Episode One: Season Preview + National Championship Picks!

In this episode, Scott, Evan and Anthony dive into the upcoming college basketball season, discussing the Florida Gators as defending champions, the competitive landscape of the SEC, and the potential of teams in the Big Ten and Big 12. They highlight key players, coaching strategies, and the impact of transfers on team dynamics, while also speculating on which teams might emerge as national championship contenders. In this episode, the hosts dive into the upcoming college basketball season, discussing preseason predictions, standout players, and the dynamics of various conferences, particularly the Big East and ACC. They highlight UConn’s expectations, St. John’s rising talent, and Duke’s new roster. The conversation also touches on coaching changes, game predictions for the first week, and concludes with national championship predictions, emphasizing the competitive landscape of college basketball.

#CollegeBasketball #CBB #NCAA #BigTen #SEC #ACC #Big12 #BigEast #OntheBubble

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🎙About On the Bubble:
Anthony Chiu, Brendon Pricco, Evan Rodriguez and Scott Sandulli bring you weekly college basketball discussion. From weekly top 25 polls, conference power rankings, bracketology and more! Follow and subscribe to us on our various socials: Twitter, Instagram TikTok and YouTube.

The Bubble Boys are here. Welcome to a college basketball podcast we like to call on the bubble. Whereas a lot of people aren’t going to be worried about who’s on the bubble till February, we’re talking it all the way starting in October. A new college basketball season is upon us. We are coming up on three four days away from tipoff. The Florida Gator will be defending their national championship and there are a whole lot of teams gunning for them. I’m Scott Sanduli. Anthony Chu, Evan Rodriguez, Brendan Pico. The fourth member of our team is uh somewhere trick-or-treating probably. But while he’s off getting candy, we’re talking hoops. Where better place to start them than with the defending national champions with the Florida Gator who are coming back with as good a shot as anybody to defend their title, guys. Absolutely. And what’s going to be interesting is that they’re going to bring in two really good guards for their uh for their back court. and Boogie Fland and Xavier Lee. So, I’m really interested in seeing that because you got a really good front court in Alex Condan. Uh Thomas, I have no idea how to say his last name, I’m going to be honest. But you got those boys there and yeah, they got a they got a shot at going back to back and they got a good chance and winning this whole thing like everybody else is. We got to worry about like the other top dogs like Purdue is loaded back, Braden Smith and Toff and Randon, all them. And you got Houston who’s also loaded, has a good freshman class as well. So yeah, it’ll be tough for sure. I mean, it’s definitely you look at the landscape of the SEC and how just dominant it was at the top, but it also had the depth. More than 10 teams got themselves 14 teams out of 16 teams. That’s insane. And I think there is real potential to make it 15 this year with LSU starting to look on the up and up. Poor South Carolina. Be tough if they can do that again, but that’s a tough tough task. But we’ll see. Yeah. So, we’ll we’ll start with the SEC. Was the best conference in the country last year. The best team came out of it. And while Florida looks like the top team in the Southeastern Conference to start this season on paper, especially bring back a potential all-American front court and two great guards in Boogie Flynn and Xavian Lee. Who do we think is their biggest threat in the SEC to upend them? It’s pretty tough. I think Kentucky or Arkansas are pretty solid. I’m very high on Arkansas and what they have. There’s a lot of talent there and I I have been a Travon Brazil believer since he was a freshman. He’s had a lot of injuries and the coaching changes. Hasn’t really been himself a 610 athletic freak. He’ll block any shot in the gym. I think he’s a real factor to that team. But John Caliperry in the regular season not entirely still not entirely sold there. But, uh, if I had to pick one team, I mean, you look at Kentucky. I mean, Otga Oway, in my opinion, might be a first team all-American. Yeah. They got a great great coaching staff and it’s almost with they lose so much depth from last year, but now they bring but they bring back what they didn’t have last year in defense with the transfer from Arizona State, Jaden Quaintance. Is he starting is he starting the year off? I don’t think he is. Right. He is not, but once he is, which I believe I read was December or January, that will be a a great addition to that team. I think hot take I think he’s got actually if he if he started the year off I think he had a chance to maybe win national defensive player of the year but since he’s missing some of the season uh I don’t think he’ll really be in that conversation but he is a really really good defensive player so he’ll be a great addition to that squad and you can’t overlook a guy like Denzel Aberdine either who was a key role player for that Florida national championship team Mark Pope I mean he’s built he built Sun at BYU came in his first year Kentucky entirely brand new roster and they made a three seed out of it in a sweet 16 run. So that is not a team that I would really want to see with especially with a guy like Otga Oay leading the way there for the Wildcats. But you look elsewhere in the SEC and I think you’re looking at really just one of the most wide openen races in the entire in the entire land in the entire country. Absolutely. I mean you can’t Auburn had a coaching change but there’s still talent there. to high pedford’s back. Kean Hall is a bucket getter from UCF. Tennessee, they’re always tough and they have a great recruit coming in. Nate M. Jacobe Gillespie is apparently lighting it up in uh in secret scrimmages as well. I am very curious to see what Tennessee has for us this year considering the last two years, two seeds, elite eight appearances, just haven’t been able to get over that hump. Haven’t been able to get over that hump, but today could be different. I don’t know how much I trust Rick Barnes to do it, but I don’t know. It’s like they I I feel like it’s got to come to a point where they start to change their style and go a little more offense at some point, which is more like run with teams. I