Season 2, Episode 17 feat. Oliver Baltz and Connor Nute

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[00:00:40] Welcome back to the Blue Raider Podcast. I'm your host, Jake Bolden, and it is a pleasure to be back in front of you, Raider Nation.

[00:00:47] It was a long hiatus, just a month. A few weeks ago, I was with you in Knoxville with Sam Doughton talking over that close loss, in my opinion, to the Tennessee Volunteers, but I'm happy to be back.

[00:00:57] Talking more hoops today with some of your favorite Go Middle analysts. Joining us first is Oliver Baltz and, of course, Connor Nute.

[00:01:03] Afterwards, talk about Lady Raiders basketball. Both of us will be talking all about Conference USA basketball.

[00:01:08] The look ahead for both of these teams, men's and women's. Impressive starts, in my opinion, this first weekend for both programs.

[00:01:15] But, of course, we will get into depth in just a minute. But, of course, before we get into that, I want to take just a second to thank our sponsors of today's episode, beginning with the Conseco Group.

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[00:02:36] Now, it's time to get into our first guest of the episode that is gomiddle.com basketball analyst.

[00:02:42] It is Oliver Balz.

[00:02:44] Oliver, how's it going?

[00:02:45] It's going great, Jake.

[00:02:46] Thanks for having me on once again.

[00:02:47] It's always fun.

[00:02:48] And happy 2025 to you and yours.

[00:02:52] Absolutely.

[00:02:52] Likewise.

[00:02:53] We were talking a little pregame here before the episode, a little bit about, you know, your holiday season.

[00:02:58] The little ones, you know, your first time really taking in Santa Claus this year.

[00:03:03] I hope everything went well with the family.

[00:03:05] Yeah, it was great.

[00:03:07] I built a Barbie Dreamhouse on Christmas Eve.

[00:03:11] I mean, Santa kind of did, but I'll take the credit for it.

[00:03:16] It felt like I was building a New York skyscraper of some sort, but it was a lot of fun.

[00:03:21] I mean, I'm blessed.

[00:03:22] It was awesome just watching them wake up and see the surprise to it.

[00:03:26] So thank you for asking.

[00:03:28] Yeah, the toys are getting bigger and badder.

[00:03:31] I mean, I used to be happy with some of the smallest things in the world.

[00:03:34] Of course, the PlayStation Christmas is one that always comes to mind.

[00:03:37] Yeah, right.

[00:03:39] Let's get into it, man.

[00:03:40] There's so much to unpack.

[00:03:41] I know we've talked a ton, you know, in our own group messages, also personally to one another about this conference USA season.

[00:03:47] We got a little taste of it really this first weekend.

[00:03:50] And I know a lot of people were making the comment that, you know, this conference could go any which way.

[00:03:55] And I think one thing really before we get really into what conference weekend was, this is a good conference this year.

[00:04:02] You know, they're now up to ninth in the KP conference ranking poll between the Atlantic 10 and the American Athletic Conference,

[00:04:08] which I think speaks volume to, again, how good this conference has turned themselves into.

[00:04:13] I feel very reminiscent of that 2021-22 campaign where you had the FAU run to the Final Four,

[00:04:21] UAB, North Texas, and the NIT Final.

[00:04:23] And I'm blanking on the CIT winner.

[00:04:26] But impressive Conference USA season ahead.

[00:04:30] Yeah, no, I mean, you're 100% right.

[00:04:35] I think about it, too.

[00:04:37] I just feel like it was expected the conference fell off a little bit last year in 2024.

[00:04:44] When you lose programs like FAU and North Texas and UAB and Charlotte was that CIT winner.

[00:04:54] I did not see this coming.

[00:04:56] I mean, these are some really fine programs with, obviously, you see what Sam Houston State did last year.

[00:05:03] And New Mexico State has great history.

[00:05:06] And, you know, a lot of tech has been a steady good program the last 10 or so years.

[00:05:12] Western Kentucky, obviously, has had a ton of history.

[00:05:14] I did not see it, envision it all coming together like this.

[00:05:19] Really, really impressive.

[00:05:21] The league is, I mean, we've talked about it off air.

[00:05:25] There could be eight, maybe even all 10 teams that could finish in the top four.

[00:05:30] And you wouldn't really be surprised.

[00:05:32] It's going to be a gauntlet night in, night out.

[00:05:34] And we've been really impressed with the Blue Raiders non-conference slate.

[00:05:39] And it's provided a lot of optimism as far as how good this team can be.

[00:05:44] And I don't think you have to back off that optimism.

[00:05:48] But as we start to see how good these teams are on, you know, every Thursday and Saturday night,

[00:05:57] it really makes you realize that this isn't going to be easy.

[00:06:01] I mean, good thing the Raiders are good because they're going to have to play their best ball to win this league, no doubt.

[00:06:09] So, yeah, if this last weekend was any indication of that, you go on the road at FIU.

[00:06:16] And I think a lot of us, myself included, were kind of frustrated with how tough it was to win in Miami

[00:06:23] against what we would consider the easiest opponent in the conference.

[00:06:26] That's a game that you should be winning, given if you take – if KP matters to anybody,

[00:06:31] that's a game you should walk in and win.

[00:06:33] And it was tough.

[00:06:35] They grounded it out.

[00:06:35] They won it late, much like they did last season.

[00:06:39] And credit to them because of what FIU was able to turn around and do on Saturday to –

[00:06:43] who, according to ESPN Bracketology, is the automatic qualifier out of Conference USA.

[00:06:49] I mean, FIU took Western to the woodshed.

[00:06:51] It wasn't even close, right out the gate to the first media timeout.

[00:06:54] So that was, again, that I made the comment that I think you could take eight of these teams

[00:07:00] and put them in the top four.

[00:07:01] Like, that's just how this conference could unfold.

[00:07:03] And now, with the way FIU has handled Western Kentucky on the road,

[00:07:06] I'm sure Western's probably got something waiting for FIU at the end of the year back in Bowling Green.

[00:07:10] But to think that even FIU is in the discussion now, you've kind of opened up this Pandora's box, if you will,

[00:07:16] that all ten teams kind of have a road to that first round bye.

[00:07:20] But to kind of add on to that first weekend, the FIU win, as I said, gritty, needed it.

[00:07:27] It's always great to get out to a 1-0 start, especially getting that plus one on the road, as they always say.

[00:07:32] But then the Liberty game, not necessarily the game that we all thought it would be.

[00:07:36] I think I anticipated, much like yourself, with the way Liberty had faltered at the end of their loss on Thursday night to Western Kentucky,

[00:07:43] that the opportunity for them to slip two nights in three days was very unlikely.

[00:07:48] And they got out to a sizable lead that first half.

[00:07:51] I think it grew to as much as 18.

[00:07:53] The Raiders were able to narrowly, I think they got at the 10, which was the final deficit.

[00:07:57] I think they might have gotten it to nine at one point.

[00:07:59] But the baskets weren't falling.

[00:08:00] The defense wasn't there like we've typically seen, especially the three-point defense wasn't there.

[00:08:04] They'll be seen all season long.

[00:08:06] And Liberty was, unfortunately, just the better team.

[00:08:08] And I think that's kind of been the standard for this conference as far as teams that you have to beat to be a conference champion.

[00:08:16] They slipped a little bit last year, but they always filled a really good team.

[00:08:20] And this team, in particular, returning Zach Cleveland, we saw Colin Porter play particularly well for him.

[00:08:25] Liberty's just going to – they're a team you're going to have to beat if you want to win Conference USA.

[00:08:30] Yeah, so with Liberty, it's interesting.

[00:08:33] So last year, they entered – they had another really good non-conference play last year.

[00:08:37] It wasn't as impressive as this year, but they ended non-conference play as the 75th national team in Ken Palm.

[00:08:45] They ended the season as the 131st.

[00:08:48] So, obviously, I think there was some learning curve to playing in – I mean, all due respect to the Atlantic Sun,

[00:08:58] but the Conference USA, even a retooling version that we saw in 2024 is a much more competitive conference

[00:09:05] than the Atlantic Sun top to bottom.

[00:09:08] And to be honest, I kind of expected the same thing to happen again this year.

[00:09:12] I mean, Liberty, obviously, really impressive non-conference slate where they only have one loss,

[00:09:19] go 12-1.

[00:09:20] And they entered non-conference as the 61st team nationally.

[00:09:26] I kind of thought it's just kind of – they were at least another year away from really conquering that learning curve of Conference USA, if you will.

[00:09:38] Maybe they still are, and I don't want to overreact to how well they handled Middle Tennessee.

[00:09:44] They are a really impressive group.

[00:09:47] I mean, the fact that they shoot so well and they defend shooting so well.

[00:09:56] The three-point percentage offensively and defensively, both in the top 15, effective field goal percentage,

[00:10:04] which obviously considers three-point percentage a little bit more in overall field goal percentage,

[00:10:09] is top 30 nationally on both sides of the ball.

[00:10:13] So, yeah, I mean, it's really tough.

[00:10:15] It's really interesting to me how they have two non-shooters in Cleveland and Aquino,

[00:10:20] and they still make up so much of their offense on threes.

[00:10:25] And, I mean, they're so efficient with them.

[00:10:27] So, a really good team.

[00:10:29] Both of those guys are really, really impressive.

[00:10:31] They play much bigger than what their height suggests.

[00:10:35] Obviously, McKay is a great coach with, I mean, the Tony Bennett-descended,

[00:10:39] Pac-Line-Ds is well-known.

[00:10:41] Just a really tough way to play.

[00:10:44] The one thing I kind of – my main takeaway with the Blue Raiders is how much they really missed

[00:10:49] Kamari Lanz this weekend.

[00:10:51] And, you know, I think Lanz has – he has ups and downs.

[00:10:55] I don't want to say he's been a disappointment,

[00:10:57] but I do think we probably expected a little bit more consistent scoring,

[00:11:02] just general box score stuffing.

[00:11:04] But his importance was really displayed on Thursday night and Saturday night

[00:11:11] based on his absence because Blue Raiders really just don't have anybody else

[00:11:16] at that power forward position who has that size that Kamari brings

[00:11:21] but also has the ball skill that goes with it.

