Welcome back to Check the Net, Impact 80 nine's men's and women's college basketball podcast. I am your host, Eli Flickama, and I am joined today by my darling fellow IS OWN members, Colin Pearson and Kylie Tabler.
Colin:Yay. Yo. Yo. Yo.
Eli:We had our first Iz*ONE experience. We were back in the Brez
Colin:Yay. Finally. I was in a shakeout. So long.
Eli:And we only beat a d two school by, like, 15.
Colin:They they were an elite eight D2 school, which is the only thing that's holding me together right now.
Kylee:Mean anything to me.
Eli:Nothing to me.
Kylee:D 2 is d 2 regardless.
Colin:Yeah.
Kylee:Yeah.
Eli:So At least Tom didn't outright promise a final 4 this year.
Kylee:He did not. He did not. We we're gonna be we are, I don't know, a work of art in the making, I guess.
Colin:I don't know. Can't wait for a women's season.
Kylee:We're in progress over here.
Eli:Genuinely so excited for women's season.
Kylee:We're gonna be very good. Yeah.
Colin:We're gonna talk about that in just a minute.
Eli:But before we get to the college side of women's basketball, the NCAA has some weird rules about women's exhibitions. So we're gonna quickly recap the end of the WNBA season
Colin:and some
Eli:of our favorite stars and teams.
Colin:Yeah. Yeah. Because realistically, women's exhibitions just don't happen almost ever. Mhmm. There was a whole one women's exhibition between 2 d one schools this year.
Colin:Singular.
Kylee:We'll talk about that one. Talk about it.
Eli:We'll talk about it.
Colin:And we'll talk about MSU's recent exhibition that Kylie and I went to. Yes. But we wanted to talk about WNBA. Some of those college stars we had last year that transferred up to the WNBA, got drafted, and have had some incredible seasons. And so without further ado, Caitlin Clark.
Colin:Woo hoo. Indiana Fever.
Eli:She did so good. Mhmm.
Kylee:She did.
Colin:Caitlin Clark has changed the WNBA clearly. Attendance is up. Viewership is insanely up. Revenue is up. Revenue is up.
Colin:She was by far the best rookie in WNBA history.
Kylee:In, like, the worst places of all time. Sorry, guys. I want I want expansion in Ohio. They wanted Portland. Hey.
Eli:We're getting one in Toronto. That's, like, sort of close. I also don't care about Toronto.
Kylee:That's a total different country. I want one in Ohio. We have
Eli:I want the Detroit shock back.
Kylee:That would also be all fine with that. Like, we have
Eli:Bring back the Detroit shock.
Kylee:Bring more WNBA to the Midwest.
Eli:I think we're getting a PWHL team. This is not a hockey hockey. With that. But they just announced that they're gonna get 2 expansion franchises, and I bet you one of them is Detroit.
Colin:Detroit makes a lot of sense there.
Kylee:Listen. I'm just saying we need to bring WNBA Basketball to the Midwest because I'm getting upset.
Colin:What about the Indiana Fever and the Chicago sky that we're about to cross. That's all.
Kylee:I was
Eli:gonna say the Midwest has, like, 3.
Kylee:Yeah. And I need some more that are closer to me so that I can go watch.
Colin:Indianapolis is not that far. I mean, when when you can make a trip.
Kylee:When you have a busy schedule, you're
Eli:just down there in March.
Colin:That is also true. Whole another story. Kayla Clark, Indiana Fever. Best rookie in WNBA history.
Kylee:Very, very good season. I was more impressed with her playmaking and, like, the shotmaking for her teammates than I was over anything.
Eli:I her developing into just an incredible opportunity and assist creator was stunning to watch.
Kylee:Yeah. Because she was really
Eli:good at that. Half of the season, her teammates couldn't catch her passes.
Colin:Yeah. Yeah. Once they figured it out, all of a sudden, it all clicked, and that team was phenomenal.
Kylee:Getting her and
Eli:Aliyah literally dragged them to the playoffs.
Kylee:Getting her and Aliyah Boston both to, like, work together very well because Aliyah Boston is a very, very good inside player.
Eli:Yes.
Kylee:Watching them work together was super duper exciting to see. And, yeah. That's not to say that, like, Caitlin Clark is still a great outside shooter, great scorer, like, just all around player, but I just I'm always more impressed with, like, the stats that are not points.
Colin:Yeah. No kidding. And especially when it comes to those rebounds and those assists from Caitlin Clark, especially.
Eli:And I know we literally have until April, but I'm really excited to see who the fever draft. Yeah.
Kylee:That's yes. Exactly. Anybody know where their what spot they have?
Eli:No clue. I don't think it's been announced yet.
Colin:I don't think it has. Yeah. Let's move on to another player though, because Angel Reese got drafted to the Chicago Sky from LSU last year. Mhmm. And she also set some rookie records.
Colin:Yes. I mean She was the consensus second place for rookie
Kylee:of the year. Absolutely.
Colin:But she had the most consecutive double doubles in WNBA history with
Eli:Not just rookie history.
Colin:No. Just WNBA history in general. 15 double doubles in a row. Yeah. She ate.
Colin:She did have an injury at the end of her season. I know Kylie mentioned that in her document. Yeah. Oh, it's here. But, like, that's another player that she took what she had in that team.
Colin:And the Chicago Sky were already a fairly good team.
Kylee:They're
Colin:alright. But to have that Angel Reeves player who could draw up so many plays, make a lot of points, convert a lot of assists, and kinda, you know, set the pace of that game for that team was really, really awesome.
Kylee:Yeah. What's really impressive about her is, watching her rebound is her positioning, because she always has great positioning when she's rebounding and is able to get to the ball very quickly. So I think, like, as like, watching her rebound is extremely impressive. I'm excited to see her range develop because towards the end of this before she went out with her injury, she was starting to shoot a little bit more from the outside, a little bit more from range. Her shot watching it is kind of odd, but watching her kind of hopefully develop a range and more strength from the outside, it's gonna just add more to her game
Eli:as a whole.
Colin:Yeah. For sure. And then, Eli, you have anything to say about that? No. Nothing to add.
Eli:They you guys killed it.
Colin:Let's talk one more rookie that kinda gets overlooked a little bit.
Kylee:A little bit. A lot of it, honestly.
Colin:Realistically. Aliyah Edwards was drafted to the Washington Mystics. The Washington Mystics, the struggle with them is they're just not a good team. Yeah. They need more talent.
Eli:With them is that they're bad.
Kylee:Yeah. She needs help. Because she she's a very good player as well. She needs help.
Colin:She was an incredible player. She was 4th in scoring among among the rookies, 3rd in rebounds, and 3rd in blocks. I mean, that's behind Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, but not by much.
Kylee:Yeah.
Colin:She had a crazy solid season, a great Olympics for team Canada.
Kylee:Mhmm.
