CBS analyst who labeled Ole Miss a ‘fraud’ responds to win over North Carolina

CBS analyst Tim Doyle kicked off March Madness with one of the hottest takes of bracket season. Now, he’s having to own up to his comments after Ole Miss delivered an opening-round win over North Carolina.

After the full bracket was revealed, Doyle was vocal about predicting either 11-seed San Diego State or North Carolina to beat the Rebels. Those 2 teams had to play in the First Four, but Doyle called Ole Miss “a fraud at No. 6 (seed)” and predicted either the Aztecs or Tar Heels to pull the upset and advance.

Well, UNC won the First Four matchup vs. San Diego State but quickly fell into a serious hole against Ole Miss, trailing by as many as 22 points. The Tar Heels did cut into that lead with a serious comeback bid but finally fell, 71-64, ending UNC’s much-maligned bid into the final field.

As you can imagine, social media was ready and waiting to pounce on Doyle’s loud prediction after the way Ole Miss pulled things out. However, Doyle beat everyone to the punch, owning up to the moment via his personal social media account.

He credited his prediction for offering “motivation” to Ole Miss and issued congratulations to the team for advancing:

That certainly takes some of the buzz out of trying to dunk on Doyle for getting things wrong, but at least he owned up to the pick.

For what it’s worth, head coach Chris Beard was not worried about the situation. He quickly dismissed the comments and expressed his belief in the Rebels as a “good team” entering the tournament.

Now, Ole Miss will move on to face Iowa State in a 3 vs. 6 matchup on Sunday.

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.