[00:11:23] Obviously, you know, I think Lanz's three-point percentage is probably better

[00:11:28] than what it sits at right now.

[00:11:32] I would be willing to bet that he is on team scouting reports regardless of his

[00:11:38] three-point shot or his three-point percentage so far.

[00:11:41] And he's taken up a lot of attention, but he also can put the ball on the floor.

[00:11:46] He makes the right decisions on offense.

[00:11:47] And he's at least a body on defense.

[00:11:50] He has his moments definitely.

[00:11:52] So the fact that they didn't have him, I think,

[00:11:56] was a big part of their offensive struggles on this past weekend.

[00:12:01] And it really just goes to show they need him to really –

[00:12:06] to meet their peak as a team and find a way to win this conference USA.

[00:12:13] And one thing, too, that I complimented Lanz on,

[00:12:16] especially after the Tennessee game in particular,

[00:12:18] was his game has transformed.

[00:12:20] He was a very quick trigger on the perimeter.

[00:12:22] When he receives the ball now, it seems like he's willing,

[00:12:25] if he has a lane, to take the lane, give himself an opportunity closer to the rim

[00:12:30] as opposed to just settling for the three-point shot.

[00:12:32] And again, I hate to see that maybe – I hope – it's a lower body injury.

[00:12:36] That's all that I know.

[00:12:37] I know that he was chartered out this weekend,

[00:12:39] which means that he's probably closer to playing than we may think

[00:12:43] because they wouldn't fly him out there thinking that he wouldn't play.

[00:12:47] So I'm optimistic about his return.

[00:12:50] But as we look forward to this next week,

[00:12:53] you go to Kennesaw State and Jacksonville State –

[00:12:55] or excuse me, they come to us.

[00:12:57] Kennesaw State on Thursday night.

[00:12:59] Both of these two teams in particular,

[00:13:01] we talk about maybe the easier part of this conference USA schedule.

[00:13:05] I consider this home swing an easier part of the schedule

[00:13:08] because of Kennesaw State, Jacksonville State being in the bottom third

[00:13:12] of this conference along with FIU.

[00:13:14] But one thing, as we've already said,

[00:13:17] you just can't take these teams lightly.

[00:13:18] We talk about Kennesaw State on Thursday night.

[00:13:20] I consider them a very inconsistent bunch.

[00:13:22] They have high highs, much like we saw with their home win against Rutgers,

[00:13:27] who is then ranked in the AP Top 25.

[00:13:30] And as I said, they're 4-0 at home.

[00:13:32] So although this game, being at home in Murphy Center,

[00:13:35] obviously plays to its perks.

[00:13:38] For the Raiders, somewhere where Nick McDevitt has always performed well.

[00:13:42] I look towards that end-of-season matchup with Kennesaw State

[00:13:45] is particularly a tricky one because of how good this team is at home.

[00:13:48] We haven't seen them play a conference game at home just yet,

[00:13:51] but you look forward to seeing what that team has to offer.

[00:13:55] But as far as who Kennesaw State is,

[00:13:57] they're a two-headed monster.

[00:13:58] Simeon Cottle and Adrian Woolley,

[00:14:00] both of those guys averaging 19 and 17 points respectively.

[00:14:04] Simeon Cottle had himself a game against Jacksonville State

[00:14:07] on Saturday night.

[00:14:09] I believe he dropped 28 points on Saturday against Jacksonville State.

[00:14:14] So definitely a guy that you have to keep your eyes on.

[00:14:17] In the front court, or excuse me, the back court there,

[00:14:19] they're very strong.

[00:14:21] But the back court in particular is just a very heavy lineup.

[00:14:24] The front court is full of rotational players.

[00:14:26] They don't necessarily have any star waltz down low,

[00:14:28] which is where I think we kind of exploit Kennesaw State,

[00:14:31] especially when it comes to the rebounding perspective of guys like Mostafa.

[00:14:34] And even Chris Loof is a guy who's kind of increased his aggressive play down low.

[00:14:39] Tori Alston is another guy who I look to have a very good game,

[00:14:42] particularly against Kennesaw State.

[00:14:43] But you have to step up your back court guarding,

[00:14:46] as I said, to contain Cottle and Woolley.

[00:14:48] And then Jacksonville State, really,

[00:14:50] this team went through a lot of transition as far as players in the portal,

[00:14:54] particularly Kai Kai Tandy, who went to P4.

[00:14:56] But they have since brought in Wichita State,

[00:15:00] transferred Jaron Pierre, a kid that currently leads Conference USA,

[00:15:05] but is third in all of college basketball,

[00:15:07] averaging nearly 23 points per game.

[00:15:09] Again, identical to the same style that Coach Harper ran with Kai Kai Tandy

[00:15:14] last year in Jacksonville State.

[00:15:15] Kind of a one-horse offense, if you will.

[00:15:19] In games where Pierre scores under 21 points,

[00:15:22] the Gamecocks are 1-5.

[00:15:23] So I think that's your recipe for defeating the Gamecocks.

[00:15:27] Now, collectively, when you look at, from a numbers standpoint,

[00:15:32] they take care of the ball.

[00:15:33] However, a lot of that has to do with the fact that

[00:15:35] the offense is going to run through Pierre.

[00:15:36] He is the point guard.

[00:15:38] So not a lot of passing is going to come from Pierre.

[00:15:40] He's going to get the ball on the inbounds.

[00:15:42] If you can have him give the ball up,

[00:15:44] keep him, you know, deny ball from that point,

[00:15:46] that's kind of an easier cut and dry, how do you beat him?

[00:15:49] But I think when it's all said and done,

[00:15:51] if you can keep the ball out of Pierre,

[00:15:52] force him to make decisions,

[00:15:53] don't allow him to shoot the ball,

[00:15:55] keep that volume low.

[00:15:56] Again, that's kind of the recipe for winning this one.

[00:15:58] And again, I think the stretch this week is an easy one,

[00:16:01] and I think it's a good one to have under your belt

[00:16:03] as you move into that bigger matchup this week.

[00:16:05] But this week, what are kind of some things

[00:16:07] you're expecting to see from the Raiders

[00:16:08] in this quote-unquote easier swing?

[00:16:11] Yeah, I mean, I don't know what to think

[00:16:13] about Kennesaw State, man.

[00:16:15] Obviously, that Rutgers win is incredible,

[00:16:18] but it's basically holding the entire water of their season.

[00:16:23] You know, I don't want to downplay a 12-point conference

[00:16:27] over against Jacksonville State on Saturday.

[00:16:29] I mean, it's an enigma of a game when you look at it.

[00:16:34] Kennesaw State turned it over 21 times,

[00:16:37] shot worse from three,

[00:16:39] somehow beat a Big Ten team with two top five picks.

[00:16:44] That'll be in the draft in June.

[00:16:47] They did shoot 20 for 33 from two,

[00:16:50] which is significantly higher than their season average,

[00:16:55] which is 49%.

[00:16:56] If I had to guess, I think they should be

[00:17:01] the more manageable win.

[00:17:03] I don't want to say win,

[00:17:05] but the more manageable opponent,

[00:17:07] clearer path to victory.

[00:17:10] Jack State,

[00:17:13] I don't want to say they worry me,

[00:17:15] but I think the teams that Middle has had more issue with this year,

[00:17:20] I mean, you look at their three losses to teams who,

[00:17:23] I'm not going to consider Tennessee

[00:17:25] because everybody's lost to them right now,

[00:17:28] but you have Murray State,

[00:17:31] Bradley, and Belmont,

[00:17:33] just three teams that,

[00:17:37] Belmont and Bradley are both top 50

[00:17:41] in effective field goal percentage so far this year,

[00:17:44] and Liberty too, obviously.

[00:17:47] And Murray State's kind of fallen off a little bit,

[00:17:49] but they shot 61% against Middle

[00:17:51] when they came to the Murphy Center

[00:17:53] and gave the Blue Raiders their first loss.

[00:17:55] The fact that Jacksonville State has shot making,

[00:17:59] with Pierre,

[00:18:00] the incredible score,

[00:18:03] incredible season he's having,

[00:18:04] but two more guys

[00:18:07] shooting over 40%

[00:18:09] from threes.

[00:18:10] They have shot makers.

[00:18:11] I guess the one thing that

[00:18:13] makes me a little

[00:18:15] more

[00:18:17] optimistic

[00:18:17] and a little more settled

[00:18:19] in the Jacksonville State game

[00:18:21] is they are

[00:18:24] 337th in the country

[00:18:26] in assisted field goals made,

[00:18:28] so the percent of their field goals made

[00:18:29] that come off of an assist

[00:18:31] is relatively low

[00:18:33] on the national scale.

[00:18:34] So,

[00:18:35] based on that,

[00:18:36] you would think it's a lot of my turn,

[00:18:38] your turn,

[00:18:39] not cohesive offense

[00:18:40] like we saw against Bradley

[00:18:42] and Murray State

[00:18:42] and Belmont and Liberty.

[00:18:44] So,

[00:18:45] two teams that I think

[00:18:47] middle,

[00:18:48] it's two games that need to win.

[00:18:51] Jacksonville shot making

[00:18:52] has me a little bit more

[00:18:53] focused

[00:18:54] is the way I'd put it.

[00:18:56] Yeah,

[00:18:57] and that's well put.

[00:18:58] And much like basketball is,

[00:18:59] it's a game of runs

[00:19:00] and they're a team

[00:19:00] that certainly can get hot

[00:19:01] at any given time.

[00:19:03] And another team

[00:19:04] that does so very well

[00:19:05] is Western Kentucky

[00:19:06] who would be that following week.

[00:19:07] You get a week off

[00:19:09] from games.

[00:19:09] You get to practice

[00:19:10] in preparation

[00:19:11] for the 100 miles of hate.

[00:19:12] What do you got,

[00:19:14] Oliver,

[00:19:14] on the Hilltoppers?

[00:19:16] Yeah,

[00:19:17] I mean,

[00:19:17] it's a rivalry game.

[00:19:20] I don't want to cop out,

[00:19:21] but

[00:19:22] sometimes

[00:19:23] rivalry games,

[00:19:24] you just throw everything out.

