Check the Net on Impact 89FM

Join us this week on Check the Net's, Impact89’s College Basketball Podcast, for a special double feature! In part 1, Kylee, Eli, and Colin talk Feast Week chaos on the women's side, with the rise of MSU and the fall of Creighton. Then, join the crew in part 2 where they discuss a historic week on the men's side, with 24 ranked losses in a single week, followed by 4 losses in the top 5 the week after! You won't want to miss this special set of episodes with Check the Net!

Creators and 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.

Kylee:

Welcome to part 1 of Check the Nets' feast week double feature on Impact 80 nine's men's and women's college basketball podcast. I'm your host, Kylie Tabler, and I'm joined today by my favorite frozen friends, Colin Pearson and Eli Flickama. It is very cold

Eli:

here. Winter Wonderland in East Lansing.

Kylee:

Yeah. It snowed really, really heavy on Wednesday. Yeah. And so everyone was out and about having fun.

Eli:

Procrastinating on their finals.

Kylee:

With that too. Of course. A lot.

Colin:

Yeah. That's all I've been doing for the last week.

Kylee:

What that meant is that we got to stay inside and watch And

Eli:

watch basketball.

Kylee:

So that was super fun.

Eli:

Your your besties have made it through project week.

Kylee:

Yes.

Eli:

And we're we're buckling down,

Kylee:

buckling in. We made by within an inch of our lives. But But

Eli:

we we scraped it out and so did the Lions.

Kylee:

So Oh my gosh. Yes. Shout out Lions. We love you. But, this double feature is we're gonna spend this episode talking about women's basketball.

Kylee:

We're gonna spend the next episode talking about men's basketball. So are y'all ready to start talking about some women's basketball covering the last 2 weeks? Because last week was Thanksgiving, and we all went home.

Colin:

Yeah. And we're doing 2 episodes because it was pure chaos.

Kylee:

There's a lot of stuff that happened.

Colin:

Women's sides were just pure chaos for the last 2 weeks. It's been so fun.

Kylee:

And we're all super excited because I know I spent all my time watching basketball when I was home for Thanksgiving, so I know y'all are probably the same. So

Eli:

I did indeed watch a lot of

Kylee:

us. Alright.

Colin:

So without further ado

Eli:

Let's kick it off.

Kylee:

It's time to start. So, unfortunately, I'm super upset about this one. At the time, number 1 South Carolina played at the time, number 5 UCLA, and UCLA took home the win, 77 to 62. Unfortunately, the streak has been broken. They hadn't lost since, like, 2 years ago, basically.

Kylee:

But I think this is such a benefit to South Carolina because now they feel defeat because some of the girls on that team who were freshmen last year had no idea what it tastes like to lose, and now they do. And they don't like that feeling. So they really this is a good thing, I think.

Eli:

Agreed.

Colin:

Yeah. I will note they dropped a whole two spots down to number 3 in the AP poll.

Kylee:

Well, yeah, at South Carolina.

Colin:

And UCLA is now 1. Yeah.

Kylee:

Yeah. UCLA jumped from 5 to 1. So

Eli:

Which they deserved.

Colin:

Oh, absolutely.

Eli:

U UCLA was dominant during this whole game. And I especially with the some of the flashes of weakness and inconsistency we've seen, especially in USC's offense, I think UCLA could be very dominant in conference play, at least at home.

Colin:

Oh, yeah. Definitely. Yeah. There's no question there. I mean, UCLA just beat South Carolina, a team that hadn't lost in almost 2 in over 2 years, almost 2 years somewhere now.

Kylee:

Years. Yeah.

Colin:

They beat them by 15 points. Yeah. UCLA looked really good defensively, especially shutting down that insane high power South Carolina offense. Mhmm. I mean, South Carolina only scored 62 points in that game.

Kylee:

Yeah. That is not like them at all.

Colin:

High any amount for South Carolina. And you could tell, at their next two games that it clearly did not like fueled them. To, to lose. They went and beat 2 ranked teams.

Kylee:

Yep. Yep.

Colin:

Later that week with a 40 point win over 15 Iowa State, 76 to 36. They more than doubled their score.

Kylee:

They held them to, what was it, 9 points at the half?

Colin:

Yeah. Yep. Which is absurd. And then, 81, 70 win over number 8, Duke. And so, obviously, South Carolina's still a force to be reckoned with.

Colin:

Mhmm. You know? But UCLA, kudos to them. Yeah. But, you may have just awoken a sleeping giant.

Kylee:

Which is great.

Colin:

And we did not need that in this world.

Kylee:

I needed it.

Eli:

I I'm worried about Iowa State. They they've just they've not been on top of it. They they're super hot and cold. They can't seem to find consistency in the paint.

Colin:

No. Iowa State seems to be one of the most inconsistent teams in women's college basketball right now.

Eli:

Yeah. I don't I think if they played TCU 5 times, they're losing all 5.

Colin:

Yeah. I mean, yeah, they're still ranked 20th in the country, but they're sitting here with a 2 point win over Drake. But then they also come out with, you know, these wins over, like I guess they really haven't had any, like, major wins this year, have they?

