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Speaker 2: Noon, of course, is kickoff, and then whatever happens, we'll
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Speaker 2: Why Lawyer's suits to driver dot com So Kentucky, Louisville
Speaker 2: currently three and a half point favorite on the card side,
Speaker 2: and Jeff Brahm. He talked earlier today's press conference and
Speaker 2: was asked sort of about this, you know, the obvious,
Speaker 2: this rivalry. Obviously, he's a coach that doesn't need to
Speaker 2: be taught or told how how this, how this is
Speaker 2: such a big deal. He's well aware, but he's part
Speaker 2: of it, and doesn't you know, doesn't mean he doesn't
Speaker 2: give you any real advantage. I think in a way
Speaker 2: it can actually make you. If anything, it wouldn't shock
Speaker 2: me if it gives you some kind of a disadvantage,
Speaker 2: because maybe you overthink it a little bit. Not saying
Speaker 2: that Jeff will do that. I'm not saying that that's
Speaker 2: what happened last year, But nonetheless it's he knows how
Speaker 2: big of a deal it is for everybody around here, Jeff,
Speaker 2: given the desire to get that cup back here, can
Speaker 2: you even enjoy Thanksgiving dinner like with your family?
Speaker 3: Is your mind going to be like on X's and
Speaker 3: O's elsewhere?
Speaker 4: Well, you know, we have the normal invite the family,
Speaker 4: advice to the whole extended family, hoigh households, and I've
Speaker 4: already been thinking of pun excuses to use that I
Speaker 4: can't make it because I don't know how much of
Speaker 4: a good mood I'll be in. But in the end,
Speaker 4: you got to be able to, you know, enjoy some
Speaker 4: company every now and then. But no, this week it's
Speaker 4: going to be all about you know, trying to win
Speaker 4: this game. And I would definitely make sure that all
Speaker 4: the time energy is spent on preparing for this game
Speaker 4: and to making sure our team gets ready to play.
Speaker 4: And you know, that's my job. And we have one
Speaker 4: more regular season game to play and we need to
Speaker 4: you know, prepare well and play well. So I hope
Speaker 4: everyone enjoys Thanksgiving, but I'll possibly enjoy it after Thanksgivings
Speaker 4: over and after the game, you know, down in the future.
Speaker 4: But definitely it will help if if we win the game.
Speaker 2: So Eric Crawford was just on the fly, as most do,
Speaker 2: just trying to quickly share quotes from Jeff Brown's press
Speaker 2: conference without you know, having a transcript or anything like that.
Speaker 2: And if he really needed a sign that Kentucky fans
Speaker 2: are looking for some kind of extra added motivation to
Speaker 2: fire him up, you know, Louisville to give him some
Speaker 2: kind of some kind of bulletin board material because again,
Speaker 2: like their season, I mean, I would imagine they're, you know,
Speaker 2: they're pretty defeated. But what what Eric had said, which
Speaker 2: has since been deleted, he initially he initially said that
Speaker 2: Jeff Brohm said that he probably you know, can I'm
Speaker 2: trying to find the Actually, let me just back up here.
Speaker 3: This is this is there's one word.
Speaker 2: That he got wrong that did make it sound as
Speaker 2: if Jeff was just presumed, you know, just assuming his
Speaker 2: team was going to be winning, you.
Speaker 4: Know, prepare well and play well. So I hope everyone
Speaker 4: enjoys Thanksgiving, but I'll possibly enjoy it after.
Speaker 2: So I'll possibly enjoy it after Eric said probably, which
Speaker 2: it led to Matt putting that out there into the
Speaker 2: big blue bozo worlds. I mean, just like, oh, he's
Speaker 2: already saying they're gonna win, which you know, that would
Speaker 2: I guess indicate that he thinks they're gonna win. But
Speaker 2: he didn't say that, he said possibly. So Eric did
Speaker 2: delete the initial tweet and corrected himself, but it was
Speaker 2: just I'm not surprised, Like Kentucky has had a very
Speaker 2: rough season to where they're limping into this game, probably
Speaker 2: in a worse spot than they've been in in a
Speaker 2: long long time in the Governor's Cup. Now they've got
Speaker 2: recency on their side. They've won this game every year
Speaker 2: it's been played since twenty seventeen. But they just went
Speaker 2: one and seven and finished alone in fifteenth place out
Speaker 2: of sixteen teams in the SEC. They didn't beat a
Speaker 2: team in the SEC at home this year. They did
Speaker 2: beat Ohio and they beat Ole Miss, and those two
Speaker 2: teams are Bowl eligible. That's probably the best thing you
Speaker 2: can say about him. I mean, Lane Kiffin in Ole Miss,
Speaker 2: they crapt the bed with that loss to Florida on Saturday.
Speaker 2: So the other two wins Kentucky has, who Murray and
Speaker 2: Southern Miss. I mean, I think their combined record is
Speaker 2: one and ten. So again, like there's really not any
Speaker 2: thing on paper, any specific result or stat that can
Speaker 2: make Kentucky fans feel good about this matchup other than
Speaker 2: the fact that they have done really well in this
Speaker 2: series recently, and i think because of that in previous
Speaker 2: years where they've not been very good or maybe not
Speaker 2: as good as they thought they would be, they were
Speaker 2: still able to come out and beat Louisville. So I'm
Speaker 2: sure they're hoping and assuming, maybe some of them are
Speaker 2: assuming that that's what's going to happen on Saturday. But
Speaker 2: the better chance for what's going to give them a
Speaker 2: better chance to essentially come out and act like the
Speaker 2: last eleven games didn't happen, And it's a one game season,
Speaker 2: and you know the season's been underwhelming. But if you
Speaker 2: can finish strong and beat Louisville in a year where
Speaker 2: you hate your team and you were this bad, but
Speaker 2: you still beat your rival again, what's going to give
Speaker 2: you a better chance of like really having a fresh
Speaker 2: start is starting a different quarterback. And that's what Mark
Speaker 2: Stoops decided to do. He announced that today, and I
Speaker 2: think it's a it's a because again you're not. I mean,
Speaker 2: I have a hard time thinking that. And maybe I'm
Speaker 2: you know, I hope I'm wrong. Maybe this young kid
Speaker 2: does come out here and it's too big of a
Speaker 2: moment and he starts throwing the ball to the other
Speaker 2: team like they'd be great. But you know, I think
Speaker 2: he's talented enough. And you know, Brock Vandergriff wasn't going
Speaker 2: to do anything for you at that spot specifically that's
Speaker 2: going to make you that much better, right, Like he
Speaker 2: wasn't terrible this year, but he really wasn't. I mean,
Speaker 2: he was at best, he was just not a not
Speaker 2: a weakness. Like I don't think there were many times
Speaker 2: this year where, like you thought, at quarterback, Kentucky had
Speaker 2: a guy that man, Really glad we have him. I
Speaker 2: don't think there was really ever many moments at all
Speaker 2: like that. I mean, the two passes he had against
Speaker 2: Murray State, one that was picked off, one that ended
Speaker 2: up in a touchdown, that was one of the worst
Speaker 2: throws he's probably ever had. Like that kind of tells
Speaker 2: you where he is with his arm right now. So
Speaker 2: some will say that it makes it makes sense just
Speaker 2: because Brock has has been bad lately, But I think
Speaker 2: it makes sense because it does give you the most,
Speaker 2: the best, the best chance to be able to go
Speaker 2: out there offensively and just kind of become a new team.
