Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
PAC-South Conference Play Taking Shape
25 Plays3 months ago
Pat returns with TJ after a brief break for the Show. The boys immediately finish discussing the CFP Expansion talks and discuss if the committee made the right decision with the 12-teams. They also go over the postseason schedule and the ever-evolving NIL landscape. Finally, they dive into College Basketball as the big teams finally emerge in both men's and women's basketball. The PAC-South Standings begin to show which teams as well are preforming well and what we might expect for the end of the season and potential tournament results. *And, of course, predictions.
Recommended
Transcript
New Playoff Format Discussion
00:00:00
Travis White
everyone, welcome back to the PAC South podcast. After a brief break, we are once again back. We have some developments. ah Last episode, I talked about how we were kind of playing with a new playoff format. They have made a decision on that. We're just jumping right into that. Pat, you weren't on that show. What are kind of your thoughts on the potential expansion going forward? And did they get it right for like these next two years?
00:00:30
Pat Q
Yeah, I think um at least for the short time, I think 12 is a good number to stay at. ah The two 12-team playoffs that we've had have been extremely entertaining. You know, you had um a really good run out of Ohio State last year to win the national championship after people kind of wrote them off following that performance against Michigan. You had Notre Dame kind of resurrecting their name in national circles a little bit by finally getting over that hump, winning a New Year's Six Bowl for the first time in decades and making the national championship. And then this year you've got obviously pretty much the biggest story we've had in the playoff era. with Indiana winning the national championship, but also Miami reasserting itself among, we'll say like the top tier um or the elites of college football. So I really do feel like 12 is kind of a good number to be at right now. i think if we go out to 16, um,
00:01:29
Pat Q
um you're probably not watering down the product too much. So it's not like an issue of competitiveness, like some people might argue or say um at
Challenges of 16-Team Playoff
00:01:41
Pat Q
that point.
00:01:41
Pat Q
But for me, I feel like, expanding to 16 just creates bigger issues around the schedule, which is already a problem. um I mean, we've seen these first two years how much having that big gap between a conference championship game and then that second round of games or the first neutral site games can really have on the teams that get a buy. um and I don't know, I just feel like mid-January is super, super late to be having college football wrap up.
00:02:15
Pat Q
At that point, you're kind of competing with the NFL because they've got playoffs ramping up. Obviously, down south, college football is king, but in other regions, the NFL vastly outweighs the college audience. um So I feel like the NCAA and the committee sort of have to figure out how they want to handle these things, right? I mean, obviously adjusting to transfer portal requirements was a huge bonus there and that it will help. However, i still feel like we have to iron out
00:02:51
Pat Q
all right, are we going to protect army Navy? Cause there's a lot of talk about not, we'll say honoring that anymore. Right. And sort of shifting army Navy to either the beginning of the year, or like a Labor Day game, something like that, instead of having it be the last week of the season. So it can still be standalone.
00:03:10
Pat Q
Um, but there's not that gap between conference championship, first round, second round of the CFP.
Player Safety and Scheduling Concerns
00:03:17
Pat Q
Um, But also, i think kind of like player safety becomes an issue when we get into that conversation as well. Because if you're on a team that has an early buy, um it can get a little bit dicey in terms of how many hits you're taking in such a condensed period of time, especially if your team goes on, you know, a deep run and stuff like that. So I get it from the optics of like revenue sharing, from the optics of, we'll say like,
00:03:43
Pat Q
increasing access. I'm sure that's an argument that the ACC would be putting forward. I'm sure that's an argument that some of our G5 conferences would be putting forward.
Impact of Expansion on Regular Season
00:03:54
Pat Q
um But I think we're kind of at the sweet spot right now with 12.
00:03:59
Pat Q
I know you and I have talked off the podcast and you know, i kind of feel like, I don't know, despite how great these games have been, ah it almost feels like we're still
00:04:00
Travis White
Mm-hmm.
00:04:13
Pat Q
risking the importance of certain regular season games by having it be so large of a field and having it be 12. And I feel like if you bring it out to 16, that really diminishes the impact of, you know, a top five matchup or a top 10 matchup, because you can lose one or two of those games.
00:04:30
Pat Q
But if you're in a high ranked conference, like the big 10, like the SEC, let's say we see the big 12 continue on this upward trajectory, something like that.
00:04:34
Travis White
Mm-hmm.
00:04:40
Pat Q
you can lose two of those games and still be in because you can say, well, I lost to the number two, the number seven team in the country. How can you leave me out over X or Y team who hasn't played anybody? You know, like you'll get into those hypothetical arguments um where the SEC will always come out on top, but i think we're good at 12. Um,
00:05:03
Pat Q
And I'd be hesitant to expand further than that because even with college basketball and those calls to expand, I feel like 68, which is where we're at right now for college basketball is kind of perfect, right? We can't trim it back down and eliminate those play-in games at this point.
00:05:23
Pat Q
They're usually pretty good entertainment as well. um But I think expanding too much also compromises the integrity of the product.
Complexities of NIL Deals
00:05:32
Travis White
Yeah, no, I agree with that. And I think by the time you factor in like the numbers, I believe it's like around 18 to 20% of college basketballs who can make the field.
