shots. You've got to hit your free throws. You've got to rebound. You've got to play better defense. I mean, they're not a great defensive team, but, you know, can they pick it up, you know, just a little bit? Because, you know, they rely so much on their shots falling through and just outsporing teams, you know, every single game.

And they do a good job of doing that or they wouldn't have finished second in the league. So, I think that, you know, it's going to be very intriguing to kind of see what team shows up this first week. And hopefully they're going to be able to go in there and win a couple games, even with the distraction that they have, you know, right now. Stop reading the press clippings. Wouldn't hurt. Wouldn't hurt me either, Andrew. Andrew Ballen, looking up with us. Bamonline.com. Andrew, meanwhile, back at the ranch.

It's hard to believe, but that other sport down there, football, wrapping up a week on the spring of practice fields. I know it's limited right now. Basically, a lot of dress rehearsals, soon to get into the real deal here. What are you hearing so far, Andrew, about Alabama football spring? Well, I think you kind of, it's hard to kind of understand how good the team's going to be, you know, even after four weeks of spring practice. You kind of have to wait until the fall and wait until those first games and SEC play because you have a lot of talent, but you have a lot of inexperience.

And I think, you know, they're trying to figure out, you know, who are going to be their starters at key positions. I think, you know, the biggest takeaways for me in the first week is kind of, you know, hearing from different coaches, kind of seeing, you know, what they've had to say about the returning players, new faces, different positions, you know, who's going to kind of step up to be, you know, those vocal leaders in the locker room because you lost a lot of that from last year's football team, you know, from team captains and, you know, who are going to be those captains this year.

[26:39] And, you know, and not just that, you know, even beyond, but you're really trying to focus on, you know, obviously both sides of the offensive and defensive line, you know, who's going to be the impact guys there. I thought the biggest surprise of the first week was Ryan Grubb emphatically stating that Jackson Lloyd was the starting left tackle, which, you know, for a guy who has yet to start a game at Alabama and you have some guys that you brought in from the, from the transfer portal who have started multiple years, you know, at tackle, you know, including Dave and James from, from Mississippi State.

I thought that said a lot. And I think Alabama over the course of the last couple of years on the offensive front, they've just had so many different challenges during the spring. You look two years ago, you know, Parker Brelscher missed the entire spring. You had Caden Proctor who missed the entire spring because he had transferred to Iowa and then came back. And they were trying to figure out, you know, who was going to start at these other positions outside of Tyler Booker. And they really just didn't know until, until fall camp.

And then kind of the same thing, you know, last year, you know, Caden Proctor was out the entire spring. You're still trying to figure out who is your right tackle. You know, where are you going to have a, a freshman that was going to start? You had kind of a new face with, with Cam Dubberry in there and trying to figure out who was going to start at, you know, both guard positions. I think with Alabama, I think they're trying to, you know, what was the biggest issue the last couple of years?

It's been the offensive line. And now you've got a new offensive line coach. You have a lot of new faces in there. It's a lot different. It's all guys that Coach DeBoer and his staff have recruited specifically for this offense. So I think that they would like to have, you know, I think they would like to have their starting five step by the end of the spring. So you walk into the start of preseason practice, knowing who your five guys are. You know, they feel like right now, Jackson Lloyd is the starting left tackle.

I think they've, you know, obviously Michael Carroll's starting right tackle. They had a lot of praise for Rayson Doug Gotti, the center transfer from Cal Poly. I think those are three guys that are your starters right now. Now, you know, can they find a few guards, left and right guards, over the course of, you know, these next, these next four weeks? So I'm really intrigued to kind of see if they feel very confident in a potential starting five at that position, but on the offensive line.

So we'll kind of see. But I think the biggest takeaway, at least for offense, was in naming Jackson Lloyd as the starter already. And, you know, we'll see if any of those, you know, new faces end up pushing. But, you know, overall, I think, you know, you're starting to see some leaders emerge, especially from the guys who've transferred in. Coach Womack really praised Devin Tompkins, the defensive lineman from USC, and then Caleb Woodson. Probably, I would say, Caleb Woodson may be, you know, one of the most important guys that they were able to sign from the portal.

You know, from Virginia Tech, a guy who's played a lot of snaps, has been a starter, a multi-year starter. He was named a team captain before last season. You know, he had a little bit of an issue, ended up getting a DUI. So, you know, got this captain badge stripped from him. But he still has those qualities as far as being a captain, or he wouldn't have been named one as a junior by the Virginia Tech coaching staff. So, I think he's kind of walking a straight line now, very young, inexperienced room.

You need somebody to really step up. And it seems like from, you know, the coaching staff, what they've said, he's really kind of taken that role and been really impressive out there on the field so far for them. So, you know, really encouraged by some of their transfers that they've been able to bring in, you know, during the offseason. Andrea, I certainly encourage our listeners to get online and read your article summarizing the first week of spring camp. But then your 15 questions going into the season, you have one about the freshmen, Xavier Griffin, Crowell, C.D. Morgan, Jordan Edmonds, Jaira Edwards, and Maury Johnson from most of the shows is going to turn some heads, too.

That's going to be fun to watch those guys develop. A.B., always great to begin the week with you. Where can we get online to get your stuff, Charlie Potter, Tim Watts, Blake Beiler, the whole gang, and get your stuff in the teams? Yeah, definitely come check us out at BamaOnline.com. We've got a great special right now. It's our spring special, 50% off for an entire year. Bama Online, so you get all of our features, all of our intel pieces. You get to live chat with us every single day on our premium message board.

[31:58] You get a one-year access to the athletic, plus you get all the coverage from the guys on threesportsandrivals.com. So, incredible deal at BamaOnline.com right now. So, come over, check us out. We'd love to see you all there. Absolutely. Andrew, always great to talk with you, bud. Have a great week. Let's do this again real soon. Sounds great. Thank you, guys. Andrew Bowen, looking up with us. Visit you there at BamaOnline, part of the on three.com family. And his book is called The Road to Bama.

Coming up, interesting road for this Auburn basketball team this week. We'll talk about that and a whole lot more with Brian Matthews on deck. Stay with us. Sound familiar? At Mattress Firm, we understand there are many problems that can keep you up at night, like snoring, aches and pains, or sleeping hot. Our sleep experts have the unrivaled know-how to match you with a mattress that can help. And now at Mattress Firm, upgrade to a Tempur-Pedic and learn how you can get 3% back plus an instant gift.

