1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,839 Speaker 1: At Authorprosiutah dot Com. To a miss around the Horn 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:07,240 with Jordan B. Nuci on Utah's Home of Major League 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:10,560 Baseball one O three, nine and ninety eight three ESPN 4 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:14,679 The Fan. The mackness of March is right around the 5 00:00:14,679 --> 00:00:17,280 corner and the Cougars are in the middle of it. 6 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:20,800 It's time to talk some college basketball on Cougar Sports 7 00:00:20,879 --> 00:00:24,920 with Ben cripton Welcome Back Cougar Sports one of three, 8 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:26,839 nine ninety eight point three ESBN The Fan. I've been 9 00:00:26,879 --> 00:00:30,239 crital broadcast from our band Erwalth Studios, Vanderwealth dot Com. 10 00:00:30,359 --> 00:00:32,119 Get on a free Q and A no obligation to 11 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:34,439 invest Q and A with our tax more wealth Advisors, 12 00:00:34,439 --> 00:00:37,840 certified financial planners. Nobody does it better than Blaine Anderson 13 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:40,240 and his crew Contact and to day. Get on that 14 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:42,079 free Q and A. It is top a little college 15 00:00:42,079 --> 00:00:46,159 hoops talk. We got to discuss just what the prognostic 16 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:50,200 games the men of metrics are saying about this Blau 17 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:53,679 basketball team. Now that Richie Saunders has gone down to 18 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:59,520 an ACL injury. How significantly do they drop in the 19 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:03,399 analytic ex portion of you know, Ken Palm and Evan 20 00:01:03,759 --> 00:01:06,840 Mia cowa UH dot com. We're gonna get into it 21 00:01:06,879 --> 00:01:08,879 here in this segment. It's gonna be brought to you 22 00:01:08,879 --> 00:01:12,120 by Central Garage Door, Central Garage Utah dot Com. Many 23 00:01:12,239 --> 00:01:14,840 people when they have a garage door issue here along 24 00:01:14,879 --> 00:01:17,439 the WAT size front, they get in an emergent situation 25 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:19,159 and they have to pay a lot of money to 26 00:01:19,239 --> 00:01:22,920 get that garage door repaired. Kelly at Central Garage Door, 27 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:25,439 Central Garage Utah dot Com is gonna get you the 28 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:27,040 best deal at the best price. No his sense abouts 29 00:01:27,079 --> 00:01:29,719 about VPPI products, VFI service, VFPI discounts. Give a call, 30 00:01:29,799 --> 00:01:31,560 set up an appointment, shoot him a text. He'll get 31 00:01:31,599 --> 00:01:33,760 you a quote asap. Eight O one six oh four 32 00:01:33,799 --> 00:01:35,359 two nine one nine. That's a dole won six oh 33 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:37,719 four two nine one nine. They've been serving Utah over 34 00:01:37,799 --> 00:01:40,319 thirty years. They want to support you guys, and not 35 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:45,079 Gougia with an emergent situation when the garage door is 36 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:47,879 not functioning. Central Garage, Utah, Central Garage Utah dot Com. 37 00:01:47,959 --> 00:01:50,560 Let's get out to the hot Live Welcome in UH 38 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:55,159 college Basketball Analytics Guru Evan Miakawa to discuss this by 39 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:58,200 U basketball team and college basketball in general. Evan, how 40 00:01:58,239 --> 00:02:00,519 the heck are you buddy doing great. 41 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:03,159 Speaker 2: We are, you know, less than four weeks away from 42 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:06,439 selection Sunday and the eyes of the nature and on 43 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:08,199 college basketball right now, so there's a lot of good 44 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:12,719 stuff going. Can't necessarily say the same for BYU. Tough 45 00:02:12,759 --> 00:02:15,400 news over the weekend, it's been really disappointing to see. 46 00:02:15,879 --> 00:02:19,520 Speaker 1: Let's just discuss real quick overall the college basketball season. 47 00:02:19,879 --> 00:02:22,319 What has stood out to you? Which teams have stood 48 00:02:22,319 --> 00:02:27,000 out to you, biggest surprises, things that maybe you prognosticated 49 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:29,560 in the preseason that came to fruition, anything come to mind. 50 00:02:30,879 --> 00:02:33,319 Speaker 2: I think if someone is kind of tapping into college 51 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:35,599 basketball right now for the first time and they're like, hey, 52 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:38,960 what's going on, I think the big picture messages the 53 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:41,599 talent at the very top of the sport is as 54 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:45,159 good as any and there are probably about ten teams 55 00:02:45,159 --> 00:02:48,159 this year that have really separated themselves from the rest 56 00:02:48,199 --> 00:02:50,560 of the pack and are all at a very elite 57 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:54,080 level and in any other season would be potentially a 58 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:56,879 front runner, front runner to win the national title. I 59 00:02:56,879 --> 00:02:59,960 think if you go back a year ago entering the tournament, 60 00:03:00,439 --> 00:03:03,039 there was very clearly a solid like four to five 61 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:05,479 teams the all the one seeds maybe if you want 62 00:03:05,479 --> 00:03:08,520 to throw in an Alabama in there. It was pretty 63 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:11,120 obvious going into the tournaments they were cut above the rest. 64 00:03:11,199 --> 00:03:13,639 It was going to be pretty unlikely for someone to 65 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:15,639 win outside of those five. This year, I think it 66 00:03:15,719 --> 00:03:18,280 is much wider than that. I think there are somewhere 67 00:03:18,319 --> 00:03:20,599 between eight to twelve teams who are all good enough 68 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:23,319 to get it done, and so the I think the 69 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:26,439 talent at the top of the sport, certainly in the 70 00:03:26,439 --> 00:03:29,879 Big twelve. We've seen this on a weekly basis. These 71 00:03:30,199 --> 00:03:34,479 heavyweight clashes between really talented teams have just been really entertaining. 