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Is Duke Just Inevitable???
19 Plays3 months ago
The boys are back quick for the normally timed Episode. We're starting to realize that Duke Athletics is just a WAGON. Also, 1 weekend in and we may have an early imposter for College Baseball. TJ and Pat go over lots of predictions for marquee basketball matchups and ponder if Iowa State Men's and Women's basketball are both willing and able to make the jump that both teams need at this point in the season.
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Transcript
Welcome and Recent Trends
00:00:01
Travis White
everyone, welcome back to the PacSouth podcast. We are back just a few days after recording, after kind of a weird recording week. So we're here now on Wednesday.
00:00:12
Travis White
Not a lot has happened except the Billikens went down to URI the past couple days.
00:00:17
Pat Q
Thank you.
00:00:19
Travis White
Really shocking upset there. Outside of that, college basketball, college sports kind of starting to hit its stride right now. um You have like college baseball. They're starting the midweek matchups. So you're seeing kind of who's going to have depth and if there's any slip ups that really are going to show up for the actual season itself. want to see a lot of pitching depth the next couple of But we have a lot of big matchups this weekend.
Arizona Wildcats' Critical Week
00:00:48
Travis White
So big that we're actually going to hop right into one of our first matchups of the weekend. We have number four, Arizona, taking on number two, Houston.
00:00:57
Travis White
Huge matchup between these two teams. Arizona, big week for them. They have BYU tonight.
00:01:02
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:01:03
Travis White
um Should be interesting to see what the Wildcats able to put on the court there, but then the bigger matchup, obviously, on Saturday. What do you like here? I mean, we talked about Houston recently on the podcast. Kingston Fleming, who...
00:01:17
Travis White
may or may not be playing his way into a lottery pick. So I've been told, um what what do you kind of like this weekend? Do you think Arizona's going to be tired, or do you think they're goingnna be ready for a matchup with the second Cougars?
00:01:29
Pat Q
think I think this is going to be a really, really competitive game um because I think Arizona is going to come in with something to prove. ah They're losers of two straight headed into this week against BYU.
00:01:44
Travis White
Yeah.
00:01:44
Pat Q
ah So going from an undefeated team and one of the only ones left alongside Miami to immediately being now you're seeding in the Big 12 tournaments in jeopardy because Iowa State's right there with you. Obviously, you got Houston right there with you. You've got Kansas not too far behind BYU, not too far behind.
Team Rankings and Predictions
00:02:06
Pat Q
Right. So i think this is a crucial week for Tommy Lloyd and for Arizona.
00:02:11
Pat Q
Um,
00:02:16
Pat Q
especially when you look at kind of like how these teams shake out in terms of like, obviously top 25 rankings, but obviously you want to look at more than just that. um Take a look at Ken Palm, take a look at net rankings.
00:02:29
Pat Q
They're both right there.
00:02:29
Travis White
Yep. Mm-hmm.
00:02:30
Pat Q
You know, these are clear top five teams. um If you had asked me this question two weeks ago, i think I would have said Arizona, despite the fact that it's in Houston, but i don't know. The Cougars are starting to sort of gel together. Seems like Kelvin Sampson's got it figured out with this new rotation. Obviously, Kingston Fleming's being this outstanding freshman for them. um
00:02:57
Pat Q
Yeah, I like the Cougs here.
00:03:00
Travis White
Okay, I will go ahead and give my pick and then give you almost every reason why I don't actually believe in it. um I'm also going with Houston. I, I really like this team. I said that last time we brought them up in a predictions pick.
00:03:17
Travis White
But I will say where this game kind of falls on both teams with how things have gone of late, Houston just upset the other night by Iowa State, ah very solid program in their own right.
00:03:30
Travis White
um So the Cougars kind of taking a little bit of a step back.
00:03:30
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:03:33
Travis White
Arizona needs to find their stride again. Hard game tonight with BYU, then followed up with a tough road test in Houston.
00:03:38
Pat Q
yeah
00:03:42
Travis White
I like them tonight, but i really question their ability with the form they've been in to get a win, and then another one on the road with these high-caliber matchups.
