2026 Men's Elite 8 Recap And Final 4 Predictions

We react to a mostly uncompetitive Elite Eight and then dive into the one game that delivered real drama: Duke letting a huge lead slip against UConn. We break down the late turnover with 10 seconds left, question the late-game plan, and preview the Final Four with matchup-based predictions. 
• Elite Eight recap and why most games lacked tension 
• Duke vs UConn as the defining thriller of the round 
• How a 19-point lead disappears over time 
• The final 10 seconds, ball security, and getting fouled 
• What we want from John Scheyer in late-game situations 
• UConn vs Illinois preview and the key player matchups 
• Arizona vs Michigan preview with a focus on defense and rebounding 
• Who we think reaches the title game and why 
• Question for listeners: Duke gave it away or UConn took it back? 
Please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show 

Transcript

Intro And Elite Eight Results

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What's up, everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show get a bucket. I'm your host, Trey and as usual. Hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Alright, man. I just got to get right to it, right? Because this one's gonna be a little tough episode to get through. We're gonna talk about here the men's elite eight and then the final four expectations. So with that being said, I just gotta say here, there were no real entertaining games outside of one for the Elite Eight. And that was the one that hurt the most. Michigan, number one seed, ends up beating Tennessee, dog walking by 33. Come on, little fella. Like it was belt to tail. We had Illinois, the number three seed, beating Iowa, the number nine seed by 12. That's okay, but it won't that entertaining. Arizona, the one seed, ends up beating Purdue by 15 points. Again, it was okay, but it won't that entertaining. The most entertaining game of the Elite Eight was my number one seed, overall number one seed, Blue Devils losing to number two Yukon. Now, if you listen to my episode about fire Coach Shire, you kind of get an insight as to how I view how this game went. Did Yukon come back? Yes. But to be clear, we, Duke, gave this game away. And it's so heartbreaking. We're up 15. We went up as much as 19 in the first half. Again, leads dissipate. I've said that before. We were up 15 at the half. Am I overly surprised that Yukon came back? Kind of. But again, leads dissipate over time. So I'm not going to be overly upset at that. It's the fact that we had uh we had 10 seconds left, we're up two, and we have the ball. And Caden Boozer ends up turning the ball over. Personally, I felt like as a coach, you tell them with 10 seconds left, just hold the ball and get fouled. We have three quality free throw shooters. We had Isaiah Evans who could do something with the basketball at the free throw, not shooting the ball specifically. Cameron Boozer was about a 79% free throw shooter. Like I could I wouldn't be mad if he rose up his free throw shooting, but still, that's quality. We could at least get one free throw out of him. And if I'm not mistaken, Caden Boozer was about an 80 plus percent free throw shooter himself. So if if I'm John Shire, I'm telling them, I don't care what happens, you hold the ball and get fouled. Like that's the like don't pass the ball. Don't pass the ball. Or if you do one time, and if we can get one clean pass off, pass it to somebody who can knock down a free throw shot fairly well. And just wait to get fouled. And that did not happen. So I'm looking at John Shire directly. Yes, Caden Boozer gets blamed too for sure. But I am looking at John Shire and saying, well, buddy, how come we couldn't get over the hump? We should still be in the final four. I can't even give it to Yukon because we literally gave the game away. Good shot by Brian by Braylon Mullins. Good shot. Way to be there, way to knock it down. And Yukon way to storm back, being down as much as 19, being down 15, entering the second half. But again, ladies and gentlemen, Duke literally gave this game away. We gave that game away. Like I said, that was the most entertaining Elite Eight matchup. It's a legacy game for a couple players. And it was a terrible Sunday and Monday for me. I tell you that right now. And I had a beautiful weekend, by the way. Oh, a tremendous weekend that just got soured and spoiled by my actually by both blue, by both Blue Devils losing in the Elite Eight. After I thought there was a world where we could possibly win championships as a brother and sister organization, it hurts. It hurts so badly. But kudos to Dan Hurley and UConn for getting the job done end of day. So now we got to talk about Final Four, ladies and gentlemen. And we got here Yukon, a number two seed. Going up against Illinois, a three seed. And then we have Arizona, a one seed. Going up against Michigan, a one seed. And I think right now, entering the Elite Eight, Michigan might have been the favorite team. Michigan and Arizona were one of the favorite, with probably two of the favorite teams for sure. I keep hearing about Michigan and Arizona. And rightfully so too. They've been hooping pretty well this year. I will give them that. We can't overlook, though, this Yukon, Illinois matchup. Because personally, we got Keaton Wagler versus Solo Ball and Silas DeMary Jr. Now keep in mind, Keaton Wagler is a 6'5, 6 freshman that has been hooping his butt off. I got to give him credit consistently, too, by the way. Now I just saw Solo Ball and Silas DeMary Jr., they were okay. They were solid. But you know what I did see