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Visit Indeed.com slash hire now and sponsor your job today. Hey folks, Jason Horowitz here with an NCAA tournament schedule preview. The men's bracket is set with the four number one seeds going to Duke, Arizona, Michigan, and Florida. The action gets going tomorrow and Wednesday with NC State, Texas, SMU, and Miami of Ohio among the teams needing a first four win to advance. Then on Thursday, Friday, the remainder of the field hits the hardwood. Stay tuned for Westwood One's exclusive coverage of the NCAA tournament right here.

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It all connects. Children's hardships. Children's laughter. All the reasons life is both so hard and so beautiful. All we do as ChildFund so that millions of kids can grow up healthy, educated, and safe. Visit ChildFund.org. Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93.9 The Score. On the NASCAR Cup Series yesterday, Denny Hamlin raced to the checkered flag. Chase Elliott was second. William Byron was third. Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top five. Team USA Baseball advanced to the World Baseball Classic Final tomorrow night. They beat Dominican Republic yesterday 2-1.

USA will take on either Venezuela or Italy. Those two play tonight in the other semifinal. In the NCAA basketball tournament, the Alabama Crimson Ties hit to play on Friday. They'll take on Hofstra in round number one. Troy will play on Thursday as the Trojans are 13th seed. They'll play Nebraska. Bundle auto and home, renters or condo, and save with Progressive. I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash presented by Progressive on 93.9 The Score. Find what you love, love what you find, a total wine and more. There's so much waiting for you.

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Really appreciate your free ride around the Tennessee Valley. And for Brian Matthews, taking time out of his busy schedule with our senior editor for auburnsports.com. Brian, welcome in. How are you? I'm doing great, guys. Thanks for having me on. Hey, Bill. Appreciate you taking time out. Just when you thought you wouldn't have to work anymore this season when it comes to basketball. They still say keep some gas in the tank. Brian, before we talk about the next matchup for this Auburn basketball team, your wordsmith, how would you describe, what adjective or adjectives would you use to describe this basketball team this season?

Well, I mean, I would say it was disappointing the way they finished. Certainly, right? When you saw them play earlier in the year, they played a really tough schedule. They got some nice wins. They got off to a good start, a decent start in the SEC. They just kind of fell apart there. I think it was eight of ten losses didn't end up the regular season. So, yeah, that was really tough. And that left more of a negative light on the season as a whole, I feel like.

Was the Ole Miss loss, and I've heard this conversation the last 24 hours, was that the final nail in the coffin? And I know you mentioned when you lose, when you go 2-8 to finish the season, you really can't pinpoint one. But I know a lot of people said probably the loss to Ole Miss at home may have done it. You know, I think so. A lot's been made of, you know, the 16 losses overall. And just losing at home, I think, to Ole Miss really just really ripped the hearts out of the people that were there.

You know, very surprised to lose that game against a team. But if you look at what Ole Miss has done since, they haven't won the tournament, right? They're playing much better now. So, it's more understandable. But at the time, it looked pretty, pretty bad. And, you know, it was – what was that? How many straight – that was – yeah, that was the stretch there where they lost seven of eight, I think. So, you know, that was really, really difficult. Brian Matthews, AuburnSports.com. Brian, before we talk about the next matchup, you look at this overall work this season.

It's one thing what happens on the court. Sometimes, these coaches, they earn their money. It's what happens off the court. No secret there was some chemistry issues, some off-the-court issues where Steve and Pearl try to keep the team together. And then, they're not the only team. And this morning, Nate Oates says, oh, my gosh, I'm in the NCAA tournament. And one of my top scorers now is facing charges for marijuana. Your thoughts overall about the modern coach trying to deal with these kids. They've got time.

They've got money. They've got personalities. It ain't easy. It's never been easy, but especially now that they've got some nickels to rub together. It is a much more difficult job. It's not just managing players who are getting paid a lot of money, which, you know, NBA coaches, do that, right? So, it's not like it's some otherworldly experience. But these players are much younger, much more immature. And then, on top of that, you've got the transport portal. You've got, you know, everything else going on. So, yeah, it is a very different time to be a college head coach in any sport, but especially in the major sports like football and men's basketball, where there's so much money being thrown around, so many agents getting involved, and there's not really any set rules.

And any rules they try to set, you know, can get turned over in the courts or, you know, almost immediately. So, it's just like it remains the Wild Wild West. That makes it very difficult, I think, for many people to excel in that type of environment. B, man, I saw a media member go off and a rant this morning that Auburn should not have accepted an NIT bid. Look, it just did not end well. But I kind of look at the other situation. You win two or three games, they would play the first three games at home, being the number one seed in NIT.

[42:22] They're playing South Alabama tomorrow night at 9 o'clock on ESPN2. But you've got some young players that you can develop. And I think more than anything else, Auburn fans, you know, at some point, they'll probably lose a game in this. But, you know, what would it hurt to win two or three games, get practice for younger kids, and try to develop some of these guys if you can keep them for next year? You're right. And you can make a little money, not a lot, but a little bit.

You're not losing money doing this. And you get those home games so your fans can come out and watch your team play, which is, you know, not the worst thing in the world, for sure. And then, you know, as my colleague Justin Robinson pointed out, it's also good in this era where you have the transfer portal and you have agents and you have, you know, all sorts of things going on to have those kids, especially the ones that you want to keep on this team going in next year, still around, still involved in day-to-day, you know, practices and everything to keep them from, you know, going somewhere else and getting involved in everything, right?

So that's big there anyway. And then if you look at Auburn specifically, I mean, I think people are pretty disappointed with the way it ends. If things don't go well in the NIT tomorrow night or whatever, it'll just be another disappointment. But it's not going to be like going from a four to a 10 of being upset. People are already pretty much there. So there is an opportunity to turn it back the other way and possibly, hey, finish out with some wins, get some momentum, have people feeling better about Stephen Pearl going into the offseason.

I just think there's a lot more upside to this decision for Auburn than there is a downside. Good points, Brian. Tomorrow night's game is one of those gotcha games. It's, I told you so, if things go south. Your thoughts, it comes down to this, everybody's talking now, it's the NIT and all that, but once the ball's tipped off and you get into it, the competitive juices, they get to flowing. Your thoughts about the matchup with South Alabama, you know they're going to come in and throw everything they can against Big Brother.

Your thoughts about the matchup on the court? I actually don't know hardly anything about South Alabama. I have not watched them play, so I don't know much about their team. So I'm sure I'm going to get into that, you know, shortly. We'll meet with Corey here in another hour and 15 minutes or so. So I've been busy with baseball and other stuff too, but it should be just because they're an in-state rival, right? It should be a fun matchup. And as you said, I think South Alabama will be very, very fired up to come to Auburn.

