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Texas Tech Rematch Looming + Has Cenac Turned the Corner?
102 Plays3 months ago
Welcome to Episode #69 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast.
After the total destructions of WVU & ASU this past week, the Coogs are now 17-1, 5-0 in the Big 12, and tied with Arizona atop the conference standings. Now a critical rematch w/ Texas Tech awaits in Lubbock. 5 games into Big 12 conference play, the 3 old men discuss whether "Chris Cenac has turned the corner for this Cougar team?".
Please have a listen as the 3 Old Men break down the 2 wins over WVU & ASU, and discuss Cenac's transformation as he bids to become a main cog for a Cougar March Madness run. We then preview next week's Texas Tech rematch as well, so fans can be well informed headed into a big weekend.
- No Conference for Old Men is available for free via Spotify / Apple Podcast / SoundCloud & the GoCoogs.com YouTube Page; we're also available via Dave Campbell's College Podcast Network 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 and Episode Overview
00:00:07
@NoConfForOldMen
Welcome folks to episode number 69 of the No Conference for Old Men podcast. Podcasts are thrilled guys are talking Houston Cougars basketball with a little bit of Big 12 coverage added in it as well. And we're proud members of the gocougs.com network, the undisputed number one Houston Cougars content provider.
00:00:23
@NoConfForOldMen
And again, all three guys are back. Bill Walker, former player, Tom Lidiak, former coach, and myself, Steve Chang, analytics guy for this episode.
Houston vs. Texas Tech Rivalry
00:00:31
@NoConfForOldMen
Huge week coming up after the utter destructions of both West Virginia and Arizona State with a rematch versus in-state rival Texas Tech in Lubbock this time.
00:00:41
@NoConfForOldMen
Cougars are now in Big 12 play and now tied to top the Big 12 standings along with Arizona.
00:00:46
Tom Lidiak
Thank you.
00:00:47
@NoConfForOldMen
So just a critical game to cover this
Game Highlights and Player Performance
00:00:50
@NoConfForOldMen
week. So we're going to try to provide some quick summaries, the two two wins and, of course, the all-important preview of the Tech game. But we've also teed up another special topic this week as the old men discuss, has Chris Senak finally turned the corner for this Cougars team?
00:01:07
@NoConfForOldMen
So why don't we get started? Tom, why don't you start things off with your key points from 77-48 West Virginia win?
00:01:16
Tom Lidiak
Pretty much just an ass kicking from start to finish. 33-18 at halftime. thirty three eighteen at half time You know, what else to say?
00:01:26
Tom Lidiak
You know, West Virginia is not a bad team. I think they're actually four and two right now as we as as we speak.
00:01:29
@NoConfForOldMen
and know
00:01:32
Tom Lidiak
So, that you know, they're not a bad team. But I think this just shows how much U of H fans, I think, some of us are getting spoiled because it just comes to be expected.
00:01:40
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:01:42
Tom Lidiak
seventy seven forty eight that's I'm no Pythagoras, but I think that's twenty nine point when And it what what I saw, what I'm starting to see with this team is the connectivity, especially on defense, five guys moving at once.
00:02:02
Tom Lidiak
It's those young players getting in there and, and, and just learning, you know, each day and you can start to see it. Like I said, on, on, on the defense and, and the whole West Virginia to 48 was, you know, was just fantastic.
00:02:19
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, I completely agree. I mean, it's as good as their coaches, it's his first time playing against Samson, right? And so that's typically been the result when that happens, right?
00:02:28
Tom Lidiak
And I believe I heard that their coach, Ross Hodge, he's trying, you know, he's trying to bring a style to West Virginia.
00:02:38
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:02:39
Tom Lidiak
That's very, very Samson like, you know, I noticed they did things like monster, the post and and all this. So he's trying to bring that, that culture to West Virginia. He was very successful at university of North Texas. So,
00:02:52
Tom Lidiak
If he can stay there more than a year,
Podcast Recognition and Defensive Analysis
00:02:54
Tom Lidiak
you know i don't know how many how many coaches at West Virginia have moved on.
00:02:55
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:02:58
Tom Lidiak
Well, they had like four coaches in the last four years.
00:03:00
.0Bill Walker
four and four and four years going into this year.
00:03:02
Tom Lidiak
Yeah, yeah.
00:03:03
@NoConfForOldMen
It's nuts.
00:03:03
Tom Lidiak
So they, yeah, yeah.
00:03:03
@NoConfForOldMen
It's a good job. Right. So I
00:03:05
Tom Lidiak
They just they just need some they just need some continuity there.
00:03:09
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Completely agree. Bill, how about your players take from the West Virginia game?
00:03:15
.0Bill Walker
Okay. Well, Tom, if I'm not mistaken, I think, I think Pythagoras was more, uh, geometry than, than addition and subtraction.
00:03:24
Tom Lidiak
Okay.
00:03:25
.0Bill Walker
But, uh, but, uh,
00:03:27
Tom Lidiak
That's how much I know about math.
00:03:28
.0Bill Walker
in any In any event.
00:03:30
@NoConfForOldMen
Hey, there's lots of angles and stuff in basketball, right? It's very important.
00:03:34
Tom Lidiak
Yeah, the triangle offense.
00:03:36
@NoConfForOldMen
That's right. Yeah.
00:03:38
.0Bill Walker
in 77 minus 48? Yeah. seventy seven minus forty eight So I only watched parts of the first half of the game as I was in, as you guys know, i was in Dallas for work.
00:03:50
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:03:51
.0Bill Walker
Quite honestly, that's all I needed to see.
00:03:53
@NoConfForOldMen
ha
00:03:53
.0Bill Walker
As you mentioned, Tom, we were up thirty three eighteen at half, but West Virginia, i They had five points with i just over, I believe, four minutes left in the first half.
