So welcome to the podcast.
Eli:So welcome to the come back to Check the Net Impact 89 men men's and women's college basketball podcast. I am not your host, Collin Pearson. He's over there.
Colin:I am indeed over here. Eli kinda just stole my thunder here, but, yeah, we're going. So I'm calling Pearson. That's Eli. Kylie is talking about Taco Bells over there for some unbeknownst reason.
Kylee:I live right across the street from a Taco Bell. That's the unbeknownst reason.
Eli:And we're here to tell you about basketball.
Colin:Yes. Yeah. We're talking about basketball. So, Yeah. This week, 2nd week of conference picks, it's our part 2 of 4.
Colin:So we're just gonna kinda cruise through these.
Eli:And we have 2 power conferences for you today, ladies and gentlemen.
Colin:Yay. Once debatably. I'll I'll explain more.
Eli:True. The SEC is not a power conference.
Kylee:I
Kylee:I agree. I second that. No. My
Eli:mid major program is the University of Alabama.
Kylee:No. Literally. Like, who even are they?
Colin:Especially in basketball.
Kylee:They're not in FTSE school.
Eli:I mean, when we're talking about, like, Conference USA expansion options, I really think
Kylee:that Alabama needs
Eli:to be able to
Kylee:be in there. I agree.
Colin:For the basketball side specifically. Yeah.
Eli:Yeah. Of I really need to see them play a home and home with Liberty.
Kylee:Yeah. No. I agree. No. But, honestly
Colin:Kennesaw State.
Kylee:Real. Collin, I can see your argument, which I'm assuming that it's gonna be the big east is not a power fight.
Colin:The big east.
Kylee:Because I think the exact same thing, and I've a 100% been attacked for this by someone. I don't remember who.
Colin:It was not me.
Kylee:No. And by the it literally might have been Oliver.
Eli:It it may have been.
Kylee:He was like, what? And I was like, no. They're not. There's, like, 3 good teams, like, in there.
Colin:For our listeners, Oliver is Eli's roommate. And so Oliver Oliver
Eli:Oliver is just as much of a fan of watching basketball as we are. He's just not as much of a fan as talking about it.
Kylee:Yes. We when we went to the sweet 16 games last year, Oliver was there too. Yes. So It
Colin:was it was a great
Kylee:very fun.
Colin:Anyways, let's start with the Big East. Yeah. Because there is that debate. And on both men's and women's sides last year, we only had 3 teams in the tournament. And that is my, my point as to which, the big east is not a power conference because Mhmm.
Colin:The Mountain West had 6 teams last year on the men's side.
Kylee:Yeah. But I think that was just a Mountain West, like, year that we're never gonna ever see again.
Colin:Yes.
Eli:Ever.
Kylee:But Yeah.
Colin:3 bids for the Big East is pretty normal.
Kylee:Yeah. It's it's standard.
Colin:Yeah. The only the only difference is, Yukon, and I could say that about men's or women's as of recent. And so Mhmm. Let's let's start on the women's side. Why not?
Colin:Yukon was a final 4 team this year. They were the conference champ. Undefeated in the conference 18 and o. 33 and 6 record overall. There were 2 other tournament teams, Creighton and Marquette.
Colin:This is the exact same thing, men's and women's, actually.
Kylee:I forget Marquette's in the Big East.
Colin:The only difference is Yukon won the national championship on the men's
Eli:side. Or
Kylee:I always forget that Creighton is also not east.
Colin:Creighton is indeed in Nebraska.
Kylee:Yeah. That also messes with me.
Colin:Marquette is in
Kylee:Because I just found out last year that Creighton was in Nebraska. I literally thought it was in, like, in east Nope. State. So Nope.
Eli:Sorry. Biggest Ryan Coke Breadder fan does not know where to
Kylee:No. No. That's actually so true. I'm also just geographically challenged, like, in that aspect also.
Colin:No. This, we do know. That is
Kylee:Yeah. That's that's We
Eli:do know that. Yeah.
Colin:We do know that. So alright. Anyways, on the women's side last year, Yukon, always a power team. Made the final 4. Creighton had a pretty good season.
Colin:15 and 3 in the conference. Marquette also. So here is the question.
Kylee:I mean, it's a Do you pick UConn?
Eli:Yes.
Kylee:I mean, you're the one that's actually posing the
Colin:The answer
Eli:to the question is
Kylee:is yes.
Eli:UConn has the most star studded incoming class of freshmen in the country. Always. I'm they they got that grad transfer from Princeton. They did. They only transferred to UConn because grad students can't play in the Ivy League.
Kylee:Which is actually the Incredible. Worst rule in the entire, like
Eli:And Paige Beckers is back.
Kylee:Yeah. Mhmm.
Colin:I'm not sure why.
Eli:How do you pick against that team? Yeah.
Kylee:Colin is gonna try, and it's absolutely incorrect because I'm gonna double down on Eli because I need Paige Beckers to have her senior year. My, like, original thoughts are, like, okay. They lost 2 very good players in Nakia Moll and Aliyah Edwards. However, if they can all stay healthy and that's, like, Beckers, Arnold, Brady, Fudd, and Griffin, there is no reason why they can't why they won't win their conference and potentially, like, the natty. Like, I'm not even kidding.
Eli:My my only concern with Yukon is their health. Can they stand up to another physical season in the Big East? Because if they can, nobody's stopping them.
Kylee:Exactly. Yeah.
Colin:That's honestly a great point.
Kylee:Okay, Colin.
Colin:So here's
Eli:what I So defend it.
Colin:Creighton is my pick, and I am going to quote exactly what I wrote on the document. Yukon looks the best, but I don't want them to win again, so I'm manifesting against them.
Eli:How dare you? Picking a team from Nebraska to win the Big East.
Colin:I am absolutely picking a team from Nebraska to win the Big East. I wrote the exact same sentence on the men's.
Kylee:See,
Colin:like also like to comment.
Kylee:See, I picked Creighton for a different reason. Number 1 hop
Colin:over to the men's.
Kylee:Number 1 Ryan Kalkbrenner fan over here. I have a the Creighton shirt to back it up. I'm not wearing it, but I have the Creighton shirt to back it up.
Eli:She'll wear it to our bracket reaction show that's here.
Kylee:I will. I fully will. But he's back, which I honestly didn't think was gonna happen. And then and then it happened, and I'm so excited. I think they'll they'll miss Baylor Shireman, and they had some trans they had some people transfer out.
Kylee:However, they did maintain a decent amount of people from their previous team, then they were a very good team. And then they had some a few new freshmen coming in, so I I want I want it for them so bad.
Colin:Yeah. I think my pick on the men's side is a little bit more reasonable picking Creighton, because by Kylie's reasoning there, they just seem like a very good team that really has a lot of momentum going for them.
Eli:Mhmm.
Colin:And I have a hard time believing that Yukon will go back to back to back.
Kylee:It'd be interesting. I think that
Eli:I I don't think they're going back to back to back, but they are winning the big east again. I I am definitively picking Yukon. Beak I absolutely considered Creighton, but I'd like to thank actually a writer from Marquette who writes for one of Marquette's online blogs. Creighton had only 6 players who averaged more than 9 minutes a game for them last year, and 3 of them are gone.
Colin:Yeah.
Eli:That's 50% of the majority of their production that is gone now. True. And they're trying to fill it with, admittedly, some transfers who definitely have a lot of potential from schools like Texas Tech, but UConn is UConn. They are bringing in incredible transfers from Saint Mary's College and Yep. U of M.
Kylee:Who did they get from U of M?
Colin:Yeah. Wait. Who was Good. That transferred from U of M?
Eli:It was one of their centers who averaged, like, 10 points per game.
Colin:It was him. Yes.
Kylee:Oh, yeah.
Colin:I can't remember his name. Yes.
Eli:All 3 of their freshmen are inside the top 80. And I just don't see Yukon will always continue to be Yukon. And
Kylee:Mhmm.
Eli:With how much production Creighton lost, I just can't feel comfortable picking them to get past the Huskies.
Colin:Hila, I really love the sentence you wrote here. Dread it, run from it, the Huskies arrive all the same.
Eli:They do.
Colin:And,
Kylee:I That's kinda real.
Colin:It scares me.
Eli:You can play them in stores. You can play them in Hartford. You can play them at Madison Square Garden. Mhmm. They will beat you.
