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Auburn Win, Is Kingston "Him"?, + Feast Week Games
85 Plays26 days ago
Welcome to Episode #63 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast.
Our Houston Cougars win a big one over Auburn in Birmingham to go 4-0 for the season, in a game where all 3 freshmen balled out on the big stage! But ultimately it was the Kingston Flemings Showcase, where he's staked an early claim as the alpha on this season's Cougars team. "Feast Week" games await after playing Rider on Thu, as the team prepares to travel to Las Vegas to take on Syracuse, Tennessee, & a third team TBD.
Please have a listen as the 3 Old Men weigh in and discuss what to look out for with this Houston Cougar team early in the season, as well as provide some quick-hit game summaries and previews.
- 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
00:00:07
@NoConfForOldMen
Welcome folks to the episode number 63 the No Conference for Old Men podcast, podcast where our three old guys are talking Houston Cougars basketball with a bit of boot 12 coverage added in as well. And proud members of the gocougs.com network, the undisputed number one Houston Cougars content provider.
00:00:22
@NoConfForOldMen
And we're back again with all three old men, Bill Walker, former player, Tom Lodiak, former coach, and myself, Steve Chang, analytics guy for this episode. so So it was an early season test this past Sunday after beating Oakland early last week with what amounted to, I'd say, a pretty tough road trip to Birmingham where the team scratched out a win over number 22 Auburn to end week number two.
00:00:44
@NoConfForOldMen
And was a bit of a coming out party for all three freshmen on the national stage down the stretch as the Cougs moved to 4-0 for and over the season. Given that a big feast week set of games is upon us, we're going to provide a very quick summary of the Oakland game.
00:00:58
@NoConfForOldMen
Go deep into the exciting 73-72 win over Auburn, where we'll highlight Kingston Fleming's coming out party as potentially, I'll say, the guy for this year's Cougars team. Then we'll preview our three known games through Feast Week.
00:01:12
@NoConfForOldMen
And as we mentioned last week, we'll even add in a couple of Big 12 games the three old men will be paying close attention to as well. So a big, big episode. Tom, why don't you get things started off with your quick snippet on the Oakland game? And then why don't you go then directly into your thoughts from the Auburn game?
00:01:29
Tom Lidiak
Yeah, certainly will. In the Oakland game, it was a game at Fertitta Center, so home court advantage for us. Oakland's played a heck of a schedule so far. They won't have any problem paying their bills because these are bye games.
00:01:41
@NoConfForOldMen
Ha ha ha.
00:01:42
Tom Lidiak
You know, they started off with Michigan, then Purdue, and then us. And, you know, they also had Michigan State in December where they wear the ugly ugly Christmas sweaters, Coach Campion and Tom Izzo do. But anyway, back to the game.
00:01:55
Tom Lidiak
The big story is we were going face a zone. Greg Campy has like over 700 wins. And few years ago, he decided to go strictly zone. He has a whole slew of new players.
00:02:08
Tom Lidiak
You know, that zone is a 1-1-3, but, you know, when the ball's past the corner, it has like 1-3-1 slides. So it kind of looks like a 1-3-1. His guys look confused a lot. Coach Sampson was able to – manipulate some gray areas of the zone where there was some confusion.
00:02:26
Tom Lidiak
And it it was like, we never had any problem getting shots off. And then that defense isn't necessarily a great one for for rebounding. So we got second chance opportunities.
00:02:37
Tom Lidiak
That pretty much but was the story of the game. i think we came out in first three possessions. I think we had eight points. So if there was any Doubt about how we're you going to attack their zone.
00:02:49
Tom Lidiak
You know, those those were put to rest in the first couple of minutes.
00:02:52
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:02:53
Tom Lidiak
Auburn game, totally different. Both teams, you know, really hard-nosed man-to-man for a while there. It looked Auburn might have gone to 1-1-3, but it it looked like after a pass or two, they mashed up man.
00:03:07
Tom Lidiak
So it was just a it was just a rock fight. I thought a couple of there were a couple of possessions there. I thought we had a chance to really blow it open. i think we had maybe a six or eight-point lead.
00:03:18
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:03:18
Tom Lidiak
and We had some open threes, and you know it just I was just hoping for that dagger, –
00:03:24
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:03:25
Tom Lidiak
that dagger shot that put us up in in double digits, but it was a really good first game for our newbies. And when I say newbies, we're not talking about just the three true freshmen. We're talking about Chase McCarty, who's redshirt freshman. We're talking about, uh, uh, Khalifa Sacco, who, who is new to our system.
00:03:44
Tom Lidiak
And we both kind of texted a little bit about when we gave up a dunk at the end. And I initially thought it was a Kingston's fault, but we came to the, you guys came to, you know,
00:03:55
Tom Lidiak
to the conclusion that he, he mastered too late on that one and, and ended up giving a dunk, but yeah, I, I, yeah, I think, so I think, I think we're, you guys were correct on that.
00:04:00
@NoConfForOldMen
I think, yeah, that was my view of it.
00:04:06
Tom Lidiak
17, 16,000 hostile fans, so-called neutral court, but it's not a neutral court.
00:04:14
Tom Lidiak
First, first road game for this, for this team. And, you know, we, we, came out with with with a huge win. I know we're going to talk about you know Kingston and all that later on, but you know the three true freshmen really really stepped up and in this road game. you know It's different today because these guys have played the best. They're in high school. They played the elite. or the elite you know so therere they're They're used to playing on on the big stage, but but but it's still you know it's a little bit different from AAU ball in that you got all these fans and
00:04:52
Tom Lidiak
Free throw the so discrepancy. That's another thing. some people might want might want to talk about, you know, there's two sides to that coin.
00:04:57
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:04:59
Tom Lidiak
Do we foul too much? Uh, did the refs call too much in Auburn's favor? Uh, but the bottom line is we found, we found a way to win huge defensive play by it was either Kingston or was it my list? I think who tipped the ball away at the end.
00:05:15
Tom Lidiak
And I'm sure Kelvin is, you know, he's, fort you know, I imagine he feels good that we won. But then again, he knows, you know, down the stretch there, we we could have played a lot, you know, a lot better.
00:05:26
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:05:30
Tom Lidiak
there was some kind of confusion, kind of like last year, there was some kind of uncertainty when we got down to crunch time, you know, yeah, about, and it happened last year, you know, what last year when we started off four, three, they had a team meeting and they decided that LJ was going to be the man, you know, and LJ was going to be the guy.
00:05:33
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:05:37
.0Bill Walker
Yep. yep
00:05:38
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:05:41
@NoConfForOldMen
Early, yeah.
00:05:49
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:05:52
Tom Lidiak
and And we saw how this season ended up after, after that. So Kelvin Sampson, hall of fame coach, Milo's Kingston, And shock Sharp, the three guards, they'll get it figured out.
00:06:06
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:06:06
Tom Lidiak
they'll get They'll get it figured out. They're team players. you know They're pretty much ego-less, and they just want to win. And those those three will wolfll figure it out.
00:06:16
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, completely agree. I mean, that's what these early games are for, right? to figure out roles, responsibilities, and we're where folks feel comfortable. So it's a growing process.