00:04:04
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:04:05
.0Bill Walker
you know I thought we might hold them to about 18 for the entire game. you know when we When we hold a team to 37% from the field, force 15 turnovers, we dish out 17 assists, and we only commit 14 fouls for the game.
00:04:21
.0Bill Walker
Quite honestly, I don't know that anybody in the country is going to beat us. you know Actually had... DJ Thomas and Honor Huff not hit double digits, not hit some,
Upcoming Arizona State Game Discussion
00:04:32
.0Bill Walker
some outside shots, some threes.
00:04:33
@NoConfForOldMen
big threes and
00:04:35
.0Bill Walker
And they're the only two who who got into double digits for West Virginia. They come nowhere close 48th short. our ball control, meaning lack of turnovers, our rebounding, and especially the defense.
00:05:01
.0Bill Walker
We're just exceptional. And you know that's what's going to keep us in the hunt versus versus Arizona, Tech, Iowa State, and Steve, maybe maybe even BYU.
00:05:10
@NoConfForOldMen
Hey, BYU. Yeah.
00:05:14
.0Bill Walker
yeah we'll we'll yeah we'll We'll see about that. what One thing I want to mention is that, and this goes back to the tech game, i was when I was walking into the game and and Steve, you and I watched the game together, I'm walking in and and I
00:05:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:05:38
.0Bill Walker
didn't ask for this guy's name, but, but he he comes up to me as we're walking to the Fertitta Center and grabs my, my left shoulder and says, Hey, you're the guy who does the the podcast.
00:05:50
.0Bill Walker
I watch you you on YouTube every week. And, and you know, that, that obviously i was great.
00:05:56
.0Bill Walker
to Now I don't want to really belabor this point. that he recognized me and that the two clearly far less attractive old men on the podcast have never been recognized.
00:06:08
.0Bill Walker
But you know maybe you two, yeah i don't know if we're going to you if the sponsors start start sending in some money soon, but perhaps you two might want to look into you know some plastic or reconstructive surgery, something something something to make people you know want to recognize you as well going forward.
00:06:21
Tom Lidiak
Thank you.
00:06:22
@NoConfForOldMen
No, no,
00:06:27
.0Bill Walker
But In any event,
00:06:29
@NoConfForOldMen
and no, no, and no.
00:06:30
.0Bill Walker
that
00:06:30
@NoConfForOldMen
You completely misread the situation.
00:06:33
.0Bill Walker
oh, absolutely not.
00:06:33
@NoConfForOldMen
It's your care it's your terrible takes that that makes you memorable.
00:06:35
.0Bill Walker
Absolutely not. that now exist
00:06:42
.0Bill Walker
it's it's It's clearly the fact that...
00:06:45
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:06:46
.0Bill Walker
that the you two and and admittedly you two are significantly older than I am. So, so, you know, it would only hold true that you guys are far uglier than I am, but, uh, but, uh, yeah, I, I just wanted to thank him and, and quite honestly, it, you if he, if he gets on YouTube, mentions his name, uh, I will absolutely thank him in person in a, in a future episode.
00:07:10
.0Bill Walker
And, uh, And just on on that topic, thank everyone else for, for certainly listening.
00:07:15
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, absolutely.
00:07:17
.0Bill Walker
We, we obviously appreciate it. And it was great to have someone come up to me and, and yeah, talk a little, yeah. Like I said, I didn't get his name. We were talking about Hugh of H's offense as we walked into the Fertitta center, but yeah, shock the hell out of my
Houston's Dominance Over Arizona State
00:07:32
.0Bill Walker
friends that were a few feet in front of me.
00:07:34
.0Bill Walker
I was like, Hey, Hey, turn her around. Did you guys, you guys need to hear this? And yeah, So yeah, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty solid moment.
00:07:48
@NoConfForOldMen
There you go. Well, thanks thanks to all for listening. We all appreciate it and And like I talked about in the intro, utter destruction of West Virginia at the Fertitta Center. No drama in this game whatsoever. Led big time from start to finish. And I'm not going to go too much into the numbers, but...
00:08:08
@NoConfForOldMen
All you need to know from an advanced analytics perspective is that West Virginia was read across all the key metrics that I track except for one. And that was three point shooting where they still only shot 36% for the game. And that was a bright spot for the game.
00:08:23
@NoConfForOldMen
For our Cougs, they were green across all key metrics other than three-point shooting where, and I think you guys highlighted that we only shot 31% as a team, but thankfully where we actually saw Milo's shooting an incredible five of nine from three-point line.
00:08:28
Tom Lidiak
Thank you.
00:08:39
@NoConfForOldMen
Most importantly, our starters are now performing at what I'd say a pretty elite level at this point. But I'll just highlight two of our stars for the game. Tugler, who was a player box score plus minus 18.5 for the game.
00:08:52
@NoConfForOldMen
And then Uzan, who we really need to to to get to this point, was a player box score plus minus plus 18.3. So just an incredible effort.
00:09:03
@NoConfForOldMen
from from those two guys. Now let's move to a summary of the other massacre over Arizona State, 103 to
Celebrating Dwight Davis's Jersey Retirement
00:09:12
@NoConfForOldMen
73. Bill, why don't you get started on this one? What's your takeaway in yet another blowout like this one?
00:09:18
.0Bill Walker
Well, first and foremost, it was tremendous to see Dwight Davis's number retired at the game. Uh, phenomenal, phenomenal U of H player and absolutely deserved.
00:09:26
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, agreed.
00:09:31
.0Bill Walker
And Steve, here's, here's a, here's a phenomenal take for you that, uh, I'm sure you haven't come up with, uh, know, for those of you listening who believe in karma, we just beat a Bobby Hurley led ASU team.
00:09:45
.0Bill Walker
As you mentioned, one Oh three 73, Do either of you remember the last time that Bobby Hurley lost by that exact score?