Speaker 2: Because you saw it against Texas. Those guys started playing
Speaker 2: with a little bit more juice with the freshman out
Speaker 2: there and not Brock vandergriff And I've never felt like Kentucky,
Speaker 2: really it is any level was as bad as they
Speaker 2: were this year because of personnel. In fact, quarterback play
Speaker 2: might have been one of their weaknesses. To be honest
Speaker 2: with you, I don't I don't know if I know
Speaker 2: enough to say that confidently. But at receiver, I mean,
Speaker 2: they've got talent. Those guys have been good for years
Speaker 2: and in any moment they can make a big play
Speaker 2: and it's not going to shock you. At running back,
Speaker 2: they've been really thin, but some of the guys that
Speaker 2: probably were not they weren't super confident that they had
Speaker 2: to rely on, have ended up at times being pretty
Speaker 2: productive for him. Defensively, Clearly they've they've taken a step
Speaker 2: back from what Mark Stoops typically has, but it's.
Speaker 3: Not because of talent.
Speaker 2: They got guys in the NF They got guys on
Speaker 2: that defense that again, we're part of this one and
Speaker 2: seven sec team four and seven as we speak, that
Speaker 2: are gonna play in the NFL. So if they turn
Speaker 2: it on and they play well like, it's not going
Speaker 2: to shock me, which is why I've said throughout the
Speaker 2: show today, here and there, there really isn't a result
Speaker 2: that could happen on Saturday that I'm going to be
Speaker 2: totally surprised by. I wish I could tell you differently,
Speaker 2: And again, maybe I'm wrong, like maybe the only I
Speaker 2: mean again, we'll find out on Saturday, that's for sure.
Speaker 2: But I just know that Kentucky is a team that
Speaker 2: is better than the record shows, and in fact, I
Speaker 2: hate that saying, so let me retract. They don't have
Speaker 2: the record they have because they don't have any good
Speaker 2: players because you are. You're as good as your record
Speaker 2: says you are. I mean, that's a fact. You're a
Speaker 2: one and seven football team.
Speaker 3: That's what you did.
Speaker 2: That's the results you put out there. Now again, you
Speaker 2: should have been better. Therefore, if you play better, you
Speaker 2: will not look like a team that went one in
Speaker 2: seven in league play. So because of that, like, I
Speaker 2: know they're capable as far as having the ability to
Speaker 2: go out there and beat Louisville at home. I know
Speaker 2: Louisville has had a better year. I know Louisville is,
Speaker 2: you know, the deserving favorite here, and I think they've
Speaker 2: got really good players. I think Louislle's roster at certain spots, man,
Speaker 2: I think they've got talent. And that's why I kind
Speaker 2: of feel like this football season may end up being
Speaker 2: a what could have been here because I think you've
Speaker 2: got some guys out there making plays that you're gonna realize, Man,
Speaker 2: I wish we would have had a better season with
Speaker 2: that guy or this guy. Maybe when you see these
Speaker 2: guys playing in the NFL. So, like I know Louisville,
Speaker 2: I feel I feel better about Louisville's ceiling than I
Speaker 2: have in a long time. And I mean even going
Speaker 2: back to like Lamar's year here when he won Heisman,
Speaker 2: like I was wrong that team ended up kind of imploding,
Speaker 2: but like I felt the ceiling was pretty happen, but
Speaker 2: you had a lot of felt like you had a
Speaker 2: lot of talent on that team. I'm not comparing the
Speaker 2: two teams at all, but like I feel like Louisville
Speaker 2: right now, like if they play well, I think they
Speaker 2: can beat maybe not anybody in the country, but a
Speaker 2: lot of teams. I'll never know that, So maybe it's
Speaker 2: just wishful thinking on minad, maybe it's delusion, but like
Speaker 2: I think Louisville has some good talent, especially on offense,
Speaker 2: but I also know they can go and lose to
Speaker 2: Stanford the way that they did. Therefore, like I can'tsider
Speaker 2: and tell you that if Louisville makes those kind of mistakes,
Speaker 2: play sloppy football and they lose to Kentucky in the ultimate, like, man,
Speaker 2: how could you lose that? Like I'd be devastated, But
Speaker 2: I can't say I'd be that surprised. And it's not
Speaker 2: because I'm telling you that, Like, well, I don't believe
Speaker 2: in my team. They stink they should win, but they
Speaker 2: might get killed because you know they're terrible.
Speaker 3: Like no, I just with.
Speaker 2: How weird this year has been, Like I don't think
Speaker 2: anything from either side, And in fact, I guess the
Speaker 2: biggest surprise would be Kentucky winning this thing handily, because yeah,
Speaker 2: maybe you'll say, well, hey, that's what they do every year,
Speaker 2: and you would you would be right. They haven't lost
Speaker 2: this game in a long time. But at the same
Speaker 2: point in time, like, there would be nothing really that
Speaker 2: you saw this year from Kentucky with these players that
Speaker 2: would tell you that they were going to go out
Speaker 2: there and do what they you know, if they end
Speaker 2: up winning and they look great, it would be the
Speaker 2: first time they've probably done that all year.
