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This week on Check the Net, Impact 89FM’s College Basketball Podcast, join Josh, Eli, Kylee, Colin, and Porter as they preview the final 7 conferences and make predictions about who may be this year’s conference champions! This week’s episode features the Big Ten, NEC, WAC, CAA, Summit League, Ivy League, and WCC conferences!
Creators and Guests
What is Check the Net on Impact 89FM?
Are you a fan of college hoops? Check the Net is a podcast that covers everything about the world of college basketball. Whether it is discussions regarding top teams and weekly rankings, updates on transfer portal and coaching news, or commentary on the latest major stories from around the game, Check the Net has got you covered. The podcast covers both men’s and women’s basketball across all Division I conferences. Check the Net is available through Impact 89FM’s website, as well as via all major audio platforms.
Welcome back to Check the Net Impact eighty nine FM's Men's and Women's College Basketball Podcast. I am your host, Josh Lee, and I'm joined today by my fellow midterm stressors in Colin, Eli, Porter and Kylie. You know
Kylee:Hey, all of Josh. Where were you?
Josh:I was in Grand Rapids for a Lumineers concert.
Kylee:How was it?
Josh:It was very good. I enjoyed it. It was a very good show. I won't lie. I not my type of music.
Josh:My girlfriend and I went. We had a great time. It was an amazing show. I will give them their credit. But, yeah, I'm glad to be back.
Josh:I'm glad
Kylee:Yay.
Josh:Although Fab Five I've is I very much enjoyed what initially what I left on our document. I thought I was gonna get Eli's beautiful Siri voice saying my my pics. Instead, we got a collection of different voices for my pics. So I'm glad to be back with you guys. I'm glad to have this Wednesday night with
Eli:you It's our first episode with all five of us in like three weeks.
Colin:Yeah. It's been
Kylee:little bit.
Colin:It's nice. Back to y'all.
Josh:We need
Kylee:to stop leaving.
Josh:Yeah. What's up with that?
Colin:And and we're all back to talk about one of our favorites.
Kylee:The no, it's the favorite, not one of our favorites.
Colin:If not the favorite. Yeah.
Josh:Josh, start us off. Alright. Let's start off with the big 10.
Kylee:Woo
Josh:hoo. Notable women's teams. USC were the champs last season. They went seventeen and one in conference play, thirty one and four overall. Eli, I know you like saying this.
Josh:Let's say it together. 30 win team. The UCLA was the tournament champs. They went sixteen and two. They finished second.
Josh:They finished thirty four and three overall. Let's say it one more time.
Colin:30 win
Josh:team. Some notable tournament teams from last season with one seed was UCLA and USC. Maryland and Ohio State both came in four seeds. Michigan was a six. Iowa was a six.
Josh:Michigan State Spartans were a seven. Illinois was an eight. Indiana was a nine. Oregon and Nebraska were tens. And then the first four with an 11 seed was Washington.
Josh:And, obviously, notably, UCLA lost in the final four to UConn, which, again, was just a stacked UConn team. I believe we have something highlighted in the Big 10. Does somebody wanna say this for me for me?
Colin:Yeah, I'll bring that up. So as is tradition, starting last year with
Josh:our Big After Ten the tragedy
Kylee:after the tragedy of what we did to the to the Michigan State basketball men's basketball team our our sophomore year.
Colin:Yeah. Because a few of us picked them on both men's and women's, and we had really bad seasons last year, or two years ago.
Kylee:Two years ago.
Colin:And so after last last year, we chose not to pick them no matter how good they looked because we didn't want to jinx it. This year we're keeping with that tradition.
Kylee:Because we saw success last year and we didn't.
Eli:Yeah, so so None of us will be picking Michigan State.
Colin:No. We will not be picking Michigan State.
Kylee:We're not homers.
Colin:You will hear us talk about them likely. Yes.
Josh:But You'll hear me be talking about them. Josh is an expert. I got some news, and we it got broken over our meetings, but I will be your voice for Michigan State Women's Basketball here on Impact eighty nine FM. So Very excited.
Colin:Really can't wait to listen.
Josh:I highly recommend following along this season. We got some fun games at home. I Mhmm. I don't know which games we're gonna go on the road for, but I know we're gonna have some games out on the road. So it's gonna be a fun season, so definitely follow along.
Josh:But anyway, back to the big 10. We kinda all have the same pick, so
Kylee:Which is crazy.
Josh:Who wants to go first in talking about this team that we all feel confidently is gonna be Look. The champions?
Colin:I'll just bring up that Juju Watkins being out for USC all season long is really, really tough.
Josh:Yeah.
Colin:And takes away a lot of the competition in this conference.
Kylee:I know there was, like, mentions of, like, of her potentially being able to rehab that back. No way. Not in less than a year. Absolutely not. I've I've been through the rehab.
Kylee:It's it's really tough, and especially
Colin:said She she might make it for the very end of the season, but
Kylee:even then, don't think the risk since she's a high level athlete, they're gonna they're not gonna put her back out there until she is 100% ready to go. Hopefully, the recovery is speedy, and hopefully, you know, she gets back to where she was before, because it it's a tough it's a tough injury to recover from. Yeah.
Porter:The Bets have reunited in college.
Kylee:Yes.
Porter:And Juju Watkins, she's gone. It's it's UCLA's conference to lose.
Kylee:Yeah. They have to win it.
Colin:Yeah. I feel like it's championship or bust for UCLA this year after making the final four last year. They've still got Lauren Betts for a year.
Josh:Mhmm.
Colin:And frankly, no one else in the big ten stands out quite as much as this team and looks good enough to take on that star studded cast. Like, they've got the transfers, they've got the returnees, they've got the recruits.
Josh:Mhmm.
Eli:I mean, yeah. I I like Gianna Nipkins from Utah, who transfers to UCLA after averaging 19 points per game, along with five rebounds and three assists. I do like USC's transfer class, They add talented Georgia Tech junior, Cara Dunn, who averaged 15 and a half points per game and six rebounds, Diana Mendez from Waz U, who averaged eight and five, and London Jones, who transferred Crosstown from Westwood. However, Lauren Betts is back, and she's joined by her sister. The Bruins also returned Kehee Rice.
Eli:I'm gonna have to go with UCLA.
Kylee:There are such high expectations for this team this year because there's virtually nothing slash not much standing in their way. Especially going into last year, they spent a lot of time at the top of the AP poll Yeah. Like last A lot
Eli:of time.
Kylee:And they were they were mean, I feel like
Colin:Basically so.
Kylee:Yeah. And I feel like they were projected by quite a few people to win the NCAA tournament itself. And them not winning the the Big Ten regular season, I think, was a big hit to their confidence.
Eli:Yes.
Kylee:I think that yeah.
Colin:But I think that, and I think going up against Yukon. If Yukon had bet on one seed, I'm not sure. I think that game would've been a lot closer.
Josh:Which they should've.
Kylee:Which they should've been, but, you know, we're not gonna we we we can't. We've
Eli:Yeah. Been over
Josh:Yeah. I think it's a clean sweep. For UCLA. They just have too much stars coming back, especially Lauren Betts. So let's just move on.
Josh:Like like we said, it's gonna be clean sweep for UCLA. Let's head over to the men's side for the big 10. The regular season champions were Michigan State. Oh, great. Did she?
Josh:Seventeen and three in conference play, 37 overall once again.
Colin:30 now. 30 win team.
Josh:The tournament champions were the school from down the road, the Michigan Wolverines. They finished fourteen and six in conference play at twenty seven and ten overall. Some of the tournament teams from last season, number two seed was Michigan State, number three Wisconsin, number four was both Maryland and Purdue, Number five was Oregon and Michigan. Number six was Illinois, and seven was UCLA, including Ohio State and Indiana who were part of the first four out. And the most notable run was Michigan State losing in the elite eight to Auburn.
Josh:That was very heartbreaking for Yeah. Us So the question is to everyone, is there a chance for a repeat? Well, let's not
Eli:do pick it. So
Kylee:Well, we're not gonna pick. We can talk about it, though.
Josh:You can talk about it. That's what I was kinda throwing out. I think there's a chance. Is there a chance? Do we have any hope like, we lost a lot of players.
Josh:We lost notable guard a notable guard in the transfer portal. Is there a good there's is there a possible chance that they can go back to back?
Colin:I didn't think we were gonna win it last year, but Tom Izzo pulled together the exact right mix of a team that we needed, and he seems to be using the transfer portal in almost the exact same way this year, which gives me hope. Yeah, we also have a couple of freshmen that could be that step up jace Richardson guy.
