Check the Net on Impact 89FM

This week on Check the Net, Impact89’s College Basketball Podcast, join Colin, Kylee, and Eli as they preview 8 conferences and make predictions about who may be this year's conference champions! This week's episode features the Big 12, Mountain West, Horizon League, Missouri Valley, Big Sky, SWAC, Big West, and Southland conferences!

Creators & Guests

Host
Colin Pearson
Host of the Check The Net Podcast, featuring all things NCAA basketball
EF
Host
Eli Flikkema
Host
Kylee Tabler
msu jmc’26

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.

Colin:

Welcome back to Jackson That Impact 89 FM's men's and women's college basketball podcast. I'm your host, Colin Pearson. I am joined today by my chill cohost, Kylie Tabler and Eli Flickma. How are you guys doing?

Eli:

Doing great.

Kylee:

Not very chill, but it's okay.

Eli:

It is still 80 plus degrees outside, and I am sick of it.

Kylee:

The leaves are falling off the trees. It's still summer weather.

Colin:

The leaves are falling off the trees, but they're brown because it hasn't cooled down yet.

Kylee:

Yeah.

Colin:

And it's honestly really disappointing.

Kylee:

Michigan State's campus. My favorite thing about it is that it is gorgeous in the fall. Like, all of the colors because we have so much greenery. It's just beautiful, and I love seeing it. Picturesque.

Kylee:

And the weather's ruining it right now. Like, I'm sorry.

Colin:

Yeah. A little bit. But you know what? It's fine, because I'm walking to class every day, and I'm

Kylee:

not freezing. Sweating, though.

Colin:

I'll take sweat over freezing cold any day of the week.

Kylee:

So Okay. Free.

Eli:

Hot take.

Colin:

Alright. Anyways, guys, so this week is our 1st week of conference previews. Yay. Yeah. We are making our picks, the 3 of us.

Colin:

Derek will add his in at some point. And,

Kylee:

Derek, we miss you. Come home.

Colin:

We will make fun of those throughout the rest of the regular season, because we can't make fun of them today.

Eli:

Derek, it's all forgiven. Come back to us.

Kylee:

Yeah. Honey, the kids miss you.

Eli:

The arms are open. Open wide.

Colin:

Alright. I can't continue off of that. Anyways, so this week, we've got 8 conferences for you. We've got we're gonna start with Mountain West. We're gonna hit a few of the smaller conferences, the SWAC, the Horizon League, the Big West, Big Sky.

Colin:

Eli is gonna talk a lot about the Missouri Valley. I'm gonna bank on a team from the Southland, and then we'll culminate it with the big twelve conference because there's a lot to talk about there, some conference realignment that goes into play. That's gonna be a lot of fun too. We are not gonna talk about Mountain West conference realignment because that's 2 years out still. Yeah.

Colin:

And,

Kylee:

We're gonna be long gone from here at that point. Really sad thing to think about, but still.

Eli:

And who knows what college basketball is gonna look like in 20 6?

Kylee:

Also true.

Colin:

But yeah. That is a whole another world.

Eli:

By then, we'll all have real jobs.

Colin:

No. Don't don't jinx it here.

Kylee:

Alright. I'll talk to you later.

Colin:

Still. Like, calm yourself. You know?

Kylee:

Never gonna have a real job, please.

Eli:

All have a real job. Colin and Kylie will still be in the basement.

Kylee:

Yeah. I'll be here forever.

Colin:

Who knows what I'll do? Anyway Should we start with some out west basketball?

Eli:

Yeah. Do it.

Colin:

It might be most pressing on the women's side. Notable teams from last year. UNLV was last year's conference champion. They were 17 and 1 in the conference, 30 and 3 overall. Believe they ended the season ranked 22nd or 23rd in the country.

Colin:

Mhmm. They were really, really good team. They were they were rated pretty highly. And for me, I feel like there's no more obvious answer than to pick them to win it back to back again here. This would be a 3rd conference championship in a row for UNLV.

Colin:

If they do pull this off, as I think they will, Yeah. That's that's what we're here for, though.

Kylee:

Yeah. I'm I'm gonna piggyback off of Colin. I complete I completely agree. Watching them play I watched them play a few games last year, and they looked very impressive, very well coached. I don't think that, they're gonna be able to stop it.

Kylee:

Like, once the train gets rolling, you can't really stop it. So, if they keep bringing in that good talent, if they keep having their great coach, I think, they're gonna have another really great season.

Colin:

Yeah. And, you know, Aliyah Alexander just transferred from Eastern Washington who was quite good in the big sky last year.

Kylee:

Mhmm.

Colin:

And she kind of fills in some of those gaps from the couple of people that graduated. And so I feel like it's really obvious to me that UNLV is the team to pick.

Eli:

Eli has I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna derail UNLV's little little train party here. I while I was doing some digging on background for this, I've seen some really, really, really good things coming out of Fort Collins and Colorado State.

Colin:

Interesting.

Eli:

For instance, color one of Colorado State's star freshman recruits this year is Hannah Ranciek. Her older sister, Emma Ranciek, just finished 4 years at Creighton. Last season, she averaged 17 points per game, and she's transferring to Colorado State to play with her sister because they want to win a championship together. They were on the cusp of winning a high school championship together when they were in high school together in South Dakota, but that was 2020 and their season was cut short. So they've both been nursing that for 4 years.

Colin:

Real? Interesting. Yeah. That's really interesting timing too.

Eli:

Colorado States had some other great freshman recruits this season. They've got some other great transfers out of the portal. They've got Hannah Simental from Northern Colorado who averaged 12.6 points per game in the Big Sky last year. I think the Rams could absolutely make a shot at the title, and they only lost 2 players to the transfer portal, neither of whom were great contributors last year.

Colin:

Yeah. Here's my big question. On the women's basketball side, Colorado State was in 4th place last year in the conference. They were 10 and 8, tied with 3 other teams at 10 and 8 as well, actually, when I start looking at it. And that a 20 and 11 record overall, which is, you know, not by any means a bad record.

Colin:

No. But not the 17 and 1 and 30 and 3 that UNLV had. Yeah. And so I just wonder, you know, Colorado state, I could see them making the tournament as a second place in the Mountain West team if they're that good. However, I think I gotta stick with UNLV here.

Eli:

I do think the big question for Colorado State is can they separate themselves from the pack that's sitting on that shelf just below UNLV and the Mountain West? But I think with this this roster makeup this year, they have the potential to do it.

Colin:

Fair enough. Yeah. Should we hop over to the men's side?

Kylee:

Yes.

Colin:

Because that's where things get really interesting.

Eli:

And that's where we disagree the most.

Kylee:

Yeah. Well, maybe not the most. Wait till later.

Colin:

Yeah. Late later, it gets really interesting. But, this this, Mountain West on the men's side had 6 tournament teams last year. The conference champions was an 8 seed. They won the regular season just barely.

Colin:

It was Utah State, a 14 and 4 conference record, 28 and 7 overall. But the conference tournament winner was New Mexico, who was in 6th place in the conference, 10 and 8 in the conference, 26 and 10 overall. And there were 6 NCAA tournament teams, with San Diego State being the 5 seed, Utah State at the 8, Nevada at the 10, Boise State at the 10, Colorado State at the 10, and New Mexico sliding in at the 11. Lot of questions here. First of all, none of them won their games.

Kylee:

I was gonna say, remember we put so much stock into the Mountain West last year, and then they all lost?

Colin:

Like, 1st day. Like, 1st round, none of them made it past.

Kylee:

Utah State made it past. They ended up losing to Purdue.

Eli:

Your correct. San Diego State beat UAB. Correct. And then immediately lost to Yukon.

Colin:

Yes. Yes. And Boise State and Colorado State had tough draws in the first four.

Kylee:

Was Colorado State the team that could not score?

Colin:

Yes. But that was That was that was that

Kylee:

was a Virginia. They neither of them

Colin:

were scoring.

Eli:

Virginia in the first four, though.

Kylee:

Yes. By, like do that.

Colin:

They did do that.

Kylee:

10 points. Score was 40 to 30.

Colin:

And Boise State played a great game, but just a very

Kylee:

Heartbreaking. Loss. Heartbreaking loss.

Colin:

And so

Eli:

To Florida, I believe

Colin:

it was.

Kylee:

Yeah. And

Colin:

so there's just a lot of questions on this Mountain West. First of all, I don't think 6 teams are making it again.

Kylee:

No. No. No way.

Colin:

A lot of them, their top talent has all transferred away.

Eli:

Or graduated.

Colin:

Or graduated for a lot of them. And so we may see a 2 teams

Kylee:

from that. I think 3.

Colin:

Maybe 3. Maybe 3.

Kylee:

But

Eli:

Which is sad.

Colin:

Those 2, 3 teams, I think personally, my pick is gonna be New Mexico, who won the conference tournament last year, taking 6 in the conference. And I know that's very interesting take, but they showed a ton of strength at the end of the season. And I think they're gonna continue to build on that momentum that they had going at the end there. They had a few good transfers. They didn't graduate a lot of people, unlike a lot of the other, schools there.

