Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: You're listening to the Whole Hog Sports podcast. And now here's your host, Matt Jones. Welcome in, everybody, and a happy Monday. I'm your guest host, Christina Long, filling in for Matt Jones today. We're gonna be joined today on the show by Anthony Christensen, who you see now. He will join me to talk a little bit about Arkansas basketball's disappointing loss to Kentucky over the weekend and what comes next for the raisebacks. They've got the week off. Then they've got a stretch of three games that is looking kind of important against some teams they might be able to get right against, but could be harder than we expect.
So looking ahead to some of those games as well. But first we want to tell you about our friends at Bentonville Glass. They've been serving their community since 1971 and they are committed, professional and versatile. If you're looking for a quality leader in northwest Arkansas and you're looking for skilled craftsmanship, you can look no further than Bentonville Glass for all of your glass market needs with the highest quality products. Come by and Visit them at 507 S. Main in Bentonville or online at Bentonville glass.com We thank them for their support. As always.
Anthony, thank you so much for being here. I know you're at home in St. Louis and I'm going to give you at the end of the show, we're going to talk about your AP ballot and I'm going to do what I did a long time ago. I think I did this last year where I set you a timer and I let you do some propaganda for one minute and I'm going to do that at the end of the show. So get ready for your St. Louis Billikens. One minute to spread the message. But before we go to the more national picture, I want to talk about Arkansas and about this past weekend's game because I feel like I'm seeing a lot of reaction from a lot of Razorreck fans about this team just doesn't have it. This team's just not it. This, this loss is a turning point. And it's interesting to me the way and I think we saw, we were thinking about this a little bit going into the game against Kentucky. Last year's Kentucky game was such a turning point in a positive way. The season was going poorly. They turned the corner. They get that win over Kentucky, it gets them over the hump. I think people are worried that this is going to be a turning point in a bad direction, that this is the start of maybe a backslide that this is the start of them, you know, showing themselves to not be as good as we thought. Um, how surprised were you by what we saw on Saturday? Did. I don't know, not necessarily. Were you expecting them to win or lose? But did they play the way they, you were expecting them to play? And was Kentucky the team that you expected them to be?
[00:02:09] Speaker B: Yeah, I don't know that I was like shocked by anything that happened. I think we, I think we saw kind of as, as they all said it afterward, a Kentucky team that was kind of desperate and it's not a one to one comparison by any means. I think Kentucky entered that game, won five of six games and now it's six of seven. And, and you know, it looks like Kentucky is, has found something out, you know, that Vanderbilt game aside, you know, when Vanderbilt really kind of put it on him. But you know, I think the, if, if I were, if I were to be surprised by anything, you know, that happened in that game from an Arkansas perspective, I just think it was the poor shooting, you know, Arkansas had been, you know, throughout the season a really good shooting team. And then you go into that game and you go 3 for 14 from the three point line and then you know, 16 to 26 from the free throw line. And you know, that's just not a recipe to win games, especially at home too when you're, you know, that's, you're more used to the surroundings there and you're obviously you're shooting on those, those baskets with those backdrops far more often than you are otherwise.
So you know, it was obviously an off shooting night. So I think that's probably, if anything was necessarily surprising. I think that was probably the most surprising aspect of the game. But you kind of saw a little bit of that, you know, in the Kentucky or the Oklahoma game, excuse me, as well. I believe they were 2 of 17 from the three point line in that game and then they just, you know, they found a way in that one and they just weren't able to do that against Kentucky. And I think some of that was down to Kentucky's defense. I thought, I thought that was, you know, really well executed, especially in the first half. They held Darius Auff to 2 of 10 from the field in the first half and then he was 6 of 10 in the second half. But you know, anytime you're trying to come back from a deficit, it's going to be difficult. And you know, and then when Arkansas took the lead, Kentucky fought back and, and you know, earned the win as well. So you Know, I don't know. Yeah, nothing overly surprising. I thought there were some individual performances that obviously needed to be better. But, you know, the, the defense, you know, for Arkansas, which is something that we all, you know, come back to and have been kind of throughout the season, has been, you know, the biggest concern. And I thought it was pretty poor against Kentucky. You know, Kentucky hit 11 of its first 13 shots and then, you know, one of those misses, Brandon Garrison got his own rebound and scored.
