The “Round Mound of Rebound” gave his prediction to win March Madness without hesitation, as Charles Barkley appeared during TNT’s broadcast of the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.
Barkley was part of the commentary crew alongside the legendary Dick Vitale and Brian Anderson for coverage of the game between the Texas Longhorns and North Carolina State Wolfpack. Texas won a game that came down to the wire, hitting a shot with a second left on the clock to secure a win.
Throughout the game, Vitale asked Barkley his opinion on potential matchups that fans could see in the later rounds. Barkley picked teams like St. John’s to defeat Kansas and Arkansas to advance in tougher matchups.
When it came to his overall pick to win the tournament, he shared sentiments with former NBA star Jamal Mashburn, part of TNT’s in-studio crew for college basketball and March Madness.
“Let me say something. Jamal, thank you for coming around now. This isn’t March Madness, this is an Arizona A**-Kicking Invitational and we accepting all challenges,” Barkley joked with the crew from his seat in Dayton.
He then said the Michigan Wolverines have a great team and that he loves coach Dusty May, but he felt the injury might hurt them a little bit, and a late-season injury could hurt the Duke Blue Devils.
Michigan lost reserve guard L.J. Cason to a season-ending ACL injury, while Duke is without two starters: guard Caleb Foster and center Patrick Ngongba II. Duke coach Jon Scheyer said they were “being cautious” with Ngongba’s treatments and rest, and would make a decision closer to the first game about his status.
Barkley also briefly mentioned there was a case between Florida and UConn to be the No. 1 seed, and that St. John’s “got screwed” with their seeding in the tournament. Some believe that these three teams also have the potential to make a deep run.
However, Barkley seems steadfast that the Wildcats will win it. His pick isn’t necessarily a long shot, but it makes a lot of sense based on the Wildcats’ resume this past season.
They enter the field of 64 as a No. 1 seed in the West Region with a record of 32-2 after basically running through most of their schedule. That included an early-season win over UConn by four points and wins over tough conference foes, including the Houston Cougars, Iowa State Cyclones, and Kansas Jayhawks.
The Wildcats recently captured their Big 12 Tournament win, defeating the Cougars, who became a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s South Region. Iowa State also landed as a No. 2 seed in the Midwest.
Arizona opens its tournament against the LIU University Sharks on Friday afternoon and is currently a huge 30-plus point favorite to win the game.