Kylee:I think I would have felt much more comfortable picking UConn had they not lost some people, a to, like, graduation, b to the NBA draft. I think I would have felt a little bit more solid in, like, maybe picking them. But
Eli:I yeah. Yukon's definitely lost some people. I just feel like they've done a better job of replacing that production than Creighton has.
Kylee:Yeah. And Dan Hurley did not go be the coach for the loss.
Eli:There there is a reason Dan Hurley is still in Connecticut. That's true.
Kylee:Yeah. Because being an NBA coach sound like the absolute worst job in the entire world.
Colin:Yeah.
Kylee:And I think he realized that, so good for him.
Eli:And that's why one of those coaches is the coach at BYU now.
Kylee:Yes. True.
Colin:True. Absolutely true. Shall we move on to the next conference?
Eli:Let let's go south.
Colin:Let's go south, to the Atlantic Sun Conference. So still Atlantic Coast, not that the big east is, but, Nebraska. Exactly. But the Atlantic Sun Conference is mostly Atlantic Coast,
Kylee:so most
Colin:area teams. Ish. For reference, there was a little bit of conference realignment this year. Kennesaw State officially left for Conference USA.
Eli:Just somebody wanted to play football or whatever.
Colin:Yep. They they really did. And so Kennesaw State was not really a major player on the men's or women's side in basketball, so it's not really a big deal. But it is someone that left the ASUN just for reference. On the women's side, we saw one of the best teams in the country in this conference.
Colin:Florida Gulf Coast University was 16 and o in their conference, 29 and 5 overall. They were 12 seed in the tournament. They played well. And, for me, they are the easiest pick to repeat. Imani Jefferson stays as their best defensive player in the conference and the best sorry.
Colin:The best defensive player in the conference and the ASUN player of the year from last year. They've got 3 other of their top stars staying. It's really hard to pick against a team that's keeping everyone and went undefeated last year.
Eli:Yeah. I mean, I 100% agree with that. They I feel like they can get past Eastern Kentucky. They can get past Central Arkansas. And, yeah, the the trophy is staying staying with FGCU.
Colin:Staying in Naples.
Kylee:Real. I agree. Dot dot dot. That's it. I agree.
Colin:Yeah. I mean, you go undefeated in your conference, and you don't lose almost anyone.
Kylee:Yeah. It's
Colin:really hard to pick against you.
Kylee:Yeah. It's just not possible.
Colin:If they're a strong team that knows how to play together, and they know how to dominate, and they will continue to do that, I think.
Eli:Go Eagles.
Colin:Yeah. As for the men's teams, we've got 3 of them or 2 of them to talk about because Eastern Kentucky was the regular season conference champ, 12 and 4 in the conference, 17 and 14 overall. They had a really rough, non conference schedule, a lot of power teams. So they were 17 and 14 overall, and Stetson came into the, ASUN tournament and won they were 2nd in the conference. They were 11 and 5 overall.
Colin:But 22 and 13 or sorry. 11 and 5 in the conference, 22 and 13 overall, they made it in there as a 16 seed, making their first tournament appearance ever for the Hatteras.
Eli:Lost to Yukon.
Colin:And then they lost to Yukon because Yukon.
Kylee:You know, it happens. So it happens for the past 2 years.
Colin:So, yeah, so we've got Eastern Kentucky and Stetson, who were both pretty strong teams in the conference last year. Eli, Kylie, what you got? What's your picks?
Eli:I can absolutely see Stetson getting by a much reduced colonel squad this year. EKU lost some really big players in the portal. Stetson did too. They lost arguably their best player to Miami, but they've pulled in some transfers, especially from Tulane and Wake Forest that I think will help them get back get past a lot of ace on competition that has been much more decimated in the portal than they have.
Kylee:I think that Stetson not winning the conference was a fluke. I think there had to have been, like, just like that one flake, 1 or 2, like, fluke games in there in conference where it was, like, they definitely should have won, could have won, and then, you know, it's basketball. It happens. So So I think that they're a 100% good enough were good enough last year to win both and are good enough to win both again.
Colin:Yeah. My one concern with Stetson is their returning production. Just looking at stat wise, they're returning just 13% of their, minutes played from last year, which is not very much. So they're going to be an almost entirely new team this year, and so that scared me a bit. And Eastern Kentucky is the same way, and pretty much every other team in the conference was the same way.
Colin:And that includes Florida Gulf Coast. And so I picked Florida Gulf Coast this year. They were not great last year. They were 8 and 8 in the conference, but they were one of the only teams with good transfers in. They retained a lot of their good talent, and they're a brand that I feel like can bounce back and will bounce back simply based on brand recognition and people wanting to come there.
Colin:And we've I was looking at some of their transfers, some of their talent, and there was a lot of that, coming in for Florida Gulf Coast. And so that's why I'm picking them, mostly because I see it as an open playing field. And if there's a team that can do that, it's them.
Kylee:Colin just wants to double up on, the the men's and women's just like Eli did.
Eli:The the ASUN is a conference of small urban private schools and regional suburban public schools, and FGCU is definitely the one of those schools that has the largest
Kylee:Mhmm.
Eli:Media reach across Central Florida. They had that Cinderella run-in the NCAA tournament Yep. Funk City. Years ago. So
Kylee:Yeah. I feel like out
Colin:of the
Eli:one of the strongest brands in the ASUN.
Kylee:Yeah. I feel like out of all of the all of the teams in the ASUN, the the one I'm really actually familiar with is FGCU.
Colin:And I wonder if conference realignment will hit them anytime soon because of their brand recognition and their location in a relatively large Florida market.
Eli:I think it'll depend on what happens with schools like USF.
Colin:Yes. Absolutely. And that's where I'm looking as well. They don't have football at Florida Gulf Coast, which is one of their detriments.
Kylee:Get them football.
Colin:I think the a ten might be looking for expansion at some point soon, and so that may be a
Eli:We'll see.
Colin:Fit for them. We'll see. That's predictions that are not tied to the conference standings at all. So, shall we move on to Ohio Valley?
Kylee:I love Ohio. So swear.
Eli:I I love the Ohio River.
Colin:Yeah. The Ohio Valley Conference is a very strange conference. Yeah. There's a lot of lot of teams that most people have never heard of. It stretches all the way down to Arkansas and all the way up to, Indiana, Kentucky.
Colin:I don't remember if they have any teams in Ohio.
Eli:I don't think they do.
Colin:I don't believe they do.
Kylee:So funny because why not? Well, no. It's because the MAC and the Horizon League take off.
Colin:Yeah. It's all Horizon League.
Eli:And, you know, Dayton.
Colin:And they Yeah. The a 10.
Kylee:Love Dayton.
Colin:So, anyways, Ohio Valley, on the women's side, there were 2 notable teams, because Southern Indiana, the Screaming Eagles, were 17 and 1 in the conference. They won the conference, and then they ended up losing in the conference tournament to UT Martin, who had a 16 and 16 overall record, pulled off some major upsets in that conference tournament to make it as the 16 seed, in the first four. And so
Eli:I hate to correct Colin here.
Colin:Yes.
Eli:But Southern Indiana actually won their conference championship game. But since last year, they were in their 2nd year of transitioning to d one, they were not eligible for the NCAA tournament.
Colin:Appreciate that correction. That's terrible. I did not realize that.
Eli:This year will be their 3rd year of the 4 year transition process.
Colin:So they are not able to make the tournament even if they win the conference again this year?
Kylee:No. That's terrible. That's that's quite literally the dumbest thing I've heard.
Eli:I think I think they're gonna win the regular season and the tournament again this year. They've built an incredible, incredible program there for a school that was d 2 3 years ago.
Colin:Yes.
Eli:Mhmm. But it with that regular season championship, they have a standing automatic bid to the WNIT, and and I think they'll be going right back to the WNIT with even more to prove.
Colin:Yeah. They, actually performed quite well in WNIT last year even against some of those power teams. And so, I would agree. I think they're very clearly the best team in this conference, and they're definitely looking I said looking for redemption because I thought they lost. They're looking to continue making a name for themselves as much as they can.
Eli:And, look for look for them in 2 years after the 14th season.
Kylee:Know, like, you are our pick to go in the tournament.
Eli:Like We love you, USI.
Kylee:Love you. You belong there.
Eli:I'm sorry. The swimming eagles.
Colin:Yeah. So yeah. Like Eli said, no ross or very little roster turnover. They won last year, and they just keep going. On the men's side, there was a three way tie for first place, between Morehead State, UT Martin, and Little Rock.