So what is that, 11 of 12 or no, 10 of a lot of the first possessions? Well, Kentucky scored, and then in the second half, Kentucky shot 60% from the field. And, you know, you're just. Defensively, if you're going to have games like that, it's going to be hard to.
Hard to overcome.
And that's not to take anything away from Kentucky's offense. I thought, I thought they ran some really nice stuff. You know, they had some really, some, some created good looks without necessarily a ton of ball movement. You know, only finished with 11 assists. But I thought the screening, you know, Kentucky did was, was really good throughout the, throughout the night. A lot of really nice quartet screens and, and stuff like that. But, yeah, I think nothing, nothing overly surprising, but some things that, from an Arkansas perspective I could see as concerning, if that makes sense.
[00:05:32] Speaker A: And I feel like one of the concerns I keep seeing come up, and this is not the first time it's come up, which I think is why it's such a big concern. And something Caliperi highlighted was how much tougher Kentucky seemed to be. And he talked about how they wanted it more and they were more desperate. And he ment last season's game and how last season Arkansas came in as the more desperate team and it showed in that game. And then we talked about how that was a turning point for them.
Do you feel like the, some of the toughness, particularly with rebounding and just going after the ball, some of the, the lack of toughness, maybe lack of urgency is. Is that a symptom of a larger problem to you, or is that just kind of, hey, they're, they're about to head into a break. They're. They're worn out, they're tired. Do you think this is a, a repeat thing and a thing that's just part of this team, or do you think that's something that they can overcome?
[00:06:16] Speaker B: I think the, the rebounding and physicality has kind of been an area they've needed to improve upon and a few different games throughout the season, you know, you look at and there have been some good times as well. I mean, you look at how, that, how well they did against Tennessee, which has always been, you know, a really good rebounding and physicality team. And obviously Arkansas got the win in that game. But you look at, you know, early in the season, Michigan State's, you know, Michigan State was by far the more physical and, and I guess tough team, if you, if you will, Duke, you know, Cameron Boozer was sensational in that game and, you know, the, the rebounding and everything in that. Houston is obviously going to be like that a lot. Auburn, you know, it kind of happened there as well. So, you know, I think there's, there's been, you know, some, I guess, lapses in that, in that department. So maybe it is. And a lot of this is also a big issue last season when it was, was. Was the rebounding and the physicality, you know, so I remember, you know, John Caliperi talked about it going into SEC play after they beat Oakland last year was, you know, they just weren't ready from a physicality standpoint. And then they figured that out against Tennessee, you know, and I don't remember the exact rebounding margin in that game in Knoxville, but it wasn't close.
So, yeah, there's been, there's been some repeat occurrences of that throughout the season, and I think that's a concern. But we've also seen, you know, Arkansas, you know, do well against teams that are kind of known for physicality. You know, got the win against Tennessee, got the win against Ole Miss. So I, I think it's, I think it's concerning, you know, they beat Louisville. Even though you don't really think of Louisville as a big rebounding team. They, they had been out rebounding their opponents at the time, you know, so there have been moments in which it was good and then, you know, moments in which the rebounding and physicality and toughness, or, you know, however you want to put it, has been bad. And I definitely thought that, you know, the Kentucky game was, was, you know, one of those. Kentucky, I think, out rebounded Arkansas. What was it, 35 to 26, something like that.
And yeah, it.
On the offensive end, I mean, that's limiting your opportunities for second chance points. And I think Kentucky only finished with 10 second chance points or something like that. I don't have the stats right in front of me, but, you know, those are still, you know, longer possessions that you're not getting the opportunity to run out on offense, get out in transition, which is what Arkansas is really good at and you know, more time for Kentucky to, you know, build its lead or get back into the game or you know, whatever it may be at whatever certain point of the game. So I think there are certainly concerns on that aspect or on that end of the floor for sure.