Eli:

They haven't. Mhmm. No. I don't think they're the favorite to win the big twelve anymore by a long shot.

Kylee:

No. So true. So true.

Colin:

But they play Iowa next week. That should be fun. So they have another shot at, like A big win. Always. Proving themselves.

Colin:

And then Yukon the week after that.

Kylee:

Yikes. That might be a repeat of South Carolina.

Eli:

Best of luck. Best of luck, Cyclones.

Colin:

So, yeah, that'll be an interesting one. Let's talk

Kylee:

Yeah. Let's talk about Notre Dame for for 3 times for 3 games in a row.

Eli:

But speaking of USC, and their flashes of weakness, we had, at the time, number 3 USC versus then number 6 Notre Dame. And Notre Dame won 70 4 to 61 in Los Angeles. They noted the Irish left out to a 20 to 10 lead after the first and really never looked back, and USC shot 7.89% from beyond the arc.

Kylee:

That's awful. Like, that's bad. That's I'm at that's MSU men's basketball numbers right there, and that's terrible.

Colin:

Just for reference, this is USC, Southern California. Southern California. Not South Carolina. It's okay. We we switched sides of the country.

Kylee:

Yeah. That's a great showing

Eli:

for Notre Dame. In Los Angeles. Still in Los Angeles.

Kylee:

True. That is a great showing for Notre Dame. I mean, their guard combo of Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles is so dangerous, and they are so fun to watch. And, honestly, USC needs to start playing cohesively. The Porsche like, the Porsche shooting is not gonna help, but they're not gonna be successful, not with UCLA currently top of the country, obviously, top of the big ten right now.

Kylee:

They're not gonna fare well against some of these other teams in the big ten if they're gonna play like this.

Eli:

We we've seen Juju Watkins have standout games, but it's against teams in the 2 100.

Kylee:

Mhmm.

Eli:

Yeah. If you can't play up to top opponents, you're not gonna win big games, and you're definitely not gonna win the big 10.

Kylee:

Especially when you have a considerable amount of teams in the big 10 currently ranked in the top 25.

Colin:

So here's the issue I have with that. Juju Watkins was just fine in that game. She scored 24 points, had 6 rebounds, 5 assists. She was doing just fine. Kiki Iriyafen had a pretty good game, not great, 9 rebounds and 15 points for her, but it was the entire rest of the team that just didn't do anything.

Colin:

Yeah. I mean, you had next to nothing on the bench. You had next to nothing on the court outside of those 2, and you cannot be carried by 2 players. No. Doesn't work that way.

Kylee:

You have to have reliable people on the court that are not just your 2 stars, and you have to have some reliability on

Colin:

the team.

Eli:

To have role players.

Colin:

Yeah.

Eli:

You have to have the player who's always going to be out to the side for the sort of for the half open 3. And they have to be able to make those 3 pointers, which clearly USC can't.

Kylee:

And you can't you can't only have, Juju Watkins go 1 on 1 every time down the court. Yeah. Like, you need to actually

Colin:

because all of a sudden, it's gonna start being 2 on 1.

Eli:

2 on 1, 3 on 1 when they can pin her down.

Kylee:

And who and who knows if these open players are gonna even make shots?

Colin:

Exactly. Because if it's just Juju and Kiki that can do anything, I

Eli:

mean You're gonna lose basketball games.

Colin:

Mhmm.

Eli:

Yeah. A lot of them. Yeah.

Colin:

And so that's gonna be very interesting for USC. I think their coach is smart enough to mix it up to, you know, figure out a way to fix that problem that they're having. But they need to do it fast because the big ten season is approaching.

Eli:

We we've got a month until conference play.

Colin:

So

Kylee:

Yeah. Exciting. And then

Colin:

the big ten, that's not gonna stand. No. No. No. Way too much defense in the big ten.

Colin:

Mhmm.

Kylee:

Notre Dame again.

Eli:

Notre Dame again.

Kylee:

Yeah. So now we have, at the time, number 6, Notre Dame. Again, at, at the time, number 19 TCU, and TCU pulled away and won 76 to 68. They're the real deal, and the AP keeps snubbing them from, like, the top 10. Van Lyth is playing some of her best basketball I've ever seen, and she just seems so much happier in her current situation, which I personally love to see.

Kylee:

I mean, teams just don't have an answer for Prince or Van Liz, like, at this current moment.

Colin:

Not at all. This is

Eli:

the game that solidified TCU as a top 10 team and the big twelve favorite for me.

Kylee:

Yeah. I agree. Yeah.

Colin:

I mean, they finally, you know, they've been proving themselves all season. They've been dominant, pretty much all season, but this one, you know, with a win over Notre Dame, who just beat USC, I mean, that's a huge, huge win for TCU. Coach Mark Campbell, in his 2nd season at TCU, I think has finally, not even finally. He turned around this team from last year with all the injuries, and he coached a great team last year. They started, what, 13 and o?

Colin:

Yeah. 4 grand.

Eli:

Last year.

Colin:

Mhmm. TCU was incredible last year until injuries hit him. And so this year, he's kinda bolstered that roster a little bit, got the bench a little bit, deeper, and all of a sudden, this team looks like unstoppable.

