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Speaker 1: ESPN fifteen thirty. Travis Steele is with his head coach

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Speaker 1: of the Miami RedHawks. His team is getting said to

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Speaker 1: play SMU and Dayton on Wednesday night. What was the

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Speaker 1: moment like when you and your guys saw Miami on

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Speaker 1: the screen on the selection show?

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Speaker 2: Surreal?

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Speaker 3: You know, just jubilant, happy, you know, just happy for

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Speaker 3: our guys man that they get to get a reward

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Speaker 3: for all of the efforts.

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Speaker 2: And all the sacrifice.

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Speaker 3: That they've done, that they've made, and man, just really

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Speaker 3: really happy that they're going to have this experience and

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Speaker 3: now we got capitalized on it.

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Speaker 2: Though, you know, I'm starting hearing.

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Speaker 1: Dayton from Thursday afternoon in Cleveland to yesterday in Oxford.

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Speaker 1: Was there at all any anxiety that you would maybe

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Speaker 1: not get the result you were hoping for?

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Speaker 2: I'll be honest, I didn't.

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Speaker 3: I thought we were in. I thought we were firmly in.

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Speaker 3: And I maane, we won thirty one regular season games.

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Speaker 3: I mean that's when undefeated. We're one of I think

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Speaker 3: one of only four team since two thousand to do that,

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Speaker 3: and it would have been unprecedent for us not to

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Speaker 3: be in, you know, so I felt good about it.

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Speaker 3: But at the same time, you know, I listen to

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Speaker 3: your hands. Your life's in the hands of others, you know,

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Speaker 3: Like we didn't take advantage of our opportunity up in Cleveland,

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Speaker 3: and and so then all of a sudden, you know,

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Speaker 3: we didn't control our.

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Speaker 2: Own destiny, which is always a little bit you know, scary.

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Speaker 3: But I but I did feel good about it. I

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Speaker 3: still went to Winston's my my seventh grader's soccer games,

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Speaker 3: and I played bad all weekend, and then we had

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Speaker 3: a really good practice on Sunday. So because I was

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Speaker 3: anticipating the obvioice us being in the sublay terms, we

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Speaker 3: had practice on Sunday, a very spirited one, and I

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Speaker 3: thought we were able to take a couple of days off,

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Speaker 3: which was good to get us mentally and fresh and

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Speaker 3: physically fresh air for this final run.

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Speaker 1: What's it like when you're talking to a team in

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Speaker 1: the aftermath of a loss when they haven't suffered one

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Speaker 1: all season.

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Speaker 3: Long, Oh man, total shock shock, you know, very very upset,

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Speaker 3: tons of emotion in the room. And I didn't say

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Speaker 3: a ton to our guys afterwards. When there's when there's

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Speaker 3: that much emotion in the room and you think you

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Speaker 3: got to keep it short and sweet. I told him

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Speaker 3: we'd get back together. At the hotel. You know, guys

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Speaker 3: were crying and and bec we did. We put a

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Speaker 3: lot into this thing, man, and I think, you know,

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Speaker 3: but we didn't earn the right to win that day.

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Speaker 3: We weren't physical enough and and we weren't the team

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Speaker 3: that we've been all year long.

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Speaker 2: And it still was a one possession game. Uh and they.

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Speaker 3: Had twenty four second chance points, you know. So it's like,

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Speaker 3: I think the biggest thing for us, like I told

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Speaker 3: our guys at the hotel, was like, listen, our season

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Speaker 3: isn't over.

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Speaker 2: This isn't the end.

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Speaker 3: We need to learn from this though, And I said,

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Speaker 3: if there's any if I see anybody like have a

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Speaker 3: sad face or down and gloom over the next couple

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Speaker 3: of days, and then then then we have no chance

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Speaker 3: in the lab late turn.

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Speaker 2: We got to move on. We have to get to.

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Speaker 3: Learn from own it, move on and get better from it.

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Speaker 3: So but it was very emotional initially.

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Speaker 1: The last few week, with all the attention your program

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Speaker 1: has gotten, all the close games you've played in that

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Speaker 1: game of the year in Athens, even what happened on Thursday,

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Speaker 1: you guys have been walking this tight rope down for

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Speaker 1: a while. So so how does that help you on

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Speaker 1: Wednesday and hopefully beyond.

