Bruce Weber Teddy KGB

Mike and Gus Talk LSU, Alabama, the greatness of Isiaih Mosely, Xavier, and how Bruce Weber keeps hanging around at Kansas State.

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Episode Transcript

(00:16):
Welcome to the Screen The Screen orCollege Basketball Podcast with your hosts, Mike
Randall and Gus Kerns. Welcome andlisteners to the Screen the Screener College Basketball
Podcast where we're always talking everything collegehoops. You could have been anywhere else
on the dial, but you choseto be here with us, Mike and
Gus, and finally we found ourway back together. Mike, so nice

(00:38):
to be talking college hoops with you. We've both been busy with a couple
of different things, but it's niceto reconnect here. And it seems like
we have a couple of games thatwe might need to run down because there's
been a lot of action over thecollege basketball landscape now that now that conference
play has begun. Yeah, youknow, Gus, I'm sitting here with
s'mores, my dog on my lap. Okay, you know, And obviously

(01:00):
Gus had we had a postpone tapingthis, so Gus is kind enough to
not be watching the start of GonzagaSan Francisco right now, which I know
is driving him crazy. Okay,but that's the type of guy Gus is,
Folks. I was on a heaterwith picks, I mean, just
like thirty units over the last month, and I've been a battle. It's
been a little Rocky Balboa because Gus, you have to be a special sort

(01:25):
of team to cover points on theroad in a conference game. I don't.
I mean tonight per Due. Iknow Indiana hasn't beaten him since the
Carter administration. Tracey Jackson Davis doesrelatively nothing and all of a sudden,
Rob Fintasy in his twelfth year inIndiana, his banging shots, so in
his net. It's at the pointwhere Gus, I see a line and

(01:47):
I see a team that is playingand is favored on the road in any
conference. Pack twelve. Oregon justsmacked everybody around right over last week.
You have to give me a reasonto not pick the home dog. Yeah,
That's where I'm at because I'm donegetting it wrong. I'm done getting
it wrong every time. This iswhere the truth is usually told within conference

(02:09):
play. Everybody went out and gottheir opportunity in the non conference or if
they went to an invitational somewhere,and they might have obtained their big win.
And now you're back in the grind, like we always kid around with
the Big Yeast, Like the BigEast is a grind. Because it's true.
But every conference has its own individualgrind. And once you go on

(02:30):
the road and you know there's fansnow there, so the home court maybe
what do you think maybe was halfa point less last year with no crowd,
maybe something in that in that area. That's an excellent way to say
it. Oh my goodness. Imean, you know, I know you
Mass, I hate you mess right. I thought Saint Louis could take care

(02:52):
of business. I know you.Mass makes threes, I get it.
No, Fernandez has eight of them. Whatever you have, Tony, I
understand that, But I just someone'sgot to be able to cover on the
road. Besides anyone who goes andplays at Memphis. There's the petty hardaway
leave. Penny had come on guys. I put it on Twitter. He
had of getting mad at people.You know, he's a seventeen eighteen year

(03:13):
old kids. Well haled to PennyHoliday. You're all excited about your preseason
ranking with the recruits and the smokethat comes over that. I would take
all the smoke, the smoke,little smoke right now because Jakovic, who's
been who's had a hotter seat withsmoke than anyone in the country, just
came in and whipped your fanny.So I don't want to have about the
seventeen eighteen year old kids. I'mturning a mad dog again. Here we
go. Well, Kendrick Davis alsohad something to do with that. Yes,

(03:38):
he's playing like one of the bestpoint guards in the country. And
I think if you are going tolean one way with a favorite on the
road, or you know, pickinga team on the road, then you
have to have that player on theroster that's been through that battle and being
in that gym and knows what thatatmosphere is like, just like Hendrick Davis.

(03:58):
You know, even last night,I thought the seven was way too
much. With Texas A and Mand Kentucky. I just buzz has done
a good job. They've won ifit's big wins that you know, but
a Kentucky wins by six. It'sjust it's very hard guss to cover on
the road. Rutgers, Iowa noshot easy one last night, Like you
kid is better, you have tosay, I think you have to default

(04:20):
too. I'm taking the underdog athome. Give me, I mean you
have to be like, you know, give me the Lakers of the eighties.
It's got to be something that reallymakes me say wow, because it's
really hard. And then another thingyou have to keep keep in mind too,
there is this larger sample size thatVegas now has to consume as well.

(04:43):
So they've made their adjustments accordingly tothe lines that maybe would be a
little bit out of whack and standout to you and I and the listeners
that are really going to pay attentionto this early on in the season.
And now those adjustments are made,and so those those lines that you would
kind of be on the look outfor and be like, all right,
this one's a little odd, thisone's a little fishy, like those are
harder to identify. Now. Yeah, the days of Western Illinois getting too

(05:08):
many points are gone. The correctionsmade. We're left with being really excited
about getting Appalachian State and three atGeorgia State, you know what I mean,
Like that had sowere really hunting browrong, little app statum down.
Very few can cover on the road. Very few. I'm trying. I'm
going back here, I'm looking whocan cover on the road? I own

(05:30):
it couldn't cover Momouth even though Momouthwas just taken to the woodshed by marist
I mean, this is what we'redealing with. Yeah, that I think
that result that you're we're going toisolate right there. That was very odd
because the Marist result with Momoth obviouslythat was the classic look ahead game.
But then once you run into overtimelike that, that type of bet goes

(05:53):
out the window. I mean thatit's impossible once the game goes to overtime
to say like, oh yeah,I had that figured out. No,
it's just whoever has the best fiveminutes. So it's not a forty minute
game, it's now it's now afive minute game. Somebody gets hot,
Here's a couple of threes, acouple of defensive stances, MISSI free throws,
boom. You know that that numbergets ugly in a hurrying overtime.
Yeah. True. And one ofthe teams that couldn't hold serve with a

(06:16):
little bit of a favor on theroad was Duke in Florida State. This
Florida State overtime thing, it's alittle bit magical. And this just plays
right into you know, your commentaryearlier in the podcast that why not just
stick with the home team here?What's one thing that stood out to you
either on the Duke side, oron the Florida State side. From this