00:03:54
Travis White
I think it's probably going to be a sloppier game than what we would like to see between an Arizona and a Houston. I think both teams are going to be a little bit tired and a little bit off their step. um But just being the home team, think will be enough for Houston to kind of like get over this. I think it's going to be a really weird matchup.
00:04:13
Travis White
would like to see this again in the big 12 tournament. I'm almost certain that we will, and then get a little bit more of a cleaner matchup. Like we would expect between these two teams.
College Baseball Standings Update
00:04:24
Travis White
so there's our surprise first pick of the show um we're going hop into our packs outstandings as now we have some updates on baseball and then we'll have great updates on basketball so baseball very quickly obviously we're only going off the opening weekend we have one first place team in new mexico they got a four game sweep over the weekend was not expecting to see that when i was going through all the schedule but they put up I believe it was like 68 runs over four games. That offense seems overpowered down there in Albuquerque. And then we have a four-way tie for second place. We have Duke, Florida, Central Michigan, and UCF.
00:05:01
Travis White
Almost all of these programs I would expect to be here. I'm not sure about Central Michigan. Pat, what are you or do you think they're kind of the imposter here?
00:05:11
Travis White
don't
00:05:12
Pat Q
I think it's kind of like a polar bear in Arlington, Texas situation here where, don't know, I think the favorability of the early season schedule for Central Michigan will probably help them stay in a relatively favorable position in our standings early on.
00:05:16
Travis White
know.
00:05:32
Pat Q
But i think when you really look at this team, you and I had talked about it before the podcast. and They were picked seventh to finish in the MAAC overall. um it's It's not a super exciting roster, and Mac baseball is not exactly known for being the pinnacle of Division I baseball. No shade.
00:05:53
Pat Q
Of course, it's impressive that they're playing Division I baseball at all. But I think Central Michigan is definitely going to fall back to the pack a little bit, and I think teams that are in stronger conferences that maybe aren't playing we'll say like bigger programs early. so they're not getting some of those points that are available for our standings at least. Or maybe teams that start a little bit slow, but then find their way as we progress into conference play, have the chance of sort of jumping them on the ladder a little bit.
00:06:26
Travis White
Yeah, I kind of agree with that. I mean, they have the benefit of playing in the Mac.
Women's Basketball Top Teams
00:06:33
Travis White
However, to sit back and go, okay, well, there's also a reason that they're in the Mac and being picked to kind of finish middle of the pack in a not so great conference kind of tells you all you need to know. But You never know.
00:06:46
Travis White
They're all just predictions, and they're up there at the top right now. They could always just stay there. You never know. um
00:06:51
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:06:53
Travis White
On to basketball. Top two teams, men and women, still the same. Duke and South Carolina leading the pack by a lot. um Women's basketball, second and third. Duke and Washington still hanging in there.
00:07:07
Travis White
Iowa State and Notre Dame, though. Keep an eye on that third place between Washington and the other two. That's kind of what we need to watch out for in the Pac-South standings. I could easily see an Iowa State ah sneaking in there. They have a great opportunity this weekend, which we'll talk about in a few moments. And then men's basketball.
00:07:29
Travis White
we have ah We have a little bit of a change in the top three. Florida has jumped Iowa State, we mentioned before. Pretty solid program over there. Cyclones still doing what they need to do, but the Gators have been on fire lately. They've continued that last few games, getting a big win against Kentucky, getting a win against a South Carolina team.
00:07:51
Travis White
They're there in second. I don't know if they're going to catch Duke by the end of the season, but i mean we're starting to see it shrink up a little bit in the top three.
Men's Basketball Rankings and Standings
00:07:58
Travis White
Duke still very good. We have a matchup we're going to talk about with them coming up today as well.
00:08:04
Travis White
How are we feeling? Do we think that this kind of stays to form for the men's side at least.
00:08:11
Pat Q
Yeah, I think for the men's side, we're really starting to... I'll say hit our stride a little bit in terms of like where these teams are going to shake out.
00:08:17
Travis White
Mm-hmm.
