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This week on Check the Net, Impact 89FM’s College Basketball Podcast, join Porter, Eli, Kylee, Colin, and Josh's Voice as they preview 8 more conferences and make predictions about who may be this year’s conference champions! This week’s episode features the ACC, MAC, MEAC, MAAC (including Merrimack), C-USA, America East, Patriot League, and A-10 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 Porter Holden and I am joined today by autumnal Sundappled falling for Mountain West March success co host Colin Eli and Kylie. Was so great.
Eli:Can we take that at like point five speed? Sure.
Porter:It's a tunnel because we're in fall.
Eli:Right.
Porter:Sunda Sundapel.
Eli:We're in a basement.
Colin:You're outside Disregard. Speak for yourself.
Porter:And then falling because again fall. And then Martin Mountain West March success because
Kylee:We fell for it.
Eli:Because that never happened And we fall for for it.
Porter:Right. And I'll continue to be a firm believer in the best basketball conference in the country.
Kylee:Mhmm. Which we're not talking about today.
Eli:No. That was like two episodes Unfortunately.
Colin:But of course, we are talking about a lot of other conferences today. You wanna walk us through on Porter?
Porter:Sure. We're gonna start with the ACC today. Notable women's teams from last year, NC State, won the regular season. They were sixteen and two, twenty eight and seven overall. Notre Dame was also sixteen and two.
Porter:Duke won the tournament, however. They came in third in the regular season, fourteen and four, twenty nine and eight overall. They had a lot of tournament teams. NC State at a two, Duke at a two, North Carolina at three, Notre Dame at three, Florida State at six, Louisville at seven, Tallade eight, Georgia Tech at nine, and Virginia Tech was in the first four out. And then Duke made it the furthest losing in the elite eight to South Carolina.
Colin:Yeah. ACC on the women's side was kinda solid.
Eli:Before we get into any pics, I just want to acknowledge that Josh is not here with us today. I think he's skipping out to see a Lumineers concert in Grand Rapids.
Colin:Can't blame him.
Eli:Which is fake. Oh, sorry.
Kylee:Yeah, low key because me and Eli did that on our own time.
Eli:Yeah. And Noah Khan came out.
Porter:Yeah, I can blame
Eli:him And I will
Kylee:and I'm going to
Eli:but if everybody remembers a message from Porter just know we've got something a little different in store for Josh today
Kylee:different it But just as exciting but
Eli:just as fun
Colin:because as he requested messages from Josh, we we felt like that was Porter's thing. We had to give him something different.
Eli:Yeah. Yeah. So Josh, if and when you listen to this, don't worry. We'll do you justice. And we're gonna do you last for the ACC women so that we can build up the suspense.
Porter:Kylie, you wanna start?
Kylee:Yeah. Because I'm cool and fun and quirky and different. Absolutely. So last year, towards the end of the season, we kind of saw a collapse of a very good Notre Dame team, unfortunately. I think that could have maybe had to do with some team chemistry.
Kylee:So with some new players coming in, they picked up some transfers from Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, and Loyola, Maryland. I think and they will go very well go along very well with Hannah Hildago in her junior year, so I think I'm gonna take Notre Dame. I know that's gonna be a very unpopular opinion, and you'll hear that the next four people who who speak. So I'm just gonna preface with I wanted to be different and I do think that Notre Dame hopefully can get over the hump of ending the season in a rough in a rough way I mean the ACC is a very tough conference But I know that this this team, these pieces, their coach can have a very good season.
Eli:Yeah. I I think the ACC on the women's side is actually pretty interesting this year. I loved that Louisville added Laura Ziegler from Richmond, who we talked about last year a ton because she averaged a double double in the rebounds which again utterly insane especially with the schedule Richmond plays every year. Yeah. I do like Notre Dame's contributions especially Iyanamor from Vanderbilt, and I Unfortunately had to count out and see state though.
Eli:They only returned one of their top four scores. So in what does look like a very competitive and interesting ACC, I think I have to go with Duke, because I'm assuming that they can maintain their lockdown defense and use it to prey on teams that return with much less cohesion and team chemistry than they do.
Colin:Yeah. I'm I'm liking Notre Dame as well, but I think I do have to go with Duke. Duke's defense last year was insane. They kept their top two scores. What what more can you ask for from a team in the ACC, especially a winning team?
Colin:They're a program that is on the up and up as per usual, and I I just Notre Dame lost a little bit too much for me.
Porter:Yeah. I was looking at NC State because we talked so much about them in our games to watch for this year, and they won the conference last year. They don't have any seniors or grad students currently, roster. Yikes.
Colin:Wow. That's They're all gone. Crazy.
Porter:Yeah. That'll probably hurt them going into, like, February, March. Maybe. Not having any experience.
Eli:Little bit.
Porter:I mean, non conference schedule. Don't get me wrong. It's fantastic. Oh, yeah. They're gonna get prepared for conference play.
Porter:But going down the stretch, games get hard, matchups get chipier, like, I don't think they have it. UNC and Notre Dame also lost a lot of players. So I'm gonna take Duke as well.
Kylee:Oh. Yeah.
Josh's Ghost:And now, a message from Josh. Duke, I love how Duke plays basketball when it comes to the woman and the defense they play. This has been a message from Josh.
Colin:Thanks, Josh. Alright.
Eli:On to
Colin:the men's side. Order. Take us in.
Porter:Notable men's teams. Duke, they were good. They went nineteen and one in conference, thirty five and four overall
Eli:say it with me now.
Colin:They're you win team
Porter:Fortunately tournament teams Duke was a one seed Clemson was a five Louisville was an eight first foreign somehow was UNC.
Colin:Don't know if I'd even
Kylee:count them.
Porter:Well, they won their
Kylee:first four game.
Colin:That was a
Porter:team in the best conference in basketball.
Kylee:Yeah, we don't we don't like that. We don't we don't like that.
Porter:And that was the one team I picked to lose. So like Yeah. Duke lost in the final four to Houston.
Eli:And Clemson lost in the first round to McNeath.
Kylee:Yep. And Louisville lost in the first round to Creighton.
Colin:Yes, they
Kylee:did. And North Carolina lost in the first round to
Eli:Ole Miss.
Kylee:Ole Miss. Yep. If that gives you a glimpse into how we feel about the ACC. Yeah. Go pokes.
Kylee:Real.
Porter:Real. Colin, why don't you kick us off here?
Colin:Yeah. I'll kick us off. Duke lost a lot last year. They lost a ton of players, ton of their top talent. I feel like I can't pick them because of that.
Colin:I really like second year head coaches. We brought this up last week. Teams with a second year head coach tend to be a lot better than whatever their first year was. And after the year Louisville had last year, I think Pat Kelsey is building a very, very strong program at Louisville. They had two key guys out all season last year to injuries.
Colin:Both of those guys will be back. They added Ryan Conwell from Xavier, who averaged six and a half points per game. They added Isaac McNeely from Virginia. They added or they brought back Kason Pryor, and they added the top freshman guard, Mikhail Brown, who was the u nineteen gold medalist from The U from USA this past summer. I really like the team Louisville has.
Colin:Pat Kelsey is a great coach. Yeah. Eli?
Eli:I mean, yeah. Duke lost their top five scores from last year, and I wasn't super impressed with their transfer class, I will admit. However, they add three freshman five stars. Playing Usur, Nicholas Camena, and Dame Saar, as well as two four stars, which includes Cameron Buser's twin brother. The sheer amount of talent in that class, as well as Duke's proven history of turning freshmen into all stars, means I just can't risk picking against them.
Eli:But trust me, picking the Blue Devils to sweep the conference hurts me to say, just as much as it hurts you to listen to.
Colin:Look, Duke does have a history of turning freshmen into All Stars, but let me add that that's usually with the help of you know some senior leadership and some senior guidance. They don't really have that
Eli:this year. Yeah, they don't need to. They have five freshmen. They can go start all five of them.
Colin:That's what scares me.