Josh:Mhmm.
Colin:We have a couple of guys who are coming off a red shirt season who could also be that person.
Kylee:Mhmm.
Colin:Kurtang's looking phenomenal out there. I I Very excited to see him play.
Josh:Said Nick Sanders put out saying everybody should be Oh, watching out for Kurtang.
Eli:I'm watching out for Nick Sanders.
Kylee:So true.
Josh:I see another fadeaway bucket. Yeah. On the elbow, like, last year.
Colin:And so, I don't want to jinx it, but I do have I have some high for this team.
Kylee:I have I have con I have some
Eli:I have a lot of hope.
Kylee:Bit of confidence.
Eli:Yeah. Have medium expectations.
Porter:I like our chances better for the Big Ten tournament than I do the regular season.
Kylee:I agree.
Josh:I think, like that's valid.
Porter:Because if we're doing hockey subs again like we were last year, I just think we're set up a little better to not, you know, finish in the top three in the conference, and make that push in the conference tournament.
Kylee:Mhmm.
Porter:Try and really get prepared for March Madness, and go in with a strong burst of momentum.
Kylee:Yeah. And which one of our transfers was got hurt?
Josh:Caleb Glenn. And they said
Kylee:he's recovering very quickly.
Josh:Very. They said, I I'm not gonna put anything, but I believe that it's definitely quicker than they thought. And there's a good chance that Caleb Glenn might be playing this season.
Kylee:Because he was he was one of the the big ones. I mean, he came from FAU, and he was had some high expectations for how he was gonna play and contribute to the team coming And I know, like, we all found out he had heard of this summer, and we're like, no.
Colin:Injuries always make a big difference. Absolutely. So this goes for any of the teams we pick.
Kylee:Mhmm. So but I think
Josh:Again, we're majority of us Have a consensus besides besides the one outlier. I think we should save that one. I wonder who
Eli:I could
Colin:leave that
Josh:I think the one outlier should go last Yeah, I I
Eli:have to break some deeply unfortunate news in that Purdue returns, Trey Kaufman Wren, Braden Smith, Fletcher Lawyer, Daniel Jacobson, and CJ Cox, their top five scorers, four of whom were regular starters. They also add six eleven transfer Oscar Kluff from South Dakota State, who averaged a double double for the Jackrabbits in points and rebounds, and prolific North Florida three point shooter Liam Murphy, who was 41.6% from beyond the arc. Their large amount of known faces may make them easier to scout for conference opponents, but it doesn't make them a lot harder to stop. I really believe the conference is gonna be a race to the finish between Purdue and Michigan, but I think Purdue is gonna take some crucial early conference games just based on team chemistry, and should take the regular season.
Kylee:Which is so gross. Which is so gross to say. I hate it. But I also have to pick Purdue because I don't wanna be wrong. I think that in practice, Purdue is gonna be a better team.
Kylee:I think on paper, Michigan's team looks better. But this this team has chemistry on
Porter:their
Kylee:side, and they finally got the big man that they missed last year. And Matt Painter centers his teams around a good big man.
Eli:And Oscar Clough is a good big man.
Kylee:Exactly. So I think we're gonna see a Purdue team that is gonna have the same success they've had the years prior when they had ED. Porter?
Porter:I got I mean, Purdue Yeah. With many notes. They retained everyone. They got a good big man in the transfer portal, which we know Matt Painter loves. Got a good three point shooter.
Porter:Would I pick another if not for fear of being wrong? But Boilermakers, here we go.
Kylee:No. You
Josh:see, I
Colin:don't fear being wrong. Because
Eli:Oh, we can tell.
Colin:I have No. Yeah. I have deep set morals that set me against Oh,
Kylee:my god.
Josh:Jeez, okay.
Kylee:How dare you?
Colin:And and while Purdue and Michigan look like the best two teams in this conference, I cannot bring myself to pick either of them.
Kylee:And I that's fair. You don't fear being wrong, and I and I get you know, I wish I
Colin:So for your, like, third place, but hopefully first place pick, I L L I n I. Could be the last year? Yeah. You know, this is another team that's returning a lot of guys that is relatively strong almost every year.
Kylee:That's wrong. They're not returning a lot
Colin:of They're not returning
Josh:a ton. But they're getting a lot of foreign talent coming
Eli:And they were actually relatively weak last year.
Colin:They had a
Kylee:good incoming group.
Josh:I'd say, I'd I'd dare you to try and pronounce some of those names Looking up Guys that video on
Eli:whose last names end in I c.
Colin:Itch. The itches. So, give me the European stars, the Illini.
Kylee:Alright. Fair.
Josh:Alright. Since Colin jumped the gun, I went with Purdue too just because when you return that many guys, and especially this modern era of college basketball, it's so rare. Just don't see Matt Painter's such a good coach in the regular season. Mhmm. Postseason might be a different question besides making the national championship one time.
Josh:But this Purdue team, I I'd be really shocked if they're not one or two. If they're anything below two Something Something gone wrong. Something must have gone horribly wrong.
Eli:I I was honestly shocked when I was scrolling through their roster page, and I had the stats page open, and I
Josh:was like, he's back. He's back. He's back.
Kylee:I knew they were returning most
Porter:of their 70% of their minutes.
Josh:They're top of their five No
Kylee:one really transfers
Eli:Everybody who averaged above, like, five points per game.
Colin:But also, no one graduated for the most part. They lost the crazy
Eli:one starter.
Kylee:Yes. That's it. So, yeah. I would say this it's not out of your it's not out of your bus, clearly. It's it's not out your bus.
Kylee:Braden Smith talked about how he took an NIL pay cut Yeah. To to bring in some of this talent. Mean, they're go which I admire him for that. I admire him for that a lot.
Eli:Absolutely. Like, all these Purdue players were being recruited in the portal, or, like, recruited to get in the portal, and they're staying at Purdue.
Kylee:Mhmm. Yeah. So I think that, yeah, they're they're going all in on this season. And as they should.
Josh:Mhmm.
Kylee:Is Brayne Smith Senior? That's a talented player.
Eli:I mean, hope it doesn't work out for them, obviously. But
Josh:Alright. Let's head over to the NEC.
Kylee:Significantly less interesting conference.
Josh:Hey. Hey. Let's start with conference realignment.
Colin:No argument whatsoever. No.
Josh:We got some conference realignment news to start off with. New Haven joins, and it's their debut in division one.
Eli:Yay. Exciting. Welcome to d one New Haven.
Josh:Notable women's teams. Fairly Dickinson were the champs last season. They went a perfect 16 and o, finishing twenty nine and four overall. In the tournament, they were a 15 seed, but lost to a red hot TCU team. So again, I throw another question to the group.
Josh:Is this the one that we think repeats? Yes. Yes. No question. Why?
Josh:Why do we all think? Cause I think it's a clean sweep on everybody saying FDU, but why?
Colin:Because the entire rest of the conference is awful.
Josh:I was looking for positives? So Not the negatives on everybody else?
Colin:I was
Josh:looking for positives.
Colin:Well, for starters, although they lost their, you know, main star, Taneisha Brown, their second best player, Ava Renninger, stays, and she's gonna lead this team with her 92% free throw shooting.
Josh:What Josh said. Know y'all appreciate that. Know, I love.
Colin:This is a team that didn't lose a conference game They might take a step back from last year without their top player, but they're still gonna be on top They were so far and away above the rest of the rest the rest of the conference last year one step back is not gonna be enough for anyone else to catch up.
Kylee:No
Eli:I would like to point out that New Haven finished twelve and eight in the n e ten last year Which was good enough for third
Josh:love real New Haven so
Colin:so New Haven has a chance
Eli:Yeah. They made the d two tournament, lost in the first round.
Colin:But they can't make this tournament. No. They're transitioning up to d one.
Kylee:So Unfortunately.
Porter:Hey. How about Lily Park? She she's she's the glue person, right? You know, six points per game, played every game last year for FDU. You know, just a a solid player.
Kylee:Yeah.
Porter:Give their their team's a little a little young. But in this conference, I don't think that matters. And I think they remain the team to beat.
Kylee:So true, Porter.
Eli:I mean, FDU won this conference by five games Oh. When the NEC only played 16.
Colin:Yeah. Okay. Returning senior
Eli:leadership is crucial in continuing that. I'd love to see New Haven do well, but it's just a little too early. It's still their first transition year. Stonehill really doesn't look close, and Central Connecticut State lost some important players in the portal. So it's gonna be FDU.
