WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:03.240 Our next guest is my north star when it comes 2 00:00:03.240 --> 00:00:05.679 to trying to understand the landscape of college hoops. He's 3 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:07.480 good enough to come in studio from time to time. 4 00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:11.119 Over the phone today on a Friday, is Ken Pomeroy Ken. 5 00:00:11.160 --> 00:00:12.880 Happy Valentine's Day, Man, how are we doing? 6 00:00:14.759 --> 00:00:17.640 We're doing great, s Bence, a thrill to spend my 7 00:00:17.719 --> 00:00:19.320 Valentine's Day with you for a few minutes. 8 00:00:19.480 --> 00:00:20.760 I can CeNSE your sarcasm. 9 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:23.480 Have you been married long enough where your efforts are 10 00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:25.160 just their futile doesn't matter? 11 00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:27.079 Are you still under pressure to perform tonight? 12 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:32.119 I've been married zero years, Ben, so I'm zero pressure 13 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:33.000 to perform. 14 00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:34.960 That was a weird way of me asking that question. 15 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:37.799 I just realized I probably should have had a different approach. 16 00:00:38.359 --> 00:00:39.439 Let's move on rapidly. 17 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:44.679 Ken Auburn Alabama number one, verse number two. But this 18 00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:47.640 is not a football game. It is a basketball game. 19 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:49.359 What do you make of the top two teams in 20 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:51.399 the country doing battle tomorrow? What's at steak here? 21 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:57.079 The basketball Iron Bowl as it were? Yeah, what's at stake? 22 00:00:57.159 --> 00:00:59.880 There's not like, actually that much at stake other than 23 00:01:00.520 --> 00:01:02.479 extreme bragging rights here. I mean, it should be just 24 00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:07.480 a really super fun game to watch, tremendously high scoring. 25 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:09.439 This is one of those games where if you're a 26 00:01:09.480 --> 00:01:13.719 you know, an NBA snob and yeah, look down on 27 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:16.719 college basketball. This is a game that I can promise 28 00:01:16.760 --> 00:01:18.760 you you will be entertained if you if you tune 29 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:21.599 into you'll you'll see up and down action. You won't 30 00:01:21.640 --> 00:01:25.519 see you know, Hickory High school type ball here. This 31 00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:28.239 is a you know, game with future pros in the court. 32 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:30.920 And uh yeah, there's not much, not necessarily much at 33 00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:32.920 stake because both of these teams are kind of trending 34 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:34.799 towards a one seed. Especially was a little bit more 35 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:38.400 at stake for Alabama. The resume might be slightly weaker, 36 00:01:38.439 --> 00:01:42.719 but it's just mostly mostly bragging rights here and mostly 37 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:44.480 who will be the number one team in the A 38 00:01:44.599 --> 00:01:45.560 people will come Monday. 39 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:48.519 I will stand for no Hickory High slander. 40 00:01:48.599 --> 00:01:51.079 Four passes before you shoot ken, that's how you're supposed 41 00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:51.920 to play basketball. 42 00:01:53.319 --> 00:01:56.599 Yeah, I mean there's definitely, ah yeah, definitely a group 43 00:01:56.680 --> 00:02:00.760 of college basketball fans that believe that, and we'll hold 44 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:03.359 true to that and think that, you know, the thirty 45 00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:07.519 second shot clock is yeah, it's it's not appropriate for 46 00:02:07.560 --> 00:02:09.840 basketball it should be much higher or not exist at all. 47 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:12.599 But I am not in that club spence. I'd like 48 00:02:12.680 --> 00:02:15.400 to see up and down action. I don't like to 49 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:18.680 see people holding the ball. I like to see athleticism 50 00:02:18.759 --> 00:02:23.000 and creativity, and this game will feature all of that 51 00:02:23.159 --> 00:02:24.000 and more. 52 00:02:25.240 --> 00:02:27.520 And I'm with you, of course, I was being facetious 53 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:29.479 that we talked about this when you're in studio a 54 00:02:29.479 --> 00:02:30.280 couple of weeks ago. 55 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:32.439 I want to see that shotcock slash. 56 00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:35.520 I want a twenty four second shot clock in college basketball. 57 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:36.960 What's your preferred number. 