00:05:42
Travis White
Right now, i think it's now up to 12%, want to say for...
00:05:47
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:05:48
Travis White
college football, but those are two completely different sports. If you were to get it to the same level, like, yeah, you would have uniformity across multiple sports for ah college athletics, but I don't really think it's answering the same question at the same time.
00:06:04
Travis White
You mentioned kind of the schedule is an issue. I'm pretty sure, I don't remember if it's next year or the year after the national title was announced to be on January 25th. I feel like that is going to create More issues than what we already have with like these teams that get bye weeks. There's so much time in between games. They lose their game shape.
00:06:24
Travis White
um you know Injuries could become a part because then like you're not conditioning and training the same way. Your body kind of relaxes and then you go. i mean, it's not just you're off on a bye week and then you're playing Furman. You're off on a bye week then you're playing Furman.
00:06:39
Travis White
you know, a top five team. So like you you got to be ready to go immediately. So Indiana, the only team to win off of a bi-week, I would not be shocked to see like the similar win percentage persist.
00:06:49
Travis White
Maybe one team from bi-week wins or maybe none win at all again, like the first year um would not be surprised there.
00:06:53
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:06:57
Travis White
There are two more things I want to discuss on college football before we go to basketball, um both kind of dealing with NIL. The first one, we will go back to South Florida with Miami.
00:07:08
Travis White
They go get Darian Mensah from Duke proven winner, but little bit of a controversy there. And obviously we had the demand Williams saga with Washington. He ends up going back, but now Darian Mensah, they end up, uh, deciding to release him. Then he goes to Miami immediately.
00:07:28
Travis White
What are your thoughts on this and are there ways for these schools to combat this?
00:07:35
Pat Q
Yeah, I don't love the whole Mensa leaving thing. And my issue, and you know I've voiced this before on the podcast, I'm friends with few people who are like pretty big Duke fans, and they kind of have passed this along to me. It's not the fact that Mensa tried to get out of the contract and tried to transfer to a conference team. It's the fact that he did it on literally the last day of the portal.
00:08:00
Pat Q
um So...
00:08:00
Travis White
Okay.
00:08:03
Pat Q
I think it's one of those situations where you want to make sure that you are upholding kind of like the agency of the players to be able to move and be able to earn for themselves and things like that. But also you want to make sure that they're entering into contracts that are binding in some ways and don't necessarily let this become the wild West, right? Because technically Darian Mensah was under contract with Duke for this upcoming season Ultimately, they reached a buyout, and that's kind of what finally settled it. But i don't know. What do you do if a school has ironclad contract in there that doesn't include a buyout, right? Like, who's on the hook for this money if the NCAA upholds their decision to transfer? Like, does the school get back? Does the player have to forfeit a portion of his new NIL deal, right? Like where's this offset of assets coming from? um
00:09:01
Pat Q
Because, you know, that's kind of what we're turning players into at this point. They're almost assets for the school and for the brand of the school, right?
00:09:07
Travis White
Yeah.
00:09:09
Pat Q
And now they can profit off how good of an asset they are, which is great for them. um But I don't know. I think we're going really have to delve deeply into the contracts that these players are signing. making sure that a the players understand what they're signing, right? So that they're not confused when they try to hit the portal and maybe are faced with some resistance. And B, i think we really need to do a better job of vetting. I'm not saying this in like the case of Mensa, but it's just just in general, vetting the people who are representing our athletes, right? Like some of these people actually are legitimate lawyers um who understand contract law, who understands some of the
00:09:54
Pat Q
we'll say nuance in the phrasing of these deals. And then others are just people who are trying to get rich quick, right? So they're going to encourage their players or their represented individuals to enter the portal as many times as possible so that they can keep, you know, making money for themselves, but also get that kickback for the quote unquote agent.
00:10:00
Travis White
Yes.
00:10:14
Pat Q
So I feel like we need to do a better job regulating our agents and do a better job I'll say explaining to players, um you know, like what's in their contract, under what conditions can they leave, under what conditions can't they leave.
00:10:30
Pat Q
So
Mr. Beast's Hypothetical Donation
00:10:31
Pat Q
we don't see more situations like Darian Mensah or like Devon Williams, who literally signed a contract and then the next week was trying to get out of it. So i don't know.
00:10:41
Pat Q
i We got to have something a little bit stricter and a little bit more binding.
00:10:41
Travis White
I
00:10:46
Travis White
i totally agree. I mean, it is the Wild West right now. um I almost want to say they should kind of go backwards in a sense in like the transfer portal like processes um and like maybe make tiers to it. Because essentially right now the transfer portal is if you're familiar with soccer market for any of us or anyone listening.
00:11:10
Travis White
I mean, you kind of just go, okay, I like this guy. I'm going to get it or like go pay for him for a transfer clause when it's the litigation is really not like spelled out that way right now.
00:11:16
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:11:21
Pat Q
yeah
00:11:22
Travis White
But that's essentially what's going on. You can then tie it back to the old transferring style of, you know, the NCAA, you got to sit out of here, all that stuff. Maybe you get around that if you want to go.