00:09:54
Tom Lidiak
UNLV 1991 NCAA final.
00:10:00
.0Bill Walker
Well, you're you're you're extremely close.
00:10:01
@NoConfForOldMen
Is that...
00:10:04
.0Bill Walker
It was 1990, but but you you you you hit the nail right on the head.
00:10:06
Tom Lidiak
Oh, okay.
00:10:11
.0Bill Walker
exact same score 103 73 the the worst ncaa championship loss ever and uh and involving bobby hurley again
00:10:12
@NoConfForOldMen
Wow.
00:10:15
@NoConfForOldMen
Beatdown.
00:10:20
Tom Lidiak
I think that was actually the game he had to run to the locker room. I think he shit his pants.
00:10:24
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:10:25
@NoConfForOldMen
a
00:10:25
Tom Lidiak
i I do remember it i there was a game there was a game there where, yeah, he he yeah he ran to the locker room.
00:10:26
.0Bill Walker
nice
00:10:27
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:10:29
.0Bill Walker
nice
00:10:31
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah,
00:10:34
Tom Lidiak
i'm Yeah.
00:10:36
.0Bill Walker
So yeah, pair of 103, 73. So, if you know, if we can somehow connect the dots and, you know, maybe say this, this is proof that, uh, this will be our championship year, 2027, uh, karma will, uh, will play out.
00:10:55
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah, yeah. I like that.
00:10:56
.0Bill Walker
And, uh, yeah, there you go.
00:10:57
@NoConfForOldMen
I like that take.
00:10:58
.0Bill Walker
See, you like my takes.
00:10:59
@NoConfForOldMen
i did Well, that's that first there's a first for everything. Yeah.
00:11:02
.0Bill Walker
Yeah, of course.
00:11:03
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:11:04
.0Bill Walker
Uh, You know, and i and i yeah, I just, I think that that clearly happens. Yeah, I had us winning by 27 in this game. You know, there are teams that just don't match up well against U of H. Last year it was BYU and quite honestly, most of the other Big 12 teams, but certainly BYU. You know, ASU does not defend the perimeter all that well. They're not strong on the boards. They don't protect the ball particularly well.
00:11:36
.0Bill Walker
And they just essentially played to all of our strengths. We forced 17 turnovers, 12 off steals, turned that into 31 points.
00:11:39
@NoConfForOldMen
Thank you.
00:11:46
.0Bill Walker
It was great to see all five starters in double figures, which has not happened this year. We shot an unbelievable 56% from the field, 48% from three, incredible percentages.
00:12:01
.0Bill Walker
That certainly helped everyone in in terms of the double-digit scoring. yeah ASU did go on a second-half run, helped by our six second-half turnovers, compliments of of some poor kind of nonchalant passing.
00:12:18
.0Bill Walker
But Kelvin put the starters back in. we go on a 24-7 run, and and you know the game ends up where where I kind of expected it.
Coach Sampson's Strategies and Player Roles
00:12:29
.0Bill Walker
Snack, who we'll be talking about, player of the game, 18 points, eight boards, five assists, looks strong.
00:12:33
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:12:37
.0Bill Walker
Although I'd still like to see him and Tuggler be a little more aggressive when they get the ball down low and and go right up with it, draw some more fouls. big Kingston was Kingston with 28, eight assists, four steals. Sharp had 16 and five boards.
00:12:56
.0Bill Walker
But quite honestly, it was really nice to see Yuuzhan hitting shots. Six of 11 from the field, four of seven from three, 16 points and three steals. yeah And it was funny listening to Calvin's press conference, and he had Sinek and Flemings with him after the game. And we'll get back to what Senac talked about.
00:13:17
.0Bill Walker
But Kingston lamented giving up 30 points versus Tech. and and And I laughed at this when I was in the car. Kelvin mentioned that that all Flemings knew about defense.
00:13:31
.0Bill Walker
going into this season was that it's a white picket thing that surrounds a house and, and, and keeps the, keeps the pets and the toys in the yard.
00:13:38
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:13:41
.0Bill Walker
Uh, I, I thought that was, that was pretty humorous, but, uh, but it was, it's also good to hear Kingston, Kingston discuss, uh, you know, where his flaws have been because it, it certainly demonstrates that, that he knows where he needs to improve and, and, and he certainly will.
00:13:58
@NoConfForOldMen
Maturity.
00:13:59
.0Bill Walker
So, uh, Yeah, that's about it Kelvin also mentioned that both both Flemings and Senac have improved significantly and they both worked their butts off.
00:14:10
@NoConfForOldMen
I agree.
00:14:11
.0Bill Walker
So that that was great to hear. Yeah, in the end, blowout win. And and we yeah, we kind of expected it.
00:14:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, completely agree. how about you, Tom, from where your coaches' perspective on ASU?
00:14:24
Tom Lidiak
Well, frankly, I was surprised that, you know, we handled them as well as we did. Arizona State was just coming off a really tough game. They played at Arizona. I think they only lost by like three points or whatever.
00:14:33
@NoConfForOldMen
Mm-hmm.
00:14:36
Tom Lidiak
What caught me off guard was like we we we got any shot we wanted, you know, just not a whole lot of resistance.
00:14:46
Tom Lidiak
You know, the only – The only lull we had in the game was when I thought we just kind of – we built a 33-point lead. I think we were up like 66-33. Then we kind of started playing with our food or whatever, you know, and then they they cut it they cut it to 13.
00:15:03
Tom Lidiak
Milo's hit a three in the corner, but that that was the only – really low we had and we still scored 103 points so you had just yeah uh just a blowout uh of an irisota state team that has some talent uh uh the the big guy in there i don't know where he's from but he's like seven one very very athletic uh runs like a gazelle uh
00:15:08
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:15:17
@NoConfForOldMen
It does.
00:15:23
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:15:27
.0Bill Walker
Senegal.