72 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:36,039 We're just going to get more and more of that 73 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:38,759 as we get closer into March. So it's been really 74 00:03:38,759 --> 00:03:39,919 fun to see. 75 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: How many top I'm looking at your top one hundred 76 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:49,479 players right the metric you guys can all find cougarnation, 77 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:52,360 evanmeia dot com, this efenmea dot com. The player ratings. 78 00:03:52,639 --> 00:03:56,080 How many top one hundred players does a college basketball 79 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:59,000 team need in order to get deep into the NCAA 80 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:00,599 Tournament typically to say. 81 00:04:01,919 --> 00:04:05,319 Speaker 2: Good question. Obviously there's different ways of rating players, but 82 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,039 on my website you can find a rating and ranking 83 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:09,879 for every single player in the country in terms of 84 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:11,719 the value that they bring to their team and where 85 00:04:11,719 --> 00:04:14,240 that's plots them nationally. And often what I have found 86 00:04:14,599 --> 00:04:16,720 is by the time we get to the end of 87 00:04:16,759 --> 00:04:21,160 the season and we're looking at, you know, how, besides 88 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:24,519 star talent, how loaded are the top teams in the country. 89 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:29,079 I think it typically takes at least four to five 90 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:31,519 players being in the top one hundred. I'm looking at 91 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,240 Florida last year, they had five guys who were in 92 00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:36,879 the top one hundred, and I think the year before Yukon, 93 00:04:37,759 --> 00:04:40,160 the previous two years Yukon had at least that many 94 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:42,360 as well. Yeah, they had six the year prior. So 95 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:45,560 it may not look that way when you enter a season, 96 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:48,040 it's hard to say exactly which rosters are going to 97 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:49,839 have that many good players. But by the end of 98 00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:51,519 the season, by the time we get to the tournament, 99 00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:56,000 it's pretty obvious which rosters are obviously have the star talent, yes, 100 00:04:56,079 --> 00:04:59,759 but to have the ability to you know, go five, six, seven, 101 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:01,560 eight guys deep and there's not really that much of 102 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:03,800 a talent drop off, And that's pretty key, especially if 103 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:05,920 you want to win six games in a row in 104 00:05:05,959 --> 00:05:06,519 the tournament. 105 00:05:08,079 --> 00:05:11,160 Speaker 1: BYUS in a unique situation. Right, they do have three 106 00:05:11,199 --> 00:05:14,160 top one hundred players, but one of those players just 107 00:05:14,199 --> 00:05:17,160 went down to injury. He's twenty eighth in your Evan 108 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:21,879 MEA player rating, Richie Sanders, AJ's at number eleven, and 109 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:26,240 Rob Right the third set number fifty six. How impactful 110 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:28,759 is this injury per your analytics? 111 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:33,000 Speaker 2: To BYU, this is about as devastating as it gets. 112 00:05:33,079 --> 00:05:36,920 Richie Saunders obviously incredible player. If he was no matter 113 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:38,680 what team he was playing on, losing him for the 114 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:41,680 season would really really hurt them. You know, he finished 115 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:44,639 the season basically averaging almost twenty points a game, six 116 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:48,000 rebounds a game, great three point shooter, very efficient, good 117 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,240 on the defensive end as well, So you know, I 118 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:52,560 had him rated as a top thirty player in the country. 119 00:05:52,639 --> 00:05:55,600 I think the way this impacts BYU more than most 120 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:58,800 because the way that BYU has built a roster is 121 00:05:58,879 --> 00:06:02,120 around this big trio of stars in aj de Bonta, 122 00:06:02,519 --> 00:06:04,680 Rob Wright and Richie Saunders and all of them are 123 00:06:05,319 --> 00:06:07,639 you know, some of the best players in college basketball, 124 00:06:07,759 --> 00:06:10,000 especially on the offensive end, and then all these other 125 00:06:10,079 --> 00:06:13,199 role pieces filling around them. Well, we have found that 126 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:15,439 in this season, if even one or two of those 127 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:18,560 guys aren't having a good night, YU can struggle to 128 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:21,560 stay in games. Do you take Richie Saunders out of 129 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:24,759 the equation, who maybe has been the overall most consistent, 130 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:27,680 reliable star on this team, certainly the most veteran