Colin:She was on that team Canada team, and so that was awesome to see. I mean, she just flew so far under the radar because the Mystics just Yeah. Really weren't a good team.
Eli:I They weren't great at using her either. No. That's true.
Kylee:Not at all. I think in my opinion, drafting her definitely I don't know I don't remember where she got drafted. I know she was a top 10 draft pick, but I think that they were like, that she's a very, very smart person to draft. She reminds me her play legitimately reminds me a lot of Aliyah Boston. Like, both being extremely powerful presences, like, down low.
Kylee:And I think, honestly, she was one of the better like, was like we said, one of the better rookies with showings. I know, like, a lot of the media attention was focused focused on, like, Cameron Brink before she went out
Colin:Yep.
Kylee:And, focused on, like, Angel Reese, Kalyn Clark, Camilla Cardoza, like, those players. But I really do think that, Aliyah Edwards deserved a little a lot more hype than what she got.
Eli:And, again, I'm really because the Mystics will have one of those high draft picks. Yeah. And with a lot more college stars that are gonna be that are primed to have great seasons
Kylee:this year. And Beckers back together.
Colin:No kidding.
Kylee:That would
Colin:be incredible.
Kylee:Very h Beckers,
Eli:you are a Washington mistake.
Kylee:Please join your old teammate so fun
Eli:to watch.
Kylee:Over at the Mystic.
Eli:I wanna see her on the Connecticut sun. Yeah.
Kylee:I'm not
Eli:gonna lie. I I wanna see her stay home and play for Connecticut.
Kylee:I can yeah. That's a good one. I think, watching watch just watching the WNBA this season was just super fun and watching our rookies. Like, Rekia Jackson had a pretty solid season, and, like, Kate Martin getting into games. Yes.
Kylee:She did very well as well. I think that was just really, really fun to kinda watch. So
Colin:Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Alright. Should we transition into college instead of just the point of this podcast?
Kylee:Yeah. To the 2 college teams we actually have to talk about.
Colin:Yeah. So should we start with the scrimmage between 2 d one teams, or should we start with MSU?
Kylee:Let's just start with MSU.
Eli:Let's start
Colin:with MSU. Why not?
Kylee:Because we were there.
Colin:Yeah. Kylie and I went to that game. Eli could not take
Eli:2 thirds,
Colin:unfortunately, which was very sad.
Kylee:Yeah.
Colin:We missed him. But, he didn't really miss much because it was a 58 5 game at half. Yes. I said that right. 5825.
Kylee:Yeah. It's kinda Half. Kinda crazy.
Colin:MSU was smoking Wayne State, and it's honestly was kinda not even entertaining by that point because Yeah.
Kylee:We left at the I'm not even gonna lie.
Colin:We left at the Because we took all the starters out, and we continued to dominate. And then we took the 2nd line completely out in the Q3 and continued to dominate. And by the Q4, we were just playing freshmen.
Eli:And Our freshmen put up, like, 12 points because they were on the court so much.
Colin:Yeah. Yeah. They they were just I don't know. The stats, I'm gonna run through a few quick stats. MSU shot 64%, from the court, but 73% in those first three quarters.
Colin:Wow. 50% from the 3.
Kylee:Which is which is insane.
Colin:And 64% from the free throw line.
Kylee:That's not good. I mean, it's good for an MSU team, unfortunately. Better than the men's. The comparison to our men's team is always better than
Colin:64%, a lot of that was freshmen. Yeah. Most of those misses were freshmen.
Eli:Mhmm. Right.
Colin:But you're looking at 73% with our starters and our 2nd line combined.
Kylee:From the field is insane. That is insane.
Eli:Michigan State looks really, really good.
Colin:Oh, yeah.
Eli:Not not to not to gas ourselves up, but
Kylee:I'm gonna gas us up. I'm excited. We are an this we are an extremely tall team, honestly. In in comparison to last year, we do have more height. I'm excited to watch them play against some extremely tough big ten talent, so I really do think that we are gonna be one of the front runners in the big ten this year.
Colin:Especially in a weaker big ten the last few years.
Kylee:Right. Just purely I disagree that it's weaker, but
Eli:I was gonna say weaker.
Colin:Big ten without Iowa, I suppose. Because
Kylee:Yeah. But then adding added
Colin:the USA
Eli:to New
Kylee:Zealand. Forgot
Colin:about them.
Kylee:Definitely not weaker. But, and then just kind of, like, looking at stuff today, I was watching some analysts from, like, March Madness women's basketball. Like, they were talking about how, like, Grace Van Zooten, who's one of our transferred, is one of the transfers, is one of the most noted impactful transfers of the college women's college basketball season. So very exciting, to watch our team play. I we we have a lot more depth than we had last year.
Colin:Oh, absolutely.
Kylee:So I think it's gonna be very, very fun to watch us. We're tall. You've got a lot of people who can make a great impact on the court, and then we also have a great coach. So it's like Yeah.
Colin:Robin Fraylik was drawing up some crazy plays out there, and you could tell that she was just trying new things, trying to get some stuff going.
Kylee:Well. I mean, now's the time.
Colin:Now's the time. Everything was working. So have
Kylee:a this team, and that's what I really appreciate, is very defense centered.
Colin:They Very.
Kylee:Press, and they play really tough defense. They rebound well, like and that's that's the kind of game that's super And now
Colin:this was Wednesday. Yes. So
Eli:It wasn't. It
Colin:it might be too early for us. Accordingly.
Eli:You
Kylee:know? And I'm up, but I'm still gonna do it.
Colin:But the defense that was played was, you know, clearly nonstop because 5 points Yeah. An entire half.
Kylee:Yeah. That's that's some high my high school basketball stats.
Colin:Crazy defense.
Eli:And then, quick human interest story. Julia Arold, Michigan State women women's basketball was lined up against her sister who plays for Wayne State on the court, and their father is an assistant coach for the Warriors.
Kylee:Love it. It's cute.
Colin:Very fun to have all the best. Reunion, essentially. Yeah. What you didn't know is both Erolth sisters are twins, and so they both have a twin brother. That's crazy.
Colin:1 of them graduated from Michigan State, and one of them, actually, last year graduated from Michigan State, Julia. Grad. Yep. And the other one is a freshman at Wayne State or sophomore. I can't remember freshman or sophomore, but he also plays basketball for Wayne State.
Kylee:That's funny.
Colin:And then the one that was at Michigan State who just graduated is now a grad coach or graduate assistant at Southern Indiana, I think.
Eli:Nice. Basketball. Eagles.
Kylee:So yep. Basketball family. Full
Colin:basketball family.
Eli:And Wayne State men's basketball just beat d one Detroit Mercy, like, 2 days ago.
Colin:Yes. They did.
Kylee:As they should. Right? Not that surprising.
Eli:Is terrible.
Kylee:Yeah. You know what? They have an old MSU coach there.