Colin:Morehead State ended up winning the tournament. I think they were the best team in there with a few bad losses in the middle of their conference season. They ended up being a 14 seed in the tournament, playing a good game. I don't remember who they played.
Kylee:I feel like I definitely picked them to win.
Colin:I think I may have as well. Yes. Yeah. But Which anyways
Eli:3 seed.
Colin:I can I can double check that?
Kylee:Do it. I actually really want Illinois. Like, Kylie, who are you guys picking for
Colin:this one? And I'll come back.
Kylee:Morehead State. I also yeah. I want them.
Eli:Go for it, Kylie.
Kylee:No. I just yeah. I really thought they were gonna beat whoever they were playing. I
Colin:did. Illinois. Yes.
Kylee:Yeah. I definitely pits against them.
Colin:It it was a closer game. It was 85 to 69.
Kylee:Which is actually
Colin:because I remember watching that game, and it was a lot closer from Mhmm. The majority of that game.
Eli:In Illinois. HSU.
Kylee:In Illinois at the end of the season just looked so well, no. Because they Because
Eli:they won the big time.
Kylee:Yeah. Forgot.
Colin:And maybe Elite 8 before losing to UCaa.
Kylee:There was some reason why. I was like, no. I don't want them. But, no. I just you know?
Kylee:Again, oh, the overall record is very telling. And when you have, like, 20 a 26 to 9 overall record and then you compare it to, like, your counterparts who all were tied in conference, that's like they have 5 less wins than you. It's like I mean, that's strength of program.
Colin:Yeah. So
Kylee:Yeah. More head state.
Eli:And they brought in one of UT Martin, another team that was tied for 1st last year. They brought in one of UT Martin's best players to Morehead State. They Interesting. Yeah. They lost some contributors to some mid major programs, I believe it was.
Eli:But I think they're going to build on that momentum from last season, build on that great overall program record from last season, and maybe even win the OVC outright this year.
Colin:Alright. So while you guys are picking another MSU, I, always have
Kylee:to be different.
Colin:You know? And so what I was looking at was how much retention they had. And so almost every team in the, Ohio Valley Conference from the men's side is having a completely fresh start this year.
Kylee:Slay.
Colin:Almost every starting player for every team had transfers out and graduates. And so, realistically, very few teams are going to look the same, and it's anyone's game this year. And so what I picked was based on some of their transfers and, how much retaining they were, how many players they were retaining. And so I picked Western Illinois who was okay. They were, like 3rd in the conference, 4th in conference, somewhere in there.
Colin:But they had 6 great sophomore and juniors transfer in from mid major schools that frankly are a little bit bigger than Western Illinois, and had some great playing time at those schools. Those sophomores, especially, I think will be a big deal because they are now out of their freshman year and have gotten some experience and are a little more comfortable. And so I see Western Illinois taking the conference this year, not without a fight. It's going to be a large fight in this conference. It's going to be a very close, year again.
Eli:It's gonna it's gonna be a whole bunch of bad basketball, unfortunately.
Colin:Yeah. We had a three way tie last year. I could see 4 or 5 teams tying up this year.
Kylee:There there was one point what what conference was it? Where literally, like, the 5 teams?
Colin:West.
Kylee:Yeah. Had the same record?
Colin:Yes.
Kylee:That was insane.
Colin:The mountain west.
Kylee:We're like, how are we supposed to pick now? Yeah. So yeah. And that's that's what I'm asking for.
Colin:Illinois for that one, and we'll see where it ends up.
Eli:6 6 bit Ohio Valley? Am I am I hearing 6 bit Ohio Valley?
Kylee:Exactly what you're hearing.
Eli:I I think that's what I'm hearing.
Colin:I refuse to say 6 bit Ohio Valley.
Kylee:Howard. Loser.
Colin:Oh, maybe 5.
Kylee:Maybe 5. Okay. Whatever.
Eli:Ladies and gentlemen, let's transition to the teams that are going to be gunning for everybody's favorite national championship, the American Athletic Conference.
Kylee:The American They are America's teams.
Colin:America's teams. It is absurd that yeah. This conference confuses me a lot. Last year on the men's side, especially, was confusing. On the women's side
Eli:baby, what are you doing here?
Kylee:The men's side lecture was so funny.
Colin:We still had a three way conference tie, though.
Eli:Yeah. All 3
Colin:of these teams, Tulsa, North Texas, and Temple were all tied at the top of the conference, 13 of 5, and none of them won the conference tournament. Instead, Rice won the tournament.
Kylee:I was so happy that Rice
Colin:won. 14 seats.
Kylee:I watched them play. I was like, heck yeah.
Colin:We had 3 teams share the conference regular season title. A 4th team take the conference tournament title, and no one knows what's happening. No. So, with that said, who's picking who? Sure.
Colin:I'll start. Eli is pointing at me. I'm picking Tulsa who had the best record in the conference as an overall record, 25 and 10 last year. I think they're finding their way back to the top. Strong showing in the WNIT.
Colin:They signed 3 big transfers. 2 of those were from TCU's team last year, Paige Bradley.
Kylee:Open tryouts again.
Colin:And so those were players who were injured partway through the season, but played really well while they were not injured. I'm also noticing Mikaela Miller from Creighton transferred into Tulsa, and they have 2 freshman twins, the Alexander twins, who were amazing in high school in Texas and are going to Tulsa together. I feel like all 5 of those players are going to make big moves at Tulsa. Mhmm. I feel like Tulsa may even be too small of a school for them.
Kylee:I'll say that that transfer game is strong. Like, those, like, big ticket, like, schools, like, that's
Colin:Yeah. To sign 2 players from TCU is a big deal. Mhmm.
Kylee:Because they started out strong last year in conference.
Colin:They were nearly all that. Champions. Right.
Kylee:Yeah.
Colin:And so that I feel like is a big deal. I cannot pick against a team that's getting those transfers.
Kylee:Agreed. That's why I'm also picking Tulsa. As much as I was so happy to see Rice win the tournament and just, like, sweep it away from the other 3 teams that were fighting for it, that's not happening. Again, probably not.
Colin:Yeah.
Kylee:So, yeah. No. The transfer game is just it's too good. Like, it is it is way too good. So yeah.
Eli:And speaking of transfer game, I also saw incredible transfer game from North Texas. They pulled in double digit scores. Basically, the leading scores on their teams from UT Arlington and Stephen f Austin, who as we know just moved conferences, which is probably where they lost that that production that North Texas was very eager to pull in. And they also got some great role players who averaged 7 to 9 points per game from UTEP, Stetson, and Louisiana Tech. So that's a lot of players who have a lot of experience in a lot of different conferences.
Eli:A lot of conferences that play a lot of different styles of basketball. And I think that in the American, there's so much room for a team that's willing to be a little experimental. And that's really what I'm hoping North Texas does this year. But, obviously, that's very high risk, very high reward. So I could absolutely also see North Texas falling apart.
Eli:But because it's preseason and positive.
Kylee:But because it's preseason, we have basically no data to
Eli:go off of. I'm gonna pick North Texas.
Colin:You know, and I, I was skeptical at first. But once you explained your kinda high risk, high reward here, I get it. I get the pick.
Eli:You should
Kylee:place a bet on that.
Colin:Yeah. Eli, I'd like to see you
Eli:Also, Tulsa's the boring pick. So
Kylee:I mean, it's you know?
Colin:It's the obvious pick.
Eli:It's You didn't pick Yukon.
Kylee:It's I didn't either. Dang. It's okay. Oh. It's okay.
Kylee:We
Colin:I can't come back from that.
Kylee:I'm I'm okay to be boring. I
Colin:guess. Else talk about the men's side.
Kylee:Yeah. This these they had me actually cracking up the entire year. First of all, because I'm a
Eli:AAC, we love you.
Kylee:Literally. Probably mostly because we were, like, all the whole year, oh, like, you know, it's gonna be Memphis FAU the entire time. No. Incorrect.
Colin:Be an incredible game.
Kylee:Yeah.
Colin:It was a blowout.
Kylee:Yeah. Like, we were, like, oh, yeah. It's gonna be them. They're both in my tournament. No.
Kylee:USF won. The
Eli:conference Go Bulls.
Kylee:Which is great. Because this is also the conference we were like, oh my gosh. Like, so much is happening. Yeah. FAU came in second.
