WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.440 --> 00:00:04.080 Big night in the world of college basketball, both locally 2 00:00:04.360 --> 00:00:07.519 and nationally. We'll get to the five o'clock out of 3 00:00:07.559 --> 00:00:09.279 the program. We're gonna hand it over to Bill Riley 4 00:00:09.320 --> 00:00:11.880 and Sean Mooney for pregame coverage of you Top men's 5 00:00:11.880 --> 00:00:14.000 hoops tonight as they take on West Virginia at the 6 00:00:14.039 --> 00:00:17.000 Huntsman Center byu is An Ames to take on Iowa State. 7 00:00:17.640 --> 00:00:21.800 Our next guest, the Seer of college basketball, the smartest 8 00:00:21.800 --> 00:00:24.960 college basketball guy around, good enough to join us with 9 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:27.160 not a lot of notice on a Tuesday, Ken Palm, 10 00:00:27.239 --> 00:00:29.879 Ken Palmroy, Happy Tuesday, sir, how are you. 11 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:36.240 Hey, Spence. I'm doing great, looking forward to the upcoming 12 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:39.600 madness sies we get into singule elimination basketball. 13 00:00:39.719 --> 00:00:41.920 Yes, indeed, it's a great time of year and Ken, 14 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:45.880 obviously this news is not finalized, but I do have 15 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:49.240 to get your take on the reports from college basketball 16 00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:53.799 newsbreakers like Rastein and h and Goodman as well our 17 00:00:53.880 --> 00:00:56.719 very own Sean O'Connell also reporting that it appears Alex 18 00:00:56.759 --> 00:00:58.719 Smith is in line to be the next head coach 19 00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:02.359 of the University of Utah. I know you know, Alex well, 20 00:01:02.679 --> 00:01:06.000 should this become the deal and should this become official. 21 00:01:06.120 --> 00:01:07.120 What's your thought on the fit. 22 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:11.359 I think it's a great fit, assuming you mean Alex 23 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:12.560 Jenson and not Alex Smith. 24 00:01:12.599 --> 00:01:14.319 Did I say Alex Smith again? I've done that four 25 00:01:14.359 --> 00:01:18.560 times on the show. Alex Jensen. Yes, Alex Jensen, that's okay. 26 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:22.640 I think yeah. I mean it's you know, obviously the 27 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:27.120 ties are strong and the loyalty is there, and I think, 28 00:01:27.799 --> 00:01:31.439 you know, the modern game, there's probably less difference between 29 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:36.480 running or assisting in an NBA program and a college 30 00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:40.000 program at this point. So so yeah, it'll be great 31 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:41.920 to have Alex back up on the hill and looking 32 00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:45.359 forward to a new era of UTES basketball. Hopefully it 33 00:01:45.359 --> 00:01:46.920 goes well. I mean we were, you know, when Craig 34 00:01:46.959 --> 00:01:48.920 Smith was hired. We thought that was the right hire too, 35 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:52.760 and and you know, he checked all the boxes and 36 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:56.159 ultimately it didn't quite work out. So you never know 37 00:01:56.200 --> 00:01:59.040 about these things. But it does seem like like Alex. 38 00:01:58.840 --> 00:02:01.519 Is the right choice at this point based off of 39 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:06.040 the success of Kevin Young and the b YU basketball program. 40 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:07.480 You know, once upon a time, But can I believe 41 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:09.240 I said Alex Smith again, I've said that like five 42 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:09.719 times there. 43 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:10.400 Once upon a. 44 00:02:10.319 --> 00:02:15.120 Time, the idea of an Alex Jensen or a guy 45 00:02:15.199 --> 00:02:18.080 like Kevin Leaving the pros for college seemed like kind 46 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:20.520 of a silly thing. Do you think we're going to 47 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:23.159 see more of this as a result of the change 48 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:25.840 to the sport where you know, players can. 49 00:02:25.800 --> 00:02:27.439 Kind of come and go in a way they couldn't 50 00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:27.919 prior to. 51 00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:31.240 And maybe Alex had done his calculation and once upon 52 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:32.960 a time I thought he'd be an NBA head coach. 53 00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:36.199 I'm surprised that he never got that opportunity. Maybe still work, 54 00:02:36.360 --> 00:02:38.360 Maybe he still will. He's forty eight years old. But 55 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:41.520 do you think the success of what Brigham Young has 56 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:44.879 been able to do by hiring essentially an entirely pro staff, 57 00:02:44.919 --> 00:02:46.759 is that something we're going to start seeing maybe more 58 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:48.599 commonplace in college hoops? 