00:15:29
Tom Lidiak
is Is that where he's from?
00:15:29
@NoConfForOldMen
That's right.
00:15:30
Tom Lidiak
Okay. And, you know, the the Mo Ode, I mean, they they they they have some talent.
00:15:31
.0Bill Walker
Yep.
00:15:35
Tom Lidiak
They have some athleticism. But, you know, once again, you know, they're – – you know, they probably didn't know each other seven months ago, and and and now they're trying to, you know, play as the team and be cohesive. So great offensive game by the Cougs.
00:15:54
Tom Lidiak
Didn't see 103 points coming coming that way or 56 in the first half. But, well, yeah, that's right.
00:15:58
@NoConfForOldMen
Hey, we have an offense, right? Tom. Yeah.
00:16:02
Tom Lidiak
you know, listen to Kelvin on his radio show, you know, somebody must, somebody must like, don't know if it's Karen or Lauren, whatever must, must say, Hey, you should have heard what so-and-so said on this board or whatever.
00:16:13
Tom Lidiak
Cause kel cause Kelvin mentioned something. He goes, you know, he goes, we don't have two different offenses, you know, you know, we were in the same offense that, you we scored 103 and then, you know, this game we scored 69.
00:16:26
Tom Lidiak
So we don't have, we don't have, you know, two different offenses.
00:16:27
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:16:30
Tom Lidiak
So frankly, you I'm a little bit tired of hearing complaints about our offense because, you know, the bottom line is winning.
00:16:36
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:16:39
Tom Lidiak
And, yeah, just
00:16:39
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:16:42
Tom Lidiak
just enjoy our culture. it's it's unpre Nobody in the country has what we have at University of Houston and Kelvin and the and the culture are that he's that he's built around this program.
ASU's Struggles and Houston's Defense
00:16:55
Tom Lidiak
And our fans should just like embrace it, you know, embrace what we stand for. and And, you know, it's defend, rebound and take care of the ball.
00:17:04
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. I mean, I think the the killer for me is that, and we repeat this each season on this, like so many times we have an elite offense.
00:17:10
Tom Lidiak
It's just, it's like beat.
00:17:12
@NoConfForOldMen
I mean, it's a top 20 off.
00:17:12
Tom Lidiak
It's yeah. It's it's we're, we're, we're beating a dead, we're beating a dead horse, you know, we're beating a dead horse.
00:17:16
@NoConfForOldMen
oh I know.
00:17:20
Tom Lidiak
We win Yeah.
00:17:21
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:17:22
.0Bill Walker
It was a, it this was just, like I said, this is this was not a good matchup for for ASU.
00:17:23
Tom Lidiak
and
00:17:29
.0Bill Walker
Just like last year with BYU where we just destroyed them both times.
00:17:29
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:17:34
.0Bill Walker
just It just wasn't it good matchup for them. And and yeah, we we absolutely took advantage of it.
00:17:40
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. And like you, Tom, I was looking forward to the ASU game. So I watched every bit of it and was really interested in getting a glimpse of the kid Diop. But in typical Samson fashion, right, his teams always take away your top option in...
00:17:58
@NoConfForOldMen
Diop was a complete non-factor in this game with Tugler basically blanketing him the whole game. Again, not going to dwell on the numbers too much on this game either, but if you look at the advanced analytics, let me just paint this picture for you guys. We shot effective field goal percentage at a season best 65% from the field.
00:18:19
@NoConfForOldMen
Then you couple that with... that that hot shooting with grabbing 47% of the handful of offensive rebounds even available. And then, by the way, on D, you decide to force ASU on turnovers on 25% of their possessions.
00:18:37
@NoConfForOldMen
And guess what? That results in... the the destruction. And if you want to talk about a disparity in terms of shots taken, we got 71 shots up to their 54.
Chris Senak's Performance and Evolution
00:18:50
@NoConfForOldMen
That's a 17 shot discrepancy between the two teams.
00:18:54
@NoConfForOldMen
Just unreal. Okay, so now after five Big 12 games and a game where, as you mentioned, Bill, Senac ended up with a gaudy player box score plus minus plus 17.6 for the game. That was tops for the team.
00:19:09
@NoConfForOldMen
We wanted to highlight Chris Senac for this week's topic of the week. And listeners know that we've actually discussed a bit on some of the inconsistencies in his play over the early part of the season. You know, as the freshman has really tried to adjust to our program's expectations on defense, as well as trying to play a new position at the four position.
00:19:29
@NoConfForOldMen
So the question of the week is, after this recent stretch of games, has Chris Sinek turned the corner at this point in the season? And so, Tom, why don't you go first? And as a coach, you know, how are you viewing Sinek's play in these recent games?
00:19:46
Tom Lidiak
I think consistency, you pretty much know what you're getting this time of the year with him, you know whether it's his rebounding, pick and roll defense.
00:19:58
Tom Lidiak
One thing i remember hearing Kelvin say a couple of years ago is what Kelvin is really, really great at is defining roles for each player.
00:20:06
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:20:07
Tom Lidiak
they They all come thinking that they're a combination of Kobe, Magic, LeBron, Elgin Baylor, all mixed in one.
00:20:12
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah. Oh.
00:20:17
Tom Lidiak
They they they think they you know have an unlimited bag or whatever. what And what Kelvin does is he he defines their game, and they can focus on just you know just a few things.
00:20:31
Tom Lidiak
And obviously one with Chris is is rebounding. Offensively, think Kelvin has defined his game. He's not trying to make Senex something he's not. He's not a low-post player. He never he never will be.
00:20:47
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:20:48
Tom Lidiak
you know, some people on the boards or whatever are saying, you know, how come we don't, we don't post them up.
00:20:48
@NoConfForOldMen
Mm-hmm.
