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Texas Tech & Baylor on Deck After Ark/Cincy Wins
119 Plays4 months ago
Welcome to Episode #67 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast.
Happy New Year everyone! After 2 critical wins over Arkansas & Cincy (with a 3rd sloppy MTSU win sandwiched in between), this Cougar team is 13-1 & 1-0 in XII play. It was a statement win on National TV vs Calipari's Arkansas team, where the Cougar offense was fast, flowing, & in peak form. Followed were 2 more wins to end the year & open conference play. The Coogs are now ranked #7 in the AP, with 2 in-state rivals on deck in Texas Tech & Baylor.
Please have a listen as the 3 Old Men break down the 3 games played over the holidays, as well as provide some thoughts on the upcoming games vs Tech & Baylor.
- No Conference for Old Men is available for free via Spotify / Apple Podcast / SoundCloud & the GoCoogs.com website; we're also available via the Republic of Football Podcast feed from the folks at Dave Campbell's Texas Football as their only basketball-centric offering
- Intro / Exit music: Ground Zero provided by FreeBeats.io
- Please follow us on gocoogs.com/old-men/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Episode 67
00:00:07
@NoConfForOldMen
Welcome folks to episode number 67 of the Dodele Conference for Old Men podcast, podcast where three old guys are talking Houston Cougars basketball with a little bit of Big 12 coverage added as well, and proud members of the gocougs.com network, the undisputed number one Houston Cougars content provider.
Recap of Recent Games
00:00:23
@NoConfForOldMen
And we are back with all three men, Bill Walker from Rplayer,
00:00:28
@NoConfForOldMen
Tom Lidiak, former coach, myself, Steve Chang, analytics guy for this episode. And we are finally back from our year-end break. And we returned after two big wins over Arkansas and Cincy with our sloppiest game of the year in a third win over MTSU sandwiched in between.
00:00:44
@NoConfForOldMen
Cougar team is now 13-1, in Big 12 play with two difficult in-state rivals up next this week in Texas Tech at home and then at
Game Summaries and Upcoming Previews
00:00:53
@NoConfForOldMen
Baylor. Lots to cover this week, so we're going to provide some detailed summaries of the wins over Arkansas and Cincy, along with what I'll call a really super quick summary of the MTSU game. And we'll go deep into the big upcoming games versus Tech and Baylor.
Analysis of Arkansas Win
00:01:08
@NoConfForOldMen
No time this week to go into any other Big 12 games, but the three old men will get back to highlighting other games of interest starting next week. So a big episode today, Tom, I know it's been a while, but why don't you start things off with your key points on the 94 to 85 Arkansas win, and then just go directly into some quick thoughts from the MTSU 69 to win.
00:01:30
Tom Lidiak
Well, the Arkansas game was our marquee non-conference game played in New Jersey. You know, a lot of, you know, there's just a lot of excitement about the game. Bolted out to a 40 to 19 lead. I think there was like overnight, I think I got it written down. There was like 922 left in the half and we'd already hit scored 40 points.
00:01:49
@NoConfForOldMen
Just crazy.
00:01:51
Tom Lidiak
Probably a bad thing because it set a precedent for some of our fans thinking that we can do that every game. But, you know, Arkansas, they couldn't guard a you know They can't guard a lamppost. And they they're just not a good defensive team. You know, they they clawed back. I think at halftime they they got it back to to like eight.
00:02:11
Tom Lidiak
We got some foul trouble. I think JoJo picked up his third and fourth, like one here, and and then he got another one there. I thought the the fourth one was BS.
00:02:23
Tom Lidiak
Sanak got into some foul trouble. We did go to a 3-2 zone, so we debuted debuted that just to kind of slow down their bigs. I think it was his name was Ewan.
00:02:37
Tom Lidiak
He was catching ball at the elbow and just taking our bigs off the dribble, when and we and and you know we were just fouling the crap out of him.
00:02:40
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:02:45
Tom Lidiak
So I'm sure Kelvin goes to the zone to protect his bigs. Zone worked effectively. First first three possessions, Arkansas went 0-3.
00:02:53
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:02:56
Tom Lidiak
uh if you're on go kooks or whatever i i had some notes on that uh what do people don't realize so those last possessions when we went zone wasn't very effective we gave up a bunch of offensive rebounds but it did keep uh keep guys out you know it did keep guys out of foul trouble and that was uh that was a big key there
00:03:12
@NoConfForOldMen
Foul trouble, yeah.
00:03:17
Tom Lidiak
Yeah, we, you know, Arkansas just couldn't get stops. They couldn't stop us. You know, a lot of points in that game, but we scored like 94
Comparing Arkansas and MTSU Games
00:03:25
Tom Lidiak
and they scored, they scored 85.
00:03:26
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, 85. eighty five her
00:03:27
Tom Lidiak
Very, very entertaining game. So much different from the next game. I'll go right into MTSU. Not a good omen when, uh,
00:03:39
Tom Lidiak
before the first under 16 break, we had given up six offensive rebounds and i counted three on one possession. Might've been four on one possession, but I have here that Jojo missed some horrible point blank attempts.
00:03:52
Tom Lidiak
But then later on, we learned that he had his wisdom teeth removed and he had lost like 16 pounds.
00:03:56
@NoConfForOldMen
Slauson- They do.
00:03:57
Tom Lidiak
So, you know, that, that, that, that probably explains that just not sharp. Sanak has that, uh, you know that elbow jumper, that free throw line jumper and hit the first two that he shot were blocked.
00:04:11
Tom Lidiak
Uh, uh, a lot of our, a lot our fans frustrated, but you know, you gotta give credit to the other team, you know MTSU, they played, they played good defense. Uh, you know, so sometimes you gotta give them, give them credit, uh,
00:04:21
@NoConfForOldMen
joe
00:04:26
Tom Lidiak
33-28 at halftime, Uzan hits a three at the buzzer to give us a five-point lead. And I have written down here, defensively, we struggled to finish all possessions with a defensive rebound, and I'm sure, you know, Kelvin was not happy about that.
Encouragement Amidst Struggles
00:04:46
Tom Lidiak
Kelvin on his, he was interviewed by ryan and Brad on, on the talk about the Cougars. And i think the question or Kelvin even brought it up is, you know, what'd you say to him? I think Galen might've asked that question. What'd you say to him, you know, in the locker room or whatever. And Kelvin said that he just had to find something positive to say, say to him, you know, otherwise he probably just kind of got, got off of them. But,
00:05:11
Tom Lidiak
You know, i think it was a final score 69, 60, you know, still held them to 60 points.
00:05:15
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yep.
00:05:18
Tom Lidiak
But, but overall, you know, i mean, the way i look at it, I'm just, I'm a fan, you know, and just every time the Cougars take the court, I try to enjoy it because I know it's not going to last forever. But yeah, it's, it, you know, it's the tape of that game's not going to where's the, where's the hall of fame. It's up in Massachusetts. What's was that place called?