Porter:They did get a six ten center from Rice. That's pretty cool. He was okay, but he's big you know if you have to play bully ball you can play some bully ball
Colin:He's big and
Porter:yeah, yeah, six ten. That's not nothing. I'm also picking Duke. I'm yeah, they're Duke
Eli:twins siblings. I love the sibling angle. We've discussed this
Kylee:yeah, I hate it. I hate this. I hate this. I hate this. I had to consult the experts of course and unfortunately he he endorses this decision so I have to pick Duke.
Kylee:I hate it's just gross and terrible, but they're gonna dominate ACC play as well as like conference play in the tournament, but they're gonna fall short in the NCAA tournament.
Josh's Ghost:Yeah. And now, a message from Josh. Duke, John Shire equals him. This has been a message from Josh.
Colin:Beautiful. Thanks, Josh. Thanks, Josh.
Kylee:On to the Mac. Actually, the actual best The best cards in basketball. In college basketball.
Colin:Sorry. I said that wrong. The Mac. The Mac. The The a has to be much shorter because we have a much longer a later.
Colin:Yeah.
Porter:Conference realignment.
Eli:Oh, for the first time in like two episodes.
Porter:Yeah. UMass joins from the a 10.
Kylee:Woo hoo.
Porter:Not a very notable addition, but it happened.
Kylee:Yeah.
Porter:Notable woman's teams. Ball State, they were the champs. They went sixteen and two, twenty seven and eight overall. They were 12 seed. They lost Ole Miss.
Kylee:Yeah. I'm a go first. I think we all know who I'm gonna pick. I'm wearing the merchandise here today. You can't see it because we have no cameras, but I'm wearing my Toledo basketball stuff.
Kylee:So Eli's gonna cover some of the, like, notable, like, you know, transfer portal pickups and whatever. But last year, head coach, Ginny Bogs, in her first season led the Rockets to a twenty four and nine, thirteen and five MAC record, and they were runner ups in the MAC regular season and the tournament. Very strong start for a first year head coach. That they the University of Florida has a really great foundation for women's basketball program, they really do. I'll never pick against my icons in the TOL, especially the ones that I played against in high school that are on that team, so
Porter:Yeah. I'm gonna pick Ball State. They went heavy on international recruits, and I think that'll pay off, getting some experience from a bit of tougher leagues out of country. So
Josh's Ghost:And now, a message from Josh. Ball State. This has been a message from Josh.
Eli:Thanks, Josh.
Kylee:Beautiful. Beautiful.
Eli:Okay. Ball State lost three guards in the transfer portal to IU Indy. All three of them.
Kylee:What are they doing over there? What's IU Indy got going They're
Eli:all moving to Indianapolis together.
Porter:Word.
Eli:Which is fun. But I agree, their European recruiting class is outstandingly impressive. They pulled a national team talent from France, Spain, and Italy, as well as a young club star from Belgium. However, they lost their top seven scorers from last year.
Kylee:Yikes.
Eli:They are not returning a player who averaged more than five points per game.
Colin:Yikes.
Eli:As such, I really think Toledo might have a chance here. They didn't lose anybody with any production to the portal. They retained two of their five starters and another top five scorer, while adding Evan Carrier, a six four center from Western Michigan, Patricia Anumka, who averaged 14.4 points per game at Tosin, Alexa Huchavar, a guard from IU Indy, and Miriam Dayala, a six one freshman from George Washington. They also have the Dykstra sisters, natives of Grand Rapids on the roster, as freshman Alicia and junior Cadence reunite in Ohio.
Porter:Woo hoo.
Eli:And we all know I'm a sucker for the sibling angle, and I can't pick a team that's only returning 20% of their minutes, and is gonna be relying on so much talent that's completely unproven in collegiate competition. As such, I picked Toledo
Colin:yes I can't argue with Toledo here. Yay Kylie and Eli pretty much said everything I wanted to say But you guys know I love a second year head coach that had a good season the prior year
Eli:We do know you love that.
Colin:Yeah, we brought that up a lot So
Kylee:Yes. The rock
Porter:Yeah.
Kylee:My my rockets are going. They're going all the way.
Colin:Yeah. Is it time to talk about the gambit of all gambits? Yes.
Kylee:The gambit.
Porter:On to the men's team. Akron won the Mac last year. Seventeen and one, twenty eight and seven overall. They were 13 seeds in the tournament, they lost Arizona.
Kylee:The Akron They pulled off the gambit that is now named after them on this podcast.
Colin:For for reference, can someone walk through what the Akron gambit is?
Eli:The Akron Gambit is when you lose all of your players, and then you get four to six power conference transfers in the transfer portal, and just kind of hope they know how to play together. And then, if you're Akron, it works. Mhmm. And you win 17 conference games.
Colin:Like, really well. Yeah. And become a 13 seed.
Eli:Right. And then Oh. Out Arizona.
Colin:Of nowhere. Because they were not projected to be good.
Eli:Oh, no. Yeah.
Porter:Yeah. I am picking Akron. They returned 40% of their minutes. I think Miami is gonna be fighting with them for the top, but I just I just think Akron is able to pull ahead. I also think Toledo could sneak by, you know, get a third, but I don't think they finished up too.
Colin:Wow. Yeah. I'm sitting here. I'm tempted to pick UMass, strictly because they're coming from the a 10 For Bowdoin. Is a much stronger conference, but they really weren't that good in the a 10.
Colin:So like, I'm not going to pick UMass. I have a very hard time picking against Akron, so I am going to pick Akron. Last season was really strong for them. They're returning enough minutes that I think they're gonna be good. They have some great coaching staff and some good talent.
Colin:So
Josh's Ghost:And now, a message from Josh Akron just to make Kylie mad. This has been a message from Josh.
Kylee:Josh, my number one
Eli:Screw you, Josh.
Kylee:My number one hater.
Porter:Who are you picking, Kylie?
Eli:No. No. We'll we'll save we'll we'll save you. Yes. I I think the MAC should be much more of a race this year, especially with Kent State and Miami specifically looking to track down Akron.
Eli:Unfortunately, the Rockets look lackluster.
Kylee:How dare you?
Eli:80% of their roster is gone. They got some pretty standard transfers from IU, Indy, and Central, and I just can't do it this time. So, I'm gonna play it a little risky, and pick Miami of Ohio to stun Akron in the final games at the regular.
Colin:Woah, Eli being risky in conference picks? I've never seen that pick.
Eli:I because you pick a different game every time.
Kylee:Just because y'all take more risk. I'm so hurt that you would pick against me in this. I am I am very sad right now. Obviously, I'm picking Toledo. It they could be the worst team in the conference.
Kylee:I would still pick them. However, they're not going to be. The standard transfer from c m CMU was max six man of the year last year. The standard transfer from IU Indy averaged 12.3 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game, and he is a Toledo area native. In addition, they got they they are getting one of the top JUCO transfers as well.
Kylee:The returning Sonny Wilson, is who averaging 15.3 points per game. This is
Porter:the year Toledo wins the MAC and makes the NCAA tournament. Please let me be.
Kylee:I am so delusional, but I'm excited because I get to watch my two favorite teams play each other this year as Toledo will travel up to East Lansing to take on Michigan State the Breslin.
Eli:So I'm very excited about They're gonna lose so hard that they're never gonna win a game the rest of the season.
Kylee:No. Uh-uh. The the the amount of just powerful basketball in that room, they're they're gonna take that, and they're gonna win the NCAA tournament.
Colin:Kelly, I'm sorry for laughing at you, but I'm not. I I'm really couldn't hold it in because it was really funny. Yeah. It's it's So who's your real pick?
Kylee:That's my real pick. And you know what? I'm standing on business because you know what? Because Akron, the Gambit, Gambit over. Time time they return to the bottom of the Mac.
Porter:I think Toledo has a much better chance in their conference tournament they do in the regular season.
Kylee:I hard disagree. Historically, they lose the first game as a one seed.
Porter:Like, they've done that the past how many years? No. No,
Kylee:that makes it worse.
Colin:I'd like to point out that Toledo is currently projected at eighth in the MAC.