Kylee:

Yeah. Yep. So definitely look out for them to make some waves this season in a potential I mean, at this point, it's really early, but a potential national, like, national championship contender.

Colin:

Oh, definitely. I could see it. Yeah. No question.

Eli:

I I think they'll 100% turn it up in a win or go home situation. Mhmm. Yeah. But TCU is not the team I wanna be playing in a knockout bracket.

Kylee:

No. Not at all.

Colin:

Or in the big twelve for that matter. Yeah. Like, in conference play, I don't wanna see TCU. That's gonna be they're gonna be a very tough team.

Kylee:

Absolutely. So

Eli:

Notre Dame again.

Kylee:

Notre Dame again. After their loss to TCU, they played number 4 Texas and now number 10 Notre Dame.

Eli:

Shouldn't be in the top 10.

Colin:

Why why

Eli:

are they in the top 10?

Kylee:

They won in overtime. Eighty to 70 against Texas. Still. Great bounce back win for the team. They needed this.

Kylee:

A top 5 win will surely have them moving up above number 10 in Eli.

Eli:

Listen. As long as we also get TCU in the top 10, I'm fine with it.

Kylee:

Yeah. Yeah. Because TCU is undefeated. Right? Yes.

Kylee:

Why aren't I I don't understand.

Colin:

They are top 10. They're number 9 now.

Eli:

There you go.

Kylee:

I they need to be higher, but

Colin:

I I will agree with that. They should be higher. However

Eli:

But also, Notre Dame, after their loss to TCU, also lost to Unranked Utah

Colin:

Yeah. Which is really interesting.

Eli:

So I I mean, they've not showed the wire to wire dominance that I would expect from a top ten team, but this game really, really showed me that this is a very resilient group of players. I they stifled Texas' attempt at a 4th quarter comeback and then dominated 12 to 2 in overtime, and they shot 16 of 17 for free throws

Kylee:

Nice.

Eli:

And just really pulled away when it came down to that fine that overtime period, that pressure.

Kylee:

Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah. I mean,

Colin:

a 10 point win in overtime is a big deal. That's a

Eli:

huge deal. Against the top 5 team.

Colin:

Yeah. Mhmm.

Eli:

I'm just I just feel like I'm not convinced yet. I I need to see them do this consistently.

Kylee:

Yeah. That's very fair.

Colin:

That's fair.

Eli:

I needed to see this team not lose to Utah, mostly.

Kylee:

They needed to really bounce back after. Because losing to TCU, fine. Like, we all know TCU is a is a good team and, like, fair. But, yeah, that loss to Utah, it it hurts their chances.

Colin:

It hurts their chances.

Kylee:

Apparently not enough. According to the AP poll, no.

Eli:

Not enough.

Kylee:

Not enough.

Colin:

Yeah. I mean, there's definitely some interesting stuff with that.

Kylee:

But yeah. Definite definitely a solid win over Texas. Handed Texas their 1st loss of the season.

Colin:

Yes.

Kylee:

Gaining them their 1st loss this season, so it'll be interesting.

Colin:

Alright. Shall we move on from Notre Dame? Indeed.

Eli:

I Are

Colin:

you are you tired of talking about the people from South Bend?

Kylee:

No no more Notre Dame.

Colin:

The fighting Irish. Alright, Kylie.

Kylee:

Indeed. So we have Indeed. Indeed. Indeed. So we have number 21 Nebraska at Creighton.

Kylee:

The Blue Jays came through, won 80 to 74. Yay. Huge bounce back win for Creighton. They've been kind of hanging out outside the rankings after being ranked kinda the 1st couple weeks and then taking some hard hits and losses, but great win for them.

Eli:

Had that early loss to the South Dakota States.

Kylee:

Mhmm. Yes. They're they're finding their footing. They're getting their rhythm back. Definitely a tournament team in the making.

Eli:

Yeah. And and since this game this game was the start of a 5 game win streak, so Creighton's definitely back into their usual rhythm they're accustomed to. That win streak after Nebraska included wins over Wichita State and Tulsa as well as power opponents in Syracuse and a conference win over Xavier. And they're looking to extend it, Saturday night against UNI.

Colin:

I don't know if they will though.

Eli:

Yeah. Go Cats. Let's let's get another ranked win Panthers. Come on.

Colin:

True. That's team. Creighton's not ranked right

Kylee:

now. Not ranked. Another power win.

Eli:

Another power win.

Colin:

Yeah. Yeah. Creighton's an interesting one, because they did start the season ranked, and they've been a good team in the past.

Eli:

Suffered some early setbacks.

Colin:

Yeah. And they're you know, I think they just had a slow start to the season Yeah. Is what it looked like.

Kylee:

They'll they'll find their way.

Eli:

And Nebraska's really Nebraska really proved against some mid major opponents that they have the potential to be a very high powered offense. So holding Nebraska to just 74 points, I think, was really impressive from Creighton's defense.

Colin:

Mhmm. Yeah. Nebraska did not drop out of the rankings either. They're 25th right now. And so it's really interesting to see that the committee kinda did, still respect Nebraska after that loss.