00:11:33
Travis White
like pay a transfer fee for someone in like hey if you even want to go like or if you want to like confirm this with the ncaa and you want him to pay for your team next year uh so miami would go darian mensa's buyout with duke his contract at miami and like let's say maybe like a million dollar fee for the ncaa like the ncaa just gets a million dollars for you know certifying miami's transfer and like
00:11:53
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:11:58
Pat Q
Negotiating. Yeah.
00:12:01
Travis White
this transaction. I feel like that's a great way to kind of lessen the blow. You will still have things like this happen. But when you have, you know, you're going to have teams and put bigger buyouts on their guys.
00:12:15
Travis White
um You're going to have the NCAA fee on top of that. So it's like, all right, well, i want a $800,000 receiver. Well, for me to go get him out of his contract, it is going to cost me, you know,
00:12:30
Travis White
let's say five hundred k for the buyout from the other school, a million dollars with the NCAA and then $800,000 once he's house. So he's no longer an $800,000 receiver.
00:12:41
Travis White
He's over $2 million. dollars If I did math right.
00:12:43
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:12:44
Travis White
Yes. Um, we'll scare for a second.
00:12:44
Pat Q
i
00:12:47
Travis White
Um, so then it really becomes a massive investment to go get these guys. So it's not going to remove these like, situations from college sports, but it's going to make it a lot more rare and a lot more deliberate when schools are doing it. And I think that is how we can like kind of tone it down and in a way fix it.
00:13:08
Pat Q
Yeah. Um,
00:13:09
Travis White
Well, will that happen? Probably nowhere near in the future, probably a couple of years at least, but just my, my thoughts.
00:13:16
Pat Q
And really quickly before we move on, um since you kind of mentioned the role of the NCAA, I feel like they also have to, let's step in a little bit here as the governing body and put into place perhaps some rules like the NFL has surrounding contact periods for players, right? Like,
00:13:39
Pat Q
The NCAA technically has a time where you can and cannot contact players. But as we've seen, when players enter the portal literally the first day with a do not contact tag, they know where they're going. right So these guys have been tampered with.
00:13:52
Pat Q
And if that happens in the NFL, there's ramifications. So I feel like the NCAA kind of has to step in, set conditions or set penalties for tampering, especially when there's clear cut evidence. And I think that would reduce some of this to an extent.
00:14:08
Travis White
Totally agree. um And then our our last college football topic, this was posted about 24 hours ago, and this is I think more of a fun thing, but maybe in a couple of weeks, it's more reality.
00:14:21
Travis White
um Mr. Beast posts on his story, a repost that is of, should Mr. Beast do a $100 million dollar donation to ECU for then win national title for a video?
00:14:34
Travis White
um Obviously the video part is very much Mr. Beast and makes it a little less serious, but that doesn't take away the fact of, He's tied to ECU. He has been his whole life, kind of grew up in that area.
00:14:49
Travis White
um Someone like that stepping into a mid-major program, like $100 million, dollars you can put a pretty good roster together.
00:14:55
Pat Q
lot of money Yeah.
00:14:56
Travis White
Pretty good roster together. So does that kind of like nullify the Power Four and Group Five conferences when you have that much money going to a mid-major? Because ECU, I mean, if there's that much money behind the program, behind that team,
00:15:11
Travis White
The guys that might be like, all right I'm going to leave after the season because we played really well and there's more money. Well, the money's at home. So how how does that change the landscape of college sports if something like that were to happen and say ECU does not move conferences?
00:15:25
Pat Q
Yeah, I think it would be huge. I think it'd kind of be similar to like what Mark Cuban did with Indiana, you know, where he was just like, look, I want to be on the, let's say side of a winner. um So Indiana athletic department, Kirk Cignetti, tell me what I need to give you, you know, like give me a number, I'll provide um And especially for a team that's in the American and,
00:15:50
Pat Q
and really competing in a fairly recruit rich state in North Carolina.
00:15:55
Travis White
Sure.
00:15:56
Pat Q
Um, that would be huge for them, you know, not just getting kids out of high school, but then keeping talent, pulling guys, maybe from like lower power fours who put up really good numbers.
00:16:07
Pat Q
Um, or perhaps guys that are highly ranked recruits and don't really see as much playing time as they'd like at an Ohio State or an Oregon um or a Texas, you know, and then you're saying, all right, well, come over here, you know, we'll still treat you fairly. We'll give you a decent n NIL deal. You'll get on the field right away.
00:16:27
Pat Q
You know, we're going to compete, obviously, in the American with that kind of money. um And you're going to have the chance to play for, conference championship and a national championship, you know, like really get your name out there as a national player and a household name.
00:16:44
Pat Q
Um, and granted, like there are some schools out there that still would be able to poach some of your like top, top to your guys away. Um, just because of the insane money that they have. But if you're getting a hundred mil from Mr. Beast to build a roster, that's a dang good football team.
00:17:02
Pat Q
Um, and, I don't know if I was, let's say a Duke or North Carolina or NC state, or even like South Carolina, right. I'd be a little bit worried about what that kind of money could do in terms of portal guys. And obviously in terms of getting kids out of high school.