mean, they can impose their physicality and slow down a game against anyone, but they have ran into games where even though you have a Dalton Connect or an Igor Milichic, you just have cold shooting nights and there’s nothing you can do. or the team you’re or whoever you’re playing, they shoot the lights out of the gym and you’re left in the dust. They’re too volatile, in my opinion, to be able to get something going. But this is potentially the most talent that Rick Barnes will have on this team since probably Grant Williams and Admiral Scoffield in 2019. So, this is going to make a move for the SEC. I feel like this year is might be their last chance. I’m also very intrigued by Alabama with a lot of the turnover they’ve had. A lot of the guys that made that program into what it is, Mark Sears and Grant Nelson, a lot of people are gone from that squad though. No Sears, no Grant Nelson, no Young Blood. There’s definitely some other people I’m missing. So, they kind of rebuild a bit, but Nate Oats definitely has something up his sleeve. So, I think they’ll be fine over there still. But the big question for there is what does Aiden Holloway have for them as long as well as Leber and Phylon? I mean, two guys that have shown a ton of promise, but where they’ve been in college basketball, but how much front court presence there, guys. Yeah. You look at what else we see in the SEC as well. This conference is so fascinating to me how it’s come up in basketball, but gone down in football. That’s a different qu different discussion for another day. But, I mean, you look at a team like Missouri who’s got Mark Mitchell still hanging around. They’ll be competitive. Miss Dia and Chris Beard. You got Texas with Jordan Pope and Truman Mark. Like there are a lot of teams. Definitely the deepest conference. Certainly up there, but the numbers they get matched with almost in the Big 10 where they have another national title cons contender of themselves in Purdue despite the Boiler Makers going not having the best March history over the last couple years. They did make a national championship game but ran into the Husky Express. But so this is a team that still has three starters from that team. Braden Smith, Fletcher Lawyer, Trey Kaufman, Ren, and you add in transfer like what’s the big fella’s name? I’m blanking. Oscar. Yes, Oscar Kluff. South Dakota State. He was a monster for the Jack Rabbits this year. 611 guy. You bring back possibly Daniel Jacobson who could be healthy again. They’ve got depth. They’ve got continuity. It’s just a matter of do they put it all together? And for me, it’s not like a like this is not going to be a better team than 24 Zedy, but it’s the timing of it. Like that year, it was just Yukon against the world. They ran over everybody. But we’ll get to the Huskies later. But there’s no clear standout. This team is better than everybody, at least at this point for me. Whereas when you saw Yukon coming back that year, they were bringing back pretty much everyone besides Adamo, Andre Jackson, and Jordan Hawkins, and Joey Calcetera. Like despite that, there were five, six major contributors that they still brought back. So you could almost see like, okay, maybe the seeds are planted for them to do some more damage. Purdue has a very similar makeup. They’re bringing back so much of that team, same coach, same style of play, potential national player of the year candidate on his team. Not now win for Purdue. Yeah. Which I want to say, you think it’s final four or bus for Purdue? It might be national championship or bus. like you’re at you’re at a point where you’ve made how many tournaments and you’ve gotten the taste of the final four and you’ve had national player of the years. You’ve had these great teams. You’ve had first round picks. At what point do you do you put it into a banner? Yeah. They just got to finish, man. They bring the players in, they get experience, and they run the gym through the regular season and they just can’t finish, man. So, we’ll see what Matt Painter’s got in store. But the thing about the Big 10 is they also have a lot of elite guards in this conference. Like we talked about Braden Smith, Donovan Dent with UCLA, Benit Sturds who transferred from Duke, not Duke, Drake, sorry, to uh Iowa. I’m really excited to see this UCLA squad uh play. They didn’t really have a solid point guard last year. he was kind of subpar, but now they’re bringing in possibly one of the best transfers in the portal in Donovan Dent, who’s a really skilled point guard, and I really feel like he can fill that void pretty well and he can really be a candidate for national player of the year this year. I’m really excited to see the squad play with Donovan Dent, Sky Clark, Tyler Bill, though, shout out to 509. So, I’m excited to see those boys play. So, I’m really high on Donovan Dent and the UCLA. That’s me. And I think if I was a betting man, which I used to be, not anymore. Don’t get involved, kids. Uh, for me, I’d be Donovan Dent’s my national player of the year pick. You look at what he was doing at New Run. He’s like the Flash. Just he’s like a road rub. You can’t catch up with him. He’s I think it’s going to play really well for him in the Big 10 and UCLA. People say they have the travel disadvantage. Well, so is the rest of the conference coming their way as well. I think I would be absolutely surprised if they lost more than two or three games at Poly Pavilion. I may not like Mick Cronin as a as a Yukon fan who’s who grew up hating him in Cincinnati and the American and going to Arizona State battling against him in the Pack 12, but you see a coach like that and he’s had he’s had really good guards in the past. You look at Tiger Campbell, you look at uh the sense again Troy Copane, like this dude molds very very good players out of guards and we’ve seen what Tyler Bido is capable of. I think the Bruins are maybe the biggest sleeper in the Big 10. I know they’re probably they’re getting some love in like fourth or fifth, but I am consistently seeing Purdue and Michigan. I could easily see a world where UCLA is the best team in the Big 10. Oh yeah, Michigan. Elliot Cadell, another another guard. It’s really good. Transferred over. But they’re they’re crown jewel right there. That’s Yakel Lendorg. That might be the best name in college basketball. And I am so psyched to see that. He was a force at UNMB. Absolute force. So, I am very We’ll see what Dusty May can do with him in Ann Arbor. Yep. I’m very thrilled to see how he works out