00:08:19
Pat Q
Obviously Iowa state is one of those teams. It's pretty good. I'll say going to be variable with Florida in terms of flip flopping. I feel like because the big 12 presents opportunities for pretty marquee wins. um And while the sec isn't quite as good as it has been in years past, it's still a really strong conference. And again,
00:08:43
Pat Q
presents those opportunities to a team like Florida, who is really gelling right now, meeting those preseason expectations where they were a top five team. um So I think we're pretty set, but I wouldn't be surprised to see iowa State and Florida kind of leapfrog each other a little bit. And it really come down to whoever makes a deeper run in the NCAA tournament.
00:09:08
Pat Q
winding up ahead of the other one between those two squads. Because I feel like Florida's got a great shot at winning the SEC. We kind of mentioned the Big 12 already. There's four or five teams right there at the top that are competing for that crown. So who's to say Iowa State's out of it? you know They're only, i think, a game out of first place in the Big 12 standings right now. So i don't know. I feel like we're tightening up.
00:09:36
Pat Q
But there's still some movement. But I feel like women's basketball, for the large part, is fairly, I'll say, done and dusted a little bit. It seems like our top teams have really started to separate themselves a little bit, especially South Carolina.
00:09:50
Travis White
The start, yeah.
00:09:52
Pat Q
But Duke's finding their stride after really rough non-conference I'll say go of things. I want to say they lost like what, six games out of conference, something like that, because I know they're undefeated in in ACC play.
00:10:06
Travis White
hard yeah
00:10:09
Pat Q
um So they're really finding their groove. I feel like that's gonna help them move up the ladder. I'm not sure if it'll help them catch South Carolina, but potentially I'd say like close that gap a little bit or,
00:10:22
Pat Q
at least make it a little bit more competitive at the top. Iowa state also on the women's side is kind of rounding into form again. um But I don't know. It seems like the big 12 has a few solid teams and Iowa state's a little bit behind them, especially like TCU. And I'm pretty sure West Virginia's women's team is fairly highly ranked as well right now.
00:10:49
Pat Q
yeah.
00:10:51
Travis White
Yeah, i I think Iowa State, as you mentioned, I think despite the Big 12 variability, which we've seen the Cyclones fall victim to earlier in the season, great chance in just a few moments.
00:11:01
Pat Q
Mm-hmm.
00:11:04
Travis White
We'll talk about to kind of redeem themselves a little bit with that. But I think that they have the best chance of like sneaking into this top three.
Predictions for Upcoming Games
00:11:13
Travis White
Washington has not looked as good as they kind of started, it i would say.
00:11:18
Travis White
um so I think the cyclones, the door is definitely open if they're able to take the opportunity, like they're going to have it here in the last final stretch of the season. Um, That being said, though, we will hop into our predictions.
00:11:29
Travis White
It is that kind of episode for us with a couple of days.
00:11:31
Pat Q
yeah
00:11:33
Travis White
it It was really tough. I mean, Sunday we had to talk about the football and the excitement of Sacramento State, North Dakota State. Didn't leave us a lot. Thank you to, I guess, URI for upsetting St.
00:11:45
Travis White
Louis. So we had a little bit of something.
00:11:45
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:11:47
Travis White
um But that being said, we'll hop right into it. We have VCU versus St. Louis. Yeah. I really put this on here. It's a trap game for the Billikens.
00:11:58
Travis White
And I was like, I don't really like this for them. It's in St. Louis. so like that kind of helps them, but VCU very solid basketball program.
00:12:05
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:12:07
Travis White
They've been that way almost since the dawn of time. They seem like they are almost always a bubble team in the tournament. And once they're in, they're good for usually an upset.
00:12:17
Travis White
um This could have been the upset game, but I think having lost, in very sad fashion, you could kind of say. It was a very ugly game to watch. St. Louis really had no tempo, no momentum, and then Rhode Island was just pounding the boards against them, so especially on the offensive side. But I like the Billikens to get a rebound win here against VCU. I think the fact that they got the loss against Rhode Island kind of
00:12:51
Travis White
flips my pick or makes me feel stronger about this. They're going to come in focus. They're going to come in angry. Bad time for the Rams.
