Boomo Bugg Show 030226
93.9 The Score WYTK - March 3, 2026
https://www.939thescore.com/boomo-bugg-show-030226/

This transcript was generated automatically from the broadcast audio. Names and some words may be misspelt; the audio is the official record.

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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 Tide, 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 free ride around the Tennessee Valley. Brett Beaird, welcome in to Chapter One of the March to Madness. Good afternoon. Welcome in. How are you? And would you agree something feels different about the world today than when we last got together on Friday? How are you?
Well, it's turned February's turn to March, which is always a good thing. Always means that March Madness is on our doorstep. Alabama rallies to beat Tennessee in the final minute.
In Rocky Top and Ole Miss damages Auburn's hopes for the NCAA tournament.
Zach Pounders of the Shoals Sports Report will preview the four remaining Shoals teams
in the final four in Birmingham this week. Adam is here right now to preview the last week
of SEC basketball regular season.
Put another way, bittersweet. Always fun to get to the postseason, but it also means,
as they say, the end is near for the round balls. Adam Spencer is busy there.
It's Saturday down south. Adam, welcome in to the Monday after. How are you?
I'm doing great, guys. How are you?
Are you ready for a little March Madness, Adam?
Oh, you know it. It's the best time of the year. Selection Sunday, two weeks away.
So, you know, love filling out those brackets. You know, I'm a one-bracket guy.
You know, I'll enter multiple contests, but just one bracket.
So, I don't know how everybody else does it, but that's the right way to do it, I'll say.
I'll tell you how some of them do it with a pencil with a bigger eraser.
We used to play in charity golf tournaments another life, and ironically, a team that was
always there on the course with us, they always won, and then we found out they kept score
with a pencil with an eraser. Somehow, they rallied. They'd always ask you what's your score,
and I don't know how it always worked. They were consistent. They always beat you by at least
one stroke, but Adam, your thoughts coming into this. Let's start with Alabama.
What kind of adjective do you use with this team? It seems like the key to them is to fall
behind by a dozen points or so, and then come roaring back. Go ahead and concede the first
part of the game, and then the final moments of the game, here comes the Phylon show.
Your thoughts about this team and a place that's always tough to win, especially when you get
down by a baker's dozen in the second half, Alabama, by a bucket, only led by 24 seconds,
but it doesn't matter. It's who wins in the end. Your thoughts about the showdown on Rocky Top.
Yeah, I mean, credit to Phylon there. He was so clutch down the stretch. I mean, we've seen that a
couple times, you know, that Arkansas game that was an instant classic. I mean, he was so great in
that one. This is a lower scoring game, which you would expect with the Rick Barnes defense, but
yeah, I mean, yeah, he got going down late, you know, right sell did enough to keep him in it, you know, going six for nine from three. So, I mean, he, you know, credit to him for, you know, on a night when Amari Allen didn't have it on a day when, you know, Aiden Holloway wasn't at, wasn't at his best. You know, he made a lot of his shots. He just didn't really get a lot of his shots. He did a good job, you know, kind of shutting him down. So, uh, you know, credit to, uh,
right sell to, and then, uh, you know, Phylon coming off the bench with a spark provided a lot of energy. He was still fresh late. You know, there were some concerns about his, uh, cramping and conditioning earlier in the year. Nate Oates was getting frustrated, but that seems to be a thing in the past. And, uh, you know, he looks like a lottery pick right now.
Yeah. Nate, amen going out with a knee injury. Um, hopefully he is doing better. I've, I believe he is, but that was a big key in the game. Uh, but Tennessee's one of the best, uh, if not the best offensive rebounding teams in the country, Tennessee completely dominated play in the first half, but you said it right. So it kept them in the game.
They began to match Tennessee's physicality more, uh, and particularly in the last 10 minutes and just whittled the thing away, uh, toward the end.
And then, uh, uh, Phylon came on, as you mentioned, uh, Bama now in second, they still got Georgia, a tricky game tomorrow in Athens and finished with Auburn.
Uh, do you think Alabama finishes second by the time we get to this time next week?
Yeah, I do. Uh, they have the tiebreaker over Arkansas. Um, yeah, and now obviously the win over Tennessee on the road. Uh, I'm just, I'm done with this Tennessee team.
Honestly, the dayday man, I hope he can come back, but the reason that they're so good at offensive rebounding is because they have so much practice at it. They can't make shots.
Touché. Good point.
You know, Alabama does not share any letters with the word defense. And, uh, that's, you know, so, you know, Tennessee going 38% from the floor, 10 to 20, or, you know, they shot four of 18 from three. Like, why can Rick Barnes teams never make shots?
Like, I know you have one scorer. They've had Dalton connect. They had, uh, they had, uh, Chaz last year. They had, uh, now this year they have Nate in it. They always have one elite scorer, but if they don't have that guy, they're just completely lost. Like, it's just so frustrating to watch time and time again.
You know, Jacoby Gillespie, you know, he had 26 points, but you look at the numbers, you know, three for 10 from three. That's not great. Nine for 23 overall. Like these guys just can't make shots. And at some point you have to look at your offensive system and say, like, this is consistent. We consistently have a great defense, which is a sign of great coaching, but we always have an offense that gets mired down in the mud and can't eat. Like if you can't put up 80 points on Alabama, you have to go back to the drawing board and figure out, even if you don't have your best player, you have to go back to the drawing board and just
scrap everything.
Yeah. It's kind of hard for a bird to fly with one wing. Is it not? So if you've got one, only one trick pony, it's kind of hard to keep flying. Adam Spencer, Saturday down South. You mentioned the Auburn Tigers. Uh, well, your thoughts about what happened over the weekend. This is a team that they lost to on their home court. That was riding what a 10 game losing streak. And it couldn't have come at a worse time. As far as the optics heading into selection Sunday, Adam, how much damage did Ole Miss deliver
to Auburn over the weekend?
Yeah, I think it has to be considered, you know, a death blow here. You know, I just don't see the, I know the bracketologists love Auburn, but you can't put a 15 and 14 team. I mean, you know, if they lose at Alabama, that's 15 losses before we even get to the SEC tournament. And then you would assume a 16th loss if they run into, if they don't win the SEC tournament. So you can't put a team with 16 losses into the NCAA tournament. I don't care who you play. I don't
care if you played, you know, the 1996 Chicago Bulls 12 times in your non-conference schedule. You just
can't put those guys, you can't put them into the tournament. This isn't a tournament team
this year. They have a lot of stuff going on that they have to figure out. They can't close
out games. And, uh, you know, it doesn't seem like, it seems like there's some frustration
with Hall, their leading scorer. So, I mean, they've got a lot to figure out. And, uh, you know, this
was a tough ask for Steven Pearl in his first year, uh, you know, taking over as the head
guy with that short notice. But, uh, yeah, I, I just hope that, you know, I know Lunardi
still had him in his bracketology, but it's just like, come on, man, like, let's be real.
Adam, that's the point. Sooner or later, the bad losses offset the good wins. They've lost
to teams that are tied for 12th. Mississippi State and Oklahoma 14th. Uh, in the bad loss,
all losses are just really overwhelming that the Gators continue to roll. Uh, they beat
Arkansas, uh, uh, easily. And then the two coaches got into a little, Adam, about 17 minutes
left to go in the second half. They all said, both of them said after the game, well, we're
just very competitive. Adam, your thoughts on the Gator win in the dust up on the sidelines?
Yeah. I mean, uh, John Calipari is not used to losing like that. I think that that's,
uh, you know, one of the worst losses he's suffered as a head coach. So, uh, no, of course
he's frustrated. Um, you know, Todd Golden, you know, was fired up about this team. Why
wouldn't he be, you know, you're playing your best basketball, right? When it matters the
most, I mean, you know, they figured out how to reinvent themselves because last year
they were so, uh, backcourt dominant with Walter Clayton Jr., Elijah Martin, Will
Richard, uh, this year, you know, even Denzel Aberdeen, who's now in Kentucky this year,
they've, uh, completely flipped that and they've let, uh, you know, Tommy Hawk and Alex Condon
and then Ruben Chinilu has come out of, uh, not nowhere, but he's just taken a much bigger
step than I think any of us would have anticipated this year. Just become like an Oscar Shibwe
type monster on the glass. Um, you know, so, so they've become a front court dominant team.
And, uh, now you have Xavier Lee and Boogie Plan starting to come along because they were
struggling early in the year when the Gators started five and four. So now they're coming
along, uh, you know, Florida looks like a championship team again. And if they can keep
winning and win the SEC tournament, it's going to be hard to leave them off of that one seat
line. Like even if, even if these other teams win out, like I think that, you know, you got
to find a spot for Florida there.
Adam Spencer, Saturday down South. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, John Calipari's old team
had a better weekend, Kentucky knocking off Vanderbilt, 91 77. Where do you put this
Kentucky team heading into March Madness?