Colin:

And so they're kinda staying right around where they are, if not a little bit better, whereas a lot of those other schools are dropping off.

Kylee:

Yeah. I think it's just funny because they all were just beating each other up the entire year, and, like, all their losses were from

Colin:

even conference.

Kylee:

Yeah. They like, anyone could take the conference. I have SDSU winning it again or winning it, I guess. I was looking at the returners. They still they still have a heavy very heavy senior presence.

Kylee:

So those seniors have more experience in those, like, high stakes situations, like when they went really far in the tournament 2 years ago. And then even just making it to the tournament is a very, very big deal Mhmm. For a lot of teams, and for a lot of people. So that's kind of, like, where my head is at. They had, like, a they had a pretty heavy senior presence, some pretty decent recruits coming in.

Kylee:

So it'll just depend on, like, the strength of the conference as a whole too, though, because it's definitely gonna be at a bit of a deficit this

Colin:

year. It's gonna be a deficit, but it's gonna be a deficit conference wide. Mhmm. Absolutely. It's going to be another slugfest for that conference championship.

Colin:

There's no point in my mind.

Eli:

Speaking of slugfest, my pick is Nevada because I think they're one of the only teams in the Mountain West that is currently deep enough on their bench to survive a long physical

Kylee:

Mhmm.

Eli:

Bloody Mountain West season.

Colin:

Yeah. Yeah. Fair enough.

Eli:

I think they had a great transfer portal showing. They got players from Oklahoma State, Rice, Texas State, Fresno State. I think they have enough. It's it's a lot of untested talent, but I think they have enough of it that they'll be able to win the endurance battle down the line.

Colin:

Mhmm. Which is definitely necessary in the Mountain West.

Kylee:

Yeah.

Colin:

Deaf as we saw last year, I mean, there it was all endurance all the time. It was just one game after another. Every game was just a tight game. Over time, sometimes, the atmospheres were electric, but, I mean

Kylee:

Everyone flipping in and out of the top 25 for, like, the entire season Exactly. Really funny. Really.

Eli:

Colorado State was ranked for, like, half a second and then gone immediately.

Kylee:

They all lost. They lost

Colin:

the next 2 games that week, but then they won the next 2 against ranked teams the next week, and it was Yeah. Just one thing.

Kylee:

And then

Eli:

we got 6 Mid Mountain West, and

Colin:

it was awesome. Yeah. And then till it until it wasn't.

Eli:

And and it was awesome, awesome.

Kylee:

Yeah. And until it until it wasn't.

Eli:

And and it was awesome for, like, the 2 weeks of hype we got out of it. Yeah.

Kylee:

Yes. And then I got yelled at by my family for, why'd you say it's the Mountain West? They all lost.

Colin:

Yeah. I wanna apologize to my family.

Kylee:

As well.

Colin:

I know my mom picked all of the Mountain West schools, and her bracket didn't look quite as hot as, as I thought it was going to, and so I wanna apologize.

Kylee:

This is what happens when you listen to us. Yeah.

Eli:

And I I just wanna thank my dad for going to Colorado State and getting his bachelor's degree, Mountain West in the Blood over here.

Colin:

Yeah. Good for you.

Eli:

Pac 12 in the blood soon.

Colin:

Yeah. Don't don't remind me.

Kylee:

Frustrating. So frustrating.

Colin:

Should we move on to another conference that's a little bit lower profile, but a little bit fun too?

Kylee:

I mean, in your opinion, if it's a little bit fun, then sure.

Colin:

Oh, I love the SWAC. You know? I'm just, like, saying it. The southwestern at the conference. Mhmm.

Colin:

On the women's side last year, we had an undefeated team in conference, Jackson State. They're 26 and 7 overall. My personal opinion, it's gonna be really, really easy for them to win it again. Yep. There's not a whole lot of competition on the women's side there.

Colin:

They had a great rebuild. I mean, it's gonna be maybe a slightly closer conference this year because they did graduate a few people, but it you can't if you lost your starting 5 at Jackson State, I think you would still win the conference.

Eli:

Jackson State also had a ton of coaching turnover. They lost their head coach and, I think, 2 of their assistant coaches, but they also rebuilt with great coaches and staff from d two schools and

Colin:

Yep.

Eli:

Lots of people who had coaching experience at other HBCUs, specifically Alabama A&M, I think. Yes. And I think that Jackson State definitely seems like an organization that is committed to keeping that program culture, kicking, recruiting that talent, bringing it to Jackson, and I think that that's a program that's gonna win the swag again.

Kylee:

Yeah. Yeah. Just I'm yeah. I'm echoing the sentiment. I think when you go undefeated in conference, like, it's just it just shows how much better you are as a pro like, as a program as a whole than everybody else, and it's just to be really hard for other teams to try to catch up to that.

Colin:

Yeah. Even when you are losing your coach and losing some of

Kylee:

your Right. Players. Yeah. It just shows shows how strong the athletic department is, 1, being able to bring in qualified and strong candidates and how strong those candidates are to be able to keep bringing in those recruits.

Colin:

Yeah. If we're gonna keep going on that same kind of page, on the men's side, this was a team that was 2nd place in the conference last year. My pick would be Southern. So Grambling State, for reference, won the conference last year, 14 and 4. They were 21 and 5 15 overall.

Colin:

It was their first ever tournament bid. That's so exciting. They graduated almost every single one of the players on their roster.

Kylee:

Well, at least

Eli:

they all got They made it out of the 16 they made it out of the 16 seed plan, didn't

Colin:

they? They beat

Eli:

Montana State. They beat Montana State. Tournament win Grambling State.

Colin:

Yeah. Good for you. Grambling State, I don't think can win it again. They lost way too much. Southern feels very put together.

Colin:

They were 2nd in the conference last year. They haven't lost very much. They added a few great d two stars. They are just a very, very strong team, it looks like.

Eli:

And I think that's something that's really overlooked, especially in mid major transfer portal and mid major recruiting in college basketball, is that level of talent that exists at other divisions like d 2, NAIA. Even some of the bright spots in d 3 have the talent to play at a mid major d one level, but are often just overlooked because of the nontraditional path they might take to get there.

Colin:

Oh, absolutely. And, you know, we've seen it before. You know, even Jack Goldke from Oakland, great example of that. Because he was d 2 at Hillsdale for his 1st 4 years, and then he transferred to Oakland for his 5th grad year, COVID year, whatever you wanna call it, and just became a star in March Madness and was signed by OKC Thunder last year because of that. And sometimes, yeah, those D2, D3 NAIA stars are they're just as good a players are just slightly below, but they can be just as good with good coaching.

Colin:

And that's kinda what we see at some of these schools like Southern.

Kylee:

Yeah. That's something I wish that the d like, the bigger d one schools would pay attention to. I think they're always so focused in on getting those, like, top level high school recruits when there is, like like Eli was saying, so much value in the Juco, the NAIA, the d 2 and 3. There's so much talent there that can a 100% play at this competitive level, and they're just not getting, like, that shot. So I'm always, more, like, inclined to, like, support teams when they do pull from, like, those, universities.

Eli:

Of course, that does mean that if universities start leaning into more of that d 2, d 3 NAI, it loses a lot of that talent and a lot of that media and attention pull. So checks and balances.

Colin:

Yeah. Definitely. But, yeah, we're all on the same page there. Southern territory. I think it pretty obvious, that they are you know, it's their conference to lose the swackers this year for the men's side.

Colin:

Alright. Horizon League. Who wants

Eli:

to I love the Horizon League. Conference. It's the baby 10.

Kylee:

I love the Horizon League. Like, I think it's great. Colin

Colin:

knows it.

Eli:

Planted a flower garden. I love it so much.

Kylee:

Literally, Colin's note, IUPUI has been Stewie. Has been renamed to Indiana University Indianapolis, IU Indy. It's I don't like it. I like the old name better.

Eli:

We lost IUPUI to just Purdue Fort Wayne a couple years ago, and now we've lost IUPUI to IU Indie.

Kylee:

They're falling off.

Eli:

I need the Indiana Big 10 Universities to stop splitting the tiny schools between them.

Kylee:

Yeah. That's not cool.

Colin:

It's it's really disappointing. I am gonna miss saying. It's so funny.

Eli:

Else said that except you.

Kylee:

Yeah. You might have been the

Colin:

only one. It may have been the only one.

Eli:

Nobody else will miss it.

Colin:

I knew one person who went there, and he called it. So

Kylee:

That's funny.

Colin:

That that is where I got it from. Okay. Thank you, Parker. Actually, he didn't go there. He is from Indy area and just called him that.

Colin:

So I guess I don't even know. But irrelevant, it's IU Indy now, and I'm sad.

Kylee:

I digress.

Eli:

Just in peace.

Colin:

On the women's side.

Kylee:

Yes.

Colin:

Cleveland State was the champion last year. They were 18 and 2 in the conference, 29 6 overall. However, they did not make the tournament because Green Bay pulled off a nice upset in that conference final. They were 2nd in the conference.

Eli:

The old Phoenix.

Colin:

They were they were a good team. And, reading our notes, it appears all of us picked them to win it this year

Kylee:

Correct. Outright. Yes.