00:12:59
Pat Q
Yeah, I think Josh Schertz is going to do a really good job of refocusing St. Louis after a surprising and frankly, like you said, disappointing loss to a pretty mediocre slash bad URI team. I think my only concern with the St. Louis team down the stretch, and I know last episode I talked about how I think they're one of those mid-major teams that can make a little bit of a run. My only concern with them would be the traction that Josh Schertz is getting.
00:13:31
Pat Q
for I don't want to say better jobs, but we'll say bigger jobs. right He's kind of the hot name on the coaching market right now.
00:13:35
Travis White
Mm-hmm.
00:13:40
Pat Q
So does that become a distraction for him? Does that become a distraction for the players in trying to maintain their focus, build on the season that they've established? But I'm kind of with you when it comes to this game.
00:13:53
Pat Q
These two teams played already in Virginia and St. Louis won. um so i like St. Louis to refocus, come out with a purpose, get back to playing the style of basketball that made them so successful all year long and sort of carry that momentum into the weekend with them.
00:14:15
Travis White
Okay, we'll move over to women's this game on what's what's today? Today is Wednesday, so we have this on Sunday. There we go. That's how that works. Iowa will State versus TCU, as we mentioned, we discussed just a few moments ago.
00:14:31
Travis White
This is a massive game for the Cyclones. I think that if they really want to establish that they are going to compete in the women's tournament this year, They kind of need this game. They really need this for a resume boost, get some better seating, and they need this for confidence to show we can play with some of the big teams.
00:14:47
Travis White
This being in Fort Worth does not help the Cyclones. However, I will say the losing streak they were on earlier in the year stunk, but it helps them in this situation.
00:15:01
Travis White
They are going to need a massive game from Audi Crooks. She's going to need to probably drop at least 25. She has that in her game. but she hasn't been as consistent with that. You look at her last five games, she had 18 points, I believe two games ago, and then only 10 points against a very much struggling UCF women's team right now. So she's going to really need to show up if the Cyclones want to have a chance against the Horned Frogs.
00:15:27
Travis White
I think they do. i think they need this much more than TCU does. I think TCU... All around is probably the better team, but Audi Crooks is one of the best players in the country, hands down. And I think that she does show up in this one for them.
00:15:43
Pat Q
Yeah, I don't know, think this is going to be an interesting matchup because as you mentioned, there's so much on the line for Iowa State here, right? Like, I know we were talking about our standings and, you know, can they run up the ladder there?
00:15:55
Pat Q
But for their sake and for building a case, like you said, for the NCAA tournament, like this is a super bubbly team right now because of that streak that they had to endure, right?
00:16:03
Travis White
It
00:16:06
Pat Q
They lost um quite a few games consecutively. I think it was, what, five games in a row. um
00:16:13
Travis White
was five years in a row, yeah.
00:16:13
Pat Q
in the middle of January. And that took them from a top 10 team to an unranked team, which is super, super shocking in men's or women's basketball to see a team kind of like have to gut it through that, have to sort of endure some of those struggles. It seems like they're kind of putting those behind them. I know they did lose to the BYU women.
00:16:39
Pat Q
think it was last Tuesday. want to say that's Monday or last Tuesday.
00:16:45
Travis White
It was last Tuesday, correct.
00:16:47
Pat Q
um And I have no idea if BYU is any good at women's basketball or not, but I'll take that as a bad sign. I don't really hear them talked about much in women's basketball circles. So I'm going to go with TCU here. i think they're the better team. I think they're the deeper team.
Miami vs Virginia Game Analysis
00:17:05
Pat Q
And I think they have the athleticism to unfortunately put Audi Crooks in some of those uncomfortable defensive positions that we've seen her in this year where she's getting put in the PNR and they're just using speed to just go right by her.
00:17:19
Pat Q
um And as great as she is as an offensive player, I think that is really like her biggest flaw in her game right now.
00:17:27
Travis White
Yeah. Yeah. All right. We have a split there on to men's basketball on Saturday, an intriguing matchup that I will get out of the way because I will not have anywhere near the information that you would like to hear about this matchup. But we have Miami versus Virginia, a sneaky good hurricane squad on the road to number 14, Virginia.