58 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:44.080 I'm with you, I'm with you. Yeah. The constant, constant 59 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:47.439 fight against the college troops establishment on some of these 60 00:02:47.479 --> 00:02:50.360 you know, legacy rules that they have in place. You know, 61 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:53.159 we've seen it, you know, going back to the three 62 00:02:53.199 --> 00:02:56.120 point line, they were you know, pretty late to install that, 63 00:02:56.360 --> 00:02:59.840 and then the shot clock they were really late to 64 00:03:00.039 --> 00:03:03.800 and saw that initially. I guess in more modern times 65 00:03:03.879 --> 00:03:07.080 you can think about a charge circle, where I think 66 00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:10.479 they were about fifteen years after the NBA and you know, 67 00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:13.319 thinking about a charge circle, and their initial attempts were 68 00:03:13.319 --> 00:03:16.639 a really tiny charge circle, and then they eventually, you know, 69 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:20.000 gave into the rest of the world and had a regular, 70 00:03:20.759 --> 00:03:25.319 regular sized charge circle with modern charging rules, and they 71 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:28.439 finally got there. But yeah, college basketball is just super 72 00:03:28.439 --> 00:03:31.439 slow to kind of adopt modern rules, and so someday 73 00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:34.240 we will get to twenty four seconds. I would say 74 00:03:34.280 --> 00:03:36.479 the over under is probably, I don't know, eight years 75 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:36.759 from now. 76 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:40.919 Let's say now, according to your model, Auburn is the 77 00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:44.159 best team in the country, but you have Alabama at six. 78 00:03:44.840 --> 00:03:46.960 But since Auburn is the number one team in the 79 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:49.680 country in your model and then also rank number one, 80 00:03:50.759 --> 00:03:53.400 is it pretty clear that Bruce Pearl has the best 81 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:55.919 team in college basketball as of right now, and who is. 82 00:03:55.840 --> 00:03:56.759 On their heels? 83 00:03:58.360 --> 00:04:02.639 I would say, uh, I don't know if it's clearly 84 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:05.319 the best team in college basketball. It's certainly the argument 85 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:08.400 right now I think is between Duke and Auburn. And 86 00:04:09.639 --> 00:04:11.719 you know, you might get a little bit of interest 87 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:18.120 for Houston as well. We'll start with Houston. They're, you know, 88 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:20.600 kind of the typical Coven Sanston team. They know, they're 89 00:04:20.680 --> 00:04:25.439 you know, they're not loaded with you know, elite NBA talent, 90 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:29.199 a team that relies on a bunch of guys on 91 00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:32.279 the court that have tremendous motor And we'll give maximum 92 00:04:32.279 --> 00:04:34.439 effort at all times. And then you know, not to 93 00:04:34.439 --> 00:04:38.199 disrespect their their basketball skill either, but you know, more 94 00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:40.519 reliant on the defensive end the offensive end, although they 95 00:04:40.519 --> 00:04:42.160 have a very good offensive year. They're one of the 96 00:04:42.199 --> 00:04:44.279 best three point shooting teams in the country, which makes 97 00:04:44.279 --> 00:04:47.600 them especially scary because in the past they've just been 98 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:52.040 great defense, okay, offense, not great shootings. They get a 99 00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:55.399 bunch of offensive rebounds, but now they can shoot, so 100 00:04:55.399 --> 00:04:58.319 so they're a little scary. But I do think like 101 00:04:59.240 --> 00:05:02.800 maybe a half step behind Duke and Auburn. And I 102 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:05.240 think people are fairly familiar with Duke. I mean, obviously 103 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:11.000 led by Cooper's flag, but he's surrounded by other elite 104 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:15.600 freshmen Continent bull and come on Malawatch, and also some 105 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:18.519 experienced players as well, some experience transfers they brought over, 106 00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:22.040 in particular Mason Gillis from Purdue. So that's a very 107 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:25.000 very good team as well. And then Auburn has been outstanding, 108 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:28.959 you know, rolling through one of the toughest conferences that 109 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:31.000 we've seen in the history of college basketball. Was just 110 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:34.639 one loss so far. I think people sleep a little 111 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:37.240 bit on Auburn because you know, they're not the traditional 112 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:40.279 brand of some of these other teams, but they have 113 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:43.360 put together an outstanding season so far, and so we 114 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:46.480 just have three, like I think uniquely good teams in 115 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:49.879 another years would be clearly the best team in the country. 