59 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:51.439 Possibly? I think, you know, if you get you can 60 00:02:51.479 --> 00:02:55.759 get the deal worked the right way for sure, And 61 00:02:55.879 --> 00:02:57.479 like you said, like there's still probably a past for 62 00:02:57.560 --> 00:03:00.439 Alex to if you have success here, to to jump 63 00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:04.360 back to the NBA if he wants. But yeah, I mean, 64 00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:06.680 especially if you can kind of detach yourself maybe from 65 00:03:06.719 --> 00:03:08.599 the recruiting part of it. You know, if you have 66 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:12.479 a separate general manager that we're seeing a lot of 67 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:14.759 schools go to now that can kind of organize the 68 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:17.520 recruiting aspect of things. Uh, you know, I think that's 69 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:22.039 always the the drawback of coaching at the college level 70 00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:24.080 is the amount of work you have to do to 71 00:03:24.120 --> 00:03:26.680 get players, Whereas you know, you're really not doing that 72 00:03:26.759 --> 00:03:29.159 much work as a assistant coach or a head coach 73 00:03:29.159 --> 00:03:31.520 in the NBA. So as we had to that more, 74 00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:33.560 you know, more of that kind of a model, I 75 00:03:33.560 --> 00:03:36.400 think it does become a more appealing job for some 76 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:38.199 of these guys in the NBA who realize that, hey, 77 00:03:38.199 --> 00:03:40.360 there's only you know, thirty head coaching jobs in the NBA. 78 00:03:40.520 --> 00:03:43.159 So uh, even if you even if you are qualified 79 00:03:43.159 --> 00:03:45.280 to be an NBA head coach, really hard to get one. 80 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:47.759 You look at the openings that happened in the NBA 81 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:50.280 every year, and a lot of those openings end up 82 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:52.120 going to guys who have already been head coaches. So 83 00:03:52.520 --> 00:03:54.240 it's just really tough to break in. 84 00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:54.800 At that level. 85 00:03:54.800 --> 00:03:57.039 And so maybe you know, that's backing into the calculus 86 00:03:57.080 --> 00:03:59.479 here for Alex wanting to come back to the college level. 87 00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:01.280 Ye, what are your thoughts is when you heard the 88 00:04:01.319 --> 00:04:04.639 news that Craig had been let go and you know, 89 00:04:04.840 --> 00:04:07.080 ultimately Craig is very young. I think he has a 90 00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:10.319 lot of coaching ahead of him. And also the thoughts 91 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:12.520 on because they were picked to finish last in the 92 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:15.400 conference and they might finish you know, eight, nine, ten, 93 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:17.120 We'll see how the rest of the season goes. There's 94 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:19.560 there's a case to be made ken that he actually 95 00:04:19.560 --> 00:04:21.600 did a pretty good job and in my opinion, he 96 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:23.920 just didn't have the talent that a lot of his 97 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:25.079 peers did in the Big twelve. 98 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:27.120 So what are your thoughts on Mark Carlin deciding to 99 00:04:27.160 --> 00:04:27.759 let Craig go. 100 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:31.759 I think he sund it up pretty well there. It 101 00:04:31.800 --> 00:04:35.800 wasn't really surprising that he was let go. I mean, 102 00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:40.839 the program had kind of stagnated, and as you mentioned 103 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:43.920 that there may be and there are reasons for that 104 00:04:43.959 --> 00:04:47.560 outside of craigsmith coaching ability. I mean, Craigsmith that succeeded 105 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:50.560 at multiple previous stops, so it's not like he just 106 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:53.519 suddenly forgot how to coach. And as you mentioned, they 107 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:55.920 also you know, probably overachieved this year given the roster. 108 00:04:56.600 --> 00:04:58.759 You know, they're finishing the season pretty strong. The timing 109 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:01.439 was really what was surprising. Come off with the wins 110 00:05:01.480 --> 00:05:03.600 against Kansas and Kansas State, and it was almost like, 111 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:06.519 you know, administration was just waiting for for the next 112 00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:09.040 loss to to let him go, and they didn't. They 113 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:10.800 didn't get that against Kansas or Kansas State. So it 114 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:14.639 did happened after the use of the f game. But Craig, 115 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:17.120 you know, he's gonna he's gonna get another head coaching 116 00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:20.879 job somewhere. It seems like fairly obvious that will happen. 