00:17:51
Travis White
I have so little insight on this. I pulling somewhat what I did with some of the football picks. I'm going with the home team. I'm going with the more established program. I'm going Virginia so that way I can pass it over to Pat.
00:18:04
Pat Q
Yeah, I think this is going to be a really, really interesting game. Miami has been one of those teams this year that's kind of flown under the radar. You know, like you don't really hear that term a ton for a team that's already won 20 plus games. But here we are. You know, they're not ranked. I believe they're receiving votes again in the AP Top 25. But I don't know. Like, they don't really have...
00:18:30
Pat Q
I'll say like a terrible loss on their resume. They almost took a really bad home loss to Virginia tech on, um, guess that was yesterday evening. That would have been disastrous, right? I'm not going act like that isn't a bad indicator um of some inconsistencies in their play and things like that. But I mean, really their worst loss this year is that Florida State loss and Florida State's kind of figuring it out a little bit in conference play. They're at least like
00:19:01
Pat Q
hovering around 500 now in conference play um hovering around 500 overall so it's not like they're a very good team but it's not q4 loss you know um With that being said, i also think that this Virginia team is super under the radar and super underrated. You know, the program took a step back last year because Tony Bennett quit essentially like right before the season started um due to essentially his feeling that he wasn't fully invested in this new era of college athletics. He thought it would be better for the program if somebody else took over.
00:19:38
Pat Q
They had the interim coach last year, kind of struggled. um But Virginia basketball is back to being successful and being really fun to watch again this season. um You know, we talked about the ACC.
00:19:52
Pat Q
being better than it was last year, but not still having like a ton of depth. Um, I feel like part of that is because teams like Clemson, teams like Miami, teams like Virginia have kind of flown under the radar a little bit, um, in the national media because of the disappointments of NC state, like NC state's still probably a tournament team, but when they hired will wait, I think expectations were a little bit higher than they've produced so far.
00:20:20
Pat Q
Um, I'll stop my rant about ACC basketball and refocus here.
00:20:24
Travis White
right
00:20:26
Pat Q
I think this is an opportunity for Miami to earn kind of like a showcase win for themselves. Yes, they beat North Carolina. um What was that? Last weekend?
00:20:39
Pat Q
no Two Tuesdays ago. Yeah. and That was a midweek game. They beat North Carolina. That was a huge win for them. But North Carolina is also starting to skitter a little bit now after that Duke game. This gives them another huge win to boost and bolster their resume if they can pull it off. And I think
Kent State vs Tennessee Baseball Series
00:20:58
Pat Q
they can. So I'm going with the U here.
00:21:01
Travis White
Okay. Marquee win for the U. Another split right there. Let's see how we continue on. Now we have an interesting pick here. The first time that we are going to pick a series for college baseball on the show. and we are starting it off with a dandy.
00:21:19
Travis White
It is the mighty Kent State Golden Flashes and the Tennessee Volunteers, this game obviously being played in Knoxville. um Kind of an interesting matchup here. I wanted to...
00:21:32
Travis White
find something this weekend it's obviously early season you have a lot of rivalry non-conference matchups next weekend um but this kind of being the biggest one tennessee um obviously winning their series last weekend kent state with a sweep last weekend a part of the mighty mac conference they're actually projected to finish second behind miami ohio in the mac so not a bad team um golden flashes
00:21:52
Pat Q
Oh.
00:21:59
Travis White
are going to come into this definitely undersized, undergunned against Tennessee. They're now on their first-year head coach, Joshua Lander, as I'm forgetting his name, ah left last year or yes for the Giants.
00:22:11
Pat Q
Johnny, right?
00:22:15
Travis White
So obviously an integral part in getting Tennessee baseball to where it is right now. This is the best the program has been on a consistent basis in decades, really.
00:22:27
Travis White
So interesting to see what Josh Lander can do in year one with a very talented roster. I think this is going to be a little bit of a sputter for them. I like them to win two out of three against Kent State, but you're going to feel it a little bit.
00:22:39
Travis White
I like them on Friday night to get it done. Saturday, I think they sputter, and then we have a fun game on Sunday as a rubber match. But volunteers, two out of three.