experience 131 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,480 on this team, and we're talking about a drop from 132 00:06:30,519 --> 00:06:32,480 in terms of like where the minute's gonna go. The 133 00:06:33,079 --> 00:06:35,639 lack of depth on depth on this BYU team is 134 00:06:35,759 --> 00:06:38,279 really bad. You go back a year ago and I 135 00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:40,439 think I looked at according to my analytics, if you 136 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:43,199 looked at the strength of the eighth best guy on 137 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:46,240 BYU's roster last year, it ranked like top five in 138 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:48,560 the country in terms of how good their depth was. 139 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:51,839 That's not been the story this year. Before the Richie 140 00:06:51,879 --> 00:06:55,160 Saunders injury, I think their depth was ranked seventieth or 141 00:06:55,199 --> 00:06:57,560 eightieth best in the country on my website, and now 142 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:00,079 he's out for the season, so that's probably out. I 143 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:02,560 had the top one hundred, like this is a huge drop, 144 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:07,120 And actually on my website, I have injury adjusted ratings 145 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:09,720 and rankings for teams that basically says when a player 146 00:07:09,759 --> 00:07:11,399 is either out for a period of time or out 147 00:07:11,399 --> 00:07:13,680 for the season, how much does that impact what they're 148 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:15,480 predicted to do going forward, and at the time of 149 00:07:15,519 --> 00:07:19,720 the injury, Saunders being out dropped BYU by twenty three 150 00:07:19,759 --> 00:07:22,839 spots nationally, from twenty second to forty fifth nationally. So 151 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:26,199 that's going from a team that's a top twenty five team, 152 00:07:26,279 --> 00:07:29,639 potentially Sweet sixteen or further to a team that would 153 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:31,800 in a normal season barely be good enough to make 154 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:34,120 the NCAA tournament. That's how much of an impact this 155 00:07:34,199 --> 00:07:35,279 injury has for BYU. 156 00:07:36,959 --> 00:07:41,319 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's that's pretty devastating. Is there anyone on the 157 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:47,519 roster that you see has promise potential to step up 158 00:07:47,959 --> 00:07:51,639 in a bigger way and try to fill the big 159 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:53,279 shoes and this is going to be by committee. I 160 00:07:53,279 --> 00:07:56,199 don't think there's any one guy. But what else does 161 00:07:56,279 --> 00:07:58,720 Bay you have on the roster that you're maybe optimistic 162 00:07:58,759 --> 00:08:02,000 about that if given in more volume, given more minutes, 163 00:08:02,399 --> 00:08:04,279 they could step up in trying to fill the shoes 164 00:08:04,319 --> 00:08:05,120 of Richie Saunders. 165 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 2: I wish I had a better answer to this, but 166 00:08:08,079 --> 00:08:10,759 I think my answer is I can't find somebody like 167 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:15,000 the Kiva Keda has probably been their most reliable player 168 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:17,399 outside of the top four, and certainly his the value 169 00:08:17,399 --> 00:08:20,519 defensively is probably the best on the team, but he 170 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:23,120 can't fill Richie Saunders role, and he's already playing a 171 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:25,160 good amount. You would love to see a little bit 172 00:08:25,199 --> 00:08:27,240 more consistency from him, but he's not able to pick 173 00:08:27,319 --> 00:08:30,000 up the offensive slack. But then going down the roster, 174 00:08:30,199 --> 00:08:33,879 like in Boop, I guess is the player who's probably 175 00:08:33,879 --> 00:08:36,240 the next most valuable on the team, but again more 176 00:08:36,279 --> 00:08:38,480 of a defensive player. He's been really inefficient on the 177 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:40,759 offensive side of the court. And then looking at the 178 00:08:40,799 --> 00:08:43,600 rest of this roster, like Cannard Davis has been inconsistent, 179 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:46,159 He's not as been as good as people wanted to see. 180 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:49,480 I think, honestly, the fact that you already had injuries 181 00:08:49,519 --> 00:08:52,360 to guys like Dawson Baker like that would be the 182 00:08:52,399 --> 00:08:54,440 obvious pick if he was still playing to pick up 183 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:57,679 the slack there. So I think combining that with saunders 184 00:08:57,679 --> 00:08:59,720 injury and some of the other roster issues that they've 185 00:08:59,759 --> 00:09:02,600 had to here, it's just there's really not a lot 186 00:09:02,639 --> 00:09:05,679 of ways to kind of rejig the pieces here and 187 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:09,519 find a winning formula. Obviously, I think the goal is 188 00:09:09,519 --> 00:09:13,440 hopefully just like let aj Debonta absolutely cook and see 189 00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:15,919 what you can make around that, and maybe if they're 190 00:09:16,639 --> 00:09:18,519 somewhere in the six to eight seed range in the 191 00:09:18,519 --> 00:09:20,519 tournament and you're playing against the one or two seed, 192 00:09:20,519 --> 00:09:22,799 maybe the star talent of aj Debonta can win you 193 00:09:22,799 --> 00:09:25,960 again in that situation. But in terms of being able 194 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,639 to have continued success to the rest of the season 195 00:09:28,679 --> 00:09:31,720 in a Big twelve postseason play making a Final four run, 196 00:09:31,799 --> 00:09:33,600 I just don't really see a lot of ingredients there 197 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:34,720 that I'm really optimistic in. 198 00:09:35,919 --> 00:09:40,080 Speaker 1: Cannard Davis Junior seems like the guy that's gonna possibly 199 