Colin:

Yeah. Green Bay was only one win behind Cleveland State in the conference standings. Yeah. Anyone wanna speak to that.

Kylee:

Yeah. I love both Green Bay and Cleveland State just because, like, I know people who went there, which is awesome. No. I just I'm still remembering their win over Iowa last year at the beginning of the season. It's in my heart, and it's very near and dear to my heart.

Kylee:

That being said, with a lot of returners, I I expect them to be extremely solid and extremely dominant in the league this year. I, like, I love watching the Horizon League. I think they're very fun. So

Colin:

Yeah. For sure.

Eli:

Green Bay also got a couple of great transfers from Eastern Illinois. It looks like that averaged about 10 points per game last season.

Colin:

That's pretty solid.

Eli:

Yeah. They're they've definitely got the roster and the talent to repeat.

Colin:

Yeah. I mean, they had 2 wins over ranked teams last year. That's a that says a lot. My only issue with Green Bay is that they do have a new coach because their old coach retired. Mhmm.

Colin:

However, most of the team returned to Green Bay still.

Kylee:

Yeah.

Colin:

And I think that speaks a lot to their new coach, Kayla Kyres. I may very well be pronouncing that wrong.

Kylee:

It speaks a lot to their culture too.

Colin:

But it really does. It speaks a lot to the team's culture. It speaks a lot to what their new coach is putting into practice here.

Kylee:

Mhmm.

Colin:

And I think it's they're just gonna take it and run with it, and they're gonna have a fun year in the Horizon League there.

Kylee:

Yeah. They'll have a different energy, but it'll still be a very great and, like, I don't know, great energy. I don't know what I was gonna say after that. But a very, like, you know, great energy to have. It'll be a little bit new and different because they have a new coach, but I think it, like, they're gonna keep the same, like, momentum that they had.

Colin:

Yeah. And being that most of the team is staying, I don't think there's gonna be nearly as much adjustment as there usually is with a new coach, which helps a lot. Yeah. On the men's side. So we've talked about this one many a time because Oakland, the Golden Grizzlies

Kylee:

Love them. Love them.

Eli:

Them. It's Honorary Michigan State University.

Kylee:

Love them here in the state of Michigan.

Colin:

It's it's a story, you know, you've got the story of them beating Kentucky, making the 2nd round of the tournament.

Kylee:

Beautiful. Anyone who beats Kentucky is number 1 in my book.

Colin:

And they

Eli:

and they couldn't have done it without us. They couldn't have done it without their time as MSU Oakland.

Colin:

Going to overtime.

Eli:

The Grizzlies. Going to overtime

Colin:

in the 2nd round last year in the tournament and a heartbreaking loss.

Kylee:

Hey. That was painful too.

Colin:

But, you know, they were the conference champs, and I see you guys picked them. So I'll let you guys talk about them quick.

Kylee:

So, technically, I did not pick them. I am I I phoned a friend when I was looking at these just for fun. I was already on the phone with my family, and I was like, alright. Brady, my brother, what do you think? He said Oakland, and he said Oakland because he saw they had good transfers coming in, and they had they had some really good recruits coming off a very impressive March Madness run like we saw.

Kylee:

Their coach is also just a very, very good

Eli:

coach. Incredible.

Kylee:

Great coach.

Colin:

So The culture he's set up at Oakland over the last 40 years

Kylee:

Yes. No. A very dedicated individual, and I feel like, putting all of that together and then having, some returners come back with that same, like, mentality energy. Like, once you go to the tournament, you're thirsty. You wanna get back again.

Kylee:

Like, it's super hard, to, like, not wanna go back again. So I think that will be, like, a very big thing for the program.

Eli:

I also just think that that win over Kentucky gave Oakland so much national prominence even though the commentators briefly thought they were from California.

Kylee:

That I forgot about that.

Eli:

I I think a coach that's that experienced, that has that much time coaching coaching a program from d 2 to d 1. Correct?

Kylee:

That has Amazing.

Eli:

That just that much experience and that entrenched of a footprint in the Horizon League, he is going to make the absolute most of whatever exposure Oakland can keep scraping out of that.

Colin:

So Alright. So here's here's where I go from this. Boo. Boo. I did not pick Oakland.

Colin:

Boo. Mostly because they return less than 25% of their roster from or starting roster from last year. I think Milwaukee, who had a very strong season last year and returns more than half of their starting roster from last year, I think they're gonna be strong enough to take down Oakland to win the Horizon League. They they had a good season last year, and they have a lot of good players who were very competitive with Oakland throughout the season. That's not to say Oakland won't win it.

Colin:

That's just my pick, and I don't wanna defend it any further because he made some points.

Kylee:

Okay. Colin has no defense for what he just said.

Eli:

Silence. Silence from that end of the day, though.

Colin:

And, you know, mark my words, when we come back at the end of the season and start talking about some of these picks, this is going to be a clip that gets brought up.

Kylee:

I'm wondering if this is gonna be another year of, like, my cursed individuals, my my poor teams.

Eli:

It's just gonna end up being, like, Wright State or something.

Kylee:

Yeah. No. It's what's gonna happen is be someone that none of us picked. Love Wright State, though.

Colin:

It's gonna be great. Bay on the men's and Oakland on the women's is what it's gonna be.

Kylee:

I would not be mad at that swap.

Colin:

That would

Kylee:

be like honestly.

Eli:

I mean, completely unprecedented. Magic. Here for it.

Colin:

Completely unprecedented because I would be here for it. Those 2 teams were good last year, but

Kylee:

You never know, man.

Colin:

You never know.

Kylee:

You got that turnaround.

Colin:

Yeah. Alright. Big West. More

Eli:

I love the Big West.

Colin:

Let's get to it.

Kylee:

You might be the only one.

Colin:

Yeah. Eli, come on. So glad.

Eli:

You were all over Long Beach State last year. Don't even talk.

Kylee:

Well, you know why I was all over Long Beach State last year. They beat Michigan. Like, come on.

Colin:

Yeah. That is exactly

Kylee:

We were all Long Beach State fans for a week. Let's be real here.

Eli:

Beach.

Colin:

Yeah. Anyways, notable women's teams from last year. Hawaii was the champion of the conference, 17 and 3 over in the conference, 20 and 11 overall. UC Irvine was the tournament champion last year, however, with 16 and 4 record and 23 and 9 overall. For me, I feel like Hawaii is going to make a strong statement.

Colin:

They're kinda out for a little bit of vengeance here. They've got some major momentum going. They just took a trip to Japan and played some practice games against Japanese teams and looked good in those. Awesome. One of their freshman recruits has is currently playing in the FIBA International Championship

Kylee:

Nice.

Colin:

For New Zealand, her home country.

Kylee:

Nice.

Colin:

They also just had 2 new star guards that transferred in. I feel like Hawaii is just they're the team to beat right now

Kylee:

I agree. In my

Colin:

mind.

Kylee:

I agree with Collin.

Colin:

Wow. That never happens.

Kylee:

Right? I know. It no. It happens, like, a good amount during this just because, like, small conferences, man, it's super hard to, like, argue. Like, it like, it is.

Kylee:

Like, there there's some teams where it's like, oh, yeah. Like, there's 2 teams. They're both top of the conference. Like, okay. Like, you can make an argument for either one.

Kylee:

Some of these, it's like, no. You really can't make an argument for anyone but one. But I think too, the the product of them not being a tournament team last year is gonna be very frustrating, and, that's just fuel. Fuel to have an absolute standout year, to absolutely standout in the tournament, and make some waves in the national tournament.

Colin:

Yeah. No question. Eli, what you got?

Eli:

I'm gonna break with the mold a little here, and I think UC Irvine is gonna really, really build on that tournament trip and come back with a vengeance to the big west. In terms of transfer portal losses, they lost 2 seniors, neither of whom averaged more than a point per game, and then a senior center who averaged 9 points per game to Arizona State because, you know, the big twelve. Yep. But they also they're they're bringing in a freshman from Sacramento State who averaged 14 points per game last year at Sac State as a freshman.

Colin:

West for Big Sky.

Eli:

In the Big Sky. So I I think that's gonna be a great add. And then they're also bringing in a freshman who redshirted last year at Utah. So that's a big twelve level recruiting talent

Kylee:

That is a big that

Eli:

they're bringing to Irvine. So I think UCI has absolutely made the roster moves necessary to make noise in the Big West, but I do think it's gonna come down to UCI Hawaii.

Kylee:

Oh, yeah. Yeah. I I thought it'd It's

Colin:

hard to beat either of those 2 teams. The Big West doesn't have a lot of other women's talent. They have a little bit. UC Davis isn't bad. But Mhmm.

Colin:

Those two teams are definitely the 2 standout. No question there. Yes. It's

Eli:

gonna be Long Beach State, though, unfortunately.

Kylee:

No. Fortunately, I love Long

Colin:

Beach.

Eli:

Go Beach.

Colin:

Go Beach. Speaking of Long Beach State, on the men's side last year, Long Beach State was 5th in the conference.

Kylee:

Crazy how they made it.

Eli:

They were in 10.