You know, I think I talked about it last week with you guys where it's like, I almost
need to rank Kentucky twice in my power rankings, you know, good Kentucky and bad
Kentucky. Cause I'm still not convinced, which like, I don't think that they've
necessarily turned a corner. I think they had a good game on Saturday and I think that
they're capable of having that type of game. Every time they step on the court, they just
don't do it. So, you know, you never, you never know when that dud Kentucky team is going
to show up. And so that makes me really nervous going into tournament play when that, you know,
you have to be sharp, you know, especially conference tournament, you know, that's every
day in a row. You know, if you get a double by, you have to play three days in a row. If
you end up in that five to eight range, you know, you have to play four days in a row to
win it all. So I just think that that's going to be a tough for this team to lock in because
we haven't really seen it for any extended stretch. They go on these like nice little
three game streaks and dominate everybody and win in Tennessee. They, you know, drop a game
by 30 to Vanderbilt. And then, you know, I just, I don't know what to expect. So it's
hard to forecast this team, but when they're at their best, like they could even beat Florida.
So, you know, they're a really talented team. It's just, uh, they're not consistent enough
to take seriously.
Tell us about your Missouri Tigers. They beat Mississippi State, Hanley 88 to 64. And once
again, they keep hanging in there.
Yeah. I mean, I think that, uh, you know, it's still seen by many as being on the bubble
and I just, you know, I, I don't know. I think you gotta, you gotta put them solidly into the
field at this point. I mean, they've done, they've got the 20 wins that, uh, you know,
you usually need. They've beaten Florida. They've beaten Kentucky. They've beaten Tennessee.
So, I mean, they're really, really good team when they show up, you know, they have some
bad losses too. And most of those come, uh, have come away from home. You know, they dropped
one at, uh, at Ole Miss. Uh, they dropped one at LSU. So those are bad, but, uh, you
know, they've got, they've got the quality wins on their resume. They're like, I think
we need to stop talking about them as a bubble team and, uh, you know, start putting them
up in that, uh, eight, nine range, which, uh, you know, doesn't really thrill me having
to potentially face, uh, one seed in round two, but, uh, you know, it is what it is.
And, uh, you know, we'll see where the bracketologists have them, uh, the latest updates
here before tomorrow night's game.
Speaking of eight or nine, how many SEC teams do you foresee making the tournament
now?
I think it's going to be a nine or 10, you know, I think that, uh, it's possible.
I think, uh, Texas A&M is still hanging around there that they need to probably have a good
week this week after dropping a game to, uh, you know, at home against Texas on Saturday.
That was, that was a tough loss for, uh, Bucky McMillan company, but, uh, yeah, I do think
that they have a chance to, uh, to close out on a little bit of a hot streak here.
They've got, uh, you know, they, they can, they can win these last couple of games.
I forget who they play right now, but they, they've got a fairly manageable schedule.
And if they, if things break right in the tournament, they, they're just going to need
to get, you know, they're going to need to get to like 21 wins or something like that.
Tuesday, they host Kentucky and then they go to LSU.
So you have to win that LSU game.
Uh, that's a non-negotiable.
And then you probably need to win at least one in the SEC tournament, maybe two.
So I think there's still a path there.
And I think that they're the closest team that we have to like falling off the bubble.
Before you jump off, Mr. Missouri guy, what about the Missouri women?
They take on Alabama and the SEC women's basketball tournaments, number 11 versus number 14.
Are you ready for the late date Wednesday night, the women's SEC basketball tournament?
Uh, I'll be watching the SEC women's tournament, but not for my alma mater.
That's a tough, tough ask these days.
Uh, we miss, uh, we miss Sophie Cunningham.
Um, uh, wish that, uh, we could sign her back with, uh, some of the denial money.
We'll maybe, uh, get Sophie back as, uh, Charles Bediaco situation.
So, uh, yeah, I'll be watching the tournament, but, uh, not, I don't expect Mizzou to be around for very long.
Adam, always enjoy beginning of the week with you.
It is really a fun time.
Uh, should know a little bit more about how many teams are going in by the end of the week.
And then, of course, Nashville beckons next week.
Adam, look forward to your power rankings this week.
Where can we get everything with you and in the team online?
Yeah.
And, uh, I'm about to publish some, uh, some bracketology from our experts at, uh, Saturdaydownsouth.com.
I'll have my power rankings up tomorrow morning.
And then, uh, Joe Cox does, uh, baseball power rankings that come out on Friday.
So check those out too.
Starting to feel like baseball out there.
Listen, man, Adam, as always good to kick off the week.
Thanks so much.
Stay safe.
Okay.
Yeah.
Thanks a lot, guys.
Take care.
Thank you, man.
Spencer sending it down south.
ACC women's basketball tournament, uh, gets rocking and rolling at 10 o'clock hour time.
Wednesday, Kentucky, Arkansas, followed by Florida, Mississippi state game three at five.
The Auburn women take on Texas A&M and the aforementioned Bama women taking on Mizzou.
And the late date, 7th, Thursday, Wednesday night from South Carolina.
In the meantime, watch Shaking in the Show.
Zach Connors on that and more straight ahead.
Stay with us.
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Hello again, everybody.
I'm Roger Hoover.
Here are postgame thoughts from Nate Oates following the dramatic come-from-behind win on Saturday at Tennessee.
We were able to hang in there, fight it out, cut the lead multiple times.
Finally, you know, I don't know how long we led in this game, but not for very long.
I don't think maybe 30 seconds or less.
So I got to give a lot of credit to our players just for having an attitude that they never gave up.
You know, when you think about some of these guys that none of these guys have ever beat Tennessee.
You know, we're on a five-game losing, you know, and beat them.
That's why they're so fired up after the game.
And they knew what struggles we'd had against these guys.
So, you know, you look at, I think, the MVP of the game is Aiden Sherrill.
Like, we can't win the game without him inside.
I'll have more in a moment.
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The score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg.
On 93.9, the score.
The score.
Welcome back in.
It is an absolute pleasure for us to welcome a man.
Probably not getting a lot of sleep these days.
Zach Panner's got the entire show scene covered there.
The show's sports report.
Zach, welcome in.
How are you?
Doing good.
How are y'all?
Doing good.
Man, have you survived?
Well, happily, why would you describe the last two to three weeks?
Because you guys do a great job covering all the teams from the neck of the woods in the regionals and now heading on down the road.
What's it been like for you and your team over the last few days and weeks?
Before baseball and softball started, it was kind of easier.
But now with baseball, softball, basketball all going, it's like head above water, trying to keep your head above water every day and trying to stay up to date and everything.
I remember another laugh I had.
It was, I think, somewhere in the neighborhood of 130 to 40 high schools in the entire coverage area.
And, of course, everyone thought you were cheating then because you covered this.
Well, you can't be in 140 different spots at the same time, so I can relate to you.
Zach, let's talk about the survivors still in.
For the folks who have been busy making a living and not keeping up with the latest, where do you start in breaking down?
I guess, for lack of a better way of putting it, the survivors will still have a chance to bring a blue mount back to town.
I'll start with the first game tomorrow at Birmingham, Martial, St. James, girls.
This is arguably the 3A state championship game for the girls.
Everybody in the state kind of thought if Martial or L.C. got to the state and St. James got to the state also,
it was going to be a championship game in the Final Four before the championship game is really on Friday.
However, this is the same St. James team mostly that took L.C. to the break last year,
had L.C. down by 18 in the third quarter and wound up losing the L.C.
And every time, Martial has to work cut out for them.
But they also have Bell Hill, who I've been asked at least 10 times, how do you stop her?
My answer, you don't.
You hope she has a bad game, has like 20 points and eight rebounds instead of her normal 30 and 10 or 25 and 10.
And when 20 points is your bad game, good luck.
Not only that, let's talk just about the maturity and the tradition because does it really matter what sport it is?
Martial is there with a shot at bringing back an ever-growing, crowded trophy room from the state championship games.
What does that mean just from a confidence standpoint?
Because a lot of these teams, it's brand new to them, and it can be intimidating.
But Martial, regardless of the sport, this fan base knows they got a shot.
Yeah, I got to talk to Coach Rutherford after the game on last Tuesday night, and she said about Bale, that was the first time they had to play with her in foul trouble all season.
Bale had four fouls at the seven-minute mark in the game, at the seven-minute mark to play in the game.
And so, Lord, I can't, you've had to stop her kind of getting in foul trouble and make Martial make a decision.
Right.
Coach Rutherford basically said she'd know what to do, but they rolled her in offense defense and let her go offense defense.
And if she got stuck, she told her, give it two points.
It's better to give it two points than to get a fifth foul trying to go for a block shot or whatever.
And then for the offense, when she got stuck, the last thing they wanted was a charging foul, it could be the fifth foul as well.