Colin:

Knowing that Creighton is a good team that just hasn't played up to their their level Yeah. Of talent.

Eli:

Yeah. And So after after that game, Nebraska went on to beat Kansas City 84 to 38.

Kylee:

Oof.

Eli:

Yes. And then Lindenwood by 21. Yeah.

Colin:

So that does help. Of course. Yeah. Shall we move on to my small conference game? I wanna talk about this one.

Colin:

Alright. Man. Go for it. Big 12 team headed down to Richmond, Virginia, to face off against the Spiders. And Richmond won that 15753, and that's why I called it a small conference game.

Colin:

For all y'all haters who said that I should make that my big conference game because I was in Oklahoma State, I thought Richmond was gonna win that. It was at Richmond, and they did indeed prove my point. I

Kylee:

mean, that doesn't prove why it should be a small conference game.

Colin:

Small conference team won it.

Eli:

And the big and the big conference team played in it. So

Colin:

Alright. Fine. 5753 was a huge defensive game. Can we talk about that for a second?

Kylee:

Yeah. That is.

Colin:

Richmond's defense has proven itself all season. Their average points allowed is 51 points per game. Nice. And that includes their first game was 73 points against them, and it was a win. They really could not get their offense going in the second half of either game.

Colin:

They obviously beat Richmond 5753, kind of a low pow low scoring game there.

Kylee:

Mhmm.

Colin:

And then they played Georgetown, this past Wednesday and lost 55 to 53, which is just a really tough loss when you're playing that well defensively.

Eli:

Mhmm. But you can't get the offense

Colin:

going. Cannot get your offense going. Yeah. I think they're gonna be a major force in the a 10. Their only Definitely.

Colin:

Major challengers, probably George Mason. Their loss was to, number 7 in the country, Maryland. You know? Yeah. So, you gotta look at that.

Colin:

But realistically, Richmond needs to get the offense going. Yeah. Because their defense is

Eli:

Yes. Great. They're they're trying the Vermont strategy. And as we can see, sometimes that does win you a big game. But you also have to shoot well, retain possession Mhmm.

Eli:

Get the ball in the basket.

Colin:

Yeah. The ball has to get in the basket on one of the 2 ends Yes.

Eli:

At some point. Ideally

Colin:

yours. Yeah. True.

Kylee:

I meant first or second half. Yeah. But yeah. Yeah. You can't just you can't go cold.

Colin:

Yeah. But, really, for Richmond, the they fouled

Eli:

less. They stood out of foul trouble, and they rebounded more than Oklahoma State did. And they only gave up 5 free throws in the Q4 to stave off that. And the slowdown shoot shooting lots of free throws under the game, and Oklahoma State couldn't find

Kylee:

the buckets. So Yep.

Colin:

Solid win. Yeah. Solid win. Alright. I believe

Eli:

this is

Kylee:

Kylie's game. It is. Slay. NAU versus Colorado State. NAU won 84 to 80.

Kylee:

Let's go. One loss team.

Eli:

They they look really, really strong.

Colin:

Mhmm.

Eli:

I maybe it's not maybe it's a little early for an AP ranking, but I think they're definitely one of the contenders for ranked mid major school this season.

Colin:

Mhmm. Oh, absolutely.

Eli:

But good teams win close games, and NAU is a good team that has won a lot of close games against other good teams. Since this game, they've won 3 more against schools like James Madison. So Yeah. Doing well?

Colin:

Yeah. I was looking at their wins this season. They have wins over Arizona, James Madison, New Mexico. They have played a lot of close games, I will say, but they've almost always come out on top with the exception being UNLV. And so I feel like this is kind of the team that tournament bids are made for.

Colin:

Yeah. You know? You get this team that wins a lot of close games. Yeah. And so even, you know, that's a 4 point win over Colorado State.

Colin:

That is not, you know, a blowout by any means. That is a very close game, but they seem to come out on top a lot. And so when you get a team like that, it's one that can hold on at the end or can push through at the end. And that's the kind of team that can make upsets in the tournament happen.

Eli:

Yeah. I mean, even if this team has a couple setbacks, maybe on the road in Big Sky play, I they are 100% my favorite to win the Big Sky Conference tournament and get that tournament bid.

Colin:

Mhmm. Yeah. At this point. Absolutely.

Eli:

If and I they definitely could still win that regular season title too.

Kylee:

Yeah. It's up there.

Colin:

Alright. You like your game in Puerto Rico?

Eli:

Yes. We had Green Bay versus Norfolk State, a couple of our conference favorites. And Green Bay barely took it 55 to 54, and it was an insane basketball game.

Colin:

It was such a weird game.

Eli:

Great. Green Bay dominated the first half. Norfolk State dominated the second half, and it came down to the wire at the end of the 4th. I mean, Colin?

Colin:

Yeah. I mean, Green Bay held off a second half comeback. Norfolk State outscored them 36 to 17 in the second half. Wow. Like, that's a huge comeback for Norfolk State.

Colin:

But Green Bay had pretty much the exact same first half Mhmm. As Norfolk State did in the second half.