Kylee:Oh, they don't know what they're talking about. They don't know ball.
Colin:We're talking behind Bowling Green, UMass, Kent State, and Ball State?
Porter:That's like four spots too high.
Kylee:That of woah. Woah.
Colin:What, you think they're twelve, thirteen, no one's beating they're gonna be Buffalo, and that's it? I mean
Kylee:That's actually hatred.
Porter:But you're at least beating Western.
Eli:Boys, we have other conferences that start with m and end with c to get We gotta keep it moving.
Kylee:They're just hating on me to hate on me. It's fine.
Porter:Facts. Onto the MEAC. Notable women's teams Norfolk State They won their conference last year 14 to know 35 overall
Eli:say let me know
Colin:30 win team
Porter:They were a 13 seed in March madness, and they lost to Merrill
Kylee:I believe that they were on a put we were talking about them being a potential
Colin:up
Kylee:They
Colin:most certainly were talked about yeah. Yes.
Kylee:Yes
Colin:31 team undefeated in the meac. It's hard to beat right
Kylee:yeah You can't
Colin:I hesitate slightly to pick more folks state again because they do have a new coach they retain some really strong talent though They've got Jermaine Woods coming over from third place finisher in the same conference.
Porter:Mhmm.
Colin:I'm looking at Howard's losses. They have way too many losses. Howard placed second last year for reference. I cannot pick against Norfolk State, but I do think it's gonna be a much closer conference race this year.
Kylee:Yeah, I don't think they're gonna have another 30 win season, but I do think they're gonna do very well in the MEAC. I mean, they do have a new coach that, yes, that can make all of us a bit nervous. However, he's a Norfolk State alum and native who was a head coach at Coppin State, and he saw steady improvement and success from that team over the past three years. Losing their two best players is difficult for any program, but they retain Jabria Clark and Anaje Richardson. Jabria Clark averaged 9.7 points per game, and Anaje Richardson was Miac's sixth sixth player of the year with also 9.7 points per game.
Kylee:They added in Jasmine Spencer, who's from from North North Florida, who's averaging 11.2 points per game. Joshua Clinton from Hampton, who's averaging 13.6 points per game, and 2.3 steals per game. And then Carmen Quaid, averaging from Virginia State, she was a CIAA Defensive Player of the Year and was averaging 6.7 points per game. Even more impressive, 11.8 rebounds per game. Wow.
Kylee:So and they pulled in two other contributors from that Coppin State team. I again, I don't think they'll have another 31 season, but I don't think it's gonna be too too much competition in conference.
Eli:I mean, I'd never pick against fellow Spartans unless they happen to be from San Jose. So, long live Norfolk State. Alright.
Josh's Ghost:And now, a message from Josh. Norfolk State, everyone say it with me in spirit.
Colin:This has
Josh's Ghost:been a message from Josh.
Eli:It's like he's still here.
Kylee:Sounds just like him.
Porter:I'm picking Norfolk State. Pick against him at your own peril. Real. So true. Yeah.
Colin:Men's side.
Porter:Speaking of Speaking of Norfolk State, they won the men's side too. They won eleven and three, twenty four and eleven overall. South Carolina State was also eleven and three in conference. Norfolk State was a 16 seed, and they had to run into Florida.
Colin:That's rough. That's a rough one. Yeah. It happens. It happens.
Colin:Eli, why don't you go first?
Eli:Sure. Did you know Norfolk State has never finished outside the top four in the MEAC under coach Robert Jones? And he's been there for like thirteen years.
Kylee:I love
Colin:I did not know that, but that's impressive.
Eli:Yeah. Which means if nothing else, I'm not gonna lose points here statistically. But I also really like their freshman class that includes talent a talented local recruit from Norfolk, and the seventh ranked player in the state of New York. And they red shirted a really talented freshman last year, who won back to back state championships in high school in North Carolina, and he will obviously be itching to get on the court and contribute this season. So I think they've got a lot of exciting young talent coming in.
Kylee:Yeah. I I completely agree. Their coach has seen that consistent success. And then, additionally, they brought in some transfers from Texas A and M, Corpus Christi, UNC Wilmington, New Hampshire, Valpo, and DePaul. So I think they'll be interesting adds to the mix, but they'll they'll still finish fairly high up in the conference this season.
Josh's Ghost:And now, a message from Josh, South Carolina State. Get over the home. This has been a message from Josh.
Kylee:They don't even have their raw I could not find their raw, sir.
Colin:Yeah. They don't have the raws.
Kylee:They don't have the raws raws.
Eli:Josh is picking on blind faith.
Kylee:Yeah. Literally. And he might be right.
Porter:I was looking at South Carolina State, and then I couldn't find who their players were. Yes. Yes. And then I was concerned that
Eli:But surely, you guys are gonna agree with Josh. Right?
Porter:Right? No. I am picking the Spartans from Norfolk State.
Colin:Here's the thing. I really, really, really don't like that Norfolk State lost 95% of their minutes from last year.
Eli:I didn't say it was pretty.
Colin:It's it's not. But the Miek on the men's side just looks very underwhelming in general. South Carolina State officially, I could not find their roster, but their transfer class of one player from a d three school is not exactly exciting, and the recruits were not exactly exciting either. And they had a lot of seniors last year who I'm pretty sure graduated.
Eli:Don't know. We don't know.
Colin:With that said, I have no confidence in literally any other team in this conference, so Norfolk State, I guess. Woo hoo. I would say that with the caveat that if North Carolina Central wins the the tournament at the end of the year, I don't think they're winning regular season, but if North Carolina Central wins the tournament, I get to say I told you so. Not worried
Eli:on that.
Colin:There's something about the vibes at North Carolina Central that like are just calling my name, and I don't like it enough to pick them for the regular season.
Kylee:I mean,
Eli:I picked them last year, and they finished like Third. Third.
Kylee:So does this mean if if they don't win the tournament, we can make fun of you?
Colin:Absolutely. Well, gonna
Eli:do that anyway.
Kylee:Will let you make fun of me. Like,
Colin:Yeah. North Carolina Central does not win. And we get
Eli:to say we told you so.
Colin:Yeah. Yeah. Sure. Perfect.
Eli:In unison, in four part harmony.
Porter:Yeah. Right. Right.
Eli:Josh, we miss you.
Kylee:Literally.
Porter:On that note, on to Conference USA. Yay. Conference realignment, Missouri State joins from the Missouri Valley, and Delaware joins from the CIA. Notable women's teams, Liberty, they won last year, sixteen and two, twenty six and seven overall. Middle Tennessee State University was also sixteen and two.
Porter:Liberty made it to the tournament. They were 13 seed and lost to Kentucky.
Colin:And almost upset. Almost upset. Nearly upset. Yeah.
Eli:Oh, and I didn't write it down when I was making this doc, but Missouri State won the Missouri Valley last year. Correct. Yes. So I should have put them as a notable women's team.
Colin:That is also true. I'll start if you guys don't mind. Yeah. Go for it. So Middle Tennessee and Liberty looked like nearly identical teams last year, pretty much throughout the whole season.
Colin:They were beating the same teams, about the same margins, they had the same record. The only difference was that Liberty was being led by freshmen, and Middle Tennessee State was being led by seniors who are all gone now. With that said, Liberty kept almost all of those freshmen, so I'm taking Liberty. They essentially have proven that they are the best team in this conference.
Josh's Ghost:And now a message from Josh. Liberty. Repeat. And this has
Porter:been a message from Josh.
Kylee:Repeat.
Eli:Repeat.
Kylee:Perfect. That's exactly what we want.
Colin:Run it back.
Eli:And I think they're going to. Yeah. Because incoming Liberty freshman Sierra Maxwell recorded multiple quadruple doubles Brave. During her senior season.
Colin:Absurd. Yeah. Just completely absurd. What? Why?
Eli:How? Who? Sierra Maxwell, incoming freshman. Just
Kylee:just said that.