00:17:21
Travis White
Yeah, it would throw the whole region like kind of on its head. so obviously more of a fun topic right now, but
00:17:28
Pat Q
Yeah.
College Basketball Standings Update
00:17:29
Travis White
i mean, we gave it a few weeks, I guess if he's thinking about it and he talks to his manager, it's like, Hey manager, it's going to be a lot of, lot of views and they go for it.
00:17:29
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:17:36
Travis White
Next thing college football is kind of flipped on his head on the East coast and American conference.
00:17:38
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:17:41
Travis White
So could be fun to watch or, you know, possibly concerning with the new precedent that would be, um, nonetheless, we will now leave college football, uh, for the day and move over to our basketball. Um,
00:17:56
Travis White
Last episode, I said that we would give you some updated standings, and we have them. In the men's standings, our new top three in the conference, or I should say same two out of three, um Duke running away with it. They look amazing this year, and our conference criteria is certainly backing that up They are by and far the best team in the conference, followed by Iowa State making another appearance in the top three.
00:18:23
Travis White
And Florida. Florida has really gotten it together. Florida fans, I know, have been very upset with this team up until a few weeks ago. They thought they were dead. They thought the SEC schedule was going to kill them.
00:18:37
Travis White
And the opposite has happened. They really like hit SEC play and they turned it on. And now the Gators top three of our conference and playing very good basketball now nationally ranked as well.
00:18:47
Travis White
And then our bottom three for the conference, and this probably shouldn't be of any surprise, um Charlotte, South Carolina, and Central Michigan. The bottom two teams, I would be shocked if their coach still has a job come May.
00:19:05
Travis White
Um, South Carolina team that has struggled in SEC for a while now, al outside of some glimpses of a tournament run, i believe three years ago under Lamont Paris. And then almost 10 years ago, they made the final four with Frank Martin. So, I mean, there's been flashes in the pan there, but outside of those, not great teams. And then Charlotte, unfortunately, just cannot get anything going athletics wise. Uh,
00:19:34
Travis White
They are a very Jekyll and Hyde American conference team, which is not something that you want to be considering in our conference, they are now in the bottom three and Central Michigan, Central Michigan. Um, is there anything here, I guess, or in the standings as a whole? i mean, you also, uh, outside of our top three, you have UCF and St. Louis, a friend's top 25 team and another top 25 team looming right behind this group. Are there any surprises right now? Or would you say that the standings and the criteria point system is kind of lining up how you would expect for these, uh, for these teams?
00:20:12
Pat Q
Yeah, I mean, I can't say I'm too shocked at kind of how it's shaken out. um For our top five so far, um you know, like you said, UCF St. Louis rounding it out. I would say UCF maybe is like...
00:20:30
Pat Q
a bit of a surprise given that they don't have a ton of basketball pedal pedigree as a school. and They did have that run with taco fall that everybody remembers, you know, the Zion game that came down to the last second in Columbia, South Carolina, ironically.
00:20:41
Travis White
Mm-hmm. Yep. Mm-hmm.
00:20:47
Pat Q
And, and I don't know. Outside of that, they've had some decent teams that have been close to making a tournament appearance, but just haven't been able to kind of get over that hump. um So it's good to see them playing good basketball, competing really well in um the Big 12. You know, like they beat Kansas this year.
00:21:08
Pat Q
They had a big win ah against Houston over the weekend. um so
00:21:13
Travis White
or Texas Tech.
00:21:14
Pat Q
right Sorry, Texas Tech. Yep. Getting ahead of myself. Houston's tonight. um So, you know, it's good to see the program take these strides and kind of like reassert itself in this fairly wide open landscape of college basketball right now.
00:21:31
Travis White
Yeah, it's – that's kind of my only surprise too is just where UCF is being directly behind Florida in this case. They are ahead of obviously a well-known and very good St. Louis team. They're number 19 in the country. They have only one loss. And a very good New Mexico basketball team who has been good now for a few years running.
00:21:53
Travis White
um And this UCF team obviously being unranked currently. We'll see what they do tonight against Houston. But i mean, they have a couple top 25 wins, as you discussed. if they can beat Houston on the road tonight you never know uh you know could be back in a top 25 situation and be looking at possibly a top four seat for the Knights which would be incredible with like you say uh track record of this program over you know past two decades let's say um we'll slide over to the women now uh our top three over there and the start should be no surprise South Carolina and Duke are number one and two.
00:22:05
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:22:33
Travis White
And then Washington. Washington has had a very good season on the women's side of the ball.
00:22:36
Pat Q
Thank you.
00:22:39
Travis White
um They should not... shadow the men the men have actually played pretty decent with uh what they had going into the season just big 10 play on the men's side has been killing them but the women very good stretch right here they have ohio state tomorrow at home which will be a great test and if they can pull that win off really solidify the huskies on having a great season and potentially a good tournament run later on our bottom three is unfortunately very disappointing as i would consider these to be basketball programs especially two of them uh providence st louis and florida state florida state basketball they just missed the bottom three for the men's side of things they were in the bottom three just a few weeks ago um st louis women they've never really taken the shape of the men's counterpart program so
00:23:34
Travis White
It's not shocking the women's program is down. However, when you think of St. Louis, you think of good basketball, just the women have not been able to to do it. And in Providence, just all around rough year for the athletics department over there.