00:20:53
Tom Lidiak
Well, if you remember early in the year, we tried to post them up and his post move was, it ended up being a fade away from the free throw line. That was his, that was his post move.
00:21:04
Tom Lidiak
And, you know, and and Kelvin mentioned this, I think on his radio show is that, uh, when Senac goes to the NBA, he's not going to low post player. You know, he's a face-up offensive player.
00:21:17
Tom Lidiak
You know, that's, that's, that's who he is. So it, you know, it looks like we got away from that. You don't, you don't see any purpose purposeful sets set for Chris to get the ball down low.
00:21:30
Tom Lidiak
You know, that's just not, that's just not his game.
00:21:31
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yep.
00:21:33
Tom Lidiak
And, and Kelvin was saying it never will be, you know, so yeah, you know, defining defining his game. And, you know, the the less you have to think of about about stuff on the court, you know, the better you'll be just concentrating on a few things. And and I think that's why we're seeing him being being more consistent.
00:21:54
Tom Lidiak
Just, yeah, you can almost punch him in for 10 rebounds every game now.
00:22:00
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, absolutely. about you, Bill? What's your players perspective on Senax game now? Has he turned the corner?
00:22:09
.0Bill Walker
He's turning it. i think he's turning it. I don't think he's there yet. I don't know that I entirely agree with with him being strictly a face-up player. Yeah, I...
00:22:24
.0Bill Walker
and I'll get into this first. I loved the, once again, the, the the ASU postgame press conference where, uh, Chris was asked to grade himself, uh, based on where he was in November and where he is now.
00:22:37
.0Bill Walker
And he gave himself an F, uh, for November. He gave himself a C right now and talked about how he needs to continue to improve in every single aspect of his game. So I thought it was a great answer and a perfect outlook. Uh, uh,
00:22:53
.0Bill Walker
you know He clearly grounded and knows what he needs to do.
00:22:57
Tom Lidiak
Thank
00:22:57
.0Bill Walker
And and and as Calvin mentioned, he he works really hard. yeah It's interesting. He's grabbed 31 more rebounds than Tuggler, but Tuggler's grabbed 21 more offensive rebounds than Senac.
00:23:10
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:23:12
.0Bill Walker
And yeah Obviously, ASU was was clearly his best game. yeah he had 8 of 15 shots. He took more shots than anyone by one, but 15 shots, 18 points, 8 boards, 5 assists. and yeah he he He stole the ball three times. Great for a 6'10 power forward. In the previous four conference games, he's only averaged 6 shots a game.
00:23:43
@NoConfForOldMen
Thank you.
00:23:49
.0Bill Walker
The rebounding has been consistent. yeah ASU was a good game for him, and he's he had moments versus Tech. I loved when Yuuzhan missed the front end of the one and one late and and snack went right to the basket and, and knocked away the ball and and kept the possession for us.
00:24:10
.0Bill Walker
I think his activity level, and I talked about this earlier in the year where he was just kind of, kind of floating around the the corners of the court and, and, know, waiting to have a ball kick to him to shoot a three.
00:24:16
Tom Lidiak
Thank you.
00:24:36
.0Bill Walker
yeah And I'm not saying that that that we're going to run sets for him in the post. And clearly, Calvin, like you said, discussed that.
00:24:43
@NoConfForOldMen
Thank you.
00:24:48
.0Bill Walker
But I think Senac can – continue to become more aggressive, more active. I think getting into the lane, if the ball's not going to go to him on the wing, and i think he can, it with his size, I mean, he's so dominant on the defensive boards. I think it at 6'10", with his body, he can he can he can grab more offensive boards. I think he can...
00:25:19
.0Bill Walker
You know, he can get some some passes as he's cutting into the lane and and get some easy looks inside dunks or layups. And so I'd like to see a little bit more of that. but But he's offensively, on the offensive end.
00:25:34
@NoConfForOldMen
So you're saying offensively though? I mean, yeah, offensively. Yeah.
00:25:38
.0Bill Walker
Defensively, i think he's he's starting to figure it out as well. He's starting to to he's starting to position himself where he needs to be.
00:25:43
@NoConfForOldMen
Way better.
00:25:47
.0Bill Walker
He's... yeah know he's He's not losing sight of his man. he's He's moving much better on the pick and rolls, and and you can see that that's that's improving. and i So, yeah, I think he's absolutely turning the corner, and I think that, you know like he he said, he's this he went from an F to a C right now.
00:26:09
.0Bill Walker
yeah i think I think there's absolutely no reason why As we get through conference play and and get toward postseason, the C isn't yeah know B plus, A minus. And yeah, he I think he's going to be key for us down the stretch.
00:26:27
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, I mean, he... Now, granted, right, if you look at the profile of the teams we've played in the last four games, maybe not. No, Tech is great. But the others may not be you know at the top of the conference, so to speak. But his numbers have been stellar. So if you look at from an advanced analytics perspective, you would say he's arrived at this point and the numbers back it up.
00:26:52
@NoConfForOldMen
When you look at his numbers early in the season, it was, I'd say, pretty patchy play overall for Senac. with a few good games like versus Auburn. And if we're really being completely honest, a lot more games where he was marginal or even a net negative from a player box score plus minus perspective.
00:27:13
@NoConfForOldMen
And then so now if you fast forward till you know after the Cincy game, Senac has been on a tear in the last four games versus Tech, Baylor, West Virginia and ASU.
00:27:26
@NoConfForOldMen
So doing a similar exercise to to what I did with Jojo last week, if I only take his numbers from, let's say the P4 opponents that we've played, the transition to how he's been playing in the last four games has been staggering compared to earlier in the season. If you look at from the beginning of the season,
00:27:46
@NoConfForOldMen
through Cincinnati, so that includes Auburn, Syracuse, Tennessee, Notre Dame, FSU, Arkansas, and Cincinnati. He was a player boss score plus minus plus 0.39. point three nine I mean, basically he's he's not a positive, he's not a negative.