Colin:

Yeah. 1010 in the conference, but 21 and 15 overall. Not sure how exactly that happened because most of their nonconference were bigger schools, and so they won a lot more of those games against bigger schools than they did against

Kylee:

Yeah. We gotta re echo that.

Colin:

Schools. But they ended up winning the Big West tournament, upsetting UC Irvine on the men's side, who was the overall conference champ, 17 and 3 in the conference. Really interesting. I think all of us picked the same team here.

Kylee:

Well, yeah. UC Irvine. And 3 is great. Yeah. Like, come on.

Kylee:

It's like

Eli:

UC Irvine's gonna sweep

Colin:

the big west. I don't know

Eli:

what y'all are talking about.

Colin:

It's hard to pick against UC Irvine on the men's side. Are coming back with a vengeance. They want to win again. I wrote badly. They are returning 65% of their starting roster.

Kylee:

Oh, yeah. They want that win really bad.

Colin:

Guys all want that win, and, realistically, I think they can get it. Yeah. They they had a great season. They ended upset in the end that ended up letting Long Beach State make the tournament, but Woo woo woo. I mean, what can you do?

Colin:

Right? Yeah. Nothing. Fight harder this year.

Eli:

Yeah. You can

Colin:

Yeah.

Eli:

Use it to fuel you this year.

Kylee:

I agree. I think Long Beach State, like, last year because they were definitely I mean, when you get some big, like, big school wins, there there's always that injury time of the year when you have, like, 3 or 4 of your guys go out, and then it's like, uh-oh. So I feel like that probably, like, affected, like, their conference record. Their overall record is is alright. So I feel like discrediting them to the degree of, like, no.

Kylee:

It's a fluke or something is like you know? But, yeah. No. You see your buying sweeps. Like, they're they're winning.

Kylee:

They're they're winning the men's side.

Colin:

Yeah. Should we hop over to big sky?

Eli:

Yes. I love the Big Sky.

Colin:

Yeah. Not too far away. Also a West Coast team or conference. On the women's side, Eastern Washington was the champion last year. 16 and 2 in the conference.

Colin:

29 and 6 overall is a very strong record for a non power conference team. Frankly, I picked a different team this year. Kylie, you wanna start because you did pick Eastern Washington to repeat?

Kylee:

I do. I mainly picked them because looking at their roster, they have a good mix of, like, returning leadership, which is always great, but they also have a good mix of that new, like, freshman 1st year energy. And I know people talk about how, big shifts and big movements in, like, the roster can necessarily like, it's always a bad thing. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing. I think it could be a very good thing when you bring in new faces, new people.

Kylee:

Like, when you're a 1st year student, I feel like you are so much, like, you have so much energy, and you're so excited, and you're so you know, you just wanna do everything that you can possible, and I think that helps programs a lot. So I think, the seniors having that winning experience and, you know, having that kind of drive to keep going and then those new faces coming in with that kind of, like, similar energy, I think it will lead to another very impressive season. 16 and 2 in conference is nothing to, like, point your wag your finger at or whatever.

Colin:

Yeah. I mean, I see that. My issue is that they did lose some people, some of their top players.

Eli:

Massive losses in the transfer portal.

Colin:

Yes. That was what I saw too.

Eli:

Aliyah Alexander, 14 and a half points per game last year to UNLV. Jaleesa Lawrence, 10 10 and a half points per game last year to High Point. And they just their ads from Seattle and Robert Morris just don't feel like they're going to be don't seem like they're going to be enough to make up for that.

Colin:

Mhmm. I completely agree, which is why I picked Northern Arizona University. NAU looked really good last year. I think they're only gonna build on that this year. Sophie Glancy, the top leader in scoring for, returns for a sophomore season.

Colin:

She was a freshman last year and led their team in scoring, and they were second in the conference. Sophomore season, she's gonna just break out and do some crazy things. She led in scoring, rebounding, and blocks last year as a freshman.

Kylee:

Nice. Wow.

Colin:

Yeah. True freshman. And so you can only imagine what Sophie Glancy is gonna do this year. Another note, all 5 of their top scores from last year are returning, and they are all young.

Eli:

In some sort of miracle in this era of d one basketball, NAU was basically untouched by the transfer by every by every resource I can find, a player from the 2022, 2023 season is now at Sacramento State, but NAU seems to have remained No transfer. 100% intact somehow.

Colin:

No threads.

Kylee:

That's impressive. Like, that is very impressive.

Eli:

I I don't know what they're cooking in Flagstaff,

Colin:

but

Kylee:

They're cooking.

Colin:

But I have a hard time picking against them when you're returning literally everyone.

Kylee:

Fair.

Colin:

I mean

Kylee:

I did it with ease.

Colin:

A star like Sophie Glancy is going to go crazy. What did you say, Kylie?

Kylee:

Oh, yeah. I picked against him with ease. I didn't even bat an eye.

Colin:

Yeah. Suit yourself. We're gonna see where that ends up, Kylie, because last time you picked someone against us, they got cursed.

Kylee:

My percentage of, like my percentage last year all of ours were very close of percentage of correct picks, so I don't I don't wanna you know, y'all can't be jumping off me through with.

Colin:

However, yours were more incorrect.

Eli:

Check back in March. Y'all will see where this all ends up.

Kylee:

It's okay.

Colin:

It's so true.

Kylee:

It's okay.

Colin:

On the men's side, another very interesting pretty similar to the big west actually of what happened. Eastern Washington won the conference. There are 15 and 3 in the conference, 21 and 11 overall. Not a, like, standout standout team, but they they were obviously conference champs. And the 5th best team in the conference went and won the tournament with a 9 and 9 conference record and a 17 and 18 overall record.

Eli:

Roll Montana State. Go Bobcats. Yes. Thank you, mom, for doing 1 year of your bachelor's in Montana State big sky in the blood.

Kylee:

Yes. I've I have every card, friend.

Eli:

Go Bobcats.

Colin:

Hey, Eli. Who'd you pick this year?

Eli:

Montana State. Go Bobcats.

Colin:

Okay. Had all you have to say? Any defense

Eli:

Go Bobcats. Bobcats. K. Real Bobcats.

Colin:

On that note, go Montana. Go Big Griz. What what I'm looking at here is their transfers, and I see Kylie was looking at it too.

Kylee:

Yeah. Transfer game, no joke.

Colin:

Yeah. They those transfers include Jenson Bratkey from Saint Mary's, who was a great player last year for Saint Mary's. His dad is a 4 time Olympian for Australia's basketball team. I'm also noticing Amari Jedkins from Green Bay, who was a pretty strong player for Green Bay last year

Kylee:

Yeah. Moving to Montreal.

Colin:

Like, those 2 in particular, but 7 transfers is a big deal.

Kylee:

Mhmm.

Colin:

And Yeah. Especially for a team that was pretty strong last year already.

Kylee:

Yeah. No. It 7 transfer is a very big deal. Like, bringing in 7, like, solid players, go Montana. What's their mascot?

Colin:

Grizzlies.

Kylee:

Go, Grizzlies.

Eli:

How dare you.

Kylee:

I'm sorry.

Colin:

Eli is Eli is highly disappointed.

Kylee:

I'm sorry on behalf of your mom. I'm sorry. In her one year

Eli:

apologize for my mom right now.

Kylee:

So sorry. In her one year of her bachelor's

Colin:

program at Montana's Bay. I'm not gonna apologize for that. I'm sorry.

Kylee:

Colin does not care.

Colin:

Yeah. Should we move to Missouri Valley, another conference that Eli loves?

Eli:

Missouri Valley in the blood is also in

Kylee:

the blood. Again, more in the blood.

Colin:

This is just Eli's episode.

Eli:

I'm from everywhere.

Kylee:

I know, apparently. Johnny Cash Show.

Eli:

I'll have big east and everywhere. Later. Just you wait.

Kylee:

I'm a I'm homegrown.

Colin:

How how is that gonna happen anyway?

Eli:

Go DePaul. Like to thank my mom for finishing her bachelor's at DePaul.

Kylee:

Yes, queen. Great. Cool.

Colin:

Miss Mary Kelly, on the women's side last year, I can't even talk right now. Drake was a conference champion. They were 19 and won in the conference, 29 6 overall. Kylie, what you got?

Kylee:

Yes. They're returning their senior leader, top scorer and rebounder. I mean, that's a big deal regardless of anything else. They had some had some people graduate, which is real, but, I still think that they still have a good mix of, returners for this coming year. So 19 and 1, very impressive.

Colin:

So you're picking them?

Kylee:

Yes.

Colin:

And then I'm watching Eli change his pick.

Kylee:

Yes. He gets the hype train.

Colin:

Speak over here.

Kylee:

Hop on the Drake hype train.

Colin:

Get your thought process here why you decided to change from my pick to Drake.

Eli:

I just So confused. In on the transfer portal, and Drake's only portal loss was a junior who averaged less than a point a game to Pittsburgh State. So

Colin:

The d two Pittsburgh State.

Eli:

Yeah. And they, in return, got a sophomore from Illinois State, fellow MVC school, who averaged 8 points per game. And Bradley lost 6 players to the transfer portal.