Josh:Alright. And I'm not gonna steer away from the trend, so I'm gonna go with FDU as well. Alright. Let's hop hop over to the men's side. The champions of the regular season last time around was Central Connecticut State going fourteen and two in conference play, and twenty five and seven overall.
Eli:Which I picked, by the way.
Kylee:Okay. You know the ball.
Eli:And none of you did.
Josh:Toot, correct. Saint Francis won the tournament going a impressive eight and eight in conference.
Colin:Yes. Yes.
Josh:Sixteen and eighteen overall, but they sadly lost in the first four to Alabama State. So
Eli:And it was so bad, they're dropping to d three.
Porter:Poor Saint Francis.
Josh:Poor Saint Francis. Open it up to the floor. Who wants to go first on their pick?
Eli:I'd love to hear from Porter.
Kylee:Yeah. Let's go ahead.
Colin:Porter, go ahead.
Porter:I'm taking Central Connecticut. They won the they won the regular season last year. They are returning 15% of their minutes.
Eli:Rough.
Josh:Ouch.
Porter:They have like, two upperclassmen. Very few. It's okay.
Kylee:Are really good reasons.
Porter:I think another team is a better and more valid pick. But I can't agree with Collin. So here I am.
Colin:So, do
Josh:you wanna hear my True.
Eli:This is why Porter's on the podcast. Exactly.
Josh:Go ahead, Collin. You can tell us.
Colin:I see one team with just one freshman and one sophomore on the
Josh:entire Opposite of what Porter sees. Yes. On his team.
Colin:Not only that, they've got a junior class of six people, and among that class, they have seven foot two Rupee Kolawale from Northwest Florida. And outside of him, they're still like one of the tallest teams in this conference, if not the tallest. They're one of the oldest, if not the oldest teams in this conference. Give me Long Island for the experience and the height. Like, if there's nothing else that tells you Long Island is gonna be good, go based off of, like, the physical athleticism of their players.
Kylee:Tall. Tall. Yeah, no. Boo, why migrate with Gollin? This means we're all just to be wrong.
Kylee:But yeah, Long Island.
Josh:Long Island. For what Collin said sadly?
Eli:I mean, yeah, it's gotta be Long Island. They finished second last year. They were fighting with CCSU for it until the end of the regular season, And I love the Shark Tank. There's a TikTok influencer who, like, started their student section last year.
Josh:Wait. That's fun. That's amazing.
Eli:All of his videos were really hype.
Kylee:That is so cool.
Colin:That's great.
Eli:When they shoot free throws, they do this.
Kylee:I know you
Josh:can see it. You like raise got
Porter:plastic
Eli:the above my head and then made like a shark fin with it, and that's what they do for free throws. It's really cool. That's fun.
Colin:That's very fun.
Josh:Alright. Let's switch over to the whack. Womp womp. RIP.
Eli:Rest in
Kylee:And
Eli:and if I could have a moment of silence.
Colin:Alright. That ends the moment of silence. Long enough. Let's move on.
Josh:Okay. So some conference realignment that took place. Grand Canyon, my darlings, have left for the Mountain West. Our auto pick for the West. My darling has left for the Mountain West.
Josh:Seattle has also left for the West Coast Conference.
Kylee:Not a darling. Not a
Josh:That really got Eli going. Subdotal women's teams. Tarleton State finished second. They went ten and six in twenty and fourteen overall. UT Arlington also went ten and six.
Josh:And Grand Canyon and Seattle finished first and last respectively. The tournament, technically, no returning school made the tournament because it was Grand Canyon that made it with my favorite coach Molly Miller as a 13 seed, but sadly lost to Baylor.
Eli:I think Grand Canyon was 16 and o.
Colin:Believe you're right.
Eli:And Seattle was one and fifteen.
Josh:That sounds about right. Yeah. Thank you. So with the champions no longer in the conference Anyone's game. Who is gonna take the crown?
Eli:It's gonna be Abilene Christian.
Kylee:Word.
Colin:Hot take.
Eli:They returned top scorer Peyton Hall, who averaged 19 points per game last season. They added twin freshmen Emma and Molly Dougherty, who were all staters in South Carolina. They also returned Meredith Mays and Emma Troxell, who were starters who averaged 11 points per game last season. That means they're returning three of their four consistent starters, and they're also adding some other great freshmen, a four time all stater from Texas who just won a state championship, and a USA u sixteen trials nominee. So all of that just really moves me in a much smaller whack, where because they only have seven teams, they're gonna play 18 conference games this year.
Eli:So two more conference games, and you're gonna play every team three times in the span of nine weeks. Yeah. So you're gonna really get familiar with those opponents, really get familiar with their play styles, really work around both offensive and defensive efficiency. And I just feel like a team that's returning three starters is gonna be a team that really can do that very well. And ACU also only finished one game behind Tarleton and UT Arlington last year.
Eli:So. Yep.
Kylee:Yeah. I I agree with Eli. When you're returning, like, majority of your starters, and especially, like, your leading score, like, that's gonna be the the key in, like, this team's success this season.
Josh:I would rather agree with Kylie and Eli than I would with Colin. So I'm gonna go with their pick and Abilene Christian.
Eli:I've got a lot of Josh's on the podcast.
Kylee:My Josh is here.
Porter:Porter, go ahead. I'm picking Tarleton State. They returned good minutes. They picked up Gia Adams. She didn't play at North Texas last year because she got hurt, but she was really good at UT Arlington the year prior.
Porter:And then, shout out Luka Malenka. She was Danish player, followed the Tarlton State coach around at his various stops, including a stop at NoCo.
Kylee:So that's why you picked them.
Porter:Yes. Beautiful.
Kylee:Glad to get it out there.
Colin:Believe it or not, Porter does agree with me, or rather the other way around, I agree with Porter.
Eli:Yeah, so it doesn't count.
Colin:Yeah. I'm taking Tarleton State for the repeat here Well, I guess not the repeat but the the best returning team in the conference right so Evelyn Christian's team just doesn't really impress me That's
Kylee:crazy things to
Eli:say Did you not I read my
Kylee:did. Points per game, and returning two eleven points per game, you're joking.
Porter:There's just
Colin:a lot of young players.
Josh:Are just very negative today. They have
Eli:twin sisters. You know siblings move me.
Colin:I know siblings move you. They don't move me.
Kylee:You know what's moving me? The multiple double someone averaging almost 20 points per game, and then two other people averaging over 10. That's what moves me.
Colin:Yeah. Okay. And also a state
Eli:And also, somebody who was an all stater all four years of high school in Texas.
Kylee:Sorry, Texans. Sorry sorry, Colin. Whatever.
Colin:Alright. We're moving on. Let's move on.
Josh:Alright. Let's jump over to the men's side of this. Utah Valley were the champions going fifteen and one in conference play, twenty five and nine overall. However, when it comes to the tournament, there's once again no returning schools that made the tournament because Grand Canyon was a 13 seed, and they lost to Maryland. So once again, we have the returning champions of the regular season.
Josh:Which team can do it? Is it gonna be Utah Valley again? Or in this case, did we all go for a crapshoot?
Eli:Welcome welcome to everybody's favorite segment of every episode, which is where we pick five different teams in a meaningless mid major conference.
Colin:Yeah. Basically. You're gonna get five out of the seven teams in this conference.
Josh:Should I just go first? Because mine's the shortest, and I've actually been able to do very little research because I've been incredibly busy with school and everything. Go for it. I'm going with Utah Tech because I was informed before we started filming that they are actually returning a talent score of zero according to what website you
Colin:That's importers the Torvik production.
Josh:So you know what? That's what sold me. Talent score of zero? I'm going with Utah Tech.
Kylee:Josh believes it an underdog. Yep. And that's so real.
Porter:See, and I'm gonna take Evelyn Christian because they are the only school returning more than 50% of their minutes in this conference. They had a 500 season last year, which like, it's not great, but also, this is the whack.
Eli:Wait, 500 in conference play or 500 overall?
Porter:Yes.
Eli:Cool. Thank you.
Kylee:Alright. Really clear things
Colin:up there.
Porter:You know I'll take that I think Utah Valley has a better defense on paper and just like their transfers and who they've got But they didn't return that many minutes, and so I'm just gonna take the team that's returning the most minutes in the conference
Kylee:That's fair
Eli:look Utah Valley's transfer class is basically four guys that didn't play last year, and one guy that did a little bit. But they are getting a six eleven center from Utah, which is pretty intimidating.
Kylee:Notably, a really, really great men's basketball school.
Eli:Six eleven. I don't care if he can move.
Josh:I Be big down low. That's it.