00:28:01
@NoConfForOldMen
He's not really not impacting the game in those games.
00:28:02
Tom Lidiak
Thank you.
00:28:04
@NoConfForOldMen
And that's with a great Auburn game thrown in there. And so basically for the rest of them, he wasn't he wasn't a positive factor. Now, if you look the recent four Big 12 games versus Tech, Baylor, West Virginia, and ASU, Senac has become a monster with a player boss score average across those four games of plus 14.85.
00:28:27
@NoConfForOldMen
And he's had double-digit positive numbers in all four games. Now, You want to say whether, I mean, I love that he's grading himself low because he knows his ceiling is very high and you know where he wants to go is the NBA, right?
00:28:44
@NoConfForOldMen
The next level after one year.
00:28:45
.0Bill Walker
Well, he knows what's expected of him as well.
00:28:46
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, what's expected of him? But just as a, for listeners, just as a benchmark, if you look at the 2025 benchmark player boss score numbers for Jawan Roberts, right? five year, right?
00:29:01
@NoConfForOldMen
standard bear at the four position for the year. He was a player boss score plus minus plus 7.1. So, I mean, i i don't believe Senac from a player boss score perspective can kind of keep up this last four game tear because the level of competition is going to be different in some of our subsequent games. But if he can come anywhere close to this, I take it for the, for the rest of the way, that level of aggressiveness and awareness and, know,
00:29:29
@NoConfForOldMen
You know, he's been the one that's been driving to the hoop as, you know, Kingston drives in with those dish off and dunks. we We could use that along the way as well. So we've seen a four game trend here. So it's looking like Senac has definitely turned the corner. And as you both have stated, beyond the numbers, we're actually seeing the comfort level and aggressiveness come through. And that really means trouble for Big 12 opponents moving forward. You know, hopefully starting this weekend with the rematch with with Tech.
Texas Tech Rematch Preview
00:30:00
@NoConfForOldMen
So why don't we go there next, guys, with the Big Tech rematch. Bill, you can start things off. What's your player's view on round two versus Tech coming up Saturday?
00:30:12
.0Bill Walker
Okay, well, they're 15-4 right now. They're 5-1 in conference. They're third behind us in Arizona. is Since the game against us, they've won four in a row, including a rout of Baylor and the the big 13-point win at home over BYU. Sorry, Steve.
00:30:34
@NoConfForOldMen
ha
00:30:35
.0Bill Walker
I can already taste the dinner that that you'll be buying me. would Somehow...
00:30:39
@NoConfForOldMen
We'll see.
00:30:41
.0Bill Walker
Somehow kind of crazy. They're they're only 19 in Ken Palm.
00:30:46
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:30:46
.0Bill Walker
They're 12 in the AP and the offense is 13. The defense is 28. Not entirely surprising because they play so few people that, you know, they wear down a bit.
00:30:58
.0Bill Walker
And so, I mean, not not that 28 is bad, but 28.
00:31:02
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:31:11
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:31:19
.0Bill Walker
Yeah. I won't get into all their players is as you know, we just did this a couple of weeks ago, but here, here five keys I have to us winning in Lubbock one,
00:31:33
.0Bill Walker
and this is against the good teams. This may be the the number one point every time limit fouls. yet We only committed 15 against tech at Fertitta, uh,
00:31:41
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:31:46
.0Bill Walker
but it's going to be a bigger challenge in Lubbock. yeah We play Tugler, Sacco, and into a maybe a lesser extent, Senac on top end, much like occurred here. yeah Hopefully no one none of our big guys ends up with more than three.
00:32:03
.0Bill Walker
Two, we probably will not hold Anderson to three of 11 again and seven points, but we can also limit and and this is where Kingston talked about giving up 30 points in that game, we can limit Petty and you try to keep those two under 25 points.
00:32:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:32:26
.0Bill Walker
We also need to keep the other two starters, Atwell and Watts, from from getting hot.
00:32:30
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:32:33
.0Bill Walker
Watts is the one that worries me. He was one of nine and scored five points against us in game one.
00:32:38
@NoConfForOldMen
I know.
00:32:42
.0Bill Walker
I'm expecting him to come out ready to play and play much harder and and probably be more more productive. So the aforementioned Senac has to be just as ready.
00:32:57
.0Bill Walker
Number three, turn them over. Tech committed 14 turnovers at Fertitta. Our defense was was exceptional against them, and and it's and it's just gotten progressively better as the season's gone on. So, you know, if we can force them to commit 14 again or more, that would be great. Number four,
00:33:23
.0Bill Walker
just like against ASU, let's hit our open shots. Usain was two of 12, three of five at the line, including the miss one, and one against tech. But you know, he's he's been hitting shots since, you know, I think, I think if we could shoot about 45% from the field, 35% from three, which which I think are both attainable, you know, I think that, uh,
00:33:49
.0Bill Walker
yeah yeah I think that that could lead to to us winning. Next, our bench. And we've talked about this. Our bench contributed zero points, three rebounds, zero assists versus Tech in round one.
00:34:04
.0Bill Walker
And no one played double-digit minutes in that game. We will definitely need Harwell, Sacco for sure, and and then Ramon and and McCarty to be ready to play and to be productive.
00:34:10
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yep.
00:34:20
.0Bill Walker
I hate to do this.
00:34:22
.0Bill Walker
Tech 72-67.
00:34:25
@NoConfForOldMen
Oh, really? Wow.
00:34:27
.0Bill Walker
What let let me but what i will say about that, I'm picking tech to win by five at home, but right underneath it, I have a star and I wrote big deal.
00:34:38
.0Bill Walker
yeah yeah we've We lost one conference game last year. We've lost at least one conference game every year. We lose this game.