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Speaker 3: Well, I think March there's a lot of close games, right,

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Speaker 3: can you operate in tight moments?

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Speaker 2: And we can and.

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Speaker 3: We've shown that a lot this year. We've won in

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Speaker 3: different ways. We won games in the sixties, winning games

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Speaker 3: in the nineties, you know, our hundreds. You know, like

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Speaker 3: we can win a lot of different ways, which is good.

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Speaker 3: But I think the biggest thing for our guys, and

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Speaker 3: I was, like I've told them, is every possession is

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Speaker 3: basically a life of its own right, and you've got

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Speaker 3: to have that possession toughness. Or if we are up

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Speaker 3: by eight, nine, ten, that next possession shift is important

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Speaker 3: as if we were down by four six in a

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Speaker 3: tight game, right, can we maintain that possession toughness throughout

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Speaker 3: the game and then sublay tournament if we can do that,

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Speaker 3: and then I like our odds me through.

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Speaker 1: So you know, last night, six twenty whatever it was,

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Speaker 1: there's Miami. You guys hug high five, embrace and then

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Speaker 1: you got to you got to turn the page quickly.

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Speaker 1: You got to get to work. So just since uh,

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Speaker 1: since last night to today. What is what's it been like?

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Speaker 1: What's the process been like preparing for an opponent that

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Speaker 1: you just found out about less than twenty four hours ago.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we just use all hands on deck.

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Speaker 3: You know, we got a great staff and you obviously

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Speaker 3: get the stats all printed out, everything, all the analytical data.

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Speaker 3: You say, how it was starting there. I always look

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Speaker 3: at that, try to get familiar with their roster. Who

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Speaker 3: do they have on their team. We call coaches in

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Speaker 3: their league or that have played them, just to get

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Speaker 3: a verbal scout, you know, on on on on what

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Speaker 3: their strengths and weaknesses are, different things like that. Well,

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Speaker 3: then we start watching diving in film. You know, I've

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Speaker 3: watched six full games here since since we drew SMU

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Speaker 3: because they're a little bit unique because they're one young

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Speaker 3: management injured Edwards the last four five games, and I

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Speaker 3: think he's going to play. I guess says we have

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Speaker 3: to prepare that way. So we had to go back

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Speaker 3: deeper into the season to watch when he played right,

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Speaker 3: because I think that's really the portant. They played a

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Speaker 3: little bit differently offensively and defensively when they had him

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Speaker 3: because they were playing a little bit smaller at the four.

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Speaker 3: So just trying to dissect to come up with a

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Speaker 3: game plan offensively defensively. What's our plan? How can we

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Speaker 3: attack these guys? You know, like, obviously we are who

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Speaker 3: we are, it's more about us. But at the same time,

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Speaker 3: you've got to be able to steal probably eight to

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Speaker 3: ten points in a game like this in order to advance.

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Speaker 3: So those little things matter. And then are getting our

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Speaker 3: guys to understand.

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Speaker 2: Their personnel, just learning it. We'll be learning that today.

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Speaker 3: So again we know the him and season and how

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Speaker 3: to close out on them.

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Speaker 1: You're a qualified to answer this question having been a

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Speaker 1: video coordinator. How is the process different now as opposed

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Speaker 1: to when you first got into the business. When you

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Speaker 1: find out about an opponent, you've got to prepare in

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Speaker 1: a very short amount of time for a game on Wednesday,

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Speaker 1: Thursday or Friday.

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Speaker 2: Well, when I was at.

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Speaker 3: Indiana University, mode we'd have to go like exchange them physically.

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Speaker 3: I would drive, I would drive and meet somebody, you know,

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Speaker 3: like you know, whatever we had to do because it

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Speaker 3: was just such a quick turnaround to your point. You know,

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Speaker 3: obviously now VHS, tapes and DVDs are out the window,

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Speaker 3: and so now everything's done online. We can just download

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Speaker 3: a game within five minutes. I have a game on

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Speaker 3: my laptop. It's insane, and you know it's just at

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Speaker 3: the click of a mouse, all of a sudden, you

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Speaker 3: got it.