Eli:Anyway, I also really like their other freshmen who have national team experience in Spain, Turkey, and The Netherlands. And really, as much as I would love for Missouri State to do well here, represent Valley basketball well, I think it's gotta be Liberty.
Kylee:Yeah, two of the freshmen they return are all freshman team honorees from last year, as well as former high school teammates. Mhmm. As well as bringing those three some those three successful international recruits, And, yo, multiple quadruple doubles is crazy. So I gotta go with Liberty.
Eli:Well, she sounds scary.
Kylee:Yeah.
Porter:Yeah. Elena Contreras was an above average Summit League player last year for Kansas City. She made second team Summit League, and she transferred to MTSU this year. I don't think that carries MTSU to a regular season championship, so I'll also take Lebernier.
Eli:Not over Sierra Maxwell.
Kylee:Not over quadruple double.
Eli:Who I'm gonna I'm gonna nickname her four times two, and we're just gonna check back in with her throughout the season.
Kylee:Yeah. We gotta count count them off.
Eli:We'll see how Sierra's doing.
Josh's Ghost:Mhmm. Sounds good.
Eli:Sierra, if you're listening to this, we're scared of you.
Porter:Yes. On to the men's side. Liberty, they won there. Thirteen and five, twenty eight and seven overall. They were 12 seed in the tournament and lost to Oregon.
Josh's Ghost:And now, a message from Josh. Louisiana Tech, somehow, this has been a message from Josh.
Colin:Love the insight on that. That's just so so deep, you know?
Eli:Thank you, Josh.
Colin:It just
Kylee:His thought process just makes so much sense.
Eli:Especially considering none of us agree with him. This
Colin:is What? This is Josh, the vampire sitting up from his coffin, going Virginia Tech somehow, and sitting back Well,
Kylee:good thing it's Louisiana Tech and not Virginia Tech.
Colin:Oh, sorry. Louisiana Tech. Yeah. Have really
Eli:low bandwidth, so we can only get out, like, three words at a time.
Kylee:Yeah.
Colin:Yeah. Mhmm. Yeah. Porter, you got?
Porter:Ryan Jones Junior transferred to Liberty. He was good last year. Return almost half their minutes. I'm taking Liberty again.
Colin:I gotta say, I'm with Porter. I like the look of Liberty again. They're being led by six seniors. I particularly love the the fact that one of those seniors is named Colin Porter. I think it's very appropriate.
Colin:I have been sitting on that fact since March when I discovered
Eli:You've been sitting on this since March?
Colin:I wrote this down, and I have been sitting on this, I have You not said anything about
Eli:are insane.
Kylee:That's hilarious, And
Colin:so, senior Colin Porter, I knew who I was picking in this conference.
Kylee:He said he needs be good.
Colin:As long as Colin Porter was still on this team,
Porter:I'm And it's it's poetry that you both
Kylee:picked them.
Colin:I know.
Porter:We can be wrong together.
Kylee:Yes. So with Colin Porter.
Eli:Yeah. So I need to make a new document that's just like players to watch. And it's gonna be Sierra Maxwell and Colin Beautiful.
Colin:Anyways, liberty for Colin Porter. Also because they look good.
Kylee:But not nearly as important.
Eli:Right.
Kylee:I'll I'll I'll go ahead. So I'm gonna take Kennesaw State. Eli's gonna cover the transfers and as to why, but they're this team is returning a significant portion of their minutes. Think nearly, like, two thirds, so I'm gonna I'm gonna go with that.
Eli:Yeah, they're bringing back 63.7% of their minutes. They also add two three stars, which is the best recruiting class in the conference, and I really like their transfers from NC Central, Wake Forest, and New Mexico State, which is intra conference, which as we all know moves me, even though it doesn't move any of you.
Colin:I always forget that New Mexico State is in this conference.
Kylee:Even though they were college.
Eli:They also return, as Kylie said, two thirds of their minutes, which is by far the most in the conference, especially for a team that was only three games back last year. And they won their last two conference games, one of which was over Liberty, and then they lost to Liberty by two in the conference tournament. Also, I like them. Go Owls.
Kylee:Great mascot.
Eli:So I'm picking Kennesaw State.
Kylee:Alright. Love Owls.
Porter:On to the America East. Woo hoo. We have some notable women's teams here. You Albany were the champs. They finished fourteen and two, twenty six and seven overall.
Porter:Vermont won the tournament. However, they finished second in the regular season thirteen and three, twenty one and thirteen overall. They were a 15 seed and ran into NC State.
Colin:Unfortunate. Another rough team. Right before we ran it.
Eli:Right before we ran into NC State.
Kylee:Oh, which was also unfortunate. Uh-huh.
Eli:So funny how that word.
Porter:We could've played we could've played Vermont? Yeah. Yeah. How disappointing. In
Colin:in North Carolina, we would've played Vermont. Yeah. It would've been cool.
Eli:So true. Rough. Dang it, Vermont.
Kylee:But anyway.
Porter:I'll kick us off for this one. You Albany lost everyone?
Colin:Yeah. Like, almost everyone. Their entire starting lineup.
Porter:Yeah. They're all gone.
Kylee:Real?
Porter:Vermont still retains experience. I think that gets them where they need to be going into the March. I think also winning a postseason tournament, that'll give them a big confidence boost. You know, they got smushed in the first round of March Madness, but
Kylee:coming there.
Porter:Yeah. Get another opportunity to try and go win a game this year. Think that'll definitely help. Mhmm.
Eli:Yeah. Vermont also adds Jaden Welch from Binghamton, who was All Conference third team and All Conference academic team Yes. For Jaden. And they also returned Katherine Gilli and Nicola Preed, both All Conference second team last year. Their incoming freshmen include Jacqueline Hosier and All Stater in Indiana, and some talented shooters from Maine, Maryland, and Washington, including Leah Hansen from Bellevue, Washington, who broke her school's record for single season three pointers.
Colin:Love. Man. Alright. Respect. Yeah, I look at this, I see Albany lost their entire starting lineup.
Colin:They're relying on five freshmen and three sophomores to play well. It's way too risky in my opinion. Eva Dechant led the conference in scoring last year and returns for New Hampshire, but the team around her is utterly uninspiring.
Eli:I think they were four and twelve.
Colin:They were. Oh. And she was still the conference's leading scorer because she was the only one that did anything on that team.
Eli:Eva, we're so sorry.
Colin:I do not know why she did not transfer, but that is besides the point. I'm taking Vermont. They've got the retaining a lot of experience. They've got Jaden Weltz and a bunch of star freshmen.
Kylee:Yeah, and I I agree group group consensus almost
Eli:group consensus right right guys?
Colin:Yeah, because why would you take you know, Why someone who you do lost
Eli:anything else?
Colin:Their entire And starting
Porter:now, a message from Josh. You, Albany,
Josh's Ghost:are the criteria mentioned last episode. This is Vin, a message from Josh.
Eli:What does that even mean?
Porter:Josh Probably about teams
Kylee:losing their entire roster.
Eli:What criteria is he referring to?
Kylee:The entire roster is gone.
Porter:I did say last episode Memphis. Memphis. He returned zero minutes. Literally zero. Transfers.
Porter:They did.
Colin:They had a lot of transfers.
Kylee:Nah nah. Josh just saw the zero minutes, like, yes.
Colin:Five freshmen, and I'm convinced they may start four freshmen.
Kylee:They might start all five.
Colin:I don't think they'll start all five. One of those looks okay.
Kylee:Yeah, they're doing a duke.
Colin:But
Porter:They're playing
Eli:the That's a new game, but the duke gambit is when you get five freshmen and you start all of them
Colin:we'll see if it works
Eli:it looks like you're going to yeah what Duke men and Albany women are doing
Kylee:yes and good for them
Eli:and unhappy for them
Colin:should we come over to the to the men's side?
Eli:Yeah. We could just do women's again, Colin, if that works for you.
Porter:Yeah. We'll go reverse order. On to the men's side, Ryan won last year. They were fourteen and two in conference, twenty three and twelve overall. They were a 15 seed, and ran about us.