00:06:23
Tom Lidiak
Mm-hmm.
00:06:26
@NoConfForOldMen
How about you, Bill, from a player's perspective on the two games?
00:06:29
.0Bill Walker
Oakland, seventy eight forty five Aside from Isaac Garrett, who had 20-7 against us, Oakland was terrible. Their potential and NBA player, who unfortunately I highlighted, Buru, looked utterly pedestrian.
00:06:48
.0Bill Walker
Their zone was porous, and had it not been for garbage time over about the final four minutes, we likely held we likely hold them under
00:06:58
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:06:59
.0Bill Walker
We played phenomenal D in in that game. We held them to 16 of 51, 31% from the field, 23% from three. We out-rebounded them, as you mentioned, Tom, 46-32, despite our poor three-point shooting.
00:07:14
.0Bill Walker
We committed only six turnovers to their 13, four steals. I'm sorry, nine steals to their three. Essentially did what what we should do to a really mediocre team. And I'll just mention three players real quickly.
00:07:26
.0Bill Walker
king Kingston was the best player on the court.
00:07:28
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:07:29
.0Bill Walker
Eight of 12 from the field, 19 points, five boards, nine assists. We'll talk a little bit more about him later. Sharp also at 19, nine Despite the fact that the team, as I mentioned, shot 29%, 9 of 31, and Sharp had four boards and four assists. And then on the negative side, Tuggler, who had four points, four boards, four blocks, and three fouls, two on the first two possessions.
00:07:59
.0Bill Walker
resulting in 15 total minutes for the game and a very unhappy Kelvin. This trend from last year cannot continue if we're going to be going to India for the Final Four.
00:08:12
.0Bill Walker
This was the third cream puff to start the season, but aside from missing our open shots and and some bad fouls, this was a definite upswing over games one and two.
00:08:22
@NoConfForOldMen
agreed.
00:08:24
.0Bill Walker
Tennessee, seventy three seventy two
00:08:25
@NoConfForOldMen
No, no. Auburn. Auburn.
00:08:27
.0Bill Walker
Auburn, I'm sorry.
00:08:28
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:08:28
.0Bill Walker
We'll be previewing Tennessee.
00:08:29
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:08:30
.0Bill Walker
Auburn, 73-72. Just as U of H is getting better, clearly so am I. i predicted us to win this game 76-73. anticipate... i anticipate predicting at least about 9 to 12 games exactly right this season, so pay attention to that.
00:08:49
.0Bill Walker
yeah this This was absolutely a road game despite being in Birmingham, and it was a hell of a battle. My first half notes included Tugler being just a little too hyped on both ends of the floor with the ball on defense, and of course he picked up the two fouls and had to sit for break.
00:09:08
.0Bill Walker
a good portion of the first half. Uh, that definitely has to stop. Uh, I liked that we were making Hall bust his butt for everything he got. Although the one thing I noted was that, uh, we were letting him and he's left-handed. We were letting him go left a little more than he should have been.
00:09:26
.0Bill Walker
Uh, Offensively, Senac couldn't miss and and then absolutely, absolutely one and done Kingston Flemings.
00:09:38
.0Bill Walker
And he combined for 28 of our 39 points. Senac was exceptional shooting the ball, but the star was clearly Flemings. 18 points, three assists, three rebounds, zero turnovers in the first half.
00:09:51
@NoConfForOldMen
It's crazy.
00:09:52
.0Bill Walker
any Any question about him staying for a year or two came to an abrupt halt in that first half. yeah With Yuzan and Flemings in their last year,
00:10:05
.0Bill Walker
Tugler, Senac in their last year, it's a damn good thing that Calvin's been actively recruiting big men and point guards for sure.
00:10:14
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:10:15
.0Bill Walker
The second half was also solid in that we never gave up our lead. As Senac continued scoring, Sharp picked up picked it up, and Yuzan, who was virtually nonexistent in the first half, played a far more aggressive and productive second half.
00:10:32
.0Bill Walker
yeah as several with whom I spoke know, I was not thrilled with our final two plus minutes. It reminded me exactly of the national championship.
00:10:43
.0Bill Walker
Our only shot over that period was a 35 foot air ball. And, you know, the turnovers kind of reared their ugly heads. I heard a lot of people, especially seeing some of the message board stuff, blaming Sharp,
00:10:59
.0Bill Walker
But quite honestly, he had little to nothing to do with that.
00:11:00
@NoConfForOldMen
Exactly.
00:11:03
.0Bill Walker
It it was really our point guards.
00:11:04
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:11:05
.0Bill Walker
And Fleming's did cause a couple of of these problems. You know, the thing is, as great as he is, you've also got to remember he's a freshman. He's going to make some mistakes. But you know what? it's It's early in the season and it's going to happen from time to time. He's he's so good. It's it's it's just going get absolutely better and he's going to just be more dominant.
00:11:28
.0Bill Walker
The other thing that I heard people complaining about, and Tom, you mentioned this, was the free throw disparity. They shot 33 and we shot 12. And, you know, if you listen to our previous podcast and what I had to say in the previous episode, I'd stated that they were averaging 35 free throws per game and
00:11:42
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:11:50
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:11:52
.0Bill Walker
and they get inside despite their overall lack of height. yeah It's what they do, and it's what they're going to continue to do all season. And I mentioned that we needed to keep the ball in front of us and not commit any lazy fouls versus Auburn.
00:12:09
.0Bill Walker
I think overall we did a decent job of that, but but not ideal. And finally, we're not going to shoot a ton of free throws this season, and and people just have to understand that, as we're largely a perimeter team, as we've talked about.
00:12:24
.0Bill Walker
And yeah With Tugler and Senac sitting a lot during the game and Sacco being our our player in the middle, we were not going to get to the free throw line and and outshoot many teams, certainly not Auburn.
00:12:34
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:12:40
.0Bill Walker
With all that said, we're 4-0. We're going to roll over Ryder and we're heading to Vegas.
00:12:48
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, nice. I mean, it was great to get that, that fourth win. Really not much for me to add on the Oakland game, pretty much performed to our historical standards on D shot the bell well from two point range. And as you guys had highlighted was yet again, dreadful from three point line.
00:13:05
@NoConfForOldMen
as has been the case all season so far. Jumping to the Auburn game, same starting lineup, Kingston, CNAC, Tugler, Sharp, Wuzan. And this was our big early season test for the newcomers with the big hostile stage on the road on national TV.
00:13:20
@NoConfForOldMen
And guys, like you both had mentioned, boy, did our freshmen show out this game. Advanced analytics-wise on D, We were on script against a really good team with three freshmen playing extended minutes.
00:13:32
@NoConfForOldMen
We limited Auburn to 44.7% effective field goal percentage, 32% from three-point range, and we blocked 14.3% of their two-point shot. So exactly, almost exactly to our levels last season, and that's really impressive with three freshmen playing extensive minutes.
00:13:51
@NoConfForOldMen
Really, on O, though, we shot about as well as we have this season so far. which I guess you can argue is a good thing given the caliber of team that we we're playing.