Speaker 3: I mean, yeah, they.
Speaker 2: Played Georgia competitively, but like they had the ugly and
Speaker 2: again credit to them, but that wasn't like, I mean,
Speaker 2: I don't think that's the kind of game they're gonna
Speaker 2: have the game plan they're gonna have to have or
Speaker 2: want to have against Louisville. And yeah, they beat All
Speaker 2: miss and that was impressive game, Like that was that
Speaker 2: was where you thought, Okay, that lost to South Carolina
Speaker 2: was an outlier. We played Georgia competitively. We just beat
Speaker 2: Ole miss here we go, and then from there they
Speaker 2: brought Rick Pertino to town and then the season fell apart.
Speaker 2: I don't think that those two have any you know, connection,
Speaker 2: but it was kind of funny how that became like
Speaker 2: the ultimate thing where they had big blue madness on
Speaker 2: a Friday Patino's in town. He's showing up rubbing elbows
Speaker 2: with Eddie Grant and Mark Stoops on the sideline, and
Speaker 2: then they didn't win another game outside of Merched Day.
Speaker 2: Like that's how it played out, and it was kind
Speaker 2: of beautiful, to be honest with you. But anyways, back
Speaker 2: to the quarterback situation. Cutter Bowley, he came in against
Speaker 2: Texas and made a couple of impressive plays. I mean,
Speaker 2: he's always been believed to be a guy that has
Speaker 2: a lot of upside. Was a really big time recruit
Speaker 2: here in the state of Kentucky. Committed pretty early, I believe,
Speaker 2: in the process. But he came in, was ten of eighteen,
Speaker 2: one hundred and sixty yards, did have an interception and
Speaker 2: didn't throw a touchdown. But you know, you could tell
Speaker 2: he's got a live arm.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 2: Somebody on the text line asked this, and they're not
Speaker 2: they're not. They maybe they may be onto something. But
Speaker 2: because he's new, because he's the backup, and because they
Speaker 2: were so bad as a team with Brocas the guy,
Speaker 2: that Kentucky fans are lying to themselves and saying that,
Speaker 2: like this is a big upgrade, And you know, maybe
Speaker 2: there's some truth to that, because the backup quarterback is
Speaker 2: always really popular whenever the starter is not getting your results.
Speaker 2: Or maybe this guy, you know, becomes a phenom for them,
Speaker 2: you know, not maybe not nationally, but like maybe he.
Speaker 3: In his first career starts, in his first career start gives.
Speaker 2: You know, memory to their fan base that makes him
Speaker 2: somebody they never forget, regardless of what happens outside of
Speaker 2: this game. I mean, a true freshman at quarterback making
Speaker 2: his first career start in the Governor's Cup game. I
Speaker 2: would not be shocked if that's never happened before. But
Speaker 2: then again, because it used to be the first game
Speaker 2: of the season, maybe it has happened. But again, freshman,
Speaker 2: true freshman starting at quarterback, you know, in an opener
Speaker 2: is really rare for anybody to be honest with you.
Speaker 2: So I kind of feel like this is a first
Speaker 2: and again it's another reminder to me that Man.
Speaker 3: I thought last year was it.
Speaker 2: I thought last year was the year where I'd be
Speaker 2: able to say, look, no matter how many more losses
Speaker 2: or how bad they are, when it comes to Louisville
Speaker 2: losing to Kentucky and the Governor's Cup, none will be
Speaker 2: worse than this as far as just like man, you
Speaker 2: had it. They weren't even very good that it didn't
Speaker 2: play that well. You kept the you know, you kept
Speaker 2: the door open long enough. They had the special team's touchdown,
Speaker 2: which really deflated Louisville. They had Ray Davis out there
Speaker 2: running through people and you just couldn't get it done
Speaker 2: and you lost.
Speaker 3: Like that sucked.
Speaker 2: But I think we are here a year later where
Speaker 2: I think the scenario where if you lose to them,
Speaker 2: I think it's actually worse because Louisll's not as I
Speaker 2: mean louis a little bit and have the record that
Speaker 2: they had a year ago. They're not going to the
Speaker 2: a SEC Championship game. But actually think they're a better
Speaker 2: team in Kentucky. You know, they were kind of limping
Speaker 2: into the game last year with that bad loss to
Speaker 2: South Carolina, but then you know, they come out and
Speaker 2: played well and beat you. This year, they're they're at
Speaker 2: a level they've really never been under Stoops as far
Speaker 2: as just I mean fans questioning should he still be
Speaker 2: the coach now? That was happening I guess maybe earlier
Speaker 2: on in its tenure, before he broke through and started
Speaker 2: making bowl games. But this year they're struggling, to put
Speaker 2: it lightly, and it really isn't because of their Kentucky
Speaker 2: Like you used to be able to just say, well,
Speaker 2: what are you gonna do? It's Kentucky football, and to
Speaker 2: be fair to Stoops, like he did change that a
Speaker 2: little bit, but now you know, within IL, you really
Speaker 2: can't claim that you're gonna always be behind because you're Kentucky.
Speaker 2: Because Kentucky has good in io resources with the football stops.
Speaker 2: Its done a good job when it comes to that.
Speaker 2: So that's why, like this year, they're not one and
Speaker 2: seven in the SEC because of talent, because the roster
Speaker 2: was terrible. So when he says it is his press
Speaker 2: conference today that they've never been in a better spot
Speaker 2: within IL when it comes to fixing the roster, that's
Speaker 2: probably something a lot of coaches in that same situation
Speaker 2: would say. But your roster wasn't why you were this bad. Now,
Speaker 2: maybe you went out and paid a lot of money
Speaker 2: and got some talent, but they don't fit your identity
Speaker 2: as a program. They were, you know, maybe not buying
Speaker 2: in the way want them to buy in. I mean,
Speaker 2: I don't know, but this is the first time Stoops
Speaker 2: had a really bad year, and there was no excuse
Speaker 2: for it to be anywhere near as bad as it was.
Speaker 2: But as we know, if they beat Louisville on Saturday,
Speaker 2: they'll still finish five and seven and it'll be an
Speaker 2: underwhelming season for them as far as what their expectations were.