And Leah Saltman had that kind of basketball IQ, and she's played a ton of basketball as well, Bale has already.
So, high IQ player as well, not Julius, a big physical player, but high IQ as well to have four fouls of students to play and still play the most of the whole quarter.
Absolutely.
Mia Humphrey scored 16 and grabbed eight rebounds against Lauderdale County.
Molly Wright added 10 points.
You had a very good preview of all four of the show's teams, and St. James' ransom is quite impressive.
31-4 with wins over Hillcrest, Tuscaloosa, Moody, Trinity, Montgomery Catholic, as you mentioned, who Waterloo County came back to beat last year.
Their losses, but it also was impressive.
Hoover, the Hazel Green Dynasty in Scottsboro.
St. James is a pretty good team.
Yeah, St. James, Scottsboro is one of the losses by 22 points.
But Scottsboro could also be here at the state as well, just as easy as Goernsville is.
And they also beat Trinity, the 4-8 champion from last year.
They beat the 7-8 Auburn, who's at the Final Four.
Yeah.
And just an impressive resume.
And going out and playing in competition, they have an out-of-state loss to River Ridge, Georgia.
Don't know a whole lot on them, but their record is 22-7, so a solid team as well.
So, a very impressive resume for both teams.
And Morris Hill's losses are to Good Hope, Dashler, and two more.
Mm-hmm.
West Morgan and Marion County.
Marion County is a 1-8 finalist.
They won this morning, 38th state.
Dashler made the 6th team.
West Morgan on the 6th team.
So, both teams have very good losses, very good wins as well.
It's going to be a battle in that first game.
Jack Pounder, Show Sports Report.
I would imagine the town of Red Bay is pretty much empty.
Red Bay and Lafayette, your thoughts about that showdown?
Yeah, Red Bay, Lafayette.
Red Bay had them in here a whole lot on the boys' side, but they will travel well.
And, at this point, it comes down to making shots and trying to not make it too big for yourself once you're down there.
Lafayette, not too familiar with them, but once you get to this stage, everybody's good.
You're not going to play a slouch team or a team that should be there at this point.
Absolutely.
We talked to Brian Pounders last week to get the lowdown on Densler.
They're certainly excited to be back.
They're sick of time in three years.
They've won 13, 14 games.
Gary Reed, we've talked about with you about football.
I mean, again, he's one of the best triathletes I have ever seen in the game.
I believe he scored five of the last seven games.
He scored 30 points there.
Fairfield is good.
A kid by the name of Milton Jones is there, 6'5".
Senior guard, he scored 30 points, beating Montgomery Catholic.
Your thoughts on Densler.
It's not just for Gary Reed.
They've got a good team, too.
Your thoughts on Garrett and Fairfield tomorrow?
Sorry, Fairfield, their losses, they have 10 losses this year.
So far, it's Gadsden City, Oxford, Bob Jones, Miner, Shades Valley, Winona,
Major Edmonton, all bigger schools, but they're also on Hot Street right now as well.
And this is a Fairfield team that's been here before.
They won 5A two years ago.
They were in 4A last year.
They made the semis, lost to plenty of the eventual champion last year.
And it's going to be a battle, but Dexter with two years ago as well.
Most of this team was here two years ago.
They may not have played two years ago, but they were at least here.
Garrett played in that game.
I think Jalen Thurkle played in that game as well two years ago.
But also, every issue, Jalen Thurkle, Jay Murner, Garrett Reed, Dylan Morgan,
and maybe one or two more, were on baseball, football teams that made these playoff runs.
And baseball won state last year with Jay and Garrett.
And Everett has two individual tennis championships.
He was on the runner-up team last year for the state team.
So when it comes to big moments, they're not familiar with it.
They're familiar with it.
They've been here before.
Nothing you forget for.
And they're probably the least lucky team to be here for the show teams.
I think if you ask anybody in January, if Dexter gets to the state,
a lot of people would have said no.
Even as far as February 1st, a lot of people would have said no because of Brooks.
However, the way the draw has worked, Brooks got Westmore in the first game.
Dexter got East Lawrence.
Both kind of caught the short end of the stick.
And Dexter found a way to beat Westmore again.
Jalen Thurkle stepped up and had four of the last five points.
The other night had his four straight to tie it.
And then Garrett Reed had to steal and free throw to go ahead by one.
And then Jalen Thurkle came up big again with the block at the end of the game as well
to hold off Westmore.
Yes, tomorrow morning, right after Morris Hill,
Lauderdale County boys take the court.
It's an odd time when the Lauderdale County boys get to stay and the girls don't in the same year.
But Montgomery Academy lost a lot of sides from last year.
They were about the only team that could match Morris Hill sides
and helped them beat Morris Hill last year.
Lost a lot of sides, though.
They have a lot of impressive wins this year so far.
It's 26-7.
However, at this point, no, that matters.
All that matters is hitting your shot.
And like Coach Owen said, Lauderdale County is one of those teams.
If they see the ball go in early, they're going to get better shots the whole game because of that.
Great point about Dexter.
They've got so many guys on that basketball team who've won in other sports.
When you've been there before, it really helps when you get to this stage.
And I know most of these teams that are playing this week have been there before,
and it really does help.
Great stuff.
I certainly recommend our listeners get online and get your preview for all the teams.
And I know you're going to be following the games.
Red Bay, of course, this afternoon, then the other three tomorrow.
You'll have the latest, may even have a videocast podcast.
Where can we get online and get all your great coverage?
Yeah, we'll be live either tomorrow night, late after the games, or Wednesday, some point, Wednesday, some, what you're in the day, to recap tomorrow's games.
And that'll be on Facebook, Shoals, Sports Report, or Twitter, at lowercase, at lowercase, S-H-O-A-L-S-P-O-R-T-S.
Sounds crazy, Dave.
Listen, man, keep up the good work.
Thanks so much for your time today.
Thank you, bud.
Zach Pounder shows, Sports Report.
Coming up, what's going on down in Tynetown?
Andrew Baum, the latest next.
Stay with us.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
He knows the Crimson side, inside and out.
Andrew Bowen, fine columnist, recruiting editor, a place called Bama Online, part of the On3.com family,
and the fine author of the book called The Road to Bama.
A.B., welcome in.
Happy Monday to you.
How are you?
Hey, guys.
Doing great.
How are we doing today?
Good, good.
Yeah, we're doing fine.
It's safe to say, Andrew, Alabama fans come to you and say, I'm not even going to watch this team for the first half.
Not even going to watch the first half, part of the second half.
I'm just going to wait until they fall behind by about 12 or 13 points because I know the coffee's going to start percolating.
That's when I'm going to tune in.
This is not the first time they've fallen behind by double digits and come storming back.
But this one has to be a cherry on top because it's those hated guys from Tennessee on their home courts.
Andrew, where do you frame the latest chapter of this basketball team?
Well, it showed a lot for Alabama to be able to come back on the road against Tennessee,
especially against a team that has had their number here lately.
And, you know, you kind of watched that first half thinking being down 12, the 16 offensive rebounds for Tennessee,
how is Alabama going to be able to fare a little bit better in that second half?
Now, you know, they were able to cut those offensive boards in half for Tennessee in that second half.
And, you know, I was just, you know, really impressed, obviously, with kind of the grit and determination to get back into that game.
And, you know, I can't say enough about, you know, LeBaron Filon and the performance that he had.
And, obviously, you know, several others, Aiden Sherell.
I thought he, you know, he was outstanding in that home stretch, especially with, you know, with those rebounds and Latrell Wright.
So, I mean, it was just a, it was an impressive, impressive showing.
And, man, now they have eight wins in a row and certainly have a chance to finish the season strong this week.
Absolutely, Rachel, as you noted, kept them in the game, ended up with 25 points there in Alabama.
When they had to, they played defense.
Again, defense has been optional in times for this team.
But when they lock in, they're obviously pretty good.
Let me ask you a little bit of recruiting.
Your 2027 running back board is still very early.
But, as you noted, Alabama's looking in particularly at two guys, Nigel Newkirk at Gainesville High School in Georgia.
If that sounds familiar, that's where Xavier Griffin and Jamari and Matthews, who transferred from the Spartan, came from.
1,500 yards, 20 touchdowns for 5'11", 195-pound running backs.
Pretty impressive.
And then Trey Martin, a four-star from Franklin Parish High School in Louisiana.
They're both very good prospects.
Andrew, your thoughts on them?
Yeah, it's kind of weird that we're already talking about this next class.
I mean, it just seems like yesterday when we were talking about Xavier Kroll as one of Alabama's top commitments in Mr. Football Award.
But, yeah, I think with Alabama, they certainly want to add more to it, to that running back room here in the future.
And, yeah, I think they are off to a good start.
I think they would like to go sort of like they did last year, where they were able to get a high-ranking player.
And when we say high-ranking, it's more so guys that we expect are going to get, you know, high financial rev share offers from various schools.