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:44,200 step up. How good is Canard Davis been this year 200 00:09:44,279 --> 00:09:46,960 and where can he improve? Well? 201 00:09:47,039 --> 00:09:48,639 Speaker 2: I think, you know, one of the things that they 202 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:52,200 wanted from Canard Davis was to be a three point shooter, 203 00:09:52,279 --> 00:09:54,120 and that's something that they certainly are going to have 204 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:57,480 to fill in. Richie Saunders was probably the best three 205 00:09:57,519 --> 00:09:59,799 point shooter on the team, certainly in terms of volume 206 00:09:59,799 --> 00:10:02,799 percon pective. But Cannard Davis, like I think he if 207 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:05,360 I'm looking at his you know, analytics from this year. 208 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:08,200 He started out the season really hot from three, but 209 00:10:08,279 --> 00:10:11,080 he has really dipped as of late and has struggled 210 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:14,720 to find consistently shooting the three ball and right now 211 00:10:14,759 --> 00:10:17,440 I project him on my site to only shoot thirty 212 00:10:17,519 --> 00:10:20,519 four and a half percent going forward. That's a little 213 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:22,840 bit better than Division one average, but that's not like 214 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:26,799 elite levels. So if he were to you know, step 215 00:10:26,879 --> 00:10:28,600 up and take more shots and hit them, he's going 216 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:31,240 to have to find a massive improvement from what he's 217 00:10:31,279 --> 00:10:34,279 been doing recently and find some of that early season 218 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,039 form and part of why they brought him to BYU. 219 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:40,960 So there the ingredients are there. He's shown it at times, 220 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:42,879 but it's not been there for the last you know, 221 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:47,320 ten to twelve games, and maybe the coaching staff saying like, hey, 222 00:10:47,399 --> 00:10:49,360 you need to step up and fill these shoes. Maybe 223 00:10:49,399 --> 00:10:51,759 he's built that way and can respond. I just don't 224 00:10:51,799 --> 00:10:53,200 necessarily think that's a guarantee. 225 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:59,519 Speaker 1: By Ane, Alexi Coastick, Tyler Marass. I mean, Tyler, we 226 00:10:59,559 --> 00:11:02,960 do have some eight points from from Idaho right like 227 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:05,480 what he was doing last year, and I don't know, 228 00:11:05,559 --> 00:11:08,240 I didn't prep you with this, but I wonder how 229 00:11:08,279 --> 00:11:10,919 could he was last year and he can get back 230 00:11:11,039 --> 00:11:14,320 up to that this year at b YU election Costik 231 00:11:14,399 --> 00:11:19,559 is an interesting study. Obviously, coming from overseas, he looks 232 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:24,240 to gain a few more minutes of production and opportunity there. 233 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:27,799 But if you were to, you know, maybe put a 234 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:30,279 bet on any one of these guys to maybe step 235 00:11:30,399 --> 00:11:32,759 up or see more minutes, who would it be and why? 236 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:37,360 Speaker 2: Well, I would like to say it would be Cannar Davis, 237 00:11:37,399 --> 00:11:39,320 like we talked about. But the problem is he's already 238 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:40,000 playing a good. 239 00:11:39,919 --> 00:11:41,600 Speaker 1: Amount of playing forty minutes a game. 240 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:45,120 Speaker 2: It looks like yeah exactly, so like there's not you 241 00:11:45,399 --> 00:11:48,000 can't really give more to him. I think from an 242 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:52,120 offensive perspective, Rus is probably the answer outside of the 243 00:11:52,159 --> 00:11:54,879 Big Three. He has the highest offensive rating in terms 244 00:11:54,919 --> 00:11:57,960 of his predicted offensive impacts going forward to the team, 245 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:00,159 but again it is a far cry from what you're 246 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:03,840 seeing from those Big three. And he in terms of 247 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:07,039 his efficiency last year he was below Division one average. Again, 248 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:08,679 he played on a bad team and some of that 249 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:12,120 was probably situational, but he's not improved that much on 250 00:12:12,159 --> 00:12:15,320 a per possession basis than last year. So again I 251 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:17,559 think that's probably the direction you go there. But there 252 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:20,960 is a massive gap between what he's doing and you 253 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:23,559 know what Richie Saunders was doing, so again probably a 254 00:12:23,559 --> 00:12:26,120 big ask. And also he hasn't played a ton so 255 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:28,360 you're taking a bit of a gamble on a guy. 256 00:12:28,399 --> 00:12:31,120 But obviously, like you said, there's not really they don't 257 00:12:31,159 --> 00:12:33,600 have another choice. They got to have someone step up here, 258 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:36,159 So you know, I think that's probably the most likely answer. 259 00:12:37,039 --> 00:12:40,399 Speaker 1: Evan Miakawa here on your Utah ESPN Radio Network dok 260 00:12:40,399 --> 00:12:44,799 in some BYU basketball, the Big Twelve has been a 261 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:47,320 bit of a gauntlet, no doubt for these teams. We 262 00:12:47,399 --> 00:12:50,960 see ASU knocking off teams, We're seeing a little bit 263 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:54,320 of cannibalism and parody. But how would you describe the 264 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:56,759 Big Twelve this season and how does it compare to 265 00:12:56,799 --> 00:12:59,519 the Big Ten, the SEC, the ACC and others. 