Eli:I do like Abilene Christian's lone transfer, a forty six percent three point shooter from Grambling State. But them losing their top two scores really worries me, especially since they were apparently exactly 500 all year. I'm gonna hope that lightning strikes twice for the Wolverines, and Utah Valley pulls together a brand new look from five transfers, a state champion Utah freshman, and two red shirts from last year that'll be itching to play.
Kylee:Yeah.
Colin:Alright. You know, my personal opinion, the top transfer class in this conference is headed down to Jerry World. UTR LinkedIn will be the best team in the conference because of it. Regardless, they're coming off a really rough, wax season last year, but the conference looks completely wide open. You've got three major transfers with Marcel McCreery from Northern Colorado, 7.9 points per game.
Colin:You've got Marcus Rigsby Junior from Troy, 6.9 points per game. You got Kasimir Chavez from Arkansas. They're all joining Rayshawn Semester Seamster, sorry. Rayshawn Semester, who was on this team last year, averaged 11 points per game. He was 34% from three.
Colin:I like the UT Arlington team.
Eli:Rayshawn's semester was last semester.
Kylee:Yeah. We can't we can't we can't
Eli:because he Rayshawn
Colin:again. Rayshawn Seamster. There you go.
Kylee:This This semester. Have another Rayshawn. Know, these are all
Eli:No one
Josh:will replace my Rayshawn, though.
Kylee:That's so true. My Rayshawn. Yeah. Rayshawn Taylor was way better than this new Rayshawn guy.
Eli:Yeah, whoever they say.
Colin:You just wait and see.
Kylee:Mhmm. So, you know, these are all really, really compelling stories and, you know, just points, especially Josh in particular. Was really, really I'm proud. Not to not to side with him, but
Josh:Thank you.
Kylee:What y'all know about California Pets?
Josh:Not a whole lot. Can you tell
Kylee:us a little bit, Kylie? Yes, let me inform you. They are returning Dominique Daniels Jr, who broke the California Baptist d one era single season record with 19.6 points per game. Wow. Was an all whack first team selection.
Kylee:Ballin'. They also returned Martell Williams, who averaged nine points per game, and they returned Brady Hiney? That's close enough.
Josh:Close enough.
Kylee:Who was an who was a part of the All WAC freshman team last year. And then they pick up two two guys from Northern Arizona, you know? Also so I think that they've got a good chance at this. It's a wide open WAC, I fear. And they were either third or fourth, I think, in the conference, so not in a bad a bad spot at all.
Kylee:Also, their mascot, Lance the Lancer, which I think is really great. On their website, they said that Lance the Lancer has been watching out for California Baptist through their movements from NAIA all the way up to d one. And so I respect Lance And the so I'm gonna go with California Baptist to to win the WAC.
Colin:Hey. Before we move on, can anyone tell me what the one team we did not talk about today is in the WAC between the men's and the women's? No. Eli, go ahead.
Eli:It's Southern Utah.
Colin:It is Southern Utah. Hey, how about that?
Josh:I was actually I was actually gonna pick them before we came on air, but Porter and Colin convinced me with that talent talent score of zero, so I absolutely just had to go with that.
Eli:And that's all seven of them. There's only seven.
Colin:Yep. There will be less next year.
Eli:There will be none next year. There will be zero.
Colin:Correct, because
Kylee:Yeah, they're just spanding, right?
Colin:The WAC is becoming the United They're Athletic taking half of ASUN. They're pretty much taking all the football members of the ASUN and the WAC and combining them into the United. And then the ASUN's gonna become all the non football members.
Eli:They're also losing Utah Tech and UV Utah Tech and SUU to the Big Sky and UVU to the Big West.
Colin:And Cal Baptist
Eli:And Cal Baptist.
Colin:To the Big
Eli:to the Big West?
Kylee:Yes. Interesting.
Colin:So they're very excited for the Cal Baptist UC Riverside
Josh:So it's
Colin:like three down the road rivalry.
Eli:Texas schools of the WAC that are moving to the UAC. Correct.
Kylee:Yes.
Eli:Or rebranding to the UAC.
Colin:Yeah. Wow. So anyways, we will miss talking about the WAC.
Eli:Will we?
Kylee:WAC. It's a WAC conference. That's for I'll miss
Colin:talking about the WAC.
Josh:Alright. Let's jump over to the CAA. Some more conference realignment because that's just been the theme of this episode. Yeah. So conference realignment.
Josh:Delaware has left for the CUSA. Hi. Some notable women's teams, North Carolina A and T, where you're right here season champions at fifteen three in conference play in nineteen and twelve overall. William and Mary were your tournament champions finishing ninth in the conference. Yep.
Josh:They went eight and ten in conference play, but they went sixteen nineteen overall. That's
Kylee:March. Yeah.
Josh:They were one of your 16 seeds. Woah. I jumped the document way too far. Give me one second.
Kylee:No. We don't have a document. We go off the dome.
Josh:Sorry. Don't play anything. Yeah. Were a 16 seed and they played in the first four. They beat high point
Kylee:Yeah.
Josh:But they had to run into a buzz saw of Texas. So Unfortunately. Bummer.
Eli:And I think that was their tournament debut, and then their first ever tournament win. Yeah. So, shout out William and Mary.
Colin:Yeah. Mhmm. Which means they have a 50% record in the tournament, despite having a below 50 record that season.
Eli:Heck yeah. Yeah.
Josh:Alright. I think Eli should go first.
Kylee:Because am not recording.
Josh:Why? This is No.
Eli:No. No. I wanna finish. I I wanna go last.
Kylee:I'm picking Charleston. Eli will explain why.
Josh:I'm boring. I'm going with Kylie and why for Eli's reasoning, I'm going with Charleston. Porter?
Porter:I don't think William and Mary is gonna be able to get this done.
Kylee:Really? No. Why not? You were move you've been moved by some other teams who aren't gonna get it done either.
Porter:Yeah. But like, they're at least funny. North Carolina A and T, I don't I don't think they can do it again. And you know, Charleston returns some minutes. Good enough for me.
Colin:Look, I hate to pick the same team as everyone else, but Charleston's retaining way too much talent.
Kylee:And here comes the talent.
Eli:Look. Charleston may have finished second last year, one game behind NCA and T, but they returned CIA player of the year, first team selection, and all defensive team selection, Terren Barbot, and her twin sister, sibling angle, Taylor Barbot, who earned CAA third team honors after they led the team in scoring and steals, eighteen and twelve points per game and seventy five and sixty three respectively. Tyja Beans from Western Carolina also transfers in to bolster the offense after averaging 12.4 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game. Freshman wise, they add Aubrey Stevenson, who led all five a high schools in South Carolina in assists. And Annalise Roland, three time state champion, three point shooter from Florida.
Eli:I just think that that combination of talent and returning experience should be enough to get them over the hump this year.
Kylee:And we were all moved by that.
Colin:Yet, Frankly, I can't argue with any of that.
Kylee:Colin tried.
Eli:I I really wanted to pick someone else. I love I'm sure.
Colin:I'm team very deeply.
Eli:That's so mean.
Colin:Wow. And there was nobody who could beat that. Between Tara and Barbara and Taylor Barbara and
Eli:yeah the are gonna clean up I think
Josh:yeah I
Colin:mean they averaged a combined 30 points per game.
Kylee:Yeah crazy.
Eli:They're from Long Island.
Josh:Yeah, we're crazy
Colin:Alright. Yeah. Cool.
Josh:I was say you have something else you want to add, Colin?
Colin:I have nothing. Okay.
Eli:Let's jump on. Finally.
Josh:Let's jump over to the men's side. Howson, were your regular season champions going in sixteen and two in conference play and twenty two and eleven overall. UNC Wilmington were the tournament champions finishing second with fourteen and four overall, twenty seven and eight overall or fourteen and four in conference play, twenty seven and eight overall. I messed that up. Despite a spirited run from 12 c Delaware.
Eli:All the way to the championship game. Love.
Josh:Just fell a little short to UNC Wilmington, who were 14 seed and lost to another team that was red hot going into March in Texas Tech. Mhmm.
Colin:Yep. We're kinda split here. The lowest seed to make the final four or the Elite eight. Sorry.
Josh:Yeah. We're kinda split here. Who wants to go first?
Colin:I'll I'll start it off if you
Josh:Go don't ahead, Colin. You have the floor.
Colin:I I really like this regular season champion from last year, Towson. They're returning 42% of their minutes including stars Tyler Tejada and Dylan Williamson. They replaced their defensive tar star, Meki Lohrey, with seven foot one Morsek from Fresno State, and frankly, this is a team that's incredibly motivated from not making Big Dance last year. It's a team that can go back to back, and I think they will.