Kylee:They were gonna get a bid auto or yeah.
Colin:They did.
Kylee:They did. They I mean, they were. Based upon their performance last year and with Great nonconference schedule. Great nonconference schedule.
Colin:Some of their nonconference wins included, like, Arizona on the road. Yeah. Yeah.
Kylee:They had they had a very good company.
Eli:They were coming off their final four run.
Kylee:Yeah. Retained everyone. Everyone. Almost everyone from their team.
Colin:All but, like, 2 people. All of
Kylee:the people with
Eli:the stumbled at the finish line.
Kylee:It's okay. You know what? It happened.
Eli:Let UAB into the NCAA.
Kylee:UAB. Good for them.
Eli:Go dragons. You got thrown out immediately if I recall correctly.
Kylee:I Yes.
Kylee:Believe that's also true.
Colin:It was a 4 point game with San Diego State.
Eli:Oh. Oh,
Kylee:see. Yeah. That was
Colin:the almost beat San
Kylee:Diego State. The mountain west fumbling all of our picks.
Colin:Yeah. Yeah. San Diego State actually won that game.
Kylee:And they were, like, one of 2 teams that actually won their first game.
Eli:So And didn't FAU immediately just fall flat on their faces against Northwestern?
Colin:They, played in overtime.
Kylee:It, yeah, it was an overtime game. But, you know, that boobooey magic, you literally can't stop that.
Eli:Unfortunately, you can't. Yeah. Boobooey in
Kylee:overtime wins. Miss watching him this year, actually.
Eli:I I don't.
Kylee:Well, I don't miss watching him against us, but I miss watching him in general.
Eli:I I will miss yelling airball at him.
Kylee:That is also true. Yeah. Anyway, so, yeah, last year was insane, and it was really funny to watch all of
Colin:this chaos.
Kylee:Memphis fell apart at the end of the season. That was really funny.
Eli:Preseason. Right? Generational collapse. We loved it.
Kylee:Yeah. It was fun.
Colin:Like, not quite a Louisville collapse, but pretty close.
Kylee:And but, yeah, the thing is is I don't think that's gonna happen again this year. I really do think they're gonna, like, bounce back, and they're gonna actually hopefully make it to the tournament and, like, win their conference. I would love to be like FAU FAU. You can't. They their coach is gone.
Kylee:Florida Atlantic lost almost
Colin:everything.
Kylee:But betrayed to the big ten, which whatever. And then he brought a a some of their bigger players with him to University of Michigan. A lot of other people transferred out, so it's not gonna be there. And without, you know, their rival because, like, in my mind, they were, like, out for each other all the time. Because it's, like, who like, we're gonna replace each other in the rankings constantly.
Kylee:So without that, like, big barrier in the way, I feel as if it's gonna be Memphis' year, finally, even though we said that last year. All of us said that last year.
Eli:But but I think I agree. I think Memphis has learned from their mistakes. I think they're I hope they're gonna be a little more careful of a team this year. Mhmm. A little less underestimating of some of those mid tier conference opponents, I can surprise you.
Eli:But I and with so much talk about conference realignment involving Memphis to lane Mhmm. USF this year. I I think Memphis wants to make it very clear to the country that they are on top of the American, and that's where they wanna be.
Kylee:Collin, I see you changing your changing your doc. Hold on.
Colin:Here in lies the issue.
Kylee:Here
Eli:No. Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
Kylee:Colin said that he was gonna have that South Florida was gonna repeat. We'll we'll put that out there. That's what he had on the document. Now go.
Colin:Yeah. So, I've I've looked a little bit more at it
Kylee:just as you guys were talking.
Colin:No. Not at all. Not at all that. Because ow. I saw Memphis.
Colin:I you guys did do a great job. That's not what I'm saying. I saw Memphis, one of the top transfer classes nationwide, 8 players from other teams, all former starters. Their coach is angry. Their program is angry.
Colin:They want to be on top. They got embarrassed last year, and they're, frankly, they want to be back. I had originally said South Florida was going to repeat. However
Eli:South Florida also absolutely a team on the way up. We love the Bulls. Were. Absolutely a team on the way up.
Colin:We love the Bulls.
Kylee:Were. They did lose, like,
Eli:their star player to Alabama. But they lost all 5 of their starting lineup,
Colin:and that is is where I have, changed my mind because all I saw previously was that they lost their star player to Alabama. And then I just double checked because I didn't want to be wrong, and I wanted to see, who I could say was staying. And I've looked at it, and there's no one I can say that's staying. Selton Miguel, they're, one of their guards transferred to Maryland. They have 2 players transferring to Louisville.
Colin:They have a player going to Cincy. They have a player to Florida State, and, like, they have no one left. And so it's going to be a very young, very unput together team. So, yeah, Memphis looks the best, I think. That's the safest pick.
Kylee:I'm happy that you realized
Eli:Yeah.
Kylee:Your mistakes.
Colin:No. I'm kidding. Sorry, sorry, USF. And if USF does end up winning it
Eli:USF, if you do it again
Colin:I we're gonna pull this clip back up, and I'm gonna eat my words.
Eli:We will publicly mock ourselves.
Kylee:In Colin's solo episode, that will inevitably happen sometime in the spring.
Eli:We will fly to Tampa and apologize in person.
Colin:I will
Kylee:I mean, I will not be doing that, but you guys can.
Colin:Pause. I wanna fly to Tampa.
Kylee:I mean Do you
Colin:think the radio station will pay for it?
Eli:Yes. That'd be Impact flies to Tampa.
Kylee:I'll say, if you guys are willing to fund our our trip to Tampa to apologize
Colin:Spring break apology trip.
Kylee:I will not be in Tampa, but I'll be in Florida. So I can just make a trip today.
Eli:Exactly.
Kylee:Look. Diver to Tampa.
Eli:Somebody will be apologizing to somebody in Tampa.
Colin:Yep. Yeah. If if it happens.
Kylee:Yeah. If it happens.
Colin:We'll find a way. Where there's a will, there's a way.
Kylee:That is
Colin:anyways
Eli:In an episode full of southern basketball, we are still here in the Sunbelt.
Colin:Sunbelt. And then, we're just gonna stay in the southern for reference. For the rest of the world. We have big south and then southern and then southeastern.
Kylee:The big south. I like that.
Colin:Yeah. Let's start with the sunbelt. On the women's side, ranked Marshall.
Kylee:They're not doing it again. I'm just gonna throw that out there.
Colin:They were 17 and 1 in their conference. They were 26 and 7 overall. They were an insane team, had some great players, and they lost almost everyone, including their coach.
Eli:So
Kylee:they're not doing it again.
Colin:So they're not doing it again.
Eli:Because because that's what happens when you're a good mid major.
Colin:That is exactly what happens when you're a good mid major.
Kylee:Which is unfortunate, but, you know.
Colin:And so He's
Kylee:what he needs.
Colin:What I'm looking at is a team that was really good on the men's side, James Madison. I feel like they are investing a lot in their team this year. They have 3 big transfers, including the star player from Marshall, Ro Scott, Zakiya Stephenson from Ole Miss, and Bree Robinson from Michigan State. They're also added on Laura Molno Molnarova. I apologize for butchering that name.
Colin:She was the MVP nominee in the FIBA, u 18 Euro championship this past summer, and she was a former Hungarian First League National Champion. And so she's played European basketball and is
Kylee:At a very high level.
Colin:One of her, highlight reels just, while, researching a little bit, and she looked insane and is going to be a star player for that team.
Kylee:Yeah. I second. I as I said previously, when we were talking about, Tulsa, you you can't you can't ignore the talent a talent coming in and b transfer talent. Like, that's make or break with a lot of these teams, and I think with what they have coming in, it's it's a pretty big it's a big deal.
Eli:Yeah. I JMU basketball men's and women's are both definitely on the come up, it feels like. And I I do think they're going to win the Sun Belt this year. I I saw great roster moves in the off season from Old Dominion as well.
Colin:Interesting.
Eli:Another team that maybe people don't really think of when they think of the Sun Belt, but I think JMU looks a little bit too much like a juggernaut to stop.
Kylee:Real.
Colin:Yeah. Yeah. They're gonna make it the fun belt.
Kylee:The well, the men's team made it the fun belt last year.
Colin:Our team absolutely made
Kylee:it the
Colin:best one.
Eli:These are season opener.
Kylee:Our season opener, double overtime, Tyson Walker career game.