117 00:05:20.920 --> 00:05:23.639 It might be at a lower level, but Craig can 118 00:05:23.639 --> 00:05:27.279 still coach, and uh, you know, he's always a great personality, 119 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:31.879 a great representative of your your program. Not that matters 120 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:34.439 if you can't win, but I think if he, you know, 121 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:37.439 goes to another program, maybe at a slightly lower conference 122 00:05:37.480 --> 00:05:41.560 that has you know, better resources at its level, you know, 123 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:43.680 I think there's no reason for him, you know, not 124 00:05:43.720 --> 00:05:45.240 to be successful again. It kind of reminds me of 125 00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:47.720 the ten Miles situation. Obviously, those two guys are are 126 00:05:47.720 --> 00:05:51.439 connected from uh, you know, previous years working together. But 127 00:05:52.879 --> 00:05:55.240 you know, Tim Miles gets fired at Nebraska, he ends 128 00:05:55.319 --> 00:05:57.800 up at San Jose State pretty quickly, and Craig Smit, 129 00:05:57.879 --> 00:05:59.399 I think, is going to have that opportunity as well. 130 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:02.800 All right, moving off the coaching news, there is a 131 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:06.720 Utah basketball game tonight, and you know, I'm sure it's 132 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:09.160 going to be tough for coach Eiler to keep this 133 00:06:09.240 --> 00:06:12.519 team focused. And this is a group of young men 134 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:14.680 that have been through a lot over the past couple 135 00:06:14.759 --> 00:06:17.040 of weeks, certainly losing their head coach, and they were 136 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:20.480 able to get a win against a very depleted Arizona 137 00:06:20.519 --> 00:06:24.000 State team. Actually, before we get to West Virginia, Bobby Hurley, 138 00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:26.839 is he in trouble when it comes to his job? 139 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:29.360 And why are they rolling around with like five scholarship 140 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:30.160 players right now? 141 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:37.399 Yeah, that's a good question. So he may be in trouble. 142 00:06:37.439 --> 00:06:40.560 I mean it's you know, he's found the similar kind 143 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:45.000 of trajectories as Craig Smith dead, except Bobby Hurley has 144 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:47.199 done it over you know, the course of ten years 145 00:06:47.240 --> 00:06:52.439 of Arizona State. So yeah, I mean, there's they suffer 146 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:54.680 from the same issues that other programs up are from 147 00:06:54.680 --> 00:06:57.199 where they you know, they don't have the resources necessarily 148 00:06:57.240 --> 00:07:00.839 to compete with you know, the better schools in the league. 149 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:05.040 That's holding Bobby Hurley back a bit. But even so, 150 00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:09.800 you wouldn't wonder why they would continue continue on with 151 00:07:09.800 --> 00:07:12.439 with Bobby Hurley given the complete, you know, lack of 152 00:07:12.519 --> 00:07:14.920 recent success, and I don't know why they don't have 153 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:18.519 more more scholarship players to lean on. This seems to 154 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:21.839 be been an issue. It's not just the first time 155 00:07:21.879 --> 00:07:23.639 that's happened at Arizona State where they've kind of gotten 156 00:07:23.639 --> 00:07:25.759 at the end of the season and gotten beat up 157 00:07:25.800 --> 00:07:28.680 with some injuries and whatnot, and you know, just don't 158 00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:31.600 have the depth to uh to roll out of, you know, 159 00:07:32.120 --> 00:07:33.720 a seven or eight man rotation by the end of 160 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:35.759 the year. So I don't know what's going on with 161 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:38.160 that either, but obviously that's the program that is in 162 00:07:38.279 --> 00:07:40.560 a in a tail spin this year. And uh, you 163 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:43.480 know it's I'm not heard, I'm not an insider on 164 00:07:43.560 --> 00:07:46.639 coaching news spent, but it would seem to be, uh, 165 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:48.600 it would seem to be the time for for Arizona 166 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:49.240 State pitching. 167 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:52.639 So West Virginia in town and i West Virginia beat 168 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:56.480 Iowa States back at the beginning in Big twelve play. 169 00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:59.639 They also beat Kansas, but I guess everybody's beat Kansas. 