Colin:

Yeah. So Yeah.

Kylee:

And you had Bradley with that.

Eli:

Train. It it hurts me to pick Drake. I don't want to pick Drake, but it kind of looks like it's gonna be a Bulldog conference again.

Colin:

Yes. Yeah. Because, for reference, Eli is from Iowa. He's cheers for you and I.

Eli:

Go, Cats.

Colin:

Yep. But Drake is also from Iowa for those of you who didn't know.

Eli:

Yeah. There are there are 2 schools in the MVC from Iowa.

Colin:

I did not know Drake from Iowa. Choosing Drake, the private school.

Eli:

In Des Moines.

Colin:

What do do you have against Des Moines?

Eli:

I don't know. It's the big city.

Kylee:

It's in Iowa.

Colin:

The the singular big city because we are talking about Iowa, of course. Yeah.

Kylee:

That's okay.

Colin:

Eli is nodding. You guys can't hear his nod. But

Kylee:

You can't hear the nod? It's okay. I didn't know Drake was in Iowa. It's fine.

Colin:

So real. I'm picking Belmont.

Kylee:

Lame. Sorry.

Colin:

Dang. I'm just kidding.

Eli:

He he's picking the other MVC Basketball Private School.

Kylee:

He's not on the Drake. He's on the Drake hype train.

Colin:

So, I'm not on the Drake hype train. Beaumont was second last year. They returned almost all of their stars, including their top two scorers, Miller and Banks, their top rebounder and blocker, Chesman, and their top assist, maker and steal ball stealer. I don't know what you call those. Jones.

Kylee:

Ball stealer is

Eli:

They're they're top thief.

Colin:

They're like like, what do you call some the top stealer,

Eli:

like, pickpocket.

Colin:

They're not from Pittsburgh. What is this? So, anyway, they're returning pretty much all their top players, and, you know, they were very strong last year. Drake returning some players, but I just don't see it happening.

Eli:

The the only thing that worries me for Belmont is the loss of Tessa Miller. She was a junior forward last year who averaged nearly 15 points per game, and she went to Clemson because that's what happens when you're a junior who averages 15 points per game.

Colin:

Yeah. And that's understandable, but she was not their top scorer or their 2nd best scorer. She was 3rd. And so I just don't see the major impact there. I see someone else stepping up in her place, and I don't see it being an issue for Belmont to find someone new there.

Colin:

Yeah. We'll see how they adapt.

Kylee:

Yeah. Mhmm.

Colin:

Alright. On the men's side, we had a very interesting and very painful end of last season.

Kylee:

I don't even know what it's so bad. About it. It was so bad. Like brought me to tears.

Colin:

The world cried, when Indiana State, the conference regular season champ at 17 and 3, 32 and 7 overall.

Kylee:

Insane. Insane.

Colin:

Was neglected to be given an invite to the tournament. Never as a team with 30 plus wins, not made the tournament. This was the first time ever. This was a team that competed well against Michigan State.

Kylee:

They almost they almost beat us in

Eli:

the incredible in the Breslin Center.

Colin:

Mhmm. Frankly, they should have been a tournament team. They probably would have had an upset, and it pains me to this day that they did not make the tournament. They did, however,

Eli:

they would go on to make it to the NIT final with including wins over big 12 schools like Utah and Cincinnati.

Colin:

Yeah. Like, they were just a very good team, and it hurts me that they did not get an invite to the tournament.

Kylee:

Throwback to the selection committee still hating small conferences, and I'm done.

Colin:

The Mountain West.

Kylee:

Yeah. I would have rather had them, instead of 6 Mountain West teams, give a couple bids

Eli:

to the most As much as I love the Mountain West, Indiana State should have been in. Yes.

Kylee:

Yes. Absolutely. And instead of giving the big 10 8 teams when the big 10 was not good last year.

Colin:

Big 10 did not deserve 8 teams.

Eli:

Need Northwestern? I don't think so.

Kylee:

No. Like, I'm sorry. Like, I I'm a Michigan State student. The argument for us to be in there was just really slim. Like, it was hard.

Kylee:

Like No

Eli:

no hits Northwestern. I do have Wildcat in the blood as well. But would Northwestern kind of didn't deserve to make the tournament.

Kylee:

Nebraska was another interesting one too.

Eli:

And don't hate don't hate on Nebraska, though.

Colin:

I know.

Kylee:

I know. But, like, that's another one where I was like, like, I don't know.

Colin:

So, anyway, they were conference champs last year. Drake took second in the conference, regular season, ended up winning the conference tournament and that auto bid, 604 in the conference, 28 and 7 overall. Frankly, both of those teams lost a lot of players to graduation and to the transfer portal.

Kylee:

Oh, yeah. They're all going to big schools. As well as bigger schools.

Eli:

Where did Robbie and Viola end up transferring? To.

Kylee:

I don't remember. Not remember. It happened very early last year.

Colin:

Yeah. I'll let you look that up while I get my

Eli:

transferred to St. Louis.

Colin:

St. Louis. That's right. Yep. A 10 school.

Colin:

Yes. So, anyways, all of these all that to say, none of us picked either of those 2 schools.

Eli:

No. It hurt, but we didn't.

Kylee:

Yeah. I would have loved to have picked Indiana State.

Eli:

It it didn't hurt to not pick Drake.

Kylee:

For retribution. Yeah. For revenge.

Colin:

Here's here's what I've got in my head. I've got Bradley, winning this. They were 3rd last year with 13 and 7. They returned a good number of their top players. They just look like a strong team.

Colin:

I will also comment though that UNI, Northern Iowa has a good shot. They were 4th last year.

Eli:

Panthers. Mhmm.

Colin:

And, realistically, they also didn't lose a lot. And so I was really between them. I'm picking Bradley just because they performed ever so slightly better last year, but I think it's between those 2 if I had to pick.

Kylee:

Yeah. On the flip side, I'm gonna pick you and I, specifically because I did watch them play a game last year. One game, but I watched it. I forget who it's against. It was against a power a power 5 team, and they were leading most of the game.

Kylee:

Like, they looked very impressive against said power 5 team, so, I'm a I'm a do it. I'm a take them. Solid amount of returners. So yeah.

Colin:

Yeah. Eli, what you got? You picking you and I? Yes. Yes.

Colin:

Eli had Bradley written down.

Kylee:

I like to think

Eli:

I I had Bradley, but then I checked the transfer portal, and they only got one transfer in from Rhode Island. So

Colin:

Hey. Don't don't mess with my Rams.

Eli:

Oh, I will. Well, every time you mess with my Bobcats.

Kylee:

Every time you rooted for the Rams, they lost.

Colin:

Like They look. They had a rough season

Kylee:

this year. Listen. I like to think that it's my my reasons for why I'm picking teams that's flipping Eli. I know it's not. So it's You

Eli:

and I you and I got some great transfers in from the University of Virginia. Great transfer in

Colin:

from Ford from Virginia. Yeah.

Eli:

And a transfer in from Loyola Chicago from a Missouri Valley School.

Kylee:

Another yeah. A

Colin:

big one. Chicago's a 10 now.

Eli:

Yeah. Didn't wanna be in the Missouri Valley anymore because they didn't wanna play us.

Colin:

Yep. Cowards.

Kylee:

I also love Loyola Chicago, though.

Colin:

Yeah. I'm glad they're in a different conference.

Kylee:

Yeah. I

Colin:

like them in the industry.

Kylee:

And they did a lot better this past year. So

Colin:

They did.

Eli:

They did.

Colin:

Very happy. Alright. Shall we move on?

Kylee:

Yes. Yeah.

Colin:

Alright. Who wants to talk about conference realignment? Because this conference has a little bit of it.

Kylee:

Well, I don't I mean, do you wanna hear me do you wanna hear me complain about conference realignment for, like, 20 minutes? I don't think

Colin:

so. Show.

Kylee:

Yeah. It's like that's an entire episode. We we could I could go on a rant.

Colin:

We could essentially release a whole new podcast about conference realignment.

Eli:

How Honestly, I'd be down.

Kylee:

I hate conference

Colin:

rebranding. To edit another podcast, frankly, or record another podcast. We love being an engineering student. Anyways, so the Southland Conference who did a little bit of conference rebranding. They have new logo.

Kylee:

Nice. What's the I'm gonna look

Colin:

at that. Added 2 new schools, Stephen F Austin out of Texas and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, also known as UTRGV, very Southern Texas school. Both those joined out of the WAC and were okay last year on the men's side. They were nowhere to be seen last year, or nowhere to be seen last year on the men's side, okay, last year on the women's side. So with that said, notable women's teams from last year, Lamar was conference champion, 1701 conference record, 247 overall.

Colin:

Texas A&M Corpus Christi pulled off a tournament upset and made the tournament

Kylee:

that name.

Colin:

Made the NCAA tournament instead. And then Steven f Boston placed 3rd in the WAC last year with a 22 and 12 overall record, just for reference.

Kylee:

Yeah. For also, I hate the new logo. I I don't like it.

Eli:

What's the new one? Let me see.