00:22:46
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:22:48
Travis White
Kent State, not a bad team. We might revisit them later in the season.
00:22:54
Pat Q
yeah um I don't know. I'm a little on the fence about this Tennessee team this year, kind of for some of the reasons that you've mentioned, you know, like historically speaking, Tennessee is not like a great baseball program. Obviously they've invested a lot in the program.
00:23:10
Pat Q
Tony Vitello sort of brought it to what it is now coming off a national championship a few years ago. And i don't know, they're kind of in a weird spot where they're,
00:23:22
Pat Q
almost having to try and find their identity again, i feel like, right? Like the coach who made you successful is now gone. So can you keep that success or is it going to sort of slide back a little bit? So I feel like it's a big year for Tennessee trying to prove that they're not going to slide and that they are going to keep this momentum. Hmm.
00:23:49
Pat Q
I don't know. I was tempted to go with a Kent State series victory here, but i think my my thoughts came back to probably unlikely. So I'll go and echo your sentiment. Two out of three. I'll say, though, Friday and Saturday win and then drop one on Sunday.
00:24:12
Travis White
So they protect the sweep. I will say before we move on to our final game of the episode, um Josh Alander elevated from assistant.
00:24:21
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:24:22
Travis White
So they wanted to keep in-house, elevated it. This is a more important series than I think most people recognize. This being a better than expected, probably
Michigan vs Duke Basketball Showdown
00:24:34
Travis White
when they scheduled this, non-conference opponent.
00:24:34
Pat Q
definitely
00:24:37
Travis White
If Tennessee were to somehow drop this series, There's going to be a lot of discussion of should we have elevated from within? Should we have gone and actually gotten a guy that doing what a lot of fans look as the easy way out in coach searches?
00:24:48
Pat Q
yeah
00:24:55
Travis White
So something to also keep in mind as we are going through this weekend in that series. um That being said, kind of the crown jewel of the weekend, which is crazy considering we have two versus four.
00:25:07
Travis White
We have one versus three. ah One Michigan, three Duke.
00:25:09
Pat Q
Mm-hmm.
00:25:11
Travis White
Duke, obviously number one in our PAC South, uh, ranking. So kind of fun to see them in this matchup. Great chance for them to win points for our standings. But honestly, i feel like this is a solidifying game for both teams.
00:25:26
Travis White
Whoever wins this game, I feel like they're guaranteed almost a one seed unless they just completely fall apart here at the end. This game being played at Cameron, um,
00:25:38
Travis White
Both teams really, really almost unstoppable. The only loss between the two in the last five games for each was Duke losing by three on the road to UNC, which I'm not sure how much we can really take into account because it's a road rivalry game, probably the biggest rivalry in college basketball.
00:25:57
Travis White
um so mean these these two teams some of the best they best offenses they're able to rebound they're able to play tough defensive basketball against uh their opponents i think both are currently averaging over six steals a game so i mean they are not only scoring but they're playing gritty defense to get more scoring opportunities so just two dangerous teams it's so much fun that we have this uh
00:26:12
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:26:24
Travis White
matchup right now i'm sure the coaches hate this matchup in the middle of conference play but we're not asking for their opinion right now having seen one of these teams in person this year and i believe you have seen the other um i am not sold on michigan i did not Like what I saw the majority of that game, I think that they are still a very good team. I do not think that they are the best team.
00:26:55
Travis White
I think that Duke is a better all-around team. I think Michigan is able to, in a way, inflate their resume. Yes, they do have a very good win against Purdue this ah past week, so I do want that to go on record.
00:27:10
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:27:11
Travis White
I recognize that win. However, other wins, I guess you could say, against, like say, ah Washington. Washington's having an okay men's basketball year for that program, but they're still Washington.
00:27:27
Travis White
Michigan struggled with this team. They played ugly, ugly basketball in that game, both teams. I don't think that Michigan, with their typical output in performance,
00:27:43
Travis White
is going to be able to get it done. They've had big games with Purdue, like I just mentioned, where they put a complete game together and they did what they needed to do. Can they do that within a week of each other? And then this going on the road down to North Carolina, a weird non-conference setting.