[00:19:25] The first game last year

[00:19:27] was,

[00:19:28] I remember,

[00:19:28] I don't know the score

[00:19:29] off the top of my head,

[00:19:30] but

[00:19:30] the game in Murfreesboro

[00:19:32] last year

[00:19:32] was very low scoring.

[00:19:34] And then the game

[00:19:35] in

[00:19:37] Bowling Green

[00:19:38] was very high scoring.

[00:19:39] And then obviously

[00:19:40] the third game,

[00:19:41] we don't have to talk

[00:19:42] about that game,

[00:19:43] but

[00:19:44] it's definitely

[00:19:45] a different Hilltopper squad.

[00:19:46] They don't have

[00:19:47] that same sort of balance.

[00:19:48] It's definitely more

[00:19:49] McHenry hero ball

[00:19:51] at that moment of time,

[00:19:52] not necessarily

[00:19:52] because he's forcing it,

[00:19:55] but because

[00:19:56] it's just kind of

[00:19:56] the way they have to play.

[00:19:58] They don't have any,

[00:19:58] they don't have a guy

[00:19:59] like Newman anymore

[00:20:01] who went to

[00:20:02] Oklahoma State

[00:20:03] with their coach

[00:20:05] who just departed.

[00:20:05] I'm forgetting his name

[00:20:06] right now.

[00:20:08] Obviously,

[00:20:08] they're dealing

[00:20:09] with injuries

[00:20:10] in the frontcourt.

[00:20:11] Boba Carfe

[00:20:11] don't have

[00:20:13] much

[00:20:15] behind him

[00:20:16] to really

[00:20:19] adjust

[00:20:20] down low.

[00:20:23] That's kind of

[00:20:24] a big factor.

[00:20:24] If they have

[00:20:25] Boba Carfe,

[00:20:26] Middle's been pretty

[00:20:27] strong down low

[00:20:28] this year

[00:20:28] with Asam Misafa.

[00:20:31] I like their chances

[00:20:32] a lot more

[00:20:32] if Fade doesn't play,

[00:20:33] but we'll see.

[00:20:35] I mean,

[00:20:35] I think

[00:20:37] Middle,

[00:20:38] I like Middle's

[00:20:39] depth a lot

[00:20:40] this year.

[00:20:40] I think

[00:20:42] if you

[00:20:43] ignore the Liberty game,

[00:20:45] but they usually

[00:20:46] have

[00:20:47] at least

[00:20:47] one of those

[00:20:48] three guards

[00:20:49] really explode.

[00:20:50] I think

[00:20:51] that

[00:20:52] against

[00:20:52] Western Kentucky

[00:20:53] in a game

[00:20:54] that's high stakes

[00:20:55] and it's got

[00:20:55] a lot of fans

[00:20:56] in the seats,

[00:20:56] I expect

[00:20:57] at least one

[00:20:58] of them

[00:20:58] to have

[00:20:59] a really good

[00:20:59] performance

[00:21:00] and hopefully

[00:21:01] carry Blue Raiders

[00:21:02] to a win.

[00:21:03] Yeah,

[00:21:04] the toppers

[00:21:04] are kind of

[00:21:05] a head scratcher.

[00:21:06] They're dealing

[00:21:06] with,

[00:21:06] as you mentioned,

[00:21:08] the injury

[00:21:08] there to Boba Car

[00:21:09] and then Christian

[00:21:10] Landers,

[00:21:10] a guy who's

[00:21:11] receiving some

[00:21:11] limited minutes,

[00:21:12] a three-point

[00:21:13] threat that he is.

[00:21:15] But the recipe

[00:21:16] for FIU

[00:21:16] was the rebounding.

[00:21:17] I think

[00:21:19] 14 out rebounds

[00:21:21] even with

[00:21:21] an injured

[00:21:23] Chandler Brewer

[00:21:24] that didn't play

[00:21:24] against the Raiders

[00:21:25] on Thursday night.

[00:21:26] But yeah,

[00:21:27] when you go back

[00:21:28] to the whole rivalry

[00:21:28] of it all,

[00:21:29] anything could

[00:21:30] certainly happen

[00:21:30] in a game like that.

[00:21:32] It's all about

[00:21:32] who gets hot

[00:21:33] and that's what

[00:21:34] MTSU experienced

[00:21:35] late in the season

[00:21:36] at home against

[00:21:37] Western Kentucky,

[00:21:37] a team who,

[00:21:38] as we saw

[00:21:39] in the conference

[00:21:39] tournament,

[00:21:40] as you alluded to,

[00:21:41] is better than MTSU.

[00:21:43] But when you come in

[00:21:44] and you have

[00:21:45] enough spirit

[00:21:46] ahead of you,

[00:21:46] I think the Raiders

[00:21:47] were on a four-

[00:21:47] or five-game win streak

[00:21:48] going into that game,

[00:21:50] it certainly gives you

[00:21:51] the spirit that

[00:21:52] anything is possible.

[00:21:53] And so,

[00:21:54] hopefully,

[00:21:54] you get some wins

[00:21:55] under your belt this week.

[00:21:56] You move ahead

[00:21:56] to that one.

[00:21:58] And then if you're able

[00:21:58] to show that one,

[00:21:59] you go back on the road.

[00:22:01] And they are on the road.

[00:22:02] Make sure I get it correct.

[00:22:04] I believe they're on the road

[00:22:05] to Sam Houston

[00:22:06] and Louisiana Tech.

[00:22:07] Now,

[00:22:08] this swing in particular,

[00:22:10] when you're looking at it

[00:22:11] at the beginning

[00:22:11] of the season,

[00:22:12] you're thinking

[00:22:13] you're going one and two.

[00:22:14] You're playing

[00:22:15] the preseason favorite

[00:22:16] in Louisiana Tech

[00:22:17] and you're playing

[00:22:18] the defending

[00:22:19] regular season champions

[00:22:20] in Sam Houston State.

[00:22:22] Louisiana Tech looks,

[00:22:23] to say the least,

[00:22:25] extremely beatable

[00:22:26] as we saw this last week.

[00:22:28] But I don't want

[00:22:28] to take anything away

[00:22:29] from UTEP

[00:22:31] and New Mexico State

[00:22:32] as you'll talk about here

[00:22:33] in just a little bit

[00:22:34] because those two teams,

[00:22:35] again,

[00:22:36] impressive.

[00:22:36] It just talks to the depth

[00:22:37] of Conference USA

[00:22:38] and forgive me

[00:22:39] for constantly repeating that

[00:22:40] in this episode.

[00:22:41] But Louisiana Tech,

[00:22:43] again,

[00:22:44] 30-point loss

[00:22:45] on Saturday

[00:22:45] at Las Cruces,

[00:22:47] New Mexico State.

[00:22:48] They had a lot of,

[00:22:48] there was a lot going on

[00:22:49] within that game in particular.

[00:22:51] They just announced

[00:22:51] their new AD.

[00:22:53] I'm sure

[00:22:54] some sort of record crowd

[00:22:55] for this season.

[00:22:56] So they showed out.

[00:22:57] But Louisiana Tech,

[00:22:58] non-conference record,

[00:22:59] 11-2.

[00:23:00] They had a home win

[00:23:01] against Bracketology,

[00:23:04] Grand Canyon,

[00:23:05] 13 seed out of the WAC,

[00:23:07] which is an impressive win.

[00:23:08] They only had one game

[00:23:10] outside of Quad 3 and 4,

[00:23:12] which was Memphis.

[00:23:13] And that was a 10-point road loss

[00:23:15] in Memphis.

[00:23:15] So this does start,

[00:23:17] the outcome of this last week

[00:23:18] does start to question

[00:23:19] did Louisiana Tech

[00:23:20] play a tough enough

[00:23:22] non-conference schedule

[00:23:23] to really equate

[00:23:24] to the preseason hype

[00:23:26] that they experienced.

[00:23:27] Because they only had

[00:23:28] two games outside

[00:23:29] the top 200,

[00:23:30] and that was

[00:23:31] the Grand Canyon game

[00:23:32] and the Memphis game.

[00:23:33] And they went one-on-one

[00:23:33] in those games.

[00:23:34] So as we saw,

[00:23:36] Daniel Baccio,

[00:23:38] he's kind of the man.

[00:23:39] 18 points per game

[00:23:40] and a massive 75%

[00:23:42] field goal shooting percentage,

[00:23:44] which is incredible

[00:23:44] even for a center.

[00:23:46] And his rebounds

[00:23:47] surprisingly are down

[00:23:48] to 6.5 per game

[00:23:50] for a guy his size.

[00:23:51] But much like we saw

[00:23:52] with UTEP,

[00:23:53] a team that just turns

[00:23:53] over the ball,

[00:23:54] they turn teams over a lot.

[00:23:56] If you're able to deny

[00:23:57] Baccio the ball,

[00:23:58] force someone like

[00:23:59] Sean Newman

[00:24:00] to beat you,

[00:24:02] who, again,

[00:24:03] a guy that's

[00:24:03] 9.5 points per game,

[00:24:04] 9.5 assists per game,

[00:24:06] which is good enough

[00:24:07] for second in all

[00:24:07] of college basketball.

[00:24:08] So he's the threat

[00:24:10] in and of itself.

[00:24:11] But they have so many weapons

[00:24:13] Louisiana Tech does.

[00:24:14] And I guess

[00:24:15] UTEP's defense in particular

[00:24:17] is very stymie

[00:24:18] that just created

[00:24:19] a lot of issues for them

[00:24:20] that they couldn't get

[00:24:20] ironed out in enough time

[00:24:22] and that game

[00:24:22] got out of hand.

[00:24:23] And then Sam Houston,

[00:24:25] another team that

[00:24:25] I will be the first to say

[00:24:27] I have always been

[00:24:28] skeptical of Sam Houston's state.

[00:24:30] Going back to last year,

[00:24:31] if you listen to the show

[00:24:32] enough,

[00:24:32] I've always considered

[00:24:33] them frauds.

[00:24:34] And this year,

[00:24:35] if it's any indication,

[00:24:37] we're kind of seeing that.

[00:24:39] 0-4 in quad 1-2.