Eli:But They'll
Kylee:be on the come up.
Eli:Go warriors and go titans. We love Detroit Basketball.
Kylee:We do. Absolutely.
Eli:Not the Pistons. So
Kylee:Now let's talk about the d one game. Yeah. Dude, not the Pistons. We had number 1 South Carolina versus Memphis. Woo hoo.
Kylee:And South Carolina won a 106 to 63. Kinda lopsided, that's
Colin:the thing. Yeah. Just just a bit.
Kylee:Woo hoo.
Colin:Especially for a d one game.
Kylee:It's yeah.
Eli:South Carolina is still here.
Kylee:Yeah. They didn't go nowhere.
Eli:Really. Collins shock and surprise.
Colin:Yeah. My comment is, as expected, just prove South Carolina's still as good as we remember. Memphis will be okay.
Kylee:Yeah. They're they're fine.
Colin:Memphis seems like an okay team, frankly.
Eli:Yeah. We scored 60 points on South Carolina. Yeah. That's an accomplishment. Hang the banner.
Colin:In the tournament last year, that didn't happen very much even with, like, some of the top teams in the country. Yeah. So, good job, Memphis.
Kylee:Yeah. No. Play defense
Colin:We against South Carolina, but no one can. So
Kylee:That is very true. Defense against South Carolina is legitimately That's right.
Colin:Yeah. It is It's an exercise in futility as well it is.
Kylee:I mean and it's super duper exciting to, to kinda watch and see because South Carolina has a very, very talented, very like, just a very talented freshman, Ward and Joyce Edwards. I mean, she is their freshman phenom coming in from this, like, freshman class. And so I'm very excited to see how well she blends with all of the other talent South Carolina has because it's absolutely off the freaking charts. Yeah. But from, like, what I was seeing that she fit in very well, and Dawn Staley is going to let her shine as their freshman.
Kylee:So it's very exciting. So, you know, I have full confidence in in my girls.
Colin:They're gonna be a fun team to watch.
Kylee:Absolutely. Yet again. Yo.
Colin:No question there. It it's gonna be a good season for South Carolina. Mhmm.
Eli:Let's talk next week. Dear listeners, it's almost opening day.
Colin:Yeah. Opening day,
Eli:5 days, t minus.
Kylee:So excited.
Colin:Monday is opening day. I have so many classes, and I will be paying attention to basketball during almost all of them.
Kylee:Well, obviously.
Eli:Great, great lineups.
Colin:We have so many Yeah. So many games.
Eli:Men's basketball should start playing these Paris games because they're really fun.
Colin:Yeah. The 2 Paris games are definitely the most fun. Those are my 2 picks for the power 5 games of the week, my power 5 games of the week. I picked 2. Usually, we pick 1 for those of our listeners who are new here.
Eli:Yeah. Colin's cheating.
Kylee:He is cheating.
Colin:We pick 1 Power 5 game a week each, and 1 small conference game a week each to watch over the next week, to pay attention to, you know, big games. I picked 2 because they're technically part of the same series. They're the Aflac We Play in Oui. Are we
Eli:That that's o u I, We.
Colin:Yes. Absolutely. Play? And that is opening day, November 4. We get AP number 17, our rankings number 13, Louisville, versus AP 5, our ranking 6, UCLA
Kylee:Woo hoo.
Colin:Followed up by an incredible AP 20, are on ranked Ole Miss versus a p 3 are ranked 2 USC. Mhmm.
Eli:Sorry. We don't believe in you, Ole Miss.
Colin:Yeah. Oh, I'm so excited for this, though.
Kylee:If they're gonna be
Colin:so bad that you can use.
Eli:If if you wanna know why we're not ranking Ole Miss, listen to last week's episode as we go into our rankings way more in-depth.
Kylee:Indeed. Indeed. Yeah.
Colin:Oh, it's gonna be such a fun fun fun series out in Paris.
Eli:I this is gonna be a great way to scope out both LA teams in the span of, like, 6 hours. Yes. That's an incredible opportunity
Kylee:for I mean
Eli:all of the big ten teams plus us and all listeners and watchers everywhere.
Kylee:This was how last year we determined that South Carolina was going to be a force
Eli:after dominated Notre Dame.
Kylee:Yes. After losing their all their entire like, all their starters, half their bench, like, after losing such an impact from the year before and then watching them go out and just absolutely run nor Notre Dame off the court. Run them out of Paris. Yeah.
Eli:Run them right out of Paris.
Kylee:We need that. Country. Last like that. They they weren't playing. That they were they were coming, and they were gonna be great.
Kylee:So,
Eli:very excited to see how the LA schools stack up.
Colin:Yes. Yeah. It'll be a fun one. Kylie, what do you got?
Kylee:Yeah. So, I've MSU and Oakland play on Tuesday here in, in the EL. I can't go because of prior commitments, but,
Eli:it'll be a couple of and I will be
Colin:there? So. I can't come in there. Be there. Nor did not.
Kylee:Perfect. 2 thirds of us will be there yet again.
Eli:Eventually, all 3 of us will make it to a women's game, we promise.
Kylee:At some point, we'll be there. But I think it'll be very good, to see how we match up against, you know, a bigger program, a more, you know, prevalent, prominent
Eli:program. Program?
Kylee:A d one program, but exciting nonetheless. So alright, Eli.
Eli:My game of the week is AP 13 check the net 14 Kansas State versus Green Bay
Kylee:That'll be
Eli:a good one. Which is on opening day on Monday. I picked this because I we universally picked Green Bay as our Horizon League
Kylee:champion.
Eli:Yes. Yes. So I think it'll be very fun, even if they don't win, to see them play a ranked team and play a big 12 team and therefore play a ranked big 12 team.
Colin:And Is that how that works now?
Eli:It is.
Colin:Yeah. I can do addition. True.
Eli:I know I'm not a stem major, but I we we love the Phoenix in this house. So I I think this is a really, really fun opening day game.
Colin:Yeah. That's definitely gonna be a fun one. Kinda wish it was on TV somewhere.
Eli:Me too. I'll be checking the box score after. I promise.
Kylee:I will be seeing if my ESPN plus account will allow me to view it.
Colin:It might, honestly.
Kylee:Honestly, that's what's great about it. Sorry. ESPN plus trying to plug. It's great.
Eli:I love it. Sponsor us again.
Kylee:It's it's my favorite, my favorite app that I
Colin:have. Yeah. And, you know, if Peacock, if you're looking for someone to sponsor,
Eli:we do TV, ABC, CBS.
Kylee:Any of you?
Eli:The Associated Press.
Kylee:We we watch a lot of basketball. A lot of basketball. House. Much to my, my friends and roommates' disdain, but sorry. It'll get worse way worse in our
Eli:It is just starting.
Colin:That's bad. It's October right now. Let's get to those small conference games before we get off the rails. Too late. Mine is Northern Arizona, our consensus big sky pick.