[00:09:00] Speaker A: Is the physicality inside and like you said, that's something we've been talking about all year.
And inside particularly, is that just how it's going to be with the dudes they have or is it, I guess. How much do you feel like they can improve? What is kind of the, the ceiling there and are there games on the, the remaining schedule that you look at as okay, this is going to be a test of if they're going to be any better.
[00:09:19] Speaker B: Yeah, I think the first ones that you look at for, with, with regard to tests of physicality, I mean they've got Auburn coming back to Bud Walton Arena. You know, Alabama is Charles Bediaco going to be allowed to play, which I know Alabama is 1 and 2 in games that he's played and you know, wasn't competitive against Florida. But still, I mean he's, you know, he signed NBA contracts so I mean he's in. I don't remember what stat line he had against Florida, but I know he fouled out. But you know, it wasn't a great game but he had a nice night against Missouri the other day or the other day, I think it was last week. But regardless, you know, so that's, that's going to be a test if he's allowed to play which I don't even know what's going on with that court date at this point.
[00:10:04] Speaker A: I just wait for updates. I'm like, I'll get the tweet notification.
[00:10:07] Speaker B: I'll get, we'll get there. Eventually something's happen at some point.
Rothstein and Goodman, they'll tweet it and I'll be like, okay, here we go.
[00:10:15] Speaker A: Y.
[00:10:16] Speaker B: But, but yeah, with, I mean, staying in line with physicality. I mean Missouri coming up as well kind of down the line later this month. You know, they've got, you know, Mark Mitchell and Trent Pierce and guys who, you know, can play a physical game. And you know, Mississippi State, you know, Chris Jans has always been known for playing, you know, a tough, you know, hard nose defense, physicality game. You know, they had their struggles against LSU this season at home. So it, and then obviously Florida's got, you know, probably the best front court in the country. So there's, there's going to be individual challenges in just about Every game they've got left on the schedule. I mean, there's no, not going to be any gimme games. And that's just the way it is in conference play for just about every team in the country when they get into conference play. So you, you get those, those concerns for sure, with regard to, you know, can it improve? I think it definitely can. And I think some of that has to come through Nick Pringle. You know, he, you know, he's in his sixth year of college basketball and you know, he's averaging know, 5.2 points and 4.2 rebounds this season, which that is, you know, his lowest, his lowest output in both of those categories since the 22, 23 season.
So you really need him to come along more.
You need him to, I guess, just have a better output.
And I'm not trying to pile on because I've, you know, I've seen a lot of, you know, mean messages sent his way on social media and stuff like that. And you know, obviously I don't think anybody would, you know, say that he had a good game against Kentucky. I think he would admit that it wasn't his best and John Caliperi said the same. But the reality of it is that you need, you know, him specifically, you know, because you brought him in to be a big time defensive presence and a big time, you know, rebounding presence. And right now you just haven't gotten that, you know, especially in SEC play, you know, and he's had his moments this year, right? I mean, if, you know, if he doesn't have the stretch he has down, you know, late in the game against Winthrop, you know, how much does that change the outlook of what this season has been if they lose that game? So, you know, there's, there's been some moments in which Nick Pringle has been a very important, positive piece of the team. But more recently an SEC play that just hasn't, hasn't been consistent enough.
And John Caliperi kind of same, said the same thing on Saturday. Said, you know, he's gotta, he's got to give Arkansas more, you know, it's defending, rebounding, flying up and down and stuff like that. So I think that's, that's kind of that.
And then, you know, Malik you in as well. You know, he, he was kind of more of the offensive big man that they brought in. And you look at, you know, when those guys are on the floor at different time periods, when Malik Ewan is on the floor, the offense is much better than, you know, it is with Nick Pringle on the floor, just statistically speaking.
But then when you, when you have Malik Ewan on the floor, the defense gets worse and then it's the inverse when you have Nick Pringle on the floor. So you have to find a way, I think, to, to balance that.
I'm trying to find the, the exact stats here because I wrote about it in my takeaway story.
Yes. Okay. So yeah, when you go on CBB analytics, which is the nerdiest website I ever used, it was made for you.