though? Caden Boozer before that blunder, which I do put right up there with the Chris Weber timeout that they did not have. Caden was hooping. He was hooping. So if Keaton Waggler, who is the better player right now, than Caden Boozer, if they can't stop him, Illinois is gonna give UConn a run for their money for sure. And here's the thing, too. Our bigs, we had Patrick Gomba, who was coming off foot injury, but still he was healthy enough to play. And then Malik Brown. Patrick is 6'11, 250. Malik was about 6'8, maybe 235. All right. They had a hard time going up against Terrace Reed, who is a senior at 6'11, 265. That ain't bad. But ladies and gentlemen, I gotta say this. Illinois does have a guy by the name of Derek, I'm sorry, David Murkovich, who's 6'9, 255. That's about the same level as Cam Boozer in terms of height and stockiness, which again, I would have loved to have seen that matchup. But I think David can guard Terrace a little bit. But also, Illinois does have some bigs to throw at Terrace a little bit. So I am curious to see if Terrace can do the exact same thing that he did against my Blue Devils. If so, then Illinois is gonna have an uphill battle this game. So again, ladies and gentlemen, I'm curious which star is gonna outplay the others' defenses, if you will. Will Keaton Wagler get off more so than Terrace Reid Jr. gets off versus his opponents? And then we gotta also think, too, ladies and gentlemen, this win versus my Blue Devils, again, did UConn earn it? Sure. But did we give it up? I think we gave it up more than UConn earned it, to be fair. And I'm not trying to take away from UConn. I'm actually trying to be a little curious right now. Will that emotional win hit Yukon in the Final Four? Will it be too taxing or will that energize UConn? That's what I'm looking to see. But again, ladies and gentlemen, who would I favor in this matchup? It's almost a jump ball for me. It really is. Now, biased, I want Illinois to beat UConn. But at the same breath, I would love if UConn beats Illinois, because then that says hey, Duke should have beaten Illinois. Like we could have beaten Illinois, which I genuinely believe we could have. So it's a jump ball for me, ladies and gentlemen. I'm I I I I'm too emotional right now. I don't know how to go about it. But it should be a good game nonetheless. Now Arizona versus Michigan. I'ma just keep, I'ma just, I'ma call the spade a spade. Alright. I think Michigan finna win this game. And the reason why is Jaxel has has been looking like the best player on the floor in March Madness. He has. I can't even deny that. Michigan's rebounding and rim protection continue to dominate. And my question is, can Arizona's offense eclipse Michigan's defense? Because Michigan's defense is really elite. And their offense ain't no slouch either. Now, Arizona's defense versus Michigan's balance. That's what I'm looking to see. Because Arizona's defense is not bad. And their offense is pretty good too. But I'm telling you right now here, ladies and gentlemen, Michigan is looking like they are quite some monsters. And I what I really want to see is Michigan versus uh. As I'm thinking about it, again, I'm at a jump ball between Yukon and Illinois, so I favor Michigan in this matchup. Would Michigan do well versus Yukon? I think so. Because they have an interior advantage over Yukon, and I'd be curious how Terrace Reed does. And keep in mind, too, I just saw Yukon struggle versus my Blue Devils, and Michigan might be able to execute a little bit more than my Blue Devils did. We were still young. So we were prone to make mistakes, even though we had more talent. But we were prone to make mistakes. So Michigan, I think, would actually match up well against Yukon. Michigan versus Illinois is where it could get a little interesting. Because I think Illinois actually has the bigs to go up against Michigan. And again, Keaton Waggler, the man is pretty spectacular. And if his game continues to hold up, I'm telling you right now, he's trying to fight for a top five pick right now. So Michigan versus Illinois, if Keaton holds out, I'd like to see Keaton versus Yaxel, that would be a quality matchup. So I might have just talked myself into picking Illinois over Yukon. Because Illinois matches up well against Yukon too. And again, they have the offense to go about it. It's just if Keaton gets slowed down due to solo and silence, that could be interesting. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I am curious who you guys are rooting for, who you guys are predicting to get to the to get out of the Final Four into the championship game? Will it be Yukon? Will it be Illinois? Will it be Arizona? Will it be Michigan? And I'm also curious, too, over the Elite Eight, were you surprised at how Duke gave that game away? Do you believe Duke gave the game away or did Yukon fight that for that game back? Which one is higher? Duke giving the game away or Yukon taking the game? I'm curious what your thoughts are. As a Duke fan and an analyst and a lover of basketball, I think Duke gave the game away, but I'm curious what you all think. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. So this Final Four, while it might not be the best that it could have been, it should still be entertaining. I'm hesitant to watch it just because, you know, my boys is out. I'm still emotional right now about the situation. I I barely really don't want to talk about it, honestly. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. So please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Get The Bucket. I hope you're all having a good one. Take care.