Colin:They are at New Mexico who was second in the Mountain West last year. This is opening day, November 4th. That's gonna be a fun game. If you can stream it, go for it. It's on the Mountain West Network.
Colin:So for all of our listeners on the West Coast, you might have that.
Kylee:You're you're telling me you're not gonna purchase the Mountain West Network, Colin?
Colin:I am not.
Eli:To watch NAU New Mexico?
Kylee:Shame on you.
Eli:Shame. Shame on you. Basketball fan.
Kylee:Not a real fan.
Eli:Not a real fan. Mm-mm.
Colin:Not a real fan. You're a 100% right.
Eli:Not a fan. I love regional nonconference games. I love when teams that aren't in the same conference but are, like, 50 miles apart play each other.
Colin:Yeah. It's gonna be a fun one.
Eli:I'm I'm a sucker for it every time.
Colin:The neighboring states, the lumberjacks are good. You know, New Mexico, pretty good team. Should be a fun one. No clue who's gonna win that, honestly. Because New Mexico is a little bit on the downside there.
Colin:None of us make them. So we'll see.
Kylee:Maybe we're being silly.
Colin:Maybe we were. We'll see.
Kylee:I have, for my game on Monday, I have Princeton and Duquesne. Oh. Yeehaw. Okay. Go Princeton.
Kylee:I I'm here for Ivy basketball.
Eli:Absolutely. Tigers.
Kylee:I'm excited.
Eli:Real team. Yeah. I I think that'll be a really good game against some a ten competition where we see if Princeton, despite losing some key contributors, is still talented enough and still powerful enough to win games like this.
Kylee:Yeah. Yeah. Because it'll it'll if they win this, I think it'll be very helpful for them when they get to actual IP play going up against, like, Colombia.
Colin:Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Colombia, especially.
Kylee:Yeah. Okay.
Colin:Eli, I see you got 2 games.
Kylee:I stole my game.
Eli:I am also cheating, and I kind of stole I I stole Toledo versus Marshall right out from under Kylie,
Kylee:unfortunately. My homie's back home.
Eli:Well, we're opening with the Mac Sun Belt Challenge
Kylee:So good.
Eli:On November 4th, which is really, really fun. And I picked this game specifically because in 1, in this house, we love Toledo. Yes. And 2, they were our they're our unanimous MAC championship favorite. Yes.
Colin:They are indeed.
Eli:And Marshall is coming off of their Sunbelt championship season from last year, but they have a brand new coach and a bunch of roster turnover because as we talked about in our first episode, they lost their head coach to Tennessee.
Colin:Mhmm.
Eli:So this is gonna be a great game. I believe it's in Toledo.
Kylee:Woo hoo.
Eli:So it'll be very fun to see if how Marshall is as a new look team and if Toledo can defend home court and defend it decisively, which I expect them to do.
Colin:Yes. It's exciting. That's a good good game.
Eli:And then my second game is Arkansas hosting Check the Net 25th ranked Fairfield. Yes.
Kylee:Oh, yeah. Fairfield. Woo hoo.
Eli:Amazing. Because we love Fairfield. Fairfield should be ranked. It's ridiculous if Fairfield isn't ranked. And Mhmm.
Eli:And maybe Arkansas can pull off the upset, maybe.
Kylee:But No.
Colin:And it would be an upset for Arkansas because Fairfield's receiving AP votes, and Arkansas is not.
Eli:Exactly.
Colin:And so, you know, Fairfield, I don't know what the betting odds are. I haven't looked if there are any.
Eli:Fairfield is they they might not be the favorite, but they're our favorite.
Kylee:That is true. I think that's
Colin:a big decisive, game for both teams. You know? Arkansas
Eli:Arkansas prove that they deserve to be a power conference team. And Especially in the SEC.
Kylee:True. We need to demote them.
Eli:And can Fairfield shock Arkansas? Yeah. I really, really hope they can.
Kylee:Yes.
Colin:And if they can, will they be ranked next week?
Kylee:No. I'm gonna be I'm gonna be so rewind out. They're not.
Eli:They can, though, trust, you will hear from us on Wednesday about it. Oh, absolutely. We will spend 10 minutes just talking about it.
Kylee:No. At the AP poll about how That's
Eli:why Fairfield
Colin:needs to
Eli:be done. How it goes.
Kylee:And we'll
Eli:keep doing it until they are. So true. They could finish o in 32 or whatever,
Kylee:and I'd
Colin:still be, like, rank Fairfield. Agreed.
Kylee:I probably wouldn't. Except they're not gonna finish o in 32.
Eli:But Yeah.
Kylee:Who are they beating? Everyone in their conference. Everyone.
Eli:They're actually gonna have a perfect season.
Kylee:Listen. They were in over 30 1 30 win team last year.
Colin:They were. 30 win team? Mhmm. 30 win team.
Eli:30 win team.
Colin:So Eli and Kylie, you guys are so set on that whole 30 win team.
Eli:It's a it's a thing.
Kylee:It's a very, very
Eli:But, like It says a lot about program
Kylee:if you're
Eli:a 30 win team.
Kylee:Colin, my goodness. Just because you don't just because all the teams you picked on the men's side lost, doesn't mean doesn't
Eli:mean you have to get mad at us about ultra.
Colin:Even though
Eli:we had
Kylee:even though we had perfect picks thus far.
Colin:Speaking of the men's side.
Eli:There were a bunch of exhibition games. Yeah.
Kylee:So so the first game we're gonna talk about
Eli:Truly so many.
Kylee:We all picked this correctly. We were all, you know, we are in the right. Check the net as a whole is in the right. So it's,
Eli:It it was AP 4, check the net 2, Houston versus AP 13, check the net unranked Texas A and M, and Houston won 79 to 64.
Colin:It was so decisive, and it was such a nice easy win for Houston.
Eli:And we called it.
Kylee:Yeah. We basically were like, why is Texas A and M ranked? And this just proved our point even further. Yeah.
Colin:Houston took an 11 two lead. They had 14 threes with 7 different players making threes. Nice. 38 bench points from Houston.
Kylee:That's Debs. That's crazy Debs.
Colin:The only issue was fouling at the end of the game when Houston put all their, like, rookies in, and they just fouled Texas A&M a ton, allowing Texas A&M to shoot 31 free throws Wow. Where they made 21 of those.
Eli:Holy. Wow.
Colin:That is the only reason Texas A&M did not lose by 40.
Eli:I was gonna say that's the only reason it's close.
Kylee:Yeah. Take take that stat away and That's
Colin:the If you subtract
Eli:each team's free points, it's Houston 76, Texas a and m 43.
Colin:Yes. Yikes. Alright. So there's two things for Houston, though. Clean up the fouls, and they only made 3 of 10 free throws.
Kylee:Yeah.
Colin:Now granted, again, those were mostly the freshman rookies, whatever. Mhmm. But 3 of 10 is bad.