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Speaker 2: Man.

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Speaker 3: I wish they would have had that technology back when

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Speaker 3: I was at Indiana University.

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Speaker 2: Would have saved me a lot of mileage and a

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Speaker 2: lot of time.

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Speaker 1: I love I love hearing those old stories. I love

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Speaker 1: hearing those old stories about you know, trying to stop

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Speaker 1: tapes and you know sometimes they get stuck in the

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Speaker 1: mail and you have to go drive somewhere. You obviously,

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Speaker 1: in an ideal world, you're playing on Thursday or Friday first,

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Speaker 1: but it still has to be awfully fun for the

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Speaker 1: Miami community to get a chance to come watch your

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Speaker 1: guys play at U the arena. And I'm sure there's

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Speaker 1: something about that atmosphere that, even though I think everybody

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Speaker 1: wishes you weren't in the first four that you have

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Speaker 1: to be looking forward to.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, listen, it's it's special for our fans. I mean,

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Speaker 3: to be able to have a game that's fifty minutes

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Speaker 3: away from our university.

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Speaker 2: Obviously, have a ton of ton.

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Speaker 3: Of Miami alumni and Dayton and in Cincinnati Columbus and

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Speaker 3: they can drive to an int Double A tournament game

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Speaker 3: to watch their team play. I mean, how cool is that.

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Speaker 3: It's gonna be sold out, It'll be a home game

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Speaker 3: for us. It's gonna be awesome, man, I'll be honest.

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Speaker 3: It's so when I was at Xavier, Mooy played in

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Speaker 3: the in the in Dayton, we played n C State.

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Speaker 2: I'm gonna get the year wrong. Fourteen. I was going

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Speaker 2: to pay fourteen.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Brooke was a senior and stain Brooke was battling injury.

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Speaker 3: We're kind of limping into the NT double as we

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Speaker 3: didn't know if we were going.

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Speaker 2: To get in or not. And I would tell you that.

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Speaker 3: Was the best atmosphere into DOUBLEA tournament wise that I've

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Speaker 3: ever been part of, Better than the Elite Eights, better

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Speaker 3: than this Week sixteen, because those buildings are so enormous

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Speaker 3: and you're so far away, whether you're in San Jose,

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Speaker 3: California or Atlanta, and it just doesn't have the same

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Speaker 3: atmosphere the ones A date the man are like it

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Speaker 3: is an absolute zoo in there. And so it's gonna

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Speaker 3: be a lot of fun.

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Speaker 2: Man. We're really looking forward to it.

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Speaker 1: Need a better result than twenty fourteen. That's all I

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Speaker 1: say about that.

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Speaker 2: Okay, we do, we do is funny. Chris mac back back.

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Speaker 3: Texting the c mac lever texting back and forth, and

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Speaker 3: he said, he goes man.

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Speaker 2: He said, good luck man. He said, you gotta do

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Speaker 2: better than we did against in DC.

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Speaker 1: I remember it well, rooting for a better result on Wednesday.

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Speaker 1: I know you have a thousand things going on, so

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Speaker 1: I can't thank you enough for doing this. Congratulations and

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Speaker 1: we'll do it against him. Coach, thanks so much, thanks

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Speaker 1: for having me on the awesome stuff. Travis steel Head,

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Speaker 1: coach of the Miami RedHawks. They play on Wednesday against

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Speaker 1: SMU at ud Arena. We got to go. I am

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Speaker 1: off tomorrow. Chad Brendle's fills in back at it on Wednesday,

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Speaker 1: don't forget it. The Holy Grail on Thursday morning from

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Speaker 1: ten till noon before the games tip off. You gotta

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Speaker 1: be one of the first sixty four people in the

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Speaker 1: door to get a team, and if your team wins

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Speaker 1: the whole thing, you win a weekend golf get away.

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Speaker 1: Thanks to Bertram Golf. Thanks to Tarren Bland for producing.

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Speaker 1: Thanks to you for listening. The Mark Pope Radio Show

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Speaker 1: is next. Have a great night. This is ESPN fifteen

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Speaker 1: thirty Cincinnati sports station