Colin:Double overtime. And
Kylee:It was upsetting.
Eli:As we watched horrified from the bleachers. Yeah.
Kylee:Yeah. 11 PM, we walked out of there, and we were like,
Colin:It feels so much better looking back that we took them to double overtime, and then they just smoked Wisconsin in the NCAA tournament.
Kylee:So happy that that happened.
Eli:Oh, yeah.
Colin:It made me feel just so much better about our double overtime loss.
Eli:I definitely my favorite 12 seed.
Kylee:And I definitely picked JMU to win.
Colin:Oh, I did too. After watching them play in person and seeing their play style. No question.
Eli:And they won 30 games last year.
Kylee:Yeah. Yeah. Just an insane season.
Colin:But they didn't win their conference. I hate that. Regular season at least. App State won it.
Kylee:I'm telling you, flukes, bro. Flukes.
Colin:Yeah. App State beat them twice.
Kylee:That's they had that's they had their number. That's crazy.
Eli:And this year, App State was decimated in the off season.
Colin:Absolutely decimated.
Eli:So much production. I think all of their starters
Colin:They're gone. They're yeah.
Eli:JMU pulled in some great ACC caliber players from Georgia Tech and Syracuse despite losing some top talent to Georgia and Louisville.
Colin:Yep.
Eli:But I
Kylee:Not Louisville. No. Not I know. Don't go there. You'll get ruined.
Eli:Really bad for him.
Colin:They have a new coach. Just give him
Kylee:give him That's what you said last time, Collin.
Colin:That's absolutely what I said last time, and I'm gonna say it again.
Eli:I I can't see a program that doesn't build on a 30 win season to
Kylee:I agree.
Eli:Actually take home a trophy this year.
Colin:Yeah. That's
Kylee:Yeah. They have the incentives to keep winning. And then based upon last year's season, if you're someone in the transfer portal or you're someone who's looking to go somewhere to play basketball, you look at that 30 over 30 win season, you see them taking down, like, some of the top, like, caliber basketball schools, and you're like, I wanna go there.
Eli:I wanna play basketball there.
Kylee:I wanna play basketball there. Like and I wanna join that culture that is clearly doing something right.
Eli:And from programs like Georgia Tech and Syracuse Mhmm. They wanna play basketball at JMU.
Kylee:Yeah. Especially, like, looking at Syracuse, like, you know
Colin:Yeah. My biggest concern with James Madison is they did lose some players to graduation, to the transfer portal. And so I decided
Eli:who didn't. But to
Colin:pick, well, Troy did. And that's my pick. Troy was 3rd in the conference last year, a solid 3rd. They, I believe, had 14 conference wins. So just one win behind James Madison, 2 behind App State.
Colin:And, you know, they kept almost their entire roster of both bench and starters. They added a few great players from, freshmen, particularly.
Eli:And
Colin:so I feel like they are a team that is more put together than everyone else right now. And, they're a less risky pick than App State or than James Madison or any of those other teams who really are relying on some of their transfers, some of their, recruits to carry them forward into this culture. I feel like Troy has it all put together already, and it's just gonna pick up right where they left off, because why not?
Kylee:Yeah. No. I get that. That yeah. That's But,
Eli:also, they're not playing the teams that they were comfortably beating last year. They're playing teams that look entirely different, and we'll we'll have to see how that familiar core that they've retained adapts.
Colin:Yeah. And so I think they will adapt personally. They seem to do plenty fine against the Sunbelt last year. You know? So that's not a concern of mine.
Colin:Sunbelt Basketball plays a similar style to each other. Everyone does.
Kylee:Yeah. They play defense, actually.
Colin:They play a lot of defense.
Kylee:Yeah. Wish we could see that other places.
Colin:Right? A lot of defense and a lot of 3 ball. And so Yeah. Troy plays really well against that, and so I think they're gonna keep keep doing well. Should we move on to the big south?
Eli:Yes. The biggest conference in the south.
Colin:Big south had 2 upsets in the conference tournament, both on high High Point won both men's and women's regular season conference. And did not you see High Point
Eli:in the tournament? No. You did not.
Kylee:You did not. No. You did not.
Colin:Instead, you saw the Presbyterian Blue Hose coming out on the
Kylee:women's side. Good name.
Eli:We love Presbyterian.
Kylee:That's such a good name.
Colin:Yeah. They were the conference tournament champ. They ended up being a 16 seed, lost pretty miserably, but, still good good team for their conference. And that is my pick to win the conference, frankly. Presbyterian had 6 big ads, including 3 star freshmen and 3 transfers, from some, junior colleges in particular.
Colin:Some of the star players from the NJCAA, including the NJCAA player of the year. I am not going to attempt to butcher that name, but Anderson is her last name. And so, I think Presbyterian's got the roster. They've made the moves. I think they're easily gonna take this.
Eli:I yeah. Presbyterians absolutely made the moves. They've made a lot of moves because they desperately needed
Kylee:to They needed bodies.
Eli:They were out of basketball players, and they were turning over stones to find some good ones. So I I think they did a remarkable job in the transfer portal. I do think Presbyterian's gonna be dangerous again, but give me high point to repeat.
Kylee:I agree. Yeah. Roster turnover, bit like massive roster turnover, not good. Not good for morale of the school and of the team. Not good for culture.
Kylee:It makes you start questioning, like, what's going on, or is it just, like, you know, a bunch of people are, like, alright. Like, we wanna move on. And so if they're gonna keep being, like, a stepping stone for people, which this is why I don't like a lot like, what happens in a lot of these, like, mid major conferences. They're a stepping stone to get up to those power fives. And so this stuff happens, and it, like, ruins programs, and it ruins, like, teams, and it ruins these smaller conferences.
Kylee:So that's a that's a culture problem surrounding, like, basketball, and that it that is what it is. However, I just think they're gonna be a victim of that.
Colin:Yeah. And my one comment there is that High Point also lost 5 of their top ish players.
Eli:Of course, they did. It's a mid major conference.
Kylee:And so, you know problem.
Colin:It it really is. Presbyterian obviously lost more, but I don't think, High Point has gotten the transfers to make up for what they lost.
Eli:I roster turnover just scares me so much more at these small, especially small religious universities because those schools come with so much of an institutional culture that is very much entrenched in that in those small close knit student bodies. And transfer students into those environments often don't do well.
Colin:Yep. Yeah. Alright. Should we hop over to the men's side where High Point also lost in their conference?
Kylee:And where we where we all picked High Point to win again this year?
Colin:We did all. Listen, High
Eli:Point, we believe in you. Okay? Yeah. You can do it.
Kylee:Again, Fluke. Do it again. Like Yeah. You know, Fluke for the tournament.
Colin:Conference tournament for that one. Also, a 16 seed also lost.
Eli:Really wanted them to beat Houston.
Kylee:Yeah. We all did.
Colin:Yeah. That
Kylee:America did.
Colin:America did. That did not happen. 8646 was not a not a close game.
Kylee:No. Not a close game. Unfortunately.
Colin:So, yeah, that's that's what that was. EyePoint, I will say, retained 75% of their minutes played last year.
Kylee:Yeah. That's
Colin:huge. Statistically, how many players stayed? I think they're definitely hoping to actually make the tournament this year and make a mark. They could potentially be an upset team.
Kylee:I hope so. I really hope so.
Colin:I'm not gonna call it this early in the preseason, because I obviously want to see them play basketball first.
Kylee:Don't worry. That's why we have bracket.
Colin:Potential there, especially with how good they were last year and how much they're retaining.
Eli:Oh, yeah. They're gonna be back with a vengeance. They're gonna win the regular season again, and I wanna see them in the tournament. Yeah. Ten points to whoever can name the states that Longwood and High Point are in both.
Colin:Are they in the same state?
Eli:They are not.
Kylee:So it's in the big south, which means they're south school.
Colin:Longwood, I believe, is Texas. Wrong. Great.
Kylee:Cool. What's a school in the south? Texas?
Eli:Also wrong.
Colin:Great.
Kylee:What's a school in the south?
Eli:The University of Alabama.
Kylee:Are they in Alabama?
Colin:They're not. High Point feels like a very, like Tennessee. Virginia Carolina school.
Eli:Okay. Longwood is in Virginia. High Point is in North Carolina.
Colin:Okay.
Eli:Oh.
Colin:Okay.
Kylee:See, like, in my mind, Virginia is not south. And in my mind, the North Carolina and South Carolina are coast, so I don't think of them as south.