Colin:Rough team to run into,
Eli:but I was scared for the record.
Porter:That first half? Was scared. The second half when we remembered how to play basketball, that was
Eli:Thank goodness. Was that
Colin:was really fun to watch that second half specifically.
Porter:This is such an uninspiring conference. Deeply. Mhmm.
Eli:But Vermont is pulling the poor man's Akron gambit, where they return 40% of their minutes, and then get transfers from New Hampshire, Buffalo, Oral Roberts, the University of San Diego, not UCSD or SDSU, and Memphis. Memphis? Or that's
Kylee:where some of your minutes went.
Eli:But they only finished one game back last year, and Bryant was utterly devastated by roster turnover. So
Colin:Yeah. Bryant has Go cat him out.
Kylee:I'm I'm also picking Vermont. Eli Eli's got that. And so does Porter.
Porter:Yeah. I mean, they got Gus Yaldin, who is a goofy looking guy.
Colin:What? Gus Gus Yaldin I was also looking at Gus Yaldin. He is a fun He's gonna be a star player for Vermont, I swear. I cannot wait to see Hi. The like two games Vermont has on TV.
Porter:Yeah. Very excited.
Kylee:I watched him
Eli:play I did. Seton Hall game last year. Yeah.
Kylee:That was during the all the Big East Tournament.
Porter:Yes. Yep. Yes. He started at Wisconsin and didn't get to play, and then he transferred to Seton Hall, and didn't I mean, he got to play a little bit.
Kylee:He played. He played in the game I watched. Yeah.
Porter:Eight minutes a game. Averaged 1.8 points per game. He's six nine though. You know, that's cool. Yeah.
Porter:Yeah. Might amount to something. Maybe this is easier. Maybe. Yeah.
Porter:Maybe.
Colin:It's Vermont. I mean, who knows?
Kylee:Because y'all didn't season.
Porter:And now, a message from Josh. Vane, in honor of Colin. This has been a message from Josh.
Eli:Look. Josh.
Colin:Josh, as much as I wanted to pick Maine, they lost all of their top players from last year and filled in with nobody. They are they are bottom of the barrel, America East, and I could not bring myself to pick them.
Kylee:Wow, you wouldn't
Colin:I do couldn't.
Porter:Josh did it in honor of you, and you I could. Wouldn't pick them
Eli:That's so fake.
Colin:Terrible. I tried to justify it literally any way
Porter:You wanna be right than be loyal?
Colin:I was researching assistant coaches' histories and there was nothing. There was nothing there.
Kylee:Kyle's looking to curses and hexes and all that stuff.
Colin:I think this conference is Vermont's to lose. I'm picking Vermont.
Kylee:Yes, Vermont's I
Eli:I'd like to point out that what I think happened here is Josh actually did get the opportunity to do his check the net homework early this week, and therefore, he didn't have most of our stuff to go off of.
Kylee:Like magic.
Eli:So now we're seeing the result of his own opinions. Which seem to be wrong.
Porter:Not wrong, just What if they're all right though? What if
Eli:If they're all right, I will apologize profusely and take all of this back.
Kylee:I'll do it. I'll propose. I'll I'll propose. I'll I'll I'll apologize live.
Eli:Yeah. I'll apologize at the bracket reaction.
Kylee:Yeah. Josh, I'm so sorry.
Colin:We'll get formal apologies Until until then.
Porter:That day comes. The burden of proof is on him.
Eli:The clowning will continue until mid March Correct. For the record.
Porter:Yep. Alright. On to the Mac. Notable woman's teams. Fairfield
Eli:were
Porter:the champions. They were nineteen and one, twenty eight and five overall. They lost to k state in the tournament as a 12 seed, unfortunately. Look.
Colin:Almost had I don't know how their coach, Carly at the vault, Nudonis, was not poached by a bigger program. Yeah. But the fact that she is still at Fairfield means that she is still going to continue dominating the MAC.
Kylee:Oh, of course. Our darlings.
Eli:Wait, her name is? So fun to say. The Vault Dudonis.
Kylee:Nice.
Eli:It's punchy.
Kylee:Very. Our darlings Fairfield are winning. And I and I I'm just gonna and I'm gonna I'm gonna clock it.
Eli:Look, Quinnipiac had Macaque player and rookie of the year, Gal Raviv, and then she transferred to Miami. Florida, not Ohio. And with her, they lost most of their hope of catching the Stags. Fairfield, on the other hand, returns three of their top four scorers, including two juniors and graduate student Janelle Brown. Their freshman class includes youth national team selections from Turkey and The Netherlands, and an elite three point shooter from right there in Connecticut.
Eli:Also, fun fact, the only two positions they list on their roster page are guard and road runner.
Colin:And I love it. Beautiful. Whatever
Eli:that means.
Colin:Can we normalize Roadrunner as a position in basketball? As just the person who just runs and is just like everywhere all at once?
Eli:I'm just wondering if they have a center. Because usually a center doesn't do either of those things.
Josh's Ghost:Well, the center is Coyote and you just go on.
Eli:Right. Sure.
Colin:Yeah. I I love that. Yeah. Did not know that, but Porter, what you got?
Porter:I'm picking Fairfield because duh.
Colin:Yeah. Yeah.
Josh's Ghost:And now, a message from Josh. Fairfield Can't pick against him. This is Vin, a message from Josh.
Kylee:He's finally got one. He's finally got one.
Colin:We go.
Kylee:Congratulations, Josh. You did it.
Eli:Potentially the easiest mid major conference to agree with everybody else.
Colin:Yeah. I did just look up what Roadrunners are and
Eli:So they're a bird.
Colin:USA Today said that Fairfield is the only team that really quote unquote has them. But they range in size from five foot ten to six two, and they do the same things as you would want a forward center or a post to do, but they also run the floor. Yeah. And they pass and get steals.
Kylee:Yeah, they get rebound. So what'll happen is someone will rebound it, and they'll just take off down the floor, and they'll throw it.
Porter:Janelle Brown
Colin:I don't in an interview said, our roadrunners are just stupid athletic, like they can defend, they can play offense, it doesn't matter, they're just everywhere, meep meep.
Kylee:What a bag.
Colin:In an interview, that was Janelle Brown.
Porter:Meep meep.
Colin:I love this. Fairfield. I think that's awesome. Yeah. You know, I think that really sums it up.
Eli:Fairfield, you are our favorite team. Yeah. On truly such a deep level. We love you so much.
Colin:Facts. Carly Thibault DuDonis, if you would love to be interviewed by us, we would love to interview Please.
Eli:Mhmm. I'll email this to you.
Colin:But anyways.
Porter:On to the men's teams. Whoo. Quinnipiac were the champions. They went fifteen and five in conference, twenty and thirteen overall. Mount Saint Mary's were the tournament champs.
Porter:They came in fourth in the regular season, finishing twelve and eight, twenty three and thirteen overall. They were a 16 seed in the plan, they beat American, and then Duke happened. Yikes.
Eli:And Duke happens.
Colin:As as life sometimes takes you, you know.
Eli:To our darling audience, I'd like to tell you to buckle up because we've hit the one conference an episode where all of us just decide to pick different liberal arts colleges with about 2,000 students.
Kylee:Yep. So We decide
Porter:on the Mac.
Eli:Half of episode. Them
Colin:Half of them you've probably never heard of. Yeah.
Eli:So just get get Google open or Safari if you're lame. I can't tell you
Kylee:where any of these teams are located. But I'm
Colin:really can tell
Kylee:excited. You where
Porter:it's located. No.
Eli:Well, well
Porter:We'll get to that.
Eli:Let's just go let let's get Josh out of the way because he didn't read a paragraph and the rest of us did. Yeah.
Porter:And now, a message from Josh. Meramec, my vibe pick. This is Vin. A message from Josh.
Eli:And that's real. I picked them last year. They came in second. Vibes. Shout out Merriman.
Porter:And like, if there's any conference to do a vibe pick
Kylee:It's now.
