When you get a chance to get familiar with each other, the practice environment, all that set them back and the veteran teams have stepped forward.

But don't ever cry for Duke and Kentucky.

They will be back.

There's no doubt in my mind that next year Duke is going to be a major factor.

They were coming on strong.

Had they played and they have covid 19 and beat Florida State, I think we would have seen them in the tournament.

I really believe that.

I think they would have been in if they beat Florida State.

I mean, I see teams in there that don't have a resume as good.

Kentucky was another story.

It's been a struggle from Day one, and some of the players did not live up to the building coming out of high school and I think many of those kids should be coming back to school.

And if they come back and they have veterans added to the recruits because John Calipari is gonna recruit, he's a recruiting machine, so they'll be back again first time since 1976.

I believe it is that both teams are not in the tournament.

Dickie V.

Yeah, you better don't care.

Go ahead, Stephen.

There's few better at noticing sleepers and find the sleepers in the N.

C double A tournament than you.

Sir, I would ask you this question when you talk about that team flying under the radar.

A team that's not being talked about, that everybody needs to pay attention to because, as you would say, they could be cut down the next.

Who's that team?

Dickie V.

Well, you know Stephen A.

I look at a team, you know, people will laugh at me saying this, but that's okay.

I've been laughed at before, but I'm telling you, a team to keep an eye on.

They're gonna play u C L A.

To play in game.

I'm talking Michigan State.

Why do I say that?

Any team that can beat in a matter of a week, you can go out and beat the likes of Illinois Ohio State.

In Michigan, there were 345 in the country.

They beat those teams and that's why they got in, even though they were nine and 11 in conference play.

Don't get me started with that, though, Stephen, because I firmly believe I always say this.

The Mendoza line.

If you can't be 500 your conference, you don't belong in the tournament.

You're not supposed to be for greatness a great year.

Well, if you're not 500 Conference, that's not a great year.

And, Mike, I don't care about how tough it out here.

All the conferences loaded, they're loaded.

We can talk here.

It's about Maryland, for example, 16 and 13, and they're going nine and 11 years.

But they got in.

Why?

Because they beat Illinois.

They'd be Purdue.

They beat Michigan State twice.

So when I look at all of that, I could understand.

But, you know, I feel bad for guys.

I feel terrible for Coach Alexander.

Yes, coach Alexander Belmont, 26 wins the most any team had in division one.

Other than Gonzaga.

No, Gonzaga had 26 as well, so they tied Gonzaga 26 wins, four losses, and your home and other teams are playing with 13 losses.

That's going to hurt those kids because they don't get the opportunity when you're the old Ohio Valley Conference to play against all these teams that are Quad one wins.

Hey, you guys know Max and Molly and certainly Stephen A.

You guys know that if you roll the dice enough, you're gonna get some wins.

So if you play in a conference was loaded with every game is a quad one in a big 10 or the big 12 and you roll that dice, you're gonna get some quality wins.

But my argument is you lay your head down on that pillow and you decided to play in that conference.

Well, you can't give me below mediocrity 99.

I could understand.

But when you start getting below that, I really have worries.

This year I gave an exception because I'm tough.

The Big 10 has been because we're in a pandemic.

Yeah, for sure.

Bless you, Stephen.

A Dickie V.

Let me ask you this when we're looking at the 41 seeds right here Gonzaga, Baylor, Illinois and Michigan.

Which of those teams do you feel like is least likely to make it to the Final Four?

You know, Molly and you and I were talking before a little concerned about Michigan because of livers being out.

He's a valuable players.

An NBA player will be playing on the next level, and he's a kid out with a foot injury.

And any time you lose a key integral part of your rotation at this time of the year, that's a major loss, Joanne.

How it's done, an amazing job to me.

I picked them as my coach of the year and my awards.

I gave out.

That's how good he's been.

And next year he's got the number one recruited class coming in.

But make it up and the only way they can make that up delivers.

Every player is going to have to accelerate and really elevate their games.

Dickerson in the middle.

Wagner.

All those players.

Smith, Brown.

They're all going to have to step up Eli Brooks.

You know, you lose livers as a kid that played in the Final Four before, but saying all that, I still have them surviving.

For some reason, I feel I feel that you want to get those players to elevate.

They came, but the team, I think that's gonna have trouble.

Baylor.

I'm looking for Ohio State.

I think the Beat Baylor, I don't bail has been the same team as they were when they were 17 and o prior to Covid 19.

Your thoughts about Oklahoma State?

You're gonna love Kate Cunningham.

I'll tell you that.

There's no doubt about it.

You're gonna see him next year.

He's the complete.

He's the real deal.

Stephen A.

He's the real deal.

I had him in the game when he got 40 and a big rivalry game against Oklahoma made every big play.

He's unselfish.

He passes anytime he's on the floor.

They got a chance to win.

They got a chance to win.

He's that good.

I wanted to ask you about livers, but assuming that he doesn't come back or he doesn't get back to, you know, at the level he was playing, who do you therefore then have in your Final Four?

Dickie V.

Yeah, well, you know, my Final Four.

I I still got Michigan in my Final Four guys, you know, the Big 10 has not won.

The Big 10 has not won a national championship since 2000.

That was the year the year that Tom Izzo cut the Nets down.

They beat the Gators of Florida.

Mateen Cleaves and company They defended so well.

But the Big Ten's been empty.

Well, this year you got 19% the tournament from the Big 10.

This is a year they got to make some noise.

How everything One stumbling block in front of them.

And that's a team from out there in the West Coast called Gonzaga who is so real.

But my Final Four Gonzaga.

I'm staying Big 10 with Michigan.

As I told Molly, I got Bailey getting beat by Ohio State and I'm looking at Illinois.

Illinois is terrific as well.

I think we're gonna see a Gonzaga Illinois matchup for the national championship.

And when it's all said and done, I firmly believe guys I go to, I don't need r p I s I don't need all those r p I s and all that stuff.

I go to the V b D.

I does vital ball dome index.

I go to that ball dome index and that ball dome index keeps spitting out to me just like they did.

I tried to tell people at ESPN they laughed at me when the V b d I said Tom Brady will win the Super Bowl, and I said that the yes, the Lightning would win the Stanley Cup.

They laughed at me.

Oh, really?

Well, laugh now, I'm telling you, it's spitting out.

Gonzaga.

Thanks for watching ESPN on YouTube for live streaming sports and premium content.

Subscribe to ESPN, plus.