Kylee:So I'm just gonna put this out there. I think hell's frozen over because I'm agreeing with Colin straight up on a non unanimous decision from all of us.
Eli:That's insane, and I'm worried about you.
Kylee:Yeah, you should be.
Josh:Might need
Colin:to get you Yeah.
Josh:Need to get you checked out.
Kylee:Yeah, this is getting really bad.
Colin:Kylie's actually being held against her will take this time.
Kylee:I am. Have not
Colin:let her out
Eli:of the basement.
Kylee:Blackmailed. But no, I have to agree with Collin, have to go with Towson, also not how I would have said it, so I appreciate y'all getting that before me. Tyler Tejada is returning 16.7 points per game, and Dylan Dylan Williamson, who has averaged 14.6 points per game, they're returning, and they brought in transfers. Tyler Schmidt, averaged 10.1 points per game from Valparaiso, and Jack Dumbia junior, who averaged 11.6 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game at Wright State. It's it's it's the tournament or bust for this team.
Kylee:They they're prepped to make the NCAA tournament. They were so close slash, like, they they should've. They should've done it. They won the regular season, but I think that they're they're putting it all out there.
Colin:Yeah. We're rooting for the boys from Baltimore.
Kylee:Yep.
Colin:Let's do it.
Kylee:Me and Collin locked in.
Eli:That's insane.
Kylee:I know. I know.
Eli:Also, I think most people from Baltimore would find it offensive if you called toast in Baltimore. That kinda lie.
Josh:It's actually North Of Baltimore.
Colin:They're they're slightly North of Baltimore.
Eli:It's like a pretty distant exurb TBH.
Colin:Okay.
Eli:But we're moving on. Anyway, UNC Wilmington adds their own seven footer in junior Patrick Wesler from Virginia Tech, who converted 62% of the time from the floor, and made one three pointer on one attempt. Shot 100% from Beyond the Arc.
Kylee:You know what? That's incredible. You know, maybe I should change my pick.
Colin:That's some stats
Josh:right there.
Eli:That's all you need. I also like forty one percent three point shooter CJ Luster from Stony Brook.
Colin:But he's not quite as good of a shooter.
Eli:True. And Madison Durer from Monmouth, which is intra conference. And Jonathan Lamoth from NCA and T, which is also intra conference.
Kylee:This is getting crazy.
Eli:By the way. And then they also close out the portal with decent cards from Binghamton and Towson, which is once again, Intra the Conference.
Kylee:Are we sure they're not, like, kidnapping
Eli:The conference is Intra. They're Intra ing the Conference.
Kylee:I want you. I want you.
Eli:Anyway, they also returned semi regular starters, Greedy Williams, Nolan Hodge, Noah Ross for their senior years. And their freshman class is at two six eleven forward slash centers from Serbia and England respectively. And the British one made their u twenty EuroBasket team and shot 60% against international competition.
Colin:Wow. Can we add Greedy Williams to our list of players to watch?
Kylee:Yes. It's a great name.
Colin:Great, thank you. That's a valid Yeah. It's a valid team to pick.
Eli:Thank you.
Porter:Porter? Mean We
Colin:can't, yeah.
Porter:Yeah. Towson lost a guard to UNC Wilmington, and I Interconference. Interconference. And UNC Wilmington won the tournament last year, and I think that's just a good extra piece of motivation to, hey, let's go win the regular season and try to get it try and get it done again in March. I don't think they're gonna get it done in March, but I I think they can win the regular season.
Josh:What's up with the negativity today, guys? Have some faith in UNC Wilmington.
Kylee:I just What's your reasoning, Josh?
Josh:Everything Eli said. Everything Eli said. That's my reasoning. And that's the only reasoning I need.
Kylee:That's so true. That's so true.
Eli:Because I'm never wrong.
Josh:Eli, if I believe if I Never. My memory serves me correctly, Eli did, besides Collin, I think Eli was typically one of the better ones last season at pick.
Kylee:Eli got last on the men's side. Yeah. You did. Between us three.
Eli:Well, my memory Central Connecticut state right.
Colin:You did. You did get Central Connecticut. So I'm gonna submit this.
Josh:Alright. Let's jump over to the Summit League. Yep. Some noble women's teams. South Dakota State were the champions going up perfect 16 and o in conference play, 30 of four overall.
Porter:Say it with me now. 30 win team.
Josh:In the tournament, they were the 10 seed. They beat Oklahoma State. Yes. Yep. And sadly run into the biggest bugs bug Bugsaw?
Josh:Bugsaw, all of them all in Yukon.
Eli:Bugsaw. Saw with bugs on it.
Porter:I we put Saw too saw bugs.
Josh:Yeah. It's been a long day I for
Kylee:think we put South Dakota State on upset. Watch. We said
Josh:that's gonna be an upset.
Colin:Yeah. I believe them and Richmond. Yeah.
Kylee:Yeah. We know ball.
Eli:We know ball. In case you weren't aware.
Kylee:We know ball.
Eli:Dear listeners, we know
Porter:ball. Four of us do.
Kylee:Yeah. We'll let you decide who the fifth is.
Josh:I think we all have a unanimous one we're looking at. Shoot. Out. I think we also went pretty unanimous on this one too Yeah. For our picks.
Josh:But I think Collin and Eli should be the ones that lead the way in our discussion.
Colin:I'll I'll start it off. Why not? Momentum's everything. The South Dakota State program has built up quite a lot of it under Aaron Johnson. He's entering his 20 season with They this were a 10 seed last year with the tournament win over Oklahoma State, 31 season, going undefeated in the Summit League last year, ending the season ranked twenty third in the AP and coaches polls.
Colin:Love. They have a fun set of opponents this year, including road trips to Creighton, Columbia, Kansas State, Duke, and Northern Iowa.
Eli:Go Cats.
Colin:And they are hosting Gonzaga, North Carolina, and Texas. That's awesome.
Kylee:Awesome. Wow. They have
Colin:a gauntlet non conference. They're probably gonna win like half of those.
Josh:Shout out Aaron Johnston for that. Awesome.
Colin:Yeah. They're also retaining a lot of top talent. They're retaining Madison Mathiowicz, who averaged 8.9 points per game, Brooklyn Meyer 17.7 points per game, and Maggie Hartwig 16 and a half points per game. They added from Evansville. So very excited.
Eli:Also return Summit League all freshman team selection, Katie Vaseca, a native of the town of Tee, South Dakota.
Colin:That's Tee. Love.
Eli:Who shot 43% from three and averaged 8.4 points per game off the bench. Their freshman class includes Hadley Thule, four time all stater in Minnesota in basketball, who averaged 20 points per game her senior season and won the twenty twenty four state championship in volleyball.
Kylee:We love a dual sport athlete.
Eli:As well as all staters from North Dakota and Minnesota. Their North Dakota all stater, Brooklyn Felchley, was also an all stater for volleyball and won the 2025 North Dakota shot put state title.
Kylee:We love a multi sport athlete.
Eli:So while all of that being an all stater in two sports and a state champion in a third won her the state athlete of the year award for her senior year
Colin:Understandably yeah can't argue with that.
Eli:I would not want to run into her screen. I know she would throw you
Colin:No. She's gonna take a lot of charges this season. But That's okay.
Kylee:Yeah, so South Dakota State, my icons, they're they're running it back. And honestly, I probably going undefeated in conference.
Colin:Josh Porter.
Josh:Have four letters. Think we have four letters if you wanna go at the same time. Think s d s u. San Diego
Eli:State. Correct.
Colin:That was really good.
Josh:Yeah. Jump over to the men's side. Omaha, where your regular season champs and your tournament champs, going thirteen and three in conference play, twenty two and thirteen overall. In the tournament, they're the 15 seed and lost to a Saint John's team that ultimately lost the next round. But
Eli:So that's rough.
Josh:Hilarity. Rough for them. But, again, I think we're pretty unanimous, but who wants to go first?
Porter:I'll go first on this one. Alright. Porter, go for university. Go Pios. Yeah.
Porter:Yeah. Can't do that.
Kylee:They're so bad.
Porter:They're so bad. Wow. They went eleven and twenty one last season. Just like overall.
Colin:Glad you can acknowledge that Porter.
Porter:Yeah. They went five and eleven in conference. They're not as bad as Oral Roberts, is True. Which is cool.
Kylee:Darling former darlings of March.
Josh:Yeah. Former. Yeah. No.
Porter:They're really bad. I do like the St. Thomas team. I think they have a decent potential. But I'm gonna pick Omaha.