And, yeah, you kind of hope to get at least one of those guys.
And then, you know, if you can, get a second guy.
But you're probably not going to be able to spend quite as much on those second players.
So, I think Alabama would certainly like to be able to get at least one of their top guys on board.
And Nigel Newkirk is, you know, a guy that transferred high schools, was at a smaller high school as a sophomore
and then transferred to Gainesville, Georgia as a junior.
And, you know, I think there was a lot of eyes on him to kind of see how he was going to be able to do at that level,
class 5A in the state of Georgia and, you know, help guide his team to a state championship match.
And before they lost to Thomas County Central, who was one of the best teams in the state of Georgia last season, obviously.
But I think he has certainly become one of their top targets.
He's a top target for a lot of schools, Ohio State, Florida State.
And he's going to try to take, you know, a lot of visits this spring.
But Alabama is going to get him back on campus.
Now, it doesn't hurt that Alabama has Jamarian Matthews and Xavier Griffin as true freshmen in Tuscaloosa
that are already recruiting him and, you know, certainly want him to join them at Alabama.
So that's certainly a guy that we're going to watch very closely as he's been recruited by the Alabama coaching staff
since last spring, got offered in June and took two or three visits to Alabama in the fall
and was at junior day in late January.
So he certainly has high interest there.
And then Trey Martin out of Louisiana, another kid that has really grown into one of the top running backs in the country.
LSU, you know, a lot of schools really pushing hard there for him.
Alabama is at the top of his list.
I think, you know, a lot of it has to do with the relationship that he's already built with Robert Gillespie,
the running backs coach.
I mean, they've kind of been on him ever since they offered him in mid-fall
and, you know, really kind of talking to him just about every single day.
So, you know, those are really kind of two guys that they have, you know, really focused in on,
you know, really considered at the top of their list.
And, you know, we'll see, you know, kind of how things go.
Obviously, things can change over the course of spring visits,
and then you kind of get into June for summer official visits.
So, you know, there's a lot that can change.
But as of right now, both of those guys have Alabama either at the top of their list or at least in the top two.
Stay tuned to Andrew Bone and the latest there at BamaOnline.com, part of the On3.com family.
Andrew, needless to say, this is going to be a very interesting spring in Tuscaloosa.
Pretty much this is DeBoer's team, his coaching staff, as far as who's that other guy that he inherited a job from,
as far as Saban's effect.
Andrew, where are you?
How comfortable are you with this team and this roster heading into spring?
And the reason I ask that, I think a lot of coaches, everybody says, well, Alabama's got a lot of question marks.
What team does it now in the modern NIL era and transfer era?
But back to Alabama, where are you as far as your comfort level with this roster and this coaching staff?
Well, I think this spring and going into the fall is going to answer a lot of questions about, you know,
Kalen DeBoer and the direction of the program just because, you know, this is his team pretty much officially.
I mean, I think I counted less than 20, you know, players that are coming back this year.
You know, we're Saban-era guys, so you have, you know, the majority of your team.
We're all recruited specifically by Kalen DeBoer.
And so I'm really excited to kind of watch this spring, you know, a lot of new faces.
But there's a lot of different, you know, competitions that are happening outside of the defensive back room,
which you're kind of, you know, looking to see who's going to be, you know, kind of that second wave of guys that they're going to rotate in.
But you have new guys that, you know, pretty much every position or at least position battles that are ongoing.
You know, you have quarterback, running back, who's going to be the number one guys at those positions.
You know, wide receiver, obviously you have Ryan Williams and Lottie Brooks.
But who's going to solidify themselves as that, you know, third, fourth, and fifth option for Alabama?
I think you've got, you know, six or seven guys in there who are certainly going to compete.
You know, offensive line is, you have one returning starter.
And Michael Carroll, you bring in six offensive line transfers, plus you signed a junior college player,
there's technically seven transfers on the offensive front that are coming in that are going to be competing for four spots.
You know, in addition to guys who are returning to the team, like Casey Poe and Will Sanders,
you've got a really intriguing group of defensive linemen.
A lot of guys that have come in from other places, guys who have started, guys who have contributed and played a lot.
So, you know, who's going to be, you know, who's going to come in and make an impact there?
Are you going to have somebody on your team that's going to really kind of step up and be that guy?
I'm really encouraged by the depth on the defensive front, but you're also kind of, you know, still questioning who's going to be those, you know, really big impact players.
And are you going to have more than just two or three guys?
Are you going to have a good rotation that you can continue to swing in?
Because that's when Alabama's kind of been at their best.
We've seen, you know, seven, eight, nine defensive linemen that have been able to go into the game and have an impact.
And then, obviously, linebacker.
I mean, you're replacing your top three inside guys, your top three producers there with guys that were freshmen from last year's team.
They're moving into a sophomore role.
You've got QB Reese is a guy that I think, you know, could have a really good spring.
And then you also have Caleb Woodson transferring in from Virginia Tech.
So, really intrigued to kind of see, you know, how that room's going to shake out.
Now, are we going to get a list of these are the guys that are going to be starting game one at the end of the spring?
Probably not.
But, yeah, I think we'll at least maybe have a good idea based on, you know, comments from coaches who's going to go out there
and who's going to be kind of in that first rotation and then, obviously, who's going to, you know, have a good summer and then into fall camp.
So, you know, this is kind of the start of, you know, where is Alabama going to be and how good are they going to be, you know, heading into fall camp.
So, really excited to kind of see what this group of fresh faces, but also a lot of the, you know,
older faces that have been around the program for the last year or two, if they're going to be able to step up and, you know, make an impact.
Because, you know, they're going to be fighting for jobs, too, because they know that there are transfers that are coming in
that are trying to be the starter, be the guy.
And, you know, they certainly don't want to bypass the opportunity because there's wide-open competition really across the board.
Good example that you touched on in an article last week.
Bones takes, make or break for three Alabama offensive veterans.
Kevin Riley, we've been talking about running back.
He showed some juice in a couple of games and then late in the season broke his jaw and then came back in the postseason.
Casey Poe from Lindale, Texas, got a new offensive line coach, an opportunity to impress these guys.
As you mentioned, Alabama added six offensive line transfers.
And even at receiver, a lot of people forgot about Rico Scott.
Well, he entered the transfer portal for a short period and then came back.
Ryan Williams and Jeremy Minard and Horton just kind of overshadowed them.
But he's got a chance, a good point, three guys who are familiar with the system, and it's a very important spring for them.
Yeah, no doubt.
And I'll have my three guys that I'm looking at on the defensive side of the ball tomorrow on them online.
But as far as the offensive guys, I mean, yeah, those are three guys that have been at Alabama for three years.
They're entering their third year in the program.
So I didn't really focus on any of the transfers, you know, focus just on guys that were returning and certainly, you know, are trying to, you know, see more action, see the field, you know, earn a real role on the team.
I think with Kevin Riley, I mean, with Xavier Kroll coming in, you know, you still have A.K. Deer, Daniel Hill, where's he going to kind of fit in?
You know, we saw a few flashes that were good out of him last season, but, you know, is he going to be, you know, kind of fall behind?
Or is he going to have a bigger role this year, you know, maybe in the passing game?
I was really kind of interested to see, you know, where he's at after the spring and then with Casey Poe, you know, very highly touted offensive lineman that was signed by, you know, the previous staff.
And, you know, when he came in, I even said back in the day, you know, it was probably going to take him a couple years just because he had played tackle his entire high school career.
And he was planning that he was going to move inside, and that's kind of where he was when he got to Alabama and kind of moved around, worked in at guard, worked in at center last spring.
So, you know, is he going to, you know, potentially come into his own this spring and maybe take over a starting guard position?
And then we also mentioned Rico Scott.
You know, Rico, a lot of talk about him last offseason, you know, how well he was doing in practice, you know, going into fall camp.
I mean, that was, I think I remember the most buzz was coming from about him and Yonsei Pierre.
Well, Yonsei ended up having, obviously, an unbelievable season, and Rico just kind of fell behind.
I don't even think he had 100 yards receiving last year.
Obviously, Alabama had some, you know, really talented receivers ahead of him.
But, you know, does he slide into that third spot behind Ryan Williams and Lottie Brooks, or does he kind of fall behind?
You know, they brought in Noah Rogers from NC State, had a really good season.
You know, I would expect Alabama won't see him on the field, but there's also some other really good receivers.
Derek Meadows, you have Cedarian Morgan who came in.
They signed a JUCO first-team All-American in Tyler Henderson as well from the Gulf Coast.
So there's going to be some really good competition, I think, as far as being that the 3-5 wide receiver on Alabama's team.
So I think that's going to be interesting to see how all that pans out.
Because I think most of us have a pretty good sense that Ryan Williams and Lottie Brooks are going to be on the field a decent amount
and be starters within the system, but who's going to be, you know, kind of those next few guys that can also make an impact for your team.