with Dust Dusty May and how Michigan moves on from the double bigs that they had. Danny Wolf and Oh, man. Danny Wolf and Golden. I don’t know how you reinvent your team like that. I mean, Axel’s 6’9 and you have a Day Mara who’s 73 as well. But there’s a little bit of concern at least for me depthwise. guys. I mean, Rody Gale is a good player. Elliot Cado is has the potential and didn’t really show much of it at North Carolina. I don’t know how much I believe in Namari Bernett outside of scoring. So, I feel like this team is going to rely a lot on their starting five. And for me, I I’m a big You need depth. You have to because injuries is inevitable. You have to have some backup plans. And I’m not sure if Michigan is going to have that. Yeah. What’s the ceiling for this team, Scott? you guys think I think ceiling. So when it comes to March, right, and when it comes to like assessing a team, you got to look at their guard play. So I really think Elliot Cado’s really got to um command this offense a little bit, really show his potential that he had at UNCC and really show it at Ann Arbor. And I really feel like they could go a long way if he’s able to kind of break out. his job early on is going to be to get Yaxel Lundborg the ball but he’s going to have to step up as a scorer which UNCC did not really ask of him and whenever they did he didn’t provide it and I think that’s a big reason as to why the Tar Hills disappointed last year and if it’s going to be Michigan’s chance and I don’t I don’t see this team on paper as a national championship contender because I think you need more than one like all-American level player to do it for me like watching Florida last year You had not only Wal Walter Clayton, but Elijah Martin, too. And you had Thomas H. like there were all American level players on the floor. You look at the back-to-back Yukon teams. You look at Kansas with Remy Martin and Dave McCormack and Christian Brown. Like these are just you have to have multiple big time options. And I am not sold on anyone outside of Yakel Lenderborg who we we can’t even take like you can’t even write out put in as a shoe in because it’s his first year in the Big 10. Mhm. But that’s a lot for the Big 10. I’m very excited to see a couple other teams play. Illinois, they got the international flavor and in my opinion maybe the most underrated point guarded in the country and Kylin Boswell free from the clutches of Tommy Lloyd. We are we’re not Arizona fans around here. We’re all Sunundevil ASU sadly basketball team might not be the greatest. We’re still rooting for them. Yeah, not the biggest Wildcat fans. We’ll try to treat them fairly. Not really, but we’ll go. That’s a good segue into the Big 12 where in my opinion like there has been a lot of talent in fluction and the Big 12 is just I I love the chaos of it. It’s It feels like anything can happen until the Houston Cougars got into it. Would you say it’s very This is a very topheavy conference this year. Uh, there are the teams at the bottom like the Utah and Colorado of the world. Like they’re not they don’t scare you. But I think there’s I mean Houston’s at the top in a tier of their own. I think BYU and Texas Tech have a whole lot of talent. They’ll be right there with them. Iowa State brings back a lot. Kansas with the with Darren Peterson a bit of a refresh from the teams of the past couple years. Arizona in the same boat. Arizona. Yeah. And you got some like you got gritty and experienced teams with and coaches with Baylor, Cincinnati, and Kansas State. So I think you’re looking at seven to eight bids and it’s always anyone can get anybody in the Big 12 in my opinion. It holds true for football, holds true for baseball. I think it holds true for basketball unless you’re Houston because Houston’s a buzzsaw. But speaking of the Cougars, they’re in the same boat of Purdue for me as man. Cougars are loading. Not now when Milo Yuzan’s coming back. Emanuel Sharps coming back. You got Joseph Tugler who could be a defensive player of the year candidate. You have that one um that one freshman Cedric, what’s his last name? Anthony, you know who I’m talking about. Chris Sak, I think. Yeah, Chris Sak. That’s who it is. Chris Sak. He’s a dog, too. Miller was able to contribute for them to late towards the end of the year. So, this is all about the scoring because under Kelvin Samson, they’re always going to defend defend their asses off. Yeah, absolutely. Points on the board and that’s what kind of cost them against Florida. They went cold down the stretch and you I think if you see good Milos Yuzan I mean I freaking love that guy can ball. Yeah, he’s great. But you have to have more it’s the same kind of case with Michigan. You have to have more help around him and I think the big big key for them is going to be a veteran like Emanuel Sharp and a guy like Chris Sak. can you guys provide in terms of two and three scoring uh behind your big gun? Yeah. Yeah. J, you got any thoughts on Houston? What was that? Um I want to see if need the offense to be there. Like Scott said, Emanuel Sharp needs to needs needs to be huge and like they’re like a well coached team. Kelvin Samson, he’s a great interview, too. I’m a big fan of them. They can shoot the lights out if they get hot, too. So Daniel Sharp is no joke. When he gets hot, he is hot. Every year we kind of have the the hypo meter like a team that’s like they’re not perennial power that they’re coming in with a really good roster. So let’s gauge maybe the biggest name of them all here in this same conference with the BYU Cougars. What do you guys think that Brigham Young is going to give us on the on the hardwood this year? You know, I’m really excited to watch BYU play. Of course, they got AJ Debonsa, best uh high school recruit out of high school this year. They got Rob Wright from Baylor, who’s a great point guard. They had Richie, they have Richie Saunders coming back, who averaged damn near like 22 points in the tournament, which is absolutely insane. So, he’s a baller. And I really think if you guys agree, you think this is uh probably the most anticipated season in their program history. I wasn’t old enough to remember Jimmer Fett, but definitely up there. I’d say it’s up there. Definitely for sure. I mean, that whole university is kind of just they’re coming along with athletics money era. They’re going to be so hyped. BYU is here and I hype is legit. I’ve watched a bunch of AJ Deansa high school reels and Richie Saunders absolutely can fill it up. Rob Wright