00:05:38
Tom Lidiak
The hall of fame. Bill, you know where the Hall of Fame is, right?
00:05:42
.0Bill Walker
Oh, God. Yeah, of course I do.
00:05:44
Tom Lidiak
Where's it? Anyway, the the the tape of the game's not going there.
00:05:49
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:05:53
.0Bill Walker
my God.
00:05:53
@NoConfForOldMen
How about you, Bill? What's your players take from the two games?
00:05:58
.0Bill Walker
Arkansas. Actually, i i was a little concerned right off the tip because... Sinek, as soon as they won the tap, Sinek committed a foul going for the ball.
00:06:14
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:06:16
.0Bill Walker
and i asked And I said, this is going to come back to hurt us. This is not good. And and especially with really only two big men. And and of course it did.
00:06:27
.0Bill Walker
However, that that changed abruptly. Sinek was aggressive offensively, hit shots right away, the interior defense quite honestly was superb to start that game.
00:06:40
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:06:41
.0Bill Walker
We got into the passing lanes. We turned them over. Uh, that, that was leading to a lot of, a lot of our points. Flemings did a great job getting out, scoring Ramon had an exceptional game.
00:07:03
@NoConfForOldMen
Mm-hmm.
00:07:05
.0Bill Walker
At the under eight timeout, I wrote down that I'm not a huge fan of the pace right now. And and and that was shortly after we were up, like Tom said, 40 to 19 with with nine and a half minutes left in the half you know i' on pace for 150 160 points and we went to the one two two at six minutes left uh tom you said a three two i it looks more to me like a one two two does
00:07:35
Tom Lidiak
yeah yeah Yeah, kel Kelvin calls it a three two but, you know nope but it's you know, I mean, I'm not going to argue with Kelvin, but yeah, it's a 1-2-2.
00:07:42
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:07:45
.0Bill Walker
okay uh and uh you know i think I think we may have been accused of you play someone's hot, you may have some heat check shots. and There may have been a few of those when we were up 40-19.
00:08:03
.0Bill Walker
forty to nineteen but yeah It was it was a great first half. We shot from three. We had six steals.
00:08:14
.0Bill Walker
at the same time they shot 54%, 38% from three.
00:08:17
@NoConfForOldMen
I know.
00:08:19
.0Bill Walker
However, they committed 10 turnovers in the first half that we created and and led to 14 points for us off turnovers. Uh, but the interesting thing is they were all within the first 10 minutes and then it, and then it, uh, slowed down considerably.
00:08:34
@NoConfForOldMen
Settle down now.
00:08:36
.0Bill Walker
I mean, we had 45 at halftime and we had 40 in the first nine and a half minutes. So, uh,
00:08:41
@NoConfForOldMen
Mm-hmm.
00:08:43
.0Bill Walker
Tom, you mentioned Tugler getting his his the two fouls at the beginning of the second half. and And i've the fourth foul I wrote down, you've got to be kidding me, to quote John McEnroe with about eight exclamation points after that second foul.
00:08:59
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:09:01
.0Bill Walker
I
00:09:03
.0Bill Walker
you know i hate to accuse the referees of anything, and I'm about to do it again when we get into the Cincinnati game. ed I have friends, Rob being one, who who really gets on the refs, entirely pro of H, and I tend to avoid that, but that that foul that fourth foul on Tuggler was just Just brutal.
00:09:30
.0Bill Walker
And I wrote down, God, I wish we have Sacco.
00:09:34
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:09:34
.0Bill Walker
Not having him is killing us right now. And I also have written down, thank God for Sharp. He didn't shoot all that well, but he hit some big threes that that kept us in the lead in the second half.
00:09:47
.0Bill Walker
They called seven fouls on us in the first five minutes of the second half. And you fortunately, like I said, Sharp shot well Ramon.
00:09:59
.0Bill Walker
Offensively and defensively was just just phenomenal.
00:10:03
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, he was key.
00:10:03
.0Bill Walker
and you know For the game, we shot 52%, 44% from three. only... yeah they weren't far behind at forty nine and forty they only they only turned the ball over a couple of times in the second half, which, which made the game much closer.
00:10:20
.0Bill Walker
And, uh, you the free throw disparity, not surprisingly, we're 19 of 25. They were 21 of 35 and you in who, who just killed us, uh, not so much because of what he, how he produced, although he had a great 20 point game, but, but the fouls he drew,
00:10:40
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yes.
00:10:44
.0Bill Walker
He went to the line 17 times. Fortunately, only hit 10 of them. yeah tuggddler Tugler only played 15 minutes.
00:10:53
.0Bill Walker
Kingston, I think, was the MVP of the game. 21 points, six boards, five assists, three steals, and I believe only one one turnover, maybe none.
00:10:57
@NoConfForOldMen
Absolutely.
00:11:07
.0Bill Walker
i'm not No, was one turnover. Milos... 13 points, four assists, one turnover. And by the way, Kingston played 36 minutes and Usain played 39.
00:11:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:11:19
.0Bill Walker
Sharp had 22. He hit the big threes in the second half. And Ramon, 27 minutes, 12 points, three of six from the floor, two of four from three, four of four at the line and four rebounds. I mean, he was he was just great. Yeah.
00:11:37
.0Bill Walker
yeah When it comes draft time, it's going to be interesting. I think you have the top two point guards that are going to go in the NBA draft, Acuff and and Kingston, and we'll see see which one goes first. yeah It'll be interesting to see. But yeah, in the in the end, it was a great win.
00:11:55
.0Bill Walker
MTSU, I've got very little to say. I thought they played harder. I thought they played with more intensity. I thought they wanted it more. They out-rebounded us.
00:12:03
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:12:04
.0Bill Walker
They out-shot us. They had more assists. the The one good note from that game is that we only committed 11 fouls, and I was wondering if that was maybe intentional, and we just kind of didn't guard them, didn't want to follow them and stop the clock so that the game could end quicker and we could we could get on to celebrating New Year's. you know Who knows?
00:12:29
.0Bill Walker
But i'm you who knows? maybe Maybe we were looking ahead to to conference play in Cincinnati. Bottom line, we got the win. and And yeah, it was, as you guys alluded to, it was a really ugly game.
00:12:44
.0Bill Walker
And glad I only watched about 40% of it.
00:12:44
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:12:48
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, unfortunately, I watched all of it, cursing the whole time. But, you know, looking back at the Arkansas win, definitely the biggest one of the season to this point. And our signature non-con win this season, which honestly we didn't have last season.
00:13:03
@NoConfForOldMen
And as we stated in the last episode, I do believe that Arkansas is the best SE team this year. And as advertised, Arkansas was very difficult to defend. And with so many...
00:13:12
.0Bill Walker
Vandy.