00:14:02
@NoConfForOldMen
But what really made this shooting percentage even more incredible was fact that our three veterans in Sharp, Uzana and Tugler, shot a combined 11 for 34 from the field. That's 32%, guys. That is miserable.
00:14:13
@NoConfForOldMen
guys and it's miserable And so, know, quite honestly, it was hats off to our freshmen plus Sacco for stepping it up and playing big minutes to pull out the win.
00:14:15
.0Bill Walker
Yep.
00:14:23
@NoConfForOldMen
mean, you guys went through like the points and the rebounds and assists from the freshmen, but if you look at player box score numbers, Flemings was a player box score plus minus plus 15 for the game.
00:14:38
@NoConfForOldMen
Senac was a player box score plus minus plus 16.6 for the game. And Harwell in 21 minutes was a player box score plus minus 8.9. eight point nine i mean, our veteran starters obviously need to adjust to new roles and pick up the pace moving forward.
00:14:56
@NoConfForOldMen
And hopefully the Ryder game is going to provide that opportunity. But what I'll highlight though, i don't like picking on you know on one kid or or or whatnot, but there's one kid that I'm rooting for big time that really needs to start delivering in my opinion, and that's McCarty, who in eight minutes really provided nothing.
00:15:18
@NoConfForOldMen
I mean, he took four threes, not making a single one, one rebound, three fouls in eight minutes. Do you guys know what his player box score plus minus was for the game, guys?
00:15:29
.0Bill Walker
Negative 312.
00:15:29
@NoConfForOldMen
It was yeah something like that. it was It was obscene. It was negative 33.3. what that means, basically, if you look at the box score plus minus numbers, is that almost every time after getting a big lead, you know, six or eight point lead on Auburn, they would make a run to get back into it. And it was always when McCarty was on the floor.
00:15:54
@NoConfForOldMen
I mean, he'll have the shot with the Ryder game and then a few more less challenging games after the player's era tourney. But it's a narrow window for him to to really show that he can contribute. So those are going to be things that I'm looking for as we start introducing the Ryder game and then the Vegas games.
00:16:11
@NoConfForOldMen
But before we get there, yeah.
00:16:12
.0Bill Walker
he'll, he'll start hitting his shots. He'll start hitting. He's a he's a good enough shooter.
00:16:17
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:16:17
.0Bill Walker
He'll start hitting his shots.
00:16:20
@NoConfForOldMen
I'm not considering...
00:16:20
.0Bill Walker
You know, he, he may not be, he may not be, you know, catch the ball and it's automatically in like, like some other shooters, like to a large extent, Cryer was, but he'll, he'll, he'll start shooting better and he'll, you know, he, he's, he is working hard on both ends of the court. He'll,
00:16:39
.0Bill Walker
It'll start to come around. And and like like we've all alluded to, he's he's essentially a freshman as well.
00:16:45
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, I mean, I'm hopeful, Bill, and I'm less concerned about the shooting. It was within the flow. I thought every shot he took was a good one, right? Especially if he's supposed to be one of our better shooters.
00:16:57
@NoConfForOldMen
It's the other things that I'm concerned about, right? it he He just looked overwhelmed on defense, on rebounding, the other things that will keep him on the court.
00:17:10
@NoConfForOldMen
And to be negative 33.3 eight minutes, i mean that's That's bad. Really, really bad. Right. So again, and yeah.
00:17:18
.0Bill Walker
Yeah, no argument.
00:17:20
@NoConfForOldMen
Tough team, you know, tough stage. And I'm hoping he comes through and he'll he'll have his chance. We've got a few more non-conference games. But let's get to Kingston Fleming. Kingston Fleming.
00:17:31
@NoConfForOldMen
Sorry, guys. I mean, he's turned out to be even better than I could have imagined. And if he keeps this up, which honestly will be difficult, right, given his first four games, especially as coaches are going to get film on him.
00:17:51
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:17:52
.0Bill Walker
Yes. Yeah.
00:17:53
Tom Lidiak
Yeah.
00:17:55
.0Bill Walker
I mean, I've got essentially nothing more to say. He's one and done right now. I think he's he's playing for draft position.
00:18:03
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:18:04
.0Bill Walker
how he he You know, the the question was, is he going to... come back for year two. And a lot of people weren't sure about that coming into the season and even after the first couple of games. But now it's where in the first round is he going to get drafted? How high is he going to go? And, and you know, is he, again, he's, he's played four games. He's a freshman.
00:18:29
.0Bill Walker
He's going to get a lot better.
00:18:31
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:18:31
.0Bill Walker
He's going to become even more probably ball dominant. He's going to, yeah, he's going to, He's going to make some NBA team very happy next year.
00:18:43
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. What do you think, Tom?
00:18:45
Tom Lidiak
Oh, it's interesting. You know, you go back to the whole recruiting thing, and we know how Kelvin doesn't listen to other people's opinions. You know, a lot of people had Kingston as a four-star.
00:18:56
Tom Lidiak
he didn't make the He didn't make the McDonald's All-American team while Senac and Harwell did.
00:18:56
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:18:59
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:19:02
Tom Lidiak
You know, this first few games, the national media did not mention Kingston Fleming's at all. They had the Boozer guy. They had Foster from Carolina.
00:19:11
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:19:12
Tom Lidiak
They had everybody... you know but but Kingston. you know And then before the season started, Kelvin mentioned, this was on in an interview, or he he said that you know Flemings and Harwell will be here next year.
00:19:29
Tom Lidiak
He actually said that.
00:19:30
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, that's right.
00:19:30
Tom Lidiak
I mean, that was from the horse's mouth, but now I don't know.
00:19:33
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. yeah
00:19:35
Tom Lidiak
And and if you go back and watch the Auburn game, Pettiford, could not guard him.
00:19:46
Tom Lidiak
I mean, there was, it wasn't, yeah, it wasn't even close.
00:19:46
@NoConfForOldMen
No, no one could.
00:19:51
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:19:52
Tom Lidiak
You know, and we'll see how it plays out. We got, you know, hopefully we have what, we've played how many games? Four, four so far.
00:19:57
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. It's early.
00:19:59
Tom Lidiak
Hopefully, hopefully we hopefully we play 40 games, you know, that means we're in the title game.
00:20:02
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:20:04
Tom Lidiak
But right now, you know, he's he's also an alpha player.
00:20:08
@NoConfForOldMen
Yes.
00:20:08
Tom Lidiak
You know, he's not taking a backseat to Milo's or Iman, you know not in a bad way.
00:20:15
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:20:16
Tom Lidiak
I compare it, you guys who remember when the Rockets had Ralph Sampson, they drafted Akeem Olajuwon. And when Akeem was a a rookie, it you know, Olajuwon, he was the alpha.
00:20:28
Tom Lidiak
And and and and Ralph just kind of, you know, deferred deferred to him. But like I said earlier, those three guards, they'll get it they'll get it figured out under Kelvin's you know leadership and direction.
00:20:29
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:20:39
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:20:43
Tom Lidiak
But getting back to Kingston, I don't know he's just going you know. He's just going to get better and better and better. Probably could, I don't know, his shooting maybe can improve prove a little bit.