It is.
They sent me a promo email saying I use the website like more than 95 of users.
[00:13:52] Speaker A: No way.
[00:13:54] Speaker B: That's amazing because like it's like popular site.
[00:13:59] Speaker A: It's not like nobody knows about this website.
[00:14:01] Speaker B: Coaching staffs use this site.
I don't know if I should be advertising that I'm on there that much. But when, when Malik Ewan is on the floor, Arkansas averages 129.3 points per 100 possessions, which is 99th percentile. Awesome.
But on the inverse side of that, on the defensive side, they allow 111.1 points per 100 possessions, which is 43rd percentile, which is not good.
The offensive rebounding gets better when you wins on the floor, but the defensive rebounding gets worse. And then when Pringles on the floor, Arkansas's defense allows 103.8% points per 100 possessions. So the defense is better, but the offense is not as good. So it's, it's a, it, it's a balancing act. And I don't know what the answers are to finding that right balance. And you know, I don't pretend to have those answers. There are people who have forgotten more about basketball than I'll ever know who are trying to figure that out. So it's, it's, it's a difficult one to balance just because those guys give you such different, I guess, looks when they're on the floor. And you know, John Caliperi had talked at times about trying, maybe trying to play them together at different points of the season. But you know, so far they've only done that for 19 minutes. And all of that came in non conference play. So it's, it's, it's really difficult to kind of try to figure out what that balance is.
But yeah, I think that if you can figure that out, then you're, then you're gonna be looking pretty good. And not that they're not looking pretty good right now as it is.
[00:15:49] Speaker A: I mean, the consistency and kind of what the problems are would be different.
[00:15:53] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly.
[00:15:54] Speaker A: I think with what you talked about with Nick Pringle and, And just how what they needed him to do versus what they're getting from him. It makes me also think of Carter Knox and how much more we thought we were going to see from Carter Knox. I mean, you and I, I know, both thought that he was going to be, you know, a bigger contributor than he's been. We put him on the COVID of our basketball preview magazine for Hogs Illustrated, and I think it's just not been what we thought it was going to look like. And I've been wanting to ask you about this. About what? Do you know, what has the issue been? I think we can all see some of it. Right, but is it something he can turn around and, and where do you think it was a failure of, you know, we put too much expectation on him, or is it, you know, it's just something's not quite going right.
[00:16:40] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's.
It's. It's kind of difficult to diagnose.
Yeah, I had Carter Knox on my preseason first team all SEC ballot cat running around, but, yeah, it just hasn't kind of gone to plan, I guess is probably the right way to say it.
And John Caliperi has talked about how he needs to get Carter going and, you know, how, I guess, how to go about trying to do that. He's trying to talk him up and, and everything along those lines. And, you know, he's, you know, said. He said previously this season. I don't remember if it was the Texas Tech game or, or when exactly it was, but he's. He said something along the lines of like he needs to, you know, just do what he does and not necessarily, I guess, try to do what others want him to do or want him to be.
I don't remember what the exact quote was, but he said something along those lines. And I wonder, you know, if that's kind of, you know, what it.
What it is, because, I mean, Carter Knox and Nick Pringle against Kentucky, they combined for zero points, one shot attempt, one free throw attempt, one rebound, one turnover and five fouls.
And when two starters are doing that, you know, and I, I believe it was 29 minutes, if I'm not mistaken.
You know, it's just, you're. It's going to be difficult to overcome that.
And with regard to Carter Knox specifically, can he turn it around? Absolutely, I think he can. I think, you know, you remember last season, you know, when he really started getting going and getting onto draft boards and started to look like somebody who, if nothing else, could test the waters of the NBA draft. That was a lot of that, I thought came later in the season. So I think, you know, there's still time to, you know, turn it on and, you know, show that he is, you know, what he was expected to be. You know, I'm not gonna sit here and, you know, say it's, it's over, you know, press the panic button or anything like that, just because, you know, I, I think there's.
And there's. There have been different points in the season as well in which you've seen how good Carter Knox can be. You know, he had the 11 points against Oklahoma that obviously ended up being huge. 16 points against Vanderbilt.