a do it all point guard. I got to see him play last year when they were against Yukon. that this team is gonna be scoring like 90 points a night like this is. And yeah, against a team like that, like you gota have good shooting if you’re gonna keep up with BYU or an elite elite defense. That’s for sure. Yeah, they’ll be a fun team to watch this year. Is this a legit national championship contender? You guys, they can be. Got to see them play first. Got to see how they defend, but definitely the offense to do it in my opinion. Oh, yeah. I think they definitely do. I think they have the guard experience to do it, too. You can have this great offense, but you have to be able to defend, too. That was Kucky’s downfall last year and the year before that. Yeah, that’s my thought. I need to see him play first. Yeah. Kada, that’s an X factor for me because they need to have that kind of paint presence. That’s what the They got the guards, they got the wings. It’s just if got to be able to block block some shots and grab some rebounds. That’s the same problem for me with Alabama and uh you could see it ending up with I mean rebounding is never a problem for Houston but Chris Sak is going to be trusted to do it a lot as their tallest player at 610. Yeah. But that’s the Big 12 and I don’t know a couple of another thought on the Big 12. Uh I wanted to talk about we got to talk about ASU a little bit. I wanted to just say this season again probably won’t be the greatest, but how big of a hot seat do you think Bobby Erley is in at ASU with this squad? As a Yukon fan who covered the Arizona State basketball team, I have a deep respect for the Hurley family. So, I don’t know how appropriate it is to comment. We’ll leave it at that. No comment. No comment. All right, we’ll leave that segment out. But I want to also talk about Arizona. I know we’re ASU fans, but I want to talk about Arizona. I feel like Arizona is going to be a very fun athletic team to watch, a very defensive team to watch. And they’re also bringing back a very experienced player in Jaden Bradley, which I feel like is going to be a very big contributor to the squad. You also got Braden Burries. You also have Co Pete, who I’m really excited to see play. He’s a very, very big defensive presence to that squad. So, I really think that team can fly. I really think their defense is going to be great and even though we’re ASU fans, I’m really going to be excited to see Arizona play this year. I’m very intrigued by their offense because that’s been their identity since Tommy Lloyd came in. They run up and down the floor, score points at will, and they had guys that could do it. Benedict Mathan to Caleb Love. Whereas now it’s like, okay, Jaden Bradley, but he’s not he’s a very good player, but he’s built to dish out the ball as much as he is to score. That was not Matin and Love. Those like those were your number one guys. Give me the ball. And Matine got him to wins. Love sometimes got them to wins. But I think it’s going to be very important to see who their shotmakers are. and they don’t have kind of just a dump down option in my opinion whereas you had with Matin and with love and with Henry Vasar who transferred to North Carolina. So I think it is Arizona’s offense is going to be very intriguing the way they defend with Tobe Awaka and with Ko Pete and Braden Burries like you’ve got young young and experienced guys a good mix there of guys are going to get in your face and block your shot. Yeah. But so it’s just about how the staple of offense runs along with Arizona. Yeah. Yeah. as much as I like really can’t stand their fans, but I think Tommy Lloyd is a great coach. Even though like in March it really hasn’t shown up too much yet, but they have a great program. Um they find guys too I feel like um in the transfer portal like last year Deloro um and Aaka. So they’re a great program and they got some great recruits as well like I haven’t touched upon. I had them I think it was fifth or sixth in my Big 12 preseason power rankings and I was only behind Houston, BYU, Iowa State, and Texas Tech who all either bring back great talent or bring in great talent. Not that Arizona didn’t, but I’m also very intrigued by Kansas. This is a very different roster than they’ve had for the last two seasons that have have by Kansas standards been very disappointing. Yeah, Dickerson. Absolutely. AJ Store is not around anymore. The keys have been given to Darren Peterson and we’ll see what Bill Self still got. I’m intrigued to see what Trey White brings him. You bring back El Marco Jackson, Flory Bedonga. There there is talent here, but it is all going to run through Darren Peterson and we saw it with Cooper Flag and Conan last year. You if you got the right freshman, they can take you a long way. Absolutely. Do we think Darren Peterson is on that level? Definitely can be. Chu, you have any other thoughts on the Big 12? Um, those can Kansas BYU matchups will be crazy. AJ, those will be electric. Yeah, box office. Box office. Texas Tech. Oh, Texas Tech. Red Raiders are tough, man. Jump. So much respect for that program. Even though they throw money at it like nobody’s business what they got down in love. Absolute cinema against Arkansas, man. Dude, I am so excited for another year of JT Toppin, man. Yeah, he is a dog. He is crazy. He’s your national play of the year, huh? Preseason. Yeah. Yeah. Be on the lookout for him. Entertaining pick. Double double machine. Yeah, he’s Christian Anderson coming back in. I like the addition of Lean Watts for them. I’m intrigued to see what Tyrie Bryan and either Mario Akuna or Luke Bangoi is going to bring them down low because they that’s kind of a little bit of what they’re missing. I mean to 69, but you need another big down there to help them out. And I don’t know. I think losing Darion Williams is going to hurt them in the early on, but Grant Massen’s a good coach. This is a competitive program. They’ve been figuring it out for a couple years now when they haven’t necessarily had the best teams. They had the national champions literally on a knee at the the elite 8 last year. Great program. They’ve got great players. They develop great players. I would not be surprised at all to see them ascend to the top of the Big 12 even even with a slow start due to the uh strength of schedule they got. I think I saw Duke on there early on. Red Raiders I think are they are very they’re going to be interesting to see. Yeah. But they’re not box office. You know what is box office? the