(06:39):
great win for Florida State and toughloss on the road for Duke, it
just looked to me, man likeFlorida State had won. I mean,
we look up at all. Ifeel like they were disappointing because they lost
three in a row. They lostper Due, tough game, Syracuse,
tough game, and then send myWay to South Carolina. But like after
that, they did win two.But then they lost at wake Forest.
But people don't realize wake Forest isgood. Fine, but without you know,

(07:01):
going into the game, I didn'tgive them much of a chance.
But they have won five in arow. They are twelve and five on
the season. They are five andtwo. Yes, they finally couldn't beat
Florida for the first time ever.Okay, fine, but I don't think
their year has been as bad asI thought it was. Duke is Duke.
We have seen it before. Thisteam is going to be very good.
They're gonna have a solid record fourteenand three, four and two in

(07:24):
the ACC. But Gus, thequestion is out whether Mike Schevski can get
these freshman kids together and get themto a Final four level talent playing field.
I don't know if he is theright guy for that. I don't
It's all about not your shot,it's our shot. Okay, great,

(07:45):
I talked about that a million times, but that is the question. It's
fine, Duke will have a solidyear. They beat Virginia Tech Home,
they beat Georgia Tech Hombos a friskywake Forest away. That's a nice win.
Nice win by twelve NC Stay Home. Okay, But like they're not
great against the spread. Their metricslook good. But how come, Gus,
if you ask me to pick ateam whether they're making the Final four

(08:05):
or not, I'd say no.I think if you're, you know,
putting together a list of teams thatcan either win the whole thing or make
the final four, obviously the numberof spots on that list changes and altars
with what you're looking for. Butyeah, I think there are a couple
of holes with this Duke team.But the pieces, the pieces on the

(08:28):
roster seem to fit really well.Like the tandem of Williams and John in
the middle. That is like oneof the best, you know, post
tandems that we're going to find inour sport. Both of those guys doing
different things but both of them beingproductive for the team. And look,
if Polo is going to play atthis All America level, then they have

(08:48):
a shot to do the Final fourthing or win the whole thing. If
he's going to be ordinary and youknow, sweat out seven pounds and have
to sit during a crucial point inthe game, that's where you know,
that's where you get picked off,you know, before you get to the
six sweet sixteen? Is Trevor Keel'sgreat I don't know, maybe he's a
little bit of Quentin Grimes from acouple of years ago where he comes out,

(09:11):
has that great game and everybody's gonnaput them on, put them on
an All America team. And nowhe's kind of ordinary again. He's you
know, the correction has come.So you have to ask yourself, like,
do you trust more Griffin and Keelsto play Robin to you know,
Polo's batman and his Polo's batman reallythat impactful? You said it perfectly.

(09:35):
Listen. Keel's look tremendous against Kentuckyand opening right, he had eighteen looked
really nice against Gardener Webb at homeand I was going away he was still
look good and then he's around tennine eleven ten nine points and the turnovers
are always high with freshman three twoand two consecutive games. The issue is,
as college basketball fans, we wantto start handicapping. We want to

(09:56):
start getting the Wisconsin from a yearsyears ago would commend Ski and you want
to start saying, look, thisteam's making it okay. And I think
what happens Gus is we're going toget a cluster of teams that we really
like and it's gonna come down tothe matchups. It always comes down to
the matchups. So years ago,man, maybe a decade ago, when
we're hanging with doctor Tony, weused to be able to say, oh,

(10:16):
Louisville resput there. You know,it doesn't exist. Duke could absolutely
lose in the opening round to amid major team or yea, the final
four. I come down to thematchups. I don't see dominance totally agreed,
and we point out the inconsistencies withthe freshman and in Florida State obviously

(10:37):
has some of that, you knowwith Cleveland, and I think that is
also the wild card is you know, are those talents are freshmen going to
play up to snuff and play ata really high level or are they gonna
falter back to that inconsistency. SoI think that's the That's the thing with
Florida State. Another team that wasfavored then gets toppled, got Kansas State

(11:01):
somehow taking down Texas, which seemed, you know, borderline unfathomable. It
makes no sense, Mike. Isthis more about Kansas State just being scrappy
and like, you know, reachingfor those couple of wins that they can
garner within a really tough conference,or does this say more about Texas and

(11:22):
their roles really not being defined andmaybe they're still trying to figure out and
put the rubrics cube and align thecolors. Just to prove to you,
my brother, that I am objectiveready for this. I think Chris Beard
is kind of learning what Chaka Smartknew. And as much as I was
ripping on Chaka on Texas, thisis in the easiest place to coach.

(11:45):
First Off, they are very limitedside. They got destroyed by Gonzaga by
Timmy, but we just classified thatas it's true Timmy. Okay, Well,
a lot of other teams have beenable to do a better job.
Maybe not stopped Timmy, but abetter job than Texas did. They not
good without Trey Mitchell you mass transfer, thank you very much. And they
have lost three out of four.They lost at Oaks State, okay,

(12:07):
they lost at Iowa State. Okay. Now they lose it home to Kansas
State. That's gonna raise an eyebrow. Their metrics are solid, but they
play as snail's pace. Their defenseis not at the level that it was
in Texas Tech. This was adesperate Kansas State team. Texas is a
big question mark for me. Now, I mean, they're gonna have to
go on the road. They gotto play West Virginia away Baylor. We're

(12:30):
going to talk about Kansas, right. So I think Bruce Weber is doing
a decent job. His seat isas hot as Jankovic's an SMU. They're
never happy down there. They lostfour in a row. They thought they
had him run out. Now hebeats Texas Tech and Texas back to back.
So like, Webber just keeps us. John Malkovic says, hanging around,
that's what he's doing. He's gota solid team. They're great at
defending the three pointer, fifth bestin the country at defending the arc.