Porter:I feel like this is the conference to
Colin:Yeah, can't believe he's doing
Kylee:vibe picks for the past couple times.
Eli:He's been doing vibe picks all episode. Yeah.
Colin:But like, this one, you can't blame him. No. There's no making fun of, you know, all Bear Mac because I
Kylee:have vibe picks.
Eli:Okay, but earlier he picked Louisiana Tech somehow. Like, verbatim, he wrote somehow.
Colin:Yeah. Alright. Kylie, what you got?
Kylee:Me, Quinnipiac. This conference looks rough. And when I say rough, I mean all caps, rough. But I'm gonna pick Quinnipiac to run it back and actually make the NCAA tournament. I think that's a really big factor with some of these teams is, you know, they didn't make it there.
Kylee:They're returning Amari Monroe, who was Mac player of the year and averaged 18.1 points per game along with 9.1 rebounds per game, and they're and they're returning Jaden Zimmerman as well, Mac all rookie team, and that he averaged eleven eleven points per game. And they've got some transfers from FIU and UMass. I mean, that nothing's really gonna move me. Any transfers are gonna move me in the Mac, but not a lot of confidence in this decision, or frankly any of anybody's, but I'm going with it. Quinnipiac.
Eli:Real. Eli. Quinnipiac, Merrimack, and Mount Saint Mary's all underperformed in the portal, and they all lost most of their rosters. So I'm gonna pick Iona. Beautiful.
Eli:They bring in a fifty one percent three point shooter from Wofford, a decent backup three point shooter from Rice, in case the first guy doesn't work out, and a grab bag of guards from Incarnate Word, Colorado State and New Hampshire.
Josh's Ghost:Colorado. That's correct.
Eli:And maybe only returning 8% of their minutes
Porter:Oh, God.
Eli:From a sixth place finish will be a boon. Because they're just they're getting rid of all of that and trying again. Who knows if that's Not gonna work me.
Kylee:Akron Gambit, kind of?
Eli:And I'm pretty sure Iona won the conference, like, three years ago.
Colin:It's been a little bit, but that was with Rick Pettino.
Eli:Yeah. They'll be fine.
Kylee:Rick Pettino, come back and save Iona.
Porter:Speaking of CSU, Moriss' best player left to go to CSU, SCO Rams.
Eli:SCO Rams.
Porter:So obviously, I have to go with the team that's returning three fourths their minutes from a 500 season last year, the Sienna Saints. Yay. Okay.
Kylee:And and who's this person that you talk about at the bottom?
Porter:Okay. Hear me out. They got Ryan Mulvey. He played at Iowa, averaged 70% from the field.
Colin:Very impressive stats.
Porter:Seven minutes a game.
Colin:Less impressive stats. Role player,
Eli:role player.
Porter:And 2.2 points per game.
Colin:Much less impressive stats.
Porter:But hey, I believe in him.
Eli:So he was taking like three shots and making like two of them.
Colin:So it's it's you and Sienna's coach apparently that believe in him, so.
Porter:No. He was taking like two shots and making one of them and sometimes making two of them.
Colin:You know, I hope Ryan Mulfi believes in himself as as much as you do, Porter.
Porter:Thank you. Thank you. Yeah.
Eli:Hey Ryan, if you're listening to this.
Kylee:Number one fans.
Eli:What
Porter:up? Add him to the player to watch list.
Kylee:Yeah. Yes. Alright. Colin.
Colin:Look. Everyone's picking different teams. I feel like I should too. I was debating between a bunch of different teams. A lot of them look like they have about the same amount of potential, like, the wide majority of this conference.
Kylee:They all have the same potential.
Colin:I was kind of between Sacred Heart and one other team. Sacred Heart was just so thoroughly uninspiring throughout all of last season though. I feel like I have to pick the other team. I'm picking Manhattan, who placed fourth last year. They retained 55% of their minutes.
Colin:They're adding Terrence Jones from Norfolk State. They're led by a bunch of sophomores and juniors, who were, you know, freshmen and sophomores last year. They took a bit to get going last year, but ended really strong. They had three losses in their last 10 games, two of those being to Iona, and two of those being by less than four points. The Jasper's only lost by more than 10 points twice all of last season, and that was in their first game versus Maryland, and in their very last game in the tournament versus Iona.
Eli:So what I'm hearing is they lost to Iona.
Josh's Ghost:Yeah, so why did you pick Iona?
Colin:Well, mind you. They were turning 8%. Yeah, 8%. I don't
Porter:know, Roger. We
Colin:we talked about this, I thought. I also really like how they share the ball. Their style of play as a team last year, they had seven different players that had team high points depending game to game. And so they were just very much sharing the ball very consistent, like everyone had around eight to 10 points per game. And so I like Manhattan's coaching style.
Colin:I like the fact that they're led by some players that, you know, are staying as they were freshmen and sophomores last year leading this team, and now have some of that experience. Really didn't know who to pick though. Go Jaspers, I suppose.
Kylee:Yeah, this was a wolf.
Eli:Guys. You will never guess where Manhattan University is. Queens. Brooklyn.
Kylee:Manhattan.
Eli:It's the Bronx.
Colin:I love how we all went like different boroughs for the hell of it, and they were still
Eli:wrong. Yeah.
Kylee:Why is it called Manhattan? Should we call it the Bronx University?
Colin:Are they like right on the border or something like
Eli:I mean the border is water, so
Colin:Yeah, But like, are they off the what is that, Hudson River Canal?
Kylee:They're inside of it, actually.
Eli:They're actually under it.
Colin:Yeah. I'm I'm now looking this up.
Eli:And Alright. Not really.
Porter:Let's move on
Colin:No, they're not at all.
Porter:On to guys. Patriot League, Notable women's teams, Lehigh were the champions. They went fifteen and three, twenty seven and seven overall. They made the tournament last year as well. They were 15 seed and lost to Duke.
Porter:Duke, look.
Eli:I started with the Patriot League this week because I wanted to start with a random mid major conference, and therefore, I have things to say.
Kylee:Go on.
Colin:Prepare yourselves listeners. You have about two minutes of Eli.
Eli:Lehigh, despite pulling in zero transfers and losing many of their top scores to graduation, is pulling in one of the most talented and interesting first year classes I've seen at the mid major level. They add a regional champion from Australia, a two time all stater from Illinois, and two freshmen with significant experience on u eighteen and u sixteen national teams, Lea Edwards from Great Britain and Mirto Leonudi from Greece. They do return Lily Fandre, third leading scorer from last year, who shot 40.2% from three. However, Army returns four of their top five scorers, their best rebounder, and their two primary three point shooters from a second place campaign last year, where they finished one game back from Lehigh. Their freshman class also includes a two time all stater from Illinois, as well as a six two forward from a family with a kid already at West Point, and two more talented guards from Florida and Texas.
Eli:So I'm gonna lean on experience, team chemistry, and just lots and lots of games against collegiate competition. And I'm also gonna go Patriotic in the Patriot League and give this one to Army.
Kylee:I second that.
Colin:I'm gonna take Eli's very, very convincing points and pick Lehi. I really stuck with the very first half of what Eli said and kinda zoned out a little bit because he talked too long. So Lehi
Eli:Okay. Wow.
Colin:Just kidding, Eli.
Porter:And now, a message from Josh. Follow what Eli said. Army. This has been a message from Josh.
Eli:See, Colin, Josh gets it.
Porter:Yeah. But he also wrote this first and gave him a chance to, like, see a pain once.
Kylee:That is very true.
Colin:Look.
Porter:And that's it. I'm picking Holy Cross this year
Colin:once. They had
Porter:a good retention And despite Eli's dissertation, I I think I think Holy Cross can sneak in. They finished eleven and seven last year in conference. Three teams finished eleven and seven last year in their conference. Yeah. Okay.
Porter:Word. Yeah. They a good retention rate. What can I say?
Eli:Yeah. They're purple.
Porter:They're also purple. Which, I'm not gonna lie, was a non non determining factor. They were slightly picked because they were purple.
Kylee:Love.