Eli:Lock lock your freshman in the gym for 3 hours and make them shoot free throws.
Kylee:Agreed.
Eli:It's not that hard.
Kylee:Yeah.
Eli:Oh, additionally, all those 3 pointers, Houston shot 45% from beyond the
Kylee:arc Crazy.
Colin:Which is absurd
Eli:as a team.
Colin:Just absurd.
Kylee:Mhmm.
Colin:So Houston's good.
Kylee:Yeah. And
Colin:Texas A and M is very clearly not even though they can make free throws. And we knew it.
Kylee:Conclusion. We're correct.
Eli:In conclusion, we're always right, and you should listen to us.
Kylee:The AP poll needs to take note and listen to us.
Eli:And we should be AP voters.
Kylee:I see, honestly That,
Colin:I could be behind.
Kylee:I would do that fully.
Colin:Something we all agree on. Holy cow.
Kylee:Oh my gosh. And then now
Colin:it's time to agree on And
Eli:then now it's time to write again.
Kylee:And now it's time to make fun of Colin because AP number 1
Colin:over here.
Kylee:Check the net. Number 5, Kansas, who's Colin's pick to win their conference Enough. Versus Arkansas, who's AP 16, r 21. Arkansas won 85 to 69. Colin, we told you Kansas was not gonna be good.
Colin:John Calipari's team. No other comments.
Kylee:Yeah.
Eli:I, unfortunately, cannot overreact to this because I remember when Arkansas beat Purdue in that preseason exhibition game last year.
Kylee:Yeah. That was awesome, though.
Eli:But but last year, Arkansas and Purdue were both preseason ranked, and then Arkansas ended up being terrible. So Yeah. As entertaining as this result is It's
Colin:very
Eli:and as much as I don't want Kansas to be good, I can't put too much stock in this.
Kylee:I'm gonna put a lot of stock in this because, not a lot, but, like, enough because it's a Cali Perry coach team. They're not gonna fall off hard like they did last year. Not there's no way. They have too many good recruits, too many good transfers. They're not falling off like they did.
Kylee:They're gonna stay in the top 25 for, if not all, most of the season, in my opinion. It's just Kansas. Like, I know Colin put that they're missing 3 of their 5
Colin:stars. They're missing Hunter Dickinson, Rylan Griffin, and Shaquille Moore.
Kylee:Who at this point gotta be, like, 27.
Colin:Are, like, their top three scores.
Kylee:I mean but here's the thing. How long are they gonna be missing them for? Is this short term injuries
Eli:or are
Colin:these short term injuries. They chose to sit out this game because they didn't want to get injured.
Kylee:So here's where I hate that fact, and that's why do. That's I do. Awful. You should not be allowed to be sitting out these games, period. I'm sorry.
Kylee:This is gonna be the first game of your season. You're playing against another ranked opponent. You're ranked number 1 by the a people. Why don't you wanna get in there, and why don't you wanna prove that this is why we're ranked number 1? That's selfish basketball.
Colin:That's Yes.
Eli:This is.
Kylee:A selfish mindset out of them. And because of that now, I I want nothing but failure even more than what I did before. So
Eli:And I I wish Hunter Dickinson the best on his second PhD.
Colin:I do wanna briefly say, Raquis Passmore for Kansas looks really, really good. He's one of their freshmen, a true freshman, and he scored quite a few points. I don't remember the exact stat. I think it was, like, 17 points.
Kylee:Just for him.
Eli:Good to know that they have somebody who can fill in for those starters if
Colin:they Yeah. Lose them later in the season. Actually, like, played well.
Eli:Good. Yeah.
Colin:You know? He was making assists. He was making plays.
Kylee:Good for him.
Colin:You know? Really encouraging.
Kylee:Listen. As good as it's just that's that's very frustrating to hear. It is. It it's It absolutely is. Coach, how do you let that fly?
Colin:I don't know.
Kylee:I don't understand. But
Colin:I think he encouraged it. Bill's self is selfish.
Kylee:Yeah. That's And that's why they lost early in the tournament last
Colin:year. Absolutely.
Kylee:Yeah. Yep.
Eli:Jayhawks fans, please keep listening because maybe we'll get totally proven wrong and have to swallow all of this later.
Colin:I'm still rooting for Jayhawks.
Kylee:Still rooting for you.
Colin:Rock Chalk, baby. That's terrible. Okay.
Eli:At this point, you can start rooting for Purdue. No.
Kylee:Oh, yeah. Yeah. You know what happened to them? We'll get to that.
Eli:We'll get to them.
Colin:And do I just skip to that?
Kylee:No. No.
Colin:Okay.
Kylee:I need plenty of time to get excited about that. Okay.
Eli:We had I believe it was Kylie's exhibition pick, which was AP 12 check the net 8 Tennessee versus AP 17 check the net 13 Indiana, where Indiana eked out a win 66 to 62.
Kylee:Woo hoo. I know. I actually watched this game, which I was super excited that they were streaming it. Rough shooting from both teams. My goodness.
Kylee:In the first in the first half, it was bad. I think Tennessee had made one three pointer, and Indiana had made none. None. It was really, really bad to watch in the first half, but, those teams looked looked decent. I mean, you can tell Tennessee is missing.
Kylee:Dalton Connect very, very much so. Yes. And they're going to.
Colin:Most definitely. He
Kylee:was just that impactful and just such a strong player for them. But Indiana, I think they've got some very, very strong individual pieces. I think when they come together and are able to kind of blend well, they're they're gonna be a very, very they're gonna be a very good team.
Eli:And I
Kylee:and I I'm gonna stand by the by them being my big ten champion.
Colin:Yeah. Notably, both teams had some players missing. Indiana, 3 of their starters, including Trey Galloway, out for non nonthreatening injuries, but minor injuries, nonetheless. I think both teams don't have the depth to make a run, though, based on the performance that they showed. You know, they weren't shooting well without those starters.
Colin:They weren't playing great defense even though it was a very low scoring game. Yeah. But I do think they could be good throughout the season if they can stay healthy. Yeah. That's a big if because those schedules, SEC and big ten schedules are not gonna be easy.
Kylee:They're rigorous. So
Eli:Yeah. It's Indiana has to do better than 4 of 19 from beyond the arc. Yeah. That is abysmal.
Colin:And that's that's a fluke game, I think, for that kind of shooting.
Kylee:Yeah. It's still early.
Colin:But that's pretty bad.
Eli:6662 is a ridiculous final score.
Colin:That's it's low. Yeah. But most most We've seen Virginia, but it but it wasn't even
Eli:it wasn't good defense low. It was bad offense low.
Colin:Yes. I will agree with that. Mhmm. Yeah. It was like we were watching Virginia play.
Kylee:It's honestly, though, that's typical big 10 basketball is very low scoring games. Like, they're not for the most part, the big ten games are not blowing people out of the water.