00:27:59
Travis White
I like the Blue Devils for lots of, lots of, lots of reasons.
00:28:05
Pat Q
Yes. so I don't know. This is like, this is one of those weird games where I get it from ah the perspective of like giving people a strong non-conference matchup in the heart of conference season. um But I don't know. It's like,
00:28:22
Pat Q
I feel like it's got to be hard to plan for when you're both coaching staff. So you know what I mean? Like, yes, like your focus is on the ACC, but Hey, we also have this um national title title contender that we're probably going to be compared to very frequently in the selection process that we have to play in Washington, DC for some reason. Right. Where.
00:28:44
Travis White
Oh, this game's in DC?
00:28:45
Pat Q
Yeah. Yeah. It's at ah the caps arena.
00:28:49
Travis White
Ah, classic TJ.
00:28:51
Pat Q
yeah
00:28:51
Travis White
All right. That still doesn't change anything for me. Same thing.
00:28:54
Pat Q
but um But like, I don't know. It's like one of those things where I get like the State Farm Classic, I get the 2K Classic, like those have historical meaning behind them.
00:29:05
Pat Q
Like even the Dickie V Classic is like slightly into the beginning of conference season slash right before it, depending on um how our schedules shake out that year.
00:29:10
Travis White
Yeah. Yeah.
00:29:15
Pat Q
But this is just kind of like a random throwaway game in the middle of late February which it's kind of random and odd to me um that this was put on the schedule and but both teams approved it but whatever I'm not going to say no I think it's going be great basketball um and super entertaining to watch so i don't know my concern for Duke in this game is that Michigan is really really long and really athletic I mean, we know about Yaxel Langenberg ah and sort of the success that he's had for the most part since coming over from youab
00:29:54
Pat Q
But they also have ah seven foot three guy in the mix and another six foot nine guy with, I believe, like a 6'11 or something crazy like that, wingspan, making up their frontcourt, right? So this is a really long, really athletic team, and I feel like that can give Duke some trouble because most of Duke's points are generated from points in the paint, right? Either attacking the basket, letting Cam Boozer kind of go to work, put his footwork down,
00:30:22
Pat Q
on display a little bit there um and feeding the post. I think Michigan is one of the teams that can actually sort of combat that strategy a little bit. um Obviously both losses for Duke this year have kind of been self implosions. They had the game one against Texas tech and against North Carolina. They kind of just,
00:30:44
Pat Q
had the wheels come off the bus a little bit near the end there. So I think that's the thing for me to watch. If this is a close game against a team that is, I think pretty clearly the best team they've played all season.
00:30:55
Pat Q
Will they be able to keep it together, particularly if they have a lead or do we kind of see, we'll say compounding issues, right? Like that idea of, i don't know, like,
00:31:08
Pat Q
Once the momentum shifted in the North Carolina game, they had a tough time stopping it. Like, is that going to be in the back of their heads during this game if it's close in crunch time?
00:31:20
Pat Q
I feel like, i don't know. I feel like we have a pretty good idea who both of these teams are. um They're both, like we've kind of said, elite.
00:31:34
Pat Q
teams that are national title contenders very clearly. And I think the battle for the overall one seed is probably going to be determined by this game. Um, with that being said, i don't know.
00:31:49
Pat Q
I'm going against my gut here. I'm actually going to switch my pick and I'm going with Michigan to win.
00:31:54
Travis White
Okay.
00:31:55
Pat Q
So um I'm taking the Wolverines here. um Like I said, I feel like they're slightly more, we'll say battle tested, I guess, right? Like they almost self imploded themselves against Michigan state a few weeks
Coaching Perspectives on Late-Season Matchups
00:32:08
Pat Q
ago. They kind of steered out of that skit and wound up winning the game.
00:32:11
Pat Q
um But they've also been dominant against, Obviously, we know Auburn's not super good now, ah but they blew out Auburn. And when Gonzaga was still kind of like right up there again, they've had some tough games, won most of them, but still some tough games in the WCC this year. They beat Gonzaga by 40. So like this is clearly a good team.