Eli:

Green Green Bay scored 3 points in the Q3. Norfolk State scored 5 points in the Q2.

Colin:

Wow. I mean, that's a tale of 2 halves if I ever heard it. You know?

Eli:

It's a tale of really the second and the third quarter.

Colin:

Yeah. Yeah. Realistically, it was between I mean, every point counted for that, obviously, a one point game. Puerto Rico was an interesting venue from what I heard. Just watching the broadcast, obviously, all of the broadcast was in Spanish, which was kinda cool.

Colin:

I

Kylee:

like that.

Colin:

And the recaps and all that. So that was fun to watch a little bit briefly of. Mhmm. But really interesting, game between Green Bay and Norfolk State. And I really don't know what to take away from that.

Kylee:

Yeah. I don't know if it's, like, worry for both teams or, like, oh, like, that was just a good game.

Eli:

What I take away from this is, well, 1, even with those huge disparities, this is not a high scoring game. These are not super efficient, powerful, fast offenses. And I I think both of these teams are going to really take away the same lesson here, which is just you have to be more consistent. You have to play the game all 4 quarters no matter what the when no matter what the outlook at the half, Norfolk State's players probably went into the went back to the locker room like we've lost it. Yeah.

Eli:

But they came out

Colin:

I don't think they did, clearly. It'd be

Eli:

good. They came out and they played hard. Green Bay's lot players probably went into the locker room at the half like we've won this. And then Mhmm. Got almost almost outplayed all the way back.

Eli:

So I really just you you gotta play all 4 quarters.

Colin:

Yeah. Very interesting game there. Lot of lot of interesting pieces to put together there. We'll see what that means for the rest of the season for those 2 teams because

Kylee:

Yeah. It'll it'll be interesting. Definitely. They need to work out the scoring 3 5 points in a quarter. Yeah.

Kylee:

Okay. Alright. Now let's get to some I wanna talk about. So right now, we have 9 ranked big 10 teams, and we have Iowa and Maryland both undefeated. And then the SCC ended up winning the SCC ACC challenge 10 to 6.

Kylee:

From my perspective, it's time for us to talk about the conferences. The big ten is the strongest conference in women's basketball right now. Argue with the wall. Argue with the wall.

Colin:

Yeah. I that's hard.

Eli:

It's not close.

Colin:

It's not close. No. I mean, how many teams in the big ten are undefeated right now? Like, 8?

Eli:

A lot.

Colin:

Let me let me count while you guys talk quick.

Kylee:

Yeah. It's it like, listen. The SEC is also a very, very good conference. Both these conferences are heads and shoulders above everybody else right now.

Eli:

Yeah.

Kylee:

And

Eli:

The power to just they continue to separate themselves from the competition. Yeah. Men women's side and men's side. Yeah. But just so much AP respect, so much national media attention, UCLA taking down South Carolina, hue like, first huge signature win in Big 10 uniforms.

Colin:

Yeah.

Eli:

I mean, I'm really looking forward to, some of this weekend's one off Big 10 conference games for on the women's side. Yes. We've got 10 and 0 Minnesota at ranked Nebraska

Kylee:

That'll be fun.

Eli:

And a top 25 matchup in Columbus between Ohio State and Illinois. I I think there could be some really interesting statement wins by some of these ranked teams that really prove why they deserve this poor respect and why their resumes are really this strong.

Colin:

I think Minnesota has a huge chance to get a statement win to prove why they should be ranked because they are 10 and o and unranked right now. I mean so I did count. There are 6 undefeated big 10 teams, Minnesota, Maryland, Michigan State, UCLA, Iowa, Ohio State. And then there are also 5 won loss teams. Mhmm.

Colin:

Penn State and then 4 ranked ones, USC, Michigan, Nebraska, Illinois. Yeah. And all of their losses came to ranked teams, I believe.

Kylee:

Yeah.

Colin:

I mean, except for Nebraska's to Creighton. Right.

Kylee:

Who was a ranked team.

Colin:

Who was a ranked team.

Eli:

Yeah. Yeah.

Colin:

And so you look at that, like, top 11 of 18.

Kylee:

Like, that's scary.

Colin:

That's absurd.

Kylee:

Like, that's scary to look at and scary to be like, oh my gosh.

Colin:

Right? And that's not talking about 2 loss Oregon.

Kylee:

Who's also a powerhouse

Colin:

That's not talking about and was ranked. Indiana, who has had some big upsets. Yeah. That's not talking about Wisconsin, 2 losses. I mean, we're talking about about 11 teams with just one loss or less.

Eli:

And a lot of a lot of these teams have played pretty marquee nonconference games. Michigan State has those Acresure classic wins over Cal and Vanderbilt Mhmm. Who are both one loss teams respectively who got their 1st losses at the hands of MSU.

Kylee:

Yeah. I mean, you've got you've just got everyone playing at a top level of basketball. And if we did a big 10 and SEC challenge, the big 10 is coming out on top. Hands down.

Eli:

I believe

Colin:

that. SEC only has 2 undefeated teams right now.

Kylee:

Yeah. So, I mean, like, it that's what's gonna happen. So I am a huge fan of the big 10, clearly. We all are because we go to a big 10 school. But I think it's just not close.