Absolutely. Great stuff. Enjoyed the conversation as always.
I know you're going to be following recruiting.
One of the official visits coming up in May and June now.
And you'll have your make-or-break spring for three Alabama defensive veterans on tomorrow.
A.B., where can we get online and get all your great stuff and also buy the book?
Well, please come to BamaOnline.com. That's where all of our coverage is.
You can talk to us directly on the BOL message boards all day, every single day, but also read all of our content and coverage.
So go check us out at BamaOnline.com.
If you haven't bought my book yet, you can certainly do so at Barnes & Noble, Books A Million.
Amazon, The Road to Bama, Incredible Twist and Improbable Turns along the Crimson Tide Recruiting Trail.
I was in Barnes & Noble just not too long ago.
I saw a copy there, which my son, who is four years old, pointed it out.
He said, Dad, you have that same book at our house.
So I said, yes, I sure do.
So they still have copies of it at Barnes & Noble at least.
You are wise, my son.
Hey, listen, it's always good to hook up with you, Andrew.
Thanks so much and have a great week.
All right, guys, appreciate it.
Have a good one.
Hey, that's Andrew Ball.
I got it with us on 3.com.
And again, the book is called The Road to Bama.
Baby, it's hard.
If you saw the video, what they call on TV, the cutaways of the fans there in Tennessee, did you happen to see some of the faces there at the end of that game, man?
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What's the mood today in Big Orange Country?
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And John Farrar says they're not taking any prisoners down in Gator Country.
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Governor Ivey is allocating money to a program designed to help prison inmates overcome their drug addiction.
Ivey has granted $589,000 to that program as it gets underway in all eight Alabama prisons.
The funds are coming from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Governor Ivey says the goal is to help inmates stay free from drugs
in order to turn their lives around once they're released from prison.
I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this.
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A national dividend payout will affect some state farm auto policy holders here in Alabama.
The National State Farm Board of Directors has authorized the $135 million dividend payout
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It's for holders of private passenger auto policies that were valid up until December 31st, 2025.
A video of a Pell City High School student singing the national anthem has gone viral.
Amelia Alverson sang the opening song at a basketball game where she was part of the cheerleading squad.
Can't move through the night
That our flag was still mine
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
The video of Alverson has had half a million views so far.
I'm Andrea Tyson.
For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com.
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Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of northwest Alabama and southern Tennessee.
It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.
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Your exclusive inside track to the Tide.
Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC.
Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9, The Score.
Welcome back to you in our tour of 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.
And while we're on a ride, why don't we take a trip all the way down to the Sunshine State, Florida, of course.
Say hello to John Farrar.
He's got it all covered there.
CBS Sports Radio, 1420 WAOC and 1240 WFOY in a place called St. Augustine, Florida.
And also online at 965sports.com.
John, welcome in.
And is it true that John Calipari and Todd Golden are having crumpets, truffles, and a spot of tea together today?
Or is that just a rumor?
How are you?
Well, I think they went to Adams' ribs on Sunday afternoon to iron it out, guys, in Gainesville, Florida.
That's a famous place that's a famous place that our good friend Mark McCloud knows about, which is very good to give them a free endorsement here.
But I enjoyed that on Saturday night for a plethora of reasons, like most Gator fans in Northeast Florida.
But let's face it, guys, John Calipari has been on the other end of that most times in his career and has annoyed a lot of coaches.
And I thought it showed that Todd Golden wasn't going to back down no matter who's on the other bench.
And the Gator team, needless to say, ran Arkansas out of the building.
That was incredible Saturday night.
I thought that was going to be a close game, guys.
I really did.
This is why I don't gamble, because I would have been way off on that.
No way did I see a 34-point victory.
And Florida's trending towards the number one seed.
I don't know if they're going to get there.
I think they've got to win out or at least get to the SEC championship game and get a little bit of help.
But at worst, they're going to be a two seed now, from what it looks like.
And it's starting to come together at the right time.
They've got an eight-man rotation.
They're even getting contributions from Brown now, which they were not earlier in the year.
Everybody seems to have a defined role.
And I think it took Xavier and Lee about two months or so to figure it out at this level.
And how to play with this team.
Because he doesn't need to carry this team like he did Princeton.
He just has to be a contributor.
And I think he's found it now.
So, I think they're catching fire at the right time, guys, heading into March.
John, I hear what you say about this number one seed.
I mean, who's going to beat them outside the mid-1990s Chicago Bulls with a fellow named Jordan?
I mean, these guys, I mean, it's one thing to win.
If you win by a bucket, maybe five points, even ten.
That's one thing.
But when you win, as you mentioned there, by over almost three dozen points against a pretty good Arkansas team,
I mean, it's all about peaking at the right time.
You saw last year's team that won it all.
Where is this team at this point compared to last year's team at that point?
This team is more reliant on the frontcourt than the backcourt at this point.
And the main difference to me, guys, which will be interesting in the tournament,
Walter Clayton, if the game came down to the end and you needed a shot, was going to be the guy to shoot the ball.
On this team, I think it's probably Thomas Houck, if they can get it to him.
And if not, believe it or not, Clavcar off the bench.
He was clearly their best three-point shooter.
There's no doubt about that.
But this team's pretty close to last year as far as where they're at right now.
And if I had told you that back in December, I would have, you know, entered myself into a clinic somewhere.
I'm amazed at the job.
Just to take a tub to go to a room down the hall, right?
Yeah.
And I think Todd Golden probably doesn't get enough credit because he's coached these guys to put the pieces together,
especially the backcourt.
And he said back in December they were close.
I didn't believe him when he said it.
But obviously he knew what he was talking about because this team looks as good right now to me as any team in the country.
They're going to contend for another Final Four and, do I dare say, a national title.
They're making Gator Nation reevaluate what their favorite month of the year is.
It's starting to be March instead of football season, which is another subject.
But Todd Golden's done a h*** of a job, guys, the past two years.
There's no question.
John, I'll tell you one, that Auburn win in Gainesville now looks like an aberration as far as how well Auburn played defensively.
And both Alabama and Florida are on streaks.
Alabama, after beating Tennessee eight in a row, Florida, I believe now, is nine in a row.
And I look back on that Auburn game and wonder what in the world happened then.
But obviously both of these teams had a very good February.
They had an outstanding February.
Well, Florida was undefeated in February, so it's hard to do any better than that.
And I think as far as the Auburn game, Brett, I think it was the best thing that probably could have happened to this team.
And I know at the time, Todd Golden said, these guys started getting ahead of themselves right after that game, meaning they thought they had already found it.
They were looking towards playing for the SEC title, which they got a share of the regular season now.
But they kind of got ahead of themselves.
And I think that game showed them that if you don't come every night prepared, you can get beat.
So I think that was a blessing in a weird way back on January 24th.
And they haven't looked back since.
We'll see how it plays out.
But they're dangerous, that's for sure.
I don't think anybody in March is going to want to see their name on a line where they have to play them right now.
John Froy, 965sports.com.
John, a couple of questions.
Number one, can you confirm that Florida still has a football team?
And number two, your thoughts about Jon Sumrall.
I like, here it is, it's what, March?
I almost said February.
He said I lost a ball game, so the honeymoon's still on.
But I like what he does.
It reminds me of what Sampson does at Houston, the basketball coach.
He says, okay, guys, you're going to make a lot of money, but I'm not your daddy.
This is a business now.
He wants to treat it, if you're going to be paid like a pro, you've got to act like a pro,
you've got to have accountability like a pro.
Are we misreading him?
And your thoughts about where Sumrall is right now in the modern era of college football,
you know, you're still kids, but you can't keep on playing the kid card.
You're making more money than your mom and daddy probably ever made in a lifetime now as a kid.
Your thoughts about Sumrall's approach so far?
Well, I like what I've seen so far.
As you said, he's undefeated right now, Harold.
Right, it's March.
I just like what he's saying, unlike Billy Napier when he came in,
because when Billy Napier came in, he made it out like it's going to be a long, drawn-out process.
And in this day and age, with money, transfer portal, there are no more four-year plans.
That's out the window.
I like that he's telling the players, at least he's telling us what he's saying to them,
that they have to earn it, meaning they're going to have to earn the name on the back of their jersey.
They're just not going to get it because they were a four-star or a high-paid transfer portal guy.
So, I like that.
And the biggest thing I like is Buster Faulkner, believe it or not.
And because Jon Sumrall won't be calling the plays, which was the biggest problem we had with the prior guys.
And I like what I saw out of Buster Faulkner at Georgia Tech and what we've heard.
So, there's a lot of enthusiasm.
I think the spring game on April 11th is going to be highly attended at noon.
And like I've said before, I'm so happy it's back on a Saturday and not a Thursday and Friday night,
which we were told that was for recruiting.
That was a bunch of nonsense.