Speaker 2: But if there's one way to get Stoops to get
Speaker 2: these fans to buy back in and claim that he
Speaker 2: should still be the coach moving forward long term, you
Speaker 2: beat Louisville, it'll happen. I mean, I could be wrong,
Speaker 2: but I know what this rivalry game does emotionally on
Speaker 2: both sides.
Speaker 3: If you win it or you.
Speaker 2: Lose it, it feels better then it probably should when
Speaker 2: you win it, But when you lose it, it sucks.
Speaker 2: It's demoralizing. And I've said this about the rivalry before
Speaker 2: the joy of beating your rival is great, but there's
Speaker 2: somewhat of like a At times it feels like it's
Speaker 2: kind of what you're supposed to do because hey, you're
Speaker 2: better and you and you feel like you know you're better,
Speaker 2: so yeah, of course we want you. May it probably
Speaker 2: feels better than maybe you act at times. But like
Speaker 2: you know, I still think the the the hit that
Speaker 2: you get, let me, yes, the high that you get
Speaker 2: from beating your rival is not as is not as
Speaker 2: strong of an emotional thing as the low of losing
Speaker 2: to your rival. And I guess it depends upon circumstance,
Speaker 2: you know, like if both teams are good and you
Speaker 2: play and you lose, then you know, maybe it's a
Speaker 2: little bit different. But the way this is set up,
Speaker 2: I mean Kentucky again, like they don't they wouldn't tell
Speaker 2: you they think they're team's any good. And if they
Speaker 2: say that, believe that, and then they beat Louisville, like.
Speaker 3: It's going to be it's gonna be brutal. All right.
Speaker 2: Here's what Mark Stoops had to say about his decision
Speaker 2: UH to to make a change at starting quarterback and
Speaker 2: he's now going with the UH with the true freshman.
Speaker 5: Had a lot of poise in the pocket. I thought
Speaker 5: he distributed the football uh, you know, had the vision
Speaker 5: to hit open receivers, you know, the arm strength to
Speaker 5: get the ball down the field on a second play.
Speaker 5: You know, you saw a lot of good things. Even
Speaker 5: the play that was called back for a hold, you know,
Speaker 5: an all out pressure, he gave some ground through it
Speaker 5: to an open area. You know, completed a very difficult
Speaker 5: pass there. So I thought he did some really good things.
Speaker 5: And you know, he deserves the opportunity to get a
Speaker 5: start here this week.
Speaker 2: So I think this was the move that most Kentucky
Speaker 2: fans wanted. And I don't blame him again. I think
Speaker 2: it was a bright move by Stoops, not only just
Speaker 2: because it might make the team better, but I do
Speaker 2: think your best chance of kind of eliminating some of
Speaker 2: the stinch that has come eleven weeks in would be
Speaker 2: to go with a new quarterback, a guy who really
Speaker 2: is in charge of kind of you know, he's running
Speaker 2: the offense, he's leading the show. And if you're out
Speaker 2: there with a new guy doing it and it's not
Speaker 2: the same guy that you you know, were out there with,
Speaker 2: that helped you.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: Let's say it was all block Vandergriff's fault, but I
Speaker 2: think everybody knows they didn't lose any games because the
Speaker 2: Cutter Bowl he didn't play well. Now he is. Therefore,
Speaker 2: I think you can have a better mindset of like,
Speaker 2: all right, that's all on the past. This is a
Speaker 2: new season now. I hope it doesn't work, but it's
Speaker 2: certainly worth a shot, because you know, you're not a
Speaker 2: worst team without Brock Vandergriff's arm out there. Now, maybe
Speaker 2: there's some freshman mistakes and this guy coughs it up
Speaker 2: in the pocket, maybe he throws a bad interception, and
Speaker 2: maybe you could say that Vandergriff wouldn't have had you know,
Speaker 2: wouldn't have had the same you know, youthful mistake. But
Speaker 2: I forget at times that Brock Vandergriff, all these dudes
Speaker 2: who transferred quarterback, like I just assume they're on their
Speaker 2: six or seventh year, because that's what it seems like
Speaker 2: for a lot of these guys, including Louis' quarterback Tyler Shuck. Right,
Speaker 2: Brock Vandergriff, he has one more sec win as a
Speaker 2: starting quarterback than Cutter Bowley because Brock Vandergriff never started
Speaker 2: a game at Georgia and never played and a Kentucky
Speaker 2: he really got his first taste of experience as a
Speaker 2: starter this year and it went terrible. So you know,
Speaker 2: I think there may be some that say, Okay, well,
Speaker 2: hey risky here, How risky is it? Cutter Bowley doesn't
Speaker 2: even like he hasn't even went through games making big
Speaker 2: mistakes that are crucial that help you lose games. So
Speaker 2: he's coming out fresh, so you know, it makes total sense. Now,
Speaker 2: hopefully he doesn't work out for him, but I'm not
Speaker 2: at all surprised. That's the that's the decision.
Speaker 3: That they made.
Speaker 2: All right, let's do this. Let's take a quick break.
Speaker 2: We'll come back on the other side. Talk a little basketball.
Speaker 2: Louisville and Indiana coming up on Wednesday in the Battle
Speaker 2: for Atlantis. It's the first game, so we can talk
Speaker 2: a little bit about that. Also, very very crazy weekend
Speaker 2: of college football on Saturday. As far as predicting what
Speaker 2: the committee with the playoff committee's going to do or
Speaker 2: maybe not do, we can certainly get.
Speaker 3: Into that as well. So stick with us.
Speaker 2: It's Coffee and Company. We are fuel about Thornton's right
Speaker 2: here on Sports Talk seven ninety. We're just in our
Speaker 2: own world over here, which you know, that's what We're
Speaker 2: supposed to do right and not get distracted by what's
Speaker 2: going on outside the show, keep our attention and focus
Speaker 2: on the show that we're doing here. But I feel
Speaker 2: completely left out. Did you know that Memphis just beat
Speaker 2: Yukon in the malle invitation?
Speaker 6: I heard the Fox Sports radio update that that was
Speaker 6: coming down to the wire.
Speaker 2: Memphis beat him ninety nine and ninety seven. Wow, in overtime.