Colin:

Yeah. ACC also only has 1 undefeated team right now. Yeah. And that is Georgia Tech.

Kylee:

That's interesting. That's interesting for a number

Eli:

of years. The big upset win over Oregon.

Colin:

Yeah. Georgia Tech. That's team. Who is not ranked?

Eli:

Yeah.

Kylee:

Wow. You know what? Rank Georgia Tech, period.

Eli:

Maybe. Yeah.

Kylee:

Period. We'll see.

Colin:

It's it's a very interesting year for ACC and SEC on the women's side. I'm really excited for the big ten conference play. I think mostly

Kylee:

Oh my gosh. Yes. It's been fun.

Colin:

You look at all of these random things. Indiana took second in the battle for Atlantis to North Carolina, who is ranked 16th in the country.

Kylee:

Nice. Yeah.

Colin:

That's kinda crazy. You know, wins over Ball State and Villanova are not like or sorry. No. Over, Columbia and Baylor.

Eli:

Indiana. Yeah.

Colin:

For Indiana.

Kylee:

Those are I mean, those are both solid wins.

Colin:

You know, especially Columbia, who ended up winning every game from there on out in that tournament. Bet. You know, you'd look at some of those bigger or smaller wins, and you realize, okay. Those are still good teams. Yeah.

Colin:

I do wanna talk ACC quick.

Kylee:

Okay.

Colin:

Because Go for it. I know they lost the SEC ACC challenge 10 to 6. Mhmm. But I feel like the top half of the ACC did better than the top half of the SEC. Top half of the ACC beat you know, we had Notre Dame beating Texas.

Colin:

We had Cal beating Alabama, who was ranked. We had NC State beating Ole Miss, who was ranked. We had UNC beating Kentucky, who was ranked. And then we had just 2, major SEC wins, which were South Carolina beating Duke, both ranked. And then LSU beating Stanford in overtime.

Kylee:

Interesting.

Eli:

Stanford really looked like they were gonna pull it off too.

Colin:

Yeah. They did.

Eli:

Especially late in the war.

Colin:

Absolutely did. Mhmm. And so, you know, there's a lot of questions with that between the ACC and the SEC, but I think the ACC is definitely the better conference this year based on that, especially at the top.

Eli:

I I think they're the better conference if you look at the top 5, but the a c the SEC just has better depth.

Colin:

Yes. I will agree with that.

Kylee:

Yeah. I think that's that's a fair assessment.

Colin:

The ACC has better teams, but the SEC has better depth. Yep. Yep. I can agree with that. I get behind that.

Colin:

I would take

Eli:

I would still believe that, like, Arkansas or Florida is still favored against Pitt or Boston College.

Colin:

And they are. And they did win Yeah. Those games. You know? But, you know, you look at the what is that?

Colin:

5 no. 4 SEC teams that lost. 4 of the 6 were ranked.

Kylee:

Yep. Yeah.

Colin:

And 3 of those were to unranked or 2 of those were to unranked teams.

Eli:

Yeah. That's pretty impressive.

Colin:

That is pretty impressive. The other interesting thing I wanna talk about briefly is all of the old Pac 12 teams are doing incredible this year. Pac 12 really was the dominant college Oh, yeah. Basketball conference on the women's side, obviously.

Kylee:

Yeah.

Colin:

But holy cow, did we not know how much? Because Stanford is great. Cala's winning versus ranked teams.

Eli:

Utah had the great upset versus Notre Dame. Yep. The LA schools are obviously doing pretty

Colin:

well. Things in Oregon. Washington's doing just fine even.

Kylee:

Yeah.

Colin:

I believe Arizona State has been winning. Like, these are crazy, crazy wins for some of these, old Pac 12 teams in new conferences.

Kylee:

Oh, yeah. I mean, they're used to beating up on each other all season. Like like, I mean, some of the top talent that's

Colin:

doing this.

Kylee:

Yeah. They're like, oh, finally. Like, I can get some good wins over some other good teams instead of having to play everybody twice in conference and risking losing any game any day of the week. But I do think too that a lot of these conferences are becoming kind of like that where you can go play a team at the bottom of your conference, and they can beat you any day, like, at Yeah. At any day.

Eli:

Really, really, really.

Kylee:

Specifically, like, the big ten. Like, I mean, you could play, oh, Wisconsin as UCLA, Northwestern, and you can take a take a loss. I mean but no. I think these Pac these Pac 12 teams are are happy. The ones joining those power conferences, like the big ten, probably not because they're like, oh, it's just the same environment, but with the defense.

Kylee:

So it's a little bit different.

Colin:

Yeah. But, I mean yeah. Yeah. And even, like, Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC is a pretty similar situation, I think.

Kylee:

Another, oh my gosh. Like but I think their style of play fits better.

Colin:

That that's true. Especially on the women's side. Yeah. Men's side, we'll talk about that next episode. Tea.

Colin:

So catch that coming up. It'll be posted at the exact same time.

Eli:

So Catch that also up.

Kylee:

Also up. Yeah. Yeah.

Colin:

Speaking of up, let's look at up sets.