(12:52):
Great job by them. And soyeah, I think it says good job
by Kansas State. You guys arereally gritty, very happy for you,
and Chris Beer is going through thestruggles that maybe Chaka saw and Shaka by
the White Separate Note has found ahome and has a team that emulates his
VCU team and they're killing it.So I don't know, maybe it's a
little bit of both, but I'msort of worried about Texas. I'm a
little worried about Texas too. Youmentioned Trey Mitchell, and he would be

(13:15):
the one, I don't know,the one piece of resistance that Texas can
offer on the interior and at therim. And if he's only going to
play eleven minutes in a game againstKansas State, then why is he there?
And then I think the other partthat you have to ask yourself if
you're following Texas and maybe thinking aboutinvesting in them, is which one of

(13:39):
those guards is going to be theAlpha? I think we all thought it
was going to be Marcus Carr,But is it gonna be Jones? Is
it gonna be Ramy? Like?Could you include ASKQ in that equation as
well? So which one of thoseguys is going to be the alpha guard
that is going to take care ofthe ball in a crucial moment. We
know that car is probably gonna getthat shot in the crucial moment. But

(14:01):
maybe, and this has been mentionedbefore, maybe those players don't know what
to do in that crucial moment.Yeah, and what about the fact about
that rumor that was on social mediathat Marcus car isn't happy he's going to
transfer, and then everybody shuts itdown. I mean, he drops twenty
five against Kansas State, but theydon't win. Marcus Carr, big time
score finisher at Minnesota, gives youfour at Oaks State, gives you nine

(14:24):
against Oklahoma. That's not why yougot him there a couple twos earlier in
the year. Marcus Carr needs tostep up because Chris Beard's teams are going
to struggle on offense. And look, I don't think you can center your
offense around a U mass transfer.I like Trey Mitchell, right, but
I mean, let's just be carefulhere. How many times, GUS have
you seen a player from a weakerconference transfer up and dominate. It's hard

(14:50):
to do. Absolutely all due respectto Philander's Fleming, My guy who's been
solid at Florida. But he's notnot Option one or two. So I
feel like they really a lion Mitchell, which could be a mistake. Marcus
Carr, you're in the Big ten, man, you got to post at
least fifteen points a game for them. Here's another thing about Marcus Carr Texas
is at Minnesota, you can't makeyour living off of making two game winning

(15:11):
shots a year and then having thatenormous upset, whether it be over in
Ohio State or a Purdue and thenlike that's your season. When you're at
Texas, that's every game. Hehas that pedigree of being a big shot
maker and putting up big numbers,but it's gotta be every night inside this

(15:33):
conference on this team, as thisleague guard. We've played five minutes in
the Kennel combined points scored by TimmyHolmgren and Racier Bolton is zero. It's
eight to San Francisco. You're tellingme Chris Beard Drew Timmy had a double
double at this point against against them. I mean, this is my point
is I think other people have figuredstuff out and Beard with that team,

(15:54):
it's just not clicking for me yet. It could it together of the year,
of course, but it's not clickingyet. Agreed. Okay, how
about Baylor. Baylor's a tough oneto figure out as well, Mike.
They take two losses, then theygo to West Virginia and then they don't
have James Akinjoe. They're leading scorer, you know, we won't say best

(16:15):
player, but they're leading scorer.And then they go ahead and obtain this
win against West Virginia after coming offtwo losses where they look kind of brutal.
You know, Cryer plays really well, Flaggler continues to do his thing,
and then Mayor goes for his seasonhigh twenty and they didn't really get
anything from their really talented freshman Brownwho only had two points. So there

(16:36):
was a lot of things in thisgame that didn't make sense. Mike,
What did you take from this Baylorwin after the two losses? A couple
of things. First off, Iwas impressed with Baylor. The issue with
West Virginia is the same every year. They can't make shots when they need
to, so Baylor zn't really causethem problems. They have a lot of
pressure on a guy like tas Shermana score. Baylor hit big shots.

(16:57):
I saw Matthew Mayor hit like threethrees in a row or three deep shots
in a row. Flagler was offcry or attacked the basket, did some
really nice stuff for them. Theyare an issue because they're good shot makers.
They are really really good shot makers, which is tough in a close
game. On the other side,for West Virginia, Malik Curry has got
some and one mixtape in him andI think he has to take a much

(17:19):
larger role in this team. TeamMcNeil is good, he makes three.
He's kind of stationary to a certainextent. It goes around tas Sherman.
What would happen is they needed somebodyto score and they couldn't find anyone to
do it. That was the problem. That was the issue in the game.
And I can see West Virginia runninginto that and that is why historically,
Man, how many times have theybeen a three or five seed and

(17:41):
they've been upset because they do runinto these streaks where they cannot score late
in games. And that's what happenedhere because they were winning this game five
minutes left. Agreed, And Ithink that West Virginia definitely needs that complementary
score. It needs to be eitheron the wing or it needs to be
as a complimentary piece to they're startingguards. And yes that I agree that.

(18:03):
You know, Curry could be thatguy. He has a little wiggle
to his game. He can shootit a little bit. He's active,
as we like to say, he'sactive. And I think the other thing,
like Baylor, if you're gonna loseyour leading score, like obviously,
that goes back to culture and theculture that they have. They're they're the
defending national champions, next man uptype of thing, but they were like
okay, yeah, no problem.And I think this is going to work

(18:26):
for them. West Virginia is goingto be there becau Huggins does a great
job. Baylor much better than Ithought they would be Gus. I still
think they're gonna slide at some point. I just think they lost too much.
And listen, we've seen the bestplayers leave and the team gets better.
I just think the slide is coming. I have a very Michigan feel
to Baylor. For me, itmay not happen yet, but I think
there's going to be a time whenthey really struggle for a couple of games

(18:48):
in a row when they're at fullstrength. But West Virginia doesn't have to
scoring to do it, and theymade shots down the stretch really impressive one
on the road. True, Ithink that Baylor might run into that scoring
problem at some point again, justbecause if you know, you take a
look at what they had last year, they just had some of the best
shooters that you know, they hada lottery pick in Mitchell and the things