Eli:But that's because big ten teams usually play defense.
Kylee:Yeah. I guess tennis well, Tennessee also plays defense. I mean, watching them last
Colin:year defense isn't bad.
Kylee:Yeah. But, you know But
Colin:no one was playing offense.
Kylee:That's also big 10 basketball. No one also plays offense.
Colin:Yeah. Alright. Speaking of big 10 basketball, Purdue.
Eli:You you read
Colin:that, Colin. You read it.
Eli:Yeah. You read it.
Colin:So, AP 15, check for that 10, Creighton versus AP 14 checking that 12 Purdue. Creighton won that 93 to 87. We were right to put Creighton above Purdue. I think we all agreed on that one.
Kylee:I I had to hold on. I had to beg, borrow, and plead for that.
Colin:I had to beg bar and
Eli:plead for that.
Colin:I had
Kylee:to beg bar and plead to move Creighton up into the top 10.
Colin:Into the top 10, but they were already above Purdue. Well yeah. Clearly. Yeah. We had already put them above Purdue.
Colin:Both teams looked strong offensively. Braden Smith scoring 31 for Purdue is kind of interesting.
Kylee:He has to.
Colin:And all I have to say is Purdue really only has 3 good players out there. It's Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman, Wren, and Fletcher Loyer. They scored 70 of Purdue's 87 points
Eli:Yeah.
Colin:Which is kind of absurd. No. You know what? It is very absurd. Braden, that's
Eli:not how you win basketball games.
Colin:No. You get one injury out there or, you know, one guy who has too many fouls, you're not winning that game.
Kylee:And Fletcher Lawyer is a very hot and cold player.
Colin:Very.
Kylee:Very hot and cold. Braden Smith, unfortunately, for him is gonna have to carry that team this year. Losing Eady was a huge piece to this Purdue team's identity for the past couple
Eli:years. And especially defensively.
Colin:And he did carry that team for this game. 31 points is a lot of points.
Kylee:It's a lot out of a point guard.
Colin:Against Creighton of all teams.
Kylee:Yeah.
Colin:And they still lost. I mean, I
Eli:It's because Purdue They're gonna struggle. Always rely on Zack Eady playing rim and board defense, but they don't have Zack Eady anymore. Yeah. So Creighton got all of those points for free
Colin:All that's gonna be played. Stand there.
Eli:He just had to stand there. Yeah. But they don't have him anymore. So they scored 87, but Creighton scored 93.
Colin:Yeah. Yeah. And so that's gonna be a big struggle for Purdue. It's kind of a bit of an identity crisis. Yeah.
Eli:They're gonna have to play a completely different kind of basketball.
Colin:Yeah. I don't think they're ready for that either.
Kylee:No. They're they're not gonna have
Eli:to play that game. Tried this game, but they're not ready yet.
Kylee:Yeah.
Colin:And so it's gonna be a question whether they develop that by the time Big 10 season comes around or if they just kinda lose a lot of games.
Eli:I think their 2 fall semester Big 10 games are gonna be very eye opening. Very. I don't remember who they play. But
Colin:Yeah. Yeah. I don't remember either.
Kylee:I mean, so I'm looking at Creighton right now because Ryan Kalkbrenner, my savior over here, He had 18 points. Super duper sleigh and exciting.
Colin:Yep. But, only 18.
Kylee:But Pop Isaac had 20 3. Hold on. Pop Isaac had 24. Yep. And Steven Ashworth had 16.
Kylee:Yep. So I mean But of 93. Yeah. Well, the rest of it was I mean, those were the high scores.
Colin:Yeah. Yeah.
Eli:That's very deep Blue Jays.
Kylee:Yeah. That's yeah.
Eli:Purdue plays at Penn State and hosts Maryland in early December.
Colin:Yeah. I have some regrets about picking Purdue as my big 10 champ.
Kylee:Yeah. But
Colin:I have some regrets
Eli:after what's happening. Those are not tough big tent games. No. I I do think Purdue will will will get there. Who knows what's gonna happen in the next month?
Eli:But Mhmm.
Kylee:I'm about to just aim out some more stats because this is actually very impressive. So Creighton had 31 bench points, so they had the same amount of bench points as Braden Smith had points. And, they shot overall, they shot, 60% from the field. Not bad. 46% from 3.
Colin:That's pretty good.
Kylee:And they shot about 73% from the free throw line. So it's alright.
Colin:That's pretty that's alright. Yeah.
Kylee:Pretty solid. Yeah. I mean so I mean, that's just a solid all around
Colin:game from a solid all around team.
Kylee:Looking over at Purdue, they, I mean, they shot 38% from the 3. That's kinda
Colin:That's a downfall for Purdue.
Kylee:Yeah. They shot 47% from the field. I mean Still not bad.
Eli:Pretty decent.
Kylee:Comparison. And they shot 62.5% from free throw, which is a huge deficit to what they were shooting last year with Zach Eady, you know, Eadie on the free throw line. But they had only 13 bench points.
Colin:Yeah. I mean, they're lost. They have no depth.
Kylee:No depth. And
Eli:that's why
Colin:they lost.
Kylee:Yeah. Points in the paint.
Colin:No depth. No off or no defense. And
Eli:Mhmm. I think they're really gonna be tested against Marquette in a couple weeks.
Kylee:Oh, absolutely. Yeah.
Colin:Yeah. That'll be interesting. About that in a couple weeks. They haven't been tested by then.
Eli:We'll talk about that in a couple weeks.
Kylee:But, yeah, moving forward. Looking at another game yay. Another game that we had, was that was on Friday, I believe. Michigan and Toledo played in Ann Arbor. Michigan won, but it was only 96 to 92.
Kylee:So I'm optimistic over here.
Colin:Toledo, that was a 4 point game.
Eli:Toledo was within 1 inside 4 minutes to go inside a very high powered Wolverine offense.
Kylee:Mhmm.
Eli:So I a Toledo that can hang with a big 10 team, especially a rebuilt high powered big 10 team like Michigan, they're gonna be great in Mac play.
Kylee:Yes. Yes. Yes. Yeah. That offense excited.
Colin:Holy cow. 9692 for a Michigan Toledo scrimmage is insane.
Kylee:I love
Colin:it. I do wanna comment. I think this says more about Toledo than about Michigan. Because Michigan, you know, obviously, they have offense this year, but we knew they would. You know?
Eli:I don't think I expected Toledo to have this much offense.
Colin:Toledo is exceeding expectations by far. 92 points against a Michigan team, just Michigan period. Michigan last year, they wouldn't have scored that much. No. No.
Colin:You know? Ninety two points is a lot.
Kylee:It is a lot.
Colin:And to still lose with 92 points is rough.
Kylee:But it's their plan against the biggest ten team.
Colin:But that's a big deal.