116 00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:52.000 But they all exist in the same season this year, 117 00:05:52.040 --> 00:05:54.439 so there's you know, plenty of room for debate on 118 00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:55.519 who truly is the best team. 119 00:05:56.279 --> 00:06:00.120 Four of your top six teams in basketball are in 120 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:05.000 the SEC, and then you also have A and M, Kentucky, MISSOO, 121 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:06.879 and Mississippi in. 122 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:07.519 The top twenty. 123 00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:10.839 What was it expected that the SEC would be the 124 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:13.199 best team or excuse me, the best conference in college 125 00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:15.120 basketball this year because I think a lot of people 126 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:17.800 just assumed it would be the Big Twelve. And the 127 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:21.920 Big twelve is very good. But is this SEC college 128 00:06:21.959 --> 00:06:25.160 basketball dominant something you expected to start the year? 129 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:29.120 Yeah, in my preseason ratings, I actually did have the 130 00:06:29.160 --> 00:06:32.000 SEC as the best league, slightly over the Big Twelve. 131 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:35.720 But you know, there's something with room for debate. I mean, 132 00:06:35.839 --> 00:06:38.279 for you know, the past decade or so, you could 133 00:06:39.199 --> 00:06:41.839 use magic marker and write and you know that the 134 00:06:41.879 --> 00:06:43.759 Big twelve would be the best going into the season, 135 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:45.560 and they've been the best conference in my ratings, I 136 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:49.480 think nine of the last ten years, so a really 137 00:06:49.480 --> 00:06:52.680 long run for them. Expansion has taking its toll to 138 00:06:53.240 --> 00:06:55.160 some extent on the league. I mean, most of the 139 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:56.560 teams that have been at in the last couple of 140 00:06:56.639 --> 00:06:59.600 years have hurt the league overall, Proud and they lost 141 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:02.120 Texas Oklahoma as well, so that that hurt a little bit. 142 00:07:02.120 --> 00:07:04.759 They did add Arizona and Houston, which you know, there 143 00:07:04.759 --> 00:07:06.879 are obviously no slashes that have helped the brands to 144 00:07:06.920 --> 00:07:12.240 some extent. But the surprising part is just that how 145 00:07:12.759 --> 00:07:14.800 good the SEC has been, Like it's not surprising if 146 00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:18.279 they're the best league, but you know, you look over 147 00:07:18.279 --> 00:07:20.439 the last thirty years and they're non conference play, they 148 00:07:20.439 --> 00:07:23.040 had the best winning percentage of any league in history. 149 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:25.079 They had the best margin of victory in those games 150 00:07:25.079 --> 00:07:28.519 in any league in history. Particularly impressed of giving how 151 00:07:28.920 --> 00:07:30.959 big the conference is. I mean, that's part of the 152 00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:33.959 secret here, is like at the top the conference is great, 153 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:35.879 it's better than any other league. In the middle it's 154 00:07:35.879 --> 00:07:37.839 better than any other league. But also at the bottom 155 00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:40.360 it's better than any other league. And that's how you 156 00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:43.480 end up with people talking about them getting you know, 157 00:07:43.560 --> 00:07:46.560 thirteen or even fourteen other teams in the tournament. How 158 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:48.079 you end up with a team like Oklahoma who is 159 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:51.399 currently three and eight in common play, and yet I 160 00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:54.360 think in every single brack of projection that I've seen 161 00:07:54.439 --> 00:07:59.480 right now, So it's just pretty absurd what the SEC 162 00:07:59.560 --> 00:08:02.920 is doing, and that level of dominance really was was 163 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:05.040 not something that we could have seen coming before the season. 164 00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:09.079 All right, let's go get over to some local storylines 165 00:08:09.079 --> 00:08:11.319 and we'll start with the bad and then move over 166 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:13.839 to the good. And the bad unfortunately is the youth. 167 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:16.240 Since you and I last spoke, they've lost three or four. 168 00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:19.879 They got Colorado at home, after a rough start, they 169 00:08:19.879 --> 00:08:22.360 pulled away. Colorado's probably the worst team in the conference. 170 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:25.199 You know, they're owing thirteen, so that would indicate as much. 171 00:08:25.639 --> 00:08:28.040 And then Morgantown's a tough place to play, bringing me on, 172 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:28.680 gota win there. 173 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:30.319 We'll get to BYU Cincinnati. 