(19:10):
that they relied on were there everygame. I don't know if that reliability
is there every game for Baylor thisyear. Are they a great team?
Yes. Should they be in theconversation to make a Final four again,
absolutely, but maybe they're down atiny bit if Brown doesn't play up to
his potential like he'd like. Thispass game nailed it, yep, Let's

(19:33):
go to Kansas and Oklahoma. Thiswas a really tight game the entire way,
final possession game. Jayalen Wilson kindof found himself after playing kind of
pedestrian for the past couple of games, and that was very much needed because
o Chayabaji didn't do much until thefinal five minutes of this game. You
know, Christian Braun dunked on somebodyand made a three that you can lock

(19:56):
that up. Pretty much every gamehe's gonna throw a nasty dunk down and
he's gonna make a three in youreye. And it just so happened.
The three that he made here wasto win the game in the final seconds
on the final possession for Kansas.I kind of am into Oklahoma with Tanner
Groves kind of being like that CamCrutwig position in Oklahoma's offense. But I

(20:19):
think I think that they lack atiny bit of shot making surrounding him.
I don't know if they have theconsistent shooting around him, but they're interesting
and I think they're not gonna getcheated on each one of their efforts inside
the Big twelve. Yeah, they'renot. And what I love about Kansas

(20:40):
is on the road. Gus withKansas, they do their thing. They
cover against the spread. They alwaysare tough. I think it's sixty percent
in the last seven years on theroad. As a favorite, Bill self,
I laid the three and a halfgot killed by the hook. Braun
hit the big three at the end. A Bajie is a shot maker.
He is not a guy who's postingtwenty twenty five points a game, and

(21:02):
he kind of flakes in and out, but he is a shot maker.
My mistake with this game is Ithought Portmoser first time going against Kansas gonna
struggle a little bit, and maybethey did, but they battled, they
were gritty, and they usually havea decent amount of turnovers. They were
better in this game. They gotafter it on defense. He's an excellent
coach Oklahoma with a home run higherof him, So Oklahoma is going to

(21:23):
be a problem all year on theroad. But he looked. Don't look
now, Kansas. They have issueswith Remy Martin. He's injured, he's
not playing well, whatever you wantto say the issue is, but don't
look now. They are again atopthe Big twelve at four and one,
a half game ahead of Baylor.So goodwin by self, however you want
to slice it, I agree Selfgets it done again. And I think

(21:44):
the Remy Martin element to Kansas isthen canceled out by Joseph Yessafu, who
is also there from Drake, SoI think they're they're Karma's kind of cancel
each other out. So I thinkwe're okay. I think Kansas in a
good spot. And the under lyingtheme there is he Self's not gonna deal
with these turnovers that Ronald Martin nowused to it. You know, I

(22:04):
don't know how Bobby Harley stale isa job. He has really struggled Arizona
State, but he gave Remmy Martinfree rain to do whatever hell he wants.
Bill self's not doing that. SoRobald Martin struggling, but he's still
a guy who can make a bigshot at the end of the game.
They have him, They have abogie. It's an issue. Yeah,
they do have shotmakers. Like yousaid, all right, can we explain
Houston, Like what in the worldis how are they doing this without all

(22:26):
of their roster pieces. They continueto dominate and they continue to rack up
the wins. They're one of thoseteams that we just kind of have to
put into the conversation like, yeah, they're gonna be Top twenty. Yeah,
they're gonna be in the conversation forFinal four. Yeah, they're gonna
be in the conversation for one ofthe best teams in the country. Again,
even with the roster turnover they havefrom last year and within this season,

(22:49):
I thought they were going to goon a slide and they haven't.
I was totally totally wrong. Sixteenand two, five and zero in the
AC. I mean full disclosure.Man, they're in an easier conference.
You know, I thought they were. They were in the Big twelve or
the SEC, you know they'd behaving the same success. But kudos to
Kelvin Samson. He's got a styleand it's next man up. They end

(23:11):
up losing Traymon Mark, no problem, next man up. They end up
having an injury, Marcus Sasser,no problem, next man up, and
they just keep filling it. Andhe has been able to unsolve the Josh
Carlton mystery inside Baby and White hasdone some nice things. Guys, just
step in. They are five andoz in the AAC. They are a
half a game ahead of SMU.Don't even I even know where memphisis.

(23:33):
Came and find them, so Houstonand he's done a really great job.
He'd beat Tulsa away. That's nevereasy. They won by two. Tulsa's
always played them tough, and he'staking care of business in the In the
non conference, they played Oregon Wisconsin. That was a game. Wisconsin was
scalding hot in the first half.Kiston almost came back and beat them.
So they're just like a bad halfaway from basically being seventeen and one only

(23:56):
lost away at Alabama by one whenthey knocked everything with a tresh on the
way out. So, yeah,Kelvin Sampson doing it again. He's got
a style. They stick to itand when a couple breaks man they could
be eighteen to know that they couldbe the number one team in the country.
Yeah, And I think an underratedpart of coach Sampson's success is the

(24:18):
ability to tap into each one ofthese transfers. He has these transfers,
whether it be high level for likeyou mentioned, you know, from Yukon
or from Kansas, and they comethere and they are not coming there to
get numbers. They're coming there toget better. Sure, so that's a
big difference. And they're coming thereto get better and accumulate wins. They're

(24:41):
not getting there to get better andaccumulate stats. So I think the fact
that he has that culture embedded therein Houston, I don't think he's going
anywhere fast. Yeah, that's verytrue. He's done an excellent, excellent
job. He has a style.They love him. Good for him.
It's a great for a guy whogets players to stay and does not go
with the one and done. Ilove to see it. Yeah, always

(25:02):
and in the team that you knowit is in the number one conversation now
like Auburn just rolls it up again. I have a couple of thoughts on
Auburn, But where are you atwith them? Are you including them into
that conversation or are they just happenedto be the latest team not to lose
and thus they, you know,kind of morph into that number one seating

(25:23):
or that number one ranking. Whereare you at with Auburn? Oh,
Auburn's legit, Alb's legit. They'vehad some real, real big battles here,
LSU, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia. They've come forward each
and every time, and they couldbe undefeated. Gus. We've talked about
that. They are top sixteen inthe country and offense, they're top ten
in defense that Jabari Smith could belike a number one pick, number one