00:23:48
Pat Q
hey hey hey pc hockey's number seven in the country gotta plug fryer hockey um they've yeah i mean they're they're on a roll right now they've swept bu and bc back-to-back weekends watch out that's all i'm saying
00:23:54
Travis White
Frozen Four going to be big in a few weeks. We will be covering that.
00:24:04
Travis White
um But yeah, so nothing, nothing I guess, surprising in that regard outside just Providence being this low on the list.
00:24:12
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:24:13
Travis White
um Anything from the women's side of ball, Iowa State obviously taking that five-game losing streak, dropping out of the top three on the women's side of things, um which has was a little concerning. They got their feet back under them, so and it looks like they're playing good basketball again.
00:24:29
Travis White
um I don't really think that that is a like it was kind of a alarm for the Cyclones, but the way that they land it, I would say that, you know, it's don't call it a season.
00:24:41
Travis White
There's still a lot left to play for. And in that Big 12, they are probably still the best team in that conference.
00:24:49
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:24:50
Travis White
So I would not be surprised to see an Iowa State jump back and kind of play around in the top three area once again. i i mean, they're number five right now, I do believe, on the women's side.
00:25:01
Pat Q
Maybe even four.
00:25:04
Travis White
They are number four, actually. They are a few spots.
00:25:05
Pat Q
Yeah. All
00:25:06
Travis White
And then Notre Dame, hot on their tails. Definitely not where we want to see Notre Dame women's basketball either, –
00:25:11
Pat Q
right.
00:25:14
Travis White
they're not falling as hard as some of these other teams. The parachute is at least deployed for the Irish and they have ah a decent schedule remaining so they can get some top 25 wins, quad two, quad one victories.
00:25:26
Travis White
I believe they have number six Louisville tomorrow, which is an immediate resume boost.
00:25:31
Pat Q
Should be good game.
00:25:32
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:25:32
Travis White
So that could be great for the Irish.
00:25:35
Travis White
um Any other notes you want to say on our PAX South standings for the women's side?
00:25:40
Pat Q
No, I think you covered it there. um I was going to say it's a little surprising, as you mentioned, to see Notre Dame women's basketball be that low. This has become a pretty good program over the years, and especially with Hannah Hidalgo coming back this year, I think there is pretty decent expectations surrounding
00:25:48
Travis White
Indeed, indeed.
00:25:58
Pat Q
Irish women's basketball, obviously a bit of an up and down start, but like you said, it seems like it's kind of rounding into form. Of course, if they go on a run and win the ACC, then they rocket up the standings. So um still some time to play things out a little bit.
00:26:14
Travis White
indeed
Duke vs. UNC Game Preview
00:26:15
Travis White
indeed All right, we will hop into our predictions after a very weird kind of episode or two for Pac South with no predictions. They are back. um And we're going to hop right into a great one. We have Duke, UNC, arguably the best rivalry in college basketball, if not the best, obviously, up there on Mount Rushmore. um I don't know what I can't say about this Duke team that a lot of other people haven't already said.
00:26:48
Travis White
To me, this feels like Duke of old, that even when Coach K was there, it was toward the end, you're kind of like, ah, Duke doesn't really have it. Like, they're still good. They're still Duke. They're still ranked.
00:26:59
Travis White
But there's just says something missing. To me, this Duke team, i mean, they're scoring a lot of points. Defensively, you could argue that this is some of the best basketball on that side of the ball they've played in
00:27:10
Pat Q
Thank
00:27:11
Travis White
a long long time um I'm very excited to watch this Duke team but also concerns I still don't really want to watch them win another another tournament on the other side of the ball UNC obviously they had a much harder transition Roy Williams leaving Now they've kind of figured it out.
00:27:34
Travis White
Last year, they kind of like first year, I was like, okay, UNC, they might be playing good ball again. And then this year, currently four losses, number 14 in the country with some good results in there as well. But I just don't know if this is enough. Duke is in.
00:27:49
Travis White
great form right now. I believe the closest game that they have played recently was 14 points on the road. Obviously still win. Everything else is an average of, i think, 24 point margin dating back to, i think, January 5th.
00:28:04
Travis White
So, I mean, they are just beating the brakes off of everyone. Obviously this is the biggest matchup over that span, but I still like Duke to get it done on the road. and This will be entertaining game. This will be a great game.
00:28:20
Pat Q
For sure. I'm with you on the results. I think that, I don't know, this was definitely a month's compete at a high level season for Hubie Davis at UNC this year. Obviously, he had the success in his first year making that Final Four run, making the national championship game, ultimately just to lose.
00:28:40
Pat Q
But... Hasn't really been able to find it since then. And it seems like his recruiting is finally catching up to like on court performance this year where Carolina is back in a good position, back in a good spot in the ACC, beating the teams they're supposed to not sort of rolling over for those like mid-level ACC opponents like we had seen on occasion the past two years.