Porter:They look good, I don't like to pick a team from Nebraska, but
Eli:I mean, neither do I. But Omaha does add Long Beach State seven foot one senior, Christian Richardson, to a squad that's returning three starters and its third through eighth leading scorers, including Summit League All Defensive Team honoree, Jashon Glover. Their lone freshman add is Brock Scholl, an Omaha native who just won back to back state titles. Omaha also retained Summit League Coach of the Year and Nebraska Omaha alum, Chris Crutchfield, for his fourth season at the helm. And in his first three seasons, Omaha finished tenth, which was last, sixth, and first.
Kylee:So Wow. Man Manson coach.
Porter:So it's time to regress to the main.
Eli:No. I don't think this is a sine wave. So No. I think we're fine. Yeah.
Eli:Exponential growth.
Colin:Mhmm. Uh-huh. Yeah. So Peyton Manning's obviously very happy with this pick. Right?
Colin:And if there's anything I learned from Spanish class, it is that uno means number one.
Eli:Oh, that was terrible.
Colin:And they're absolutely gonna destroy so many more trash See,
Kylee:this what I'm on board with. Yes. More trash cans.
Colin:Eli is so disappointed. You wanted
Eli:to know. Is this how I'm learning that Peyton Manning went to Nebraska Omaha?
Colin:No. He did not.
Porter:His whole thing sang Omaha.
Josh:Yeah, that's his
Colin:Oh, right.
Josh:That's his production company's called Omaha Productions. Anyway, that's
Colin:more thing. Okay. Yeah. Kylie, any arguments?
Kylee:No. She
Colin:knows ball.
Kylee:She hid a ball.
Josh:Alright. Well, I agree for everything that they said. For everything that they said except for the Uno means number one.
Kylee:That is true, but I
Josh:I don't wanna I don't wanna I don't
Colin:wanna arguably the truest thing I have said all episode.
Josh:You know what? You're right. You're right. I agree. That one, I can agree with.
Josh:Alright. We're gonna jump over to what I feel like is one of our collective favorite conferences.
Colin:Oh, by far.
Josh:The Ivy League.
Eli:But only on one side.
Colin:Yeah. Yeah. Specifically.
Josh:So some notable women's teams in the regular season. It was Columbia that won the regular season championship going thirteen and one in conference and twenty four and seven overall. However, when it came to the tournament, and we're gonna talk we were probably gonna talk about this team because we all thought that they were gonna be great, and they were gonna do some damage in March was Harvard. They were the tournament champs finishing third, eleven and three in conference play, twenty four and five overall. They were the 10 seed.
Josh:Columbia made it as the 11 seed, and Princeton made it as the 11 seed. Both of those last two in the first four.
Eli:Three bid. I bid. It
Kylee:was awesome.
Colin:This was the moment we dreamed for.
Kylee:It
Josh:Columbia did beat Washington, but however, would lose to West Virginia. And Harvard team that we were really big on and were a little skeptical as Michigan State students that maybe this would be a trap game Ultimately fell to Michigan State in the tournament, but we were scared. We were very scared
Kylee:of this
Josh:I believe that was a lot of our
Kylee:We had a big discussion about that.
Colin:We had a long discussion about that.
Josh:Yeah. But get into some picks. Let's let's mix it up. Kylie, go first.
Kylee:Yeah, of course. Three big three bit IVY. We finally won. This is what we have been advocating for. We were advocating for two bid Ivy, and we got three.
Kylee:Got
Eli:even Flabbergasted.
Kylee:And and it was such so well worth it. It's such a fun conference to watch and root for throughout the year. Really only on the women's side. And I can care less about the men's side. So so for my pick, I'm going with Princeton.
Kylee:Eli kinda beat me to thinking about the logistics of all that.
Eli:All of you were so late to your homework this week.
Kylee:Yeah. Meet
Josh:me at the top of that list.
Kylee:Yeah. Continue. I'll I'll I'll I'll give a little little teaser. Princeton is returning four of their five topping top contributors from last year. I'm not gonna argue with experience, let alone experience that produces an at large bid in in the at and the women's conference, that's so hard to do.
Kylee:In the women's tournament, that's hard to do as a mid major conference. So I'm gonna I'm gonna rock with Princeton.
Eli:Yeah. I mean, what a fun top three last year. Oh, was awesome. And they were all busy in the off season. Harvard signed four star Aubrey Shaw to their freshman class, which also includes all staters from Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Minnesota.
Eli:Columbia returns leading scorer, Riley Weiss, who was first team All Ivy. But not to be outdone, Princeton also returns the first team All Ivy selection in Ashley Chae, and second team selections in Skye Belker and Fadi Matal, as well as senior Madison St. Rose, who shined and started in four games and then missed the rest of the season to injury after starting averaging 17 points per game. It's a really, really tough selection between these three teams, but I'm also gonna take Princeton. Their strong second place finish and the mass amount of production that they're returning predict really good things.
Eli:And I'm honestly really hoping for a Madison St. Rose revenge season now.
Kylee:Facts.
Eli:Averaging 17 points per game in four games, and then having to miss the rest of an amazing season, which earns you an at large bid in the NCAA tournament, and then not getting to play in that tournament game, she's gonna be back with a vengeance. And meanwhile, I'm a little worried that Harvard was too reliant on Harmony Turner.
Josh:Mhmm.
Eli:And Columbia also lost Ivy first teamer and conference defensive player of the year, Katie Henderson.
Josh:If you've been listening all along to this episode
Kylee:Or any of them, honestly.
Josh:Yeah. It's a good bet to believe that I'm gonna follow suit with Kylie and Eli. I don't want you to agree
Eli:on things. Yeah. Since you've betrayed me before.
Kylee:You've also betrayed me.
Josh:So they both agreed, so I'm going with both of them.
Kylee:I have just to pick his favorite.
Josh:I don't have to I don't have to be pick I don't have to pick between the two. I'm not your favorite. In spirit, sometimes.
Kylee:You're his favorite because you always be different. Aw. You different. Thanks.
Josh:Quirky. Speaking of being different,
Colin:is that a compliment?
Kylee:Of course, always.
Josh:Speaking of being different,
Colin:look, this is easily one of the best women's basketball conferences on a regular
Kylee:basis. Facts.
Colin:It was well deserving of three bids last year. Think seriously Columbia's returning their top scorer from last year. I'd like to comment on that
Eli:So it's Princeton.
Colin:This is anyone's league. This is seriously Colin
Kylee:is thinking about changing his pick right now.
Colin:I'm really thinking of changing my pick.
Eli:I'm way too late.
Colin:I think it's too late. I'm gonna pick Columbia
Kylee:But who do you want to change it to gosh?
Colin:I am so between the three it's hard.
Porter:I there's three good options.
Colin:I could have spun a wheel and And then happy with any of them and been perfectly happy with any of these three so I'm going with Columbia for now
Eli:Porter are you actually spinning a wheel?
Colin:Colin was moved by Eli. Are you spinning wheel? I am I will go with whatever Porter's wheel spins
Kylee:I am obsessed with
Colin:Drumroll, please.
Kylee:It's a long drumroll.
Colin:It's a very very slow wheel.
Kylee:No way.
Colin:Princeton. Princeton. I'm going with Princeton.
Kylee:Which means we all have to change, because now it's wrong.
Josh:Alright. I'm going to Columbia.
Porter:No. Alright. Join the dark side. It's okay. No.
Porter:I'm not picking with Colin. I will say a 14 game season for your conference is always interesting because every game matters.
Kylee:Yeah.
Porter:Mhmm. Like, you don't have a game like, an off night, it's it's not just an off night. Like, that matters now. Right? You only get a couple conference losses if you wanna win the conference.
Porter:I think Columbia returning Weiss, leading scorer, I think their offense proves just a bit too much for Princeton and Harvard. Although, I do think any of these teams are a good pick. Columbia's defense is a little suspect. Not gonna lie. Like, losing that losing the player Eli mentioned.
Porter:And then, also, their tallest player is six three, and she barely played at Mizzou last year. So, yeah. A lot of small ball and
Kylee:Yeah. But
Porter:I still think their offense Like, they have a bunch of shooters, and I think that'll carry them.
Kylee:Yeah. I was looking at Columbia, and I was between Columbia and Princeton, just because I think I think Harvard Harvard's a bit a bit young, and like, none, and that hasn't really been proven, that these like new players, but I was looking at Columbia, and I yeah, it was it was difficult I just I think I yeah, I just think Princeton's returning too many contributors
Josh:All right,
Eli:I'm telling you guys Madison St. Rose is gonna come back and she got her blood
Colin:on that note Dartmouth is about to
Josh:take
Kylee:all this
Josh:operation. Guys, it's
Eli:time for forbid, Ivan.