170 00:07:59.680 --> 00:08:02.639 They also beat Arizona. They have like randomly three really 171 00:08:02.680 --> 00:08:05.879 good wins. They got dog walked at the Marriott Center 172 00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:08.720 by you smoked them. And this is, I don't know, 173 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:11.040 a sneaky big game because both these teams are eight 174 00:08:11.079 --> 00:08:13.120 and ten in Big twelve play, So of course you 175 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:14.439 want to get the win and try to get the 176 00:08:14.439 --> 00:08:16.720 best seat you possibly can. Tell us, what do you 177 00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:19.120 drop against tonight as West Virginia roles in the town. 178 00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:21.879 Yeah, well, I mean, first of all, West Virginia is 179 00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:23.800 in the Mets for a not large of it still, 180 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:26.920 so this is going to be a big game for them. 181 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:30.920 This is one they could really use. What would probably 182 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:35.120 be you know, one of those nice quad one wins 183 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:38.519 because it is on the road, so that to start. 184 00:08:38.600 --> 00:08:43.519 And West Virginia. Speaking of head coaches that have done well, 185 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:47.200 Darian Debrees in his first year, you know, it was 186 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:50.919 really surprised, you know, people across the country with the 187 00:08:50.919 --> 00:08:52.960 way West Rnius performance year. They were not expected to 188 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:56.399 be a tournament team. They got to transfer Jamon Small 189 00:08:56.440 --> 00:08:58.720 from Oklahoma State, who was really one of the best 190 00:08:58.759 --> 00:09:02.320 scorers in the league. Six y three guard for them, 191 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:06.240 and they play with the autstanding defense or defensive ranked 192 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:07.799 fifteenth in the country, and that's really what kind of 193 00:09:07.799 --> 00:09:10.039 has carried them this year. Along with a pretty strong 194 00:09:10.039 --> 00:09:14.559 home court advantage. So that's the story on them. They 195 00:09:14.600 --> 00:09:17.360 also daring Breeze's Sun Tucker to Breeze early is probably 196 00:09:17.399 --> 00:09:19.759 the best player on the roster, but you got injured 197 00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:21.399 early in the year and has not played it will 198 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:23.759 not play the rest of the year. So just an incredible, 199 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:27.559 you know, coaching job, first of all. And it will 200 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:30.519 be a challenge to score some points against this team, 201 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:33.879 and it's going to be a grind, grinding, low scorings 202 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:35.159 game probably played in the sixties. 203 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:39.120 Tonight, all right, b YU with a really big one tonight. 204 00:09:39.240 --> 00:09:42.639 But before we get to what BYU has in front 205 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:45.039 of them when it comes to a big game against 206 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:47.600 Iowa State tonight in Ames, let's just get your thoughts 207 00:09:47.639 --> 00:09:50.519 on the latest with what BYU has been able to do. 208 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:53.320 They've won six straight basketball games, they've won ten of 209 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:55.960 their last twelve, and you know, the West Virginia game 210 00:09:56.039 --> 00:09:58.759 ken was interesting because they could not hit the broadside 211 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:00.279 of a bar in the first half. They did not 212 00:10:00.360 --> 00:10:02.480 hit a three in the first half. They lit it 213 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:04.159 up in the second, but a lot of it was 214 00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:07.039 paid points, a lot of it was foos. And you know, 215 00:10:07.159 --> 00:10:09.799 now they find themselves after winning McHale, following up to 216 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:12.720 win against Kansas, I feel like certainly a lot for 217 00:10:12.759 --> 00:10:15.879 the tournament and potentially getting a top four seed, which 218 00:10:15.879 --> 00:10:18.440 give you a double buy into the quarter So before 219 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:20.840 we get to tonight, what has gone so right for 220 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:23.360 Kevin Young and his BYU basketball team as of late. 221 00:10:25.559 --> 00:10:29.559 Well, you mentioned, you know, being able to being able 222 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:31.960 to have a successful offense really without greade three point shooting. 223 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:34.440 This is the team that takes a lot of threes. 