174 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:33.840 They were tied at seventy two and then Cincinnati went 175 00:08:33.879 --> 00:08:36.360 on that eleven zero run. But again, they've lost three 176 00:08:36.440 --> 00:08:38.519 or four. If you kind of pan back, they've now 177 00:08:38.600 --> 00:08:41.799 lost five of seven. They found themselves in five and 178 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:45.440 eight in conference play, thirteen and eleven overall, can just 179 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:48.200 give me the latest thoughts as you're watching this Utah 180 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:50.279 team struggle to make their way through Big twelve play. 181 00:08:51.799 --> 00:08:54.519 Great, I mean, not much has changed since we last talked. 182 00:08:54.759 --> 00:08:57.799 You know, they don't have that person that can bailed 183 00:08:57.799 --> 00:09:00.639 them out at the end of a shot clock when 184 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:03.519 they need a bucket. You know, last year, they you know, 185 00:09:03.559 --> 00:09:07.360 they had dave On Smith. You know, uh he was 186 00:09:07.480 --> 00:09:10.120 you know, pretty awesome to had that and and you 187 00:09:10.200 --> 00:09:11.679 kind of, you know, had this sick feeling in your 188 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:13.600 stomach that he wasn't going to be back with the 189 00:09:13.639 --> 00:09:15.840 youths again this season. You know, they also had Brandon Carlson, 190 00:09:15.879 --> 00:09:17.799 who was, in a different sort of way, a guy 191 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:19.600 that could get you a bucket late in the shock 192 00:09:19.639 --> 00:09:22.440 clock and face the floor is a kind of a 193 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:26.759 unique big So uh, they just have nothing like that 194 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:30.279 on this roster and that really causes them problems in 195 00:09:30.360 --> 00:09:32.879 Big twelve play. You know, you're going against quality defenses 196 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:36.879 and you're gonna face that situation a lot, and uh, yeah, unfortunately, 197 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:38.080 you just don't have an answer for that. And that's 198 00:09:38.120 --> 00:09:42.559 gonna be a problem tomorrow against Kansas Early. You know 199 00:09:42.600 --> 00:09:45.080 another you know, really just elite defense. One of the 200 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:48.519 best defenses in the country. So yeah, it's uh, you know, 201 00:09:48.840 --> 00:09:51.519 I don't know what the optimistic viewpoint is here for 202 00:09:51.559 --> 00:09:54.720 the youths right now. I mean they yet they're just 203 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:57.600 you know, again, as we discussed last time, this is 204 00:09:57.639 --> 00:10:00.840 not like a terrible team, but uh, in the Big Twelve, 205 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:03.399 you know, they're looking up at almost every single opponent 206 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:05.559 they have to play, and so that's why they have 207 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:06.320 the record that they have. 208 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:08.960 What do they do well? 209 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:11.559 I mean when when the Knights they're actually able to 210 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:15.840 compete and get wins, you know, I know, the assist 211 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:18.320 numbers to start the year were really good. I know 212 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:21.879 they have size, but where do they struggle most ken 213 00:10:21.879 --> 00:10:24.440 and what do they do well? 214 00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:27.240 Yeah, I would say in terms of what they do well, 215 00:10:27.559 --> 00:10:31.399 you know that size is useful. Defensively, they do have 216 00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:35.080 a really nice two point defense. They're holding opponents to 217 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:37.360 forty six percent on twos, which is twenty fifth best 218 00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:40.240 in the country, and even in conference play that goes 219 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:41.879 up to forty nine percent. But that still fits in 220 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:47.639 the Big twelve. So really respectable from that standpoint, not 221 00:10:47.759 --> 00:10:52.000 terribly respectable in much else. I mean, they really struggled 222 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:56.840 shooting the basketball. They struggled just generating easy shots, so 223 00:10:57.159 --> 00:10:58.879 you know, it all just kind of funnels down. I 224 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:01.480 think in the fact that they don't have much perimeter 225 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:05.600 shooting that makes it difficult to get anything easy in 226 00:11:05.639 --> 00:11:09.519 the paint because they're just not great spacing and that, 227 00:11:09.720 --> 00:11:12.720 you know, as you mentioned, create some problems on the 228 00:11:12.759 --> 00:11:16.279 offensive end. So yeah, they just don't have that, like, 229 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:19.200 I don't know, that burst that that other teams have 230 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:21.639 on offense where they can you know, reel off a 231 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:24.399 twelve to two run or something like that. It's just 232 00:11:24.440 --> 00:11:26.200 a it seems like, you know, in the half court 233 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:28.679 of the offense, it's just really a struggle. 