Colin:

It's essentially a star, a 4 pointed

Kylee:

star. But it's but it's also accompanied by this.

Colin:

Like, I

Kylee:

don't like that.

Eli:

Yeah. So I think the font's kind of fun.

Kylee:

No. I like the sun.

Colin:

I think it's unique. I do like that, but I don't know. Boo. I understand. Opinions on it.

Colin:

They went with the first, like, dark color scheme of any conference, which is really interesting.

Kylee:

I don't mind the colors.

Colin:

And I like that.

Kylee:

They're like, what? Gold and black?

Colin:

Yeah. Yeah. So I I like that. So, Kylie, you and I both picked Lamar. I'm curious what your thought process is, because I see what you have written.

Kylee:

Yeah. Yeah. No. No. No.

Kylee:

I mean, that's not really it's not really a thought process. I mean, 17 and 1 conference, outstanding. 24 and 7 overall is a pretty good record, by all standards. I'm picking them because I hate when new teams join the conference and win. So I cannot justify picking a team like SFA and being like, oh, yeah.

Kylee:

Like, you know, no. I'm I'm bringing on their downfall. So I I want I want Lamar to win. I think it'll be a bit a bit more of a challenge, again, bringing in some different teams you always in different play styles, and it there's always that learning curve, but, yeah. No.

Kylee:

I'm not picking them. So I pick Lamar.

Colin:

Eli, what you got?

Eli:

I I was looking at those WAC schools. I was looking at Stephen f Austin. I was looking at UTRGV.

Kylee:

That's so wild.

Eli:

Of those schools have massive roster turnover. They did. They both lost, like, 6 to 8 players each in the transfer portal. Wow. Didn't bring in a lot to replace them.

Eli:

I and that's something that often comes with conference realignment. Players know where they wanna play and when your school moves without consulting you, that's something that a lot of players don't vibe with a lot. But I looking at both Lamar and TA and M Corpus Christi, neither of them have very much roster turnover at all. They both look very solid as organizations. I do think that Lamar has a great chance to come back and win that conference back to back.

Eli:

But I think that Texas A&M, Corpus Christi qualifying for that NCAA tournament like Kyla talked about earlier, once you're you're a tournament team once and you wanna be a tournament team again and you want 2 trophies. You know, you want the regular season trophy and you want that tournament trophy.

Colin:

Yep. That's understandable. I will agree. LaVar looks good. Texas A&M, Corpus Christi looks good.

Colin:

In my opinion, Steven f Austin still looks better even with their roster turnover. They played in a better conference last year. The WAC was just a better basketball conference, always has been. They took 3rd in that conference, and Lamar has really not had much of a challenge on the women's side. And I'm not really sure Lamar or Corpus Christi is ready to be challenged by a team such as Steven f Austin, especially with how good women's basketball is in the WAC compared to in the Southland.

Colin:

And so

Eli:

And I think it's fun to get a couple more couple more Texas teams in the Southland. Yeah. That's fun.

Colin:

Mhmm. And so I'm picking Stephen f Austin there because of that, because of because I think they know how to play in a better women's basketball conference. And Lamar is not ready for whatever is going to be thrown at them with these 2 new teams.

Eli:

The the question is, will will SFA play up, or will they play down?

Kylee:

Yeah. Because if they play down, you're not gonna be able to beat a team at their own game.

Eli:

No. If if they play Southland basketball, I think Lamar's running away with it again.

Colin:

That's a good point. So it's gonna really depend on that. On the men's side God. Because even if Austin We'll we'll

Eli:

just let Colin

Kylee:

take this down. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Colin:

Yeah. So McNeese State has my heart. Not sure why. No. Genuinely no clue why.

Colin:

But because they because they broke it last year in the tournament, but they have my heart again.

Kylee:

We all told you not to pick them.

Eli:

We specifically advised you against it.

Colin:

You know what? I picked them again. They were 17 and 1 in the conference last year. 304 overall.

Eli:

What?

Colin:

I'm kidding. 34 overall. 300.

Eli:

30 win team made the tournament. See committee? See?

Kylee:

See what happened? See committee?

Colin:

That was genuinely an accidental typo. They were 30 and 4 overall, not 304. I did not do that on purpose. Mhmm. But I want to, like, at least, I want them back to back.

Colin:

They had some strong transfers. They kept their top players. They added Brandon Murray from Ole Miss, and he was a star at Georgetown prior to that in the Big East. Sincere Parker, they added from Saint Louis. Joe Charles from Louisiana.

Colin:

They kept Christian Ciumadi and DJ Richards, their top two players from last year. Will Wade, their coach, also stayed at McNeese, which is impressive considering the coaching, carousel that went around, and how good McNeese was in their conference last year. And so I really have no questions. McNeese is gonna run away with this conference. They loaded up on transfers.

Colin:

I don't know how Will Wade recruited that well.

Eli:

Yeah. Holy shit. They also got transfers from Arizona State, Syracuse.

Colin:

Yes. And those were the, like, less notable ones that I chose not to mention.

Kylee:

He ate. He ate.

Eli:

Will Wade

Colin:

went insane in the transfer portal. Somehow pulled all these guys to McNeese State of all places. And, frankly, I think Will Wade is not staying at McNeese State another year after this, but I'm gonna cheer for McNeese State this year anyways.

Eli:

Hey. When when you can get in the transfer portal and tell a guy, hey. I'll you'll come here and you'll win 2 trophies, and you'll probably go to the tournament. Yeah. Why not?

Eli:

Right? It's pretty convincing.

Colin:

Yeah. So, yeah, McNeese.

Kylee:

Win this year in the tournament, Kyle McNeese.

Eli:

Maybe there'll be, like, a, like, a 10 seed.

Colin:

Yeah.

Eli:

Wouldn't that be fun?

Colin:

That would be crazy. I I I don't know what I'd do.

Eli:

Who is McNeese State playing out of conference?

Colin:

Not not much.

Eli:

They don't

Colin:

They play play a pretty light out of conference schedule if I remember right. Anyway, I'll let you check that quick.

Eli:

Yeah. I I wanna know what their what their strength of schedule bid for this game is gonna look like. They're playing Alabama.

Colin:

Well, that's a pretty strong team out of conference.

Eli:

They're also playing Santa Clara, Mississippi State, ULL

Colin:

could be interesting.

Eli:

ULL. Yeah. Like, 3 d two schools.

Colin:

Yeah.

Eli:

They're playing Illinois State, who's a pretty decent team in the Missouri Valley.

Colin:

Yep. Interesting. Alright.

Eli:

If they if they beat one of those SEC schools though, they're going to the tournament no matter what.

Colin:

I think that is the case.

Kylee:

Real wishful thinking.

Eli:

It's happening.

Colin:

Because at that point, they will have 30 wins most likely. Yeah. But we know 30 wins doesn't do anything next week.

Kylee:

Beef with the selection committee. So

Colin:

Continually. Anyways, last conference. Let's get it over with. Let's get

Kylee:

it over with. Hold

Colin:

on. Here.

Kylee:

This is the good one to talk about.

Colin:

This is the good one to talk about, and we are running long already on this episode.

Eli:

Ladies and gentlemen, it's the big twelve. It might be presented by Allstate next year, but this year, they've they've added the Four Corners Schools. They've got Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah. Arizona and Colorado, great tournament teams last year.

Colin:

Especially on the men's side.

Eli:

Yeah. They On

Colin:

the women's side, I mean, they're pretty strong too.

Eli:

They they've lost Texas and Oklahoma who weren't making a lot of noise on the men's side.

Kylee:

Big deficit for the women's side.

Eli:

Huge deficit for the women's

Colin:

side. For the women's side.

Eli:

I was how many of those new schools were women's tournament teams last year?

Colin:

Colorado, Arizona, and Utah.

Eli:

Wow. Yeah.

Kylee:

So It's a 3 of 3 of 4.

Colin:

Yeah. Yeah. And Arizona State wasn't far off.

Kylee:

Yeah. They were they were very close. They were one of those toss-up teams.

Eli:

Yep. So The big twelve is going to be a bloodbath as per yours.

Kylee:

Yes. Another year. And same women's. But on

Colin:

the women's side, I think it really is more even this year than it has been in a very long time.

Kylee:

Yeah. You have Texas

Colin:

and Oklahoma both left.

Kylee:

Yeah. They're both on that. They're just a step above for the most part, everybody else. And so them leaving opens the door for a lot of these teams that have been waiting to win a conference tournament Yeah. Or a conference championship waiting.

Colin:

No kidding. So let's just talk about the tournament teams from last year. Kansas State was a 4 seed. They were 3rd in the conference. Baylor was a 5 seed.

Colin:

Colorado was a 5 seed from the Pac 12. Utah was a 5 seed from the Pac 12. Iowa State, a 7 seed. Kansas, an 8 seed. West Virginia, an 8 seed.

Colin:

And Arizona was in the first four as an 11 seed. That's a lot of tournament teams. They actually Mhmm. Ended up with 1 more tournament team than last than they would have minus conference realignment. You know?

Colin:

That is 8 tournament teams in a 16 team conference

Kylee:

Which is very impressive.