Eli:

Oh, that was terrible.

Kylee:

What a transition. I'm so sorry. Oh my gosh.

Colin:

Upset of the Week nominations. Kylie, what you got? I

Kylee:

had TCU taking down Notre Dame. I did not think that was gonna happen, and that was great. So

Eli:

I it's gotta be UCLA and South Carolina. It's the end of the streak, the national the defending national champions, the the defending perfect season, that's Yeah. Gotta be that one.

Colin:

Yeah. I had, unranked team beating a ranked team. I had South Dakota State beating 21 ranked Oregon 75 to 70.

Kylee:

That was nice.

Colin:

Yeah. And that was at Oregon. You know, that's a huge huge upset.

Kylee:

If you're South Dakota State, I'm hanging my hat on that. That's awesome.

Colin:

Yeah. South Dakota State's receiving votes right now in the AP pool.

Eli:

That's multiple ranked wins for them.

Colin:

Yeah. Exactly. Which is huge.

Eli:

Like the Jackrabbits.

Colin:

Yeah. So South Dakota State beating 21 ranked Oregon. That is my episode of the week. Yeah. That's cool.

Colin:

Let's talk games next week. We are having an episode next week, And so, you know, post exam week, we're all gonna be recording, chilling in the studio. Destressing.

Eli:

We'll probably sound a lot,

Kylee:

Tired?

Eli:

More optimistic and slightly less stressed.

Kylee:

I'll be a lot more tired.

Colin:

I'm I'm gonna be exhausted, but it'll be We'll be tired, but we'll be free.

Kylee:

Yeah. That is true. Free from the confines of this semester.

Eli:

Tired but free.

Kylee:

Yeah. For

Colin:

real. So, yeah, let's talk about games for next week. Hila, you wanna start?

Eli:

Yeah. So I've got what I think is the most interesting game on the women's side that's happened so far Yeah. Which is number 3 South Carolina at number 9 TCU, which is happening December 7th. So the evening of you listening to this, I this is literally a season defining game for both of these schools.

Kylee:

Absolutely. Absolutely.

Eli:

If TCU pulls this off, 1, in my opinion, they're a top 5 team. And They might be number 1. National championship favorite. And if South Carolina wins, it's huge redemption for them, huge redemption for their coaching style, their players, like, saying we we know how to lose, and then we know how to win. Yeah.

Eli:

We still know how to win. Because they've already proven that with that dominant win over Iowa State. If they take down another current big 12 conference favorite, it's still South Carolina on top. Oh. Just like it wasn't for.

Kylee:

100%. 100%.

Eli:

So I really, really look forward to that game.

Colin:

Yeah. That'll be a really fun one.

Eli:

I'll be watching that instead of the SEC football championship or whatever.

Kylee:

So, yeah, who cares about that barf?

Colin:

Honestly. Barf. Kylie, what you got?

Kylee:

Yes. I have number 17 Iowa versus Tennessee in New York.

Colin:

Undefeated Tennessee.

Kylee:

Undefeated Tennessee. 5 and o.

Eli:

And undefeated Iowa.

Kylee:

And undefeated Iowa. Yep. On December 7th as well. So I think that'll be super exciting. I think if Tennessee pulls it off, they're ranked next week.

Eli:

Oh, easily.

Kylee:

If Iowa loses, I don't think they're falling out of the rankings, but I think

Colin:

I think Tennessee will be Yeah. Yeah. I I don't think wins

Kylee:

the ranked. If Iowa wins, they'll move up a little bit probably.

Eli:

There there was so much pre season worry about the coaching transition at Tennessee and bringing this this new untested head coach from Marshall, who was coaching d 2 2 years ago.

Colin:

Yeah.

Eli:

But she's really managed to put together a very successful group. And though we haven't it's not conference play yet, and the SEC is a tough place to play. Mhmm. But their early season results are promising.

Colin:

I mean, yeah, they're 6 and o right now with a win over Florida State just earlier this week.

Eli:

Yeah. In the SEC, ACC Challenge.

Colin:

So So this is not a, you know, nobody team. And that and that's a

Eli:

Florida State team that was ranked preseason.

Colin:

Yes. Exactly. And so Tennessee, obviously, was a 6th seed in the tournament last year. You know, they've been a strong team for years years years. They have so much history at that school, for women's basketball.

Colin:

And so they I think they thought it was gonna be a rebuilding year, and we're gonna see if it actually is or if it's just stay at

Eli:

the top. I I think it's gotta be a wait and see until we're a couple weeks into conference play.

Colin:

Yeah. But I think this, first Iowa game might give a good taste.

Eli:

Trend trending upward for sure.

Colin:

Yep. And it's, that's a fun one at Madison Square Garden. Oh, yeah. Alright. I also have an Iowa game.

Colin:

Yeah. Oh, period. I have Iowa Iowa State. Nice. Both are ranked this year in women's basketball.

Colin:

Iowa State 20th right now after a few losses. Iowa, obviously, 17th. We just talked about them a little bit. I wanna know if Iowa State can bounce back because that is a huge, huge That was that

Eli:

was an opportunity. That was an embarrassing loss for

Kylee:

To South Carolina. Yeah. That's embarrassing.

