Player in NCAA Tournament sends brutal message to opponent

The No. 13 seeded Samford Bulldogs have been a trendy upset pick for some in their Round of 64 matchup against Kansas in the NCAA Tournament. But according to Samford forward Jermaine Marshall, a win over Kansas would not be seen as an upset in any way in the eyes of the Samford players.

At full strength, most fans would likely see Kansas as the clear favorites to win this game. The only issue is that Kansas is nowhere near full strength heading into this game.

The Jayhawks will be without star forward Kevin McCullar for the entirety of the NCAA Tournament. And star big man Hunter Dickenson is coming into the tournament banged up, although he will give it a go against Samford.

This could be a recipe for disaster against an extremely confident Samford team, who according to Marshall, feels like they are supposed to win this upcoming game.

“We don’t think that anybody’s better than us,” Marshall said without cracking the slightest of smiles. “We feel like every time we’re on the court, we’re supposed to win. I don’t feel like this is an upset. We’re going to win. When we win, it’s not going to be a surprise to us.”

#Samford forward Jermaine Marshall on playing #Kansas: "When we win, it's not going to be a surprise to us." #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/qEbCgjTQpw

— Rob Collins (@RobCollinsTV) March 20, 2024

These comments from Marshall obviously have the potential to backfire in a huge way against a program like Kansas who has consistently shown to be a tough out in the tournament.

But at the very least, you have to love the confidence from a mid-major player like Marshall. The two teams will square off on TBS on Thursday night, with a 9:55 EST tipoff.

[Rob Collins on Twitter/X]