(25:45):
in the top three pick. Theyhold opponents inside the arc to forty three
percent. They're great on blocks,they forced turnovers, they don't turn the
ball over themselves. I think sortof the underrated guy who on this team
has been Wendel Greene, who's hitsome big shots. He rolls the offense.
He lets everyone flow on the wing, gets the ball to Smith,
gets the ball to Kessler inside.God bless him. Transfer of North Carolina

(26:07):
right has really fitted perfectly and BrucePearl has done a really great job.
No, I think they're legit.I cannot wait till Saturday when they play
Kentucky at home. Right now,it's Auburn favored by three. Get your
popcorn ready, A great, greatmatchup that might be one of the best
games of the year. I meanwe've had some I mean that they were
involved with one of the best gamesof the year already, Auburn and Yukon,
and then you maybe you want toinclude that Yukon Seaton Hall overtime game

(26:32):
is one of the best games ofthe year. Yes, but I'm telling
you right now that Auburn Kentucky gameis going to have all the hype and
all the hype around it is justified. You know my thoughts quickly on Auburn
is I'm with you, They're legit. They're there, they belong in that
conversation, maybe even the top partof the conversation. Kessler is an absolute
terror on defense around the rim.He is not only does he block a

(26:52):
ton of shots. He alters manyothers, so that that's where that you
know, low field goal percentage insidethe arc for opponents comes from. It
starts with him, but then italso you know, spills out to Smith.
Smith is a gets his share ofblocks and steals. And I'm with
you, like, if you're havingthe number one, two, or three,
pick yeah, I think I thinkany one of those spots you might

(27:15):
take him. And if he's goingto shoot it this nicely from three,
it'd be hard to pass on himbecause he just kind of has the whole
package. Defensively, he can guardup and down the lineup. I really
like him. And then let's notforget like they just got Flannagan back and
they still have the Cambridge and likeyou said, Green like really impactful player

(27:36):
off the bench currently and you knowzeb Jasper It totally does his thing and
his little pain that took is Andlet's not forget Johnson. Johnson brings the
ball to the rim hard, likevery hard. They have tons of great
pieces. They are totally legit.I'm with you on that. I am
in full agreement. Stop. Theyare one of the best teams in the

(27:56):
nation and should be in the conversationfor a final four or winning the whole
darn thing after what happened with Pearl. I mean, really that whole thing.
Remember I told you I was teachingCCD. Kyle guy makes the three
shots. They were robbed of reallygetting to a final game, if you
want to look at it that way. But he has done a great job.
I had the whole show cause thinghe has found at home in Auburn,

(28:18):
no doubt. I don't think they'reso pleased that he is a head
coach of basketball at Auburn. MikeBig East, always a grind. Marquette
wins at Nova and you mentioned andalluded to Shock a smart earlier in the
podcast. And he has this teamrolling. And one of the reasons he
has this team rolling is because ofJalen Wilson. Jalen Wilson is playing like

(28:38):
one of the best players in theside of the Big East. And talk
about shot making. This guy hejust makes big shot after big shot.
And not only like shot that finalplay on the three point make against Villa
Nova, he made a great basketballplay as well, like he picked up
a fumble, got his feet goodfollow through guarded. There's a lot of

(29:02):
little things that he did right thereon that final play. It just wasn't
bang banging home a three to make, you know, to win the game
like Braun, he had to doa lot of other little things in that
little play, and so I lovewhat he's doing and I'm down. I'm
down with Shaka Smart, I'm downwith him being an impactful coach, and
Marquette then being on the radar againinside the Big East. It's kind of

(29:23):
exciting. They've done a wonderful job. I doubted them early in the season
and I should not have wins ina row GUS, Illinois, Mississippi,
and West Virginia. That's all therewas to it. Lately, they've won
five games in a row. Theystarted oh and three in conference. I'm
like, oh, here they goXavier, Connecticut, Creighton, all of
a sudden b Providence, Georgetown toPaul Seatonhall and Nova by three away.

(29:45):
The issue for me with Novas theyhave no depth. They have no depth
in the team. They had allthe veterans come back. They have no
depth whatsoever, and they are reallyreally struggling here. So they have more
Gillespie, Dixon, Slater, Samuel'sthat's great Caleb Daniels plays a little bit,
but that is it, and they'regetting tired, and they're keeping a
slow pace and they're not able totake advantage of situations that they can.

(30:07):
They're getting beat on the boards.In this game, Marquette ended up having
twenty six defensive rebounds only two offensiverebounds, but they still won the game.
Why thirteen to twenty nine from threepoint range. Yeah, they really
shot the ball well. They shotthe ball well from the line, low
turnovers. And I was coming aroundon Villanova because I thought Leslie was kind

(30:30):
of getting healthier, right and Ifelt like he was maybe finding his form
because it looked like he was justa step slow, a step off.
He didn't have the same wiggle thathe had. Everything seemed really labored on
his end, and I felt likethe last couple of games he's kind of
shown a little bit of his oldself, which was, you know,
an All Big East type player,player of the year inside the conference preseason.