[00:24:41] They lost both of their games

[00:24:43] this last weekend as well.

[00:24:45] I just,

[00:24:46] I don't have any belief system

[00:24:48] in who they are.

[00:24:50] Despite,

[00:24:50] again,

[00:24:51] I'm giving credit

[00:24:51] to UTEP and New Mexico State.

[00:24:52] They had a better game

[00:24:53] against New Mexico State.

[00:24:55] But Lamar Wilkerson's

[00:24:56] their guy,

[00:24:57] nearly 19 points per game.

[00:24:58] He's an excellent

[00:24:59] triple threat,

[00:25:00] as far as a three-level score.

[00:25:03] At 44%,

[00:25:04] three-point field goal

[00:25:05] shooting,

[00:25:05] Marcus Boykin's another guy

[00:25:07] who's kind of,

[00:25:08] has come up for them

[00:25:09] this year

[00:25:09] at nine points per game.

[00:25:12] And he is actually

[00:25:14] coming off of an injury

[00:25:15] that I have labeled

[00:25:15] here in December.

[00:25:16] I think he just came back

[00:25:17] to full force

[00:25:18] this last weekend.

[00:25:19] In particular,

[00:25:20] though,

[00:25:20] this team shoots the ball

[00:25:21] from three really well.

[00:25:23] They have a good,

[00:25:24] adjusted offensive efficiency.

[00:25:26] But they're down low

[00:25:27] in the front court.

[00:25:27] They're very thin.

[00:25:28] They don't rebound

[00:25:29] particularly well.

[00:25:30] And like I said,

[00:25:31] if you're able to,

[00:25:32] and I've been saying this forever,

[00:25:33] if you're able to contain

[00:25:33] Wilkerson,

[00:25:34] this team is very average

[00:25:35] at best.

[00:25:35] I would consider this team

[00:25:36] in the bottom third,

[00:25:37] and we may end up seeing that.

[00:25:39] I know I'm harsh on them,

[00:25:40] but I just think

[00:25:40] they're the worst ever

[00:25:41] regular season champions

[00:25:42] Conference USA has ever had.

[00:25:44] And UTEP upsetting them

[00:25:45] in the conference tournament

[00:25:46] last year was an indication

[00:25:48] of that.

[00:25:49] Yeah.

[00:25:50] No,

[00:25:50] I mean,

[00:25:51] you are right.

[00:25:52] You have always been

[00:25:53] the Sam Houston skeptic,

[00:25:55] and you know,

[00:25:55] you deserve your props.

[00:25:57] It's,

[00:25:57] it's,

[00:25:58] it's,

[00:26:00] it's been like that

[00:26:01] this year.

[00:26:02] I mean,

[00:26:02] they had an impressive season

[00:26:03] last year,

[00:26:04] but I do think

[00:26:06] it's almost like

[00:26:06] Wilkerson came back

[00:26:07] and everybody just thought

[00:26:10] is,

[00:26:10] oh,

[00:26:10] we're just going to run it back

[00:26:11] and it's going to be

[00:26:12] the same situation.

[00:26:13] No two teams are the same

[00:26:14] even if the,

[00:26:15] the personnel is identical.

[00:26:17] And I don't,

[00:26:18] their personnel isn't identical.

[00:26:20] So,

[00:26:20] that might be a bad way

[00:26:22] of putting it,

[00:26:22] but I mean,

[00:26:24] they,

[00:26:25] they're great offensively

[00:26:26] and terrible defensively.

[00:26:27] And it's,

[00:26:28] I mean,

[00:26:29] you have to have balance.

[00:26:30] I mean,

[00:26:30] we've seen that as

[00:26:32] Blue Raider fans.

[00:26:33] It's,

[00:26:33] you know,

[00:26:34] even when the Raiders

[00:26:35] were good defensively,

[00:26:37] if they can't score,

[00:26:38] then you can't win.

[00:26:40] You know,

[00:26:40] Sam Houston State,

[00:26:41] to their defense,

[00:26:43] I guess,

[00:26:44] they played a really

[00:26:45] tough schedule.

[00:26:46] I mean,

[00:26:47] they played Baylor,

[00:26:48] Pittsburgh,

[00:26:49] Indiana.

[00:26:50] They didn't hold

[00:26:51] a candle to any

[00:26:52] of them though.

[00:26:53] And,

[00:26:53] you know,

[00:26:55] just because

[00:26:55] Middle Tennessee

[00:26:56] led the volunteers

[00:26:58] at halftime,

[00:26:59] I don't want to make

[00:27:00] it seem like,

[00:27:00] oh,

[00:27:00] that's the automatic

[00:27:02] proof of,

[00:27:03] of them being legit

[00:27:04] and the Bearcats

[00:27:05] not being legit.

[00:27:07] But,

[00:27:07] I do think

[00:27:08] it says a lot.

[00:27:09] I mean,

[00:27:10] they're still waiting

[00:27:11] for a top 200 win

[00:27:13] so far.

[00:27:14] So,

[00:27:14] I agree.

[00:27:15] I,

[00:27:16] I'm not all the way

[00:27:17] out on them,

[00:27:18] but I,

[00:27:19] I'm definitely

[00:27:20] hovering over

[00:27:21] the,

[00:27:23] the fraudulent

[00:27:24] button.

[00:27:24] I don't want to go

[00:27:25] that far,

[00:27:25] but I guess I will.

[00:27:27] With La Tech,

[00:27:28] I think it's

[00:27:29] interesting with

[00:27:30] them.

[00:27:31] I think you can

[00:27:32] put it a couple

[00:27:33] ways.

[00:27:33] So,

[00:27:33] yes,

[00:27:34] I do think

[00:27:36] part of their

[00:27:37] issue was

[00:27:39] they hadn't

[00:27:39] played a game

[00:27:40] since December

[00:27:41] 21st.

[00:27:44] and then

[00:27:45] they obviously

[00:27:45] went and played

[00:27:46] at UTEP

[00:27:47] and at New

[00:27:47] Mexico.

[00:27:48] When you,

[00:27:49] this time of year

[00:27:50] can always be a

[00:27:50] little funky

[00:27:51] for teams,

[00:27:51] just having that

[00:27:53] long break,

[00:27:54] going back home,

[00:27:55] missing practice

[00:27:55] time.

[00:27:56] You're just out

[00:27:56] of the routine

[00:27:57] and then,

[00:27:58] especially the way

[00:27:59] the Conference

[00:28:00] USA,

[00:28:01] it's almost like

[00:28:02] one of those

[00:28:03] early season

[00:28:04] MTEs,

[00:28:05] holiday tournaments

[00:28:05] where you play

[00:28:07] one game right

[00:28:08] after another

[00:28:09] and there's not

[00:28:09] really much you

[00:28:10] can regroup

[00:28:12] and reset

[00:28:13] and just

[00:28:16] completely fix

[00:28:17] overnight because

[00:28:17] you have a game

[00:28:18] the next day.

[00:28:19] In this situation,

[00:28:21] you do have

[00:28:21] one off day,

[00:28:22] but I think

[00:28:23] that's kind of

[00:28:24] part of their

[00:28:24] bad weekend.

[00:28:25] I mean,

[00:28:26] 40 points

[00:28:27] over two games

[00:28:28] is really,

[00:28:29] really bad.

[00:28:31] I'm not

[00:28:33] buying all

[00:28:34] the way into

[00:28:35] it,

[00:28:35] but I do

[00:28:36] think

[00:28:37] it's safe

[00:28:38] to say

[00:28:39] that they

[00:28:39] are not,

[00:28:40] they should

[00:28:41] not be the

[00:28:42] conference

[00:28:42] favorites

[00:28:43] like they

[00:28:43] were voted

[00:28:44] for in

[00:28:44] the preseason.

[00:28:46] Main issue

[00:28:46] I have

[00:28:47] with La Tech

[00:28:47] is they

[00:28:49] turn the

[00:28:49] ball over

[00:28:50] and they

[00:28:50] don't force

[00:28:51] turnovers.

[00:28:52] They're bottom

[00:28:52] 50 in both

[00:28:53] offensive and

[00:28:54] defensive turnover

[00:28:55] percentage.

[00:28:56] And then

[00:28:57] their rebounding

[00:28:58] has dropped

[00:28:58] off a lot

[00:28:59] since last

[00:28:59] year as well.

[00:29:00] Their bottom

[00:29:01] I guess

[00:29:02] 150 you

[00:29:03] could call

[00:29:03] it in

[00:29:04] offensive

[00:29:05] rebounding

[00:29:05] percentage

[00:29:06] and defensive

[00:29:06] rebounding

[00:29:06] percentage.

[00:29:07] Last year

[00:29:08] they were

[00:29:08] top 10

[00:29:09] in defensive

[00:29:09] effective field

[00:29:10] goal percentage.

[00:29:11] They're not

[00:29:11] there.

[00:29:12] They just

[00:29:12] don't have

[00:29:12] that same

[00:29:13] identity.

[00:29:14] I think

[00:29:15] Crawford,

[00:29:16] if I'm not

[00:29:17] mistaken,

[00:29:17] he's playing

[00:29:18] in the G

[00:29:18] League.

[00:29:18] He might

[00:29:19] have even

[00:29:19] gotten a

[00:29:19] cup of

[00:29:19] coffee in

[00:29:20] the NBA.

[00:29:20] He's a

[00:29:21] big loss

[00:29:22] and Boccio's

[00:29:22] a great

[00:29:23] player,

[00:29:23] but I

[00:29:24] don't really

[00:29:25] think they

[00:29:27] just

[00:29:28] bounced

[00:29:28] back and

[00:29:30] replaced

[00:29:30] Crawford.

[00:29:31] He's a

[00:29:31] hard player

[00:29:32] to replace.

[00:29:35] I'm not all

[00:29:35] the way

[00:29:36] concerned with

[00:29:36] La Tech,

[00:29:37] but their

[00:29:37] flaws are pretty

[00:29:38] clear,

[00:29:39] no doubt.

[00:29:40] I always

[00:29:41] said who

[00:29:41] is Boccio

[00:29:42] with Crawford

[00:29:43] being gone?