Eli:And they're purple.
Kylee:And that's a good reason to pick Yeah. School. Good colors.
Josh's Ghost:Yeah. Their mascot? Their color?
Kylee:What is their mascot?
Porter:The Crusaders. No. We were.
Colin:It's not bad. Yeah.
Porter:Notable men's teams. American were the champs. They finished thirteen and five, twenty two and thirteen overall. Bucknell was also thirteen and five. American was a 16 seed in the plan, and then they lost to a team that eventually lost to Duke, Mount Saint Mary's.
Eli:As we discussed.
Kylee:Yep. Mhmm. Look. Dissertation again.
Colin:Eli, what do you got?
Eli:American has nine freshmen on the roster this year. The Duke Gambit. I can't pick a team that's that unproven in collegiate competition. Also, Bucknell lost more than half the team. Though, they did pull in a pretty solid big man from Toledo.
Kylee:Toledo mentioned.
Eli:But I can't really pick them either. Navy has 25 players on their men's basketball which I didn't know was allowed. I don't think
Kylee:They have they have five they could split up in scrimmage, like, with five teams of people.
Eli:But they returned their top five scorers from last year, including Austin Benigne, who averaged nearly nine points per game. Although they were three games back, and fifteen and nineteen overall, I'm aware, they did make a run to the Patriot League championship game last season, and they promoted a ten year assistant to head coach. So he obviously has deep institutional familiarity with how to coach a collegiate sport at a military academy. And also, I wanted to go double patriotic, so I'm gonna pick navy.
Kylee:I'm gonna agree with Eli, because I'm easily convinced by lots of words.
Eli:Thank you, Kylie.
Kylee:You're welcome.
Colin:Okay. Sorry, you said 25 players on their roster?
Eli:At least when I counted them on Friday last week.
Colin:They're only allowed to dress 15. I did just look it up, but they are technically allowed to have as many as they'd like. Yeah. As long as they only dress 15.
Porter:I think it's also because they don't give out scholarships.
Colin:And they don't give out scholarships. So They're not maxed by any of that.
Porter:There's no, like, scholarship limit. You can just have as many walk ons
Eli:as you You just have 25 men's basketball players.
Kylee:And I love that for them.
Eli:They could play football intra squat and have three subs.
Kylee:They should do that too.
Colin:So instead of three subs, hear me out, kicker, punter.
Eli:Genius.
Colin:And then just one guy, just in case someone gets in.
Kylee:Just just guy. Yes.
Eli:We don't need to make the punter do it.
Colin:That's great.
Eli:We can have a separate holder.
Colin:We can we can do that. Yeah.
Eli:Porter?
Josh's Ghost:Colgate has won five out of the
Porter:last seven regular season titles. However, I would pick Navy if I was betting money money on it, and I basically am. You're betting pride.
Colin:Yeah. Yeah. Which is more important than money.
Kylee:Pride in our friendship with you, so
Eli:Right. Right. Yeah. That is hanging
Colin:in Yeah. The
Porter:So I'm going I'm going Navy.
Kylee:Yeah. So Colin, so your our friendship is hanging with you is hanging in the balance here.
Colin:Yeah. As I prepare to leave, I I love cutting ties with all of the people I love. So Mom, dad, I hope you hear that and know does not apply to you.
Porter:No, no, no, clock that.
Colin:Boston University is retaining Kyron Alexander and Michael McNair. They're they have some momentum. They're growing on last season's third place tie with Colgate Navy and Army. So I'm taking Boston University.
Eli:You're throwing away years of friendship for
Porter:the the terriers. Terriers.
Eli:The terriers.
Colin:I picked this before I knew years of friendship were Oh, at
Eli:me you.
Colin:Again, I picked this far before I knew years and years of friendship were at stake.
Eli:And then you didn't switch. Correct.
Kylee:You had an opportunity.
Porter:The school famously known for their basketball.
Kylee:Right? Exactly.
Eli:Right.
Colin:Yes. Definitely not our bean pot.
Porter:And now, a message from Josh
Josh's Ghost:Colgate. Why not them? This has been a message from Josh.
Kylee:And you know what? You're right, Why
Eli:not them? And why not them?
Kylee:Why not them?
Eli:Except for the multitude of other reasons. But why not?
Kylee:But why not?
Colin:I'd suppose. Alright.
Porter:We are on to the a 10.
Colin:The final conference for today.
Porter:The final conference for today.
Kylee:A very fun one.
Colin:A very fun one.
Porter:Conference realignment, UMass has left for the Mac. That's not really much
Kylee:Audio notable, but
Porter:They were bad.
Colin:Real That's okay.
Kylee:Have fun losing to Toledo in the Mac.
Porter:Notable woman seems. Richmond were the champs of the regular season. They were seventeen and one, twenty eight and seven overall. George Mason won the tournament. He finished second, fourteen and four in the regular season, twenty seven and six record overall.
Porter:However, Richmond still made the tournament as an eight seed. George Mason made it as an 11 seed. Saint Joseph's was in the first four out. Richmond beat Georgia Tech and then played UCLA.
Eli:And we had a lot of people mad at us because they picked Georgia Tech over Richmond, and that means that you do not know ball.
Porter:Exactly. You seen Richmond?
Kylee:We talked about oh, we're all picking Richmond, right? And then it I think it
Eli:was the first game we talked about after the bracket reveal ended. The second.
Colin:You're right. I think it was the second because UConn's first.
Kylee:Richmond. Yeah, that was a We
Eli:were like, wow, UConn's two seed. Richmond's gonna be Georgia Tech. But Yukon's a two seed.
Kylee:Yeah. Literally. Yep.
Colin:No question in my mind. Richmond's taken it again. They're just so much better than the entire rest of this conference.
Kylee:Of course. A too big a 10 now exists for a reason, and it's because Richmond's consistently, like, that good every year. Three bid could be on the horizon because of Saint Joseph's in the
Porter:first four out.
Eli:Mhmm.
Porter:Yeah. Give me a Richmond. And now, a message from Josh. Richmond, little spiders. This is Vin.
Porter:A message from Josh.
Colin:Eli, do you have any reasoning for Richmond? Because the rest of us kinda just went Richmond.
Eli:I mean, if you really want me to get in
Kylee:I love listening a bit of it.
Eli:I guess.
Colin:Just give us a little bit background.
Eli:Richmond returns their top two scorers in Maggie Dugan and Rachel Olstrom, who averaged seventeen and fifteen points per game, respectively. They also led the team in rebounds and steals. Richmond also returns top three point shooter, Ali Sweeney, who was 44.3 from beyond the arc last year. They also add three time Pennsylvania first team all state selection, Eva Eva Percicetti, and Richmond Metro native, Rain Wright, to their freshman class. Also, head coach Aaron Russell made his coaching debut over the summer for USA basketball at the U nineteen national team trials as a court coach.
Kylee:Nice. Wow. That's awesome.
Porter:Yeah. Sweet. I'd also like to point out real fast that Richemann made a top eight seed despite not winning their conference.
Kylee:In a in a smaller conference.
Eli:In the a Yeah.
Colin:That speaks to how many tough teams they play in their non conference, and how many of those they beat in their non conference.
Kylee:And just how good of a program they have.
Colin:Yeah. Yeah. They're respected. Mhmm.
Porter:On to the men's teams. VCU were the champions. They went fifteen and three in the regular season last year in conference, twenty eight and seven overall. George Mason was also fifteen and three. VCU made the tournament, and they were an 11 seed and lost to BYU.
Colin:I think the a 10 on the men's side should have been a two bit league two.
Kylee:Well, yeah. Duh. We were all
Colin:there. But UNC, apparently, is better than I know. George Mason.
Eli:But San Diego State.
Porter:Yeah, they shouldn't
Eli:have made it then.
Porter:They were bad.
Kylee:But yo, who should have? Boise State.
Colin:Boise State.
Kylee:Stand on that.
Colin:This is my absolute favorite mid major conference. It is always pure, complete, and utter chaos.
Kylee:You don't know ball. You don't know ball.