(30:53):
So I was like, Okay,here comes Villanova, and then boom,
this game happened. So I don'tknow where I'm at with Villanova,
but I'll tell you what I'm inon Marquette being a threat any game anywhere
inside the Big East, whether they'reat home in feist or form, or
if they're on the road in theBig East. Yeah, still six and
two in conference, behind Providence,who's five and one. They got through

(31:15):
the COVID issue, Marquette hanging aroundof five and three. So Nova still
battling at six and two here,but the depth has become a problem.
They lost away at Baylor, awayof Creighton, that's fine, but now
they lose it home to Marquette.I think it's a get right spot against
Georgetown, no problem. Then theyget to Paul Saint John's, maybe they
got a couple of wins. Thenthey get payback on February second away at
Marquette. That's gonna be a goodgame too. I'm totally looking forward to

(31:37):
that. All right, Mike,let's go to Kentucky. We mentioned Kentucky
has the big showdown this weekend withAuburn. Either one of those teams could
have got caught in, you know, the look ahead game. They hold
on for dear life against Texas Aand M And you mentioned buzz is doing
a great job there, Mike,same question I guess we had with Auburn
where are you with Kentucky And doyou feel like they should be included in

(32:00):
that conversation or do you are yougonna pick a couple of holes in him?
No. I think Kentucky win thewhole thing. I love it.
I think Cal's got one of hisbest teams since he had that legendary team
years ago. She boys a star, He's playing at a first team All
American level. Tie Tie has beenfantastic. Sevia Wheeler as well. He
got hurt, He's coming back.They have depth, They will always get

(32:22):
better shooting. Daveyon Mints is theglue that holds a team together. I
love Kentucky. All you gotta dois just win baby. On the road
they did against Texas saying them,I don't care how it looked, they
are a legit national title contender.I agree with you that they are a
legit national title contender. I alsofeel like that if Grady can just shoot
the ball at the level, notscore the ball, but shoot the ball

(32:45):
at the level that he did atDavidson, then they should be included in
that conversation. And if ty TyeWashington can continue to play impactful minutes as
the lead guard on this team.I think that pay dividends as well.
And you mentioned the lack of depthwith Villanova, Kentucky is stacked with it.

(33:07):
They have Toppin' and Mints coming offthe bench playing important minutes. And
both of those guys are impactful playersand would be starters on any other SEC
team bar maybe Auburn. That's aboutit. But they would be starters and
they're coming off the bench playing importantminutes. So I agree with you.
I think this Kentucky team is oneof those teams that we can include in

(33:27):
the conversation for sure. Yeah,Grady is one of those guys a few
guys that have stepped up in classand it's really performed. I mean,
he can hit a game winning shotto send them to the final four.
Let's go back to the Big East. Got Xavier holding off a desperate to
ball team without their big star.Are we sleeping on Zavier a little bit?
Could they be one of those teamsthat challenges Nova inside the Big East?
Do you feel like they have thecards? They haven't straightened out yet.

(33:50):
Is Travis Steele, you know,kind of steering the ship for Xavier
the right way? Now? I'mnot buying Xavier. I think I'll do
a nice job this year. I'mnot buying them as a legitimate contender.
They lost away at De Paul nojavon Freeman Liberty. You can't. I
mean, I apologize. They wona way at DePaul no jivon Freeman Liberty.
They barely squeak that game out.They'd be Craton at home. I

(34:10):
don't buy Xavier. I just don'tthat game. Everyone picked Xavier going against
Villanova, and everybody's sent around theshot quality luck factor. How like their
Xavier pick should have been the rightpick there the second time around, Guys,
you've lost. Villanova dominated them fromstart to finish. I think they're
a tad worse. I don't expectthem to win at Marquette on Sunday.

(34:30):
Um, I don't. I don'tlike Xavier. I Ei, they're fine.
I mean, I just I don't. I don't put them in the
in the I don't think they're winningthe Big East, and I don't put
them in the like Big East tournamentchampion type team. I don't. I
think they're interesting with Nugee and UHand Fremantle. I think if they they
have post presence there and if theyever play them together. I think that's

(34:52):
kind of interesting. So I'm interestedby Xavier, but I'm with you,
I don't know if I'm buying inon them being one of the top challengers.
Ala Obama definitely shows its true colorsand needed that win against LSU.
Alabama had been struggling a little bit, fallen out of the rankings after you
know, garnering one of the mostimportant wins of their season against Gunzaga,

(35:12):
and LSU did to have some rosterissues. They'd lost their story starting point
guard and then they lost Darius Daysinside the game, so they were trying
to piece it together. So what'dyou take from this Alabama LSU game?
Do you feel like LSU's defenses forreal? And do you feel like Alabama
is a legit top twenty five team? Yeah? Strong ass off for Will
Wade. I've been waiting to pollsin Will Wade, but I can He's

(35:36):
been banged up the last two games, like you said, Arkansas at home,
Alabama away, but they found away to be competitive in both games.
I liked the winnow of Florida.I liked the win over Tennessee.
They did be Kentucky at home that'sthe biggest win. And their defense for
the first time. Will Wade hasbeen tremendous with his defense absolutely outstanding.
Their number one in the country andadjusted defensive efficiency, number one in effective

(35:58):
field goal percentage. They turned teamsover at a top five rate and they're
holding seems twenty six percent for bigpoint range right that. I don't I
can't quite wrap my head around howthey went from you know, two years
ago, being this you know teamthat was you know in the nineties or
maybe even the hundreds defensively to oneof the top three defensive teams this year.
I mean that turnaround defensively is unbelievableand maybe unprecedented as far as you

(36:22):
know, changing the definition of howyour team is going to find success.
Really impressive stuff. And yeah,you're waiting to like poke holes and and
and and and make fun or findsomething to you know, laugh over with
Will Wade, But no, they'rethey're just kind of good. And I
like Pinson at the point I think, uh, you know, days is
impactful. I think he will bea player within the SEC that's gonna you

(36:45):
know, be you know, troubletroublesome matching up with and Alabama. Yeah,
if if those two guards are goingto play that well, and then
if you add Davidson to that equationand he plays at a high level and
starts dunking on people head like hedid, then Alabama's interesting again. But
I think Alabama lacking some inside presence. That's where they might find a work

(37:08):
or two moving forward. Yeah,a little tough for me to like Bama
when they're making three pointers at onlya thirty one percent clip. That's two
hundred and fourth in the country.Baman needs to make threes. I mean,
that's Nato, It's style here,and it's amazing. Big win against
Gonzaga, just played absolutely fantastic.But since then five losses, including the
neutral Davidson, who I love,but the loss at Missouri even a little

(37:31):
more odd. Ninety two points toMissouri. I mean, Nate, you're
not gonna make threes and you're giveit up ninety two to the Missouri Okay,
And oh, by the way,GUS teams shooting sixty seven percent from
the free throw line against them,so they're getting some good luck here.
Yeah, three and three, twelveand six. I think Nate's taken a
step back, but he's done agreat job at Alabama. Agreed, I
think a little step back from lastyear, and but he I think he's