That didn't help anything.
So, Jon Sumrall seems to be a guy that I think will be successful.
I just don't know where his ceiling is, guys.
And that's really what we're going to find out over the next few years.
But I think it's going to be pretty exciting in the spring and even more so in the fall.
And that rumor that Florida doesn't have a football team anymore, I think, is going to go away this fall.
John, the cornerback competition in every school is front and center.
But Trammell Jones, a redshirt freshman who at Mandarin High School, threw for nearly 7,200 yards, 75 touchdowns.
We know a little bit more about Philo, Aaron Philo, transferring from Georgia Tech, backed up Haynes King,
but still nearly threw for 1,000 yards.
And unlike you, I think Faulkner is a real wild card here as far as what he can do to improve this offense.
I think it's going to help them also.
Eric Singleton, who was in with Faulkner for two years at Georgia Tech, transferred from Auburn, is going to be a big help.
How do you see the quarterback battle in the spring?
Well, I think Philo has a slight edge going in, Brett, because of his knowledge of Buster Faulkner and the system.
But don't sell Trammell Jones short out of Mandarin in northeast Florida here.
We're familiar with him.
I would have liked to have seen more of him last year, to be honest, when D.J. Lagway was struggling.
But we know where that went.
And I could see Trammell Jones challenging.
And John Summerall brought up that he's pretty pleased with Trammell Jones when he spoke with us.
And I think in his mind, you've got to have two quarterbacks because quarterbacks get hurt.
And Florida's been through that with D.J. Lagway, all the stories we had about that through the years.
So, I think it's going to be a pretty close competition.
I would give Philo the slight edge.
But would I be shocked on March 2nd, guys, if Trammell Jones was the one that ran out there on September 5th?
No, I wouldn't, to be the starter.
Not at all.
I really think it's wide open, which is why D.J. Lagway's not here anymore, because he just wanted to be the heir apparent.
And John Summerall's not going to give a job to anybody from what we've ever seen so far.
And I like that.
So, I think it's going to be a good competition.
And I think Trammell Jones can fit Buster Faulkner's offense as far as a running quarterback.
Because he did a lot of that in high school.
And I think he was better at that, believe it or not, than D.J. Lagway from what I saw the past couple of years.
So, I think it's going to be exciting.
But I think it's going to be a close competition.
Well, I hear about John Summerall.
I'm starting to think he's from North Alabama.
John, your thoughts.
Obviously, when you look at Florida's records over the past few years, we may not have enough time to answer the question.
Obviously, the quarterback spot is always going to be a question mark for every team that's breaking in a brand new one.
Your thoughts about, in your opinion, Florida's biggest need outside of that.
And kind of a sidebar, aside from Florida, you're in the state of Florida.
Just your observation of how successful Goldish is going to be coming out of South Florida to Auburn.
Well, I'll start with what I think Florida needs outside of that.
I think it's going to be on the line of scrimmage, guys.
Can they dominate there?
Or at least be more physical and more dominating.
Maybe not dominating.
It's tough dominating the SEC.
I realize that.
But offensive line-wise, they've lost a couple of guys off this line from a year ago.
Austin Barber's gone.
And I tackle.
And I'm going to be interested to see where they go there.
And then on defense, can they generate a pass rush?
Caleb Banks and Tyreek Sapp are both leaving.
Caleb Banks could be a possible late first-round pick in the NFL draft.
So, they've taken a hit on that side of the ball, too, from what they had a year ago.
Having said that, I'm pretty confident in what I've seen in John Summer on Hurd as far as the defensive side of the ball,
because that's more his forte.
So, I would say the offensive line is going to be the next biggest concern next to quarterback.
And we'll see how it plays out.
Just getting some depth and being able to establish the line of scrimmage and run the football.
As far as Alex Golesh, well, I'll tell you, what I've seen of him in person, he was pretty good.
It was against Florida.
And as we know, they beat Florida last year.
And that was the beginning of the end for Billy Napier.
I hate to keep picking on Coach Napier, but Alex Golesh may get a statue built in front of Florida field if John Summerall works out.
But I think he's going to be pretty good for Auburn, to answer your question, Harold.
I like his offense.
I like what I saw out of him from South Florida and what he established down there.
And I think the Auburn folks are going to be pleased with him.
Now, that's a tough spot.
There's been a carousel over there, kind of like Florida, a turnstile.
No one's been able to last more than three or four years.
But I think they may hit on him.
I think they may luck out this time and have the guy at least for the foreseeable future.
John, I've got one suggestion for Faulkner, the offensive coordinator, to whoever the quarterback is, to turn around and hand off to Jane Ball about 23 times a game, which might improve that Florida offense.
Always enjoy the conversation, my friend.
Where can we get online and listen to your show this afternoon?
Well, you can get online at 1240news.com, 4 to 6, and follow me on x slash Twitter, at JF underscore sports now.
And always an honor and a pleasure, guys.
And March Madness is here.
Hopefully it's as glorious as it was a year ago in northeast Florida.
And one of these days, maybe Florida will have a football team to go with that basketball team.
In the meantime, John, thanks for your time today and have a great week, okay?
Thanks, guys.
You too.
Thank you, bud.
John Fari, check him out anytime at 965sports.com.
Coming up, the mood after you.
How would you describe the weekend in Knoxville?
We'll leave that for Vince Farrar and Morris right ahead.
Stay with us.
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And this Sunday, following the Big South Conference Championship here on 93.9 The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
It is an absolute pleasure for us to open the door and say hello to the V-Man.
Vince Serrar, he is host on Sports Radio WNML and Sports Radio 99.1 up in Knoxville, Tennessee and on the Ball Radio Network.
V-Man, welcome in.
How are you?
I'm good, Vince.
How are you doing?
Hey, buddy.
Man, we're trying to come up with the right best way to describe, but would you agree that was a very interesting time?
And let me make sure that in the modern era I get this right.
Over at the Thompson Bowling Arena, and the most important part, at Food City Center, a very interesting weekend in your neck of the woods.
Would you agree, V-Man?
It was, and it's so crazy because a lot of the old school fans, they refuse to mention the sponsorships if they worked out those naming rights.
It's still part of the name, so the newer fans and fans from around the country call it Food City Center because UT uses that a lot more.
The old school fans won't call it that.
They'll just call it Thompson Bowling Arena.
So you have to know your audience in what they call the stadium.
It's just crazy.
But it was almost the reverse of last year minus, you know, a long three-point buzzer beater.
And Nate Oates was talking about that afterwards, and he said that he was praising Rick Barnes and how classy he is and all that.
And he said that he told them when they shook hands, he's like, well, you know, after what happened last year, you guys deserve this.
And Nate Oates was like, I don't know if we deserved it, but it kind of was the reverse of last year.
The Alabama only led 25 seconds to close out the game.
And just impressive what Tennessee was able to do to Bama to hold them to a season low in points in the first half of 28.
And then it was what we've seen before, Tennessee blowing another double-digit lead.
That's the fifth time that it happened.
When they had four, they led the SEC.
So that's five times.
And they've actually blown leads in other games, too, that they ended up winning.
So they just made it harder for themselves by blowing a double-digit lead and then getting to the finish line.
Well, five times is just the times that they've lost.
So, yeah.
And those have largely been just like that one close game.
So you play the what-if game in those games.
But, you know, just Tennessee is flawed in some areas.
And they're not deep, you know, in terms of scoring and playmakers.
And Alabama just had more scorers, more playmakers.
And then Tennessee had just really bad breakdown defensively when they switched on that final possession with Phylon.
I mean, everybody knew they were going to Phylon because he had taken the game over and outscored Tennessee down the stretch.
And they weren't supposed to switch, and they did.
And they just took the bait from Bama, and you had a big on Phylon, and it cost Tennessee.
So just a costly loss for Tennessee.
About the obvious, the key injury in the game, and you've got to talk about that.
But the fact that you said this is not their first rodeo to blow the double-digit lead, it's one thing to do it in the first part of the season.
But as you progress, you're supposed to learn from mistakes and make the adjustments.
How do you answer the question with fans who are saying, we get the injury, that's true.
But the last time Alabama played, they had the injuries against them.
You've got to play through that.
But what, in your opinion, is the bugaboo here with Tennessee consistently, it sounds like, blowing big leads?
Well, they let up, and they're not good enough to let up.
So there you go.
So they're not, they're one of their kind of, you know, potential fatal flaws for the NCAA tournament or a deep run in it is they're not clutch defensively at the end of games.
Like last year with Ziegler and Mayshack and Ganey, those guys were all defending at a very high level.
Plus you had Al Parra in the post.
And they had guys, they had guys that were just really tenacious and would refuse to lose or give up a bucket.
And just, and will, Tennessee to the finish line.
They don't have that same tenacity defensively to be clutch at the end of games on defense.
And then they're just not deep enough on offense.