Speaker 2: So Dan Hurley loses a game for the first time
Speaker 2: in a long time. I think the last loss they
Speaker 2: had was a loss where they actually got blown out.
Speaker 2: It was against Creighton in midway through big Big East
Speaker 2: play last year, before of course turning it on and
Speaker 2: doing what they do going on to win a national championship.
Speaker 2: So how about Penny Hardaway. You know, his best teams
Speaker 2: have always ended up being and he hasn't had many
Speaker 2: good ones, but his best teams have always been the
Speaker 2: ones where the roster it doesn't look all that special.
Speaker 2: And there's more noise about Pennies. I mean, look, they
Speaker 2: had a complete coaching change. Everybody on his staff gone
Speaker 2: right before the season started, which is not normal. And again,
Speaker 2: like things have not been good for Penny in any
Speaker 2: way in the last year or so, and yet he
Speaker 2: just comes out and knocks off. I mean, that's a
Speaker 2: big win for them. They're now five. Yukon will be fine.
Speaker 2: But yeah, there was a three at the end of
Speaker 2: regulation that Yukon hit to tie it up. So Yukon
Speaker 2: tied it up, took it to overtime. I would imagine
Speaker 2: it probably felt like, Okay, Yukon survives here because they're
Speaker 2: gonna go to ot and they're the better team and
Speaker 2: they're gonna they're gonna pull through. But actually think it's
Speaker 2: even more impressive to know that Penny Hardaway and Memphis
Speaker 2: we're able to get it, get it done in overtime.
Speaker 2: So some really good games. That's why this week is
Speaker 2: great because you've got Thanksgiving. Nobody's really you know, most
Speaker 2: people are not working this week. Even if you were
Speaker 2: going to work, you're probably not doing a lot of work.
Speaker 2: And I get it because it's it's Thanksgiving week. You've
Speaker 2: got a big weekend of football coming up. It's really
Speaker 2: going to impact the college Fooball playoff race, some rivalry
Speaker 2: games across the country, including one right here.
Speaker 3: In our state.
Speaker 2: And then you've got daytime basketball, which is awesome. I mean,
Speaker 2: that's been going on really since last week. But yeah,
Speaker 2: the Maui Invitational getting started today and the first game
Speaker 2: was not a result that I expected.
Speaker 6: Real quick, you may not know the answer to this,
Speaker 6: but who's who replaced Bill Walton on the calls in
Speaker 6: Maui for a certain game?
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I would imagine it's probably just their their their supporting
Speaker 2: cast of college basketball folks.
Speaker 3: I know billis is always there.
Speaker 6: Maybe it's Jay Williams.
Speaker 3: It might be. To be honest with you, wouldn't wouldn't shock.
Speaker 6: As he does do some random games from time to time.
Speaker 2: Maoi, Maui won't be the same without our man Bill Walton.
Speaker 2: R IP college basketball is gonna gonna miss him this year,
Speaker 2: especially at this event. All right, So sticking with uh
Speaker 2: with with basketball really quickly here, what would you say
Speaker 2: as of now would be what you feel the best
Speaker 2: about Indiana and what would be your biggest concern about Indiana?
Speaker 2: Because the Cards and the Hoosiers, by the way, they're
Speaker 2: going to get the Battle for Atlanta started on Wednesday.
Speaker 2: First game of that event will be at noon, and
Speaker 2: we're going to go on the air as soon as
Speaker 2: it ends, and we'll react to it, uh, and see
Speaker 2: what happens. But obviously Indiana's going to be a favorite here.
Speaker 2: But curious, best thing just think a little of or
Speaker 2: just think of Indiana from your perspective.
Speaker 6: Yeah, just about Indiana best things so far is really
Speaker 6: Mackenzie and Baccos jumped from one year from year one
Speaker 6: to year two, and uh, then the first couple of games,
Speaker 6: he was, without a doubt the best player on the
Speaker 6: floor for Indiana, and then he got a little more
Speaker 6: help in the against South Carolina, but he's he's had
Speaker 6: consistent numbers through all four games, and he's definitely probably
Speaker 6: the best early bright spot. You could also say Miles
Speaker 6: Rice in the guard position for Indiana is something because
Speaker 6: Indiana the last couple of years has had some very
Speaker 6: lackluster guard play and to see that kind of take
Speaker 6: a jump forward, that's something to be excited about, I
Speaker 6: feel like. And then most concerning I heard you talking
Speaker 6: about rebounding issues for Louisville. Indiana has also had some
Speaker 6: rebounding issues of their own, and I feel like for
Speaker 6: them it's I know exactly, it's more of a lack
Speaker 6: of effort. One thing that I've noticed that's been disappointing
Speaker 6: about Dumar Ballow is that he doesn't really have the motor,
Speaker 6: at least he's not shown it so far. There's been
Speaker 6: a couple of games where he's not really asserted himself
Speaker 6: the way that I feel like.
Speaker 2: There were some clips that made it online that might
Speaker 2: make him look like the laziest guy out us. I
Speaker 2: don't know if it's just selective when he won, you know,
Speaker 2: selective when it comes to playing hard, But there were
Speaker 2: a couple of things where I'm like, damn, like he
Speaker 2: didn't even and give a damn at all.
Speaker 6: Like this might sound, I hate to say this. I
Speaker 6: don't feel like I'm picking on Louisville, but I feel
Speaker 6: like he needs to have a monster game against Louisville
Speaker 6: because of the personnel that you all have that Louisville has.
Speaker 3: I should say, you mean to.
Speaker 2: Where like, you know, they could get him away from
Speaker 2: the rim a little bit maybe kind of you know,
Speaker 2: like Indiana, make him show that he can guards somebody.