234 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:31.320 Give us a little preview tomorrow night. 235 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:34.120 As you referenced, excuse me, the Jayhawks roll into town, 236 00:11:34.440 --> 00:11:37.240 Utah is only an eight point five point underdog. I 237 00:11:37.240 --> 00:11:39.320 thought it would be worse than that. And I'm not 238 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:41.639 a moral victory guy. I think people are listening to 239 00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:44.440 the show know that. But what would I mean outside 240 00:11:44.440 --> 00:11:46.600 of actually an upset, which everybody would love, But what 241 00:11:46.600 --> 00:11:49.039 would a successful night look like Tomorrow night for Craig's 242 00:11:49.080 --> 00:11:51.759 team against this Kansas team, and tell us about them? 243 00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:52.600 What makes them tick? 244 00:11:54.360 --> 00:11:57.679 Yeah, I mean, just you know, just a good competitive 245 00:11:57.720 --> 00:12:01.320 game would would be a rushing to see. This is 246 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:04.000 not like a vintage Kansas team. You know, this is 247 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:08.000 the team that pre season was the consensus number one 248 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:11.519 team in the land, but they really haven't played that. 249 00:12:11.679 --> 00:12:14.600 This is not a team that has you know, a 250 00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:18.080 ton of offensive skill, which is not unusual, but for 251 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:21.440 a Bill Sell team, he's normally you know, the architect 252 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:24.159 of great defenses. To the other defense ranked fifth in 253 00:12:24.159 --> 00:12:26.639 the country, so it's still you know, a really solid 254 00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:28.600 defense and that'll be you know, a big challenge on 255 00:12:28.600 --> 00:12:31.399 that end of the floor for the youths. But offensively, 256 00:12:31.639 --> 00:12:33.799 they suffer from some of the same things that youth 257 00:12:33.799 --> 00:12:36.919 suffer from. They don't have shooting. Uh. They also do 258 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:38.320 not get it to freeze their lives. This is the 259 00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:41.200 team that generates a very high percentage of its points 260 00:12:41.799 --> 00:12:44.200 off of two point buckets. And you know, you can 261 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:46.799 imagine in the modern game, when you're limited to scoring 262 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:49.399 two points at a time, you know your offense is 263 00:12:49.399 --> 00:12:51.279 only going to be so effective. So I think there 264 00:12:51.279 --> 00:12:53.159 are signs of hope, signs of hope here. You know, 265 00:12:53.320 --> 00:12:56.159 if the youth can can play at the top of 266 00:12:56.200 --> 00:12:58.759 their game, uh, they can hang in there with Kansas 267 00:12:58.759 --> 00:13:01.559 because because Kansas and does not have a much like 268 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:04.279 the youth does not have a very explosive offense, bringing me. 269 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:06.799 Young five and two. In their last seven they got 270 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:10.200 trounced by Cincinnati. They lost Arizona at home. Prior to that, 271 00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:12.840 they ran off four straight wins and then they went 272 00:13:12.840 --> 00:13:15.080 to Morgantown and got a good win. I think that 273 00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:17.120 was quad one from what I remember on the road 274 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:21.080 to West Virginia. So before we preview Case State, who, man, 275 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:22.840 they've been on fire as of late. Just give me 276 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:25.240 your thoughts on the recent run of play, which has 277 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:27.879 been more good than bad for Kevin Young and b Yu. 278 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:32.080 Right, Yeah, I mean they too experiencing life in the 279 00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:33.879 Big twelve. You know, a lot of ups and downs. 280 00:13:34.120 --> 00:13:38.480 But yeah, I win at West Virginia quad one. Fact, 281 00:13:38.519 --> 00:13:40.799 West Virginia, in my home court model rank is the 282 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:43.679 number one home court in the country, so not an 283 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:45.399 easy place to win. There's a lot of places in 284 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:47.960 the Big twelve like that, but West Virginia the most 285 00:13:47.960 --> 00:13:51.279 extreme in that sense. And yeah, so that really right 286 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:53.600 at the ship for the coolers and the other back 287 00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:55.480 kind of like looks like right up that cut line 288 00:13:55.519 --> 00:14:00.399 for forgetting that large bit, so that closing stretch is vital, 289 00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:03.120 and certainly the games against the Kansas teams this week 290 00:14:03.799 --> 00:14:06.519 is going to be vital as well. And you mentioned 291 00:14:06.600 --> 00:14:10.519 Kansas State, they are the hottest team in college basketball, 292 00:14:10.559 --> 00:14:14.279 really left for dead, you know, just like three weeks ago, 293 00:14:14.759 --> 00:14:16.759 you know, nobody was talking about them making the tournament. 