00:32:34
Pat Q
um And I feel like they're going to use this as an opportunity to show the committee why they deserve the overall one seed.
00:32:44
Travis White
Okay. A little split there. You highlighting all the points that I decided to ignore with Michigan just from my eye test. Obviously that is partly why with our standings,
00:32:57
Travis White
It's not eye test for us.
00:32:58
Pat Q
Mm-hmm.
00:32:59
Travis White
Only in football do we even have an eye test. Everything else is strictly points based. I want to give you one question as we go today. This matchup is in the last five games for both teams of the season.
00:33:14
Travis White
I'm sure both coaching staffs are not thrilled about that. But this kind of marquee game, marquee matchup, if you're like a Gonzaga, if you're, you know, a Liberty, if you're like a program like that in and not not the strongest basketball conference, you may or may not have very many tests remaining in your schedule. And then depending on how your tournament shakes up.
00:33:42
Travis White
would you be more welcoming to this as kind of like a tune up for the big dance with a little bit of time in between? Like, would you be more welcoming to this or is this still just too much of a headache?
00:33:56
Pat Q
I don't know. I feel like it depends on the program, right? Because um feel like from a logistics perspective, if it's going to be neutral site, it's got to be two teams that'll draw.
00:34:09
Pat Q
ah You can't have, let's say Gonzaga versus Liberty and put it in, don't know, Chicago, right? You're probably not going to get a huge draw there. So I feel like it'd have to be a logistics thing that gets ironed out first.
00:34:24
Pat Q
And then i feel like it would have to be a scenario where you've got two teams, like kind of like you mentioned that are at the clear cream of the crop in their conference, right? Like, okay, we are clearly the favorite to win our conference tournament.
00:34:37
Pat Q
We can use this as a a late season resume boost to maybe bump us up a seed line. um And B, make sure that we're adequately prepared for the tournament, right?
00:34:44
Travis White
Mm-hmm.
00:34:49
Pat Q
Because, Again, no disrespect to Conference USA hoops, but Liberty has kind of just been cruising since they got to conference play. Um... Obviously they had some hiccups in the early season, but like, we kind of knew that Liberty was going to be the favorite in CUSA this year. Kind of similar to like UNC Wilmington, for example, right? They had some hiccups out of conference. They lost to Howard, which was super shocking at home.
00:35:17
Pat Q
And now they're just kind of steamrolling through the artist formerly known as the Colonial Athletic Association. yeah, so I feel like those level of teams, yes, this definitely makes sense for them, but I feel like it's a hard sell for, I'll say like non-Blue Blood top tier teams, right?
00:35:37
Travis White
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:35:38
Pat Q
Like it's going to be hard to convince, let's say USC, right? They're decent at basketball this year, but if they're on a really good year, USC to come to the East Coast and play a neutral site game against, I don't know, we'll say,
00:35:57
Pat Q
ah Georgetown, right? If Georgetown was in an up year, that's going to be like a little bit of a hard sell. I feel like for both programs, because especially in the big 10, that conference schedule is such a grind. Like you really have to feel like this is a springboard game for you or you're blue blood. You know that you're going to generate a ton of revenue um and you kind of take it as it comes for the athletic department.
Episode Wrap-Up and Future Events
00:36:24
Travis White
so So very much kind of a case by case basis, really.
00:36:27
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:36:28
Travis White
Okay. There we go. A fun question to wrap it up. Lots of splits or enough splits rather. And then some question marks going through non-conference baseball.
00:36:39
Travis White
if We are right around the corner from some meaningful rivalries, ah conference matchups, and then obviously conference tournaments start here in about a week and a half for women, two weeks for men, right?
00:36:50
Pat Q
yeah oh
00:36:51
Travis White
Yeah. Lots of big basketball coming up, and then everything is hitting its stride. Frozen Four right around the corner as well, as we'll be discussing that when it gets around here.
00:36:59
Pat Q
yeah
00:37:02
Travis White
So a quick quick one for the Pac-South, but we'll be back again next Wednesday. And then depending on where you listen to us, we'll be out on Thursday. But for Pat, I'm TJ.
00:37:14
Travis White
Thank you all so much once again for tuning in.