00:20:54
Tom Lidiak
But you know what? He's making shots.
00:20:56
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, his shooting percentage is the highest on the team.
00:20:57
Tom Lidiak
Yeah.
00:20:58
Tom Lidiak
yeah Yeah.
00:20:58
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:21:01
.0Bill Walker
Yeah, it's a snack.
00:21:06
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:21:09
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:21:10
Tom Lidiak
you know just
00:21:10
@NoConfForOldMen
He
00:21:11
Tom Lidiak
Just beautiful shots. He's got another gear.
00:21:15
Tom Lidiak
but Steve, you mentioned this in high school. you know He's got another gear that that but others just don't just don't have.
00:21:16
@NoConfForOldMen
does.
00:21:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:21:22
Tom Lidiak
He's got the length 6'4".
00:21:23
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:21:24
Tom Lidiak
He's got the hops. He's got the basketball IQ.
00:21:27
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:21:27
Tom Lidiak
The passes he makes. He does turn the ball over a little bit.
00:21:34
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:21:35
Tom Lidiak
But I'm glad...
00:21:35
@NoConfForOldMen
But that's gotten better.
00:21:36
@NoConfForOldMen
That's gotten better even.
00:21:36
Tom Lidiak
Yeah.
00:21:37
Tom Lidiak
Yeah. And then also, uh, getting back to chase McCarty, uh, effort Auburn game, Kelvin did mention in an interview that he said, you know, chase is, is, is a good shooter.
00:21:37
@NoConfForOldMen
Right. So
00:21:46
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah, I saw that.
00:21:47
Tom Lidiak
So it's not like he's going to shut, shut chase down. you know, as far as, you know you know, shooting open shots.
00:21:54
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:21:55
Tom Lidiak
So I just hope he gets it together.
00:21:58
Tom Lidiak
And I can i kind of kind of compare what Chase is going through to like Alex Bregman when he first came up. I think Bregman, when he first came up, was like 0 for 30 in the major leagues. And, you know, it's not like the Astros sat him down and sent him down to AAA. So i think it's the kind of kind of the same thing with Chase. You know, Kellen's not going to drop him to 10th or 11th in the rotation.
00:21:58
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:22:21
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:22:21
Tom Lidiak
And I think that's one of the reasons why Terrence moved on was because Chase McCarty was probably better in practice, you know, when those those two went head-to-head.
00:22:28
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:22:30
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay. So I was curious, what do you guys have seen four games, right? With Kingston and, you know, we all talked off season, preseason as well. And the comp I gave was John Wall and Derek Rose.
00:22:43
@NoConfForOldMen
What do you guys think? Or do you feel like Fleming's this game is like someone, another player?
00:22:45
Tom Lidiak
I heard somebody... Yeah, I heard somebody say Kevin Johnson, you know, back back going back to the Suns in the 90s. i'm not I'm not sure who.
00:22:55
.0Bill Walker
I don't see that.
00:22:56
Tom Lidiak
Yeah, I don i don't know.
00:22:57
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:22:57
@NoConfForOldMen
Johnson was small, right? 6'1", 6'6", yeah. Yeah. Okay.
00:23:00
Tom Lidiak
yeah I thought he was more like 6'3", but is to me it's hard to say, you know, who his game reminds me of.
00:23:03
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:23:07
Tom Lidiak
I don't know. Pete Maravich? Yeah.
00:23:14
.0Bill Walker
Yeah, i have a I could give that some thought. I haven't thought about an NBA comp.
00:23:17
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:23:21
@NoConfForOldMen
okay
00:23:21
.0Bill Walker
But I'll say this. if If Calvin was right about Kingston coming back for year two, it's going to take probably the biggest NIL payout of all time.
00:23:32
Tom Lidiak
Yeah, he said that before he started playing games, you know.
00:23:33
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:23:36
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, no, exactly.
00:23:38
.0Bill Walker
i jo I'm joking.
00:23:38
@NoConfForOldMen
i mean, so, yeah, he's got, I mean, so so let be let me throw some numbers out for you, right?
00:23:39
Tom Lidiak
Oh, okay.
00:23:40
.0Bill Walker
He's gone.
00:23:40
Tom Lidiak
Okay. and
00:23:44
@NoConfForOldMen
Incrated, I admit, it's only four games, right? But still, but If you look at Shed as a senior, his best year, our GOAT for point guard, and his senior year player boss score plus minus was a huge plus 11.6, right?
00:24:04
@NoConfForOldMen
Cooper Flagg last season, right? It's a generational freshman end of the season at a plus 14.9, which is incredible. which is incredible After four games, do you know what but Kingston's player boss score plus minus is?
00:24:21
Tom Lidiak
23? Okay. Yeah.
00:24:24
@NoConfForOldMen
No. 17.3, though.
00:24:24
Tom Lidiak
Okay.
00:24:25
@NoConfForOldMen
I mean, that's outrageous. I mean, I haven't seen any numbers.
00:24:26
Tom Lidiak
yeah
00:24:29
@NoConfForOldMen
like that before. Of course, it'd be nearly impossible to keep right this pace up because he's like shooting lights out. right This last game, like you highlighted, Bill, no... I think it was like nine assists, zero turnovers or something like that against Auburn. It was just crazy.
00:24:46
.0Bill Walker
Well, no no turnovers in the first half.
00:24:51
@NoConfForOldMen
Oh, no no. That's right. No in the first half. He did have, yeah, towards the end. Actually, he absolutely did have right in the last three minutes.
00:24:56
Tom Lidiak
yeah
00:24:57
.0Bill Walker
Yeah.
00:24:58
Tom Lidiak
Yeah. Yeah. Just, it yeah, just real, just real quick.
00:24:58
@NoConfForOldMen
But anyways, just we're lucky to have him.
00:25:00
.0Bill Walker
The other thing is yeah other thing is that the player box score...
00:25:02
Tom Lidiak
He,
00:25:05
.0Bill Walker
and i I'm not as all in on that, Steve, as you are. Shed's off-the-court presence on the team and everything else, but once once we start playing...
00:25:22
.0Bill Walker
You know, the teams are going to be a little better and in Vegas.
00:25:25
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, way better.
00:25:25
.0Bill Walker
And then we get into the conference. So the player box score number is going to go down.
00:25:27
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:25:30
.0Bill Walker
But that that doesn't diminish how exceptional I think he's going to be and and how exceptional he's been so far.
00:25:31
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:25:36
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:25:37
Tom Lidiak
Okay. I'll say this, guys. One of those turnovers was late in the game, and he had a big guy on him, and he decided to throw the pass. I think it was too sharp, and it surprised him.
00:25:47
.0Bill Walker
It was.
00:25:47
@NoConfForOldMen
It was.
00:25:47
Tom Lidiak
Yeah. Here's another thing. The little bit of Kansas I've watched, they're switching all screens. So imagine Kingston getting kston getting on a – they switched the ball screens on Kingston.
00:25:59
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:26:00
Tom Lidiak
I don't know if that's going work out too well for Kansas. Yeah.