266 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:03,159 Speaker 2: The Big Twelve and the Big Ten this year have 267 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:06,440 been unquestionably the best conferences when it comes to the 268 00:13:06,519 --> 00:13:09,559 overall like upper talent in the conference and who's most 269 00:13:09,639 --> 00:13:12,080 likely to cut down the nets. I think every single 270 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:14,600 week it's like, Wow, look at this amazing matchup in 271 00:13:14,639 --> 00:13:16,120 this amazing team of the Big Twelve, and then you 272 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:17,600 go to the Big Ten and back and forth. They've 273 00:13:17,879 --> 00:13:22,960 both conferences have been really, really amazing. I think Arizona 274 00:13:23,159 --> 00:13:25,879 has obviously been the story of the Big Twelve so far, 275 00:13:25,960 --> 00:13:28,639 but they're coming off of, you know, to the first 276 00:13:28,679 --> 00:13:31,799 two losses of the season too, albeit very good teams 277 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:33,960 in Kansas on the road, in Texas Tech at home, 278 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,679 but they're they're obviously the best. They're probably still the 279 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:39,759 best team in this conference. Houston I think would be 280 00:13:40,519 --> 00:13:42,480 right there with them. I have them ranked third and 281 00:13:42,559 --> 00:13:44,600 fourth in the country in terms of how good they're 282 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:47,600 supposed to be going forward. Both those teams play this weekend. 283 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:49,919 Arizona's traveling to Houston. That's gonna be a big game. 284 00:13:50,399 --> 00:13:54,679 But Iowa State just beat Arizona or sorry, just beat 285 00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:59,559 Kansas and Houston, and so they're obviously very strong. Texas 286 00:13:59,639 --> 00:14:02,440 Tech takes a massive blow if JC Toppin is indeed 287 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:05,039 out for the season, which some people are speculating might 288 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:07,799 be the case. And then you've got Kansas, who has 289 00:14:07,799 --> 00:14:10,799 been a top fifteen team this season, and when Darren 290 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:13,600 Peterson is playing well, they're as good as anybody. You've 291 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:17,080 got five teams that are all probably title threats at 292 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:20,679 this point if healthy. Inside the top fifteen nationally. There 293 00:14:20,759 --> 00:14:22,679 was a massive drop after that. There's a lot of 294 00:14:22,759 --> 00:14:27,360 middling teams like outside of BYU, like Cincinnati, TCU, Baylor, 295 00:14:27,399 --> 00:14:29,960 who may or may not make the tournament there, but 296 00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:32,759 the top of the Big twelve has been extremely impressive 297 00:14:32,759 --> 00:14:36,360 this year. Honestly, must watch TV anytime that these teams 298 00:14:36,399 --> 00:14:39,320 are playing, especially against each other, and in this February 299 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:41,200 stretch they have all been playing each other and it's 300 00:14:41,279 --> 00:14:42,519 been an absolute gauntlet. 301 00:14:44,279 --> 00:14:48,200 Speaker 1: This is an intriguing situation for me. How many Big 302 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:52,200 twelve NCAA tournament bids do you think come down the 303 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:54,879 pipeline this year? What's your prognostication there. 304 00:14:55,679 --> 00:15:01,000 Speaker 2: As of right now? I would have six teams comfortably in, 305 00:15:01,559 --> 00:15:04,840 or sorry, seven teams comfortably in. That would be Arizona, Houston, 306 00:15:04,879 --> 00:15:09,200 Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Tech, BYU and UCF has played 307 00:15:09,279 --> 00:15:13,039 far above what I think their roster people expected from 308 00:15:13,039 --> 00:15:15,039 the roster. They have done really well this year overall. 309 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:18,799 But then outside of that, TCU, West Virginia, Oklahoma State 310 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:21,679 are probably have a chance at making the tournament, but 311 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:23,799 they've got a lot of work to do. I think 312 00:15:23,799 --> 00:15:25,879 it's going to settle at seventeen. I think it's going 313 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:28,120 to be those seven that I mentioned. There's a pretty 314 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:31,080 clear divide between that group and the rest. So that's 315 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:32,919 what my prediction would be as of now. 316 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 1: What's your seeding for BYU right now, and what do 317 00:15:37,039 --> 00:15:41,480 you prognosticate in their final six games that they end 318 00:15:41,559 --> 00:15:45,039 up in the win loss column with their regular season games. 319 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:47,879 Speaker 2: Right now, I would have BUYU right on the cut 320 00:15:47,879 --> 00:15:50,480 line between a five and sixty. The thing about BYU 321 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:53,519 is that you know they don't have any massive wins, 322 00:15:53,759 --> 00:15:57,759 but their losses have all been very respectable. Really outside 323 00:15:57,799 --> 00:16:01,120 of the road loss against Oklahoma State, they've lost to 324 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:04,960 Houston again. Houston is a fantastic team. Arizona fantastic team, 325 00:16:05,279 --> 00:16:08,159 at Kansas, at Texas Tech on a neutral versus yukon. 