Speaker 2: Indiana should be able to take advantage of a matchup
Speaker 2: difference right there. Yeah, But I also think, you know,
Speaker 2: as Pat Kelsey always says, and I say that, like
Speaker 2: he's been around here twenty years. But you know this
Speaker 2: is going to be a line that well, I don't know,
Speaker 2: maybe maybe this is in his back pocket because he's
Speaker 2: used it no matter where he's been coaching. But when
Speaker 2: people have referenced the really tough schedule that he has
Speaker 2: this year in the non conference, and anytime somebody will
Speaker 2: talk about a specific matchup like Indiana, like Tennessee when
Speaker 2: they came to town, you know, his initial his initial
Speaker 2: response is, well, they got to play us too. And
Speaker 2: I don't think it's because you know, he thinks that
Speaker 2: like they should be scared of Louisville or whoever he's
Speaker 2: coaching when he's said that before, but it does kind
Speaker 2: of like, yes, Ballow physically is just he's a bull
Speaker 2: in a china shop. Like he's just I mean, how
Speaker 2: big is he? I look right, I don't know about
Speaker 2: his weight or he is. Let's see, Ballow is listed
Speaker 2: at seven foot, two hundred and sixty five pounds. I
Speaker 2: mean that's a big fella, and uh, he takes up
Speaker 2: a lot of space. But what you can do, you know,
Speaker 2: I don't know how you're going to physically just limit him.
Speaker 2: I mean hopefully you just get a body on him.
Speaker 2: And box him out and be as physical as you
Speaker 2: can and hopefully he goes over the back, maybe picks
Speaker 2: up some early bowels. But you could also use that
Speaker 2: to your advantage. I would still think the advantage is
Speaker 2: more so going to be on the Indiana side when
Speaker 2: it comes to what you're doing in the front core.
Speaker 2: But maybe you pull him away from the rim a
Speaker 2: little bit because you've got guys like Cason Pryor that
Speaker 2: are giving up a couple of inches and maybe one
Speaker 2: hundred pounds. But you know, if he's got to step
Speaker 2: out and defend him, that could be to where he
Speaker 2: may have trouble staying in front. So you know, I'm
Speaker 2: not trying to act as if Indiana needs to be
Speaker 2: worried about that, But whenever there is a mismatch, you
Speaker 2: know clearly you you probably know which side you'd rather
Speaker 2: be on as far as where there's an advantage. But
Speaker 2: I worry about Louisville in this game. Well, let me
Speaker 2: start with this. We have no clue how good little
Speaker 2: I don't think that they're terrible. I don't think that
Speaker 2: they're great, but the way this thing has played out,
Speaker 2: you really just haven't had the chance to see them
Speaker 2: tested other than one game, and that was a bad look,
Speaker 2: you know. I mean I kind of felt like at
Speaker 2: times they didn't belong on the same floor with Tennessee.
Speaker 2: And I also know that they really couldn't replicate the
Speaker 2: situation that Tennessee put them into, where they didn't even
Speaker 2: know how they'd respond, and now they do. Now they
Speaker 2: saw what could happen in games against teams like that,
Speaker 2: and I would hope that they'll be much better prepared to,
Speaker 2: you know, to make adjustments in game and figure out
Speaker 2: what they want to get into offensively if they're not
Speaker 2: able to just you know, get it in an up
Speaker 2: tempo game where they get a lot of possessions and
Speaker 2: a lot of good looks from three. And I think
Speaker 2: they've been you know, they've they've had to kind of
Speaker 2: create some offense in the half court in the last
Speaker 2: two games, and I've been pretty impressed at times with
Speaker 2: some of what these guys are doing. But again, doing
Speaker 2: that against Bellerman and against Winthrop, I mean, you can't
Speaker 2: do it against Indiana, But you just don't know, like
Speaker 2: it's just hard to to take really anything from those
Speaker 2: two games. So one reason why I'm you know, I
Speaker 2: guess worry isn't even like the word like, I just
Speaker 2: I know one thing. I don't know how good they are.
Speaker 2: I don't know how bad they are. I don't know
Speaker 2: what the record's gonna be. But I do know we're
Speaker 2: going to find out where they stand on Wednesday, just
Speaker 2: because they're playing a team that is much better than
Speaker 2: everybody they've played exhibitional, real game other than Tennessee.
Speaker 3: So no clue what we're gonna get.
Speaker 2: But if you're just gonna base it off of the
Speaker 2: last time we saw them and the only time we've
Speaker 2: seen them against legit competition, it wasn't a good performance,
Speaker 2: and you know, hopefully they've learned from that. But when
Speaker 2: it comes to the matchup here, I think Indiana likes
Speaker 2: playing the style that Louisville likes to play, and they've
Speaker 2: got the personnel to do it. They've got long athletes.
Speaker 2: I mean, Imbaco himself is a really big mismatch for
Speaker 2: a lot of teams because I'm not really sure what
Speaker 2: position he is. You know, he can step outside, knock
Speaker 2: down shots. You know, he's a really skilled offensive player.
Speaker 2: He's not a great athlete, but it didn't need to be.
Speaker 2: But he's athletic enough at guard. I mean Miles Rice,
Speaker 2: I think because he played in the Pac twelve, he
Speaker 2: wasn't really a no name to a lot of people,
Speaker 2: but when he hit the portal, a lot of guys
Speaker 2: wanted him, and he ended up at Indiana, and he's
Speaker 2: he's having a good start for him. He's averaging about
Speaker 2: thirteen points I'm sorry, fourteen points, four and a half assists.
Speaker 6: I mean he's he's giving him a three point threat.
Speaker 3: Yeah, shoot six.
Speaker 2: He's shooting forty six percent from three. So you know,
Speaker 2: Malik Renew, I mean, he's he's thirteen and six and
Speaker 2: a half right now. He's a guy that you know,
Speaker 2: he probably doesn't look that big when he's out there
Speaker 2: next to Bollow, but he's also a big physical presence
Speaker 2: that has been a really good rebounder throughout his entire career.
Speaker 2: He's six nine two thirty two. So you know, my
Speaker 2: worry is that the game will be played at the
Speaker 2: pace that favors Louisville Meeting, not favors them over Indiana,
Speaker 2: but like they're gonna have a chance to be at
Speaker 2: their best at this pace rather than a slow grind
Speaker 2: it out beat you up in the half court like
Speaker 2: Tennessee wanted to do. I just worry that Indiana may
Speaker 2: actually be able to do it a lot better because
Speaker 2: you know, there's just no way to say this. I
Speaker 2: don't mean to be it's not like I mean, I
Speaker 2: just think and I think most most would agree. I
Speaker 2: just don't want to trigger somebody and make him think
Speaker 2: I'm saying this team stinks and we should just expect
Speaker 2: losses to anybody that you know, anybody that's from a
Speaker 2: team that we've ever heard of. But like Indiana has
Speaker 2: got better talent. I mean, any has players that you
Speaker 2: know are probably gonna play in the NBA. Now how long,
Speaker 2: I don't know. But like McKenzie Imbaco is McDonald's American
Speaker 2: was a top ten player, Ballow don't really know what
Speaker 2: he was as a recruit, but he's proven at Arizona
Speaker 2: to be one of the better interior players in college basketball.