Kylee:No. I'd rather all of us be wrong together, then Colin be right by himself.
Josh:Well, with this next one for the men's side, it's either we're all wrong or we're all right.
Colin:But
Josh:We're going all in.
Colin:No. We are.
Josh:The normal men's teams from the IV was Yale who won the regular season and the tournament championship going thirteen and one in conference play, twenty two and eight overall. They were the 13 seed and lost to a pretty good Texas A and M team. They did. We're all going all in. Who's got their reasoning why we're picking this team?
Kylee:Well, three of us don't have any reasoning. Yeah. Because we just know.
Colin:Look. It's
Josh:the repeat.
Colin:You gotta pick Yale. They've got the momentum. Thirteen and one season last year. It's pretty usual for Ivy League teams to take in no transfers. Yale didn't take in any, but they're retaining a ton of their stars from last year.
Colin:Nick Townsend, 15 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game, is gonna be their star this year. They did lose a few players, but they have plenty of great players who can fill the gaps, and Yale's recent dominance is probably gonna continue this season. I will say look for Harvard to begin to close the gap, though. That is a team that is very young Mhmm. But has a lot of upside.
Colin:And closer to the end of the season, when the Ivy League's actually playing conference games, I would look for them to start to challenge Yale's dominance.
Eli:Well, that's what you said about Cornell last year.
Colin:I did. And how about They placed fourth, I believe, correct?
Eli:Out of eight?
Colin:They placed fourth, I believe. Anyway,
Eli:Yale also adds an outstanding freshman class that includes Courtney Wallace, an all stater from Pennsylvania who averaged a triple double his senior year. Wow. Jacob Tsai, a forty one percent three point shooter and Yale Legacy from San Diego.
Kylee:Love.
Eli:Alvin Loving, an all state guard in California from Berkeley. Daniel Oguniemi, an all stater and state champion from Georgia. And Jack Sullivan, a six eleven forward from Florida. Tall. Wow.
Kylee:We know what tall means. Win.
Eli:Tall tall equals win.
Kylee:Tall equals win.
Eli:As we know.
Kylee:No, I'm just kidding. But but I think You're not wrong. Yeah. Well, not not always. Not always.
Kylee:Not always. I'm also gonna pick Yale. I think, especially with Princeton losing Xavien Lee, I don't think anyone right now is gonna be able to challenge them. I'd like to see something. I don't know.
Kylee:I would like to get a two bid Ivy on the men's side. I think giving these smaller conferences more bids is is fun, and we should have that.
Eli:It's entertaining.
Kylee:I would like for a team to make a run and just have a good season.
Eli:I think we can knock the ACC down to two.
Kylee:Yeah. No. We can we can take one of the kajillion that the SEC got last year that they're definitely not getting this year.
Colin:Hear me out. Mountain West doesn't need No.
Porter:No. I was just
Josh:Mountain The
Kylee:Mountain West, we had, like, what? Four last three? We had four last year. That's significantly less than the year prior.
Colin:See, that's still one too many.
Porter:The best conference in men's basketball
Eli:The Missouri Valley.
Porter:Wrong. The Mountain West, it doesn't need that many bids. Like, there is a good top part of the conference. There's a good bottom part of the conference. But the good bottom part of the conference doesn't quite compare to the one seeds of March Madness, and therefore, it doesn't need to be included.
Porter:And we can give some of the Ivy League some representation.
Kylee:Yeah. If if they earn it. If they earn the representation, they have to they have to, you know, be good besides the others.
Porter:Otherwise, we can just give it to Boise State, who should've been
Kylee:in Who should've been in last year?
Colin:She's got a two bit conference.
Kylee:Oh, no. We didn't even get through everybody.
Colin:Oh, sorry.
Kylee:How dare you?
Eli:And if you guys would just like to do it in quick succession.
Josh:Yale. Yeah. Beautiful. Great.
Kylee:Now we've gotten through everybody. Now we can move on.
Josh:Thanks, host Colin.
Colin:Sorry. I only saw eight letters and assumed there wasn't a whole lot there.
Josh:Alright. Let's let's jump off first.
Kylee:To our final conference?
Josh:The West Coast Conference. Some conference realignment. Again. More. Again.
Josh:Josh loves this. Yes. My favorite. Here's the
Colin:honesty showing
Kylee:you. Yes.
Josh:I had get it out now before we do broadcast for the radio. Anyway, Seattle joins from the WAC. Some notable women's teams in Gonzaga were the regular season champs, won seventeen and three. They were twenty four and eleven overall. But Portland also won seventeen and three.
Josh:They were thirty one and five overall.
Eli:Say it with me now.
Colin:30 win team.
Josh:But Oregon State won the tournament, and they're your attorney champs, and they finished fourth. And they went twelve and eight in conference, but nineteen and sixteen overall. Oregon State notably beat Gonzaga and Portland back to back in the West Coast West Coast Conference tournament to win it. They were the 14 seed and lost to North Carolina. Gonzaga and Portland weren't even first four out.
Josh:Gonzaga played and lost to four power five opponents in the regular season, while Portland didn't play any. So both made it in made it to the WBIT Elite Eight, where Gonzaga beat UTSA and Colorado before losing to eventual chance Minnesota. And Portland beat Stanford and Seton Hall before losing to Villanova.
Eli:Okay. Sorry. I'm the one who makes the document. I had to go off about how crazy the end of the season was for
Josh:this season.
Kylee:It was insane.
Colin:It was insane. Yeah.
Eli:Yeah. Because Portland won 30 games, Didn't get in that large bid, but they also didn't play any power conference teams.
Kylee:I say love that they got away with that They got away with that
Eli:didn't play Oregon didn't play Washington
Kylee:right Make it make sense nobody
Eli:didn't play cow like yeah, nobody
Porter:Well, maybe don't lose to two non power five teams, and you're out of conference schedule
Eli:well You know happens
Kylee:yeah
Eli:look I'm really excited first for you Portland versus Seattle you as an in conference rivalry I think that could build up into something very fun even though as we covered Seattle is really really bad at women's basketball.
Kylee:But You're not picking them to win.
Eli:No. Portland lost all five of their starters. Yeah. And that's rough. And they did pick up a solid SMU transfer in the portal, but they don't really look primed for another run at the title.
Eli:Gonzaga, on the other hand, returns first team selection, Allie Turner, who was also their second leading scorer and won West Coast Conference freshman of the year. They also returned Inez Betancourt, a senior starter, and add Taylor Smith from Weber State who averaged 12.9 points per game and six rebounds per game, and Sierra Lichtie from Cal Poly who averaged 10.6 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game, as well as an intra conference transfer from Saint Mary's and Zerihia Ayokuso, who averaged 9.2 points per game as that team's third leading scorer, and she also led Saint Mary's in assists.
Kylee:Wow. Love. That's a great pickup for for Gonzaga. I'm about to I'm about to complain for a bit. They're gonna Gonzaga's gonna win it.
Kylee:I don't wanna call what happened in the tournament a fluke, but it was. Sorry, Oklahoma State or Oregon State, my bad. There's so many OSUs out there and
Colin:Sorry, Oklahoma State too.
Kylee:They're the they're the least relevant one. The and also, Gonzaga should have had an at large A large at large at large bid. Like, I'm actually perturbed that this big word. I'm actually perturbed that that they didn't. Like, I'm I'm actually mad about it.
Kylee:So West Coast Conference should be a two bid women's league, and I'm a stand on business about that. It's revenge season, and they're winning it.
Porter:Yeah. I mean, they somehow missed March Madness last year, and I dare someone to stand in their way. I wouldn't be surprised if they come up short in the tournament again. They seem to like doing that, but we'll be the one who picks against them.
Colin:Yeah. The Zags look the best as usual. That's not my job.
Josh:Yeah. I'm
Colin:not the manager. So Look, they look by far the best team in this conference. They are, as a program, angry about missing the tournament last year clearly and are like with UConn getting the two seed last year, I would not want to face Kodzaka at all this season.
Eli:No. No. I would also like to point out that Portland is playing a power five team this year.
Porter:Yay. They're
Eli:actually playing two of them. Oh, three of them. They're playing USC, BYU, and Oregon.
Josh:Nice. Have fun with that. Again, keeping up with tradition for this for this episode and primarily for all of the conference picks. I'm not gonna disagree with what everybody said, so I'm gonna go with Gonzaga too.
Kylee:You don't wanna be cool, fun, and quirky, and different?