326 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:10,440 All of these teams are elite teams, so they're not 327 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:12,960 really being bogged down by a lot of losses like 328 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:14,960 some of these other teams are. Texas Tech is kind 329 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:17,200 of the slip side of this, where Texas Tech has 330 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,159 some incredible wins but some really bad losses. So right 331 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:22,159 now I would say THEIU is probably on that five 332 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:25,440 to sixteen Cup six seed cut line. Obviously, with the 333 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:29,480 Saunders injury, I would expect for them to likely drop 334 00:16:30,039 --> 00:16:31,759 and lose a game or two more than they would 335 00:16:31,759 --> 00:16:34,080 have if you were healthy, and so we're probably looking 336 00:16:34,159 --> 00:16:37,480 at more like a seven seed is probably the most 337 00:16:37,559 --> 00:16:41,159 likely outcome for them on Selection Sunday, but I don't 338 00:16:41,159 --> 00:16:42,919 hate that spot for them. I think if you're in 339 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:44,759 a seventh seed, you're able to get past your first 340 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:47,080 round matchup and play a two seed and you've got 341 00:16:47,159 --> 00:16:49,799 aj Debonta like that is going to be a scary 342 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:52,720 site for any one or two seed. So I kind 343 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:54,679 of like them in that spot to be a potential 344 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:57,759 upset pick, if you want to call it that, just 345 00:16:57,799 --> 00:16:59,519 because of the way that this roster has made up. 346 00:17:00,519 --> 00:17:04,119 Speaker 1: Have you ever seen so many season ending injuries from 347 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:07,359 a college basketball team since you've started doing what you 348 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:11,559 do and monitoring some of these these injuries and rosters 349 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:15,920 and and their their efficiency metrics that are associated with 350 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:16,640 their rosters. 351 00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:20,839 Speaker 2: You know, I think when you are watching a team closely, 352 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:24,640 like BYU, and you see these players go down, you think, wow, 353 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:27,799 this has never happened to anyone before. The reality is 354 00:17:27,839 --> 00:17:31,559 it's more common than you think. And oftentimes it's that 355 00:17:31,759 --> 00:17:34,680 these injuries happen earlier in the season and the team 356 00:17:34,799 --> 00:17:36,319 just kind of falls off the map and we're not 357 00:17:36,359 --> 00:17:38,839 really talking about them by March, but they have a 358 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:41,440 much bigger impact on their overall season. I think Louisville 359 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,160 last year was a decent example of a team that 360 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:47,119 still made the tournament, but they lost close to half 361 00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:49,039 their roster at a given point in the season was 362 00:17:49,079 --> 00:17:51,279 unavailable either out for the season or out for long 363 00:17:51,279 --> 00:17:55,440 stretches of time, and that really dramatically changed their season there. 364 00:17:55,759 --> 00:18:00,279 This year, USC has been absolutely wrecked by injuries. They've 365 00:18:00,279 --> 00:18:03,240 had two of their top four or five players out 366 00:18:03,279 --> 00:18:05,880 for the season, another player who may not be back 367 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:06,920 for the entire rest. 368 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:07,079 Speaker 1: Of the year. 369 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:09,319 Speaker 2: And this is a team that started the year winning 370 00:18:09,359 --> 00:18:11,960 the Maui Tournament and you know, was probably hoping to 371 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:14,519 be a five or six seed in the tournament. And 372 00:18:15,119 --> 00:18:17,079 let's see when we check their resume status. As of 373 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:19,720 right now, they're in the nine to ten feet category. 374 00:18:19,799 --> 00:18:22,240 But based on who they have on their roster, it's 375 00:18:22,279 --> 00:18:25,119 possible they could miss the tournament entirely. So it's more 376 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:27,160 happens more than you think, but certainly for it to 377 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:30,359 be this prolific towards the end of the season pretty rare. 378 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:34,160 Speaker 1: It's it's pretty crazy. I don't know if BYU has 379 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:37,000 ever had this many injuries then yeah, I mean, if 380 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:43,480 this is fairly common, you know BYU has been able 381 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:49,000 to experience more often than not health right, and it 382 00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:51,839 has been able to maybe they've made At one point 383 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:54,920 early in the season right BYU fans were hoping that 384 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:56,480 they could get the monkey off their back. They have 385 00:18:56,519 --> 00:18:59,440 gone to more in CAA tournaments than any other team 386 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:03,119 without a five four appearance. Now that looks that opportunity. 387 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:06,559 That light looks a whole lot more bleak and it's darkened. 388 00:19:06,839 --> 00:19:10,400 They are not as optimistic, and neither is Evan Miakawa 389 00:19:10,559 --> 00:19:15,680 and the metrics right now, but they could possibly with 390 00:19:15,759 --> 00:19:18,599 their their two headed monster right, AJ Debonsa and Rob Right. 391 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:22,160 Rob Wright seems to be trending in an elite direction. 392 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:25,000 What do you see as far as his trajectory is concerned. 393 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:29,400 He's kind of taken over in the scoring category whenever 394 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:32,119 Aj is struggling a little bit, or when Richie is struggling. 