[00:29:43] That's

[00:29:44] something I

[00:29:44] previewed over

[00:29:44] on our

[00:29:45] Conference USA

[00:29:45] Roundtable

[00:29:46] episode.

[00:29:47] Who is he

[00:29:48] going to be

[00:29:49] without Crawford?

[00:29:50] Because

[00:29:50] Crawford's

[00:29:51] going to draw

[00:29:51] a lot of

[00:29:52] attention and

[00:29:53] now Boccio is

[00:29:53] drawing that

[00:29:54] same attention

[00:29:54] and doesn't

[00:29:55] necessarily have

[00:29:55] that same

[00:29:56] relief in

[00:29:57] the front

[00:29:57] court.

[00:29:58] Keep things

[00:29:59] rolling here.

[00:30:00] The last

[00:30:00] series,

[00:30:02] at least of

[00:30:02] teams that we

[00:30:02] wouldn't be

[00:30:03] facing,

[00:30:03] would be

[00:30:04] New Mexico

[00:30:05] State and

[00:30:05] then,

[00:30:06] of course,

[00:30:06] the UTEP

[00:30:07] trip.

[00:30:07] Gosh,

[00:30:09] again,

[00:30:09] both these

[00:30:09] teams have

[00:30:10] really been

[00:30:11] the surprise

[00:30:12] of Conference

[00:30:13] USA,

[00:30:13] especially in

[00:30:14] this first

[00:30:14] weekend,

[00:30:15] given the

[00:30:15] wins over

[00:30:15] Sam Houston

[00:30:16] and La Tech

[00:30:16] for both

[00:30:17] of these

[00:30:17] teams.

[00:30:19] New Mexico

[00:30:19] State's

[00:30:20] impressive.

[00:30:22] They're top

[00:30:22] seven players,

[00:30:23] juniors or

[00:30:24] seniors.

[00:30:24] I think only

[00:30:25] one of those

[00:30:25] players is

[00:30:25] actually a

[00:30:26] junior.

[00:30:27] Very,

[00:30:27] very old

[00:30:28] team.

[00:30:29] Jason Houghton

[00:30:30] is a good

[00:30:30] coach.

[00:30:31] Obviously,

[00:30:31] he came

[00:30:31] from Sam

[00:30:32] Houston

[00:30:33] a couple

[00:30:33] years ago.

[00:30:36] Their

[00:30:38] season has

[00:30:38] been interesting

[00:30:39] so far,

[00:30:40] too.

[00:30:40] Three of

[00:30:41] their losses

[00:30:42] to Dayton,

[00:30:42] to Texas,

[00:30:43] and to

[00:30:43] UNLV,

[00:30:44] those aren't

[00:30:44] bad losses

[00:30:45] by any

[00:30:46] means.

[00:30:46] They have

[00:30:46] three more

[00:30:47] losses to

[00:30:49] Pepperdine,

[00:30:49] Bowling Green.

[00:30:50] Pepperdine,

[00:30:51] Bowling Green

[00:30:51] was one of

[00:30:51] those holiday

[00:30:52] tournaments.

[00:30:53] You can't

[00:30:54] just turn

[00:30:55] around and

[00:30:55] practice and

[00:30:57] work out your

[00:30:57] kinks in the

[00:30:58] middle of those

[00:30:58] holiday tournaments.

[00:31:00] We saw it

[00:31:01] with Connecticut.

[00:31:02] When it rains,

[00:31:03] it pours.

[00:31:04] I don't think

[00:31:04] Connecticut's lost

[00:31:05] a game since

[00:31:06] that Maui

[00:31:06] debacle they

[00:31:07] had where

[00:31:07] they lost

[00:31:08] three straight.

[00:31:08] They don't

[00:31:09] look like

[00:31:10] 24 and

[00:31:11] 23 Connecticut,

[00:31:12] but they

[00:31:12] still look

[00:31:12] like they

[00:31:14] will contend

[00:31:15] for the

[00:31:15] Big East.

[00:31:17] New Mexico

[00:31:18] State will

[00:31:19] see.

[00:31:20] They're

[00:31:20] strong

[00:31:21] defensively,

[00:31:22] top 75 in

[00:31:23] the country

[00:31:23] there.

[00:31:26] As far as

[00:31:27] a field

[00:31:28] goal percentage

[00:31:29] defense,

[00:31:31] we'll see.

[00:31:32] I think

[00:31:33] with the

[00:31:34] way their

[00:31:34] schedule

[00:31:35] looks,

[00:31:37] lost to

[00:31:37] their good

[00:31:38] teams,

[00:31:39] beat most

[00:31:39] of the bad

[00:31:40] teams.

[00:31:42] The way

[00:31:43] they handled

[00:31:43] Sam Houston

[00:31:44] and Louisiana

[00:31:45] Tech to start

[00:31:45] the year,

[00:31:46] it's pretty

[00:31:46] impressive.

[00:31:48] UTEP,

[00:31:50] I'm there

[00:31:52] with UTEP.

[00:31:53] Their

[00:31:54] statistical

[00:31:54] profile is

[00:31:55] very,

[00:31:56] very

[00:31:56] impressive.

[00:31:57] Second

[00:31:58] in the

[00:31:58] country in

[00:31:59] turnover

[00:31:59] percentage,

[00:32:00] that is

[00:32:01] their identity

[00:32:01] and that's

[00:32:03] such a huge

[00:32:03] part of

[00:32:04] basketball,

[00:32:04] I don't

[00:32:04] really think,

[00:32:05] or at least

[00:32:05] college

[00:32:06] basketball

[00:32:06] that I

[00:32:08] think is

[00:32:08] overlooked

[00:32:09] is having

[00:32:11] an identity,

[00:32:11] knowing what

[00:32:12] you are.

[00:32:14] UTEP,

[00:32:14] this is

[00:32:15] their third

[00:32:16] straight

[00:32:16] year,

[00:32:17] finishing

[00:32:18] in the

[00:32:18] top 16

[00:32:19] of

[00:32:20] defensive

[00:32:20] turnover

[00:32:21] percentage.

[00:32:21] Obviously,

[00:32:22] that's

[00:32:22] Joe

[00:32:22] Golding's

[00:32:23] calling

[00:32:23] card.

[00:32:24] However,

[00:32:25] what's

[00:32:25] different

[00:32:25] this year

[00:32:26] is they

[00:32:26] are 22nd

[00:32:27] in three

[00:32:28] point

[00:32:28] percentage.

[00:32:29] They were

[00:32:30] sub 300

[00:32:31] the past

[00:32:31] two years.

[00:32:32] That is

[00:32:33] quite an

[00:32:34] improvement.

[00:32:35] We are at

[00:32:36] the point

[00:32:37] where we're

[00:32:37] two months

[00:32:37] in.

[00:32:38] It's not

[00:32:38] a small

[00:32:38] sample size

[00:32:39] anymore.

[00:32:39] This is a

[00:32:40] good shooting

[00:32:41] team.

[00:32:41] If they

[00:32:42] can force

[00:32:42] turnovers

[00:32:43] and if

[00:32:43] they can

[00:32:44] hit

[00:32:44] three-point

[00:32:45] shots,

[00:32:45] and three-point

[00:32:47] shooting can

[00:32:47] be a little

[00:32:48] volatile.

[00:32:49] I don't expect

[00:32:50] them to be

[00:32:50] the surest,

[00:32:51] soundest,

[00:32:52] most consistent

[00:32:52] group,

[00:32:53] but a

[00:32:55] really,

[00:32:55] really

[00:32:56] impressive

[00:32:58] identity

[00:32:58] for the

[00:32:59] minors.

[00:33:00] I do like

[00:33:01] what they're

[00:33:02] seeing.

[00:33:03] I do expect

[00:33:03] them to be

[00:33:04] one of the

[00:33:05] most impressive

[00:33:05] teams at

[00:33:06] Conference USA

[00:33:06] this year.

[00:33:08] They are

[00:33:09] definitely the

[00:33:10] sneaky pick

[00:33:11] in my

[00:33:11] opinion for

[00:33:12] Conference USA

[00:33:13] regular season

[00:33:13] champions just

[00:33:15] because of how

[00:33:16] well their

[00:33:17] defense travels.

[00:33:18] We saw it

[00:33:18] for an example

[00:33:19] when they

[00:33:20] played here

[00:33:20] in Murfreesboro

[00:33:21] last year.

[00:33:22] I remember

[00:33:22] the eye-rolling

[00:33:23] of 20

[00:33:25] first-half

[00:33:25] turnovers

[00:33:26] that they

[00:33:27] forced against

[00:33:28] Nick McDevitt

[00:33:29] in the

[00:33:29] Murphy Center.

[00:33:29] That's just

[00:33:30] something that

[00:33:30] Joe Golding

[00:33:32] has a knack

[00:33:33] for getting

[00:33:33] his guys

[00:33:34] to do.

[00:33:34] He had a

[00:33:34] lot of

[00:33:34] turnover

[00:33:35] this year.

[00:33:36] A lot of

[00:33:37] us wondered

[00:33:37] what would

[00:33:38] this team

[00:33:38] be with

[00:33:39] all that

[00:33:39] turnover,

[00:33:39] but you

[00:33:40] kept

[00:33:40] guys like

[00:33:40] Otis

[00:33:40] Frazier

[00:33:41] III,

[00:33:41] who in

[00:33:42] my opinion

[00:33:42] is one

[00:33:43] of the

[00:33:43] most unsung

[00:33:44] heroes of

[00:33:44] Conference USA,

[00:33:45] particularly for

[00:33:46] the minor.

[00:33:46] He's a kind

[00:33:47] of player

[00:33:47] that you

[00:33:48] can take

[00:33:48] from UTEP,

[00:33:50] put him on

[00:33:50] any team,

[00:33:50] and he's

[00:33:51] going to

[00:33:51] contribute

[00:33:51] 10-6 every

[00:33:53] single night.

[00:33:54] He's just

[00:33:54] that type

[00:33:54] of guy.