top of the Big East Conference and this is my time to shine because this is my conference. Oh my gosh. In this region, here we come. I am a diehard Yukon Huskies fan and if you hate Dan Hurley, I hate you and I I it is Yukon against the world. It always will. He’s already got him screaming ass players in the exhibition game. It’s called 25. It’s called coaching. No. Yeah, I respect it. I respect it. I guess I’m right. Yeah, that’s right. That’s what I thought. looking at the top of the Big East. I mean, Yukon, they were the best team coming in last year, the best team coming in the year before. And last year was, you lose four start, like the only major contributor they brought back from two national championship teams was Alex Caravan last year. And as much as I love the guy and he’s the captain, the leader of the program, he wasn’t suited really to be the number one option. It’s just not his skill set. It’s not his demeanor. And so that’s what Yukon was kind of missing, that dude. Liam McNeely could have been that, but he was struggling with injury all year. Solo Ball stepped into a nice offensive role, but wasn’t consistent every single night. You didn’t know what you were going to get from him defensively. How big of expectations do you have of Solo Ball this year going into this season? Solo ball. Big on expectations for him this year. If he finds that night in night out consistency, you he’s a top five three-point shooter in the country. I Yeah, he’s good. I will anyone on that. And you look at and if he can facilitate an offense just a little bit better. I mean knowing to pick his spots of wins my shot, win somebody else’s shot, getting down and playing defense. I I think Solo Ball can be an all-American. I think Alex Caravan can be too. I think Terrace Reed can be. Yukon has the talent to to get back to where they were and make it three out of 100%. I already know they got the coaching too. So many contributors that they didn’t have for all last season. and Solo Ball missed some time. Alex Cariban missed some time. Terrace Reed missed a lot of games. All those guys are back in the fold now. And you add in a Jaylen Stewart who’s been a breakout candidate and he’s been going crazy in the secret scrimmages. And you’ll bring in Brilen Mullins, a five-star recruit once he comes back from injury. Yeah, they got all the bullets. They got the right coach. They got the right fans. A little shameless part there, but their biggest competition might be in their own conference and it is St. John’s who Rick Patino he’s bringing in one heck of a lot of talent it’s it’s a very interesting team because very talented wrestler bring back the rock in Zubie Edge for but where are the rest of your offense going to come from without RJ Luis that is going to be a very interesting talking point you got who’ they bring in Josan Sanon shout out we’re going to miss our boy but he’s going to do good things there at St. John, they also brought in Jackson like I tried to mention earlier, but I was where their offense is going to come from. And that’s only assuming that what are they going to get out of Bryce Hopkins? Bryce is huge. Could easily be a Big East player of the year, could easily be an all-American, but he hasn’t been healthy in two years. I mean, this guy put Providence on his back for multiple seasons, but it’s now, okay, what are you going to get out of the guy when you can’t have any expectations on his health? I don’t know. Josiah Sers is a good player. I don’t know if he’s necessarily the game changer that I’ve seen a lot of people think he is. Ian Jackson I’m still not entirely sold on either. I am a big Dylan Mitchell guy, effort guy. Gets down and plays dirty. These these are the two these are going to be the two toughest teams in the country along with Houston. And absolutely St. John’s is a very tough team. I don’t know what exact dates Yukon St. John’s are playing, but I’m taking off work. I’m taking off everything. It’s like people are going to get bloodied. It is going to be awesome. Yeah, looking at St. John’s probably has a little chip on their shoulder now that they got bounced from the second week last last March. So, I still don’t understand how that happened. I really don’t. Yeah, it was How do you They got a team that had looked soft all year. Yeah, I know. And Calpar’s hasn’t been the best in March, but look at him now at Arkansas and he’s been turning it up. So, that’s the John Caliperry special. Yep. At least it it once was. I don’t know if it still is. But moving on from the Big East, where also Kraton and Marquette, those are two teams to watch as well. But the Big East, they’re kind of back into the national picture. And one conference that’s faded from it is the ACC, but I think they make themselves a name getting back into it. We know Duke’s at the Duke’s the cream of the crop. Louisville bringing in so much talent, so much returners, but very very intrigued by the NC State Wolfpack with a new coach, Virginia Cavaliers with a new coach, North Carolina with a roster refresh. What do you guys think of the whole the ACC as a whole this year? I don’t know. Definitely definitely obviously the weakest conference of the bunch. I feel like they could get at least at least a third of their conference in at least six teams, I would say. But I look at my ACC power rankings, I think Duke, Louisville, NC State are absolutely for sure. I would say North Carolina, but this team is not as good on paper as the teams they’ve had in the past few years. And they’ve barely snuck in or not gotten in. Yeah, they’ve been kind of Virginia. They’re they’re going to be so anti- Virginia with the way they’re going to play under Ryan ODM. We’ll see what they and SMU, they bring back a couple key pieces from teams that were good last year. And then supposedly Syracuse is going to be back. I I’ll believe it when I see it as a Syracuse. But does Jim Beheim still coach the Syracuse Orange? Jim Beheim is off playing golf somewhere. Probably with Jim Narrenga. I forgot if I’d love to see that golf that golf, but a lot of practice balls there. But I’m excited to see uh I’m excited to see this Duke team. They’re putting in uh Caleb Foster again, which again kind of took a backseat from last year with that absolutely loaded roster that they had. So, he’s going to take the guard again. And another player that I’m kind of interested to see is Isaiah Evans. Isaiah Evans really came and showed out late, but my friend kind of mentioned is that he would kind of I would