And you mentioned the injury to Nate Amen, who was so huge in game one with Bama.
I don't think that's the reason why they lost the game because for a while there, Tennessee even stretched the lead without Nate Amen.
But they then got bogged down offensively.
They let up, and then here comes Alabama making threes, and then you're not able to get the stops, and you have a defensive breakdown.
So I don't think it was Amen going down.
I think it's just because they don't play 40 minutes.
And honestly, I don't know that they have played 40 minutes.
The Houston game way at the beginning of the year is the closest to that.
And that's what Barnes said.
Barnes said it's not about blowing double-digit leads.
It's playing 40 minutes.
Like, we can't have the lulls that we do.
That's how you lose double-digit leads is because you have lulls.
And guys, this team isn't good enough or deep enough to do that.
So that's where it stems from.
Yeah, Nate Oates would love it if Alabama played Tennessee again in Nashville in the SEC tournament if JP Estrella would guard LeBaron Fineline throughout the entire scene.
The seeding in the NCAA tournament, again, we've still got a lot to go, two games this week, and then the tournament.
Where would Tennessee be seeded at the end?
I mean, I have to go by Lenardi.
Lenardi is, you know, as good as it gets.
And he actually moved Tennessee a spot up after they lost to Alabama.
You know, because you have to factor in everything that's going on in the sport and all those teams.
And then, you know, that's a quad one game.
That's a quality opponent.
And, you know, people are talking about, oh, now they can't get a top four seed.
Why not?
You're like, you're second from, you're two spots away from the four line.
They do have a quad two game at South Carolina tomorrow, so maybe that hurts them.
But then, you know, they have Vanderbilt a quad one game at home and close out the regular season.
And then you have, you know, good game opportunities in the SEC tournament.
So, yeah, I wouldn't rule out them getting in the four line.
But they've got to get back on track.
They lost two straight after they were one of the hottest teams in the SEC outside of Gainesville.
So, it's not out of the question.
I mean, more likely, I guess, you could say it's probably a five seed.
But, yeah, to me, the bigger thing is the SEC tournament.
Because if you don't get a double buy to the SEC tournament, I think the perception of your team is different.
I think you're looked at as one of the middle of the pack, the bubble teams, even though the SEC is not in the bubble.
But I think you're looked at differently if you're a top four seed in their conference tournament.
Then you win a game, and just like that, you're in the semifinals, and now they're giving you a ton of credit for that.
So, you make it really hard on yourself if you have to play in day two on Thursday.
So, I think that's the bigger deal to get to where you want to be.
That's a good point.
It looked like, to me, again, he had his knee, but he got in a little bit of a scrum.
Was it a hyperextension of the knee?
Will he play against South Carolina?
What have you heard?
Well, it was both a knee, tweaked his knee, and he had an ankle injury from the Missouri game that he was able to play through.
And he tweaked that because he got his leg caught under him in that loose ball situation where he got hit and couldn't protect himself.
So, it's a little bit of both.
Justin Gainey, assistant coach, said that he would not practice today, and they were going to get a medical update today from the staff on what his status might be.
My guess is, if he's not going to practice before, he didn't practice today, or he won't practice, you know, I would imagine he wouldn't practice a South Carolina game, nor would he play.
I would be surprised if he played.
Got to give him some time to get healthy, and then you need him against Vanderbilt.
You should not need him against South Carolina, but also now you put yourself in a situation where, you know, you need all the wins you can get.
But they got to think big picture because they're really not going anywhere without him.
There's just too much inconsistency, you know, outside of Gillespie and Amen on this team.
So, that would be my guess.
Nothing has been determined for South Carolina tomorrow.
The man, Vince Ford, 99-1, the sports animal.
I would imagine the cynic Tennessee fan would say there is one thing that is consistent, and that's Rick Barnes' time of the year.
I think that's a misconception in some ways, but V-Man, how confident are you about this team as far as the run in the postseason?
Well, I mean, Rick Barnes has made it to the Elite Eight the last two years, so I don't think that's an accurate conversation.
Now, I think this team is more flawed and harder to believe in for a long SEC tournament run than last year.
So, yeah, I don't think they're clutch enough defensively.
I think they're too dependent on Gillespie and Amen.
Now, individual stars can carry you through some games and some rounds in the NCAA tournament, but to sustain that, I think, is difficult.
I mean, they would really need a lot of guys to play their best basketball at the same time.
I just don't.
And teams that make deep runs in the NCAA tournament are top 25 in both offensive and defensive efficiency,
and they're not going to be top 25 in offense.
And their defense is like 15, 16, something like that.
They're in there, but they're not what it was last year.
So their numbers are better offensively from a year ago and a lot worse defensively,
even though they're still one of the better SEC defensive teams.
But I just don't think they have enough contributors and scores offensively,
and they're not as tenacious defensively to buy into them for a long tournament run.
They're just too inconsistent.
The two things, one, when does, now that we're in March, everybody knows March Madness,
but also spring football, what is the date for Tennessee to begin spring football practice,
and where can we get online to get the B's great stuff?
Yeah, it's like in two weeks, you know, in a couple of weeks.
I don't have the exact date in front of me, but it is just a couple of weeks away.
And then, you know, spring, the spring game, the orange and white game,
will be, I think, the second Saturday of April.
So, you know, pretty normal with a lot in line with a lot of other SEC teams.
So I'm glad they're doing a game.
I don't know what it's going to look like, but glad they're still doing it
and a chance for the fans to go see them.
So, yeah, you can check me out on all the socials,
at Vince Sports, V-I-N-C-E Sports, on Instagram, on Facebook, and on Twitter, slash X.
So we'll have an awful lot, and then all the TV stuff is Sports Source Digital Network
to see Sunday show, Saturday show, and whatever else they're silly enough to invite me to do.
As always, the man who's the king of 10 pounds of sugar in a 5-pound sack.
Stay safe up there, V-Man, and thanks so much for your time today.
You guys do the same.
Always a highlight of my week.
Appreciate you guys.
Hey, right back at you, V-Man.
Vince Rohr, 99.1, the Sports Animal in Knoxville.
Coming up, the latest, oldest in the college basketball world.
We'll share that and more straight ahead.
Stay with us here on the Boomo Bugg Show.
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A KFC tale in the pursuit of flavor.
The greatest insult the colonel ever suffered was being served a wrap that was just a snack
by a friend.
So he took two crispy tenders, lettuce, tomatoes, and pepper mayo, and wrapped them in a soft tortilla.
It wasn't a snack.
It was a meal.
He called it a twister and never called that friend again.
The colonel lived, so we could chicken.
The Twister.
Now back at KFC, classic or with bacon.
Also try it spicy.
It's finger licking good.
Prices and participation may vary.
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Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93.9.
The score.
Mets basketball action on Saturday.
17th right to Alabama.
Winner over number 22, Tennessee.
71-69.
Luttrell right shell at 25 points for the Crimson Tide,
who's now 22-7 on the year.
12-4 in SEC play.
Auburn Tigers still at home.
They lost Ole Miss 85-79 to Hot Petterford with 24 points.
Auburn is now 15-14 on the season and is 6-10 in SEC play.
The Sunbelt Conference Tournament gets underway tomorrow in Pensacola, Florida.
South Alabama is the sixth seed on the men's side.
They will be off until Friday in the fourth round.
Troy, the number one overall seed.
They've got to buy all the way to the semifinals on Sunday.
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I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash presented by Progressive on 93.9.
The score.
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A KFC tale in the pursuit of flavor.
The greatest insult the colonel ever suffered
was being served a wrap that was just a snack by a friend.
So he took two crispy tenders, lettuce, tomatoes, and pepper mayo
and wrapped them in a soft tortilla.
It wasn't a snack.
It was a meal.
He called it a twister and never called that friend again.
The colonel lived so we could chicken.
The twister.
Now back at KFC, classic or with bacon.
Also try it spicy.
It's finger licking good.
Prices and participation may vary.
The score.
Now back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
And as the calendar turns, the marches on to some madness.
BB, the AP Top 25 releasing its latest Top 25
and the Crimson Tide, I wouldn't say they're blazing a trail moving up,
but they are crawling up to the Sweet 16 spot now.
Other teams that we can tell you about,
no shock that Duke is number one.
Arizona is number two.
Michigan and UConn, your top four.
Before we talk about some of the others, BB, Florida right now is on the outside of the Top 25.
What does that tell you about how good Duke, Arizona, Michigan, and UConn are
if Florida is the fifth best team in the country?
Well, I think that's where Florida should probably be because those four, to me, are the top teams.
Now, Iowa State, our good friend Bill Bender had Iowa State in the one seed.
I think they're a two seed.
You and I both like Houston.
Tom Izzo is doing his thing with Michigan State.
It still amazes me to see Nebraska at number nine.
The only thing has literally ever been in the top ten in basketball of the first net press poll.