And you know Auburn, which lost in the SEC tournament, was it Thursday? So they've been off and they didn't know and there's probably some disappointment not getting into the NCAA tournament. So how are they going to react to that? So this is going to be an interesting game to watch, right? You would think Auburn should quote-unquote be the favorite and win this game, but that's not how it works out all the time when you're talking about, you know, going on the court and actually playing. Believe it or not, Auburn begins spring football practice tomorrow.

There's been a rumor anyway. I think they've got a media session with Alex Golich and some of the players. B-Matt, punish some of your questions. We've talked with you about this throughout the winter. Again, you've got so many new players in here. You've got to see some of these guys on the field. He replaces Kendrick Falk. I don't know if you can replace him, but they've got some players. The Smith boys, Deshaun Womack, Nate Johnson are in the mix. Can some of the sophomores step up, like Melendez, Bryce Dees, Alterney, Crawford?

And if we could go on down the list here, particularly at defense, he's going to emerge at cornerback. But what are your top two or three questions entering the spring? Well, I think you pretty much nailed it. And to me, it's a line of scrimmage, right? Auburn doesn't really return any starters on line of scrimmage. You know, they've had guys here and there that have started games, you know, there. But not any full-time starters returning. So that's a really big, big area of need. And, of course, Cole Bass transferred from South Florida.

He was a long-time starter there, but he's still not a starter in the SEC. But I think the defensive line, you know, you mentioned Jared Smith. How has the possibility to step in their defensive end? Yeah. Tyler Falk did so much for this team on and off the field, right? And one of the reasons I think Xavier Atkins was so good last year is because of the job that defensive line and Keldrick Falk did up front, taking on blocks and, you know, forcing teams to be worried about them and not worried about what the linebackers are doing.

[47:23] And that can change if they're not getting more production up front. And that can certainly affect the entire defense. So that'll be an area we'll be watching really close. And, of course, the offensive line, the other side of the line of scrimmage there, you know, trying to find two new starting tackles. You feel like best is probably your starting center, certainly with his experience. But every other job is wide, wide open. Auburn just has three players returning from last year. All three are second-year guys. So it's just going to be a really interesting area.

Cal Ellis is the one guy returning that's started a couple games. Other than that, it's just a lot of new faces, a lot of new guys competing against each other. And I don't think whether a guy's a senior that they brought up into the potential portal or one of the returning Richard Freshman or Cal Ellis or any of those guys, you can pencil in as necessarily starters. I think it's pretty wide open on that side of the ball. Brian Matthews, again, senior editor of Auburn Sports.

Brian, are Auburn fans saying basketball teams, football team, why don't you do what the baseball team is doing these days on the planes? They are doing incredible. Went out to Missouri. That's the first road sweep to start SEC play in 16 years. Really impressive. One, two tight ones, and then had that 9-2 win in Saturday's second game, the doubleheader. I thought they played fairly well. The pitching has been excellent, continues to be excellent. Didn't have great approaches, but I think Missouri's starting pitching might be a little bit better than people were expecting.

I thought those guys threw really, really well. But this week is going to be amazing. You've got No. 3 Georgia Tech coming in tomorrow. That game's going to move to 4 o'clock because of the cold weather that's moved in. And then you've got a three-game series against No. 2 Texas. So you've got, you know, three top-five teams competing. Auburn competing against two top-five teams this week. It's going to be a really terrific baseball. Players with power, expecting big crowds and just some great baseball, great players on both teams, on all the teams coming in.

Nothing going on this week whatsoever. Remember, football practice begins tomorrow. Auburn, South Alabama, and the NIT, Georgia Tech, Texas, and baseball. You can be taking naps all week long. Where can we get online to get all the great coverage this week? Yeah, you just mentioned I've got to do all three of those things tomorrow. I don't know. That's a lot. Red Bull. Yeah, we will have full coverage, of course, and we will have blowout coverage of all of it. And I'll probably be there for all three.

I know I'll be there for two at least. But get all that and more at AuburnSports.com. Football, practice, spring, baseball, basketball, NIT, you name it. Recruiting, of course. All that and more. And you can follow me on Twitter at bmatau. I'm waiting for equestrian and pickleball. When's that coming on board, Brian? Well, equestrian, of course, is doing really well on top team. There you go. Don't know about that Auburn pickleball team yet. Stay tuned. Hey, listen, man. Thanks for your time, Dave, and have a great week, okay?

I appreciate you guys. Take care. Thank you, buddy. All right, Matthew, senior, AuburnSports.com. We mentioned Alabama's men going to Tampa for NCAA play. How about the pride of Loretto, Carly Weathers, and the Alabama women, BB? Harold, they're going to be facing Rhode Island. Alabama women are the number six seed. Rhode Island is the 11th seed. They're going to be playing in Louisville. Rhode Island, 28-4. Wow. So, again, the time. But, again, it's a time to reset. And I think Alabama might could certainly win a few games in the tournament.

We'll see how it goes. Alabama women Saturday versus Rhode Island. One of the voices of Alabama men's basketball, Brian Pasek, on board for the next hour. Big Orange, big man, Vince Ferrara. And John Frari, talking Gators. It's all straight ahead on the second hour of the Boomo Bugg Show here on Sports Radio, 93.9. Hi, this is Ike Fowler with Alabama Health Guidance. Whether you are looking for a Medicare health plan or you are under 65 and exploring individual health care options, Alabama Health Guidance can help you find the plan that fits your needs.

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Klinner leaves behind his wife, Libby, and three young children. Klinner's sister-in-law set up a GoFundMe account to help with the family. That GoFundMe has now raised over a million dollars over this past weekend. Two other crew members were killed in that crash who came from the 99th Air Refueling Squadron out of Birmingham, Tech Sergeant Ashley Pruitt and Captain Ariana Savino. I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this. Are you enjoying 1819 News? If so, consider joining 1819 News as a member. As a nonprofit news organization, we depend on the support of Alabamians like you.

Memberships start out as little as $5 a month and you'll get access to exclusive content only offered to our members. You'll be supporting independent journalism done by people who cherish Alabama values. Become a member today by visiting 1819news.com and clicking Become a Member. That's 1819news.com and click Become a Member today. The ALA News out of Mobile was able to talk with U.S. Senator Katie Britt about the I-10 Mobile River Bridge. Britt and Senator Tommy Tuberville recently met with the U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy about the status of this project, including a federal loan from the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act that will provide a low interest rate to fund this project.