Colin:

From last year. And so and there were a lot of teams right on that border. And so there's just a lot of questions on who is going to take over. It's a much more even conference because Texas and Oklahoma ran away with every game they played except for against each other. And so you just wonder, like, what and same with, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona not having to play Stanford and UCLA this year.

Colin:

USC. And USC. Oh. You know, you wonder what those teams can do without a Pac 12 Schedule. Schedule on

Kylee:

women. Colorado, especially, was a very strong team last year.

Colin:

They were.

Kylee:

A lot of good senior talent.

Eli:

Had that incredible early win against LSU.

Kylee:

Yes. Just getting getting over that the Pac 12.

Eli:

LA school.

Kylee:

It's so hard.

Eli:

It was the LA school.

Colin:

Yeah. Yeah.

Kylee:

It it's hard.

Colin:

And so you just gotta wonder, like, what can those teams do, which is why I'm picking Utah. They're new to the conference. They're kinda underdogs a little bit, but with how open the field is and how much easier their schedule is now that they don't have to pace face UCLA, USC, Stanford, all of these super, super good power teams from the Pac 12. You know, you still get a lot of strong competition, but it's just not quite the same level. And so I'm definitely picking Utah here, based on the amount of players they returned as well.

Kylee:

Yeah. That's funny because I did I picked Utah last year to win the Pac 12.

Colin:

I remember that. Yeah. Yeah. And I

Kylee:

was pretty How'd that work out? I was pretty wrong. But they fit. But they made the tournament.

Colin:

So They did make the tournament. Yeah.

Kylee:

That's very good team. So that's nothing to, like, you know, scoff at them or anything, but just a tough conference. So I picked Baylor.

Colin:

Interesting.

Kylee:

Also kind of going off of I don't like it when new teams from other conferences come in and win. But, also, at the same time, Baylor is returning a lot of talent. Their whole squad is basically between juniors and grad students. There's a few, like, freshman, sophomore mixed in there. Again, not having the Texas Oklahoma huge advantage, but I I I did put I can also see a Utah, like, being successful, but I'm gonna I'm gonna rock with Baylor.

Kylee:

I watched them play last year. Very fun to watch play. Very talented team. So

Colin:

Yeah. Eli, how many Iowa teams have you picked today?

Eli:

Several. Eli.

Colin:

I I He's got on. I just

Kylee:

State pride.

Colin:

I just wanna walk this back. There are only 4 teams in Iowa.

Eli:

4 d one. What? 4 d one

Colin:

teams. In Iowa. And you have picked 3 of them now

Kylee:

too. Are you gonna pick Iowa men or women to win the big time

Eli:

this year?

Kylee:

Probably. Please pick their men's team.

Eli:

4. Listen. We covered 2 of the conferences with Iowa teams in them today. Alright.

Kylee:

That's also that's also true.

Colin:

Sorry. Continue. I'll let you

Eli:

I I'm rocking with Iowa State. I think that I think that they had something really, really special in Ames last year. I think they made a lot of noise in the Big 12 last year. Even like, I wasn't on this podcast last year. I was not as tuned into college basketball as I am now, and I knew that Iowa State women were making noise.

Eli:

And they definitely got hit a little bit in the transfer portal. They lost a lot of their off the bench consistency players to schools like Dayton, Montana, Texas Tech, Colorado, who will be competitors in the big twelve. But they pulled in some great transfer players. They've got they pulled in some talent from TCU, UMass. They pulled in 14 points per game in Mackenzie Hair, a sophomore from Marquette.

Eli:

And I what that says to me is pulling in a sophomore who was that productive in the Big East last year is that she's only got room to grow. And I think in a conference as wide open as this year's Big 12, that's definitely something she's going to be doing. And they yeah. They pulled in some great bench production from Oregon State and UMass. So I I think that Iowa State has the coaching credentials, has the pedigree, and is hungry enough to win the big 12 this year.

Colin:

Look. That's that's realistic, and I can totally see it. I don't think they will personally.

Eli:

Ouch. Did

Kylee:

you hear that? You already said about your pick.

Colin:

You know? However, I I do see, like, all of your points are not something I can argue with. Like, they're a solid team, and it's such an open field. I really don't know what's gonna happen.

Kylee:

I wonder if TCU will have enough people to play this game.

Colin:

Are they gonna have

Kylee:

They have Hailey roster.

Eli:

More open tryout?

Kylee:

They have Hailey Van Lyth now, though. They do. Don't don't you forget about that. We didn't we didn't talk about that.

Colin:

So glad they have Hailey Van Lyth, but do they have a team?

Kylee:

Hopefully, all of those people who were hurt last year are healthy now.

Eli:

They they lost Sydney Harris, 10 points per game, sophomore to Iowa State.

Colin:

Look. If TCU is healthy and, like, has a bench this year, I think they could also easily win Oh. Big 12.

Kylee:

They looked great at the beginning of last season, and then it was sharp downturn because of injuries.

Colin:

Yeah. Before the injuries, they were ahead of Texas and Oklahoma. Yeah. And so my that was my hesitation in not picking them. Was all of those injuries from last year?

Colin:

Was their lack of a bench? Their lack of just their general lack of players. I don't think they're gonna make that same mistake twice, but that really does hurt your image. Oh, yeah. All of those players.

Kylee:

It also opens up the door thing.

Colin:

That makes all of your players injured.

Kylee:

It was crazy because it also opened up the door for other teams to do that because was it Arizona that did it as

Eli:

well? It was.

Kylee:

Yes. So it's just it was just a very interesting time in college basketball when that happened.

Colin:

But Arizona made the tournament. There's the difference.

Kylee:

That is true. TC fared okay.

Eli:

They they've also they've pulled in some great transfers from South Dakota and Georgia State. So I they're pulling in some mid major talent, but in this new look big twelve, I'm just not sure it's gonna be enough.

Kylee:

Yeah. It'll be interesting to see, Hailey Van Lyth adapt to

Eli:

Big 12 basketball.

Kylee:

Another conference.

Colin:

Yeah. Another conference is the big the big point.

Kylee:

Yeah. After after a rather rough season at, LSU last year.

Eli:

Yeah. I think But a great showing at the Olympics.

Kylee:

Oh, yes. Yes. Great showing at the Olympics rough here.

Colin:

3 v 3 was very awesome.

Eli:

I I honestly think she builds on that. I think she's gonna be a star in Fort Worth this year.

Kylee:

I think she'll do very well. I just think the team she went into at LSU, they were trying to build, like, a super team or whatever because she's very, very town player.

Eli:

Yes.

Kylee:

And it was just Kind

Colin:

of backfired.

Kylee:

It backfired a lot, because, I mean, LSU was still gonna be a pretty good team this year anyway. But

Colin:

Always.

Kylee:

Yeah. I'm hoping this would be a better environment for her to thrive Yeah. And grow a little bit more before going and having a very good professional career.

Colin:

Yeah. Let's hop over the men's side because there are

Kylee:

so many

Eli:

holy cow.

Colin:

You remember how many teams we said for the women's side where there were 8 of 16? We got 9 of 16.

Kylee:

Which is also crazy.

Colin:

Including a 1 seed, 2 2 seeds, a 3 seed, a 4 seed, 2 sixes, a 9, and a 10. Jesus. Yeah. Let's let's just start from the top. Houston won the conference last year Mhmm.

Colin:

In their 1st year in the big twelve. They were the 1 seed. They were 15 and 3, 32 and 5 overall. They did okay in the tournament. Whatever.

Colin:

Iowa State, 2nd in the conference. A 2 seed, 13 and 5, 29 and 8 overall. Arizona was the Pac 12 conference champion, 15 and 5, 20 7 and 9 overall. They were super strong. Baylor was a 3 seed last year.

Colin:

Kansas, a 4. BYU, a 6. Texas Tech, a 6. TCU, a 9, and Colorado, a 10 seed out of the Pac 12. I think the biggest surprise last year was BYU, coming into the finals of, like, putting together a power team.

Kylee:

I ate that up, though.

Colin:

I think it was incredible. As a 6 seed Mhmm. Like they should.

Eli:

And then, losing to Duquesne.

Colin:

Losing to Duquesne, that was a whole another story. Yeah. Because they should they should have been a 5 seed. The or the tournament officials put them in a 6 seed so that they didn't have to play on Sunday. Turned out, it didn't matter because they lost to Duquesne.

Kylee:

Yeah.

Eli:

But they would have

Colin:

had an easier time at a 5 seed playing a 12.

Kylee:

Yes.

Colin:

Which is a really interesting, thing to think about what could have been. Yeah. Anyways, on the men's side, we have all different picks. Eli.

Eli:

Iowa State sweep. Iowa State sweeping the big twelve. Book it book it now.

Colin:

Eli The

Eli:

big twelve runs through Ames.

Colin:

Eli, I know you have other personalities outside of just being Iowa.

Kylee:

Does he, though? He is Iowa. He's the state of Iowa

Colin:

Have we, Jack? After this episode. Yeah. Just really questioning that.

Eli:

Listen. None of the other conferences have teams in Iowa, so you won't get this me again until we preview the big ten.

Colin:

That is very true.

