S2E8: College Tournament Memories, Triumphs and Defeats

With the college basketball tournament well underway, former collegiate stars and current players within the Celtics organization Payton Pritchard and Denzel Valentine join the show to look back on their tournament experiences. Pritchard appeared in two tournaments as a member of the Oregon Ducks, including a run to the national semifinals back in 2017 that ended in heartbreaking fashion. Valentine, meanwhile, played in four tournaments as a. member of the Michigan State Spartans, including a trip to the national semifinals and being shocked in the first round by 15th-seeded Middle Tennessee in 2016.

1:20 – Payton Pritchard joins the pod

3:20 – Pritchard remembers his close second-round game against Rhode Island, and why it mattered

4:40 – Pritchard dives into the experience of playing at the Final Four

5:37 – The discussion goes deep into Oregon’s gut-wrenching, semifinal loss to UNC in 2017

10:50 – Denzel Valentine joins the pod and explains what it’s like playing in the NCAA tournament

16:15 – The conversation begins to detail Valentine’s experience as Michigan State was shockingly upset in the first-round in 2016 by 15th-seeded Middle Tennessee

21:58 – Valentine speaks on the lack of pressure small schools and lower seeds feel when playing big programs, and how that leads to upsets

25:50 – Valentine remembers his experience as Michigan State made a run to the Final Four during his junior year

29:45 – What’s it like playing for Tom Izzo in a tournament? Valentine explains

32:00 – Valentine speaks about his brother, Drew, who coached his team at Loyola-Chicago to the tournament this year

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