Colin:

Yeah. And so, you know, the question is, can Iowa State bounce back after that, pick up something against Iowa?

Kylee:

And I mean and that'll be after the Iowa, Tennessee game. So depending on if Iowa wins or loses, they'll have a different

Colin:

attitude going into that game. Yep. And I think they'll be tired, frankly

Eli:

Yes.

Colin:

From getting back from NYC playing a undefeated Tennessee team. I think Iowa State gets a nice tired, Iowa team.

Eli:

In a very heated rivalry game. Very heated rivalry. A lot of away fans in Iowa City.

Colin:

Yeah. And so that could be a very interesting game. Iowa State could bounce back there and prove that they do deserve to continue to be ranked. Iowa could win that and prove that the big ten is still 5 for the best.

Eli:

If if Iowa comes out of these 2 games 2 and o, I think it just really cements that the big ten is on top this year.

Colin:

Yeah. And Iowa might be a top ten team again. Yeah. If they come out of these 2

Eli:

If they blow it off, if there's a couple of other upsets, totally could happen.

Colin:

Yeah. Alright. Small conference games.

Kylee:

Small conference. I'll go first.

Colin:

Go for it.

Kylee:

Rhode Island at Harvard Oh. On December 7th. Fun. So instead of watching the SEC championship game

Eli:

I'm watching Rhode Island

Kylee:

at Harvard. Rhode Island at Harvard.

Colin:

Yeah. And Harvard's really good. Yeah.

Eli:

Yes. They had that really standout performance earlier this season a couple weeks ago. I they're definitely still not my Ivy favorite. But against an a ten team They're

Kylee:

getting up there, man. Like

Eli:

Rhode Island. Yeah. Could be interesting.

Colin:

Yeah. Rhode Island is coming off of 3 back to back to back losses by 5 points or less.

Kylee:

Oh, that's tough. Yeah.

Colin:

And so they lost to Iowa oh, sorry. Iowa by 7 points. Oh. 17th ranked Iowa.

Kylee:

That's a

Colin:

tough Again, we're gonna keep talking about that at

Kylee:

parent level points. Competition though.

Colin:

Then they lost by 2 points, 52 to 50, to Idaho State. Wow. And then they lost by 3 points, 48 to 45 Oh, wow. To Providence.

Kylee:

So all defense, no offense again.

Colin:

I don't know.

Eli:

I I think Harvard might be running away with this one.

Kylee:

Yeah. I think they're they're all very strong. Rhode Island,

Colin:

why did you pick this game?

Eli:

Why why not? No. I I'm interested. Rhode Island's 4 is x.

Kylee:

I'm interested. Game, and I went for it.

Eli:

I'm interested. Yeah. Colin, what's yours?

Colin:

Alright. I'm picking Jacksonville State or Jack State, at south or wow. Words. At Coastal Carolina

Kylee:

making fun of my game pick.

Colin:

Alright. Fine. Both teams have a few losses. Jack State has 2. Coastal Carolina, 1.

Colin:

But all 3 came to power 5 opponents by small margins. It's a conference USA Sun Belt matchup. I think it should be a fun one.

Kylee:

It's not gonna be as fun as Rhode Island at Harvard, though.

Colin:

Yeah. Yeah. We'll we'll see how that one goes. Basically. Kylie, if Rhode Island wins, you know, if you're really cursed.

Eli:

Yes.

Kylee:

If they win, I'm cursed. That's crazy.

Colin:

Yeah. Because you've been

Kylee:

tarred. True.

Eli:

I've got Columbia at Richmond. Columbia, really, really, really good. Ivy School placed 5th in the battle for Atlantis. Only took that first game loss to Indiana. Richmond, like we just talked about, had that great win over Oklahoma State, looking to bounce back after that tough loss to Georgetown.

Eli:

Yep. I think it'll be a really, really fun one. And it's and it's another Richmond home game. So I this could this could be a defensive slugfest with the right environment.

Kylee:

I like

Colin:

Yeah. And Colombia, I mean, they're a pretty offensive team. You know, just looking at their scores, they regularly score in the eighties.

Eli:

They're a pretty offensive team, but they're also very top heavy player wise. They are. They they've got a couple of stars that score 20 points a game. So if Richmond's defense really hones in on those couple of contributors, I can definitely see Richmond pulling away.

Colin:

Yeah. Could be a very interesting game

Eli:

for sure. Away, but winning 5552 as per usual.

Kylee:

Winning was very few points. Yes. Yes.

Colin:

It could definitely be an interesting game. I think that'll be a fun one to watch.

Eli:

Yeah. And and that'll that'll wrap it up for the women's half of

Kylee:

the day.

Colin:

Yes. Alright, Kylie.

Kylee:

Time to put her to a close. Well, thank you for listening to the first half of this week's episode of Check the Net on Impact 89 f m. Let us know what you think by connecting with the station on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram at w d b m and at Impact 89 f m. This is our 2nd full basketball season, and we are very excited. The season's madness is only just beginning, and we can't wait talk about it more

Colin:

next episode on Check the Net. See y'all.