Samford Forward Has Choice Words For Kansas, Says It Won't Be A Surprise 'When We Win'

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When you look at the Samford - Kansas first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament from a name basis alone, it's easy to say that the small school in Birmingham, Ala. will have an uphill battle against the Jayhawks. Samford big man Jermaine Marshall isn't concerned about the name across the front of his opponent's jersey, he's entirely confident he and the Bulldogs will pull off the upset.

Samford, winners of the Southern Conference, quickly became a popular pick for a potential Cinderella team for the tournament given Kansas' depth and injury issues. The 13-seed Bulldogs also play at a relatively quick pace and have coined the phrase ‘Bucky Ball’ with head coach Bucky McMillan pushing his players to press at an alarming rate on the defensive side of the floor.

Not only does Samford look like a potentially tough matchup for the Jayhawks on paper, it may be the most-confident team in the tournament based on Marshall's comments.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, the day before the Bulldogs will take the floor with Kansas, Marshall didn't sugarcoat things, he guaranteed a win.

"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."

While Marshall has opened himself up to some serious criticism and a day or two of his social media mentions turning into a cess pool if Samford doesn't pull off the upset, you have to respect him calling his shot. If the Bulldogs do secure the W then Marshall immediately becomes one of the stars of the NCAA Tournament. 

There are always a handful of mid-major players that steal the hearts of college hoops fans in March, maybe Marshall is one of those guys in 2024.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.