I am hopeful that in the next little bit we will be able to finalize the process with TIFIA and hopefully be able to get moving on that in the very near future. And that will be a great day for Mobile and Baldwin County. I'm Andrea Tice. For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com. And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter. AutoZone. Annie's first oil change wasn't as hard as she thought because she went to AutoZone where a friendly AutoZoner helped her find the right oil and save on an oil filter.

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I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley and BB. Again, let's just hope and pray that everybody is tuning in right now. Made it through last night as well as possible. What was it, what was it, 80 degrees or so on Saturday, and I looked out the window a while ago and had about an inch of snow on the ground. So, welcome to North Alabama in March. Yeah, it's still snowing in most of the shows. I stuck my head out the door to see, and the Lexington community, I think, was the hardest hit.

He had a lot of tree damage, but it was a close call. Thankfully, Harold, from what I've been able to gather, no injuries or certainly fatalities. Another reason the sun's always out, or so it seems, down in a place called the Sunshine State, where we take you with John Farr. He's there at CBS Sports Radio, 1420 WAOC, 1240 WFOY in St. Augustine, Florida, and online anytime there at 965sports.com. John, welcome in. How are you? Harold, doing great. I will report, though, the sun is not out in northeast Florida right now, but nothing compared to what you folks endure.

I hope everyone's safe over there. And that weather that moved through northern Alabama is starting to head over to Florida now, so we're embracing for it as well. But great to be with you guys, and I tell you what, a great week this week. I think the Florida Gators, as I told you guys last week, Gator Nation looks forward to March, I think, more than any other month. They had a setback on Saturday, but they still got the one seed. So, all in all, I think they've got to be pretty happy where they're at, and I think they will bounce back, no pun intended, when they get in the tournament.

John, your thoughts about that? Because everybody, the so-called smart people, thought Florida and Alabama was going to play yesterday in the championship game, and they both had something in common. They watched the game from the couch. And another way of looking at it is, Florida is the number one seed in some ways, I guess if you don't look at it this way, they get some extra rest without having to go out and risk injury and get even more tired than they already were. It's a long season.

And in the case of Alabama, I think they're disappointed they get to three seed, but I think most people who are realistic thought Alabama's going to wind up with the fourth seed anyway. So, your thoughts just about the strategy of conference play, and I thought Rick Pitino said it best. Back in the day, the committee gave a lot of weight down the stretch, but pretty much nowadays, I think they go online, find people out a little naughty, and say, okay, we'll buy into that. It's easy work.

[1:02:35] Your thoughts just about the strategy of these teams this time of the year? Well, I think the teams, Harold, that need to win to maybe solidify their spot in the tournament are much more motivated. And I take nothing away from Vanderbilt, but I can tell you they were getting some 50-50 balls that during the regular season Florida was getting. And you could see that from the get-go. Now, they also were shooting the lights out on Saturday. So, again, they were the better team, obviously. They won by 17.

But I think the strategy is kind of what you laid out there, Harold. I think the teams that, like Alabama maybe, too, that don't need it, they know they're in the tournament. And then they play somebody like Ole Miss, who got on a roll, won by a point over Alabama. But they're playing for their survival because the only way they could continue to play is to win the tournament. So, it's a double-edged sword. And I do think sometimes the rest is more valuable for teams like Florida and Alabama that know they're in the tournament.

And why risk an injury? A couple of years back, Florida lost Micah Han-Logton in the championship game. He broke his leg. For those that forgot, two years ago, they were one and done in the NCAA tournament back in 2024. So, there is a risk to this, even though you want to win every game. So, from Florida's perspective, I think it's a good reset. I think it's a wake-up call that, hey, if we're not on our game, and basically those two games in Nashville, Florida was 8 of 37 from behind the arc.

You're going to get beat. As great as they are inside, if you're that bad, you're going to get beat. And Thomas Houck and Clavzar, neither one, made a three-pointer in either game up in Nashville. So, that is a concern. And that was the Achilles heel back in November and December, guys, before they started to get better from the perimeter. So, that's going to be the thing to watch for Gator fans out there listening, starting this weekend in Tampa. The outside shootings, not got to be lights out, but it's got to be better than that for Florida to make a deep run and get back to a Final Four.

John, I think something else, and you mentioned this to us last week, turnovers. Florida had 14 to Vandy's 8. Vandy managed 24 points off of turnovers, which was really key. Jimmy Dykes mentioned this a couple of times during the game, that Vandy beat Florida to about 80% of the 50-50 balls. Long, long rebounds, et cetera. But, again, if they don't turn the ball over and then hit some threes, John, I still say this team's very capable of getting to the Final Four. Well, you just hit the nail on the head, Brett, on the two keys, and the turnovers were atrocious.

You're right. And even during the Kentucky game that Florida won on Friday, they had too many turnovers and obviously had way too many against Vanderbilt Saturday. And that's why I think the glass half full looking at this from a Florida perspective, it's going to allow Todd Golden to get these guys' attention this week in practice. You better believe the two things you just touched on, Brett, is what he's going to touch on, turnovers and perimeter shooting. And I'll throw one more in, the free throw shooting wasn't good enough either, especially against Vanderbilt.

Honestly, nothing was good enough against Vanderbilt, obviously. That's why they lost Saturday. But I expect a much more motivated team, and I kind of like the fact that Vanderbilt possibly might play Florida in the Sweet 16 if they both get that far. There's going to be a highly motivated Florida team. You can bet your bottom dollar if they play them again in Houston. I don't like that Florida has to play possibly Houston in Houston in the Elite Eight. To me, that's penalizing a one seed. I don't get that.

Houston got the two seed, but they're going to basically have the home court. It won't be on their campus, but it's in their city. So having said that, if Florida plays their game, as you just said, Brett, I think they're in the final four, meaning if they cut down on the turnovers, make just enough from the outside to allow the big guys inside to take them home, I think they've got a good chance to get back to the final four. John Flory 965 Sports. I think coaches like Golden, in some crazy way, they look at that as a positive what happened because sometimes these kids, they won't listen to you, but when they lose, that gets their attention.

So he's got something to chew on. Nick Saban always loved that. He always wanted to bring something to the practice field from the last game that they could chew their butts on. So I think from that standpoint, it's a good thing. John, listen, it's always about the road. You alluded to it. Your thoughts about Florida's road as far as the draw they got overall. Well, I like that they're going to play in Tampa the first two rounds. We'll start them. They're going to play late Friday night, probably 940.