00:26:03
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, probably not. Okay. So now let's head to our next three known games for Feast Week. Bill, don't you get started with the Rider game? What are you seeing with this team?
00:26:16
@NoConfForOldMen
And what are you expecting?
00:26:18
.0Bill Walker
Ryder, Thursday at 8 o'clock, it's for for those of you who don't want to come and say hi to me at the game, it'll be on TNT or True TV. Ryder has been picked 10th or 11th in the Metro Atlantic out of 13 teams.
00:26:28
@NoConfForOldMen
Haha.
00:26:35
.0Bill Walker
I'm going to hit this one really quickly. what They're 1-2 after blot losses to average teams, Virginia and Rutgers, and a blot win versus perennial title contender Eastern Pennsylvania.
00:26:48
.0Bill Walker
They're also at Texas tonight for part one of the Texas two-step, I guess you could call it.
00:26:52
@NoConfForOldMen
That's right.
00:26:54
.0Bill Walker
Their top three players and scorers are guards, but only one even shoots 40%, a flat 40% from the field.
00:27:04
.0Bill Walker
They're.322 in Ken Palm. They're.319 in offense. They're.313 in defense. Enough said.
00:27:11
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:27:11
.0Bill Walker
No idea what the point spread for this will be, but I will say H, 88-43.
00:27:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Nice.
00:27:20
.0Bill Walker
That's
00:27:21
@NoConfForOldMen
Done. How about you, Tom, from a coach's perspective?
00:27:24
Tom Lidiak
All I know about Ryder is they rent trucks.
00:27:30
Tom Lidiak
That's about it.
00:27:30
Tom Lidiak
but
00:27:31
@NoConfForOldMen
That's it.
00:27:32
Tom Lidiak
no and there is
00:27:32
@NoConfForOldMen
And then there we have it.
00:27:34
.0Bill Walker
a good, like your analysis.
00:27:36
@NoConfForOldMen
That's awesome.
00:27:37
.0Bill Walker
it's a good i like your analysis
00:27:39
Tom Lidiak
and there And they're in the Northeast Conference, so I know their campus is somewhere in the Northeast. I don't know.
00:27:40
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:27:46
Tom Lidiak
Pennsylvania? I don't know. Where is it? Anybody know?
00:27:47
@NoConfForOldMen
What?
00:27:51
@NoConfForOldMen
I actually don't.
00:27:51
Tom Lidiak
New York?
00:27:52
@NoConfForOldMen
That's more than I know about Ryder.
00:27:54
Tom Lidiak
I've heard of Ryder, you know, I mean, you know, when you get to, you know, when you get to those tournaments, you know, in March, you know, the conference tournaments, you know, you've, you see, you see the name, you see them on the the scores, but anyway, that's about it.
00:27:56
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, so I...
00:28:09
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, i'm not going to get into the analytics either.
00:28:14
.0Bill Walker
No need.
00:28:15
@NoConfForOldMen
I mean... Yeah, I mean, they're they're one of the worst teams in the country. And if you look at their analytics, it's all red across the board, right? And if you look at us, where we're up to 29th right now for adjusted offensive efficiency and still number one in and adjusted defensive efficiency.
00:28:31
@NoConfForOldMen
Quite honestly, the only thing I want to see is I just want to see us continue to work on quicker decisions on D, especially with our monstering, really zero in on some sets that worked last year on offense for Uzan and Sharp.
00:28:45
@NoConfForOldMen
I mean, was on, I think we were texting back and forth as well. He was so effective getting into the paint last year for floaters off both hands. And we started seeing that in the second half and and and we need to see him do that some more and get comfortable.
00:28:56
Tom Lidiak
Thank you.
00:28:59
@NoConfForOldMen
And that just opens, you know, his game up for the three point line as well as for others. And for Tuggler, quite honestly, I'd like to see him foul less and maybe just take his time on offense. And these are guys are going to be smaller. so hopefully he can take his time and and get his timing down.
00:29:16
@NoConfForOldMen
but now why don't we move to the two games, uh, next week, the big games right in Syracuse and then Tennessee and Tom, why don't you start with your coach's take on the Syracuse game?
00:29:28
Tom Lidiak
Yeah, Syracuse is coached by a former, I would say, former player of Jim Boeheim. It's Adrian Autry, I believe.
00:29:37
@NoConfForOldMen
That's right.
00:29:38
Tom Lidiak
So X's and O's philosophy, you know, i would I would assume, you know, there's there's a lot what he does to that Boeheim did. Tennessee, Rick Barnes, you know, they're going to be a mirror image of of us. The interesting thing about these games is that you know one One game's Monday, and then the Tennessee game will be the next day on on a Tuesday.
00:29:38
.0Bill Walker
Yep. yep
00:30:02
Tom Lidiak
And that doesn't even happen during the NCAA tournament. So we knew last year when we played in Vegas what type of effect it had.
00:30:07
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:30:10
Tom Lidiak
I think it was especially that – I think our second game was at San Diego State, I believe it was.
00:30:12
@NoConfForOldMen
It's tough.
00:30:16
Tom Lidiak
And then our, I think our third game was Notre Dame. Uh, I know in that Notre Dame game, we, we look like we were playing and concrete Nikes, you know, so that will probably be the story of, uh, Las Vegas is, you know, how, you know, how we, we recover to play that second game against Tennessee.
00:30:20
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. yeah
00:30:36
Tom Lidiak
I mean, they're playing two games in two days too.
00:30:38
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:30:39
.0Bill Walker
Yeah, yeah. yeah
00:30:41
Tom Lidiak
but yeah, uh, you know Tennessee SEC team, so it'll be it'll be another another rock fight against them. Syracuse, I'm not so you know sure. they It's hard to get a gauge on them.
00:30:53
Tom Lidiak
They played nothing but cupcakes. Bill, you called them cream puffs, but I remember back in the day when Dick Vitale would talk about Syracuse and Georgetown as they scheduled nothing in a non-conference but a bunch of cupcakes. so We really won't know what Syracuse has until they till they play us because I think they got another game I think they're 4-0, and I think their fifth game is against, you know, well yeah, another team in the 300s, you know.
00:31:14
.0Bill Walker
Yep.
00:31:19
Tom Lidiak
So we'll see. could see Could see more of a garden variety, two more of a traditional 2-3 zone against against Syracuse, you know, the Bayheim bayheim zone.
00:31:31
Tom Lidiak
i'll I'll say one thing. It'll be a lot tougher than Oakland's.
00:31:34
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, yeah, completely agree. How about you, Bill? what What are your thoughts on Syracuse from a player's perspective?
00:31:43
.0Bill Walker
Okay, Monday, 5 o'clock TNT for those that aren't going to be in Las Vegas. And they'll be four know when we play. Their wins are over, and Tom, you alluded to to what they're playing.
00:31:56
Tom Lidiak
you
00:31:56
.0Bill Walker
Heavyweights, Binghamton, Delaware State, Drexel, and upcoming is Monmouth.
00:32:00
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:32:05
.0Bill Walker
Really good prep.
00:32:08
.0Bill Walker
They are right around 50 in Ken Palm, and
00:32:11
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, they look good number wise right now.