Kylee:This is so I'm excited for Toledo, period. Like, I this makes me very excited for what the season's gonna bring. This also makes me, wonder about how Michigan's gonna do because if you you they have good offense. That's clear. But if you can't hold a MAC team to less than, like, 90 points
Colin:Yeah.
Kylee:That's a bit of a problem on the defensive end, and that something needs to get solved really quickly
Colin:because a lot of these is gonna have to have a talk with his team about that.
Kylee:Because a lot of these big 10 teams have more just offensive talent, period, than Mac teams typically. So, I mean, it's only scoring 92 points. What do you think freaking, like, in Indiana is gonna score? Like Yeah.
Colin:Dusty May is used to that American conference style of basketball, which is very similar to SEC in which you don't play defense and you just outscore.
Kylee:That's not gonna work in the big 10.
Colin:That's so far.
Eli:The fact that this game was a nail biter is concerning.
Colin:Yes. Yep. But at the same time Go to
Eli:we go to Toledo.
Colin:And at the same time, Michigan has an offense, which is more than a freshman.
Kylee:Very different than what they had last year.
Colin:Very different team to last year. So So You know? Could be an interesting season for them because I don't know how they'll do against big 10 play yet.
Kylee:Yeah. It'll just be interesting to see.
Colin:We're gonna have to see. Alright. We got one more game. This one's Eli's.
Eli:We got one more game, and it's all 9. Big ten, we we it's a it was a secret scrimmage, not an exhibition, so that's why we didn't cover it last week. But Wisconsin played the University of Northern Iowa Yep. And UNI won 85 to 75.
Colin:Yay.
Kylee:Go cats. Woo
Colin:hoo. Yeah. And because it's a secret scrimmage, we don't have any stands. We don't have any, you know
Kylee:Can't see. But, honestly, though, I kinda knew Wisconsin was gonna be trash, this year with losing AJ Store and Co.
Colin:I think we all kind of expected that, but at the same time, losing to Northern Iowa says a lot more about the Cats.
Eli:I UNI has a very favorable non conference schedule this year. They don't play a single power conference opponent. The closest thing to a power conference opponent they play is Washington State at a neutral site in Las
Kylee:Vegas. Interesting.
Colin:And Washington State lost everyone.
Eli:They play a couple of American Conference opponents. Their first three games are hosting the University of Dubuque, which is a d three school, and then Milwaukee and UC Irvine. Wow. UC Irvine. And UCI is the consensus big west favorite, but they're traveling.
Eli:Could be interested. They're traveling to Cedar Falls. I I think this Cats team could be really good.
Kylee:Slay. Yeah. I hope so
Colin:for UC Irvine. A 30 win team.
Eli:Go Panthers.
Colin:Especially I mean team. Let's be honest. The the Missouri Valley kinda lost 2 of their top teams because everyone in this state
Eli:have been decimated. It's gonna be you and I and Bradley.
Colin:Yeah. Mhmm. And I know I picked Bradley. And we picked you and I. I think you guys both picked you and I.
Colin:I mean, it's gonna be a fun conference to watch.
Eli:We're watching those Panther basketball.
Kylee:But Don't don't lead us astray.
Colin:Yeah. Keep it on the keep it on the watch list. You know?
Kylee:Mhmm. Go Cats.
Colin:Let's talk power 5 and small conference games for next week. Starting with Power 5. Well, let's start.
Eli:I can go first.
Colin:Go for it.
Eli:I chose, UCF, who is hosting AP 13 CTN unranked Texas A&M Oh. After their loss
Colin:versus Houston. I That's gonna be
Eli:a telltale one. I think UCF could do this. I UCF
Colin:could do this. Absolutely. I think b twelve could absolutely
Eli:win this game.
Colin:I this this will
Eli:be the game that determines
Colin:whether or
Eli:not Houston is just really good or if Texas A
Colin:and M
Eli:is genuinely bad. Yeah. And I will be tuning in.
Kylee:I think that Texas A and M is just genuinely bad.
Colin:I know that was our consensus. I mean, that's why we didn't rank them. But UCF being a big twelve school will be a challenger. Definitely. They're not a bad big twelve school.
Colin:They're kinda middle of the pack. If they can
Eli:avoid Houston's
Colin:foul troubles, I think they run away
Eli:with this. Yeah. Essentially. Yeah. Indeed.
Eli:I'll I'll go mine.
Colin:Go for
Kylee:it. I have Ohio State who I think is gonna be good this year. No one believes me. Ohio State versus AP, ranked 19. Check the net, ranked 15, Texas, Monday at 10 PM.
Kylee:Very, very good.
Eli:In Las Vegas, Nevada.
Kylee:In Las Vegas. So, basically, when we get back from the MSU game, I'm gonna be turning on this game, essentially, is what I'm I guess, I hear. But, yeah, I think that Ohio State can give Texas a good old run for their money, so I'll I'll stick to my guns with that for real.
Colin:Yeah. I don't know about that because Texas did grab some new opponents.
Kylee:It's just interesting they're ranked so low in the AP.
Colin:Yeah. They were ranked 19 in the AP. Obviously, we ranked them 15.
Kylee:Yeah. The AP.
Colin:Because we dropped a lot of people above them.
Kylee:Feel like the AP always props up Texas. I think it's very, very interesting that they're they're ranked 19.
Colin:Yeah. But Yeah. At Ohio State, I mean, they're receiving same number of votes as MSU. They do look like a solid team,
Kylee:but we
Colin:just haven't seen anything out of them yet.
Kylee:You know, this would be their this coach's 1st full season. They've got some Mechee Johnson's back. They've got some talent.
Eli:So I think it'll be a good game. I do think Texas will take it.
Colin:Mhmm.
Eli:But I think it's gonna show us exactly how resilient Ohio State is gonna be, especially against power opponents.
Kylee:I mean, heck, they making a run at the end of the big they always make a run for some reason at the end of the big 10
Eli:season. They always always win, like, 2 big 10 tournament games, and everybody's like, are they gonna do it? And then they don't.
Kylee:And they don't. And the record's not good enough to go to the tournament, so then they don't end up making it. That's usually how it goes. Maybe this year, they'll actually do it. Who knows?
Colin:Don't jinx it.
Eli:They're they're gonna try to pull on it and see state.
Kylee:I'm okay with jinxing it because I'm from Ohio, but I'm not an Ohio state fan.
Eli:So Yeah. Colin.
Colin:Alright. My Gabe, the AP number 8, check the net 11, Baylor at AP number 6, check the net number 6, Gonzaga.
Kylee:That's such a fun game too.
Colin:Oh my gosh. Baylor at Gonzaga is going to be so fun.
Kylee:I can't wait to watch Gonzaga play.
Colin:Can. Late night because it's on the West Coast. Opening night. Big 12 at West Coast Conference. Yeah.
Colin:Yeah. So awesome.
Kylee:Very fun.