[1:07:59] The tip is set for 925. But as we know, guys, when you're the second game, it never starts on time. We all know that watching this tournament for years. But they're going to play the 16 seed in that. And then the winner of Iowa Clemson, I'm assuming they're going to win the first game. Maybe I'm being presumptuous there, but they get the winner of Iowa Clemson on Sunday. I like that matchup either way. And then, like I said, possibly Vanderbilt in the 16, maybe Illinois, but possibly Vanderbilt. And then either Houston or Illinois.

I guess Illinois would be the Elite Eight. So let me take that back. Illinois is the three seed, I believe, in that bracket. So, but it's a tough road. But honestly, I think if Florida plays their game, and I think you brought up, Harold, Todd Golden's got their attention now. And speaking to Coach Saban, I think maybe Florida had some rat poison going into Saturday. Because they were on a 12-game heater. Everybody nationally was talking about, they can repeat. And, you know, kids read these things.

Social media creeps in. So, I think, again, this might be a blessing, even though on Saturday afternoon, I can tell you, if I'd said that to any Gators in Northeast Florida, they probably would have run me out of you-know-what. But I think looking back on this, this may be something that was a blessing after Florida lost to Auburn back on January 24th. They won 12 in a row. So, I'm not saying that there's anything related, but Todd Golden mentioned a few games afterwards that got their attention.

This is going to get their attention, too. So, I still think they've got a great chance to get to Indianapolis and play on April 4th. John, 10 teams from the SEC made the tournament more than any other conference. How many teams can make the Sweet 16? I think Vandy, Arkansas, they both play on Thursday. The Hogs are a potential Final Four team to me. Friday, Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida play. That's five teams right there that, again, if they play their game, I think they could get to the Sweet 16.

I agree with you. And I'll throw one more in that I know they've had an off year by their standards. But, Kentucky. Kentucky's a funny team, but if they put it all together, they could make the Sweet 16. They play Santa Clara, and then they would possibly have to beat Iowa State. And I know that's a tall order this year, but I would probably say the five you touched on, Brett, or the five I would pick. Right now, I'm not picking Kentucky for the 16, but they've got a possibility.

I think six is the ceiling, but I think five is the reality. I think it's going to be five that get to the 16. And then, I think two are getting to the Final Four, because you mentioned Arkansas. I've got them going to the four. I think they can do it. I like what, and even though Florida ran them out of the, you know what, back on February 28th, I still like what Cal has done at Arkansas. Say what you want about John Calipari. He's a winner everywhere he goes.

I know it didn't end well in Kentucky, and the tournament was the issue, but I guarantee you Arkansas is loving what they got right now. So, I think Florida and Arkansas go to the Final Four from the SEC, and I think five make the Sweet 16. Razorback getting ROI on Mr. Calipari. It's always a fun topic, John. On any given tournament, on Wednesday or Thursday, some big Goliath is going to go down. David's going to reach up there and bite him. John, would you like to be bold?

Have you got your David and Goliath matchup? Who's going to be the first giant to fall in this tournament? Oh, good question. I have not looked that far ahead, but yeah, it does. Well, I will say, and I don't know if they're Goliath this year. They're a four seed, though. I think Kansas could lose to Cal Baptist. That's a four seed. Wow. Yeah, you're right. I don't like the way Kansas has looked down the stretch. They didn't look very good in the Big 12 tournament, and so that would be my David and Goliath.

I guess I don't think any of the one seeds are going to lose early. I think they all advance to the 16 and the Elite Eight, but I'll go Cal Baptist over Kansas. There you go. John, I'll give you another one. Louisville is a 6'11", again, South Florida. Brian Hudson is a former Nate Oates assistant, and he has done a marvelous job. He is a finalist for two jobs, Syracuse and Providence. Wow. In the New York area is where he's from. Would not surprise me at all if Brian Hudson, if South Florida upsets Louisville.

[1:13:23] You know, we'll see where that goes. But I always enjoy the conversation. It should be fun. Hopefully, quite a few SEC teams get to next week. But where can we get online? I know this will be topic day jure for you today. Where can we get online and listen to your show? Well, you can get online at 1021news.com and in St. Augustine at 1240 or 102.1 WFOY. And, guys, I'll throw one more while I'm walking out the door here. DCU over North Carolina. Look for that one.

Agreed. Agreed with that one. That could be a possibility, too. But, you know, always a pleasure to be with you guys. And hopefully Florida and Alabama make deep runs here in March Madness. I'm still trying to put the word California with badges together in the same sentence, John. I'm not going to touch that, Harold. No, I'll meet you, John. John, listen, enjoy the show. It's here. Enjoying all the best of you down there, okay? Thank you. Always an honor and a pleasure, guys. Thank you, buddy.

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[1:18:53] Tim collects bobbleheads. A lot of bobbleheads. Baseball bobbleheads. Race car bobbleheads. Little chihuahua bobbleheads. He's got an entire room strictly for bobbleheads. Does he need them? No. Is his wife mad about it? A little. But Tim works with Empower, and he got good at money. So he can be a little bad. Ooh, horse bobblehead. Classy, Tim. Empower. Invest well. Live a little. Start today at Empower.com. Out on the course, they're the PGA Tour's best players. But in the arena, they're prime time. And Season 2 of TGL presented by SoFi is back with lights, cameras, action.

We're talking big moments, big personalities, big names in the stands, all on the big screen. Big time matchups with shot clocks, hammer drops, timeouts, overtime, and playoffs. It's city versus city. Squad versus squad. This sport just hits different under the light. It's TGL presented by SoFi. Keep up. It's golf. Tune in to every match. Only on ESPN. You can beat your toughest opponent. But one thing you should never try to beat is a train. Don't risk your life. Drive safe, Alabama. Sponsored by ALDOT, the Alabama Broadcasters Association, and this station.

The score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. The score. Welcome back in. What's the big story in big orange country? The V-Man knows that and a whole lot more. V is Vince Ferrara. They're at 99.1. The Sports Animal Inn. Knoxville, Tennessee. And on the Ball Radio Network. V-Man, welcome in. Happy Monday to you. How are you? Same to you guys. Well, just driving home in the snow in mid-March. It's mad. It's mad. Yeah. It's the true story. I mow the lawn Saturday. It's like 80 degrees.

And I'm looking out now and there's snow on the ground, V-Man. Is it global warming? Does snow come with global warming? How do you explain this? Yeah, usually it has something to do with whoever your favorite team's athletic director is, head coach. That's usually who to blame for what Mother Nature may or may not give us. There you go, V-Man. At least we're consistent. All right, let's talk about the big orange. They're back in the dance. They're on a streak. V-Man, your thoughts about Tennessee getting their number called again under Rick Barnes?