00:29:03
Pat Q
However, kind of like you said, this Duke team just feels like a different beast or a different animal. It is kind of crazy that Duke hasn't won a natty since, think that was 2015.
00:29:17
Pat Q
Yeah. Yeah, the last time. And...
00:29:20
Travis White
I think, Yep.
00:29:22
Pat Q
You know, you think of Duke basketball, they're always good. They're always there. um They've had deep runs. They made the final four k coach case last year. They made the elite eight the past few seasons. um But they just can't seem to get over the hump or get over the finish line and win the national championship. Uh,
00:29:40
Pat Q
I don't know. Cameron Boozer is just something different, man. The way he plays basketball is so fun to watch. Obviously, some of his games not going translate perfectly to the m NBA, where other people might be as athletic or slightly more athletic
Houston vs. BYU Game Analysis
00:29:53
Pat Q
than him. But for college basketball, he's such an exciting player. And I don't know. You just you just have to love the way him and Isaiah Evans have been playing together this year with Slim deciding to come back.
00:30:07
Pat Q
do his sophomore year at Duke, trust in coach Shire. And it's really seemed to pay off for him. um So yeah, i got Duke beaten the Tar Heels up at the Dean Dome.
00:30:19
Travis White
Love it. All right. So another Saturday matchup and we could just as well have talked about their matchup this evening on Wednesday. ah But we are doing the Saturday matchup. We have Houston versus BYU. Houston obviously playing UCF tonight and what could be a trap game for them looking ahead to this matchup.
00:30:40
Travis White
um Big road test for the Cougars. Obviously they've, Already been tested. They've looked good. I mean, this Houston team just seems to be consistent year in and year out now.
00:30:50
Travis White
um But now BYU, I mean – Every now and then it seems like they might take a little step back, but mean, this is typically a scary team to have come up on your schedule. um They don't really do anything perfect, but they're scrappy and they get things done and they score a lot of points.
00:31:08
Travis White
I think this is going to be a massive test for the Cougars, but I mean, that freshman, ah Kingston Fleming, he is... He's going to be a star. if I'm going to assume Houston is to be able to retain them with the kind of basketball program that they have. So, I mean, he's a great building piece to have in that locker room.
00:31:26
Travis White
I think that he's going to be kind of the difference, and I'm anticipating him having a good game and kind of pushing them over the edge. But, I mean, he's he's shooting over 50% on the season. i mean, the kid is phenomenal to watch. So, I like Fleming to have a big game over the Cougars,
00:31:45
Travis White
and leading the Cougars to the win.
00:31:49
Pat Q
Yeah, um I'm going to go against you here on this one. So this one's Provo.
00:31:53
Travis White
OK.
00:31:54
Pat Q
So I feel like that kind of plays a little bit of a role here.
00:31:55
Travis White
Yep.
00:31:58
Pat Q
BYU is always a tough place to win. um
00:32:03
Pat Q
i don't know. I like the way Houston plays basketball. Obviously, they're a very good team. But it seems like they're missing something from... those past Houston teams where they just had so much energy and such a high motor on the class and on defense. and They're not rebounding at the same rate that they were last year. I don't think they have anybody in double figures this year for rebounding averages. And I know that BYU has struggled against, let's say like strong defensive teams or like hyper athletic teams. But yeah,
00:32:35
Pat Q
but I think the second half against Kansas just kind of proved how good of a team this is when everything's clicking. You know what I mean? It's not just AJ Jibansa. It's also Richie Saunders. It's also Rob Wright third And...
00:32:52
Pat Q
they just put up so many points. Like this is a hard team to guard for 40 minutes straight and not let your guard down and not let them sort of get one over on you.
UCLA vs. Michigan Women's Game Focus
00:33:03
Pat Q
So I agree. Kingston Fleming is a heck of a player, but I'm going with the home Cougs here in BYU.
00:33:12
Travis White
All right. Uh, we will now move to Sunday with a women's matchup. We have number two, UCLA number eight, Michigan, a very high profile, big 10 matchup here.
00:33:24
Travis White
UCLA has been a very good team. in The last two seasons, um, marquee win last year against South Carolina. They've had big matchups already this year. They're only lost to, I believe it's number three, Texas. So directly behind them.
00:33:38
Travis White
Um, Obviously, this Michigan team, very good. They have the home court here. I think that it's going to get down to like the nitty-gritty with this game.
00:33:49
Travis White
I think both teams have decent shooters, but it's all about the down low. UCLA is going to out-rebound. Lauren Betts is averaging three-plus rebounds just on her own on the offensive side of the ball.
00:34:01
Travis White
um I think that is massive for second-chance points in a game that can – be hit or miss in just field shooting. um Being able to get those low boards and then put them back up and have those chances, I think is going to be what sets UCLA um over the Wolverines.
00:34:21
Travis White
So I like the road team again. so i'm three in a row for the road team. i like, I like the Bruins.
00:34:28
Pat Q
Yeah, I'm going to go with the Bruins as well here. um They're kind just on fire ever since they lost to Texas fairly early into the season um in a non-conf matchup.