(37:52):
the right guy there as well.A couple of quickies. Mike Florida holds
on and holds the rope over MississippiState. They desperately needed that win.
Buck Nell has completely fallen off acliff from a couple of years ago where
they were one of the you know, Cinderella darlings. And then Creton absolutely
wipes the floor with Saint John's andI was kind of hoping that the Saint
John's team would get there this year, but I don't know if that's going

(38:12):
to happen. And then Vermont isVermonting as always, and Ryan Davis continues
to get numbers. Any thoughts onFlorida, you know, buck Nell's precipitous
fall, Creton or Vermont Vermonting lovedFlorida all year long. I am starting
to really worry that the Mic Whiteexperience needs to end and they need to
move on from him, because they'revery talented and this is the type of

(38:37):
sec that Florida should be able tomake a run in. Lost Alabama at
home, lost to Auburn, away, lost to LSU. Okay, fine,
make me understand that those are probablythree of the best teams besides Kentucky,
and by the way, go outand see if you can pick off
Kentucky at the end of the yearat home. This is what I need
you to do. They got Vandy, they got Mississippi, they got Tennessee.

(38:57):
They did be a good Mississippi Stateteam I thought was solid. No
Castleton inside fantastic. I think thekey to this, and we talked about
it with Eric Fawcett with them,is we need to get the freshman Koacy
Reeves going. He's a scorer,he has the ability to put them on
his back and make a couple threes. We need that. Appleby is good,
he's streaky. Fleming is a solidfifth starter. But that's it.

(39:20):
Myron Jones De Rougie's okay, butI think Reeves gives him something. Him
and Brandon McKissick have to lead thisteam. So that's my thoughts on them.
Buck Now, Listen, Bucknell hasbeen fantastic every single year. This
year certainly looks like they're taking astep back in the Patriot Division. Oh
and seven, three and sixteen,Yeah, I mean that's look when's the

(39:43):
last time buck now reeled off lossLehigh American and Colgate. Colgate fine,
but the other two please, ArmyNavy not particularly close. He just took
a step back here and after allthe you know and Nathan Davis in this
league has been solid twenty twenty twenty, every year, five and seven.
Last year you throw it out thewindow, three and sixteen. This year.

(40:04):
They'll have to come back next yearand get things reset. That's fine.
Creton. I've lost a lot ofmoney betting on Creton early in the
year. I doubted them, thenI got back off back on top of
Creton. They ended up losing.It's a couple of games there to me,
because they are one of the youngestteams in the country. John Nawa
told me best recruiting class in Cretonhistory. Experience only one point three four
years, that's three hundred and eighthin the country. Minutes continuity only fourteen

(40:29):
percent returning against three hundred and thirtynine. So they have to find themselves.
But Greg McDermott reminded us he cancoach and they can play. Nice
win over Saint John's at home,nice win over Villanova at home. They're
going to be an issue in aproblem and they're a team that can get
hot and make a big East finalat the end of the year. Agree
that they have the talent there.And I think one of the other guys
is author Klum. He's averaging overten points at home and he is doing

(40:52):
a lot of interesting and productive thingson the wing for them. I think
he's only going to grow as theseason goes on. Mike, how about
Williams and Wake Forest. He dragsthem to another a SEC win over Georgia
Tech. I feel like this isa little bit of a showdown between like
two of the top players inside theACC with Williams and and Michael Davot.
You know, Williams already posted atriple double this season. If he posts

(41:15):
one inside a SEC player, thatwould be something else. I think he's
going to be a threat every singletime he steps on the floor, and
he makes this Wake team very tough, Like his toughness is almost the characteristic
of this week team. Pretty impressedby them, Mike, what do you
take from Davot Williams and Wake Forest. I love Wake Forest. I think
they're one of the most underrated teamsin the country. Steve Forbes outstanding job.

(41:37):
Went on the road, beat Virginiaon the road, no problem.
Beat Virginia Tech on the road bynineteen. Pounded them that win back in
December four. It's gonna look betterand better. And by the way,
guys, they played two games withoutJacob Ravia, the big man transfer from
Indiana State David Williams since tremendous AlondasWilliams makes big shot transfer from Oklahoma.

(41:58):
They are superior. They are fishinginside the arc, they play good defense,
they do They're strong on the boards, and they play fast steep Forbes.
Excellent, excellent job. I cantell you right now when I write
my ACC tournament preview for whatever siteI'm working for at that time, I
can tell you right now my darkhorse is going to be Wake Fast to
win that tournament. I don't thinkthat's crazy at all. And plus,

(42:19):
inside this weekend ACC, this particularyear, you know that one of those
teams is going to sneak in andmake some noise, and I think Wake
is going to be that team forsure. All right, Mike, another
couple of quickies. Let's Isaiah Mosleyis just going to continue his assault on
the scoring title with massive efficiency.He put up twenty four points in nineteen
minutes over a win over at IllinoisState. He has a forty three point

(42:40):
game already this year. He hasa final, last second game winner,
and he played Max Asmist to aduel when he put up twenty five and
eight when they beat over Robert sixteennine to sixty. The dude is just
one of the best, like midmajor guards in the country. Like,
he's incredible. I love looking uphis box score and then when you can
catch a couple of highlights at him, he just balls out. Totally impressed

(43:00):
with him. And Mike Rutgers getsthe win at the rack you mentioned this
earlier. I mean, I don'tknow where who's tougher like Florida State and
overtime or Rutgers at the Rack,or maybe like Saint Bonnie's in the second
half earlier this season. And thenour buddies Wyoming minus e K get the
big win. Hunter Maldonado is nowone of three players in the nation to

(43:24):
average fifteen five and five thus farthis season. Yes, Salonis Williams,
who we just mentioned of wake isone of those other players averaging twenty six
and five, which is crazy heI think winning a game with out ek,
who could be the player of theyear of the conference, is really