00:34:49
.0Bill Walker
Big deal. we will I think we'll take care of Arizona. I think we'll take care of ISU. i think we absolutely take care of of mediocre BYU, Steve.
00:35:01
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:35:01
.0Bill Walker
and So so when when all is said done, we're going to be just fine.
00:35:04
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:35:05
.0Bill Walker
We lose this game. Who cares? It's... it's you know, it's it's going to happen. Kelvin said it's going to happen.
00:35:12
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:35:13
.0Bill Walker
Kelvin even said, you know, we could we could lose at some point we could lose back to back games.
00:35:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:35:19
.0Bill Walker
But, yeah, I've got a bad feeling this this might be one of them. And but so what? You know, it's early will will still only have one loss in conference.
00:35:25
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:35:29
.0Bill Walker
We'll be fine.
00:35:30
@NoConfForOldMen
All right. Love the honest take. How about you, Tom? What's your, uh, what's your take on this rematch?
00:35:37
Tom Lidiak
Well, first of all, there's a weather event that's going to happen. It might affect you know when the game's played.
00:35:43
@NoConfForOldMen
Game time. Yep.
00:35:44
Tom Lidiak
They're talking about maybe moving moving the game up. We'll just have to see in the next and the next day. On the court, Tech, they present a conundrum because in the you know inside they have JT Toppin, who's you know he's he's he's the best big man in the conference.
00:35:55
@NoConfForOldMen
They do.
00:36:05
Tom Lidiak
but then they surround them with three point shooters. Uh, you know, you have Atwell, you have Christian Anderson, you have, uh, you have petty, uh, Watts will shoot them every now and then, but, but, uh, you know, you want Watts to be, be shooting three pointers.
00:36:18
Tom Lidiak
So, uh, it'll be interesting to see what, uh, coach Sampson has in store for tech, you know, how to, how to guard them.
00:36:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:36:26
Tom Lidiak
Uh, you know, if you take the ball out of Toppin's hands with a double team or whatever, you know, then they can kind of spray the ball around and, and, uh, and get some looks. But, well you know, that's that's why you play the games, and I'm looking forward to this one. Unlike Bill, I think we come out with with with a dub. It's not going to be easy. I think it's going to come down, just like the game at home, come down to like the last minute or two, and in and somebody's going to make a play.
00:36:56
Tom Lidiak
You never know who it's going to be. My guess, it's Kingston again.
00:37:00
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, me too.
00:37:00
Tom Lidiak
I'll put my money i'll put my money on on on Kingston to come up big again.
00:37:02
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:37:08
Tom Lidiak
So, yeah, it's it's these these are the kind of games you know you you love. you know It's nice getting the blowouts you know against Arizona State, West Virginia, et cetera.
00:37:14
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:37:20
Tom Lidiak
But these are the ones you know that you're in the big boy conference for. and And the players look forward to these games, too. I mean, they you know is it everybody's play is going to be up up a notch because you know players play when their best is expected.
00:37:35
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:37:40
Tom Lidiak
when their best is expected
00:37:43
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, completely agree.
00:37:45
.0Bill Walker
I hope you're, I hope you're right, Tom.
00:37:45
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:37:47
.0Bill Walker
I hope I'm dead wrong in my prediction.
00:37:50
Tom Lidiak
I just, even if we, even, it even, even if I thought we'd lose, i wouldn't say it because I can't stand fricking tech.
00:37:51
.0Bill Walker
because just,
00:37:55
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:37:56
.0Bill Walker
yeah.
00:37:59
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:37:59
Tom Lidiak
I can't, I can't, I can't stand those.
00:37:59
.0Bill Walker
Well, that's, that's, that's where, that's where I was headed with, with their, their crowd.
00:37:59
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:38:01
@NoConfForOldMen
air
00:38:05
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:38:05
Tom Lidiak
I can't stand those cork soakers, you know, cannot stand them.
00:38:06
.0Bill Walker
Uh, oh,
00:38:08
@NoConfForOldMen
if
00:38:10
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:38:10
.0Bill Walker
I won't take it quite that far, but, uh, But I've i've had by my commentary on the tech fans in the past.
00:38:18
.0Bill Walker
and
00:38:19
Tom Lidiak
Did you have to listen to Raider Power last year all like you know it's the game? Did you?
00:38:24
@NoConfForOldMen
That we lost at home.
00:38:25
Tom Lidiak
law said you know When we wore our blues, Bill, were you there? and They were doing their Raider Power and that kind of crap.
00:38:29
.0Bill Walker
I was there.
00:38:29
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:38:29
.0Bill Walker
Yeah.
00:38:30
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:38:30
.0Bill Walker
Yeah, I was there.
00:38:30
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:38:31
.0Bill Walker
Yeah.
00:38:33
.0Bill Walker
yeah
00:38:34
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah Well, I mean, with the rematch, if you look from an analytics perspective, guys, Tech has definitely been getting better as of late, as you'd highlighted, Bill, their 19th in Ken Palm right now with the offense still elite at number 13, adjusted offensive efficiency. And their defense is actually stabilized with kind of within our excellent threshold at number 28.
00:38:59
@NoConfForOldMen
While Houston's now also moved up, we're 19th in adjusted offensive efficiency and up to number four in adjusted defensive efficiency. Both teams have continued to prefer slower pace game. So as usual, this one's going to be a slugfest of a game, which we all love.
00:39:16
@NoConfForOldMen
And on offense, Tech is a much better shooting team than the Cougs. They're 26th in effective field goal percentage in Ken Palm, and they're especially lethal from three-point range, ranking 12th in the country. So our perimeter players will need to really tighten up and challenge their kids at the arc. Also, Tech doesn't turn the ball over much either. So steals are really going to be at a premium for this game. Staying true to our defensive principles is going to be key in limiting this offense, just like in our first game with them. going to be interesting to see what McCaslin has in mind to combat our storming of Anderson with two players, because that really bothered him in game one. So it's going to be an interesting chess match between coach Samson and McCaslin.