Porter:No. It's like third third at the very best.
Eli:Top three is so generous. Look.
Kylee:It's top three for sure. We're looking at And it's three.
Colin:Dayton and VCU every year pretty good. They're consistently good. There's always a team or two that surprises everyone and goes far. Last year was George Mason. Year before that was Duquesne.
Colin:Year before that was Fordham. Davidson and Richmond both in 2022 right before that, and Saint Bonaventure back in 2021. I could go on and on and on because this conference just always has just enough chaos to make it unpredictable and fun. This year, I'm looking at, like, six five or six teams that are challenging those traditional powers. I'm looking at George Washington.
Colin:I'm looking at Saint Louis. Looking at George Mason again, I'm looking at Rhode Island What? No. Always. And Loyola Chicago looks really good again this year.
Colin:They could not seem to put it together against VCU last year, which is what scares me there.
Kylee:Yeah, we saw their only home luhas.
Colin:So, I'm not picking them. After looking at it a lot, I really like Josh Schertz's Billiken's. He killed it at Indiana State two years ago. Had an eleven and seven conference record as he was rebuilding a very rough St. Louis program.
Colin:He inherited a program with, I believe, four wins the previous season.
Kylee:Yikes.
Colin:So bringing that up to eleven and seven in conference is very impressive. He's got great momentum. He's got a great transfer class. I think those speak for themselves. St.
Colin:Louis is gonna be that chaos team, and I think they might take down VCU and Dayton.
Kylee:Oh, interesting. Well, then I'm picking Dayton. If you think that St. Louis is gonna take down Dayton, wrong. They picked up some good transfers from Georgia, Rutgers, NC State, Iona, and Cal State while retaining some of their, like, contributors from last season.
Kylee:I really, really wanted to pick Loyola Chicago. I was very close, but then I decided, let me take a look at Dayton before I make my final decision. And then I was like, alright, I'm more convinced. Loyola Chicago, you're forever in my heart. And even though I'm not picking you right now, I want you to win.
Kylee:But this felt safer, and one of the other teams that's gonna get mentioned is boring. So I'm not picking them.
Josh's Ghost:Speaking of said other team, and now a message from Josh. Today, say you. Phil Martelli Junior. This has been a message from Josh.
Eli:And that's not surprising because VCU is Josh's random favorite team.
Porter:It is. Yes. Yeah.
Eli:But I'm also picking VCU. They hired Bryant head coach Phil Martelli Junior, who led the Bulldogs to back to back 20 win seasons in his first two years as a head coach anywhere, and achieved a tournament berth last season, and won the America East over Vermont. Very impressive. So the Rams add two productive transfers from Bryant along with stealing their coach. They grab p five talent in Tyrell Ward, a forty one percent three point shooter from LSU, and Jaydrian Tracy, who's a solid guard from Oregon that also played two years of a 10 ball at Saint Joe's from 2021 to 2023.
Eli:They cap it off with Ahmad Noel, a freshman transfer from UConn, who was a four star ranked thirty third overall coming out of high school. I just really don't think that there's a conference opponent who can match the pure talent that VCU is gonna bring to bear this year, despite how many of their contributors from last year's awesome team that they lost.
Colin:And that's completely fair. I do understand that reasoning.
Porter:I feel like it's a safe pick. I feel like it's a good pick. Yeah.
Eli:And yet. First off,
Porter:shout out Sister Jean. We will miss seeing you courtside while Cinderella runs are written. Maybe Loyola Chicago Farewell Sister Jean tour. I love that. Won the LORL tour.
Colin:Yeah. Absolutely.
Porter:VCU won the conference last year, and I am a big fan of picking repeat champs. Big fan. Phil Martelli, junior, is a highly rated coach. And I think Tyrell Ward should be playing in a better conference on the eight ten. All that being said, I'm gonna take George Washington.
Porter:I asked my friend there if she believed in their basketball team. She said, no. It's good enough for me. Luke Hunger was a meddling Northwestern basketball player. How are we?
Porter:She can do it? Yeah. Buchanan went to Rutgers. He was on George Washington last year. He was really good.
Porter:He was. Yeah. Quite a fantastic player, but he's gone now. Their offense, it looks really good on paper. Like, George Washington has a lot of shooters.
Porter:Their defense looks looks like it's gonna give up 80 plus a night. But, hey, the SEC makes it work, so give me George Washington. And you know what? You're right.
Colin:If you're banking on offense in the a ten, that is, I think, completely fair because the a ten is a very defensive conference.
Eli:This is just like when you picked Colorado State.
Colin:But I do see the reasoning here. The The
Porter:A10 A10 don't.
Colin:A10 does not do good with offense. They are a very good defensive conference. And so, throwing people off with a lot of good shooters, and
Kylee:Yeah, but how how
Colin:many people miss their shots?
Kylee:Are these shooters? See, shooters shooters look good on paper.
Porter:Yeah. I mean,
Josh's Ghost:they did they did good last year, like
Porter:What? George Washington had a good offense last year. They did.
Colin:Mhmm. Mean, spearheaded by Buchanan. Fifth?
Porter:Yeah. Like, they had a top 10 offense in the country last year. Their only issue is that their defense is Awful. Swiss cheese. So Yeah.
Colin:They I think they defense Yeah. If they just didn't get back. Yeah. If they just stay on their half.
Kylee:Some of these other eight ten teams though also have like, VCU had a good offense last year.
Eli:True.
Kylee:You know, like Dayton is typically more offense heavy. I I don't know.
Eli:George Washington was nine and nine in
Porter:conference last year.
Kylee:Okay. I'm sorry.
Porter:Don't care how good your offense is
Kylee:with She's. They're they're dropping a 110, bro. Like, VCU is dropping a 110 on that. You get
Porter:some barn burner, so could you imagine? I mean, VCU going into towards Washington?
Eli:There are two
Colin:sides of the spectrum. There is Saint John's under Rick Patino, who plays no offense and only defense. Yeah. And there's George Washington.
Kylee:Can we have them square off?
Eli:Yeah. At MSG.
Porter:Yeah. Like I said, the SEC makes us work.
Kylee:Why can't the a 10?
Josh's Ghost:Right. Like, does George Washington have the quality
Porter:that is present in the SEC?
Colin:No. Are they playing the quality that's present in the SEC?
Josh's Ghost:Exactly. And they have Luke Hunger. Like, he can do it, guys. He's Well, got
Colin:the higher your voice gets, the less likely I am to agree with you, because the less I I believe you less and less, and I think you believe yourself less and less.
Porter:No, No, I am fully committed to
Kylee:this. Yeah, he's committed to the bit.
Porter:I can't wait for George Washington to finish dead last, but put up like 90.5 points per game.
Kylee:Yep. And it's just the other team puts up
Eli:a 150.
Colin:Alright. On that note Let's close
Porter:it out.
Colin:Should we we close it out? Let's do it.
Porter:Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Check the Net Impact eighty nine FM. Let us know what you think what you think by connecting with the station on Facebook, x, or Instagram at w d b m and 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 continue with our conference predictions, which will lead us into the preseason exhibitions. This season's madness is only just beginnings, and we can't wait to talk about it more next week on Check the Net.
Colin:And now, a message from Josh. Duke. I love how Duke basketball plays when it comes to the women and the demons. I'm gonna take that over.
Porter:I'm sorry, bro. I can't I keep so funny.
Kylee:I was like listening to one of those like parody boyfriend ASMR videos. I can't
Eli:I thought that was a great voice to use. I just wasn't as ready.
Kylee:And I'm immediately no. I'm done. I can't. I can't.
Eli:No. I think you should use that voice. I just wasn't ready at all.
Porter:No. I don't think you can. I don't think I'm gonna get through this if you if you use that voice, bro.
Kylee:I don't think
Colin:I I don't think I'm gonna through it if I use No. That No.
Porter:You should
Kylee:leave that in the episode.
Porter:I think you should leave all that in the episode. Nope. Maybe we don't
Colin:have throw this on at the very end.