think kind of forced shots a little bit. He would kind of shoot a lot. And I feel like now that he’s kind of have a starting role, maybe he can kind of ease into uh playing and creating a little bit more. And I feel like Isaiah Evans could be a big factor to that offense. And you obviously say, oh my god, I can’t speak. Obviously have Cam Bouer who is an absolute dog. He had like 2020. I know it’s an exhibition match, but still 2020 is crazy. You have Malik Brown defensive presence for the Duke. just don’t know how much better they can be when I mean their best players are freshman last year but they were all first round freshman like and if you ask me Cooper Flags one of the best college basketball players I’ve ever seen Khan Kell’s one of the best offensive college basketball players I’ve ever seen come on Malaw’s just a like you couldn’t go in the paint against the guy like I don’t that can be replicated and yeah he got a lot of shoes and you can’t win a national championship because they lost in the semi-finals yeah so definitely a little bit stepped down but they definitely We still have the players with Cam Buer and I feel like yeah, again, Isaiah Evans is going to have to step up big and then Caleb Voser’s got to really support that offense. So, Malik Brown. Yeah, I think this is the biggest test of John Shy as a coach this year, seeing how they come off a dis uh I mean any year you make the final four shouldn’t be a disappointment, but for that Duke team and with how they measured out on metrics like I mean advanced will tell you like they should have ran away with a national championship and they didn’t. Yeah. What was it they blew? I don’t know. But it was a crazy lead that they blew in what under 30 seconds. That was insane to watch. But that was classic Houston basketball. They got they got Houston and it happens that that’s what Houston does and they just happen to do it to themselves. You just got Kelvin Samson 48 hours later. So I think that looks potentially for me. I mean the conference should be Dukes to lose but Louisville has so so much talent coming in. And you talk about their freshman but I am so big on the ad of Isaac McNeely from Virginia. This is a dude that could that lit up in an offense that did not move over in Charlottesville. He’s a big key to what they’re going to do in my opinion. And that’s another team on the hypo meter for me is Louisville that I am buying into. They they just got scorers everywhere. Fantastic guards. Not a team I I want any part of. Yeah, I really like um Yeah, Michael Brown and then um Pat Kelsey. He’s a really entertaining coach. Yep. We’ll see. We’ll see if he’s really got it in him this year. But with that said, I would get into brackettology a little bit, but it’s preseason, so in my opinion, it does not matter. It is just throwing stuff at a wall and hope it sticks. So, we’ll skip with that and go straight off to pick some games for this first week. We got some real real entertaining ones this first week. Mid, we got a little mid major flavor. We got Top of the Mountain. And that’s where we’re gonna start. Reigning national champions Florida. They meet Arizona to start the season. Who you guys got? Yeah, I think this is going to be a really, really great matchup, but I think I’m going to go with the Florida Gator. I think they got a little bit too much talent. Again, I’m excited to see Boogie Flynn, Xavian Lee really control that offense. So, I got the Florida Gator from Florida as well. I think that their front court um Thomas How, Alex Condan, Ruben Chenlu, how say his name? Chenlu, I believe. Chenulu. Yeah, that is one of the best front courts um in the country. And then like Evan said, Xavier Lee, Boogie Fland, Todd Golden. So, I’m going to go Florida. And then like we said, like Arizona, they got a lot of newcomers, so that’ll take a little bit of time to drill. And Florida, they pretty they brought back a lot of their, like I said, their front court. So, I think I’ll go go with Florida. Yeah, I’ll go Gators, too. Uh, I think just the minutes continuity plays into it and obviously the coaching advantage as well. Uh, they’ll be able to match Arizona’s pace and how they run up and down the floor and I don’t know, there’s just new pieces in the Arizona system. They got to acclimate Gator experience. I think that takes them over the edge. Now, take us to BYU Villanova. This is an interesting matchup from the Villanovavva side because you’re bringing in a new coach and Kevin Willard and a whole lot of different players after you’ve had they’re not Villanova anymore. They are not Jay Wright’s Villanova. Kyle Neptune drove them into a ditch and is now Kevin Willard’s job to take them out and is a very wellrespected program. Uh I’m a big fan of Deon Ascu. They brought in Duke Brennan. I think like this could be this could be a formidable team especially in the Big East, but they’re going to go up against a lot of talent in BYU early and I think it overwhelms them. I I’ll I’ll take the Cougars here to start the season, but what’s your guys’ opinion? Yeah, I think the same. I think BYU’s got a little bit too much talent. I think AJ Deont is going to show us why he was the number one recruit coming out of high school. And Cougars are going to make them some noise and I think they’re going to win this game. to give me the BYU Cougars. Chew. Yeah, I agree with Evan said, AJ on like a national stage. I think this is like in Las Vegas TNT. Yeah, I think so. So, yeah, all like a lot of eyeballs on this game. So, AJ, like Evan said on a national stage, will show how good of a scorer he is. Um, you can’t can’t forget about Malcolm Flags on Villainova. Yeah, but I’m going to go with BYU because cultural legend and our time at Arizona State flags. Uh but we continue on with uh Evans boys over in Seattle, the Washington Huskies. They meet the Baylor Bears in week one. Danny Sprinkles first game as the helm of the dogs. How do they stack up against Scott Drew and company? You know, the thing about this Baylor squad is they’re not bringing back any of their scoring. I’m pretty sure nobody brand new team. Yeah. So, they’re really rebuilding this year. So, of that and I think Udub’s really going to be solid this year in the Big 10. They’re also bringing in some pretty tough guys. They’re bringing in a Big East transfer, right, Scott? You said Desmond Claude could end up being the best transfer in the country. I say that with all my being. That dude lights it up and he’s physical. He is tough. He’s a