[00:33:56] Ahmed

[00:33:56] Bynum,

[00:33:57] the DePaul

[00:33:58] transfer,

[00:33:59] is a big

[00:33:59] part of that

[00:34:00] three-point

[00:34:00] shooting prowess

[00:34:01] you're talking

[00:34:01] about,

[00:34:02] the 56%

[00:34:03] three-point

[00:34:04] shooter with

[00:34:04] the volume

[00:34:05] there to

[00:34:05] back up

[00:34:06] that number,

[00:34:06] averaging nearly

[00:34:07] 11 points

[00:34:08] per game.

[00:34:08] That team

[00:34:09] is just

[00:34:10] sneaky

[00:34:10] good.

[00:34:10] I think,

[00:34:11] as you said,

[00:34:11] as volatile

[00:34:12] as the

[00:34:12] three-point

[00:34:12] shooting is,

[00:34:13] if that

[00:34:14] defense continues

[00:34:15] as I

[00:34:15] expect it

[00:34:16] to,

[00:34:17] if the

[00:34:18] three-point

[00:34:18] shooting stays

[00:34:19] hot,

[00:34:19] they're going

[00:34:19] to be a

[00:34:19] tough team

[00:34:20] to beat

[00:34:20] when it

[00:34:20] comes to

[00:34:21] March.

[00:34:21] They have

[00:34:22] that ability.

[00:34:23] Joe

[00:34:23] Golding,

[00:34:24] great coach.

[00:34:25] He's got

[00:34:25] his feet

[00:34:26] underneath

[00:34:26] him.

[00:34:26] He's going

[00:34:27] into year

[00:34:27] four at

[00:34:28] UTEP.

[00:34:29] Even with

[00:34:30] all the

[00:34:30] turnover,

[00:34:31] he seems

[00:34:31] to have

[00:34:32] the wits

[00:34:34] about him

[00:34:34] and the

[00:34:34] guys to

[00:34:35] back up

[00:34:35] his

[00:34:36] coaching

[00:34:36] style.

[00:34:37] That's

[00:34:38] the

[00:34:38] rundown

[00:34:38] of

[00:34:39] Conference

[00:34:39] USA.

[00:34:40] When we

[00:34:41] try to

[00:34:42] apply all

[00:34:42] of this

[00:34:43] to MTSU

[00:34:43] in particular,

[00:34:44] I want

[00:34:45] to look

[00:34:45] back

[00:34:45] at that

[00:34:46] schedule.

[00:34:47] What's

[00:34:48] the stretch

[00:34:49] in your

[00:34:49] mind,

[00:34:50] Oliver,

[00:34:50] that this

[00:34:51] team needs

[00:34:51] to mentally

[00:34:52] be prepared

[00:34:53] to get

[00:34:55] through if

[00:34:56] we want

[00:34:56] to see

[00:34:56] ourselves

[00:34:57] the top

[00:34:58] four.

[00:34:59] I still

[00:35:00] think this

[00:35:00] team could

[00:35:01] vie for

[00:35:01] a regular

[00:35:01] season

[00:35:02] championship.

[00:35:05] When it's

[00:35:06] this good,

[00:35:07] it's hard

[00:35:09] just to

[00:35:10] say one

[00:35:10] stretch.

[00:35:12] I hate

[00:35:14] to say

[00:35:14] this.

[00:35:16] I don't

[00:35:17] want to

[00:35:17] overlook

[00:35:18] this week.

[00:35:19] I'm part

[00:35:19] of the

[00:35:20] team.

[00:35:20] I don't

[00:35:21] have

[00:35:21] anything

[00:35:22] to do

[00:35:22] with

[00:35:22] their

[00:35:22] performance.

[00:35:26] Assuming

[00:35:27] that they

[00:35:27] can take

[00:35:28] care of

[00:35:28] business

[00:35:29] and win

[00:35:30] games

[00:35:30] against

[00:35:31] Kennesaw

[00:35:32] State

[00:35:32] and

[00:35:33] Jacksonville

[00:35:33] State,

[00:35:34] I think

[00:35:35] they'll have

[00:35:36] a week

[00:35:37] off,

[00:35:37] obviously,

[00:35:37] then play

[00:35:38] Western

[00:35:38] Kentucky,

[00:35:39] travel to

[00:35:40] Sam Houston,

[00:35:41] Louisiana,

[00:35:41] Tech,

[00:35:42] then host

[00:35:42] New Mexico

[00:35:43] State and

[00:35:43] Utah.

[00:35:44] seep.

[00:35:44] That seems

[00:35:46] a lot of

[00:35:48] things that

[00:35:49] stretch ends

[00:35:49] you're halfway

[00:35:50] done or

[00:35:52] at least

[00:35:53] close to

[00:35:53] halfway done

[00:35:54] with the

[00:35:55] conference

[00:35:56] season.

[00:35:56] You'll have

[00:35:57] a lot better

[00:35:58] of idea

[00:35:58] what this

[00:35:59] team is,

[00:36:00] what their

[00:36:00] potential is

[00:36:01] as far as

[00:36:01] finishing in

[00:36:02] the conference.

[00:36:03] That's sort

[00:36:04] of what I

[00:36:04] have circled.

[00:36:06] yeah the for me personally it's that end of year if you're still vying for a regular season

[00:36:11] championship and and gosh like you could point at any at any point this the season could just be

[00:36:16] over but i know that this conference in general is going to beat themselves up i i said that the

[00:36:20] conference champion more than likely is going to win 13 at most games because that's how tough

[00:36:25] it's going to be on the road and for those that that don't know that's only four road wins you need

[00:36:29] four road wins in my opinion to win conference usa well you picked one up in miami so you've got to

[00:36:34] pick up three more somewhere else i think your best opportunity to pick up two more is jacksonville

[00:36:39] state and kennesaw state you've got to find one somewhere else that could be sam houston that could

[00:36:44] be um utep new mexico state swing i think louisiana tech and western are going to be tough as is but

[00:36:50] you got to find one somewhere and i think if you have an opportunity to to really get some momentum

[00:36:56] towards the end of the season that early february stretch where you're on the road in jacksonville

[00:37:00] kennesaw state week-long break before you go to bowling green that could be an area where this

[00:37:05] team could catch some heat you come back home play louisiana tech sam houston state that's the

[00:37:08] stretch in particular that i have pinpointed as if this team is going to make a run for the

[00:37:13] conference championship that's going to be the most important but you got to do it what's in

[00:37:17] front of you much like kennesaw state jacksonville state this weekend um i look forward to it oliver i

[00:37:22] know you'll be following closely along all season long a lot of your stuff over there go middle.com

[00:37:26] um just wrote a piece on j-rock counter i know you've got some more stuff in the works anything

[00:37:31] in particular to to tease for us no i think uh what kind of i mentioned that once they uh

[00:37:40] i think i think it's february 1st that is that that halfway mark once they play utep at home

[00:37:45] i'll probably put something together then sort of a uh just a temperature check on the season or the

[00:37:52] conference season what what's going right what's going wrong how they can fix or how they can

[00:37:57] continue and say great um yeah that's kind of what i have my eyes on next i just put together a uh

[00:38:04] snippet on twitter of everybody's collective rank averaging it out kind of on ken palm and dorvik and

[00:38:12] the net ranking and then just trying to organize and just put together a comprehensive data for

[00:38:19] everybody to see just to gauge where everybody's at how who's good at what and who needs to improve

[00:38:26] at what so so yeah just always grinding uh but i i enjoy it it's it's a lot of fun i'm lucky to get

[00:38:33] to uh to cover the middle tennessee blue raiders no doubt and and let's be honest this is it's a fun

[00:38:39] team to cover you know we've had we've had our down years this is a really fun team to cover so

[00:38:43] if you're not already make sure you're following oliver uh especially on twitter slash x at go

[00:38:48] middle oliver um for all of those breakdowns of course as the season goes on i know you live tweet

[00:38:53] a little bit as well um but oliver i appreciate you taking the time to talk some some hoops with

[00:38:57] us and we look forward to talking to you again soon yep looking forward to it jake thank you

[00:39:05] did you know the blue raider podcast has an online store you can now support your favorite podcast by

[00:39:10] checking out our selection at our website blue raider podcast.com and stay tuned for new

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[00:39:20] joining the blue raider podcast again returning is a go middle basketball analyst talking today

[00:39:25] especially about the lady raiders basketball it is connor newt connor how's it going doing well how

[00:39:30] are you excellent man did you have yourself a good holiday season i did man it was it was relaxing i

[00:39:36] miss being on campus and being in the borough but it'll be good to get back haven't strayed away

[00:39:43] from any blue raider basketball though that's for sure well tell us a little bit too i know last time

[00:39:47] we kind of i was talking before the show we rushed in not much of an icebreaker for those that don't

[00:39:52] know you obviously you're a student at mtsu you are helping us out at go middle when it comes to

[00:39:56] recruiting like i've kind of deemed you the lady raiders basketball um analyst force but we know

[00:40:01] you do men's basketball as well what are kind of some things you're going to school for tell us a

[00:40:05] little bit about who connor newt is and what what is what his objectives are sure yeah um i'm like

[00:40:09] you said i'm a junior at mtsu right now i'm helping with go middle cover men's and women's like

[00:40:15] you kind of deem me as the women's guy around here but i do both um i'm i'm uh currently working

[00:40:22] as a host and producer over at 1025 the game in nashville where we we uh carry the predators and

[00:40:29] i have the saturday show 9 to 11 force company listen if you if you haven't it's a great time

[00:40:35] but uh yeah i mean i'm a basketball junkie i oliver baltz who i think was on here earlier has

[00:40:41] called me a a nerd about it but i will take that heavily i love that well here at blue raider nation

[00:40:49] we don't want to take things a little bit too far but we we have to we have to let them know that you

[00:40:54] are at heart a kentucky wildcat fan yeah i could pull out the basketball right now but i don't feel

[00:41:00] like getting up so well this is my opportunity and i know you might roll your eyes at me but

[00:41:06] what mtsu want to know all time against the cats and men's basketball lady raiders not so much but

[00:41:13] they do have a recent win over over the lady cats for that matter but um well let's turn our attention

[00:41:18] over to lady raiders shall we about this this impressive start um to conference usa season i know

[00:41:23] going into this season all the talk was about mtsu and liberty there's a lot of backstory a lot of

[00:41:28] trash talk going on this last uh this last week at the press conference on saturday rick