294 00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:20.320 And since then, you know, they enjoy the the fruits 295 00:14:20.360 --> 00:14:21.600 of the Big Twelve. They go on a fick in 296 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:24.240 winning streak, you know, beating the likes of you know, 297 00:14:24.279 --> 00:14:26.240 Iowa State on the road. I mean, for those four 298 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:28.039 of those ones were at home, but if you get 299 00:14:28.039 --> 00:14:30.080 a road winningainst Iowa State, be Kansas at home, beat 300 00:14:30.120 --> 00:14:31.720 Arizona at home. I mean, they're doing what they have 301 00:14:31.799 --> 00:14:34.279 to do. And so now they're you know, back on 302 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:37.240 the fringes of the tournament discussion and heading into provo 303 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:39.360 with a chance to continue that. But you know, the 304 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:41.919 game by US favored in, they should win that game, 305 00:14:42.559 --> 00:14:44.200 and they're gonna have a great chance against Kansas and 306 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:47.919 that's gonna be a pretty raucous atmosphere on Tuesday night, 307 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:50.399 I believe, and a game that I have as a 308 00:14:50.440 --> 00:14:53.840 coin flip. So you know, as you mentioned, you know, 309 00:14:54.200 --> 00:14:57.000 b Yu up and down playing a little better. They 310 00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:58.799 kind of are who they are at this point. You know, 311 00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:01.000 we keep hoping for Yegor into kind of break through 312 00:15:01.159 --> 00:15:04.679 and become an outside shooter, but shot hasn't really fallen 313 00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:06.759 for him yet. Still a bit of a turnover machine. 314 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:09.480 What overall, there is enough experience around him and enough 315 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:11.720 talent around him that you know, this is a functional 316 00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:16.600 team that you know has legitimate tournament aspirations and really 317 00:15:16.679 --> 00:15:18.200 they can just hold serve at home down the stretch. 318 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:19.480 I think they will get a bit. 319 00:15:20.159 --> 00:15:23.639 You reference BYU being the favorite Tomorrow night, seven o'clock 320 00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:26.879 in provo, Case State rolls in. But tell me what 321 00:15:27.080 --> 00:15:30.159 KSE State has figured out. They started conference, I mean 322 00:15:30.200 --> 00:15:34.080 they were horrible. They beat Cincinnati, then they lost sixth straight. 323 00:15:34.759 --> 00:15:37.600 But they have won six straight games, including wins over 324 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:40.960 West Virginia, on the road at Iowa State by nineteen, 325 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:44.759 home against Kansas, and then home against Arizona. So four 326 00:15:44.840 --> 00:15:48.039 of these six wins have come against ranked teams. Ken, 327 00:15:48.120 --> 00:15:50.919 what what is Case State figured out? And what sort 328 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:54.440 of issues could they they posed for BYU tomorrow night? 329 00:15:56.200 --> 00:16:00.519 Yeah, particularly impressive here Spans they beat Arizona while going 330 00:16:00.679 --> 00:16:03.919 one of nineteen on threes, right, Yeah, it's wild, yeah, 331 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:07.080 very very difficult to do that against any opponent, but 332 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:09.080 obviously in Arizona, you would not have expected them to 333 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:10.919 win that game, and yet they were able to pull 334 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:14.200 that out. I mean, you know, it's been just spontaneous 335 00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:17.639 combustion for the most part. They struggled so badly early 336 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:20.320 in Big Twelve play and just about every category, and 337 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:24.279 since then they flipped the switch, Like offensively, they've come 338 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:28.720 around a bit, and they've been able to go play 339 00:16:28.759 --> 00:16:30.159 some pretty good defense as well. I be part of 340 00:16:30.200 --> 00:16:32.679 the secrets that Arizona win was at Arizona also shot 341 00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:35.240 poorly from three point land, which you know, may have 342 00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:37.200 been some of Kansas State defense. It may have been 343 00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:38.799 just a little bit of good fortune as well. But 344 00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:41.759 you know, this is a team that has a tremendous 345 00:16:41.799 --> 00:16:46.639 amount of experience. You