395 00:19:33,359 --> 00:19:36,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, I love what Rob Wright is doing. And I 396 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:38,200 think the fact when you play on a team with 397 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:41,519 Aj Debonsa and Richie Saunders, you're not going to get 398 00:19:41,559 --> 00:19:44,000 as much credit as you should. But I think what 399 00:19:44,079 --> 00:19:45,960 he has done at the UYU and his second year 400 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:49,799 in college has been tremendous. He is for a point guard, 401 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:52,839 is more gifted as a scorer than most. But I'm 402 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:56,640 i'm if you look at his statistical profile, he's a 403 00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:01,000 amazing scorer. He's an elite, elite three point He's also 404 00:20:01,079 --> 00:20:03,680 a very good playmaker fory point guard. He doesn't turn 405 00:20:03,759 --> 00:20:06,119 the ball over very much. He's shown the ability to 406 00:20:06,319 --> 00:20:09,880 also you know, cause turnovers on the defensive end. So 407 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:13,000 he's really doing everything for this team. And I think 408 00:20:13,039 --> 00:20:14,920 we saw this back at Baylor. You know, I watched 409 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,920 him closely in his freshman year at Baylor. Baylor was 410 00:20:18,119 --> 00:20:21,440 up and down last year, and there were often games 411 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:23,799 when a very they had a lot of veteran players, 412 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:26,799 it seemed like Rob Wright was the only one keeping 413 00:20:26,839 --> 00:20:29,200 them in games. He has shown an ability to kind 414 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:32,400 of always put you know, his his you know, keep 415 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:35,039 his foot feet on the ground and pedal to the 416 00:20:35,079 --> 00:20:37,920 metal and just grind and will result in the right direction. 417 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,160 And I think that is the type of mentality that 418 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:42,759 BYU needs. And I think he has built to step 419 00:20:42,839 --> 00:20:44,319 up more into the moment. You know, we were talking 420 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:46,640 about all these who what role players can step up. 421 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:49,319 Rob Wright's already been tremendous this year. I think I 422 00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:52,599 think mentality wise, he is built to take even more 423 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,440 of a big role on this team. So I really 424 00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:57,599 like what he's been doing. And I can't really imagine 425 00:20:57,599 --> 00:20:59,240 where a BYU would be without him. 426 00:20:59,599 --> 00:21:02,279 Speaker 1: No doubt about it. Love what I've seen from Rob 427 00:21:02,319 --> 00:21:05,079 Wright the third and maybe there's still hope for a 428 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:09,720 run in the NCAA Tournament. Let's discuss college basketball as 429 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:12,599 a whole again. Who are your favorites right now to 430 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:16,400 maybe make an Elite eight appearance and or Final four 431 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:18,799 appearance right now? Do you have some favorites right now 432 00:21:18,839 --> 00:21:20,759 that you can lean into with your metrics? 433 00:21:21,279 --> 00:21:24,880 Speaker 2: Well, I can't look past Michigan. I was in the 434 00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:28,119 arena Tuesday night for their win over Purdue in a 435 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:30,559 game that Perdue is about as hostile an environment as 436 00:21:30,599 --> 00:21:33,119 you can find. Perdue as the preseason number one team, 437 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:36,359 Michigan comfortably won that game and it didn't really feel 438 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:39,559 that close. They are an absolute wagon. I've actually had 439 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:42,400 Michigan rated as the number one team in the country 440 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:46,599 since late November, even though they this is their first 441 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:48,240 week actually being ranked number one. 442 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:48,400 Speaker 1: In the A. 443 00:21:48,559 --> 00:21:52,319 Speaker 2: People this team is really really good, best defense defense 444 00:21:52,319 --> 00:21:55,039 in the country. Their front court is super imposing, so 445 00:21:55,079 --> 00:21:57,160 I really like them, and they're playing against my number 446 00:21:57,200 --> 00:21:59,839 two team in the country, Duke, this weekend and on 447 00:22:00,319 --> 00:22:03,480 Core in DC, so I like both those teams. Cameron 448 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:05,359 Boozer has been by far the best player in college 449 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:08,000 basketball this year. But then outside of that, I think 450 00:22:08,039 --> 00:22:13,400 the the the top echelon is really Michigan, Duke, Arizona, Houston, Florida. 451 00:22:13,519 --> 00:22:15,440 That's who I would put as my top five right now, 452 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:18,680 and I think I would likely pick a title a 453 00:22:18,759 --> 00:22:21,440 championship to come from that group. But then you've got 454 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:25,480 some other teams that are really dangerous, especially offensively like Illinois, 455 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:28,440 Yukon obviously with the pedigree under Dan Hurley. And I 456 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:31,119 still am not out on Purdue. I think they have 457 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:33,559 a great offense, and I think, you know, against the 458 00:22:34,039 --> 00:22:36,119 you know, maybe against a team it's not Michigan, they 459 00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:39,160 can have some success. But then even like a team 460 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:41,480 like Gonzaga. Gonzaga, I think it's been kind of off 461 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:43,880 the radar for a while. They've not even been fully 462 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:46,519 healthy in this conference stretch. They're missing one of their 463 00:22:46,559 --> 00:22:49,240 best players and scorers in Brandon Huff, but they have 464 00:22:49,319 --> 00:22:51,920 been getting a lot of big results done the WCC. 465 00:22:52,119 --> 00:22:53,759 I think they could be a menace in the tournament. 