00:39:59
@NoConfForOldMen
Now, defensively, You know, tech is a really interesting study in style, guys, because they're ranked 28th in adjusted defensive efficiency in Kempom, which is excellent. It's within our excellent threshold of top 40. Yet when you look into more detail, they aren't great in any particular area. In fact, they simply just make sure to be good, kind of that middling good at defending shots, both twos and threes. They're not great at either one, but they're good, kind of in the ninety s as well as defensive rebounding, where they're also just good and just focusing on those three things. That's all they focus on.
00:40:35
@NoConfForOldMen
And they're actually very poor at forcing turnover, so they don't extend or expend any energy there. They're 245th in turnover defense, and they don't get a lot of blocked shots. They're blocked and block shots So ball movement to get good looks is going to be key, as well as a strong offensive rebounding night for our team. Like in game one, I believe Kingston has to play a major role getting quick points driving to the hoop.
00:41:02
@NoConfForOldMen
If you look at metrics in Kempom, this is projected to be a one-point loss on the road for the Cougs. So I think you know where you're thinking, Bill, is is where the experts are thinking.
00:41:13
@NoConfForOldMen
I think we'll have some surprises for Tech.
00:41:14
.0Bill Walker
because I'm an expert.
00:41:15
@NoConfForOldMen
You are an expert. Yes, you are. Now, you know that the one thing that folks don't factor in those, we get a full week to prepare, right? and Tech has not. So I expect the Coug to win by three, 73 70.
BYU vs. Arizona Preview
00:41:32
@NoConfForOldMen
And so now finally, guys, we'd be remiss if we didn't talk a little bit about our first Big Monday, Big 12 game, BYU hosting Arizona. And Tom, I'll let you give your quick elevator pitch before turning it over to to Bill on this. What would you like to kind of highlight for our listeners on the Arizona versus BYU game?
00:41:56
Tom Lidiak
There's going to be 20,000 Mormons hopped up on 7-up for this game.
00:42:00
@NoConfForOldMen
Ha ha ha ha ha.
00:42:01
Tom Lidiak
i I think BYU wins simply because the home court and Arizona's due for loss. that's That's my reasoning. Not very technical, but that's just the way I feel. Ask me tomorrow, might give you a different answer. But that's that's my answer today.
00:42:20
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay. Love it.
00:42:20
Tom Lidiak
uh, eight AJ to Bonsa, you know, playing at home, uh, probably get all the calls, uh,
00:42:23
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:42:27
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. How about you, Bill? What's your, your quick few points on the Arizona BYU game?
00:42:33
.0Bill Walker
Yeah, real quickly, before I get into that, I'd be remiss if I did not mention my basketball statistics intern, Kevin McAlpin, who's actually the one who pointed out to me the the the Bobby Hurley's 103-73 losses.
00:42:51
@NoConfForOldMen
Oh, did he? Okay.
00:42:51
.0Bill Walker
so So at least I've got i yeah got to live give a little credit where credit's due and compliment my intern, my research intern.
00:42:59
@NoConfForOldMen
how it So we gave you way too much credit for that that factoid then. Oh, there you go.
00:43:04
.0Bill Walker
Well, no, i still i still I still extrapolated it to a national championship. So so i think that I think the take is is pretty solid.
00:43:13
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:43:15
.0Bill Walker
Okay, Arizona is number one nationally. They're solid at at every position. They've got great depth. They're long.
00:43:25
.0Bill Walker
BYU has always had good three-point shooters. This year, they've got a pretty strong interior, especially defensively.
00:43:37
.0Bill Walker
And, of course, the number one pick in the upcoming 2026 draft, A.J. DeBansa.
00:43:46
.0Bill Walker
That said... Arizona wins 79-75.
00:43:51
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay.
00:43:52
.0Bill Walker
They've just got more depth. that I think they're just a better team. BYU slips in the standings, and Steve buys me dinner when Tech finishes well ahead of BYU in the final standings.
00:44:04
.0Bill Walker
And, yeah you know, we could end up going back to Hugo's or or maybe win, but but I'll come up with something. So thanks in advance, Steve.
00:44:13
@NoConfForOldMen
All
Closing Remarks and Listener Engagement
00:44:14
@NoConfForOldMen
right. Yeah, we'll see. you know I'm curious at this point. Tech's been playing way, way better than earlier in the year. So I'll give you that. If you look at Ken Palm, BYU comes in at 14th while Arizona is number two. BYU is balanced, being top 20 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency.
00:44:34
@NoConfForOldMen
But then Arizona is just better in both respects, being top five in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. Arizona is actually favored by one to win in Provo based on Ken Palm.
00:44:47
@NoConfForOldMen
But I'm kind of with you, Tom. I think Tabansa pulls off the win and our Cougs end up being in sole possession of number one in the Big 12 come Monday evening.
00:44:58
@NoConfForOldMen
And that's my take and I'm sticking with it. So that's it for our 69th 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 on your preferred platform of choice.
00:45:13
@NoConfForOldMen
We're also available via Dave Campbell's College Podcast Network as their only basketball-centric podcast. We're at the gocooks.com YouTube page for those that may be curious what we look like.
00:45:24
@NoConfForOldMen
We appreciate the continued support from all. Also, please give us a follow on our Twitter account, No Conference for Old Men. Thank you all again for listening, and please be on the lookout next week to download and listen as our next episode drops.
00:45:36
@NoConfForOldMen
Take care, everyone. Go Cougs.
00:45:39
Tom Lidiak
Go Cougs.
00:45:40
.0Bill Walker
I do hope we kill tech.
00:45:40
Tom Lidiak
And –
00:45:42
@NoConfForOldMen
I hope so, too.