224 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:36.960 There're seventeens in the country in terms of the percentage 225 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:40.279 of field goal times from three point range. There's seventeenth 226 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:41.840 in the country from the number of points they get 227 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:45.320 from three point range. So in one sense, the offense 228 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:48.080 is you know, it's really clicking. It's it's clicking with 229 00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:50.879 getting threes. But they're also top five in the country 230 00:10:50.919 --> 00:10:55.919 in terms of two point percentage, and that's huge. I mean, 231 00:10:56.799 --> 00:10:58.840 just a well oiled offense right now. They don't necessarily 232 00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:02.080 do anything else great, but they can shoot it and 233 00:11:02.120 --> 00:11:04.840 that space is the floor. And you know, they obviously 234 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:09.480 have two very effective big men in terms of trayory 235 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:13.320 and in Kava Cata Uh. You know that allows them 236 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:16.960 to finish you know on lobs and and when you 237 00:11:17.039 --> 00:11:20.440 have that kind of space that is generated by the shooters, 238 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:23.080 really hard to for those you know defenders on the 239 00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:26.159 wing to help on take and roll and so you know, 240 00:11:26.279 --> 00:11:27.919 you can still be effective, eve when they're not hitting three. 241 00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:29.720 I think people are always going to respect the three 242 00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:31.480 in any game, whether they're going it or not, because 243 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:34.240 they know the YU pretty much has three or four 244 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:37.639 knockdown shooters on the court at every time. So they're 245 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:39.600 playing with house money tonight. I mean this winning streat 246 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:42.720 because you know, put them easily into the tournament. Uh, 247 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:45.320 it's been impressive. It's turn the heads of a lot 248 00:11:45.320 --> 00:11:48.000 of people, and uh they're going to have probably their 249 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:50.080 their toughest task at the night or you know this 250 00:11:50.279 --> 00:11:53.279 this run tonight in terms of going you know to 251 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:56.879 Iowa State on senior Night, an Iowa State team that's 252 00:11:56.879 --> 00:12:02.080 finally fully healthy after uh some injuries and roster issues 253 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:04.639 over the past you know, a month and a half, 254 00:12:05.559 --> 00:12:07.279 and so it's gonna be a really tough tough game 255 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:09.320 for BYU. But I said, they're playing with house money, 256 00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:12.159 and so even making this game competitive I think would 257 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:14.440 still step them on a course. For you know, big 258 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:15.879 expectations in the NCAA Tournament. 259 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:18.759 I always stayed an eight point five point favorite. I 260 00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:21.879 thought that line was rather large. They had kind of 261 00:12:21.960 --> 00:12:25.240 a weird run where they lost a random game on 262 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:27.480 the road to Oklahoma State. They got got by Houston, 263 00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:31.440 but Houston's awesome. They just smoked Arizona and you know, 264 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:34.480 they went through the stretch three straight ls Arizona, k State, 265 00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:37.759 Kansas and lost to West Virginia, as we already outlined. 266 00:12:38.279 --> 00:12:40.799 So tell us about the Cyclones. What's b YU up 267 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:43.679 against in a tough place to play Ames Iowa tonight. 268 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:47.639 Yeah. So the Cyclones, I mean, they've just been on 269 00:12:47.679 --> 00:12:50.480 this upward trajectory ever since TJ Osselberger took over as 270 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:53.919 the head coach four years ago. And you know, his 271 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:57.039 expertise has been on the defensive end. Last year they 272 00:12:57.039 --> 00:12:59.679 had the top defense in the country. They had the 273 00:12:59.679 --> 00:13:02.360 fifty second best offense. I curely have the ninth best 274 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:04.519 defense in the country and the twenty first best offense. 275 00:13:04.519 --> 00:13:06.639 It's easily his best offense since it has been in 276 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:10.759 Arizona State. Like the complete package is coming around and 277 00:13:11.159 --> 00:13:13.120 he's been one of those coaches that's kind of magically 278 00:13:13.639 --> 00:13:18.240 figured out how to retain players. They're thirty fifth in 279 00:13:18.279 --> 00:13:20.639 the country in terms of the continuity of minutes from 280 00:13:20.679 --> 00:13:24.519 last season, so they got guys back from last year 281 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:27.919 as a very experienced team. And even though they still 282 00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:30.200 you know, they're calling card is still in the defensive end, 283 00:13:31.720 --> 00:13:34.799 they can now score and it's a little bit more 284 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:39.799 of a you know, modern basketball offense in terms of 285 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:42.559 being able to make some shots from distance. They're not 286 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:45.120 a you know, a team