Yeah. I think the biggest streak that they would like is at least they'd like to try to get to a third straight Elite Eight. I don't know if this team is consistent enough to buy in and advance, but they've got two pretty special players that have had incredible individual performances at times. You know, the team does have some good wins on its resume. So, Rick Barnes just talked about it. You just never know on, you know, he says he's seen teams that were just, you know, really rolling and then, you know, get beat.

And then other teams that, you know, were inconsistent or not playing their best ball, but they get a reset with a new season. And then they put it together and make a run. So, who knows? But that applies to a lot of people, not just to Tennessee. So, you know, it's interesting. They get to face the most talked about, potentially, the most talked about bubble in Miami, Ohio. If they see SMU instead, SMU has probably their best player, a guy that was leading them in scoring for a good part of the year.

B.J. Edwards is a former Tennessee volunteer. Wow. He's from Knoxville. He's just been out and injured during their rough stretch. They lost five of their last six, SMU did. And he's due back for the NCAA tournament, you know, just in time for them. And they have some good wins. They had a stretch, guys. I don't know if you remember this or saw this. They had a stretch where they played three straight SEC teams. It's Mississippi State and Vanderbilt on the road and then a home game against A&M.

Now, one of those might have been, you know, in a tournament or whatever. But three straight, and they beat A&M and Mississippi State. So, they have a win over North Carolina and Louisville. Those are all top 25 teams. They played Duke and Virginia closer than a lot of teams have not. It's just they've also had some ups and downs and not having Edwards as part of it. So, you know, it's not going to be easy for anyone. You can't put anything past, you know, a team that's a six-seed when they're facing an 11.

[1:23:53] And they'll have an extra game under their belt also, which also, which makes it dicey a lot of times for those six-seeds playing the first four, 11. So, just, but then after that, they could see three-seed Virginia. Some people are like, oh, yeah, we're into, yeah, we're a breeze into the second round. The other people are like, no, I hate it. We're screwed. So, it's just a matter of, like, tell us you don't watch their games without telling us you don't watch their games. So, it'll be, you know, it'll be tough.

They'll earn it if they do get to the Sweet 16 for sure. First things first, who does Bruce Perl root for, Miami of Ohio or SMU, V-Man? SMU. Because then Miami of Ohio is going to give it back to them and say, see, I told you. And if they lose, who could put it past him to tweet or get on CBS and say, I told you they shouldn't have been in the tournament. He doesn't do his son any favors by defending him. So, he was even tweeting about the officiating at the SEC tournament when Tennessee played Auburn.

So, yeah, it's just, you know, just unnecessary. It doesn't do Steven any help. You're exactly right. SMU, V, if you've got a guard by the name of Boopy, Boopy Miller for SMU, you're going to have a pretty good team to do to average his 20 points. It's a game. Maybe, A-Mint, A-Mint basically won the Auburn game. Second half, the second part of the second half, did not play as well against Vandy. But, again, I give Vandy a lot of credit. They're a good team, and they played well, even in the Arkansas game down at the end.

What is A-Mint's condition? And, again, if he scores 20, there's a real good chance Tennessee's going to win the game. But he can't do it by himself. Gillespie, Estrella, Carey, and friends have got to help him. Yeah, and even in the Vanderbilt game, I mean, his shooting, you know, was way obvious. One of 13 from the floor. But, honestly, the fact, and he's done this before, the fact that he was aggressive and kind of tried at the end and was willing to take shots, he was able to get to the free throw line and make a bunch of free throws to even give them a chance when they were stuck offensively.

Plus, he had 11 rebounds, which is a career high. So, he has been able to get them out of offensive ruts a lot of times. And he took over in that Auburn game as well. You know, his performance in that Vanderbilt game, part of that was him playing. He had just come back off of the ankle against Auburn. He wasn't 100%, but he still fought through it and played great. And then, to do it back-to-back, you could tell he just was not as effective and wasn't moving as well after that.

So, that has to be a factor, even though he wanted no part of using that as an excuse. So, now you don't play until Friday. You're in the Friday-Sunday games. Now you get another week to hopefully rest up. Barnes was even wondering if they would be able to play him if they had advanced and beaten Vanderbilt. So, that's how kind of touch-and-go that ankle has been for him. So, we'll see how much. Maybe he can't get all the way back before next Friday. But without him, they're not going very far at all.

With him, then, at least it's a possibility. They just need other guys to be consistent and contribute to help Gillespie. Rick Barnes even pointed out Gillespie needs as much rest, if not more than Aiman, because of how much of a load he's had to carry because so many other guys have been inconsistent. Yeah. B-Man, we know one thing to tell you how good the SEC is to get here. Guess what? It's a conference for the most teams. The most is, again, 10 from the SEC. Everybody's going to sit here and pull against the SEC outside of our neck of the woods.

How will the SEC do over all? And do you have a number in mind of how many might make the final four from this neck of the woods? Well, I guess all of the formulas and rules that they put in their computers to spit out the bracket, I guess they had a block on the East region. Because there are no SEC teams in the East region. And we have the other 10 crammed in the three different regions. Tennessee has Georgia and Alabama and Kentucky as well in their Midwest region.

Why is that? That doesn't make any sense. So, you know, I haven't laid out my bracket yet. I think that always impacts you. Just off the top, I haven't even been thinking about those matchups down the road yet. I haven't gotten there yet. But I'll say the SEC will get three into the Sweet 16. And if I was going to say Final Four, I'd say one. My next closest probably would be, if I was going to pick, would be Arkansas. But what I typically do is I fill out the bracket backwards.

[1:29:29] And then, you know, like the teams I really believe in the most, I try to do it that way. Because if you do it front ways, then you end up like, all right, I like all of these teams and they're all in the same region. And I don't like any of those other teams and they're all in that other region. So, I don't know if that's effective or not. But I'll go with one in the Final Four and three in the Sweet 16. V, there's a rumor that Tennessee's going to play spring football at some point.

We'll see where that goes. Baseball's still going on. One of the busiest times of the year. And you've got it all covered, I know. Where can we get online and get the good stuff, my friend? I was there this morning. I witnessed it. Thankfully, they have an indoor facility so they don't have to practice in the snow that I'm driving in. But, yeah, I was there. And Faison Brandon, George McIntyre, the two quarterbacks in the competition, no surprise. That's where most of the media was. That's where the questions for Josh Eiffel afterwards were mostly directed at.