dog. Like I he could end up being like the the Dalton Connect where it just comes out of nowhere. No one knows it’s coming and just leads his team to national relevance. Yeah. So excited for him. And then they’re also bringing this overseas guy that’s lowkey pretty tough. I’ve seen him play a couple times. So, uh give me Udub, no bias aside, but give me Udub to uh uh beat the inexperienced so far inexperienced Baylor Bears. new Baylor Bears. Two teams haven’t played played with each other and so you start to look at a bit of the coaching matchup and obviously you’re not going to doubt Scott Drew. But yeah, and it’s crazy. Danny Sprinkle, fun fact, he was actually born in Pullman, Washington, which is where Washington State is, and he’s the UDub coach. So, that’s kind of funny to think of, but just want to throw that out. Traitor right there. And uh as much as I as much as I enjoy I I love my fellow Scots, I will be betraying Scott Drew here and getting a little fun. We’ll go with Washington on my end. I think Desmond Claude put some people on notice with a big performance. Yeah, I’m going to Washington, too. Desmond Claude. Um Wesley Yates. Wesley Yates actually started at UDub and then didn’t really play and then transferred and now he’s back. So, he never really had a chance to play. So now now he’s going to play. So he’s a really uh he’s going to be a good factor to you. I’m excited to see him play. Yeah. Throwing a little mid- major flavor right here. Utah State and VCU. I haven’t really dived into really two of these teams, but I’ve never really been a big fan of Utah State. They’ve always really blown me in the tournament, so I’m going to VCU. Well, considering their coach is now at Washington and I think VCU, they almost play like a Houston light kind of defense. They just swarm you from all angles. I think Ahmad Noel, the Yukon transfer, a former fourstar, I think he’s going to be able to run their offense a little bit. So, I think the Rams get themselves a little bit on notice with a win there. I agree. I’m going VCU. Moving on to Oklahoma, Georgia. And uh that I was looking up and down these rosters earlier and while Blue Kane is the man when I saw the name Nigel Pack on Oklahoma when I was reminded of that uh I was very quickly reminded of the numbers that dude was putting at Kansas State and Miami and uh I didn’t need to look much further. I took the Sooners. Yeah, I’m kind of in a scotch boat. Boomer Sooner. I know BP doesn’t want to hear that one, but we’re going to roll with them. So Boomer Sooner. Brennan Paul, friend of the program, his Oklahoma State Cowboys with their first mention and probably their last on this podcast. Yeah. And who you got? Um, I’m going just be different. I’m gonna go with Georgia. Like you said, Blue Kane, they added Jeremiah Jeremiah Wilkinson from Cal. Um, then Canon Catching’s He’s there, too. So, they got some nice guard play. I’m gonna go with Georgia. Be different. Tring game for sure. Non-conference, even though uh not sure how that works. Moving on. Indiana Marquette. You’re pretty high on Indiana, right, Evan? I am a little bit. Yeah. I don’t know if I’m high on Indiana. I’m high on Tucker Dere. Yes. Forget how good this dude was. He was He was injured majority of last season, wasn’t he? He didn’t really play eight games. Yeah, if I remember right. So, I remember he was a dog. He played against Gonzaga. Absolutely smoked them. So, he’s definitely a force. showed a lot of promise to West Virginia last year. Now that he’s fully healthy, I think new coach, new life into this program, I think they get started on the right foot against Marquette, who does not use the transfer portal. Uh, which I mean, Chase Ross, not good player, but he’s no Tyler Kohlick. And I I think Marquette gets I’m going to say I think Marquette gets panced. Wow. Really? You think they get panced? Indiana runs all over the floor. Tucker Dere go reminds the nation just how good he is and maybe puts Indiana on the map and the downfall of Marquette possibly could be getting. Yeah, like like True said, yeah, I am a little bit high on Indiana and that’s kind of the reason why Tucker Deere, he’s a very impactful player. Obviously, he only played eight games with alongside his dad who uh is coaching West Virginia over there. But yeah, I feel like he’s going to have a a bounceback year with uh the Indiana Hooers and I feel like they’ll get it done against Marqu. Um I’m going to Indiana as well. But I want to ask you, Scott, do you think um Shaka Smart might be on the hot seat if Marquette has like a disappointing year? Because I did see a tweet from uh shout out Ryan Hammer. He did mention how like Marquette has not really brought in a lot of transfers. I haven’t used it. I think I don’t really have the money to use it. And I think I don’t know necessarily about the hot seat because if you’re Marquette, you’re not going to get a better name in my opinion. I think they should be worried about him leaving. Like that’s my thought. Wow. But conversation for a different time. Let’s see if they lose some games for that to be a possibility. Starts a look now at the some of the big boy matchups here. And Blue Bud on Blue Bud 2022 National Championship rematch. Kansas, North Carolina. Oh, yeah. Uh, is this at UNCC? Where’s this game at? Or is it neutral sight? Hold on. Let’s take a look. If I can get my ESPN app to load here. I should have this memorized by now. It’s honestly a little pathetic. Um, at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, I think I’m still going to go with the Jay-Hawks. I am too. I think Hubert Davis, he’s not the coach for North Carolina. I’ve said it for a couple years now. And Bill S is about to put on a master class. He doesn’t have players he’s comfortable with. And from all I’ve seen from Darren Peterson, he’s an all-American. And I think Kansas, they always start the year out good. It’s it’s January and February that it’s gone south for them the last couple of years. So, I think I think they uh I think they get off on the right foot with a with a resounding win in North Carolina. I agree going with Kansas. I think lots of question marks for North Carolina for me to pick them. Lot of question marks in this next game too with Arkansas and Michigan State which if for me I think it’s a total tossup. You have phenomenal matchups all across the floor with Wagner and Fierce and Brazil and Cooper and Carr and Knox. And I think that puts the game in Darius Auff’s hands. How do you guys think he could handle