Colin:I I get that. Yeah.
Kylee:Yeah. I just don't think Virginia is south enough
Eli:to me. Zero points for anyone. Onto the SoCon.
Colin:Yeah. Onto the SoCon. Who wants to talk about Chattanooga?
Eli:The Southern Conference.
Kylee:I like their name. You all go for it.
Eli:Alright. Yeah. Last year, UTC, Chattanooga, go Mox. 13 and 1 in conference. The SOCAN only plays 14 conference games, which I found really interesting.
Kylee:That is really interesting.
Eli:I mean, incredible conference record by Chattanooga. They won their conference tournament, 14 seed in the NCAA, 28 and 5 overall. I mean, just a commanding record for a team.
Kylee:Yeah. Like, that, overall record is insane. It's yeah. And They don't eat again.
Eli:I I do think that I mean, it's the story we've been talking about all night. Lots of lost production league wide, lots of struggling to find replacements for some of those lost minutes, those lost points. Chattanooga lost multiple players, I think 3 players to Clemson.
Kylee:Yep. Which is interesting because Clemson's not Weird
Eli:weird case of long love of institutional poaching there.
Colin:They're really trying.
Eli:I don't think we talked about them in our coaching carousel. Was that that wasn't a head coaching
Colin:switch situation. No.
Eli:So don't really know what's happening there, but Clemson robbed Chattanooga Blind on the street. I do think that I'm in Clemson. UTC has they're they're retaining that same overall structure. They're bringing in a couple of transfers. I think they're going to win the league again, but I don't expect it to be 13 and 1 this year.
Eli:Yeah.
Kylee:That's a yeah.
Colin:That's that's about where I'm at too. They dominated last year. And, frankly, even though they are losing some of that production, I don't think any other teams are in a spot to catch up to where Chattanooga was last year.
Eli:Yeah. Nobody nobody had a better off season than Chattanooga even though their off season was pretty bad.
Colin:Yeah. I don't think the drop off that Chattanooga's gonna have will let anyone else take the conference tournament still or the conference. Real. Anything to add?
Kylee:No. Great. Nothing new.
Colin:Chattanooga feels like that kind of a team. Sanford on the men's side.
Kylee:Don't even get me started about this, Con. I see what I see what you wrote, and it's gonna set me off.
Eli:You should have beaten
Kylee:Kansas. They were horrendously robbed by the referees, and those referees should be held accountable for that.
Colin:Does anyone know where Sanford is? No. We all know where Chattanooga is. Georgia. No.
Kylee:I also don't know where Chattanooga is. Tennessee. Tennessee.
Colin:It's like Sorry.
Eli:It's the university of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Kylee:I've only driven through Tennessee. I've never, like You've
Colin:probably driven through
Eli:Collin, where's Sanford?
Colin:Sanford is in Birmingham, Alabama. Like, down the road from
Eli:my next guess was gonna be South Carolina, so I
Kylee:was very off. So they should've beaten Kansas.
Eli:So they should've beaten Kansas.
Colin:Yeah. They should've beaten Kansas. It was a it ended up being a 4 point game only because the refs
Kylee:Blew it. They sold.
Colin:Gave Hunter Dickinson a call.
Kylee:They were paid off. I mean, I don't know. That's def that's definitely not true, but, like, let me believe it. They didn't call
Colin:goaltending when they absolutely should have.
Kylee:Should have been goaltending.
Colin:And it all went downhill from there because Samford would have had a tie game.
Kylee:And there was another, like, BS, like, foul call.
Colin:It was. There were 2 of them
Eli:Mhmm.
Colin:Right at the end after that.
Eli:Yep. And you know what that gives a program? Rage.
Colin:Yeah.
Kylee:It gave us rage.
Eli:It gives us rage, and we didn't even know what state they're in.
Kylee:I was sitting there watching it. I was like, you're kidding.
Colin:And so I picked them in my in my bracket last year. I had Samford versus McNeese in my bracket for the 2nd round. Collins dreams got crushed
Kylee:really quickly.
Eli:Viciously. Yeah.
Colin:Look. I had a lot of other teams
Kylee:that moved on. Everyone else's.
Kylee:Yes. Or
Kylee:Thank you. Picked Oak.
Colin:But Samford was a 13 seed, and I think there's no question. They are returning to the tournament.
Kylee:Yes.
Colin:They have the tournament experience. No other team in the conference looks strong enough to take them on. They've lost a few players, but they added other players. And, I mean, it's gonna be hard to be a team with that much
Kylee:Pent up anger.
Eli:Yeah. Yeah. I mean, so much of that key production that kept them in that game against Kansas is at Miami and Kansas State now.
Kylee:They went to the in state rival. They really
Eli:Shout out to that guy.
Kylee:They really need.
Eli:But and I UNC Greensboro was they were a team that was making noise early season last year because they were one of the last undefeated teams in the country.
Colin:They were
Kylee:Oh, yeah. I remember that.
Eli:They started, like, 10 and o or something.
Colin:They played nobody in that time, but But go Spartans.
Eli:Go fellow Spartans.
Kylee:Indeed. Indeed.
Eli:And I UNCG added a couple of p 5 freshmen that didn't play last year. And I I think there will not be as much of a talent mismatch in the SoCon this year. And I I don't know. I didn't enter a pick, but I do think I am gonna have to go with Sanford.
Colin:Sanford. Yeah. I mean, it's
Kylee:If I'm returning to that team, I'm fired up. I am I am fired up. So, no, I completely understand. And, yeah, that's that's the pick. Alright.
Kylee:Interesting time. This is the time I'm super excited about. Not because the men's teams. I don't wanna talk about them.
Eli:Okay.
Kylee:I wanna talk about the SEC on the women's side. Alright?
Eli:Ladies and gentlemen, the Southeastern Conference.
Kylee:So excited. Adding Texas, Oklahoma, this is about to go. This year's about to go brazy, and I'm so excited for it.
Colin:They have 10 tournament teams from last year. Yep. 2 one seats.
Kylee:Yep. Yep. Yep.
Kylee:Round of applause. Round of applause. We had the perfect season last year for my did.
Colin:South 69.
Kylee:Girls at South Carolina, Dawn Staley.
Colin:Yeah. And then you had LSU who was you know, they considered that a fall off at 13 and 3 in the conference, 31 and 6 overall, and a 3 seed.
Kylee:Yeah. That was a down year, which is crazy.
Colin:Quote, unquote down year.
Eli:A
Colin:little bit of a surprise. Ole Miss was up there at 3rd in the conference, 249 overall.
Kylee:Yes. They they had a good year too.
Eli:Yeah. 12 and 4 in conference play.
Colin:Yeah. So they ended up getting that 7 seed. Some of those other teams that we haven't mentioned, Tennessee was a 6th 6th seed, Alabama an 8. Texas A&M and Auburn were both elevens, and Vanderbilt was a 12 seed.
Eli:And
Colin:then from the big twelve moving into the SEC, Texas was a one seed, an insanely good one seed for that matter, and Oklahoma was a 5 seed. I feel like
Kylee:I really know who's so exciting.
Colin:It's going to be a fun year for the SEC.
Kylee:Very, very fun, and it's gonna be great. I don't Colin, why don't you start us off? Yeah. Colin, do you need me
Colin:to I'll start us off. Yeah. Because I am picking Texas, because my unpopular opinion here based on YouTube's
Kylee:I don't like I don't like your first sentence.
Colin:Yeah. My unpopular opinion is that Dawn Staley doesn't have a, like, team leader on her team this year.
Kylee:And I'm gonna argue with you really quickly. You thought you really thought Camila Cardoza was a leader.
Colin:I did. I thought she was the team's leader.
Kylee:Disagree with that immensely.
Colin:Interesting.
Kylee:I do not think she was a leader.
Eli:Alright. And she she was a great player, incredibly productive.
Kylee:Great player.
Eli:Hit that really cool three pointer that one time.
Kylee:That was insane. That was great.
Eli:But she spent 1 year at South Carolina. She was an incoming transfer from Syracuse.
Colin:Mhmm. Yeah.
Eli:She didn't walk into that leadership role right away. That team culture is alive, well, and stronger.
Kylee:Mhmm. And she was the only one they lost.
Colin:I am not saying that that team is going
Kylee:to be bad. However No.