(43:45):
impressive, and I think we needto say it. Drake Jeffreies is just
one of the best shooters in thecountry. So we have, you know,
Mosley, Rutgers and then Wyoming.Is there a little bit of Jordan
Crawford and Isaiah Mosley. I feellike he hits some big way threes.
He doesn't care. He can gethot and carry a team. He can
be a night gus. He's anightmare. In the opening round the NCAA

(44:07):
tournament, they saw that type ofplayer so excited you called it a while
while ago. He's been great.Rutgers wins at the Rack and listen,
Pikel came out and said, itis tough to win on the road.
I get that, and that's beentheir struggles. But you know what,
it's tough to win on the roadfor everyone. If you're gonna take care
of business and you're gonna win thegame to home like they do, they

(44:28):
have a chance to make the tournamentagain, and that's all we can ask
for sure. They struggled at PennState, but there's still five and two
in the Big ten. So asmuch as they struggled. They lost at
Illinois, well, no shame there. They lost at Seaton Hall, they
lost at Penn State, but theydid earn the tough win after being down
big time against Maryland. They gotthat one off their back, and then
they take care of business at Iowa. They are a phenomenal team at home

(44:51):
in Piscataway. Love Rutgers, ofcourse, it's great for us locally.
And then Wyoming really impressive. Grahamyk you talked about it in the preview.
He has been tremendous. He's adifference maker. I want that headband
so I can save it on mywall. Jaldnado is tremendous. He plays
at his pace and he's a greatfluid. Adrian Dantley like score. I
know I'm dating myself. I lovethis team. Wyoming is an issue,

(45:15):
it's a problem. The Mountain Westis for real, stacked, totally stacked.
All right, last two and thenwe'll look forward to the weekend.
Mike uh Yukon is kind of forreal when Snogo is healthy. I mean
that this team is kind of scary. I love them, and then the
question is what can't David Roddy Do. He's like part Cam Krutwig, part

(45:35):
Wrecking Ball, part Third Team AllAmerican, you know, part Yoki,
part immovable object. But he's justa lovely hooper to watch. So I
really like Yukon and and you know, you talked you know, some Colorado
State on the preview and got toget a little insight on David Roddy.
But we've both admired him from AFARfor a long time. Roddy, the
body's been tremendous. There's been someissues with Colorado State covering. You know,

(46:00):
I've been a little too high onthem. They're learning how to win,
they're learning how to be the huntedinstead of the hunter. But they're
still tremendous. And Roddy is justa nightmare matchup across the board. And
Connecticut don't look now, but DannyHurley is turning Connecticut into Houston North.
That's the type of team. Hehas. Their fourth from two point range
in two point percentage allowed forty onepercent, doing a real nice job,

(46:21):
and they make the three. Sowe have a defensive team in Connecticut that's
big inside, that defends the interiorand shoots the three. If that's not
Houston. I don't know what itis. That's some high praise right there.
All right, Mike, let's takea look at a couple of games
that you're looking forward to this weekend. What are a couple of ones that
you're looking at, either wager wiseor just to watch wise. What do
you got cooking? A couple ofgames I'm looking forward to. We got
the Boise San Diego State game,which are two Mount West teams that may

(46:44):
not be at the top after whatwe've seen there, so that'll be real
curious. Kentucky Auburn. We talkedabout LSU Tennessee strong ass offer should get
off the Schneider. Maybe Tennessee canfinally start to make some noise here.
Baylor against Oklahoma, either we're gonnasay Baylor's back on board or or Porta
Mosier is really doing an amazing jobwith the Sooners. Wake Forest is for

(47:05):
real. I think they're gonna beatNorth Carolina. I feel confident about that
one. And then and then Kansasat Kansas State on the Sunday slate,
Love Marquet against Xavier Memphis, whois right now struggling. Going to Tulsa,
which is a team that always playsthem tough always, and I think
Perdude's going to open a Canna whipasson Northwestern have to listen tonight, Did
I think so too? A coupleof ones I'm looking forward to inside the

(47:25):
ACC Florida State, Miami. Veryintrigued by this Miami team. When we
talked to Luke Near, he waswith me that this Miami backcourt could be
an issue, and that's turning outto be exactly that. How about Missouri
State at Loyola. We're gonna haveMosley against the ranked Loyola Chicago team.

(47:45):
I'm kind of down with that.And of course we want to take a
look at UAB and Louisiana Tech,two best teams in conference and probably the
best player in conference with Junior Lofton, and we want to see if Trey
Jemison can you match him defensively?So I'm down with that there. So
there's plenty of things to look forwardto this weekend, Mike. Where are
people going to find what you do, how you do it, and where

(48:08):
you do it? Where are wedirecting people these days to find your content?
Guys, I'm casting a wide net. Would love to see a full
time job at one of the site. Still doing stuff at Action, doing
some great stuff at four for four, great group of guys. At four
for four Football, we're gonna bedoing some college basketball stuff rolling it out
as well, you know, possiblyfantasy pros guys. You'll never know where

(48:29):
I pop up. That's the keyhere. And of course if you love,
if you're at in Washington, yougo to the Caesar Sports Book at
Washington. I am live on therepretty much every week. I have a
spot on Monumental Sports there where I'mup talking about my famous picks each week
that I like, So I reallylike doing that as well. Excellent,
and if you're intrigued by what Mike'sdoing, we're you know, we're going

(48:49):
to continue revisiting the podcast here andI'll be over at Rave on Sports.
They have a really cool app thatyou can interact with fans, and I'll
be hosting a bunch of different games, so be a lookout on our Twitter
feed for which games were involved withtheir very kind people over at Raven Sports.
Awesome to reconnect here and talk somecollege hoops and tossing around a little

(49:12):
bit. I hope that you havea great weekend and hopefully we can catch
up next week and listeners out there, we hope they have a great weekend
too. Thanks for making us partof your college basketball rundown for the week.
We totally appreciate it. Good Zagathirty six thirty minute left in the
first half, just in time tosee the second half perfect. See you
guys out there, Thanks everybody forlistening. Cheers Slattlatsia. Are you got