Eli:And an AP top 10 matchup.
Kylee:Yeah. Which is even better because, honestly, these, like, fur it was really, really hard to find good men's games.
Eli:Yeah. There's
Kylee:To talk about very,
Colin:very few good, like, ranked, unranked, or even power power.
Eli:I think these are the 3 power power matchups for opening day, by
Kylee:the way. Much. Like, the other ones are really not unlike the women's, like, know, schedule 2 women's were hard to find too. Who know how to feed who know how to feed their fans with the oh, we the we classic or whatever. So Yeah.
Kylee:Men's teams take note. Do better.
Colin:Yeah. But Baylor at Gonzaga is gonna be so much fun. It's gonna be a telltale, but it's just gonna be a fun game to watch. I don't think we're gonna learn a whole lot from it.
Eli:I just think it's gonna be a great
Colin:basketball team, like, smokes the other, but I don't think that's happening.
Kylee:Was a young team last year, so I'm excited to see how they've developed.
Colin:Yeah. They're gonna be it's just gonna be fun to watch. Small conference games. Kylie, you wanna go first?
Kylee:I'm sure. One of them is not really small comp it's half small conference, half not. So I actually have 2 games. Okay. Go for it.
Kylee:LOL.
Eli:We we each got one cheat this episode.
Kylee:Yeah. And I picked, for some reason, the men's small conference.
Colin:Why not? Right?
Kylee:Yeah. Right? So I have Cleveland State versus Michigan. Here we go. Another Michigan playing Michigan playing a lesser conference.
Kylee:Let's see how they do. I'm just just curious about how
Colin:that's gonna turn out.
Kylee:Honestly, it could very well be that.
Colin:Cleveland State's not a bad team. No.
Eli:Arsenal League Baseball, Lake Erie. Yeah. Basically, the same.
Kylee:Bay yeah. Basically, they're the same thing. Or I have some more Ivy League action because y'all know I love the Ivy League. We have Yale versus Quinnipiac. Quinnipiac.
Kylee:So very exciting.
Colin:Yeah. Those are right down the road from each other. They're, like I just checked, like, 10 minutes away from each other driving.
Kylee:Yeah. You know? Close And
Colin:that's with Connecticut traffic. So, I mean
Kylee:Close quarters rivalry over here.
Eli:I I love a down the street rivalry game, especially if it's nonconference.
Kylee:And it's open too.
Eli:They're just so entertaining to me. Yeah.
Kylee:It's so very fun. Exciting.
Colin:Yeah. Colin. Alright. I picked out Vermont at Alabama Birmingham, UAB. Fun.
Colin:You know, the American East champion from last year, an always dominant team. They're traveling down to Birmingham for an American conference matchup, you know.
Eli:Against the American champion from Yeah.
Colin:The tournament champion. Yeah. Champion. Yeah. And, I believe they're receiving votes as well.
Colin:UAB is.
Eli:UAB is also the preseason American favorite.
Colin:Yes. Yeah. So, I mean, that's just Not our preseason American favorite. Fun game to watch. I'm picking Vermont in it.
Colin:I think, because of Vermont's strong defense, they played some good gay a good game in the tournament last year too.
Kylee:Mhmm.
Colin:UAB did as well against San Diego State, though. And so, really, it's gonna be a toss-up.
Kylee:They almost pulled off that upset.
Colin:I think we might have a nice close game on our hands, and it'll be, I don't think, really telltale to see who wins the conference for either of them, unless, you know, one of them dominates the other. But even then Yeah. But I do think it'll be a fun game for opening day. You know? Fun small conference.
Colin:Match up and Yeah. Yeah. Hold on a second.
Eli:He was picking Vermont, and Kylie and I both, like, turned to look into the camera.
Kylee:Yeah. Actually we
Eli:were on the office.
Kylee:So I honestly, if we had cameras, I'd be staring right into it right now.
Eli:I I do think that'll be a good game. My my small conference pick is
Kylee:Colin was so upset.
Eli:I just stole everybody
Colin:I I picked
Eli:games first because you guys were late doing your homework, so I got all the good ones. I got check the net, mostly just Collin's favorite, McNeese state
Colin:Still mad at you.
Eli:At Kylie Summit League pick South Dakota state. Woo hoo. So, really, this is just the 2 of you versus each other, and it's my game. But this is also opening night. This is our consensus Southland pick versus Kylie's Summit League pick, and Colin just won it rock, paper, scissors, so I guess the Cowboys are taking it.
Kylee:Heck, yeah. And if they don't take it, it's my intuition, my manifesting.
Eli:Oh, if they if they do take it, it's the Kylie curse.
Colin:Yeah. That's
Kylee:That's not happening this year. That is not happening this year. I refuse.
Eli:Long time listeners are very familiar, of course.
Kylee:Once we start picking games, like
Colin:You wonder why I always pick against Kylie here. Yeah. Always. Yeah. It's because last
Eli:year could pick the AP number 1 against the d two school.
Kylee:And they would lose.
Eli:At least last year, they would've.
Kylee:Yeah. Let's see
Eli:how your luck goes.
Kylee:Hopefully, much better this year.
Colin:You picked who? Saint John's who lost to a d two school last year?
Kylee:Ranked Saint John's? I did.
Colin:I believe.
Kylee:I was just the downfall of, like,
Eli:every time
Kylee:we I know.
Colin:This is nothing new.
Kylee:I need to go back and look at my picks and see how they turned out last year just just for funies. They were
Colin:bad. Really, really bad.
Kylee:They were bad, but I didn't lose in our in our tournament bracket.
Colin:No. You didn't.
Eli:Check as Check back next week to see, Ohio State beat Texas, I guess.
Kylee:Yes. And nothing changed.
Colin:I mean, what else did you pick here?
Eli:Or Cleveland State beat Michigan.
Kylee:That's fire. I honestly Hold on. No complaints. Those are all good. I'd be happy with any of these outcomes, to be honest.
Kylee:Any of the ones I picked, I'm very, very content with.
Colin:Kylie, what about Oakland beating Michigan State?
Kylee:That's what I'm not okay with. Basketball.
Eli:Oh, no.
Kylee:I hope Kylie. Kylie. Guys, it's
Colin:Kylie, what have
Eli:you done?
Kylee:I'm sorry. I might have cursed our women's basketball team. Kylie. Robyn Freylich, I'm apologizing in advance. But it'll be fun.
Kylee:You know? Hopefully, this curse did not carry through to this season. It didn't carry through to March, so I'm content.
Colin:We're gonna knock off wood right now.
Eli:Back next week, but thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of Check the Net on Impact 89 FM. Please let us know what you think by connecting with the station on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram at wdvmand@impact89fm. This is our 2nd full basketball season, and we're super excited. In the coming weeks, we're jumping right into the 1st regular season games. This season's madness is only just beginning, and we can't wait to talk about it more next week on Check the Net.