00:32:14
.0Bill Walker
Yeah. Tommy mentioned Adrian Autry. He was a two guard for Boeheim. he was He was an average scorer, but he was good defensive player.
00:32:26
.0Bill Walker
They have been picked... in the bottom half of the 18 team ACC anywhere between like 11 and 13 is what I've seen.
00:32:31
Tom Lidiak
ouch
00:32:32
@NoConfForOldMen
Wow.
00:32:37
.0Bill Walker
they had their fewest wins last year, 14 since 1970. They have people expect them in the NCAAs. They have not been there since 2021. And, uh, there are a lot of people calling for Adrian Autry's head,
00:32:54
.0Bill Walker
Last year they were 17th in the ACC in scoring defense out of the 18 teams. So they did hit the portal pretty hard, but yeah we'll we'll see.
00:33:08
.0Bill Walker
Their best player is a sophomore who's returning, Donny Freeman, six nine averaging so almost 18 points a game, five rebounds, very good player.
00:33:20
.0Bill Walker
They've got another six nine a power forward named William Kyle. He's a senior. He came in from UCLA, really athletic, 11 points, 9 over 9 boards, 3.3 blocks, and 70% from the floor. So he's going inside.
00:33:39
.0Bill Walker
Their third front court player, and everyone will be familiar with this name, freshman, Keon Anthony, swingman, 17.3 points per game, 63% from the floor, 44% from three.
00:33:57
.0Bill Walker
He would be the son of Carmelo Anthony.
00:34:00
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:34:01
.0Bill Walker
So little name recognition there.
00:34:04
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:34:04
.0Bill Walker
And then and then to to Solid guards. Nathan George, he's their point guard. 6-3, transferred from Georgia Tech. Six assists a game, a little over 11 points. He's shooting 50% from the field and 40% from three.
00:34:20
.0Bill Walker
And then two guard came in from Oregon state, Nate Kings, six, five junior supposed to be just an incredibly deadly shooter.
00:34:30
.0Bill Walker
He's kind of, kind of like McCarty right so far for the season against all these, these cream puffs.
00:34:33
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:34:35
.0Bill Walker
He's shooting 16.7% from three. So we'll, we'll see what happens there. They're averaging 83 a game right now, but against nobody, uh,
00:34:49
.0Bill Walker
Tugler and Senac versus Freeman and Kyle will be good matchups. Need to stay out of foul trouble. Flemings versus George. And the one that I'm most interested in is Emmanuel versus Anthony.
00:35:03
.0Bill Walker
I'm particularly interested in that matchup. If our big guys stay out of foul trouble, we are good. seventy five sixty six
00:35:10
@NoConfForOldMen
Nice. I mean, it's interesting from an analytics perspective, Circus is like fantastic so far this year, but as you guys have highlighted, they haven't played anyone. They're 48th now in Ken Palm.
00:35:24
@NoConfForOldMen
If you look at adjusted offensive efficiency, they're 56th. Adjusted defensive efficiency, they're 44th. And that's with a lot of like the last few seasons, bad numbers baked in as well at this point.
00:35:38
@NoConfForOldMen
They're actually shooting the ball much better on offense this season. and 33rd in effective field goal percentage, especially good from two-point range where they're 13th in Ken Palm. And they're no longer turning the ball over being at number 26 in turnover present percentage.
00:35:52
@NoConfForOldMen
On D, where Syracuse quite honestly has been awful at challenging any shots from both two-point and three-point range, they're now the number one team in effective field goal percentage D so far this year. So, you know, I don't know. it's My guess is it's likely very misleading given who they've played.
00:36:12
@NoConfForOldMen
But, yeah.
00:36:13
.0Bill Walker
Yeah, big deal. I'd be number one, an effective field goal percentage D if I was guarding my sister.
00:36:14
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. ha Yeah. So, yeah, we'll see. they're They're going to get their first real test, I think, against us.
00:36:25
@NoConfForOldMen
So I don't know. and But as we all know, it's going to be different, as it is always the case when people play us for the first time and teams are just not used to our relentlessness on both sides of the ball.
00:36:39
@NoConfForOldMen
So as long as we get back to our ball movement with Uzan hunting mid-rangers, I think everything else opens up on offense for us. And while on D, if we just play our style, we're just to wear this team out.
00:36:50
@NoConfForOldMen
So based on the metrics, this is projected to be a nine-point win for the Cougs on a neutral court by Ken Palm, which is shocking, right?
00:36:56
.0Bill Walker
No, just what I picked.
00:36:58
@NoConfForOldMen
it I mean, I'm i'm thinking it's going to be bigger, right? And I'm projecting a 14-point, 75-to-61-point
00:37:06
@NoConfForOldMen
And so now why don't we finally talk about the Tennessee rematch game from last year's tourney, another SEC challenge where I'm sure they'll be looking for a bit of payback from last season.
00:37:17
@NoConfForOldMen
Bill, don't you kick things off from your players' take on the Tennessee game?
00:37:21
.0Bill Walker
Preseason top 10, they're picked anywhere from 2 to 5 in the deep SEC, and most remember us dismantling them, especially defensively in the Elite Eight last year.
00:37:27
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:37:33
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:37:35
.0Bill Walker
They are currently, I saw 12 in Ken Palm, and not surprisingly, 5 defensively. They are currently, and this is going to sound very repetitive, they're 4-0,
00:37:50
.0Bill Walker
And they'll be 6-0, probably almost assuredly 6-0 when we play them.
00:37:55
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay.
00:37:55
.0Bill Walker
Having defeated Mercer, Northern Kentucky, North Florida, and Rice by an average score of ninety to sixty two
00:37:59
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:38:09
.0Bill Walker
And they've got Tennessee State on deck before playing Rutgers prior to us in Las Vegas.
00:38:16
@NoConfForOldMen
okay
00:38:18
.0Bill Walker
yeah Tennessee and and Rick Barnes with his 836 career wins, they return one starter from last year's Elite Eight team. And their strength this year is is far, far, far and away their front court.
00:38:35
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:38:36
.0Bill Walker
The interesting thing about Tennessee, they're very much like us. They did not, unlike us, they did not lose a single player to the portal.
00:38:47
.0Bill Walker
However, like us, they lost a lot of graduates. In fact, a lot more graduates than, than we did. Uh, yeah. And right now, because of the garbage teams that they've played, this is a tough lineup to kind of highlight because with these blowouts, 11 players are averaging double digit minutes. So here here are a few that I think will get the most time versus us, uh,
00:39:15
.0Bill Walker
They've got a freshman who's so far been their best player, Nate Ament, 20 points a game right now, nine boards, three assists, two steals, and two and a half turnovers.
00:39:30
.0Bill Walker
And this is in 26 minutes per game. He is absolutely the real deal.
00:39:32
@NoConfForOldMen
Mm-hmm.
00:39:36
.0Bill Walker
Their second best player is their point guard. he Started at Belmont in Nashville, transferred to Maryland, and now he's at Tennessee. Jacoby Gillespie, 6'1", senior.