And that's not changing any time soon. And Jim Knowles' defense is another big part of what does it look like. But, yeah, got going this morning. They'll practice about four times a week. And we'll see what the spring game looks like, whatever they decide to do for that. But, yeah, going four straight weeks until they get to the 15th practice in that orange and white game. You can find me on all the socials. It's Vince Sports, V-I-N-C-E. Sports and the TV work at SportsSource Digital Network.

Tennessee football playing on the frozen tundra under Vince Carrara, not Vince from Bombardy. V-Man, stay warm up there. Thanks so much for your time today. You guys do the same. Always enjoy it. Appreciate you. Thank you, buddy. The V-Man, Vince Carrara, 99.1, the sports animal. Needless to say, an interesting three or four days for those involved in Alabama basketball and nobody more so than Brian Pasek. He's on deck. Stay with us. Getting the kids to practice on time. Remembering if it's your day to bring snacks. Making it to the game with a clean jersey.

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[1:35:01] They'll play Nebraska. On the NASCAR Cup Series yesterday, Denny Hamlin raced to the checkered flag. Chase Elliott was second. William Byron was third. Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top five. Team USA Baseball advanced to the World Baseball Classic Final tomorrow night. They beat Dominican Republic yesterday 2-1. USA will take on either Venezuela or Italy. Those two play tonight in the other semifinal. Bundle auto and home, renters, or condo, and save with Progressive. I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash presented by Progressive on 93.9.

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The Score. And welcome back to the Boomo Bugg Show. Brett Beaird and Harold Bugg. Harold will be joining us here in just a minute, but delighted to bring in Drew DeArmond. I got a chance to have an extended conversation with Brian Passink, who was looking for some food in the media area and couldn't find it late Friday night. But we still had a great conversation with him. Alabama men's basketball analyst on the Crimson Tide Sports Network. I hope you got some food at the motel when you left, but it was great to talk to you.

Welcome into the show. Oh, great to be with you guys. Yes, it was great catching up. And no, sadly, I think I ended up with like a soggy banana at like midnight in my hotel room. It was for the best. This time of year, I eat so bad, and I eat at such weird times. It's not the healthiest way to be. But anyway, as you guys heard me whine about not getting a bratwurst in time, I did enjoy catching up. It's always fun. I like a man with his priorities.

I guarantee you. Brian Passink, cooking it with us. Brian, how would you describe the last three or four days? Not exactly the menu that Nate Oates brought in since Friday in Nashville, and then the news today out of Tuscaloosa. These coaches, they make a lot of money, but sometimes, man, do they ever earn it? Yeah, man, all kind of news going on. Some really good, some not so much. Yeah, I'll start with the tournament. It's one of those situations where sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the opponent.

I thought Ole Miss was incredible. I saw that on Wednesday night against Texas. They were up 23 on a really good Georgia team on Thursday night and then continued to play it at such a high level on Friday against Alabama. Now, with that being said, I love the response from Nate Oates and his team. They looked directly in the mirror and said it. And so they weren't good enough. And they didn't. And which is exactly how you have to approach that. Just as a, I don't know, I'm not a neutral observer, but I did think that I have never seen a team that I had watched less than a month previously completely transform themselves into something I didn't recognize, and that's what Ole Miss did.

And if they get a call or two against Arkansas, I think they're cutting down the nets. And we are really comparing them to NC State 83 because they were not very good, to say the least, in Oxford last month. Alabama, I thought, actually played better in Nashville against Ole Miss than they did in Oxford. And in Oxford, won by 20. This was a completely different team. Obviously, Alabama missed a bunch of layups, and Ole Miss was great, and didn't defend, and all those things. And hopefully, it will create a sense of urgency going into the NCAA tournament, which is never a bad thing.

[1:40:21] NATO's teams almost always bounce back and respond the way you want them to when they have faced adversity or had losses that you maybe didn't expect. So, I hope that will be the case coming up this week in Tampa. On the court, it was one thing. Now, Nate's got to face off the court issues with Aiden Holloway this morning, in case you're just joining us, facing marijuana arrest charges. Your thoughts, obviously, what that means, and as far as that's a second-leading score, it goes without saying that there's going to be some head scratching and some chest moves there.

But your thoughts just about the impact of that, and what's the latest, I'm sure right now, it's in the court's hands, but what are you hearing about it, Brian? Yeah, really, all I've heard is what I've read on Twitter. And not to say that's not accurate, but I will say that Twitter has a track record of sometimes being right and sometimes maybe not having the full story. So, I don't know. And I think it is obviously something that we don't want to hear. What has been reported doesn't sound great, but the reality is we all don't know.

So, hopefully it plays out, hopefully quickly, and hopefully there's an explanation or a side to this that we don't know yet. I mean, just for all involved, forget about basketball. This is just not something that anybody wants to hear, whether you're an Alabama fan or not. But if you take it strictly from a basketball standpoint, we don't know. We don't know what, at least I haven't heard, I don't know if there have been any statements yet, but I don't know what his status is for the NCAA tournament.

And, you know, let's say, you know, the speculation, if he's not available, I mean, in my opinion, you know, I would look at it from a basketball standpoint like an injury. He's an important player that may not be available on Thursday against Hofstra. And so, the good thing is it's an area of depth. I think Alabama has the best and deepest backcourt in college basketball. So, from a basketball standpoint, can you overcome it? Yeah, you can because you have talent, you have depth in the backcourt, and whether it's an off-the-court situation or an injury, you take a next-man-up approach, and I would expect that to be the case if that is how this ends up playing out.

You know, you take a guy like Houston Bollett, who has been coming off the bench, maybe he's in a starting role. Jahlil Batia maybe gets more minutes. He's played well later. Taylor Balboa is a guy that is getting healthy. So, maybe, you know, he gets more minutes. So, it's a next-man-up, all-hands-on-down. All those cliches that just happen to be true is the mindset that you have to take. So, I'm excited about the NCAA tournament. I mean, I hate that the news broke that, you know, this is something that is out there that this team is going to have to deal with.

But, I mean, it's NCAA tournament week. Alabama's got a really good seed once again. Six straight NCAA tournament going to sunny Tampa, Florida. So, there's a lot of things to be glass half full right now. But, I'm excited about this team playing. And, we'll see the roster that they have out there on Thursday. Hopefully, we'll hear more between now and then. Ryan, I know one thing for certain. Latrell Wrightsell, Amari Allen, and Houston Millett will not shoot a combined one for 12 against Hofstra. And, again, I give Ole Miss a lot of credit.