Speaker 2: And what's great about Ballow is he's given you thirteen
Speaker 2: a game or twelve a game.
Speaker 3: You don't even need.
Speaker 2: Him to score. If he does, it's great. But he's
Speaker 2: just a big physical presence that you know a lot
Speaker 2: of teams don't have. And outside of that, I mean
Speaker 2: they're getting pretty good balance. Eighteen from Embaco, fourteen from Rice,
Speaker 2: renews aage averaging thirteen a game, ballow Is at twelve,
Speaker 2: and then after that you got Bryce and Tucker. I mean,
Speaker 2: I kind of feel like those four specifically, like that's
Speaker 2: your team, right, Like that's your core.
Speaker 6: Ryston Tucker comes off the bench. He's somebody who's been
Speaker 6: a really good bright spot as a freshman early on.
Speaker 6: Is Galloway still starting, No, he's coming off the bench
Speaker 6: now too. Carlisle starting. Carlile he's the other I don't
Speaker 6: know much about him. He's a transfer from Stanford. He's
Speaker 6: had one or two good games. He's been he had
Speaker 6: some inconsistent performances. He's not he's not gonna be relied
Speaker 6: on as heavily as Miles Rice. But they're a good
Speaker 6: one two punch if they're both on.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm just looking at Indiana's schedule at this point,
Speaker 2: and obviously their only test was against South Carolina. And
Speaker 2: South Carolina is you know, certainly better than Eastern Illinois,
Speaker 2: SIU Edwardsville and UNC Greensboro. But you know, they're they're
Speaker 2: probably I don't know, maybe South Carolina ends up being
Speaker 2: better than Loisll this year. I'm not really sure, but
Speaker 2: I'm sure. Actually, let me ask you this, are you
Speaker 2: looking at Louisville to be a test that is similar
Speaker 2: to what you got against South Carolina.
Speaker 6: Or North Is this is a level up and at
Speaker 6: least in my so you think you think, like you know,
Speaker 6: I don't think South Carolina is very good.
Speaker 2: Okay, I didn't see a second of the game, but
Speaker 2: I did feel confident about it going in. I bet
Speaker 2: on that one just because I looked at But I mean,
Speaker 2: I looked at the two teams and I just felt
Speaker 2: like Indiana was in position to roll and they won
Speaker 2: by eighteen. I think it was so, you know, and
Speaker 2: none of us know how good anybody really is right now.
Speaker 2: Some teams have played a really challenging schedule to where
Speaker 2: you have a good feeling about where you are. But
Speaker 2: these two teams aren't that both have played a solid opponent,
Speaker 2: although Louisville's opponent clearly looks.
Speaker 6: To be and they do have an opponent, even though
Speaker 6: one was an exhibition.
Speaker 2: So I was getting ready to say, is that like
Speaker 2: Louisvill's played a much better team than any of the
Speaker 2: opponents that Indiana's played, but you know what, in an
Speaker 2: exhibition game, they beat that team. So you know, I'll
Speaker 2: just say it, like, I don't expect Louisville to win
Speaker 2: on Wednesday. I hope they're competitive and if they win, awesome.
Speaker 2: I hate, you know, saying that and feeling that way,
Speaker 2: but it's just, you know, it's just the honest true.
Speaker 6: And I want to say this about Indiana if they
Speaker 6: and I think Louisville can definitely win this game if
Speaker 6: they play to the best of their ability, but Indiana
Speaker 6: fans will not be happy if they lose this game.
Speaker 6: It's but with Mike Woodson specifically based on this, the
Speaker 6: fact that this is year four, with an improved roster,
Speaker 6: you're expected to take a step forward, and losing your
Speaker 6: first game in the Battle for Atlantis to a first
Speaker 6: year head coach, at least at a power program like this,
Speaker 6: that would not look good for Indiana fans.
Speaker 3: Yeah, in their eyes, of but.
Speaker 2: In my eyes, And it's probably all the factors you
Speaker 2: just mentioned. But I was going to say, like, I
Speaker 2: think it's because one recency lowl has been really bad lately. Also,
Speaker 2: there's high expectations for Woodson with this roster yeah, and
Speaker 2: also they just really don't give him any again. You know,
Speaker 2: I don't think a loss here would mean like people
Speaker 2: should lose their mind. But I agree with that, But
Speaker 2: I know how fans are, so like, I'm not at all.
Speaker 6: The leash is very short until he does something that
Speaker 6: kind of gives him a little more leeway.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Like he's he's actually had a really really good
Speaker 2: run since the season ended with everything as far as
Speaker 2: his roster, and you know, so far they look pretty good.
Speaker 2: They're a top fifteen team right now. But he's one
Speaker 2: of those guys that because they kind of feel like
Speaker 2: they should have been better up to this point than
Speaker 2: they've been. Any little slip up will lead to not
Speaker 2: a mob of people in the streets claiming he needs
Speaker 2: to be fired, But like he didn't have a lot
Speaker 2: of wiggle room. To be fair, he did so well
Speaker 2: at putting his roster together. There really is no excuse
Speaker 2: for him to not be a good team this year,
Speaker 2: you know, And I don't think that. I mean, i'd say,
Speaker 2: right now, really unlikely they end up being a team
Speaker 2: that like misses the tournament, but you know, they should be,
Speaker 2: not just that, they should be probably one of the
Speaker 2: better teams in the Big Ten this year, and who knows,
Speaker 2: maybe they will be, but I just I think right now,
Speaker 2: I don't know. I'm trying to not put so much
Speaker 2: emphasis on what I saw against Tennessee, but it's impossible
Speaker 2: not to because again, I know when they play the
Speaker 2: bell Hop in the Bahamas and they play you know,
Speaker 2: Spaulding in an exhibition game, Bellerman, like, I just know
Speaker 2: what that is. So I try not to really put
Speaker 2: much into that at all.