00:39:49
.0Bill Walker
He's averaging 16.5, 6.3 assists, 41% and 3.8 turnovers versus all these mediocre teams. forty one percent from three and three point eight turnovers versus all these mediocre teams Sophomore, and and here come the big guys, more the big guys emphasizing their front court.
00:40:08
.0Bill Walker
got a sophomore, J.P. Estrella, 250-pound power forward sophomore. He missed all of last year with a foot injury, so far 14-7.
00:40:22
.0Bill Walker
An Ohio State transfer, Felix Akpara, 6'11", again, 235, power forward center, senior, 8 points, 6 boards, 1.5 blocks.
00:40:35
.0Bill Walker
Jalen Curry, trader, transfer from Vandy, 6'8", 265, power forward center, junior, 6 points, 5.5 boards, everything with him is inside.
00:40:51
.0Bill Walker
So they're huge.
00:40:53
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:40:54
.0Bill Walker
Two guard, I really have no idea. It could be 6'3 sophomore named Ethan Berg. It could be 6'4 freshman named Bishop Boswell. They'll both get some minutes, but that that seems to be their weak spot.
00:41:09
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:41:10
.0Bill Walker
This is, as as I mentioned, a big, big team, aside from Gillespie. yeah most of their production is going to come from the front court. So this is absolutely a game where Tugler, Senac,
00:41:25
.0Bill Walker
and Socko have to stay on the floor? If so, we should be fine. Fleming versus Gillespie is going to be a great matchup, but as I mentioned, Yuzan and Sharp need to dominate their young guards.
00:41:42
.0Bill Walker
with their With their height, I expect to see McCarty, Ramon, and and Harwell a little bit more than we have. But in the end, i just think that we're a more well-rounded team. I think we're better across the board.
00:41:57
.0Bill Walker
And I have us winning seventy four sixty seven
00:42:01
Tom Lidiak
Bill, you left something out. We have clin Kingston Flemings and they don't.
00:42:01
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay.
00:42:06
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:42:08
.0Bill Walker
Well, I agree with that, but I'll tell you, Gillespie is a hell of a player. He he dominated Florida in the NCAA tournament last year at Maryland. he is He is a really, really good point guard.
00:42:23
.0Bill Walker
It's going to be a great matchup, and that that will be the matchup to watch.
00:42:28
Tom Lidiak
And Gillespie's about lasting's about six one Okay.
00:42:28
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah i
00:42:31
.0Bill Walker
Yes. Yes.
00:42:33
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, I'm looking forward to that game. mean, what's your take, Tom, from a coach's view versus Tennessee?
00:42:39
Tom Lidiak
Pretty much what what I said earlier, you know, Rick Barnes, older coach, old school, but he's adapted.
00:42:41
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:42:46
Tom Lidiak
you know, he didn't, you know, I call it Kelvin Sampson basketball, old school basketball with a modern twist, you know, and and and Rick Barnes, he has this non-negotiables just like Kelvin does.
00:42:52
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:42:56
Tom Lidiak
So they're Bill, you mentioned they're kind of like mirror images of each other. They're going to be tough as nails. They're going to play tough man to man. know, they're gonna, they're gonna hit the boards hard. It's just going to be, a scrappy game. Another, another rock fight.
00:43:15
Tom Lidiak
And the key, like I said earlier, a key thing is they both play on month. know, we both play on Monday then you got to come right back, you know, 24 hours later or less.
00:43:26
Tom Lidiak
And, you know, you're not playing a writer, you know, so, you know, Tennessee has us, we have Tennessee and, you know, we'll just have to see.
00:43:30
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:43:36
Tom Lidiak
yeah
00:43:39
Tom Lidiak
I like it.
00:43:40
Tom Lidiak
I'm, I'm even looking forward, I'm looking forward to the Syracuse game. And then, you know, Tennessee should be, should be another good one, just like the Auburn game.
00:43:41
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, me too.
00:43:52
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, completely agree. i mean, I
00:43:54
.0Bill Walker
And and when we when we win those two games, or even if we don't, but when we do win those two games, there is a third, isn't there?
00:44:02
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, but we don't know who it is.
00:44:02
Tom Lidiak
yeah
00:44:04
.0Bill Walker
Yeah, that's right.
00:44:05
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, yeah we don't know.
00:44:05
.0Bill Walker
Yeah. But the point is, it'll be three games in four days?
00:44:05
Tom Lidiak
Yeah.
00:44:07
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:44:09
Tom Lidiak
Three days, and I believe.
00:44:10
Tom Lidiak
I don't...
00:44:10
.0Bill Walker
Or is it in three?
00:44:11
Tom Lidiak
i have a down as I have it down as Wednesday being in the third game.
00:44:12
.0Bill Walker
Okay. Okay.
00:44:15
Tom Lidiak
I always thought they kind of skipped the day, but it looks like the three games in three days.
00:44:15
.0Bill Walker
okay Yeah, you might be right.
00:44:17
.0Bill Walker
You're probably right.
00:44:17
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:44:23
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, which is nuts. But
00:44:24
Tom Lidiak
Yeah.
00:44:24
.0Bill Walker
Possibly St.
00:44:25
.0Bill Walker
John's, I think.
00:44:28
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah, it could be.
00:44:29
.0Bill Walker
But I don't know. I don't know.
00:44:30
@NoConfForOldMen
It depends on
00:44:30
.0Bill Walker
I could i could be i could be wrong.
00:44:31
Tom Lidiak
Yeah, I think Creighton's in, you know, there's some other schools in there, Creighton too, but that's that's nuts when you got to play three, you know, three three really good teams in three days.
00:44:32
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:44:32
.0Bill Walker
I don't know.
00:44:32
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:44:36
@NoConfForOldMen
I know.
00:44:39
@NoConfForOldMen
I know. i know
00:44:42
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, but but I'm looking forward to this one as well. I love playing the SEC teams, love the opportunity to potentially beat an SEC team. I think as we talked about last week, it helps with conference perception as well as tourney bids come March. And so I think so far the Big 12's been doing really well.
00:45:01
@NoConfForOldMen
And I think we're going to continue that that tradition this season. But it is a different Tennessee team from last season, you guys had highlighted. And at least so far, they're scoring a bit better.
00:45:11
@NoConfForOldMen
a little bit more efficient so efficiently than last season. They're currently 13th, I guess, in Ken Palm and 40th in adjusted offensive efficiency and fifth in adjusted defensive efficiency. So expect another grounded out physical kind of game.
00:45:28
@NoConfForOldMen
And obviously Tennessee knows our style with the Elite A game fresh in their mind. So they should be better prepared on offense against our relentless D. But again, bunch of new players that haven't experienced it themselves.
00:45:41
@NoConfForOldMen
I mean, so far they're shooting the ball actually really well for them. 34th in effective field goal percentage and first in offensive rebounding. Another physical challenge on D where Tennessee has been great the last few years. Like us, they've worked hard to try to maintain that standard.
00:45:58
@NoConfForOldMen
So their effective field goal percentage D is at 20th in Ken Palm. And especially for the two point range, they're 22nd.