[00:19:03] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:04] Speaker B: You know, and shooting well in those games as well. So.
Yeah, it's just, you know, how much progression have we seen from him from last season to this point? You know, it's, it's just, statistically speaking, just hasn't really been a lot.
You know, last season he averaged 8.3 points per game. This season he's averaging 8.4.
[00:19:27] Speaker A: Yeah, right on.
[00:19:28] Speaker B: He's, he's shooting slightly better from the three point line, 3.8% better than he was last year. But his overall field goal percentage is only a half percentage better than it was a year ago. His assists are pretty much the same, blocking percentage, Steel percentage, just about the same, you know, so. And his free throw percentage has actually gone down by 6 percentage points. So you need to see the progression and you know, to this point of the season on a consistent basis, it just hasn't been there. But I'm not ready to say, you know, it can't happen just because of the fact that last season when Carter Knox, like I said, got going and got onto draft boards and all that, it was, it was later on in the season.
And yeah, I, I still think, you know, he has that ability and I think it can happen. I think there's just.
You have to do something to get him going. I don't know if it's. You run more plays for him or, you know, whatever that may be, but.
Yeah, I don't know if I even answered the question.
[00:20:32] Speaker A: No, you totally did. And I think all that, especially the, the numbers that you were able to pull there, the, the stuff about him just not really having progressed from last year is, is really notable because of the fact that especially with kind of some of the draft hype around him, this really felt like this was going to be his moment. To kind of seize that. Seize that moment and, and capitalize on some of that. And it just hasn't happened yet. But like you said, I mean, there is a good amount of season left. And like you said, he was. He kind of turned it on late last year. And if they're going to make the kind of run raiseback fans want them to make, they're going to need him and Nick Pringle and people like that to. To step it up here late. And I think that's part of why I feel like this week off for them is coming at a good time. You know, they don't play again till Saturday.
They've got a couple teams coming up that have struggled in SEC play. I mean, I think Mississippi State and LSU have won, what, five conference games between them. Yeah. Mississippi State's what, three and six and in SEC play and LSU's two and seven.
Are those games that you feel like are opportunities to get right or are those games that they need to watch out for?
[00:21:33] Speaker B: I think it's a little bit of both. Right. I mean, they're both road games and, you know, going on the road, you know, always poses, you know, different challenges.
[00:21:42] Speaker A: Especially for Arkansas this year.
[00:21:44] Speaker B: Yeah, but, yeah, I mean, you know, Mississippi State has really struggled this year, but you talk to people in the coaching industry, and a lot of them just love what Chris Jans does and is able to do.
I just think that this year the roster construction around this Mississippi State team just isn't what it has been in the past few years. I mean, Josh Hubbard is still awesome.
He's great. He gives short guys hope.
[00:22:17] Speaker A: You've got to have one of those guys in basketball. You need somebody to be the beacon.
[00:22:21] Speaker B: Yes.
But, you know, there's just not really a ton kind of around him. I mean, Jaden Epps is, you know, he's. He's a good player. A chore. Chore is a good player. But, you know, I think that it's just kind of not been the greatest.
And I. I don't think I'm breaking any news by saying that it's been a disappointing season in Starkville.
But, you know, it's still a team that has, you know, players who can't.
[00:22:49] Speaker A: Hurt you and has the physicality we talked about earlier. I mean, you mentioned Mississippi State is one of those teams that. That could test that.
[00:22:57] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. And, you know, pretty handily beat LSU on the road and, you know, had, you know, beat Oklahoma really handily and, you know, beat Texas on the road as well, which has Proven to be a weird, you know, place where teams go to lose inexplicable games.
Austin this season, which makes Texas's tournament resume really interesting because they lost. They've beaten Vanderbilt.
[00:23:25] Speaker A: It.
[00:23:26] Speaker B: It's a wild one.
But. Yeah, I mean, but you look at, you know, Mississippi State and lsu. And LSU already gave them fits this season, you know, as we know.