Kylee:

Yeah. But you don't like Iowa.

Eli:

That's fair. I am kind of a Hawkeye hater.

Colin:

Yeah. Yeah. And they lost Caitlin Clark. So what it

Kylee:

Yeah. It's Are

Colin:

you gonna pick them on the women's side?

Kylee:

Well, you're gonna have

Eli:

to tune in. Pick USC.

Kylee:

Hold on. No. You're gonna have to tune in to that episode

Eli:

In, like, a month.

Kylee:

Yeah. A long time from now.

Eli:

We'll see you in mid October for that one.

Kylee:

For my gonna be my favorite episode.

Colin:

Alright. Yeah. So that's that. I'm picking Kansas. They're on the rebuild.

Colin:

Bill Bill Self wants to have them back at the top. I think they're back at the top this year. Iowa State, I would agree, is the biggest challenger. Arizona's gonna be a really tough one too. Houston, I don't have as much confidence in, but I never do, And they always prove me wrong.

Kylee:

Yeah. Because I also didn't have much comfort confidence in them last year, and they outlasted very, very well.

Colin:

They did. They always proved me wrong. And so But

Eli:

I Iowa State played a great spoiler in the big twelve tournament last year.

Colin:

Absolutely. Mhmm.

Kylee:

Very true.

Colin:

I had them go a long way in the tournament, which is why I didn't pick up because they did not go a long way in the tournament. And they hurt my feelings, and therefore, we're not picking them.

Kylee:

That's sad.

Colin:

Kansas is

Kylee:

So team. My only thing about Kansas is Hunter Dickinson finally gonna graduate Ever. Like, ever?

Eli:

From anywhere?

Kylee:

Like, this has gotta be his, like

Colin:

Nah.

Kylee:

7 100th year of college.

Colin:

Look. I wanna root against Kansas or against Hunter Dickinson, but, like, I gotta root for Kansas. Like, Bill Salazar

Eli:

is Bro, he's gotta be getting, like, a PhD at this point.

Kylee:

Yeah. Like like, I understand that, but we also thought that last year too. And that in the beginning of the season, we had seen, like, the pieces were fitting. Like, they all looked they they looked like they were gonna fit. Everyone looked, like, put together, and then they did not look put together.

Kylee:

They should have lost that game of the tournament.

Colin:

They absolutely should. Oh, against

Kylee:

I forget.

Eli:

Samford, was it? Samford.

Kylee:

Yes. And the refs blew that game.

Eli:

The refs Absolutely.

Colin:

Did it

Kylee:

so that game.

Eli:

Did not deserve to win that game.

Kylee:

So Kansas should have been a 1st round exit in the tournament. So that's

Colin:

picking Kansas.

Kylee:

That's why my confidence is wavered. I use Brady again for my phone a friend just because I thought it'd be fun for him to pick who wanted to win the big 12. He said it's gonna be Houston.

Colin:

He said I trust Brady's picks over yours any day of the week.

Kylee:

That's so rude of you to say.

Eli:

I I agree. I think Houston can definitely always be relied upon for regular season success because over a span of months of conference action at a time, Houston is really, really good at adapting and, like, rebuilding

Kylee:

their roster and who

Eli:

they play to kind of contort themselves to meet whichever opponent they're playing, but they and they're always they're always favorites in March Madness.

Kylee:

Which is annoying, but I never pick them to win.

Eli:

Because they because they don't. They make it to the sweet 16 or the elite 8.

Kylee:

And then they're They let

Eli:

you down. Yeah.

Kylee:

Yeah. But that's why I'm picking them for the conference.

Colin:

Yeah. Real.

Kylee:

Yeah. They had a strong recruiting class, strong returning class. I mean, we'll just see. The big 12 is an interesting one.

Eli:

I I'm excited to see how different BYU looks this year. And we talked about this last episode and our coaching changes. We talked about them bringing in a coach from the NBA.

Kylee:

Yes. That'll be very interesting.

Colin:

It's gonna be very interesting.

Eli:

I I think BYU I I don't think they're gonna win the big twelve tournament or regular season. No. But I can absolutely see them making the tournament again.

Colin:

Yeah. And Yeah. The big question is, where does Arizona and Colorado fit into this?

Kylee:

I was about to say Arizona's gonna be an interesting one too.

Colin:

Arizona State looked good last year. They didn't make the tournament because the Pac 12 was looked down upon by the committee.

Eli:

Especially those last couple weeks of the season. The Sun Devils made a push.

Colin:

Mhmm. Yeah.

Kylee:

It's it like, Arizona, I think, is gonna be a very odd, like, fit in the big twelve.

Colin:

They play a different style.

Kylee:

Yes. So it's gonna take some time, and their style is all is not necessarily, I guess, I'll just say successful a lot of the time. Not a lot of the time.

Colin:

Florida Atlantic.

Kylee:

Exactly. So it's very

Eli:

wanted them to lose to Long Beach State in the 1st round.

Kylee:

We really wanted I I had that upset. I was like, come on. Just because I don't have a lot of faith in, you know Arizona. In the post yeah. Historically, in the postseason, never.

Kylee:

Within the past, like, 5 years, no.

Eli:

And that's why I think seeing them in the big twelve for big twelve conference schedule for months at a time.

Kylee:

It is crazy for them.

Eli:

It's it's going to be insane, and I've I just don't know if they're ready for that in Tucson.

Kylee:

They got that, but they picked up a couple transfers. The one kid from Oakland went there. Correct?

Colin:

Yes. He did.

Kylee:

Yes. So they were active in the transfer portal, but I just think it's gonna be

Colin:

An adjustment.

Kylee:

Very big adjustment for them. But we also thought that about,

Colin:

Houston.

Kylee:

Yeah. Houston.

Colin:

The last year, we talked a lot about, I don't think Houston's going to adjust.

Kylee:

Who else came into the big 12 last year?

Colin:

BYUCF, UCF, Cincy.

Kylee:

Cincinnati was the one I was thinking. I was They almost

Colin:

made the tournament too.

Kylee:

I didn't wanna be wrong about Cincinnati being in the big 12, but that was yeah. They almost made the tournament. They made a huge push at the end of the season. They were, like, in talks. Like, they were almost there.

Colin:

If there were less conference upsets in the tournaments, they're they probably would have made it.

Eli:

Yeah. And then they lost to Indiana State, and the NIT put Indiana State in the tournament.

Kylee:

Yes. The circle. The the full circle circle back.

Colin:

On that note, full circling all the way back. No. I'm just kidding.

Eli:

Also, all the way back to the Missouri Valleys. We can talk about you and I more.

Colin:

All all the way back to the mountain west. No. I'm just kidding.

Eli:

We're just gonna do the whole episode again.

Colin:

Yeah. No. We don't got time for that. We are already over our regularly scheduled program.

Kylee:

Aren't we, though? When aren't we, though? Be so real.

Colin:

And we're no conference previews. Talk about the big 12.

Kylee:

Especially these ones. Like, conference previews, we could sit here in not all conferences.

Eli:

We we could go team by team.

Kylee:

Like, it it like, and when it gets to the bigger conferences, the power 4 I hate saying that. The power 4 conferences, like, it is really we can't

Colin:

say still a power 5 in basketball. Big East exists.

Kylee:

Yeah. I don't really there's, like,

Eli:

2 new things that are gonna be the term power 6.

Kylee:

Big East. Yeah. I don't know. It's just really, like,

Colin:

Kyla, you can't tell me that that Creighton is not a power team.

Kylee:

No. They are. But, like, I Oh,

Eli:

I was gonna bring this up on the big

Kylee:

back. Don't don't talk to me about how excited I am about Creighton being back.

Eli:

Okay.

Kylee:

Come on.

Eli:

But I the Iowa State women are playing Yukon and South Carolina out of conference. Yikes. So we will know if they're good early. Yes.

Kylee:

And South Carolina's returning almost their entire team.

Colin:

Yeah. That that is for another day. Yes. That is actually next week's conference.

Kylee:

Yeah. Tune

Eli:

in next week

Colin:

for the

Eli:

SEC. Yes.

Colin:

Actually, SEC and Big East.

Eli:

Tune in next week for the SEC and the Big East.

Kylee:

Fun to unpack. It's gonna be a lot

Colin:

to unpack. And you know what? I'm just gonna close out right there because we're talking about next week's episode. And, so, yeah. Thank you guys all for listening to this week's episode of checking that on Impact 89 FM.

Colin:

Let us know what you think by connecting with the station on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram atwdmband@impact89fm. This is our 2nd full basketball season. We're excited. In the coming weeks, we are in our conference preview predictions. So next week, we've got SEC and Big East as our 2, headliners, if you will.

Colin:

Week after that, we've got the ACC, the a 10, and the MAC. Kylie is raising her hand right now. She wants to say something. K. Kylie, what do you wanna say?

Kylee:

I'm so excited about the MAC.

Colin:

We all are. Let's be honest. We can talk for days days days about the MAC. So yeah. Anyways, the season's madness is only just beginning, and we cannot wait to talk about it more next week on Jack Thanet.

Colin:

Thank you guys all for listening.