00:46:07
@NoConfForOldMen
in in Kempom but we've seen a drop off in their ability to turn teams over it and so they're down at 210th in Kempom in defensive turnover rate based on the metrics this is projected to be a three-point win for the Cougs but based what we've talked about actually feel like we've got a big advantage on the coaching front and I'm predicting a bigger win so And I'm actually also expecting a tight eight man rotation for this one and a 75 to 67, 8.1 in Vegas.
00:46:42
@NoConfForOldMen
Now I know one point different from you.
00:46:42
.0Bill Walker
That's one point. That's literally one point more than I picked. Other than that, it's the same score.
00:46:48
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah. yeah Yeah. So we're, we're tightly aligned.
00:46:53
.0Bill Walker
I'm glad that you're finally following in my footsteps.
00:46:58
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, yeah. So now, as we have promised listeners, we're also going to start highlighting some big 12 games of interest. And so, especially for Feast Week, where we've got a lot of, you know, big conference versus big conference type games.
00:47:15
@NoConfForOldMen
Tom, why don't you go first? What are what's the game that you're really zeroing in on and kind of why? Why'd you pick that game?
00:47:22
Tom Lidiak
Well, we actually have a game tonight at eight o'clock, Kansas and Duke, but the big news out of Lawrence is that Darren Peterson, he, yeah, there's a hamstring issue.
00:47:29
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, he's out indefinitely.
00:47:35
Tom Lidiak
He's out for quote unquote, the immediate future. So anybody who's ever pulled a hamstring knows that it's kind of like Mark, you know, you never know. kind of like Marcus Sasser had that groan injury.
00:47:44
@NoConfForOldMen
i know.
00:47:46
Tom Lidiak
It's, you know, the only, the only medicine for things like that is for them to completely heal. It seems like if you go out, you just keep on tweaking it and tweaking it. So I think everybody's going have to take a, you know, keep keep track of that, how long how long he's out. But that Kansas Duke game is one I'll be i'll be watching. There were several others. I think, was it wait Wake Forest? is I can't remember who they're playing, but
00:48:16
Tom Lidiak
that's That's one. I'll be watching a bunch of games. Iowa State has a couple of good games coming up here against Creighton, too. So that's that's the teams I usually kind of keep track of.
00:48:27
Tom Lidiak
Kansas, like i always do, because I love to see them lose.
00:48:29
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:48:31
Tom Lidiak
That's why. But, you know, in the Duke game, it's good for the conference if Kansas wins. So go Kansas.
00:48:38
@NoConfForOldMen
All right. How about you, Bill? What big 12 games are you going to be zeroing in over Turkey, Turkey week?
00:48:45
.0Bill Walker
This is but like Tom, this is a little bit prior to Thanksgiving, this Friday, BYU-Wisconsin in Provo. I am interested in this one for pretty obvious reasons.
00:48:59
.0Bill Walker
I'm always favor in favor, as you mentioned, Tom, of the Big 12 teams to win non-conference games, unless it's TAC.
00:49:09
.0Bill Walker
but I'm kind of biased toward my original undergraduate school and home state team. I've seen Wisconsin picked as high as fifth in the big 10 and as low as eighth, although they're 23 right now in the AP, you know, while BYU is nine,
00:49:30
.0Bill Walker
Wisconsin, like the other teams we've talked about, they have four blowout wins and they're scoring over 90 a game, but this is their first real opponent and first road game.
00:49:42
.0Bill Walker
I've already seen BYU beat Villanova. I've seen them lose by two at Connecticut. A.J. DeBansa, the 6'9", five-star freshman, is absolutely the real deal. He will be the number one pick in next year's draft. As much as I'd love it to be Kingston, it is going to be DeBansa. He is that good, and We'll see him in early February.
00:50:13
.0Bill Walker
Wisconsin's best player Nick Boyd. He's a really good guard, good scorer, good player. I hate to say this, but in Provo, BYU 88-79.
00:50:24
.0Bill Walker
seventy nine
00:50:25
@NoConfForOldMen
Nice.
00:50:26
Tom Lidiak
hey Hey, Steve, the the game I actually, I forgot, the game actually was going to zero in was Arizona and Yukon on on Wednesday.
00:50:27
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:50:34
@NoConfForOldMen
Oh, yeah, that's a big one.
00:50:35
Tom Lidiak
And the game, it's not a neutral site. It said Gamble Pavilion in store. So it's not like one of these, you know, they're going play in the garden or whatever.
00:50:40
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay. Wow. what you
00:50:43
Tom Lidiak
So that's the that's the one I'm going to really hone in on.
00:50:49
.0Bill Walker
Tom, you only get to watch one game.
00:50:51
@NoConfForOldMen
it.
00:50:51
Tom Lidiak
Okay. Arizona Yukon. There there you go.
00:50:54
@NoConfForOldMen
airs what you god love it
00:50:55
Tom Lidiak
There you go.
00:50:57
@NoConfForOldMen
So I'm going to be watching Iowa State St. John's, right? Two great coaches in Otts and Patino, two ranked teams, both hard-nosed defenses, plus another chance for Big 12 to flex its muscles against another power team.
00:51:10
@NoConfForOldMen
I expect ISU to actually do the conference proud and pull out an eight-point win, daring St. John's to beat them from the three-point line, where they've been, I'd say, mediocre to say the least. And you know what? I'm going to pick a second game as well. Kind of an obscure game that I'm going to watch as a bonus. And it's and Arizona state versus Texas. If you can believe that.
00:51:33
@NoConfForOldMen
And I know we picked Arizona state. I think all three of us picked them 16th, right? Last in the big 12 this season, but yeah,
00:51:40
.0Bill Walker
I've had him 15th.
00:51:42
@NoConfForOldMen
Oh, did you? Okay, so basically towards the end. But they actually might be better than we think. I mean, they actually pushed the Zags in the last game. And I'm always looking for Texas to lose.
00:51:54
@NoConfForOldMen
And plus, Hurley's actually got a hidden gem in seven-foot freshman Masamba Diop, who has been balling this season. So keep an eye on him.
00:52:03
.0Bill Walker
I've seen him. I've watched him. Yeah, I watched the Gonzaga game.
00:52:05
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, no, he's he's really good.
00:52:09
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Okay, guys. So that's it for our 63rd episode of the No Conference Old Men podcast. Hope you all enjoyed it. And again, would really appreciate it if folks would follow, subscribe, collect our podcast, depending on your podcast platform of choice.
00:52:23
@NoConfForOldMen
We are also available via the Republic of Football podcast feed from the folks at Dave Campbell's Texas Football as the only basketball-centric podcast or at the gokus.com website for those that prefer to digest the content that way.
00:52:35
@NoConfForOldMen
We appreciate the continued support from all. Also, please give us follow on our Twitter account, No Conference for Old Men. Thank you all again for listening. And please be on the lookout, I'd say, after Feast Week, where we'll start to cover a few more Big 12 games as well.
00:52:52
@NoConfForOldMen
And take care, everyone. And have a safe Thanksgiving. Go Cougs!
00:52:57
Tom Lidiak
Go Cougs.
00:52:57
.0Bill Walker
Happy Thanksgiving.