[00:23:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:23:37] Speaker B: But you know, on paper. Yeah. These are games where you can go in and try to get right. But, you know, if that's, you know, you don't want to go in, I guess with that mindset that it's going to be like, all right, these are get right games because, you know, these are still, you know, good teams with, you know, SEC level players who can't hurt you.
[00:23:59] Speaker A: But it feels like they have to. Any of these road games now. They, they need to kind of walk that line. Well, and, and we've seen the difference between them at home and on the road. And, and so it feels like any of these road games now, it's like, all right, you can't be, you can't get too comfortable.
[00:24:11] Speaker B: Yeah, no, for sure. And, you know, I'm not sure what the environment's going to be like In Starkville on 11am Tip on a, on a Saturday, but I know how excited.
[00:24:21] Speaker A: You are about that. And then the 8pm Is it 8pm at LSU. Right. It's like really late on a weeknight.
[00:24:26] Speaker B: The 8pm Tuesday tip needs to be abolished. I, like, I, I want to give. I, I want to give Baton Rouge a chance. But this is back to back years of 8pm Tuesday tips, which is just ridiculous.
The, and then the 11am tip on a Saturday is. I, I can live with, I can live with that.
[00:24:49] Speaker A: It's a Saturday. Who cares?
[00:24:51] Speaker B: Saturday. Yeah. So I, I can live with that. The 8pm Tuesday tips, though, those are, those are bad.
What was the 9pm weekday tip? Yeah, last year I was like falling asleep in the press box. It was, it was terrible. I wasn't actually. Don't fire.
[00:25:08] Speaker A: That's so funny.
[00:25:10] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:10] Speaker A: I want to talk to you a little bit about your AP ballot before I let you go.
You come out with an explainer on our website. Wholeheartedly calm every week. I really like reading it because it helps me kind of stay up with what's going on around the country in college basketball. And I like seeing. I know how thorough you are and I know you watch all the games. You know, nobody can ever accuse Anthony as of being an AP voter who doesn't watch all the games.
And so I always like reading kind of how you make your decisions whenever you put these stories out. So I know we talked before we started recording about you said your, your only extreme picks this week might be where you have Purdue and Kentucky. So tell us a little bit about where you've got them and why you think that might be not the same as what other voters are going to have them.
[00:25:50] Speaker B: Yeah, so I had Purdue at 17, which admittedly, as I, you know, kind of think more about it's probably too low.
They did lose three games in a row and they lost to ucla, which at the moment does not project to be a tournament team.
Lost to Illinois, which Illinois is very good, and then lost to Indiana, which Indiana has been inconsistent but with that win is probably looking like it's going to be in the field and then beat Maryland. But Maryland stinks, so I don't really put a ton of stock into that.
But you know, three, three losses in a row and struggled at USC or with USC as well. And that USC team is kind of in the same boat as that Indiana team where it's kind of like, you know, which way is it going to go?
[00:26:37] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:26:39] Speaker B: So I was probably too harsh on Purdue with Kentucky.
I, I think they finished, ended up being fourth or fifth team left out of the.
[00:26:52] Speaker A: Yeah, it looks like they're 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. They received 28 votes.
[00:26:57] Speaker B: Yeah, that surprised me. I had Kentucky at 21.
[00:27:00] Speaker A: Oh, wow. That is.
[00:27:02] Speaker B: Yeah, that is extreme. It is and obviously a lot of that's going to be based around the result and performance from Saturday.
And I understand why people were lower because of the, the Vanderbilt results and how thoroughly outplayed they were against Vanderbilt, which is why I have Vanderbilt higher than, than them especially, you know, for, for this week.
Not that head to head is, you know, basketball.
[00:27:29] Speaker A: It matters. Yeah.
[00:27:31] Speaker B: Head in football I think is more important than it is.
[00:27:34] Speaker A: Right.