00:34:40
Pat Q
And I don't know. I feel like they're just playing solid basketball right now. As you mentioned, Lauren Betts is one of the best players in all of women's college basketball, not to mention the Big Ten.
00:34:52
Pat Q
And... Oh, shoot. I don't know her first name. I'm going to be honest, hand up here. But Rice, she's a guard for them. I forget her first name. Sorry. But she's a heck of a player as well. um The few times that I've tuned in and I've seen UCLA women's basketball playing, she's quick. She's explosive. And she's able to not just score, but obviously generate plays for her teammates. And that's something that you need to do against a fellow top five player.
00:35:22
Pat Q
ish opponent in Michigan. So I like UCLA here for the reasons you mentioned. um And just because they're playing some really good basketball and it seems like they're GLA at the right time.
UConn vs. St. John's Game Analysis
00:35:37
Travis White
Okay. um We love road teams outside of BYU. We'll see if that continues here. With UConn going on the road to the Fighting Johnnies, St. John's, they are back in the top 25 here.
00:35:50
Travis White
um i think this has been a fun team to follow with Rick Pitino's kind of like resurgence as a coach after everything with what he did at Northern Iowa and then now going to St. John's and going to the tournament last year.
00:36:05
Travis White
and them still being a very great program ah this season. um Five losses, though. They're not perfect. UConn coming into this 22-1. Do they have a game before david a game today?
00:36:15
Pat Q
One. Yeah.
00:36:19
Travis White
No.
00:36:20
Pat Q
No.
00:36:20
Travis White
So this is their next matchup, so Friday. um But I do have to say, ever since last year, this is not the UConn that went back-to-back.
00:36:31
Travis White
Yes, they have one loss. I'm still not sold on this team. They are very good. i think that they have gotten by with what they need to do. They don't really have anyone that stands out, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
00:36:44
Travis White
In basketball, you're playing just team ball at this point for the Huskies. But I think that they're going to need a big game out of someone ah to get it done in New York.
00:36:56
Travis White
And I'm pretty sure every single time that on the podcast we have picked a St. John's game, I have gone with St. John's.
00:37:04
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:37:06
Travis White
And I'm not leaving the storm. I'm still sticking with St. John's. I just like them. I like the home court. I like Ritino as a coach. I think that UConn is a little bit of a fraud for where they are right now. Not saying they're bad.
00:37:18
Travis White
They're still a very good team. They still have a great chance to make a sweet 16 or even elite eight. I don't like them for the natty. I hate this ranking for them. I hate their record. It will come out in this game.
00:37:31
Pat Q
My feelings on this game are this. If St. John's was anywhere except New York City, um I feel like the home court advantage of playing a top 25 team would be massive and...
00:37:46
Pat Q
it'd be like a really tough atmosphere for UConn to get it going. But unfortunately for St. John's, Madison Square Garden kind of turns into Stora's South when UConn comes to town because of how many alumni they have in the area, because it is such a quick drive from Connecticut to New York City.
00:38:06
Pat Q
um And that kind of negates some of that home court advantage a little bit. St.
00:38:12
Travis White
Hey, range Rangers stink this year.
00:38:12
Pat Q
John's is
00:38:14
Travis White
They need to cheer for something in that city.
00:38:16
Pat Q
um St. John's has definitely turned their season around. It was a little shaky in non-conf, obviously losing to Providence College, their only conference loss so far. We'll say decently early um into the conference schedule, right? Like in early January. um But...
00:38:36
Pat Q
I don't know. ah They're just kind of a perplexing team, I feel like, because Zuby Ejafor obviously is fantastic. He was picked as the big East preseason player of the year. Bryce Hopkins had a phenomenal one year at at Providence, was playing great before he blew his knee out. And then he's kind of been up and down since transferring to St. John's, didn't really...
00:38:59
Pat Q
perform much at all or very well for Providence when he did play last year. um So I don't know. I just, I feel like this UConn team is hungry and they want to prove something. You know, I think the narrative in the national media kind of is what you were saying, you know, that,
00:39:17
Pat Q
Yeah, it's a good team, but I don't think this is the UConn teams that had, you know, Steph Castle and Donovan Klingin and guys like that on it. You know, like, solo ball is all right, but he's not as good as those guys. Or, um you know, Carabin's just kind of hanging around because he's not a next level guy.
00:39:35
Pat Q
Things like that, I feel like Dan Hurley uses those statements and uses those things to motivate his team, make sure that they're still playing at a high level.
Illinois vs. Michigan State Preview
00:39:43
Pat Q
um And for that reason, I'm going with the Huskies. As much as it pains me to pick UConn for anything, I'm going with the Huskies here.
00:39:53
Travis White
Okay, so we both three and one for the road teams. We'll see how that goes for us. It's not the best trend, ah you know, in college basketball, especially for weekend games.
00:39:59
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:40:05
Travis White
Now, if we were picking weeknight games, might be a little bit more favorable
00:40:07
Pat Q
A little different, yeah, yeah.