[00:41:33] and so kind of shied away from feeding into any of that trash talk and rightfully so i think what

[00:41:37] they did on the court was telling enough about what this team was capable of to be honest i thought we

[00:41:42] might get a close matchup but much like last season here in murfreesboro the lady raiders just kind of

[00:41:47] ran away with it yeah and i think that's kind of a testament to liberty's strength of schedule and

[00:41:53] team build up as a whole right looking at their non-conference they went five and four

[00:41:58] number 128 in the net not great their best win a neutral w over 144 arkansas not great at all

[00:42:07] oh and four and quad one and quad two so i i mean i think we kind of went into this game expecting

[00:42:14] the lady raiders with the team they have compared to the liberty flames team kind of just run away

[00:42:20] with it right i think that's exactly what they did they lived up to expectations and it was a good

[00:42:26] game it was a good weekend for the lady raiders right rightfully so yeah the liberty game had its

[00:42:31] own kind of storyline behind it you know the bella smuda um action with anastasia boldereva

[00:42:37] um they did a great job holding smuda the leading scorer for the lady frames to just seven points which

[00:42:42] is miraculous as is um really frustrated her which again as a lady raider fan i'm kind of

[00:42:48] happy to see that they were able to frustrate him and frustrate the the late the lady flames as a whole

[00:42:52] um as we talk about the other opponent that they faced on thursday night that will kind of gloss over

[00:42:57] is fiu a team that surprised conference usa last season with the way they finished in the top three

[00:43:02] um and really came out to a slow start this year three and seven in the non-conference

[00:43:06] um the lowest net rating currently in conference usa i do think things will turn around a little bit for

[00:43:12] them they're dealing with some injuries as we saw this last thursday night and they're obviously

[00:43:16] very capable of winning games because on saturday they turned around and went on the road to bowling

[00:43:20] green and beat the lady toppers 80 to 79 in a really close barn burning game and again kind of showed

[00:43:26] how good the lady raiders team is if we can bring it back to mtsu they scored 80 points against western

[00:43:32] kentucky mtsu held them to 39 i believe was was the final on thursday night i mean it just speaks volumes

[00:43:39] to one fiu is not as bad as maybe we think they are they're just trying to get their feet underneath

[00:43:43] themselves have some injuries to deal with but gosh when you hold a team that's number three in the

[00:43:47] conference and scoring to 39 points again you kind of put mtsu in their own league of play if you will

[00:43:53] sure and it was a complete team effort looking at the box score i mean anastasia boldereva has been

[00:43:58] probably the player i've been most impressed with all season at a double double 12 and 10

[00:44:04] courtney blakeley only scored seven points but she's dishing out 10 assists so if you can space the

[00:44:09] floor like that and kind of work through the posts like anastasia boldereva does but also with the

[00:44:15] pure playmaking ability you have in courtney blakeley that's a recipe for disaster that's

[00:44:21] how teams win when you have elite guard play and elite post play like the blue raiders had this weekend

[00:44:27] it's a recipe for disaster and i think teams in conference usa heading into conference play now

[00:44:33] i think that's something you need to be afraid of and be looking at

[00:44:37] absolutely and one of the areas too that i think as we we transition our talk into this upcoming

[00:44:42] weekend's matchups you go down to kennesaw state on thursday and then you wrap up in jacksonville

[00:44:48] alabama on saturday against jacksonville state you haven't quite faced a purely defensive team like

[00:44:56] we will see this weekend you talk about jacksonville state the number two scoring defense behind the

[00:45:00] lady raiders and kennesaw state closely behind is the number three in conference usa those teams in

[00:45:04] particular i don't know that they necessarily scare me that i would put them in the bottom half as

[00:45:09] you look at their net ratings uh kennesaw state there is at 233 jacksonville state is at 181 so

[00:45:14] they are quintessentially the bottom of conference usa along with fiu and sam houston state but um

[00:45:21] your your one area that has always been a mark against the lady raiders has been the offense

[00:45:25] as we've seen when they play these larger matchups like the kansas state game in particular

[00:45:29] like princeton we saw there at the end of 2024 they struggle um against those good defensive teams i

[00:45:36] don't think that this is necessarily that these are not those teams that are going to do that however

[00:45:39] we have seen in years past that that the lady raiders have slipped up in particularly on the road

[00:45:45] in games very similar to this like we saw the sam houston swing two years or excuse me this texas

[00:45:50] san antonio swing two years ago the utep swing two years ago when you run into these teams that play

[00:45:55] good defense on the road that seems to be our weak spot this year is the offense when they're able to

[00:46:00] shut down courtney blakeley as you say hold off the assist they're doubling bolderava getting her

[00:46:06] into these turnover situations where she's putting the ball on the floor um that's where things kind

[00:46:10] of get a little hairy for us but i don't think this i think that this team is just so strong i mean

[00:46:14] gosh what we saw this week i kind of has eliminated any doubt that this team is capable of going 18 and 0

[00:46:19] again and to draw it back to the kinesaw state game that's coming up this thursday they're going to

[00:46:24] face what i would consider a player of the year candidate if you took anyone outside of mtsu

[00:46:28] and bella smuda for that fact uh princess harden has been great she was a conference usa player of the

[00:46:33] week this last week she's been averaging 16 and a half points per game 10 rebounds per game so she's

[00:46:38] averaging a double double but one thing that we've seen especially with this lady raiders team is their

[00:46:43] ability to shut down the opposition star player so i think that's kind of the recipe for winning the

[00:46:49] specifically the kinesaw staking where a girl like princess harding could take over um shut her down

[00:46:54] they're a very weak offensive scoring team when you take when you remove harden from the from the floor

[00:46:59] um so i think that's the recipe there um but let's let's go ahead and move that attention over to

[00:47:04] the week thereafter they have a little bit of a week of break or i would say that's a coach in

[00:47:09] somebody said it's they're not taking a break they're practically taking a break from games but

[00:47:12] the big one should it right and and a big one as we always anticipate no matter no matter how good or

[00:47:18] bad these two teams are they play with western kentucky 100 miles of hate and i mean that's a game

[00:47:23] that again you're always worried about what could happen in those rivalry games sure it's a rivalry game

[00:47:28] but looking at western kentucky and the season they've had and the things they put out there

[00:47:33] on that box score they're a very beatable team they rank they went seven and three in the non-conference

[00:47:39] which is solid but they rank 161 in the net their best win was a road win against number 21 21 sorry

[00:47:46] abilene christian only played two games outside of quad four so kind of a weak schedule for the lady

[00:47:53] toppers they uh they rank first in scoring 76.1 points per game in conference usa that's 44 percent

[00:48:02] field goal shooting that's fourth in conference usa so they can score the ball when they're open they do

[00:48:07] a great job of spacing the floor they have four players that average double figures alexis mead with

[00:48:13] 14.3 destiny salary 13.1 uh hayes with 12.7 and josie giblin with 10.4 and they're first in conference

[00:48:25] usa turnover margin so they're an offensive team they're very and they're a good defensive minded

[00:48:30] team too but here's the thing they play a short short lineup six players average 20 minutes plus per

[00:48:38] game short rotation not much bench bench death they're the worst scoring defense in conference

[00:48:43] usa and field goal defense so they're very easy to score on it lives and they're ninth in rebounding

[00:48:49] that to me tells me that anastasia boldereva is going to absolutely cook in the in the post

[00:48:54] she's just going to grab every single ball that comes to her because she's bigger and she knows how

[00:48:59] to grab a rebound i don't know i don't know what you think jake but reading that off and watching

[00:49:06] some of the lady toppers this year i think obviously it's a rivalry game so you never know what could

[00:49:10] happen that's a very beatable team to me right and they were one of the few teams this week that went

[00:49:16] oh and two at home so you've kind of put them on notice as far as how good is this team really and

[00:49:21] you touched on it seven and three and then on conference it's a good record um but the the

[00:49:25] scheduling was rather weak for them and and they kind of got i want to say they started the season

[00:49:28] six and oh seven and oh they kind of put conference usa on notice but again when you reflect back on who

[00:49:33] they played they dropped a liberty game which is tough but you're still home court advantage and then

[00:49:38] fiu who two nights ago lost at mtsu by 31 and you were and you were trailing almost the entirety of

[00:49:45] that game to that fiu team that lost by 31 points so um definitely um as you said well put i mean they

[00:49:52] have a balanced scoring attack but that's kind of it but we've been told at mtsu that that's always a

[00:49:57] problem so i'm sure that they might be a recipe for them that they think works but yeah i couldn't agree

[00:50:01] more that i think that this is a game this is a game that should be winnable but rivalry games

[00:50:06] always leave um a little bit of mystery in the air if you will um but the next the next series after

[00:50:12] that they will be back home where they'll face sam houston and louisiana tech and as i've already

[00:50:16] touched on sam houston being in the bottom of the conference much like they were last year i want

[00:50:21] to say they finished ninth in the conference usa they're more than likely to finish bottom 10th

[00:50:25] if i had to guess right now there's just not very many redeeming factors with this team they have so

[00:50:30] many new transfers uh kayla kelly one of those included that is averaging 14 points per game

[00:50:35] but that's about it in the double digits as far as scoring threats for them they do rebound the ball

[00:50:39] very well they are very good in the turnover margin area but collectively they're just not a team that i

[00:50:45] would consider a threat louisiana tech is interesting um currently uh in the net at 179 um oh and they

[00:50:52] went oh and three and quad ones and two so don't have any big wins and really none of them were

[00:50:56] necessarily relatively close but this is a team that returned a lot of their top talent you have

[00:51:01] robin lee back who's averaging almost 13 points per game she's fourth in the conference in shooting

[00:51:05] percentage gianna morris at 11 points per game but jordan marshall has kind of been an intriguing

[00:51:10] addition for them uh she's i want to say she's a six foot guard kind of a uh a three four power forward

[00:51:17] small forward however you want to really look at them nowadays but she's averaging 12 and a half points

[00:51:22] per game and nearly nine rebounds per game as a freshman i've been really impressed with her game

[00:51:26] she's kind of an x factor for louisiana tech who a team that i didn't necessarily have on my radar as