[00:27:35] Speaker B: Especially because, I mean now Nebraska and Illinois have split a head to head and whatever. It's, there's, there's a lot of different nuances that go into it. But you know, I think Kentucky, you know, like I said earlier, has won six of seven games, you know, and has looked good in a lot of those games as well. I think, you know, has fought back from deficits in those games, be it at halftime against Ole Miss, if I'm not mistaken, or you know, going on the road and beating Tennessee in a hostile environment there at Thompson Bowling, which is an awesome, awesome environment to, to cover or be at winning on the road there Winning, you know, snapping Arkansas 16 game home win streak.
So I felt that, you know, I was ready to take a chance and put Kentucky back in, especially since I, you know, I've got Arkansas and Tennessee in and Kentucky has beaten both of those teams and obviously in recent memory.
So I felt like it was if nothing else justifiable and I felt that Kentucky definitely deserves it with, you know, like I said, the, the six wins in seven games. So shout out to, to Mark Pope and the boy.
[00:28:46] Speaker A: Were there any other decisions on here? Oh, and, and just for reference for people, Purdue checks in in the, the final poll at number 12. Anthony had him 17 and then Arkansas came in at 21. And I think you had Arkansas what, 20, right?
[00:28:59] Speaker B: Two. Yeah, yeah, I had 19 last week when, when there were 15. And I remember I, I, I was surprised to see them that high. I thought that was my, my initial reaction to last week's poll, but this week I felt like it was people are coming, coming over to I guess my side more. I don't know.
But yeah.
[00:29:19] Speaker A: Were there any other decisions in your poll this week that were hard to make or that you, you know, kind of had to revisit a few times?
[00:29:26] Speaker B: I tried desperately to find places on here for UCF and Texas A M because both of those teams, this was one like a lot of times, like a lot of times it feels like once you get to like the, the 20 to 25 range, it can be hard to pick out teams that deserve to be in because a lot of times it's like those teams have been losing games and what, you know, etc. Etc. You know, a M&US, UCF. I mean both those teams truly deserve to be in. I mean you look at UCF, you know, I, I believe they're 17 and 4 now if I'm not mistaken, you know, wins over Kansas and Texas Tech at home. So I mean those are big time wins.
I think strength of record is up to 21, 22. But the predictive metrics aren't necessarily super high on UCF. But I mean that's a good team. I mean going on the road and winning games, they, for, for some reason they're like unbeatable at home. Unless you're Arizona because that's the one. Actually two home losses because they lost to Vanderbilt at home in the second game of the season, which obviously those are not bad losses by any means.
And then the, they've got four losses. Vanderbilt, Arizona, Iowa State, all teams that could feasibly be, you know, second weekend Final Four teams. And then one other loss, it's Oklahoma State, which, not great, but it was on the road. And Oklahoma State has beaten some decent teams this year, but UCF has been, you know, really good this season. And I tried and tried to find a place to put them in, but it's like, you know, sometimes it just gets tough when, you know, predictives are, you know, not super high on a team and, and stuff like that. And then Texas A and M is in first place. The sec, you know, right now, if you were to make me vote for SEC coach of the year, it would be Bucky McMillan. And I wouldn't necessarily. I don't think I would think of about a second person, to be fully honest with you, maybe Mark Byington at Vanderbilt. But, you know, the job that, that Bucky McMillan has done at Texas A and M has been nothing short of phenomenal. You know, he was the last, if I'm not mistaken, the last power conference coach hired this last cycle, you know, really, you know, so he got in and the transfer portal was pretty bare bones, you know, still ended up with some good guys.
But I mean, Mackenzie and Baco is out for the season and, you know, they've dealt with, with stuff like that and they're still in first place. The SEC now, you know, it's the SEC schedule they've played necessarily been the most difficult. I mean, not necessarily, but, you know, you're still winning games and they're only SEC loss is on the road at Tennessee and double overtime, I believe.
[00:32:20] Speaker A: Oh, wow. Yeah.
[00:32:21] Speaker B: You know, so. And they've, you know, they've gone on the road and beat Georgia on the road, which Georgia, as we know as reporters who cover Arkansas, is not necessarily an easy place to play. Beat Texas on the road and, you know, beat Auburn on the road, which is not, not an easy place to play. So the, the thing that comes back with with Texas A M is some of the losses. I mean, they've also lost Oklahoma State, you know, lost to ucf. So you probably give UCF like a slight edge over, over A M and then the loss to, to smu. I remember watching that game and it seemed like neither team wanted to win, but, you know, but none of those are necessarily bad losses. I mean, that SMU team projects to be in the tournament.