Colin:I think Texas is kind of that fired up team that has spent a lot of money on their team, and their team culture was already a 1 seed quality team, a big 12 champion quality team. They also added Leila Philia from Michigan, who was Michigan's leading scorer. She's a 41% 3 point shooter. Rory Harmon and Madison Booker at a depth to an already strong roster. Texas also didn't lose almost anyone.
Colin:I feel like that's a team. I mean, it's gonna be between them and South Carolina. Maybe LSU pulls something together.
Eli:It's gonna be fireworks. I'm so excited to watch.
Colin:Mhmm. I don't even know who goes there. I picked Texas because I saw the recruits. And I think that big 12 basketball, plays a slightly different style that really matches up well against SEC teams, especially South Carolina.
Eli:I could see them each are they playing each other twice this year? Do we have the SEC schedule? I
Colin:don't think we have the schedule yet. But
Eli:But if if it's a home and home in conference this year, I could see that series going 1 and 1.
Colin:I absolutely could as well.
Kylee:Yeah. I don't know. I I have mix I'm very mixed on it just because I know last year, we were very worried about South Carolina and their production, and they came out and they beat Notre Dame in Paris by, like, 40.
Colin:Yeah. So here's the thing about South Carolina, though. I don't see them competing well against a big twelve, style of play on the women's side. And in their tournament run and in their season, they didn't play any big twelve teams. They didn't play any teams that play that really defensive, style.
Colin:Yeah. You know, LSU plays super physical. The SEC plays super physical.
Eli:And South South Carolina ran over, like, 4 ACC teams.
Colin:Yeah. They ran over a lot of ACC teams, and that is how they made the, championship game was, you know, North Carolina, North Carolina State. They beat Indiana, Oregon State, and Iowa. You know, these are not and they smoked almost everyone. Indiana and Iowa gave them by far their hardest challenge.
Eli:10 basketball. Mhmm.
Colin:And big 10 basketball is very similar to big 12, except big 12, I would argue, is a little bit better.
Kylee:It depends on the year.
Colin:Yeah. Style wise, it's a little bit better. Texas, especially.
Kylee:And so I mean, that's that's historic, though. That's, like, a historic program. That's a little bit different than when you're talking about a lot of the big ten programs.
Colin:But we're talking about Texas specifically here, and so that's where my reasoning goes.
Kylee:Mhmm.
Colin:South Carolina's gonna be amazing too, though. So it's gonna be a wild season.
Kylee:Yeah. No. I'm not I'm not turning against the Dawn Staley process.
Eli:I could see them both as one seeds again.
Kylee:I honestly yeah. Just the way,
Colin:like interesting when we have, you know, 18 team conferences. 16 team conferences. 1 of
Eli:them wins the regular season, and the other one wins the conference tournament.
Kylee:Like, you you're telling me that you like like, realistically, looking at, like, what the committee is gonna have to decide, like, there's no way you could bump either of them from a one seed if they both, like, one in like, one takes one, one takes the other. You you gotta keep them both. Yeah. At a one seed.
Eli:Depending on what happens in nonconference.
Kylee:Yeah. It'll be interesting to see
Eli:As 2 of the nation's premier programs, obviously, they're playing a lot of nobodies, but they're also playing some of those high profile nonconference games Yep. At neutral sites in preseason tournaments.
Kylee:Yeah. It'll be It'll be interesting
Eli:to see how they fare.
Kylee:It'll be interesting. I think LSU is the one I'm most interested in seeing, not because I think they're gonna, like, win the conference or anything. I'm just interested to see how, how they fare. I think they'll be they'll be fine. They still have Flali Johnson.
Kylee:They still have Anisha Morrow. Like, they'll still be fine, but I just think it'll be a little bit of a it's a different view in college basketball this year.
Colin:Yeah.
Kylee:We we lost a lot of the big the big name players that we're used to seeing. We have new great ones that are in, or when then we have the few that are still, like, sticking around. I think it'll be interesting to see.
Colin:Yeah. That's gonna be fun to watch. On the men's side, let's talk a little bit, because Tennessee is the conference champion from last year, 14 and 4 in the conference, 279 overall. There was a four way tie for second, and I wanna talk about the 9 tournament teams that the SEC will have on the men's side this year.
Eli:Were all Including viciously disappointing.
Colin:Including Yeah. Just Texas from the big 12. Oklahoma was not a great basketball school. They were not a bad basketball school. A big 12 basketball was insane, and so they could very much be competitive in the SEC next year.
Kylee:Remember they were in the top 5 at one point.
Eli:They were?
Kylee:Then they
Eli:Oh, they were ranked very, very early.
Kylee:And then and then they didn't play anyone, and they were undefeated. And then I watched them fall off, and I never felt
Colin:more 12 schedule,
Eli:and then I never thought about them
Kylee:after, like, January. More joy in my entire life than watching them fall off.
Eli:But So I mean, the SEC in the tournament last year was kind of a dumpster fire.
Kylee:With the exception best way, though. I would say
Eli:the exception of Tennessee and Alabama.
Colin:Tennessee was the lead 8 team. They were just
Eli:was the final 14.
Colin:Alabama was the final team.
Eli:Kentucky and Auburn were immediately upset by Oakland and Yale respectively as 3 and 4 seeds.
Colin:Yep. South Carolina lost to Oregon, a first four team.
Eli:Florida scored a 100 points and lost.
Colin:To Colorado in regular time, no overtime in that game, mind you.
Kylee:Whole offense, no defense. Typical typical SEC
Eli:SEC school. Basketball.
Colin:Texas, actually made it to the 2nd round last year in the men's tournament before losing to Tennessee
Eli:Which is understandable. The way that they forget Texas for that.
Colin:From brutal loss. Mississippi State lost to Michigan State.
Kylee:Yeah. They did. Which of the were the better MSU.
Eli:I got it.
Kylee:Were the better MSU.
Colin:Texas A&M, the 9 seed, actually won their 1st game as well.
Eli:Made it pass to Nebraska.
Colin:Somehow Unfortunately. Sad. And then lost in overtime to Houston.
Kylee:Shoulda won. Shoulda shoulda done it.
Colin:Just The
Eli:SEC just put not SEC tubes
Colin:that, like, played well. Texas A&M was not the one anyone expected.
Kylee:They, like, snuck into the tournament. Texas A&M and Mississippi State snuck in.
Eli:So wait. 2 of the 9 SEC teams made it out of the 1st weekend.
Colin:4. Oh, out of the 1st weekend? Yes. Just 2.
Eli:Just 2.
Kylee:Which is absolutely true. Just 2.
Colin:Yes.
Kylee:Hit a full.
Colin:Only 4 made it out of the 1st round.
Kylee:Hit a full.
Colin:4 of 9.
Eli:Ridiculous.
Kylee:Like, you know what that means? They need less bids.
Eli:This is why this is why they're not a power conference. They're
Kylee:see exactly. A lot
Colin:of questions there. So who are you guys' picks? Because I know I'm picking Tennessee, which really doesn't have a lot returning, but they have a strong coach, good recruits, good transfers. And my reasoning there is just they needed a fresh restart, and they got one.
Kylee:Dalton Connect was my player of the year. Yeah.
Eli:So just gonna throw that out. Been AP player of the year.
Kylee:Should've been
Colin:He absolutely should've.
Kylee:Not picking Tennessee is hard. It's tough because for my soul
Eli:tough.
Kylee:When we watched them play last year in the Maui classic, we were all like, this team is actually, like, very, very good.
Colin:Yes.
Kylee:Like, a lot better than what we thought, and they were down their best foot.
Colin:And when we played them, you did. Yeah. Yeah. For the Malte That preseason exhibition game. Exhibition game.
Kylee:And they were down their best player, and they just looked absolutely amate. Like, they looked so good.
Eli:I I think that was some of the best basketball Michigan State played all season
Kylee:Yes. Even though
Eli:we lost that exercise. The best. And that was October. Yes.
Kylee:We lost by 2.
Colin:Absolutely. October, and Tennessee looked like an incredible team. I mean, we watched them quite literally their 2nd preseason game of the year and their second to last game of the year.
Kylee:We did.
Eli:We we saw the University of Tennessee play basketball last year.
Kylee:More than once. Great.
Colin:And we
Kylee:didn't have to travel to Tennessee. Yeah. And we didn't even have
Eli:to leave Michigan. That
Kylee:yeah. Yeah. So it is just really, really hard for me to pick against them, but I'm going to. Mainly because and it's hard because I won nothing but the, like, most success for them. I'm going with Alabama because of their showing in the tournament last year and their strength of overall season the year prior.