know, Doug McDaniel's their point guard, 346 00:16:46.759 --> 00:16:50.919 well traveled point guard, originally at Michigan, coming over to 347 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:54.080 Kansas State this year and finally starting to find his role. 348 00:16:54.120 --> 00:16:57.000 He's not like a very efficient point guard, but on 349 00:16:57.159 --> 00:17:00.159 nights where he can just kind of avoid, you know, 350 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:02.240 chucking up a bunch of shots and turning the ball 351 00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:04.640 over a bunch. They have a chance because they have 352 00:17:04.680 --> 00:17:08.480 other experienced guys at the other four positions that can 353 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:10.599 provide them with some scoring. It's a team that doesn't 354 00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:13.720 really necessarily have stars. It's, you know, just a team 355 00:17:13.759 --> 00:17:16.440 with a lot of good role players that on any 356 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:20.359 given night can maybe expand their role and produce something positive. 357 00:17:20.440 --> 00:17:22.200 So if you look at the roster and it's not 358 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:24.559 a roster necessarily scares, you can kind of see why 359 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:27.119 they had trouble early in Big Twelve play, But clearly 360 00:17:27.160 --> 00:17:29.359 they're also capable of raising their level of play to 361 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:31.319 the point where they can, you know, reel awt some 362 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:32.000 quality wins. 363 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:35.319 Who in your mind is the biggest threat to Houston 364 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:38.359 to win the Big Twelve? I mean Arizona second the standings, 365 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:39.680 but I have your rankings pulled up. 366 00:17:39.720 --> 00:17:41.079 You have Arizona at fourteen. 367 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:45.519 So Houston, by any metric that I'm looking at, is 368 00:17:45.559 --> 00:17:47.720 the best team in this conference. Who's the biggest threat 369 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:49.839 to beat them potentially and win the Big Twelve? 370 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:54.079 Well, you know you mentioned the Alabama Auburn game tomorrow, 371 00:17:54.119 --> 00:17:57.640 with the second biggest game tomorrow is Houston Arizona. That'll 372 00:17:57.680 --> 00:18:00.400 go a long way towards deciding the Big twelve title. 373 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:06.039 That game in Tucston, So you know, a huge, huge 374 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:08.559 challenge for Houston. But if Houston does win that game, 375 00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:11.559 then it's you know, they haven't clinched anything, but you 376 00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:14.480 know they'll be in the driver's a big time for 377 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:17.240 the title. Those are the you know, two of the 378 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:20.000 best teams in the league. Clearly Texas Tack kind of 379 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:23.480 lurking people. You know, they weren't preseason top twenty five 380 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:26.480 and the Ape Pole that we will say Spence, they 381 00:18:26.519 --> 00:18:29.240 were preseason top twenty five in my ratings. That I 382 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:31.599 want to pat myself in the back. Ye love yeah, 383 00:18:31.720 --> 00:18:34.799 so so. But they've been really consistent this year and 384 00:18:35.880 --> 00:18:38.240 you know JT Top and coming off a forty plus 385 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:40.079 point game in a double overtime winningas there is in 386 00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:43.039 a state the other night. It's been their kind of 387 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:47.559 best player. He's been healthy. So they're another team Iowa State. Uh, 388 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:49.799 you know, they've more or less been a top ten 389 00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:52.640 team all year. Struggled a bit of a late a 390 00:18:52.680 --> 00:18:55.319 little more up and down last couple of weeks, but 391 00:18:55.880 --> 00:18:58.519 that's a team that's very experienced and much like Houston, 392 00:18:58.680 --> 00:19:02.680 kind of a team driven and more on an identity 393 00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:05.480 of just playing hard. You know, obviously you have to 394 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:09.319 have good players, but really playing hard. Not necessarily you know, 395 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:13.200 loaded with professional talent, but just a team that really 396 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:15.559 plays hard and plays together and values every possession in 397 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:20.000 a way that few teams other than Houston do nationally. 398 00:19:20.160 --> 00:19:22.480 So I think that's your kind of your breakdown of 399 00:19:22.519 --> 00:19:24.480 the upper echelon of the Big twelve and those the 400 00:19:24.519 --> 00:19:25.920 team you can kind of look for in the tournament 401 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:27.559