Josh:I'm not Colin. Real. That's that's Colin's job.
Colin:I'm buying a Ziggo.
Porter:You need more whimsy in your life.
Eli:Thank goodness.
Kylee:So true. I
Colin:picked the Ziggs.
Kylee:You're not on our level. We're whimsical over here in the corner, I. E. Where me and Porter are sitting. We're we're whimsical.
Colin:Alright. Give me the men's teams.
Josh:Alright. Let's wrap it up. Final portion of our conference picks to conclude this four or five episodes Of of course, you
Kylee:don't know. I'm kidding, Josh. Even though it's all Love From.
Josh:Ouch. Anyway, some notable men's teams. Saint Mary's were the regular season champs going seventeen and one in conference play, twenty nine and six overall, one win short of that illustrious 30 win season. Gonzaga were your tournament champions. They finished second.
Josh:They went fourteen and four in conference play and were twenty six and nine overall. The tournament teams are the two teams that I just mentioned. Saint Mary's with the seven seed, and Gonzaga was the eight seed. They beat Vanderbilt and Georgia before losing to Alabama and Houston respectfully. So we talk about the men's.
Porter:First on this one. Alright.
Colin:Yeah. Go ahead,
Josh:Fort Port.
Porter:I'm picking Gonzaga. My options are the Zags or Saint Mary's.
Kylee:So true.
Porter:Gonzaga had good read great metrics last year before running into Houston. Ouch. A lot of people had them as an upset, which is like crazy because Houston's really good. Yeah. But I think they can build off, you know, they got one last ride into the sunset before they're no longer a part of the West Coast Conference.
Porter:Yeah. Their opposition is like, Saint Mary's is not good.
Kylee:Not not this year.
Porter:Harry Wessels and his He's their only senior. I don't
Eli:I don't think it's gonna happen. Just a just a delightful 5.3 points per game.
Josh:Yeah. No contributing. Glue guy. Glue guy.
Eli:Yeah. Glue guy.
Kylee:Yeah. And then you've got the youthful dream.
Colin:The glue guy. I hate to be that guy, but the glue doesn't work if there's nothing to glue together.
Eli:The dreams.
Josh:The dream. Come on. Dream big.
Eli:We're dreaming. We're gluing the dreams together.
Kylee:Yeah. Alright, Collin, since you think you know Ball.
Colin:Hold on, though.
Eli:It got We'll get to him.
Colin:Yeah. Let someone else go first. Alright. I need a sec.
Josh:I'd say, I'm just gonna go because I feel like I've been going last all episode. I think it's gonna zag up purely because of who their head coach is. I think you can't really bet against Mark Vu. I think he'll bounce back. I think he'll get this group right where they need to be.
Josh:He's an outstanding coach. I'm surprised that he must really love it at Gonzaga, because I'm surprised no one's really tried to lure him away because he's that good.
Colin:He has said in interviews that the reason he stays at Gonzaga is for the fly fishing.
Eli:That's so funny.
Porter:I love that.
Josh:You know what? Good for Mark Few. Good for him. He's simple man. He's a very simple man.
Josh:But I think this is a big bounce back from Mark from especially Mark Few. Letdown of a season despite winning the tournament championship. So I'm gonna go with Gonzaga.
Kylee:Yeah. You know, before we get into logic and reasoning, I'm just gonna I'm just gonna go here. I'm not gonna lie y'all. Since it's Gonzaga's last year in the West Coast Conference, they're gonna win it with the power of friendship and Mark Few. I don't foresee the rest of the conference.
Kylee:Outside of Saint Mary's, even though, like, despite their young roster, they would be the only challengers, I think. But just historically speaking, but no one's gonna make much of an effort to stop the storyline, and and why would you? Who doesn't love the power of friendship and Mark Few?
Eli:Yeah, who would stop the storyline?
Colin:Yeah. Who would stop the storyline? What you got?
Eli:No, no, no. Mine is kind of a response to yours. Hang on.
Josh:Let's let's take a time out real quick and go back to what Porter said. Porter, I believe, said that this was between two teams. Yeah. Gonzaga and Saint Mary's. Right.
Josh:Yes. Colin, who did you pick?
Colin:Gonzaga's last year in the West Coast Conference is really weird. And you know what? With the Zags leaving, I think it's gonna give the rest of the conference a little bit of motivation Oh, to step up and beat some challengers one last time.
Eli:Please don't pick Pepperdine.
Colin:Look, I'm not terribly impressed with the transfers that Gonzaga's bringing in other than Tyrone Grant Foster from Grand Canyon. Respect him.
Josh:Great play.
Kylee:You love Grand Canyon, that's why.
Colin:But I'm not really impressed by the young roster from Saint Mary's either.
Eli:He's gonna pick Pacific, isn't he?
Colin:I look at San Francisco, returning 15% of their minutes from last season, including Tyrone Riley the fourth, including Ryan Beasley. They're adding stars like Guillermo Diaz Graham from Pittsburgh, Mookie Cook, a rookie at Oregon, and David Fuchs from Rhode Island. And you know what? Maybe it's just wishful thinking. But third place season last year that they're building on, I'm taking the Dons to go On to Victory this season.
Colin:For those of you who don't get the reference, which is I'm sure 98% of our listener base, On to Victory is their fight song.
Eli:Oh I would love to know what your definition of star is and why it includes six points per game
Porter:I just like to point out that no hey, I'm
Eli:with Diaz Graham. I'm sure it's great
Porter:out earlier in this episode Colin was not impressed by 20 points per
Josh:game Right?
Kylee:Was not impressed by yeah.
Josh:Yeah. I would say. The ACC. Last year's ACC, by the way. Right.
Josh:26, he picked the six.
Kylee:Yeah, he sees potential. He doesn't see, you know, what they have coming.
Eli:Again, no hatred to Guillermo Diaz Graham. If you're listening to this, I'm sure you're great.
Kylee:You're a lot better of a basketball
Eli:player You than seem like you
Kylee:are.
Eli:Excellent role player. You get five rebounds per game in an NCA division one men's basketball game, which is really, really hard.
Josh:Way better than all of us on this podcast
Colin:You have one fan here
Kylee:you have multiple
Eli:you have lots of fans. Yeah, you just have four realists yeah I actually am rather appreciative of Gonzaga's transfers, and I don't like you disrespecting them like that Colin. I like steel venters from Eastern Washington
Kylee:Right, they write that down.
Colin:Right, put
Kylee:on the list. Let's do the
Eli:steel venters.
Josh:Put on
Eli:the list. I like forty three percent three point shooter Adam Miller from Arizona State and Colgate guard Braden Smith. Gonzaga also returns all West Coast Conference first team honoree and leading scorer Graham Ike after averaging 17.3 points per game. Now that's a star. And so does Brayden Huff, who was the third leading scorer at 11 points per game.
Eli:Incoming freshman Davis Vogel averaged 31 points per game his junior year of high school.
Kylee:Wow.
Porter:Wow. It's not six though.
Eli:Let's just sit with that for a second. No. 31. He joins the Bulldogs as the thirty eighth highest recruit in the class of 2025. They also add Mario Sant Superee, who debuted with Spain's senior national team last fall.
Eli:Not u twenty, not u eighteen, their senior national team.
Colin:Pause. Is his name really, like, if you put the last name before the first name when you show it on rosters, is it Saint Supery Mario?
Eli:Yes.
Colin:Okay. That's respect. Anyway You can continue.
Eli:It's gonna be Gonzaga. Look.
Kylee:Collins Collins doesn't evolve. Let's just be real. Let's just be real here.
Colin:All right. I cannot wait until the end of the season when I join When back
Kylee:Pepperdine wins. Yeah.
Colin:When I
Josh:show Portland's back men's team.
Colin:And we get the clips, and I get to clip me saying that San Francisco was gonna be the champ, and I'm gonna be right.
Josh:I can't wait. I can't wait for Guillermo to average, like, 16 points per game, and we get to.
Colin:Yeah. Like, 30 points per game.
Josh:Heck yeah. Clip Eli for second.
Eli:Let's go. Alright. You Yeah. You can clip how much I said I love and respect him.
Colin:Alright. Should we should we close it out, y'all? Yep.
Josh:Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Check the Net on Impact eighty nine FM. Let us know what you think by connecting with the station on Facebook, x, or Instagram at w d b m and at Impact eighty nine FM. This is our third full basketball season, and we can't wait for it to begin. In the coming weeks, we'll preview some preseason rankings, which will lead us into the preseason exhibitions. The season's madness is only just beginning, and we can't wait to talk about it more next week on check the net.