it? Dude, I don’t know, man. It’s tough. It’s tough. But me personally, I think I’m going to go with shout out our other host, co-host Brendan Pico, who sadly can’t be here, but he’s a Michigan State fan and I’m going to I’m going to rep his squad for this game. So, give me the Spartans. I’m going with the Spartans as well. Um, Cohen Carr, that’s another breakout candidate um that a lot of people are excited for. That dude’s terrifying to watch come down the He is, bro. His vertical is insane. It’s unreal. They played an exhibition against Yukon the other day and like anytime he had the ball, I was legitimately scared, dude. Scared. But I think the game does come into Darius Auff’s hands. Fivestar freshman guard just with all the matchups around and he’s got to be the difference maker. And in a game where you are at Michigan State, I think the crowd gets to you a little bit. I think maybe he makes that last second tune turnover. remember Cooper flag against Kansas last year. I think we have a similar moment there and Michigan State pulls it out. But nice. Next one we have Texas and Duke. Um, yeah, I think obviously Texas I think has a very uh talented squad as well, but I think Duke very well coached team with John Sire, Cam Booer in company, Isaiah Evans is going to show why he’s going to be a really really good two guard I think this year. So give me the Duke Blue Devils. Yeah, I’m going to go Duke too. I think like Texas, Jordan Pope, Jamal Mark. That’s a fun back court. Um, but I’m going to go Duke. Oh, Cam Boozer, Caleb Foster. I’m going to go Duke. Isaiah Evans. Yeah, go Duke. This is sneaky game of the week material for me. I mean, you have the Texas guards, Jordan Pope and Traum Mark against the Duke Wings and Cam Boozer. Isaia Evans, Caleb Foster, contrasting styles and how they’re going to play. I’m big fan of Shawn Miller. As much as he annoyed me at Xavier, I think this is a very even coaching matchup, very even on the roster, but I think where the difference comes is Patrick and Gangba down in the lane. I think he’s able to block some more shots, get some more rebounds, and give Duke some easy buckets down low. So, I’ll take the Blue Devils, especially home. Now, the probably the highest profile game we’ll have in terms of ranking to start this season is Alabama St. John’s. Big East tough against SEC strong. What we got? O, is this at St. John’s? I should have really looked at it to see if there were neutral sides, but I’m still going to go with St. John’s. Uh, you could argue that this is definitely the most taunted roster in college basketball. And I think Rick Patino did a great job with uh recruiting and having people on the transfer portal come in. And then you have uh Homeboy down low. I can’t pronounce his name, but he’s gonna be a really key contributor. And then everyone else, Jones Sandon in company, Bryce Hopkins. I feel like they’re just gonna overwhelm Alabama. So, give me St. John’s. Said when I was introducing it, Big East’s tough. Alabama ain’t tough. No offense, Nate Oats, but when you’re just chucking threes all night and you don’t want to get down and rebound, you just want to get down in trans transition, that is not going to work against St. John’s. cuz I think the Red Storm overwhelm Alabama. I agree. I’m going St. John’s. This is in the Garden. Evan, no. MSG. Nice. St. John’s. Go to the game, Scott. Yeah. You paying for my ticket? [ __ ] no. But that’s those are the games to watch for this week. And before we close and you get yourself set for the start of maybe the best sports season in the world, you have to pick a national champion here, guys. Already on the spot. Oh, man. If I had to pick right now, I’d have to go with Houston. I’m going be honest. I think Houston has a lot of potential. I think the players they brought in are going to be really good. The players they’re bringing back are going to be very good. I feel like they’re most kind of the best well well-rounded team, I’d say. So, if I had to pick now, I’d go with Houston. I agree. I’m going to go I would go with Houston as well. Um, with Purdue, it’s just I’m interested to see how their defense holds up. But, and then Duke with the freshman um how they respond to big moments. Florida is another one I would consider just because they bring a lot of like their front court back. Sorry, Chu, but I just wanted to mention when it comes to when it comes to March, you got to have right depth, experience, and good guard play. And I feel like Houston really has almost all of that, I’d say. So, that’s why I’m really high on Houston. I’ll go Houston, too. Depth, experience, good guard play. Sounds like my Yukon Huskies to me. I mean, look, look at this team and look at the chip on their shoulder now. Everyone hates it. Everyone’s so excited to see Yukon come back down to the mean after last year. Dude, they have reloaded. Alex Cariban is back. Terrace Reed is back. Solo Ball is back. Jaylen Stewart is back. These dudes are going to be mad and they are going to play mad. and they’re not going to no Maui tournament where a trip to Hawaii is not getting is not getting surfed over. The Huskies are coming back and they’re coming for blood this year. I think Yukon makes it three and four and the whole college basketball world shuts its mouth on coming from a Yukon fan by the way guys. Yukon fan. College basketball fan. They were awfully close against Florida in the tournament last year. They should have beat them any go back. Yukon should have won that game. That was tough. Walter Clayton saved him. I mean, Walter Clayton’s Walter Clayton, but there’s not going to be a Walter Clayton this year. There’s just going to be the Yukon Huskies. The stairway to seven, it’s right over there. They’re going to take that first step this next Tuesday night when they welcome the New Haven Chargers to division one. And from there, they’re going to storm through their noncon, take another Big East title, and they’re going to cut down another net. I don’t know where the Final Four is this year. Indianapolis, they’re gonna cut down the net. They’re going to stick it to Purdue again. Con Huskies national champions. Wow. Wow. You heard it here first from Yukon fan from Connecticut, Scosian Doulie. Gotta believe in your boys. Anyway, that’s all from us for this season preview if you want to call it. We got a awesome season ahead of us and it kicks off in what 100 hours, something like that. We can’t wait. We’ll be with you here the whole way. We’re on the bubble, a college basketball