They played defense when they had to. They made some incredibly clutch shots. But, these guys hopefully will take a reset. I thought it was one of the worst offensive games Alabama's played all season. And, amazingly, they still scored 79 points. I think those three are going to rebound and have a much better game. I agree with you. And, it wasn't even just that. It was, I think it was the numbers I saw, six for 22 or maybe eight for 22 on layups. Yeah. Yeah. You know, that's a number that's hard to overcome.

And so, yeah, it's one of those nights. And, that is something that in the NCAA tournament you can't afford. I mean, it just takes one night like that for your reason to come to an abrupt halt. And, so, hopefully, this is something that these guys will learn from and they won't have a game like that again. And, maybe this is their mulligan. I hope it is. And, they come out and play really well because the reality is that this team had been playing really well. Winners of nine out of the last ten.

[1:45:39] You know, I think, while Bama shot it terribly and all those numbers are accurate, I thought Ole Miss was great. And, they were all week and weekend long in Nashville. But, it's also the great part about being securely in the NCAA tournament with a great seed. You can bounce back from going one and done in the SEC tournament. And, we don't have to look that far back. Alabama did it a couple years ago. Got drilled by Florida in the first game of the SEC tournament. Ended up with a four seed.

And, we all know how that turned out. Alabama's first trip to the Final Four. So, not predicting a Final Four run, but I do know that Nate Oates and company have bounced back from disappointing losses in the SEC tournament and gone on runs in the big tournament. So, hoping that happens again. Brian Pasek on the Crimson Tide Sports Network. Brian, you've seen a lot of Alabama basketball. Did you ever think you and Chris would be talking about the Tide and Pride clashing in the NCAA tournament?

First things first, you don't look at a jersey in the tournament because crazy things can happen. Your thoughts. Let's talk chalk about Alabama and Hofstra. Yeah. I mean, I actually watched their championship game against Monmouth. As you guys know, I'm a little bit obsessed with college hoops and was watching that game. They're a really good team and thought it was a possibility that Alabama could play them. I mean, they were projected to be on the 13 line and with Alabama in the four. I thought that was definitely a possibility.

And they're really good. I mean, they have the type of team that can upset high major teams with good seeds. They've got really good guards. They play a slow down, grind it out style, which I don't love. I love to see a mid-major team that looks like a mini Alabama and wants to get up and down because typically they have a really hard time with a bigger version of what they're trying to do. So, you know, it sets up for Alabama to have to play well.

You've got to guard well, especially against their guards. It's going to be a tempo type. You know, who can dictate tempo in a game? Speedy Claxton, which does the opposite of his name, the coach of Hofstra, former NBA player. He does not want this game to be speedy. He wants to be slower, 350th or 60th in pace. Alabama's one of the fastest teams in the country. So it is a contrast in styles, to say the least. With Nate Oates' experience at Buffalo having been a 13 seed to knock off a four, he can tell a pretty good story to his team, and he will all week long.

But I think maybe more than anything, the loss to Ole Miss will help this team get refocused and not take anybody lightly. By the way, I wanted a quick shout-out to two former Nate Oates assistants. Yeah. Antoine Pettway, of course, they came to Huntsville in December with Kenosaw State to play Alabama. But everybody knows about Antoine being a coach for many years on Alabama, of course, former player. South Florida's Brian Hudson is playing Louisville, and I've already predicted South Florida may upset Louisville, living in a six-seed.

Kennesaw State is a 14-seed, playing Gonzaga. The Zags beat Alabama in the preseason by 10, two very good men. In fact, Huntson is on a short list, from what I hear, Brian Passink, for either Providence or Syracuse jobs. But they want to win and keep going in the tournament. But congrats to both of these guys. I know you know them well. Two good men. Yeah, two great men, great basketball coaches. And I just felt like I was watching Alabama Saturday night with Kennesaw State, of course. Antoine Pettway, one of my all-time favorite, fill-in-the-blank, players, coaches, humans.

I mean, I've always loved Antoine and his family. So happy for him. And listen, Phillip Pearson is one of my college teammates and good friends. He's on Antoine's staff, as is Willie Watson and Donovan Cates from Alabama. And, gosh, who else? Perkins Cardin, he's on his staff. And maybe another video coordinator. I mean, it is the most built-by-Bama staff in the history of college basketball. I know more people in Kennesaw State staff than I do in Alabama staff right now. So, to say I was rooting for the Owls is an understatement.

[1:50:51] So happy for Antoine. And, you know, Antoine lost his best player in the middle of the season. And because, you know, just crazy situation. He loses his best player. It ends up in the NCAA tournament. Just an amazing story. So happy for him. And then Brian Hodgson at South Florida. All he does is win. At Arkansas State, won the regular season, gets the South Florida job, wins the regular season in the tournament title. An amazing coach. Providence or Syracuse would be idiots to not do everything in their power to try to hire Brian Hodgson.

And then, listen, another Nate Oates assistant, Charlie Henry, had a historic run in the Sun Belt. They won five games in five days. They needed six wins in six days, the way the format of the Sun Belt tournament. But a historic run, nonetheless, only five, I think only three schools in the history of college basketball have ever won five games in five days. And Charlie Henry's Georgia Southern Eagles did that about a week ago. So great to see these Bama boys doing so well. And it gives me a couple other teams to root for the NCAA tournament.

Absolutely. In fact, Troy beat Georgia Southern. Troy going to the NCAA tournament, too. Listen, safe travels to you and the crew going to Tampa. Hopefully, it's another extended stay. Again, we really enjoyed the conversation about a lot of things. I will summarize it by saying the University of Alabama Athletic Department is very, very lucky to have Brian Passink calling basketball games for it. Listen, always enjoy the conversation. Safe trip. And see if you can bring Bama back and play in the Sweet 16. I'll do my best.

You're very kind to say that. And y'all are always kind to have me going. I'll always enjoy it. And hope to talk again soon. Absolutely. And stay clear of those wet medanas down there. And maybe you get some bratwurst when you get down to Tampa. Brian Passink hooking up with us. Again, a shout-out to UNA Athletic Director Dr. Josh Looney, recognized by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics as a recipient of the 2025-2026 NACDA Athletic Director of the Year Award. A huge honor, Brett Beaird.

Absolutely. Congratulations to him. And, again, it's hard to believe, Harold, you're in March. We'll be starting another athletic season in August. Yeah. And I know a lot of people are very optimistic about it. Stay tuned. That's going to take care of us for now. On behalf of BB, Greg, James Blair, the entire crew here. Peril Buck, thank you so much for your time today. Let's do it again tomorrow, noon to two, for the Boom Up Buck Show. Back here on Sports Radio 93.9, The Score.