So. Yeah, those were, those were definitely, I think, the most difficult, I guess, omissions just because I truly believe that both those teams deserve it and both have been, you know, really awesome and have exceeded expectations this season and, you know, look like teams to be reckoned with come tournament time if they continue on their current trajectory. Now, UCF has a difficult schedule coming up. I mean, they've got to go play at Houston, you know, at Cincinnati, which Cincinnati stinks. But it's, you know, it's still a true road game in, in the Big 12. And Cincinnati's defense has been actually like top 10 level good. It's just that their offense is middle school.
But no, no disrespect there.
I just thought that sounded funny. But yeah, so, you know, it gets tough. And then you also have, you know, with Texas A and M, you mean you've got, you know, Alabama and Florida coming up this week and then, you know, hosting Missouri next week, which is a team that refuses to decide if it's good or bad.
[00:34:12] Speaker A: Every time I check in, I'm like, I sure they beat somebody that I'm like, oh, wow. And they lose to somebody that's like, oh, wow.
[00:34:19] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly.
But yeah, so I'm intrigued to see, you know, what comes for both of those teams coming up. But yeah, it was, it was, it was tough to leave them off because I'm like, I, like, I very much wanted to get them in. Just, you know, I'm not going to take Miami Ohio off at 22 and.
[00:34:36] Speaker A: Oh, right.
[00:34:37] Speaker B: John's has really turned things around and it's looked good and yeah, you know, we talked about some of the other teams I've already had, but yeah, those. That was probably the most difficult part of it this week for sure.
[00:34:48] Speaker A: As promised, end our show. I am setting a timer. I'm giving you one minute to. Oh, and I'm only doing this because you're at your parents house in St. Louis and I'm giving you one minute to talk about the St. Louis Billikens to spread your propaganda. Are you ready?
[00:34:59] Speaker B: I, I am. I was born ready.
[00:35:01] Speaker A: Okay. One, two, three, go.
[00:35:04] Speaker B: The St. Louis Billikens. And there's. That's actually a St. Louis street map behind me.
I mean, they've been spectacular. I genuinely like the most fun team in the country to watch. I mean, everybody talks about Robbie Avila and you know, how good he is. But I mean, you look at just the surrounding pieces on this team. You know, Kellen Tames and, and I mean, everybody, you know, Amari McCartrey has been really good. Dion Brown, Quinton Jones, Trey Green, you know, it's.
Everybody on this team is, you know, they all contribute in different ways. They've got the number one effective field goal offense and defense in the country. And you know, it's kind of like, insane that this team is 21 and 1, you know, and obviously some of that is schedule oriented because nobody would play them in non conference as. As, you know, we go over with a lot of, you know, non power conference teams, but yeah, I mean, Josh Shirts is, you know, in my eyes, one of the best coaches.
[00:36:06] Speaker A: So, yeah, Billiken's minute is over. Anthony, I know you've. You've long been a Josh Shirts head.
[00:36:13] Speaker B: I know I have. And I actually, I texted him when he got the. The St. Louis job just because we had a. Obviously he was at Indiana State while I was covering the Valley, so I had. I had interviewed him a couple of times. So, you know, he's. He's an awesome, awesome coach. Great dude. And yeah, it's. It's. It's cool to see, you know, the. The success that he's having at St. Louis and how. How much, I guess, people from home are. Are, you know, getting around the team just because, I mean, it's. It's not every day that your. Your A10 team is projected as one of the best teams in the country.
[00:36:49] Speaker A: Ranked number 19 right now. Anthony, thank you so much for joining us to talk a little basketball. I know it's your favorite thing to do, and I appreciate you taking some time even though you're at home.
[00:36:58] Speaker B: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
[00:37:00] Speaker A: We'll be back here in the studio to talk all things Razorback sports tomorrow, and we appreciate you joining us.
