DePaul head coach Chris Holtmann previews the Final Four

Chris Holtmann, head coach of DePaul, joins the Mully & Haugh Show to preview the 2026 NCAA Final Four, reflecting on the emotional intensity and historic significance of March Madness. He praises the tournament as the pinnacle of sports, highlighting the exceptional quality of this year’s Final Four matchups, particularly UConn’s dominant defensive transformation and Illinois’s high-octane offensive style. Holtmann shares insights from his coaching career, including his rivalry with Brad Underwood and his experience at Butler and Ohio State, emphasizing how psychological momentum from dramatic wins like Duke’s against UConn fades quickly with time, making execution in margins—rebounding, free throws, and defensive discipline—the decisive factors. He also discusses the evolving landscape of college basketball, noting that while Cinderella stories may be rarer due to NIL disparities favoring power conferences, upsets still occur, especially in early rounds. He ranks Michigan and Arizona as the two most dominant teams in the tournament, calling their matchup a potential bloodbath with no clear favorite.