Very much great job today, our next guest is going to be in the booth calling todays first round games. Fox sports TIM Brando joins us right now, TIM Good morning to you good Morning, Steve its great to be with all of you, and you said, the booth. We will be really in a booth, normally in basketball, youre on the floor this year we really are elevated and so youre spot on with that Steve. Well, you know, and we just saw you- you were half way through a game last year when they pulled the plug on it that had to have been a head scratcher. Well, not exactly and ill. Tell you why? The night before we had the Rudy Golberg situation with the NBA and Tom Hanks and the coach at Iowa State had gotten physically ill on the floor, and so I was a little curious as to whether I was going to get a call telling me the games were called off, but we didnt get that and all of the other conferences were ready to play, just as we were, but their commissioners called the

games immediately before the tip right. After the lineups we decided to play on- and I understand it- this is a basketball, only league, the Big EAST, and they were following the recommendations of the local area and they decided to play and we got lost in the game. So at the time when they called it. I was a little disappointed that we didnt finish it, but at the same time we had to have our ideas, our focus on the bigger picture and sometimes the environment around you gets in the way of a sporting event, and certainly an international pandemic was coming and we were aware of that before we got underway Steve fast forward to today, as we look back at tournament, Champs over the last couple of years in two thousand and twenty canceled during the covid. But then from twenty seventeen through two thousand and nineteen, you had Villanova Villanova Villanova and before that Seaton Hall, one of the things about college basketball and I think its the most exciting of all the

sports is because youve got these young players theyre not pros. They are so excited and they are just out there and you never know whats going to happen. No, you dont, and the second season means this. You know Abbey in your earlier report was commenting on the top seeds getting buys into the quarterfinals thats true, but particularly in the covid era, theres a level of balance and also expect the unexpected, because you just dont, know how 18 22 year olds are going to respond Steve and, for instance, today Marquette is playing in the opening round in a matchup with Georgetown. Now these two teams are really talented and very gifted, but they struggled some this year and had long covid breaks. The winner of this game will get Villanova, who just lost last week, their starting point guard and then, just days ago, lost their number two scoring option to an ankle injury. So Villanova comes in here, limping and somewhat crippled, and the side of the bracket that

Marquette and Georgetown are on could open up for them with the potential of beating Villanova and the skies the limit St Johns. Another team id keep an eye on and they too beat Villanova earlier. This year and they play tomorrow against seat on hall, and they come in tomorrow, riding hot and Connecticut is playing better basketball than anybody in the league. Steve its wide open lets see what happens. Tim Brando check out all of the tournament plays with the tipoff on Fox sports one. All the action begins today on Fox sports, one and the Fox Sports APP, Mr Brando. Thank you very much for getting up early with us in.