00:13:14
@NoConfForOldMen
I don't think so. I think that's... We'll we'll see. We'll close
00:13:19
.0Bill Walker
Vandy, Vandy, Vandy.
00:13:21
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah alright well well well close the loop after a month and see if we still feel feel the same way.
00:13:28
.0Bill Walker
and And Tennessee beat us, so we have to – there's no question. Tennessee has to be better than Arkansas. Arkansas.
00:13:35
@NoConfForOldMen
Well, they just lost to Arkansas, right? Didn't they?
00:13:38
.0Bill Walker
Yeah, I don't care. they They beat us, so they've got to be better.
00:13:40
@NoConfForOldMen
Ha ha ha.
00:13:43
@NoConfForOldMen
I mean, for us, with so many freshmen in our lineups, Calipari really took full advantage and exploited us all game on D. Fortunately for us, we also ended up having by far our best offensive night of the season for this marquee shootout. Now, if you look at the advanced analytics, shockingly for me, as you guys had both mentioned, we played at Arkansas's desired fast pace this game, which I guess fortunately we're able to do this season given the talent that's on this roster. Our D was challenged all game during the versus the Hogs. And as you guys had highlighted, Arkansas shot to their standard at a blistering 56% effective field goal percentage, range.
00:14:24
@NoConfForOldMen
forty percent from three point range and also offensive rebounded at a stellar 35% rate for the game. Fortunately, our D was able to hold up and excel at turning them over, with Hogs at over 18% turnover rate across their possessions. And, you know, get this, Kingston and Tugler were responsible for all seven of the Cougars' steals for the game. And just remember that because it's starting to become a trend here. Now, in offense, we continued our trend of improvement with our best game by far this season.
00:14:55
@NoConfForOldMen
Effective field goal percentage at an incredible 60% for the game, 44% from three-point range. Blemings and Sharp, yes, they were stellar yet again, but it was especially nice to see both Uzan and Tugler begin to shoot a little bit more efficiently this game. But as you both highlighted, the real start of the game was Ramon Walker.
00:15:13
@NoConfForOldMen
I'm not going to go through his stats, but boy, we needed him badly, especially with Sacco out. And he came off the bench, as you guys had both mentioned, to play 27 meaningful minutes. It's not garbage minutes. We needed every one of those 27 minutes with Tuggler in foul trouble again. And Ramon ended up with a player boss score plus minus plus 5.7 versus what I would consider elite fours in the Arkansas lineup.
00:15:40
@NoConfForOldMen
Now, another big contributor was star freshman Harwell. Though he only played 10 minutes, he was a staggering player box score plus minus plus 22.7 in his time in the game. in his time in the game Now, if if we look at the MTSU game, I'm not going to add much. As you guys had both stated, great game for the Cougs on both sides of the ball. Poor shooting by us.
00:16:01
@NoConfForOldMen
And as well as, you know, defensively, guys, I felt like we were repeatedly late in our rotations. I mean, that resulted in a tight nine-point win.
00:16:11
@NoConfForOldMen
Of the starters, I thought JoJo actually had a nice game but without any foul trouble. But the star of the game was actually Mercy Miller, who was a stellar player box score, plus 30.3 in his 13 meaningful minutes, when the rest of the team, quite honestly, they were sluggish.
00:16:28
@NoConfForOldMen
All night. And is they were getting close. It was actually Mercy that was coming up with a big rebound, a big score, a big steal, something. And so I think that bodes well moving into conference play.
00:16:43
@NoConfForOldMen
Now let's move to a summary of a tight 67-60 win at Cincinnati. Bill, don't you start with this one? What did you see in the game that was, i guess, tighter than any of us anticipated, but kind of representative of what Big 12 road games are always like?
00:16:59
.0Bill Walker
Yeah, for for those of you dying to know my conference game predictions, I apologize. is we didn't
00:17:05
@NoConfForOldMen
Ha ha ha ha.
00:17:06
.0Bill Walker
We didn't preview this game due to the holidays. However, I did text the two other geriatrics and and texted that we would win 67-54.
00:17:17
@NoConfForOldMen
Oh,
00:17:19
.0Bill Walker
wasn't far off from the final score. And while it was closer than I thought, I think I may have been right on had former gambling and NBA referee Tim Donaghy's clone not missed a blatant travel on Cincinnati with 424 left.
00:17:38
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah. was bad.
00:17:41
.0Bill Walker
and then followed up by making one of the most utterly atrocious end-of-shot clock fouls on Senac versus Day-Day Thomas on a fall-away 35-foot heave.
00:17:51
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:17:56
.0Bill Walker
Just absolute garbage. and Fortunately, of H still covered this spread, so I hope that official lost his shirt.
00:18:05
.0Bill Walker
this This game early on looked like it might finish in the... in the teens, possibly the twenties, uh, you know, both, both defenses came out strong and, and nothing was falling.
00:18:18
.0Bill Walker
it Actually, I thought we were getting pretty good shots, uh, to start the game. There just was a lid on the rim and, and there was just no scoring, uh, you know, relatively close throughout the first half until,
00:18:26
@NoConfForOldMen
Mm-hmm.
00:18:33
.0Bill Walker
the aforementioned Day-Day Thomas' 10-0 run against us late, leading to a 33-28 Cincinnati lead at halftime. The first half was just brutal for Yuzan, who was one of seven.
00:18:48
.0Bill Walker
Tugler played nine minutes, took zero shots. Sharp played eight minutes, and of course the the low minutes are a reflection of fouls.
00:18:57
@NoConfForOldMen
Mm-hmm.
00:18:59
.0Bill Walker
0 of 3 from the field and and committed two turnovers. As a team, 35% from the field, 17% from three. Fortunately, Flemings had had a solid first half, and honestly, it was phenomenal to see Socko back.
00:19:17
.0Bill Walker
Second half, Yuzen completely turned it around, found his shot, scored 16 points. Flemings continued his strong play, and those two really carried us offensively. yeah i hate to be overly critical, but quite honestly, I thought during the game, Senac was a liability, for for lack of a better term. he He's just...
00:19:46
.0Bill Walker
in my opinion, he's got to become more aggressive, more assertive. He's so big. he gets a lot of boards, but I just feel like if he if he was played a little angrier, a little more aggressive, he he he could do more inside, but he he just seems to be stuck on i shooting from the perimeter. And and I think,
00:20:12
.0Bill Walker
Yeah, but we'll we'll see what happens. And I think that, and Steve, you've alluded to him being weak defensively, being soft, and Tuggler picking up fouls as a result of that.
00:20:21
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:20:25
.0Bill Walker
But but but that's that. yeah The 1-2-2 or the 3-2, Tom, made another appearance this time beginning right after the under-16 timeout.
00:20:37
.0Bill Walker
And, yeah, And that was a little surprising to see, but but but it it helped while we' were while we were playing it. Tugler did become far more assertive in the second half without fouling down the stretch, which was great.