Speaker 3: So what does that do?
Speaker 2: That gives me only one game to really try to
Speaker 2: take something from for this matchup on Wednesday, And in
Speaker 2: that one game it wasn't good. It wasn't good at all.
Speaker 2: So we shall see, right quick break, We'll come back
Speaker 2: on the other side, finish up with a little college
Speaker 2: football playoff scenario talk because you know, just looking through
Speaker 2: a great piece here about Pat forty of Sports illustrated.
Speaker 3: The shakeup.
Speaker 2: I mean again, the committee would have to just be
Speaker 2: egregious to like not hold the SEC teams that lost accountable.
Speaker 2: Like I don't know, I guess more people are joking
Speaker 2: when they claim that like certain teams could still be alive.
Speaker 2: But I guess we'll find out tomorrow, quick Break, don't
Speaker 2: go anywhere, keep it locked right here on Sports Talk
Speaker 2: seven ninety.
Speaker 5: So.
Speaker 2: Right now, I think it's you know, you could say
Speaker 2: that there are twenty four teams that aren't completely dead
Speaker 2: when it comes to playoff chances, but the vast majority
Speaker 2: of those twenty four are.
Speaker 3: I mean, it's pretty much impossible for them to get in.
Speaker 2: But I guess by technicality you can claim, well, hey,
Speaker 2: you know we're not dead yet. So here are the
Speaker 2: teams that are just in no matter what. Oregon, Ohio
Speaker 2: State and Georgia. Teams that I feel like are probably
Speaker 2: in regardless, Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas, Tennessee. And then
Speaker 2: it gets it gets tricky, got teams like s some
Speaker 2: U Miami and Indiana who certainly benefited from everything that
Speaker 2: happened in the SEC the other night, and.
Speaker 3: I'd say possibly in.
Speaker 2: And then the teams that I feel like are the
Speaker 2: not dead yet but like it's not it's not happening.
Speaker 3: I would say.
Speaker 2: Ole, Miss Alabama, BYU, Iowa State, Arizona State, I mean, Clemson.
Speaker 2: I don't think they could get in, but maybe with
Speaker 2: a strong showing against South Carolina, who's ended up being
Speaker 2: one of the better teams in the SEC, and you know,
Speaker 2: another upset or two, maybe that can end up happening.
Speaker 2: But the teams that can only get in if they
Speaker 2: win their conference title and can still technically make their
Speaker 2: conference title is Boise State, UNLV, Tulane, Army Colorado in Kansas.
Speaker 2: So you know, when you have the SEC just I
Speaker 2: mean go out. I mean, it couldn't have been worse
Speaker 2: for the SEC to be honestly. Now again, they're still
Speaker 2: gonna get three teams in, and they may still have
Speaker 2: those three teams go far and maybe the SEC winner
Speaker 2: is or maybe maybe the national title winner is an
Speaker 2: SEC team.
Speaker 3: Wouldn't shock me at all.
Speaker 2: Could be Georgia, It could be any those teams, although
Speaker 2: I would be shocked if it was it was Tennessee.
Speaker 2: But if you look at the a'ies, like the SEC,
Speaker 2: wanting to be a four bid league is just not
Speaker 2: I just don't see how you would do that because
Speaker 2: Bama can't get in. I mean they just I mean
Speaker 2: I guess they can. The committee can can prove to
Speaker 2: us that they do have some biases going on. But
Speaker 2: I think the Big ten, I mean know they get
Speaker 2: in four in. I mean, they are right, It sounds
Speaker 2: crazy because again, like just seeing the teams that are
Speaker 2: gonna get left out and seeing the teams that are
Speaker 2: gonna get in, I'm I'm doing what doesn't matter, and
Speaker 2: that is just knowing like, wow, these brands are a
Speaker 2: lot different than the others, but it doesn't It's not
Speaker 2: about brand, it's not about history. It's about you know,
Speaker 2: what you've done this year results. And yeah, maybe they're
Speaker 2: there potentially be because of record and not resume, but
Speaker 2: that doesn't make two and three loss SEC teams any
Speaker 2: more worthy. Like Penn State in Indiana, there's no doubt
Speaker 2: about it. You'll be able to say they're there because
Speaker 2: of their record, not because of their resume, but you know,
Speaker 2: both things matter.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, and they can both lose this Saturday.
Speaker 6: Now it would be Highly State Maryland. So both Indiana
Speaker 6: and Penn State are playing teams they should easily beat
Speaker 6: up on. But you can always always throw out that possibility,
Speaker 6: of course.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and look that I'd be lying to you if
Speaker 2: I said I had any clue as to what's going
Speaker 2: to happen in the Big twelve. But I know that
Speaker 2: their results with Colorado losing the way they did, who
Speaker 2: there was two upsets in the.
Speaker 6: Lost areas on the State. That was the one with
Speaker 6: the field goal posts. Yeah, and torn down prematurely.
Speaker 2: So that was a crazy ending, by the way. I
Speaker 2: think that was playing out while we were on the
Speaker 2: air for the postgame show. But anyways, like the the
Speaker 2: Big Twelve, I mean, they've got a chance to get
Speaker 2: a league in because of course you get in if
Speaker 2: you win, if you win the championship, but they could
Speaker 2: maybe not get one of those buys because of how
Speaker 2: the rankings are going to because again the Big Twelve
Speaker 2: is gon end up putting a team in there only
Speaker 2: because they're slotted to have it with the title winner,
Speaker 2: and that team, you know, may be borderline top twenty
Speaker 2: depending on who it is. I still think the ACC
Speaker 2: it could be a two bid league, and it did
Speaker 2: benefit from the SEC doing what it did Saturday. But
Speaker 2: I would say SMU and Miami both being you know,
Speaker 2: like if Miami wins and SMU ends up being an
Speaker 2: eleven and two ACC team, I think that's the best
Speaker 2: case scenario. I just don't see Clemson getting in, but
Speaker 2: I don't know.
Speaker 3: We'll see.
Speaker 1: John.
Speaker 3: It was fun, brother, it was fun. We'll do it again.
Speaker 6: Back Yes, I'll be back.
Speaker 3: Soon, looking forward to it. Have a good night everybody,