Kylee:They were the number one overall seed a year before. Yes. And so staying consistent what what's were they what were they they were a 4 seed?
Colin:They were a 4 seed. I thought they should have been higher.
Kylee:I agreed. Yeah. They definitely should have been higher. So that's why I'm gonna go with them. Just they've been showing an immense amount of strength.
Kylee:And listen, When Alabama loses, America wins, but I'm literally taking that out of my brain because we're not talking about football. And so I'm gonna I'm gonna stick with Alabama. They they showed a lot of promise in the tournament. You know? Yeah.
Kylee:Yeah.
Eli:I I'm with Kylie.
Colin:Yeah.
Eli:I I do think I am picking the University of Alabama. I mean, they lost some great production to Michigan. Dusty May, holy cow.
Kylee:Real.
Eli:But they pull they got that incredible star from USF who I think is ready to play SEC basketball.
Colin:Yes. Yes.
Eli:They got Clifford Omoruyi from Rutgers who we saw play in the Brez last year and who was basically
Colin:offensive and defensive
Eli:player Yeah.
Colin:Which is a lot.
Eli:Few bright spots for the Scarlet Knights. And they pulled in a great transfer from Auburn. So Yeah. I I absolutely think Alabama is gonna build on that final four run, gonna get these guys playing SEC basketball, and they're gonna make noise in the new SEC.
Kylee:I agree. Don't
Colin:play SEC basketball. I hope they play defense and offense.
Kylee:Because the thing about Alabama is every time I watch them, they play con I cons like, they play a lot more defense than every other SEC team, and that's why they're successful outside of the SCC. They're successful inside of it, and that's why they're successful outside of it. That's why they're not a Kentucky, and that's why they're not an Auburn where you could have watched that one game of theirs at the beginning of the year and said, any team that has a defense is going to beat them in You see. In any, like, format.
Colin:I will agree with that, except I do wanna bring up the point that Alabama beat the College of Charleston in the 1st round of the tournament 109 to 96. College of Charleston still scored 96 points.
Kylee:Yeah. But weren't they they're a strong offensive team They
Colin:were great
Kylee:on it. Year and the year prior.
Colin:Yes. Yes. But Alabama's offense carries them away on some of those
Kylee:because Alabama's trade offense.
Eli:Still play SEC basketball when they need They
Kylee:can outscore everyone while playing defense.
Colin:Which is very impressive. Yes. Lot lot of those SEC teams cannot do that.
Kylee:No. None of them can play defense
Colin:for the most part. Auburn.
Kylee:Tennessee played defense last year. Texas
Eli:We will see if Tennessee continues to play defense.
Kylee:Hopefully. They played I thought they played pretty good defense. We just
Eli:I I really think that that's what the SEC race is gonna come down to.
Colin:Is defense.
Eli:Are the 2 new schools gonna be able to adapt or figure out what style of basketball they wanna play against a full SEC conference schedule?
Kylee:Right. Are you gonna be able to outscore everyone?
Eli:Or Oklahoma gonna rise from the dead? Probably not.
Colin:Yeah. Texas, I'd like to remind you, scored 56 points in their 1st tournament game and 58 in their second, but held Tennessee to 62 points. It was a 4 point game.
Kylee:Yeah. Exactly.
Colin:And so the question is, can Texas play offense? Because the question is not whether they can play defense. They won both of those games.
Kylee:Right.
Colin:Scoring 56 and 58, or they lost 58, 62.
Kylee:Yeah. Is their defense good enough to stop an offensive powerhouse?
Eli:Is their defense physical enough to last an entire SEC schedule?
Colin:Yes. Without being injured.
Kylee:Yeah. Are they gonna rebound enough? Like, it's always these, like, you gotta get in there, man.
Eli:Because I an incredible performance in a one off game against an SSC team is impressive, but the conference games is two and a half months long.
Kylee:Yes. A long season in in a in, like, these top conferences, you're playing against 5, 6 teams that are ranked every single week.
Colin:So doing that in the big twelve too.
Kylee:Yeah. The big but now 12 was also Yes. Insane. What I'm saying. And but this So style's different.
Kylee:The style's different. Yeah.
Eli:This isn't the big twelve.
Colin:The style's incredibly different.
Kylee:Not. Yeah.
Colin:The pace is very different. The SEC plays fast ball.
Kylee:They they
Colin:play sloppy ball, but they play fast. Yeah. And so it is going to be an adjustment for
Eli:We're going to need to see Texas be a different team physically, structurally to keep up
Colin:Yeah.
Eli:To literally keep up in the SEC.
Kylee:Yeah. Or every single team is gonna literally run them off the floor.
Colin:Yeah. Either that or we're gonna watch Texas
Kylee:Lock everyone down.
Eli:Lowest scores We're gonna watch Texas glue everybody to the floor.
Kylee:And that's honestly, I wouldn't mind saying that.
Eli:And I'll be tuning in.
Kylee:I I'll be interested to see how Kentucky does. I don't they're not gonna do in my from my perspective, I don't think they're gonna do great, but I'll we'll see if their style of play changes as well.
Colin:Yeah. Because with their new coach,
Kylee:With a with a big 12 coach.
Colin:With a big 12 coach. Coach. So I think, yeah, Kentucky was the other team I was looking at for my conference pick because of their transfers and their new coach.
Kylee:Yeah. It'll be interesting.
Eli:I I think SEC Basketball might mean something very different in March.
Kylee:I hope so.
Colin:Think it'll mean more,
Eli:but it might be a
Kylee:little bit different. You know? The the lack of defense really makes me angry when I watch a lot of these games.
Colin:Yeah. And so, you know, hopefully, we'll see something semi reasonable out of PCC.
Kylee:A good mix. A a good mix. Offense.
Colin:Hope to see
Kylee:Play some little bit of defense.
Colin:Just just a little bit.
Eli:Practice on these teams from the big south and the SoCon that we just talked about.
Kylee:Exactly. Like, try to play defense on them.
Eli:Yeah. So we'll see you in March. Yeah. I think that concludes
Colin:our episode, guys. Doesn't it? I Anything else you wanna quick bring up?
Kylee:I mean, no. I mean has
Colin:a rant to get to, but
Kylee:No. Not a rant. I mean, any listen. Go Yale for upsetting Auburn.
Colin:Yeah. I can't wait to talk
Kylee:about them. I don't remember who talked about them. For the IV.
Colin:Week or the week after.
Kylee:It's the week after.
Eli:We'll we'll
Colin:give a quick preview.
Eli:It is
Colin:the week after. Next week, we talk ACC. We get into the MAC. We get the a 10. Conference USA, and then we hop into America East, the m, double a, c.
Colin:MAC, MAC. And the MEAC. So we're just kinda hopping around all the stuff.
Eli:Mac, MEAC, and MEAC.
Kylee:Yeah. Exactly. I'm so excited about the MEAC.
Eli:Just the MEAC.
Colin:Yep. So
Eli:so tune in for lots of a's and c's next week on Check the MEAC.
Kylee:So excited. It's gonna be a it's gonna be a fun week. The ACC has so much to talk about. Yeah.
Colin:Tallon Stanford and SMU
Kylee:That's gross.
Colin:Playing Duke in North Carolina in conference games.
Kylee:Coast to coast, babies.
Colin:Duke will have to learn how to travel.
Eli:And we'll talk about Yeah. That on next week's episode of Check the Net on Impact 89 FM. Let us know what you think by connecting with the station on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram atwdmboratimpact89 FM. This is our 2nd basketball season. We're so excited to finish up these conference previews, get to start talking about some of these exhibition games that we're seeing come around at the end of October.
Eli:This season's madness is only just beginning, and we can't wait to talk about it even more next week on Check Than App.
Colin:Thanks for listening, guys.
Kylee:I love a Crunchwrap Supreme and a Baja Blast and the nacho fries are back. Bring back the empanada. And then I got I was at Taco Bell, and I was crying.
Colin:So sorry for you, Kylie. You should be. I'm a Crunchwrap guy myself, so I can't relate.
Kylee:Crunchwraps are good. I love them. They're just, like, $6, which is a lot of money for a that's a lot of money.
Colin:Yeah. But the crunch apps, easily the biggest thing you can get.
Eli:I'd like to thank Taco Bell for the $7 box combo because it is impeccable.