466 00:22:53,799 --> 00:22:55,720 So there's a lot of teams that I really like 467 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:59,400 in this tournament, and there's it's gonna be it is 468 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:01,200 going to be hard, harder than ever this year to 469 00:23:01,279 --> 00:23:03,400 pick a final four. There's gonna be like nine teams 470 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:05,319 I want to put in the final four and you 471 00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:07,240 can only pick four. It's really devastating. 472 00:23:08,079 --> 00:23:10,240 Speaker 1: I love it, man, Evan meat Cow. I nobody does 473 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:12,640 it better than you, brother. The best way to support 474 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:15,480 you what you do, how you do it. For all 475 00:23:15,519 --> 00:23:17,400 of our listeners, well. 476 00:23:17,279 --> 00:23:19,559 Speaker 2: You can find everything at Evanmea dot com all the 477 00:23:19,599 --> 00:23:21,519 metrics and stuff we're talking about, links on all my 478 00:23:21,599 --> 00:23:26,039 social pages. I also launched a new weekly college basketball 479 00:23:26,039 --> 00:23:28,680 show called the Evanmea College Basketball Podcast, which is coming 480 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:31,440 out every Tuesday morning once set back in January. So 481 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:33,599 if you're you want to get more of a hoops fix, 482 00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:36,079 be sure to check that out. But you can find 483 00:23:36,119 --> 00:23:37,759 all that stuff at Evanmea dot com. 484 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:39,799 Speaker 1: I got one more question for you. I felt like 485 00:23:39,839 --> 00:23:41,519 I was like one of the first to hop on 486 00:23:41,599 --> 00:23:45,400 the Evanmea train, following you, retweeting you, engaging with you, 487 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:47,480 trying to get you on my show? Is that Is 488 00:23:47,519 --> 00:23:49,480 that an accurate depiction? Was I one of the the 489 00:23:49,599 --> 00:23:52,119 early adopters of evanmea dot com? 490 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:55,759 Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, I think you were. You were one of 491 00:23:55,759 --> 00:23:57,480 the early people to you know, have me on the 492 00:23:57,480 --> 00:23:59,720 show and be really really plugged in, and so I 493 00:23:59,799 --> 00:24:02,519 really appreciate, I really appreciate you believe it in me 494 00:24:02,559 --> 00:24:03,599 and supporting me in that way. 495 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:06,799 Speaker 1: It's been awesome. You do fantastic work man. That gave 496 00:24:06,799 --> 00:24:08,680 me some validation. You know, every once in a while 497 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:10,599 you need a little validation of like, hey, I think 498 00:24:10,599 --> 00:24:13,799 I was one of the first, you know, primary adopters 499 00:24:13,799 --> 00:24:16,000 at vanmea dot com. Check it out vanmea dot com. 500 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:18,119 That's vanmea dot com. Thanks so much, Evan. We appreciate 501 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:21,799 your time as always. Thank you. There you go. That's 502 00:24:21,839 --> 00:24:24,319 our segment brought to you by Central Garage Door Center 503 00:24:24,359 --> 00:24:28,000 Garage Utah dot com. Get on a call, shut him 504 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,279 a text, h Kelly's gonna take care of you know 505 00:24:30,319 --> 00:24:32,680 the hands or much about it eight oh one, six 506 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:34,480 oh four two nine one line. If you have an 507 00:24:34,519 --> 00:24:38,880 issue with your garage door, get it fixed with Central 508 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:41,279 Garage Store. They're not gonna take advantage of me, right 509 00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:44,039 price and the right work. Eight O one six h 510 00:24:44,079 --> 00:24:46,000 four two nine one nine. That's eight one two six 511 00:24:46,039 --> 00:24:49,079 oh four two nine one nine. That's Central Garageutah dot Com. 512 00:24:49,079 --> 00:24:51,240 That's our show, guys, We're sticking to it. Download the 513 00:24:51,279 --> 00:24:55,319 podcast iTunes, Spreaker, Google Playing Music, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Give us 514 00:24:55,319 --> 00:24:57,359 a rating, give us a review. We appreciate it when 515 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:00,440 you do. Please support all of our spots. Guys. We 516 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:02,759 can't do our show without our sponsors. Please give them 517 00:25:02,799 --> 00:25:06,599 an opportunity to earn your business. VIP products, VIP service, 518 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,880 VIP discounts. Know if answer butts about it, they will 519 00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:13,160 take care of it. Just ask for those discounts of 520 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:16,559 those VIP products and services in bicker Or to everyone 521 00:25:16,599 --> 00:25:18,480 they joined the shout out to Ronald the three Man Weaver, 522 00:25:18,559 --> 00:25:20,759 Brett always bringing the hammer, Vic Cram. We had some 523 00:25:20,799 --> 00:25:25,119 great soundbites from Kevin Young as well as a star 524 00:25:25,279 --> 00:25:28,559 studded lineup. It was awesome. Brian Jefferies' voice of the 525 00:25:28,599 --> 00:25:31,200 Ears on the podcast, Brandon Gurney, the g Man, Brian Logan, 526 00:25:31,279 --> 00:25:32,599 former YU defensive back