00:20:55
.0Bill Walker
you know Some of the plays at the end that led us to the victory, Ramon took a massive charge with 123 left. And yeah I definitely want to mention Sharp.
00:21:06
.0Bill Walker
he he only had two free throws for the entire game to end the game. And those were his only two points. And, you know, I can, I can kind of, well, what he did, he he did force up several shots late and you could see he was, he wanted to get on the scoreboard and, and, uh, know, it was a little frustrated and quite honestly, I can kind of relate to that, uh, uh,
00:21:33
.0Bill Walker
As when I played, i was constantly trying to get my get myself to double digit points.
00:21:38
@NoConfForOldMen
Hunting for points. ha ha. Ha ha.
00:21:40
.0Bill Walker
Absolutely. but The only difference was I was trying to do it in two to three minutes a game.
00:21:42
@NoConfForOldMen
Ha ha. Ha
00:21:46
@NoConfForOldMen
ha. Ha ha.
00:21:46
Tom Lidiak
Mm-hmm.
00:21:47
.0Bill Walker
whereas, whereas Sharp played the whole game a little different when I was playing intramurals and, and city league games when I, when I was able to shoot 37 times a game and then, then get to 10 or more points.
00:21:48
@NoConfForOldMen
ha.
00:21:54
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, for his
00:21:59
.0Bill Walker
But, but, you know, with Sharp, a fifth year senior, I do wish you would have demonstrated a little more leadership and, and look for the hot hands Fleming and use on.
00:22:10
.0Bill Walker
And yes, I'm being a complete hypocrite by saying that, but, uh, But what I do want to do is absolutely praise Sharp.
00:22:19
@NoConfForOldMen
<unk> D.
00:22:19
.0Bill Walker
Because after after thomas yeah after Thomas went on that 10-0 run to end the first half, Sharp defended him in the second half.
00:22:20
@NoConfForOldMen
and
00:22:26
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:22:27
.0Bill Walker
And had it not been for that atrocious three-point foul call, Sharp completely shut him out. Completely. Didn't score a point other than that in the second half. yeah Not only just incredible, but... But in terms of his defense and and as, as you call me, the former player, something I could absolutely never relate to.
00:22:51
Tom Lidiak
Mm-hmm.
00:22:52
.0Bill Walker
The last thing I'll say, you know, Yuzan started out one of seven, finished the game seven of 14, 16 in the second half, like I mentioned.
00:23:02
.0Bill Walker
If he's found his shot, where're we're looking good going forward.
00:23:05
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, we're rolling, right?
00:23:08
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, completely big three.
00:23:09
.0Bill Walker
And good good road win. to start conference play. And that's, that's what I've got to say about that game.
00:23:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Nice.
00:23:19
.0Bill Walker
Yeah.
00:23:19
@NoConfForOldMen
Hey, Tom, how about you from a coach's perspective on the Cincy game?
00:23:23
Tom Lidiak
Well, I had to adjust my TV set to make to make sure there weren't peach baskets hung up.
00:23:28
@NoConfForOldMen
ha
00:23:29
Tom Lidiak
swear I swear if the first basket was scored, a ladder came out and they had to get the ball out of the peach basket.
00:23:34
Tom Lidiak
But at the under 12, it was four to four. And
00:23:38
@NoConfForOldMen
I know. Hey, it's physical Big 12-D, man.
00:23:39
Tom Lidiak
want to and one of my one of my buddies texted me and was giving me grief, you know.
00:23:45
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:23:46
Tom Lidiak
Anyway, you got to give – you know, sometimes you like the MTSU game, you have to give credit to the opponent.
00:23:53
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:23:53
Tom Lidiak
Cincinnati is an elite defensive team.
00:23:56
@NoConfForOldMen
Absolutely.
00:23:57
Tom Lidiak
You know, their problem is they just don't score as many points as the other team does. But, I mean, there's – you get nothing easy against against Cincinnati. They have a veteran team.
00:24:16
@NoConfForOldMen
Oh yeah, yeah.
00:24:18
Tom Lidiak
You know, what was he, seven foot?
00:24:18
@NoConfForOldMen
He killed us. Yeah.
00:24:20
Tom Lidiak
Yeah. Baba Miller, Jizzle James, Day Day Thomas.
00:24:22
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:24:24
Tom Lidiak
those Those are all veteran players. And we can't forget our old pal, Kerr Creasa. Yeah. playing plan for his fourth team.
00:24:36
Tom Lidiak
What was it?
00:24:36
@NoConfForOldMen
I didn't even realize, quite honestly, he's on the team.
00:24:37
Tom Lidiak
Arizona, West Virginia, Kentucky, and now he's at now he's at Cincinnati.
00:24:43
.0Bill Walker
I thought about you, Tom, when, whenrea when Creasa, when Creasa got hurt in the first half, I was wondering if you were, a if you got up and applauded.
00:24:44
Tom Lidiak
Yeah.
00:24:53
Tom Lidiak
Oh, I think, you know, drama on Kreese. I think they want, was Wes up and down stomping his feet because they wanted to, I think he wanted to foul on somebody for sitting a legal pick.
00:25:04
Tom Lidiak
Anyway, I get credit to the other team sometimes, you know, since he's a really good defensive team, they're playing in front of 12,000 fans.
00:25:12
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:25:12
Tom Lidiak
The place was, you know, the, the, the fan.
00:25:14
@NoConfForOldMen
Packed.
00:25:15
Tom Lidiak
Yeah. And the fans were just, they were just loaded for bear this game.
00:25:15
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:25:19
Tom Lidiak
Yeah. couple of things here i have to say. 3.52, 3.52, you know, left in the game, Magic Johnson used to call this winning time.
00:25:30
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:25:33
Tom Lidiak
Guys like Bird, Magic, Kobe, Michael Jordan, that's when they were at their best. And he called, you know, Magic called it winning time. Well, from 3.52 on, the game was tied 60-60. We went on a run.
00:25:48
Tom Lidiak
Cincinnati had four turnovers, two missed free throws, and two missed three-pointers.
00:25:51
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep. Yep. Yep.
00:25:56
Tom Lidiak
So you could say they jizzled it down their pants. the game
00:25:59
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:26:00
Tom Lidiak
but Anyway, gritty win. you know some Some fans are wondering, well, how come how come Kelvin didn't you know sub out – E-man because he you know he was struggling to shoot the ball. Well, you know, there's something called the 95-5 concept.
00:26:22
Tom Lidiak
You only have the ball in your hands about 5% of the time. So what are you doing the other 95% of the time to impact winning? And Bill mentioned this. It's his it's his defense.
00:26:31
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:26:31
Tom Lidiak
you know Just like he shut down that Tennessee shooting guard last year in the tournament. You know, when you got to give Emmanuel some, you know, he's he's done it in the past.