that shoots a lot of threes, 287 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:47.120 but they are ninety third in the country in terms 288 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:49.440 of the number of threes they make, and so the 289 00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:51.320 offense is more of a well rounded pack is not 290 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:54.639 necessarily led by any sort of stars or anything like that. 291 00:13:54.679 --> 00:13:57.639 There's a bunch of like solid guys who don't given 292 00:13:57.639 --> 00:13:59.960 a night can you know, to beat the star. But 293 00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:02.080 for the most part, it's you know, five to seven 294 00:14:02.120 --> 00:14:05.279 guys who are willing to share and you know, kind 295 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:07.759 of more of an average role and that's turned out 296 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:09.840 to be a very effective formula for them. 297 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:12.360 Where do you see this game tonight and aims kind 298 00:14:12.360 --> 00:14:15.399 of hinging like what does BYU need to do well 299 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:17.480 in order based off of what you know about both 300 00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:19.679 these two teams in order to pull off, which according 301 00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:21.639 to Vegas, would be a pretty sizable upset. 302 00:14:23.399 --> 00:14:26.559 Yeah. I mean, one thing that Iowa State does well 303 00:14:26.600 --> 00:14:29.600 and really gets them going is forces turnovers. And it's 304 00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:33.519 not nearly, not necessarily a Byu specialty to avoid them. 305 00:14:33.559 --> 00:14:35.559 I mean we've talked, you know, over the course of 306 00:14:35.559 --> 00:14:37.960 the year about Diego or demon and obviously his role 307 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:39.440 in the offense. He handles the ball a lot, He 308 00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:43.679 triggers the offense his passing instincts in his court vision. 309 00:14:43.960 --> 00:14:47.159 His reads are i'd say above average, certainly above average 310 00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:49.279 for a person of his age, but sometimes he has 311 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:51.720 trouble executing on those reads. And and you know, he 312 00:14:51.799 --> 00:14:56.480 commits a fair amount of turnovers, and it's can be 313 00:14:56.519 --> 00:14:58.440 important for by you to limit those tonight. If you 314 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:02.399 can force Iowa State play in the half court, you 315 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:04.639 know you're gonna have a much better chance of limiting 316 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:08.679 what they do offensively, and obviously limning those turnovers will 317 00:15:09.399 --> 00:15:11.960 you know, obviously lead to more shots for Uyu. I mean, 318 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:14.840 that's really probably the story of the night is can 319 00:15:14.919 --> 00:15:17.399 b Yu get up as many shots as Iowa State 320 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:19.600 they can do that, it'll be an interesting game. You know, 321 00:15:19.679 --> 00:15:22.159 Bio states looking at you know, ten or fifteen more 322 00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:23.879 fieldgal attempts in the box score. By the time the 323 00:15:23.960 --> 00:15:27.159 night is over, it's going to be a real struggle. 324 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:30.600 So I'd say, you know, watch watch Diegor and see, 325 00:15:30.679 --> 00:15:34.000 you know, if he can limit the turnovers tonight by 326 00:15:34.039 --> 00:15:35.279 you could could hang around here. 327 00:15:35.879 --> 00:15:38.000 Let me revisit something we talked about a couple of 328 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:40.639 weeks ago, and I think at the time Ken your 329 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:44.679 answer was Arizona. I've got Kenpalm dot com up, of course, 330 00:15:44.679 --> 00:15:47.720 proud subscriber for a number of years. And the second 331 00:15:47.960 --> 00:15:50.360 highest rated Big Twelve team you have now is Tech 332 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:52.799 Texas Tech. If I asked you who the second best 333 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:54.519 team in the Big twelve is right now, is it 334 00:15:54.559 --> 00:15:56.039 Texas Tech or is it somebody else? 335 00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:00.320 It's probably Texas Tech. I mean, it's hard to really 336 00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:04.159 deny what they've done. You know, it's a team that 337 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:08.279 itself has been somewhat surprising. Uh. They were actually ranked 338 00:16:08.279 --> 00:16:11.120 fourteenth in my pre season ratings, but we've unrated in 339 00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:14.240 the THEA people to start the season, so to some extent, 340 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:18.480 they've been surprising. But you know they've they've answered, you know, 341 00:16:19.159 --> 00:16:21.559 all the questions pretty much over the course of the season. 