00:40:09
Travis White
but kind of weird matchups here. But we love our road teams. Our final matchup, our Pac-South game of the week is sure to be a great game. I'm very excited to watch this one. We have number five, Illinois, taking on number 10, Sparty. This obviously being in East Lansing, I think that helps with the ah competitiveness of this game.
00:40:34
Travis White
I think that this kind of evens whatever bit of tilting the court may have. But...
00:40:42
Travis White
I'll give credit to Michigan State. They are playing very good basketball this year. But I think this Illinois team is dangerous. I can't even beat around the bush of how much I think this team is good.
00:40:54
Travis White
um I like them winning this game. I think this could still be a 10-point game, but lots of back and forth, especially in the first half. But this team is this teams dangerous. I've watched them play live in person.
00:41:07
Travis White
um You know, you're kind of like, man, Both teams are really kind of like sticking in it. Like, yeah, like it's an eight-point game and there's a run and it's two-point game, but Illinois never really loses control. They're still in that driver's seat the whole time. And then all of a sudden they're like, okay, I'm done playing around with this, and they take off. They just take control of the game that they should.
00:41:29
Travis White
Even the games that they were playing, and like higher-quality opponents, like two of their last three games, their home game, they played Washington. Washington, not the best in results, but they have played teams close.
00:41:42
Travis White
um Like they played a very good Michigan team close for about, what was it, 36 minutes. Then all of a sudden they decided they're tired. Kind of same thing with Illinois. Illinois continues that same thing. So, i mean, you're looking at two of the top teams in the Big Ten.
00:41:58
Travis White
Other two games on that, they had two road games. They play a one-loss Nebraska team that they beat by nine, and they play a very good Purdue team on the road
00:42:06
Pat Q
Hmm.
00:42:07
Travis White
that they beat by six. So, i mean, they are in great form right now, and it's not just they're winning the games that they need to. um They're winning the games that are, hey, we are very good. Like this isn't like last year when they still were very good, but they probably would have dropped one of those matchups. Or maybe Washington, it's kind of ugly and it goes to overtime.
00:42:30
Travis White
um This team is good. I love this team. unfortunately, to be a Final Four team in my book. Long winded way of saying line are winning.
00:42:45
Pat Q
Dang, okay. um I'm going against you.
00:42:48
Travis White
I don't know if I got my point across.
00:42:50
Pat Q
I do agree that Illinois is a very good basketball team. Keaton Wagler is kind of nuts for a freshman. um I think he's definitely going to be ah top pick in the upcoming draft.
00:43:04
Pat Q
And obviously, like, you know, Mirkovic is there. Andres Doryakovic. Like, this is a really good team and a really surprisingly athletic team. Like, I don't think... if you haven't watched a ton of Illinois basketball this year, you kind of just like look over their roster.
00:43:21
Pat Q
Um, and some of the names, like, especially the fact that some of these guys are like upperclassmen and aren't like true freshmen, right? Like you wouldn't expect them to play with such explosiveness.
00:43:29
Travis White
Yeah.
00:43:34
Pat Q
Um, but they really are a super entertaining, super exciting team to watch. Um, they've got great guard play. They've got great front court play. Um, I don't know. they're They're just overall a very good team.
00:43:48
Pat Q
However, like you said, it's in East Lansing. It's at the Breslin Center, one of the toughest places to play. I'm sure that place is going to be rocking for this game. And Jeremy Fears is, in my opinion, one of like the most underrated players in all of college basketball. You don't really hear about him a ton. I know he's not averaging a ton of points. I think he's somewhere in like the 14-ish range, probably. But he's...
00:44:14
Pat Q
or he was, i don't know if he still is. He was leading all this all of college basketball in assists per game. I think he was at like 9.8 or 9.7 earlier this year. So he's a fantastic player. Jackson Kohler is a really underrated big um who can stretch the floor a little bit where necessary. And I don't know, I'm i'm just a big Tom Izzo believer.
00:44:35
Pat Q
ah Never count his teams out. He's fantastic coach. And for those reasons, I'm going with Sparty here.
Weekend Basketball Games Outlook
00:44:44
Travis White
Okay, a nice split to end off our picks and our game of the week. um This should be a very fun weekend of basketball.
00:44:54
Travis White
Not a billion great matchups across the board, but the matchups that are very good are very good this weekend.
00:45:01
Pat Q
maybe right
00:45:02
Travis White
So we will be able to sit down for you know three, four hours on Saturday and Sunday and get good basketball. So very much looking forward to that. um Last episode, I did say we will talk about baseball.
00:45:15
Travis White
That will actually be next week as the following Friday is going to be opening day for a lot of teams and a lot of of the early season tournaments. So we will go over that next Wednesday slash Thursday.
00:45:28
Travis White
And apparently we have not calculated our bowl season projections or a prediction results. So that will also come next episode as well.
00:45:37
Pat Q
correct
00:45:39
Travis White
A smooth month after the national championship. So we will see who actually is able to pick the games that. matter at the end of the season. Nonetheless, ah thank you all so much for listening, watching wherever you are consuming the PAC South podcast. We really appreciate it. And we'll see you all again next week, more college basketball and college baseball right around the corner.
00:46:07
Travis White
See you guys.