00:26:43
Tom Lidiak
he's just because he's not hitting a shot, you know, yeah go you're not going to take him out of me. Who are you going to put in? You're gonna put in, you know, mercy who has the trouble keeping the ball in front of him. You're gonna put Harwell who's a freshman.
00:26:55
Tom Lidiak
And, you know Kelvin has what 40, 40 something years of experience of coaching. He knows his team better than anybody around, you know, He's with them at practice everywhere.
00:27:08
Tom Lidiak
So for the fans who are wondering, you know, sometimes they question Kelvin and all this is, you know, I'm not going to walk into your job and tell you, you know, give you suggestions, you know, and you I'm not going walk into Bill, Bill, your, your occupation.
00:27:24
Tom Lidiak
Hey, Bill, I think you should be doing this. Steve, I think you should be doing this, you know, you know, that's what.
00:27:30
.0Bill Walker
I've already got the security guard.
00:27:32
Tom Lidiak
Okay.
00:27:33
.0Bill Walker
I've got your picture with the security guard.
00:27:33
Tom Lidiak
Okay.
00:27:35
.0Bill Walker
You've got you've got no shot at getting in.
00:27:37
Tom Lidiak
Yeah.
00:27:38
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:27:38
Tom Lidiak
And, you know, it's like, don't, don't you believe in, I mean, hasn't Kelvin proved, you know, half ye of little faith, come on, you know, have some, have some, have some faith, you know, and, oh,
00:27:50
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:27:53
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, I wasn't on the boards. I don't know if any i did i wasn't sure that people are actually asking to sit sharp because he's by far best defensive player on the perimeter.
00:28:01
Tom Lidiak
I, I, I,
00:28:04
@NoConfForOldMen
That's crazy.
00:28:04
Tom Lidiak
And my, my advice, and I put this on, on, on the, you know, posted on the board. My advice is, you know, refrain from, refrain from posting during the game when emotions are running high and all that.
00:28:14
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, I saw that.
00:28:15
Tom Lidiak
And I told him, I said, I'm going to go back and read all the comments just for entertainment value.
00:28:20
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:28:20
Tom Lidiak
Uh, uh, but you know, yeah.
00:28:22
.0Bill Walker
Or watch both ends of the court.
00:28:24
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, no kidding.
00:28:24
Tom Lidiak
yeah So, and that's, you know, that's that's Houston Cougar basketball right there. It was good enough to get us within a couple points of a national championship.
00:28:36
Tom Lidiak
And I also posted this too is, you you know, don't freak out if we're behind at halftime, especially especially on the road, you know. You know, we could be behind in the Baylor game on the road on on Saturday.
00:28:48
Tom Lidiak
yeah. so Great win, I thought. yeah yeah You got remember we're playing four four of our top eight, or our freshmen.
00:29:00
Tom Lidiak
So, super, super win for the Cougs. think, Bill, you mentioned we went to that 3-2 zone. I wish I could have sunned it because that blasted hulu went out on me. All of a sudden i get all sudden, I get a black screen, and I'm trying to get back to the game, and and I try to get to the game, and and I get there, and it's going back to FS2 because that's where the game started, you know, so...
00:29:21
Tom Lidiak
I think it went out, we were down like 38-28, and then when I finally got Fox back on there, I think we had cut to one, which made me think maybe I should not watch the rest of the game.
00:29:33
.0Bill Walker
Should have been in Houston. The game was on, uh, FS1 from the, from the tip. They, uh, yeah, they, they sent the, the end of the, uh, St.
00:29:38
Tom Lidiak
What was it?
00:29:38
@NoConfForOldMen
It was.
00:29:45
.0Bill Walker
Was it St. John's Providence?
00:29:46
Tom Lidiak
johns Yeah, that game went on forever.
00:29:47
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:29:48
.0Bill Walker
Yeah. They sent the final like so five, six minutes. Uh, you had to watch it on the Fox sports app that they went, the game tipped here immediately.
00:29:58
@NoConfForOldMen
Oh, interesting.
00:29:58
Tom Lidiak
that's right. Yeah. Well, I had, I had the game and I had the game recorded guys.
00:30:02
@NoConfForOldMen
That that's interesting. Yeah.
00:30:04
.0Bill Walker
Yeah.
00:30:05
Tom Lidiak
I had the game recorded. So i was going to go back and, and, and watch that five or so minutes I missed.
00:30:07
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Me too.
00:30:09
Tom Lidiak
But when I went back to watch the recording, it was the, it was the FS2 and they had some horses jumping over some stuff. I don't know what it was on some aquarium aquarium thing, but anyway, get back to the game.
00:30:17
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:30:22
.0Bill Walker
Equestrian.
00:30:22
Tom Lidiak
Good. Equestrian. Yeah. Yeah.
00:30:25
.0Bill Walker
Sorry.
00:30:25
Tom Lidiak
So good game. Good game for the Cougs.
00:30:30
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, and I'll always give Cincy props. And Cincy with Miller just always seems to play us tough in their arena, especially with their physical D. When you look at the advanced analytics, this game was exactly as you would have expected.
00:30:45
@NoConfForOldMen
Basically a slow, grinded-out affair with tough physical D and tough shooting nights for both teams. and And as the score indicated, really very little difference between the two teams. And it was back-and-forth affair all game long. On offense, both teams shot under 50% effective field goal percentage for the game and under 32% from three-point range. Biggest difference in the game boiled down to two things, offensive rebounding and turnovers. We were able to gain 12 offensive rebounds against the seventh best offensive rebounding team in the country.
00:31:17
@NoConfForOldMen
So that was impressive. And that was key on a day when we were just shooting under 48% of effective field goal percentage for the game. And then, of course, we forced turnovers on over 23% of Cincy's possessions.
00:31:31
@NoConfForOldMen
And you stole my thunder there, Tom, because I was going to say as well, i was going to highlight last five possessions for Cincy to end the game.
00:31:38
Tom Lidiak
And Steve, you know where I got that from?
00:31:41
@NoConfForOldMen
but Oh, when I posted on...
00:31:41
Tom Lidiak
us oh No, a Cincy fan on Reddit posted that.
00:31:45
@NoConfForOldMen
Oh, really?
00:31:46
Tom Lidiak
Yeah, they posted that, they they they posted that so
00:31:49
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, I mean, four turnovers, a pair of free throws, you know, it's kind of emblematic of Miller's teams. They just always seem to wilt come crunch time and they always play us tough. And then it's always at that end where, you know, things get tight and they just start turning the ball over. Now, key stat of the game, as I had mentioned earlier on, Flemings and Tugler with all nine of Houston's steals between the two of them. I mean, that is an outrageous number. That's like five steals for Kingston, four for Tugler.
00:32:26
@NoConfForOldMen
They did the same thing right against Arkansas, seven steals between the two of them. Just crazy, crazy good stuff.