342 00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:23.879 Obviously their most recent game. You know, they go to 343 00:16:23.960 --> 00:16:26.639 Kansas and get a victory, and I know everybody seen 344 00:16:26.679 --> 00:16:29.039 in Kansas, but Kansas is still a pretty decent team, 345 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:31.759 especially at home, and for Texas Tech to go in 346 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:35.279 there and get a win, you know, says a lot. 347 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:35.840 Uh. 348 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:39.720 They themselves had some issues with with injuries in terms 349 00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:42.639 of chance McMillan and Darian Williams, a couple of their 350 00:16:42.639 --> 00:16:45.399 starters being out, but they got them all back for 351 00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:47.720 the Kansas game, and so they do look extremely tough. 352 00:16:47.720 --> 00:16:50.039 I mean, I still like Arizona. I like what they 353 00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:53.519 do as well, but Texas Tech is a very tough team, 354 00:16:53.559 --> 00:16:55.120 and I think as we've seen the bigger stample size 355 00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:57.840 this year, uh, it's harder to de I they're legitimate 356 00:16:57.919 --> 00:16:59.600 claim to being the second best team. 357 00:16:59.399 --> 00:16:59.919 In the league. 358 00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:02.080 I'll ask a similar question, but I'll ask it differently, 359 00:17:02.360 --> 00:17:08.759 non non Houston Big twelve basketball team built to make 360 00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:10.319 an NCAA tournament run. 361 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:10.920 Who's that. 362 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:18.240 I'd go with Arizona, I guess is the next best choice, 363 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:23.799 just because I prefer teams that are a little better offense. So, 364 00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:25.680 I mean, we talked about Iowa State and they've obviously 365 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:30.160 they've improved their offense, but Arizona States needs to be 366 00:17:30.200 --> 00:17:34.039 more built around their offense, so potentially a better chance 367 00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:37.599 for a deeper run. But we're kind of splitting hairs here. 368 00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:40.400 I mean, you know, I think, well, Arizona and Iowa 369 00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:42.640 State are are teams that could could go far. And 370 00:17:42.680 --> 00:17:45.119 I mean, you know, I think it's an outside shot 371 00:17:45.119 --> 00:17:46.599 that b Y you could be that team as well, 372 00:17:47.039 --> 00:17:50.119 just given the fact that you know their offense can 373 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:53.920 be very explosive, and that upside I think is kind 374 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:59.079 of intriguing. Although there's obviously a extremely long history of 375 00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:02.559 you know, you not making deep tournament runs that would 376 00:18:02.839 --> 00:18:05.240 would maybe cause you to have some reluctance to have 377 00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:06.000 him go deep in. 378 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:08.599 Your bracket, and that's where I wanted to go next. 379 00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:12.400 Are you more confident? Like Byu was a six seed 380 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:14.279 last year? I think it was the day day Grant 381 00:18:14.359 --> 00:18:15.640 kid in Ducane. 382 00:18:15.160 --> 00:18:16.279 That got him round one. 383 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:19.680 Jackson Robinson was like the only player making shots. But 384 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:23.359 I thought Byu was built for something somewhat exciting last year. 385 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:25.839 Do you think Kevin's team is better because right now 386 00:18:25.920 --> 00:18:27.480 Lenardi has them as an eight seed. 387 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:29.000 They were six seed last year. 388 00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:32.720 Is this team built for either a better Big twelve 389 00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:36.599 tournament run or an NCAA tournament run in your mind, Ken. 390 00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:40.160 Well, they're probably more like a Big twelve tournament run 391 00:18:40.200 --> 00:18:43.839 is a little more likely, just because there's you know, 392 00:18:43.880 --> 00:18:46.200 it's just such a quick event and you know, you're 393 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:48.079 almost just there's not a lot of scouting, and he 394 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:50.640 was kind of reacting to what you know over the 395 00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:53.640 course of the season, and so I think that favors 396 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:56.759 BIU more than the situation where there might be more 397 00:18:56.960 --> 00:18:59.319 detailed scouting in a few days prepare for a team 398 00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:03.079 and and kind of limit what YU does offensively and 399 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:05.400 try to make them do things are not comfortable with. 400 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:09.640 And certainly the memories of last year, I mean, they 401 00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:12.319