[00:51:32] being as good as they have been playing thus far i mean they went 2-0 in the first weekend albeit

[00:51:36] home games against relatively easy opponents but um that is something that i have my eye on as again

[00:51:42] maybe not the home game against louisiana tech but the road game in particular and we saw last year

[00:51:46] early in the season against the lady dogs um or excuse me they go by the lady texters um we saw

[00:51:52] we went to overtime with lady texters so that's always a tough arena to play they have a rich history

[00:51:56] of women's basketball so you can always promise that um louisiana tech is going to have a tough team

[00:52:01] and i fully anticipate later in the year that could be that could be a game that you kind of pin is like

[00:52:06] you've got to survive this weekend if you want to be 18 and 0 um and again i i still think there's a

[00:52:11] possibility of getting the automatic qualifier so you got to win these you have to win these games

[00:52:15] especially at home but definitely on the road but the week thereafter connor you'll wrap us up here

[00:52:20] with as far as the opponents that they face the road swing that is typically pretty tough um not

[00:52:25] just for the fact of the opponent but because you're going all the way across the country

[00:52:29] they got the the new mexico state and the utep trip sure yeah looking at utep that's the game

[00:52:36] that's concerning more to me five and four in non-conference which isn't great oh and those

[00:52:41] four losses were all in quadrant three but their best road win was against number 165 texas a&m corpus

[00:52:48] christy but to me they have an x-factor shooter and that's ivani tensayi who averages 13.5 points

[00:52:56] per game leading conference usa in three-point field goal percentage at 44 that is someone you cannot

[00:53:02] leave open if you leave her open chances are she's probably going to burn you now last year

[00:53:10] mtsu held her to just five points they need to do that again do not let her get hot do not let her

[00:53:17] get hot at all they have a couple of other hot players portia adams averaging 10.4 points per game

[00:53:23] zita delma is second in conference usa in assists she averages 4.5 assist point assist per game and a

[00:53:30] one to five assist to turnover ratio she's a ball handler she's she is someone that controls that

[00:53:38] offense similar to what mtsu has in courtney blakeley but assists there you can limit those

[00:53:46] play defense and you should be just fine now the good thing about utep is their ninth and their

[00:53:52] scoring offense and their team is middle ground throughout conference usa but that's a sneaky team

[00:53:57] to me that's a team that could creep up on you and take you down if you underestimate them

[00:54:03] yeah absolutely utep in particular as you said when you go there to el paso one it's a tough place

[00:54:08] to play um they always bring a crowd no matter how good or bad their basketball team is but um the

[00:54:13] ninth and scoring offense has never necessarily been a a bright spot for utep but again they get in these

[00:54:19] rock fights at home games much like we saw last season um very low scoring game it came down to the

[00:54:25] wire so um i expect a good matchup in el paso then in las cruces new mexico state they've kind of they've

[00:54:31] got a star of their own yeah molly kaiser averaging 20.4 points per game that's 15 in women's college

[00:54:39] basketball 15th in the entire nation shooting 51 from field goal 105 three for three throw it's free

[00:54:47] throw attempts excuse me she lives on the line eighth in college basketball right now she's essentially

[00:54:52] their savannah wheeler basically what we had last year in savannah wheeler she shoots 44 percent

[00:54:58] field from the field that's third in conference usa but she is exactly that entire team she keeps that

[00:55:05] team moving she they have undersized bigs uh last year fanta gasma she scored she averages 10 points

[00:55:13] per game but boldereva had her a double double on her last year that's just they're undersized that's

[00:55:20] that doesn't bode well for them especially with the post size that mtsu has and the strong bigs

[00:55:25] that's another trap team if you let molly kaiser go crazy but a very winnable game if you win it

[00:55:33] through the post yeah agreed and i think the savannah wheeler comparison is spot on because that literally

[00:55:39] is just about the stat line that savannah wheeler had i know that molly's probably scoring a few more

[00:55:43] points per game than savannah did but the one thing that was different about savannah in relative to

[00:55:48] mtsu where kaiser is for new mexico state is that we had other options and as you said um outside of

[00:55:54] kaiser they don't have very many options but she has been a threat um once you're able to shut her game

[00:55:59] down um i think one of the other things that i'd noted um myself was that if she was under i think it

[00:56:05] was 16 points they hadn't won a game so if you're able to limit her scoring new mexico state it's kind

[00:56:10] of a one-trick pony if you will so um but that that's still an interesting road swing because again

[00:56:16] you're going all the way across the country just about to el paso and las cruces things can get

[00:56:20] interesting and dicey there um but as we draw that collectively you know that's that's a tough

[00:56:26] schedule as is we go back to the teams that we talked about at the top of the episode with liberty

[00:56:30] and fiu to kind of round out your schedule because you you you ended the season at liberty on a

[00:56:35] thursday and then you go to miami um on that final saturday against fiu when we draw to to the

[00:56:42] season's conclusion what do you kind of see as far as the team going 18 and 0 what do they have to

[00:56:47] continue to improve upon um and is 18 and 0 still really a feasible uh um is it feasible for this team

[00:56:53] to to get to at the end of this season sure i think it's definitely a possibility to see this team

[00:56:58] go undefeated at conference usa i like the way tamia scott is playing right now obviously averaging

[00:57:03] 15 six and close to two assists per game but she kind of controls the pace of that team it feels

[00:57:10] she is a true guard like i said anastasia boldereva is the player that has impressed me most she

[00:57:17] i say this about isam mustafa over on the men's side but she reminds me of a female oscar shivway to put

[00:57:23] it in kentucky terms she's going to get a board no matter what she's going to fight for it and she wins

[00:57:28] post matchups she just she dominates the post so i think in order to continue that success you keep

[00:57:35] playing to your players strengths you keep letting tamia scott go off and score you keep

[00:57:40] letting courtney blakeley find the open open man and make the shot you keep feeding boldereva in

[00:57:46] the post letting her cook down there and let her grab the rebounds and control your own pace this team

[00:57:52] controls their own destiny i feel i think there is not a team in conference usa that i could look at

[00:57:57] and say oh that team is better on paper a matchup perspective i think it's a very real possibility that

[00:58:05] this team can go 18 and 0 and maybe even host host in uh march madness we'll see but i think 18 and 0

[00:58:12] in conference play is not out of the question here yeah the games that i have pin marked as potential

[00:58:18] losses is the at louisiana tech game um there they believe it's in late february and then you have the

[00:58:23] liberty in your final week so those are the two that i have my eye on but yeah i your your breakdown

[00:58:28] there is spot on jaylen gregory is another player that i think is a big x factor for this team because

[00:58:33] when she's not scoring the basketball she's playing very sound defense she normally gets tasked

[00:58:37] with guarding the other teams molly kaiser's princess harden potentially she's a little tall

[00:58:42] um but jaylen gregory is definitely up for the task and like you said as far as the rebounding goes

[00:58:46] it's tough to beat this team when you're not getting second chance opportunities and you have alina

[00:58:51] arrique you've got boldereva down there we've seen granum get some minutes he's obviously a hard

[00:58:55] nose rebounder that's kind of her one main objective when she's on the on the floor for us so

[00:59:00] i'm excited about that and then of course you got savannah davis jada harrison who've been getting

[00:59:04] some uptick in minutes lately i'm excited to see their progression as guards as we look to the

[00:59:09] future as we see a future lady raiders without jaylen gregory without courtney blakely pending

[00:59:13] maybe a fifth year of eligibility that's looming um over the ncaa right now but we'll see where all

[00:59:19] those things go um but connor um it's been a pleasure for you to join us uh today um one thing i know

[00:59:26] we talked a lot of lady raiders basketball here but i want to give you a few minutes here on the

[00:59:30] as far as as the men's basketball season goes you know you kind of have an idea of where you think

[00:59:35] they finish in conference usa oh it's such that's such a tough question because conference usa is

[00:59:41] deep this year it's it's a battleground uh there i think you said this the other day over text there's

[00:59:49] not a team in conference usa i can look at and say that team doesn't deserve to be top four in this

[00:59:54] conference because every team has its own things but i've been very impressed with nick mcdevit this

[01:00:01] year uh the guard play has been phenomenal with justin porter isan mustafa i if you haven't learned

[01:00:08] anything about me by by now through this interview i mean i'm a sucker for post play isan mustafa has

[01:00:15] been absolutely electric a great ad this year and they've got some young pieces to build off in the

[01:00:22] future so i i think this is blue raider basketball is headed in the right direction on both ends men's

[01:00:28] and women's but as far as where the men's team finishes in the conference i could see i could

[01:00:35] absolutely see them getting a top four seed i i think that is absolutely a possibility

[01:00:41] absolutely and that starts again that this weekend they've got the kennesaw state jacksonville state

[01:00:45] and of course the big one with the hundred miles of hate coming up um in two weeks so to preview

[01:00:49] next week's episode i we will be joined by the tennis head coach jimmy borndane to talk a little bit

[01:00:54] about the raiders season and their and their quest for a six pete in conference usa champions as well as

[01:00:59] a preview of the hundred miles of hate with your very own stephen moffitt of the hundred miles of

[01:01:04] hate or excuse me stephen moffitt of the topper talk podcast to preview that upcoming matchup

[01:01:08] um i appreciate again our guest today connor newt of course at the beginning of the episode

[01:01:12] oliver balt to talk all things basketball look forward to seeing a lot of all of your stuff over

[01:01:17] there at gomiddle.com so if you're not already doing so make sure that you are subscribed to get

[01:01:21] that premium content of course and to follow um even the free boards that are over there so make

[01:01:25] sure you have an account so you're not missing those conversation pieces um the plug connor it's c

[01:01:30] underscore newt 15 right at twitter x and instagram yeah absolutely and then of course if you're not

[01:01:37] already following the podcast at blue raider pod on all of your social media instagram twitter x youtube

[01:01:43] uh tiktok of course um to catch everything um of course future giveaways baseball season's right

[01:01:48] around the corner we'll be doing a season ticket giveaway so if you're not already following

[01:01:51] make sure you do so so you don't miss when that comes out so of course i appreciate everyone for

[01:01:56] tuning in to today's episode and until next time go blue