00:32:31
Tom Lidiak
Yeah, real real quick here, Steve, you know the difference we didn't get steals in the Arkansas game later on is after we, you know, defle got deflections all that, Arkansas stopped ball screening, you know a all screen and you know, bringing another defender to the ball.
00:32:33
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:32:42
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:32:46
Tom Lidiak
and But anyway, go ahead.
00:32:46
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:32:48
Tom Lidiak
I'm sorry.
00:32:48
@NoConfForOldMen
No, no, that that's a great observation and a great adjustment, quite honestly, on on their part. So bottom line is we're fortunate to now be 1-0 in the Big 12 and we move on to the two games next week versus Tech and then Baylor. Tom, why don't you start? What's your coach's take on the Big Tech game?
00:33:06
Tom Lidiak
Texas Tech, you know, I remember Steve and I, but but I think it was before Bill joined and when we were in the podcast, we previewed, I think, I don't know, the Big 12 or or the top 25.
00:33:18
Tom Lidiak
We talked about Grant McCaslin and I mentioned something like, you know, when when Grant and Kelvin are going against each other, the first one to 50 is going to win because he came from UNT and I think they only gave up like 55 points a game.
00:33:20
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:33:27
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:33:33
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep. They were all defense like us.
00:33:33
Tom Lidiak
Well, Yeah, and and I mean, they're scoring a lot of points, 90s, 80s, 100.
00:33:44
Tom Lidiak
But also, McCaslin, a couple of weeks ago, kind of had a rant at at a press conference. And basically, he was he was not happy with you know the players listening or the buy-in or whatever.
00:33:59
Tom Lidiak
kind of like Sean Miller. And I mean, you've had some other coaches across the country, you know, in the, in the, in the same boat. But it looks like tech has got it going and scoring lot of points. No telling on what it's going to be like tomorrow. up I am sure of one thing though, in tomorrow's game, hundred percent sure it's going to happen.
00:34:19
Tom Lidiak
We're not going to wear blue. Yeah.
00:34:21
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, you're right. i don't think we'll wear primarily blue all season long.
00:34:26
Tom Lidiak
Yeah.
00:34:27
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, so...
00:34:27
Tom Lidiak
Yeah. And, you know, Tech's kind of, they're playing they're playing better than they were, you know, after McCaslin had his his rant, so it looks like he's righted the ship.
00:34:35
@NoConfForOldMen
They are.
00:34:41
@NoConfForOldMen
Still not playing D though.
00:34:43
Tom Lidiak
No, no.
00:34:43
@NoConfForOldMen
They've righted the ship, but not still not playing
00:34:46
Tom Lidiak
they're And Bill will probably go into personnel more, but they're not they're not deep. You know, you've got Toppin, all-American player. You've got Christian Anderson.
00:34:56
Tom Lidiak
You have LaJuan Watts. who I consider, heat to me, he's like a little bit bigger Ramon. Very good. you know
00:35:05
@NoConfForOldMen
He's physical.
00:35:06
Tom Lidiak
Yeah, he is.
00:35:06
@NoConfForOldMen
He's got skills.
00:35:07
Tom Lidiak
He's he's kind of like yeah kind of like a little miniature miniature Barkley.
00:35:07
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:35:11
.0Bill Walker
He's a 6'6 power forward.
00:35:13
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:35:13
Tom Lidiak
Yeah, yeah. So no telling what to expect. I think the Cougs are going to win. Probably scoring more points than we normally do. I'd i'd say maybe in the in the high 70s game, I predict a you know close, maybe a one or two possession game.
00:35:35
Tom Lidiak
Come down to you know the old winning time thing and you know who makes key shots, who makes key plays down down the stretch.
00:35:43
@NoConfForOldMen
All right, Bill, how about but your take of the the tech game? And can you stop knocking on your microphone? okay
00:35:52
.0Bill Walker
I'm nowhere near it.
00:35:53
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah You're doing it as you're flipping your pages there. You're knocking your your your microphone couple of times
00:36:01
Tom Lidiak
I don't know Maybe that's, maybe it's somebody else. Maybe that's me.
00:36:04
.0Bill Walker
It's too, it's literally two feet away from me.
00:36:08
Tom Lidiak
maybe Maybe that's something in my, I think my wife's over there doing dishes.
00:36:09
.0Bill Walker
and
00:36:13
Tom Lidiak
So maybe she's clanking some stuff around, but I'll, I'll mute myself guys.
00:36:14
@NoConfForOldMen
a
00:36:16
Tom Lidiak
Go ahead, Bill.
00:36:18
.0Bill Walker
Okay, Tech, 11-3, 1-0 in conference. They started out by destroying perennial power Oklahoma State. Early on, they destroyed they were destroyed by Purdue by 30.
00:36:32
.0Bill Walker
More recently, they lost to our one common opponent, Arkansas, by 7. And they actually be Duke by one. So good win there.
00:36:44
.0Bill Walker
If I'm not mistaken, Steve, 20 and Ken Palm.
00:36:48
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:36:48
.0Bill Walker
And we're 11. us 13 on offense and 51 on D. As you mentioned, Tom, they are not a deep team. Their starters are are logging a lot of minutes. and I'll try to keep the the player analysis pretty short for the Tech fans listening and watching.
00:37:10
.0Bill Walker
yeah As we've yet to really incorporate, you know blocks and Play-Doh into our analyses so that they can more easily comprehend the the podcast and what we're what we're trying to get across. they're they're The biggest name, the conference player of the year, JT Toppin, power forward. He's averaging 21 points this year, almost 11 boards, two assists, a block and a half a game, two and a half turnovers, but he's he's playing well.
00:37:43
.0Bill Walker
The guy I think may really be their best player is Christian Anderson.
00:37:49
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:37:49
.0Bill Walker
Tom, you mentioned him, the 6'3 sophomore guard, 20 and a half points, Seven and a half assists, two steals. He's shooting 50% from the field, 43 and a half percent from three.
00:38:01
.0Bill Walker
Three turnovers a game. He is an absolute weapon. We mentioned Watts, 6'6", the transfer from Washington State. He's at 14 and six, six boards, three assists.
00:38:13
.0Bill Walker
And he's actually shooting 38% from three. Then the point guard, and by the way, I think it'll be Tuggler. I assume it'll be Tuggler on top end. It'll be sharp on Christian Anderson, Sinek on Watts.
00:38:27
.0Bill Walker
Flemings will guard their 6'1 freshman point guard, Jalen Petty. yeah He's the point guard, although Anderson really is the one that handles the ball, but he's at nine points and three and a half boards, 37% from three.
00:38:43
.0Bill Walker
And then Usain will guard Donovan out. Well, six five senior guard. He's a transfer from UNC Greensboro. He is a shooter, a really good shooter. He's score he's averaging a little over 11 points, 43% from three. that That's pretty much what he does. Really, the only other player that that that gets significant time is another guy in the 6'5", range, Tyree Bryan.