But I think, again, if Florida keeps winning, and I see no reason why they shouldn't,
I think Florida still possibly could get a one seed if one of those top four teams gets beat in the next ten days or so.
The number ten team, to me, is intriguing.
Not that we follow them, but it's a bigger statement about where we are in 2026.
That number ten team is Texas Tech.
And you know where we're going with this.
Texas Tech, the money guys out there, they spend a million dollars on a softball pitcher, in all due respect.
They're basically just like an oil well spewing money into the football program.
And now Texas Tech has, at this point in time anyway, the number ten basketball team.
The reason we bring that up, BB, does this not illustrate in the modern era, no matter where you were,
it's where you're going if you've got somebody who is printing money out of an oil well, is it not?
Well, Cody Campbell is their big NIL guy in Texas Tech.
And he's funneled a lot of money into the football and basketball program.
And both of them are good.
The softball program is very good too.
But, again, you can equalize the playing field or level the playing field if you've got enough NIL.
And, by the way, there are five SEC teams in the top 25, as you mentioned.
Florida 5, Bama 16.
The Arkansas Razorbacks are 20.
Tennessee is 23.
And Vanderbilt is 24.
The SEC represented with five teams in the top 25.
Let's talk about the sweet 16 spot, Alabama.
Obviously, maybe winning eight in a row.
What's the modern word, the buzzword that's almost overused now?
Optics.
As you inch closer to Selection Sunday, which obviously is coming up here right around the corner.
Your thoughts about this team, the eight-game winning streak.
We talked about the best thing.
We just got done talking with John Ferrari.
And he said, in some ways, the best thing that happened to this Florida team was Auburn beating Florida.
Can it be safe to say that maybe the best thing that happened to Alabama was Florida beating Alabama,
not only beating them, but embarrassing the Crimson Tide?
They have been on a mission ever since.
I don't think there's any question about it.
And Nate Oates challenged this team, Harold, to improve defensively and to improve rebounding.
Now, if you watch the first 30 minutes of the Alabama-Tennessee game, you say, well, they haven't learned anything.
Well, they did in the last 10 minutes.
When this team matches the physicality of these bigger teams and they rebound,
Tennessee just took Alabama to the woodshed as far as rebounding for the first 30 minutes.
But Alabama got key rebounds in the last 10 minutes, and in particularly the last five minutes.
And I agree with Vince.
Nate Oates would love for J.P.
Estrella, who's about 6'11", to guard Phylon if they play again because Phylon is able to move around them.
But this team, there's no question that this is a flaw team.
And those four teams at the top that we mentioned, it would be very difficult for Alabama to beat them.
But once again, can this team get back to the Elite Eight?
Yes.
If they continue to play the way they are now, they've got a tricky game tomorrow night.
Yep.
You can hear that game at 530 on 93.9.
In fact, the pregame starts at 430 Eastern time in – I mean, Central time in Georgia.
Georgia's a lot like Alabama.
They run and gun.
They go up and down the field.
Yeah.
Alabama was averaging 98 points a game.
Of course, Tennessee held them down some.
But, Harold, if they can continue to defend, and they're getting much healthier.
In fact, Nate Oates mentioned today in his press conference, there's no way Phylon's going to be close to 100%.
But they're going to continue to manage him.
But if they can continue to play defense and rebound, I don't think there's any question this team's got a shot to get to the Elite Eight again.
It wouldn't hurt if they came out instead of getting beer 10 feet in the ground to get hot from the beer beginning.
But I was as surprised as you, and I saw that last play, and I'm thinking, why is that guy matched up with Phylon?
Because he is lightning quick.
He is trying to squeeze an eel, and that's his moneymaker.
He's working – I think what's going on with Phylon, too, he is now seeing, as they say, the big money.
He knows if he can go out and steal the show, all that's going to do, as Nick says, create value for yourself with the upcoming NBA draft.
I think now, just – some of these kids, at the beginning of the season, they're young.
They don't see the big picture, and sometimes they have a tendency to put it on cruise control.
That's just human nature, especially when you're young like that.
But I think now, as you get closer to that draft, I think he is seeing the value of going out and maybe kicking it up another gear, if you will, BB.
Yeah, and I think, Harold, he's become a better teammate.
He's passing the ball more.
I think he only had one turnover that had been some of the – Alabama got off to a terrible start.
In fact, I think they turned the ball over four out of five trips down the court.
But Phylon is beginning to realize, if I rebound a little bit, and I – you know, the – one more pass has really opened up.
This team is facing well.
But he's learning how to be a better teammate, and I think it's going to help him in the NBA draft.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, BB, if you're an Auburn basketball fan, what is going through your mind that we can talk about here on Family Radio?
Well, Harold, I think this is going to be on Bruce Pearl.
Bruce basically resigned.
I know he wanted his son to be the next coach or the coach in waiting, and he waited until, I think, literally two or three days before practice was going to begin, resigned.
He set up a very tough preseason schedule, which I think has helped Auburn.
It may be the final, eventually get them in the tournament.
But they've had so many bad losses lately.
The bad losses are going to overcome the good wins.
Auburn fans are very disappointed.
They are – they just cannot play defense.
Again, Ole Miss had lost 10 consecutive games to go in and, quite frankly, dominated that game in the second half.
Yeah.
Well, here's the thing.
Auburn right now, correct me if I'm wrong, sitting at 14 losses.
That means unless they win out, they'll have at least 15 losses, and the odds are right now they'll lose at least one more regular season game.
And then, unless they win the SEC tournament, this means they will have 16 losses.
How is the committee going to sit here and say a 16-loss team is going to sit here and go in?
And I saw Bruce, and I don't blame Bruce.
Every father out there is going to go to bat for his kid.
But, basically, over the weekend, in effect, a lot of folks thought Bruce was saying, take Auburn with 16 losses or 15, whatever it's going to be, over either an unbeaten or a once-beaten Miami of Ohio.
They don't have the brand.
They don't have the name on the jersey.
But, nonetheless, the record, there's no comparison to the two, BB.
No, there's none.
And that was a silly comment.
Quite frankly, Bruce has had quite a few silly comments this year as a basketball commentator.
Again, if they could upset Alabama and win two games in the tournament, I think they would get in.
But, listen, if they lose to LSU in their midweek game and then give a 10 or 15 to Alabama, there's no chance.
Coming up, there is a chance we're going to have a final word.
That's straight ahead.
Stay with us here on the Boomo Bugg Show.
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Out on the course, they're the PGA Tour's best players.
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1819 News.
The University of South Alabama is denying that there is a queer animals lab going on at their campus.
The school has made a statement regarding a report on the Comparative Cognition and Communications Lab, or C3PO lab, that is part of the USA Department of Psychology.
The school says that the social media posts that are being made by the lead researcher, Dr. Heidi Lynn, are part of her personal observations and commentary on her personal social media accounts and not officially part of this lab.
USA administrators say that Dr. Lynn was using terms like queer animals in order to capture the attention of her viewers and that the research into queer animal behavior has not been funded in any way with state or federal funds.
The CP3PO Instagram page has recently had several pages taken down that did have the lab's official logo watermark and was describing deep-sea squids that engage in sexual behavior with either male or female other squids.
A lot of the social media posts have now been removed or deleted and USA says that Dr. Lynn must now rework her personal social media and its connections to the university.
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.
A murder-suicide occurred at the Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital in Birmingham on Sunday night.
19-year-old Kenneth Terry Jr. has been identified as the gunman.
The victim is a woman who was admitted to the Women's Medical Center, 24-year-old Janae Johnson.
I'm Andrea Theis.
For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com.
And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter.
Back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back again.
And baby, quickly, just like that, UNA's regular season is over on the hardwoods.
Yeah, they lost again, unfortunately, 75-63 to West Georgia.
But they've got an opportunity for to wipe the slate clean.
They will play Wednesday in the ASUN tournament in Jacksonville.
They're playing Florida Gulf Coast at 1.30.
Darkon King actually came back and played a little bit.
That's what Tony Pujol mentioned last week.
They've got some guys who might be able to help them who've been out.
King's been out for a month.
Yeah.
And if they can get some guys back, that will certainly help them.
And listen, kudos to UNA baseball this week.
Yeah.
They play Ole Miss Wednesday in Oxford.
And then they play Southern Miss Friday.
Southern Miss beat Alabama last Tuesday.
The Lions baseball team 7-5 with two games this week.
Ole Miss Wednesday, Southern Miss Friday.
Shout out to UNA's softball team, 14-7 winners over Evansville over the weekend.
They've now won eight out of their last nine games.
UNA's softball team rocking and rolling.
That's going to take care of business for now on behalf of B.B., Greg, James Blair, the entire crew here.
Harold Buck, thank you so much for your time today.
That's it again tomorrow on noon to two for the B.B.B. and Buck Show back here on Sports Radio 93.9.
The score.