00:39:13
.0Bill Walker
that's That's Tech. It's about six players. They shoot 47% right 38% from the Once again, three sixteen assists per game so they're you know they're they're moving the ball once again not Not deep.
00:39:29
.0Bill Walker
So I'm not suggesting that that we would purposely go up-tempo, but I think that the harder we make them work, especially on D, I think will will certainly benefit us if it's a close game down the stretch.
00:39:45
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, completely agree.
00:39:46
.0Bill Walker
I think Tugler-Toppin is going to be a really good matchup, but I think... you know i think
00:39:55
.0Bill Walker
Well, I think it'll what's going to happen with Tugler having to focus on top, and it it's it's going to result in, as you've referred to, Steve, Tugler maybe not being able to help or at least help as quickly with Senac and Flemings. Yeah, i can I could see Flemings...
00:40:19
.0Bill Walker
playing a bit against Anderson, but I think, I think Sharp clearly is, is demonstrated. These are best perimeter defenders. So I expect to see that matchup and I'm looking forward to seeing it as well.
00:40:32
.0Bill Walker
Uh, I think with, with their power forward Watts, you know, being six, six, I hope to God, and and I mentioned this before that snap will try to take advantage of that because it looks like those two would be playing each other. And, uh, uh,
00:40:49
.0Bill Walker
Yeah, i god I hope that Sanat can have a strong game and and take advantage of his his height and and size advantage. yeah she's they've got They've just got so many players in like the 6'4 to 6'6 range. I definitely see this being an opportunity for for Ramon to continue playing his, his minutes. And I think Harwell will get some significant minutes in this game. And and so I'm hoping that they both have, have good games. Uh, as always, we need to avoid foul trouble.
00:41:29
.0Bill Walker
And, uh, I love that Sacco's back that at least, that at least, uh, uh, provide some, some relief in the event that, uh, Sinek and, and of course, Tugler have foul trouble.
00:41:34
@NoConfForOldMen
through.
00:41:42
.0Bill Walker
Uh,
00:41:44
.0Bill Walker
you know i i think that I think that at home, we end up winning this game by seven. I'm going to say 82-75.
00:41:58
.0Bill Walker
you know it It puzzles me that that the Tech fans can be... you know, so into the team when they're scoring that much.
00:42:09
.0Bill Walker
Cause quite honestly, I wasn't sure that, that, uh, the tech fans can count above 12 or 13.
00:42:16
Tom Lidiak
you
00:42:17
.0Bill Walker
Honestly, i didn't know that, uh, if you could I thought that if you could count to 12, 13, 14, that you were overqualified to go to Tech and that they they referred you on to to you know some of some of the the more well-established junior colleges, Kilgore, San Jack, Temple.
00:42:40
.0Bill Walker
So, yeah, it's a little perplexing that... that the The tech is is so ardent in their support of the team because it it it just makes no sense because there's – I can't – well, let me take that back. Maybe maybe they can count a little higher. Don't – and and i'm this is an assumption. Maybe you guys can can again confirm this.
00:43:07
.0Bill Walker
don't Don't unemployment checks typically run in the $100 to $200 range?
00:43:13
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:43:14
Tom Lidiak
I am not sure.
00:43:16
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:43:16
.0Bill Walker
Okay, well, I've got to imagine that therere that they're more than $13 or $14.
00:43:21
.0Bill Walker
And so maybe the tech fans can come count a little higher than that. At the same time, I'd love to have some of the tech fans... come and say hi during the game tomorrow, those that are there.
00:43:33
.0Bill Walker
But but the the section numbers that it at the Fertitta Center are all in the 100s. And so maybe maybe finding me would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
00:43:44
.0Bill Walker
Who knows?
00:43:45
Tom Lidiak
Mm-hmm.
00:43:45
.0Bill Walker
Anyway, eighty two seventy five u of H.
00:43:48
@NoConfForOldMen
There you go.
00:43:49
Tom Lidiak
Well, one thing I want to add here, guys, I think a big key, like but like Bill said, I mean, with Tuggler on top and he could easy getting foul trouble early. Same thing with E-Man on on Anderson.
00:44:01
Tom Lidiak
Sacco is going, I think, it will be huge.
00:44:05
.0Bill Walker
agreed
00:44:05
Tom Lidiak
He's a really, he's a really, Kelvin said on one of his press conferences or interviews, Zoom calls or whatever, he said Sacco's their best one-on-one defender. so expect maybe to see lots of him or if, uh, uh, Sennac is having trouble guarding Watts, uh, you know, bring in, uh, bring in, uh, uh, Sacco or even Ramon.
00:44:26
Tom Lidiak
I think Ramon could, could possibly guard, uh, guard Watts.
00:44:30
.0Bill Walker
Watts. Absolutely.
00:44:31
Tom Lidiak
Uh, and, and, and, and his interview with, uh, with Ryan and Brad and Galen, it kind of sounds like, Ramone's going to be one of the first guys off the bench, you know, it's probably going be Harwell Sacco and, and, you know, and then probably, probably Ramone.
00:44:46
@NoConfForOldMen
Rightfully so.
00:44:51
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, I agree. I think that's the eight man rotation right there. So, okay. We got to pick up the pace here. So looking at tech from an analytics perspective, you guys highlighted their 20th or 10th.
00:45:05
@NoConfForOldMen
You'd think that Tech at 20th is actually pretty good, but it's well lower than the preseason top 10 they were projected at. They're 13th in adjusted offensive efficiency, 52nd in adjusted defensive efficiency, which again is surprising for McCaslin-led team.
00:45:21
@NoConfForOldMen
Tech's a great three-point shooting team, as you guys highlighted, with Anderson at the helm. Pretty efficient inside with Toppin as well returning. But after spending a ton of NIL dollars bringing those two back, the bench is super thin. And it's resulted in some super patchy play early on as they tried to find others they could lean on. And that's resulted in losses to Illinois, Purdue, and Arkansas.
00:45:43
@NoConfForOldMen
But as you guys both highlighted as well, they appear to have kind of hit their stride a bit with wins over Duke and Oklahoma State. And Watts now getting more comfortable scoring. But expect us to challenge every shot and try to force turnovers like we've been doing. You know, critical, critical that Tugler stays out of foul trouble versus Toppen for us to win.
00:46:02
@NoConfForOldMen
Now on D, this is really where I think with their depth issues, as you had highlighted, Bill, that we can take advantage of them. They don't particularly pressure you or challenge every shot this season. So if we push them and take it hard at them inside, i think they fold and we'll wear them down as the game goes on. Based on the metrics, this is projected to be a six-point win for the Cougs by Ken Palm. I think we're going to play a bit better at home and we'll win by eight, 75 to 67.
00:46:29
@NoConfForOldMen
And now why don't we move on to Baylor guys on Saturday with their new seven foot NBA draftee on the roster. Bill, don't you start off on your player's take on the Baylor game?
00:46:40
.0Bill Walker
Okay, far quicker. 10-3, 0-1 in conference. They lost at TCU by six and only scored 63 points, which is unusual for Baylor. This is a completely brand new team.
00:46:55
.0Bill Walker
including, as you mentioned, Steve, James Nagy from the NBA. He'll, he will ultimately be a significant addition. I believe their wins have come over Creighton, San Diego state, their losses, St.
00:47:10
.0Bill Walker
John's Memphis and the aforementioned TCU 33 12 offense,
00:47:14
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:47:18
.0Bill Walker
defense the Their offensive rating, even though it's it's high, it's highly deceptive. They scored 110 against Sacramento State, 97 versus Norfolk State, 113 versus Alcorn State, 111 versus Southern. So take that for what it's worth.
00:47:41
.0Bill Walker
Two best players. would be Cameron Carr, 6'5 sophomore guard. He's come over, redshirt sophomore, has come over from Tennessee, 21 points, 5.5 boards, three 1.7 blocks.
00:47:54
.0Bill Walker
He is really player. thirty nine and a half percent from three one point seven blocks he is a really good player Uh, Tunde Yesifu, uh, 6'5 freshman shooting guard, five star, 18 and a half points, six boards, two and a half steals, 50% from the floor. He's not been a good three point shooter so far, but he can shoot. Uh, you'll probably remember everyone, Dan Skillings, the 6'6 small forward transfer from Cincinnati. He's scoring 12 and a half points, seven rebounds, uh,
00:48:32
.0Bill Walker
over three assists, 40%, 48% from the field. So he's, he's blended in well. And, and, uh, their point guards, uh, OB, uh, Agbem, uh, uh, he's more of a scoring point guard, six, three transferred in from, from, uh, uh, Wyoming.
00:48:51
.0Bill Walker
And, uh, He moves the ball, but he he's really looking to shoot. And then, of course, the last one is Najee, the seven-foot center Nigerian, played at FC Barcelona. He was the 31st pick of the draft by Detroit. He was traded a couple times, never signed a contract or played. And so it's insane, but he's he iss being allowed to play. And fortunately, this will this will be his – I think they play Iowa State maybe – tomorrow they play iowa state before they play us so it'll be his third game when when we play him uh again it's really hard to give a fair evaluation of baylor because they've really loaded up on some awful teams uh however they are they are uh uh
00:49:41
.0Bill Walker
18.5 assists per game, so they they are moving the ball. But they're also committing over 11 turnovers a game against the the aforementioned weak schedule. They're eight deep with Najee now. that this is This, I think, is going to be a tougher game than most would expect, especially...
00:50:01
.0Bill Walker
them coming off the TCU loss. I think Sharp and Yuzan versus Carr and Yosifu will be the the matchup or the matchups to watch. That's going to be outstanding. And, you know, as always, if we don't reach and we limit fouls, it's Expect Flemings to to just kill Agbem, who's not a good defensive guard, you know or or quite honestly, any of the Baylor players defending us off the dribble.
00:50:35
.0Bill Walker
I think Senac could cause matchup problems again versus Baylor, and and especially defensively for them.
00:50:47
.0Bill Walker
Bottom line, And overall, tough road game, but we're better. 76-69, us. Really? us
00:50:54
@NoConfForOldMen
Oh, I'm predicting the exact same score as you, Bill, on that game. Exactly.
00:50:58
.0Bill Walker
really
00:50:59
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Hey, Tom, what's your take on Baylor?
00:51:03
Tom Lidiak
It's a road game. Baylor has some talent. So if you're a of H hoops fan, don't freak out if it's close at halftime or if we're behind at halftime.
00:51:16
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:51:16
Tom Lidiak
Because in the final final analysis, it's program versus team. U of H, Kelvin, has we have a program.
00:51:27
Tom Lidiak
Baylor, you can't say they have a program anymore.
00:51:30
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, not anymore.
00:51:30
Tom Lidiak
It's just assembling guys from the portal and and maybe maybe a couple of maybe one or two freshmen.
00:51:42
Tom Lidiak
So in the end, program versus team. uh, every day. I'm not going to say it's not going to be, you know, it could be a close game, but, uh, that's going to be the, uh, uh, the differentiation. That's going to be the deciding factor in this, in this game.
00:52:01
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, completely agree. i mean, it's another Texas rival in Baylor early in conference play and they're coming in at number 33 Ken palm I actually love catching them earlier on the road as they're still trying to figure some stuff out.
00:52:16
@NoConfForOldMen
But you never want to underestimate a a Drew coached team. i mean, they're currently 12th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 97th in adjusted defensive efficiency. So Baylor continues its downward trend on defense year over year.
00:52:33
@NoConfForOldMen
They're really a good shooting team, ranking 49th in effective field goal percentage, really almost at our top 40 threshold for excellence. And they're better than us at offensive rebounding this season. They're fourth in Ken Palm.
00:52:46
@NoConfForOldMen
And, you know, they're they're actually, from a shooting perspective, they're somewhat equally adept between three and two-point shooting. And along with Tech, they represent the best offensive team that we'd have faced this season. And that includes Arkansas. So it's going to huge challenge for our defense. Expect our usual pressuring the ball like we've done, because I think they will turn the ball over. And really, we need to start challenging every shot on D and getting a little bit better around the arc there.
00:53:14
@NoConfForOldMen
Now, on defense for Baylor, they've actually been terrible at forcing turnovers. They're 208th in the country and equally as poor at defending the three-point line, one hundred and eighty third in Ken pong And to make things worse, they're also weak at defensive rebounding, ranking a lowly 245th.
00:53:33
@NoConfForOldMen
So like with Tech, I think we can exploit them in multiple ways on that side of the ball. Expect a focus on ball movement to open up our three-point shooting because I'm expecting a banner day on that front. And look for Tugler and Sanak crashing the boards for putbacks given their lack of defensive rebound focus. Based on this metrics, surprisingly, it's projected to be a one-point win for the Cougs on the road by Ken Palm.
00:53:58
@NoConfForOldMen
But like I said, I'm with you, Bill. I think we're going to be clinical in getting a seven-point win, 76-69, Waco. So that's it for our 60 cent episode of the No Conference for Old Men podcast. Hope you all enjoyed it. And again, we'd really appreciate it if folks would follow, subscribe or collect our podcast, depending on your podcast platform of choice. We're also available via Dave Campbell's College college Podcast Network as their only basketball centric podcast. We're at the Goku.com website for those that prefer to digest the content that way.
00:54:30
@NoConfForOldMen
We appreciate the continued support from all. Also, please give us a follow on our Twitter account, No Conference role for Old Men. Thank you all again for listening and be on the lookout next week, where we'll also start covering a few more Big 12 games.
00:54:44
@NoConfForOldMen
And so then you can download and listen as our next episode drops. Take care, everyone.