Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the latest episode of
the Crimson Cast Women's Basketball Podcast.
I'm Amanda Foster here with Kevin Vera, and we've got a big
episode here for you today. It's Thanksgiving week, which
means it's Feast Week and Indiana Women's Basketball has
two really great opportunities against two very talented teams.
The Hoosiers, who are now #21 in the AP poll, are heading down to
Fort Myers, FL for the Elephants.
Health Women's Fort Myers tip off.
They're set to play Tennessee the evening of Thanksgiving on
Thursday the 23rd, and then they'll face off against
Princeton on Saturday the 25th. It's going to be an
action-packed week and we are very, very excited for it.
But before we get into that, Kevin, like we always do, just
how are you doing today? You're back home on Thanksgiving
break now. So how's it going?
It's always good to be here, Amanda.
Always good to talk to you. I mean, yeah, I've been doing
well, like you said. I mean, it's Thanksgiving break.
I'm, I was in Bloomington for the weekend, stayed there for
football, stayed there for the women's game, actually.
And then football left, Came back Sunday.
And I've just kind of been hanging around with my family,
been watching a lot of college basketball.
I watched the Chiefs lose. I watched the Chiefs lose
yesterday, which was not not super fun, but it's been good.
It's been good. Good to be back.
But you know. We're we're talking some more
basketball. Always on the grind.
Always. There's so much basketball now
and it's overlap season, so everything's busy.
We talked about it last week. But yeah, lots, lots and lots of
basketball. And it's not going to stop
anytime soon for for better or for worse.
Yeah, I mean, I was sorry. I was talking to, like, I forget
who I was talking to, but I was talking that this is our
favorite time of the year in the world of college basketball,
just because you have this Invitational, you have this
tournament, you have this, this and that.
And I mean, you have. Amazing matchups going in and
across the entire country. And so, yeah, it's definitely,
I, I, I would say outside of probably obviously March and
maybe the end of conference play and sort of the tournament, the
conference tournaments, this is probably the best time of year
on the college basketball slate just because you get these
unique matchups and these unique venues and and whatnot.
So, yeah. And then you're getting like
ranked teams going up against each other, some some of them
for the first time in the season.
So you get an idea of kind of what teams look like too, now
that they've had some time to adjust, which is really fun.
So getting into it quickly, we'll just recap Indiana's last
two games to games that we relatively expected to, to go
the way that they did. Indiana beat Murray State 112 to
79, and then they beat Lipscomb 77 to 44.
Lipscomb was by far the better game for Indiana and Kevin, you
and I were talking about this after the Murray State game.
Terry Moran was not happy with her defense and she, rightfully
so was, was concerned. And I think everybody was
concerned because they did allow 79 points when she wanted them
to allow no more than 60. So it was good to see kind of a
bounce back game in a way with Lipscomb only allowing 44
because the defense really did kind of click a lot better
there. So that's kind of, for me that's
the biggest take away from from those two games is the defense.
And I'm still, I have to confess a little bit unsure of what the
defense is going to look like down in Florida against two very
talented teams. But it was good to see them kind
of get more into a groove in the second, the second game over the
last few days. So Kevin, do you have what what
were your main takeaways I guess from from those two games?
Well, obviously the biggest story of Murray State was, OK,
this is their first game from Stanford.
You know, how well are they going to come back?
And you know, they played really well.
Sarah, we'll talk about her as as we get deeper into the
episode. But Sarah's had herself a really
nice week. I mean, she had 22 against
Murray State and shot the ball really well, six for 14, which
if I do the quick math, what is that like 4140?
Two, 40% from the field? She had a really 40 three.
I just did the math on my computer.
So, yeah, there we go. So she, she played really well.
But obviously the biggest point of that game was just sort of
the frustration from Terry that she expressed after the game.
It was honestly, you know, you said in, you know when you're
leading up to it, you said it was rightfully so that Terry
called him out for it. And I mean obviously.
If I'm looking at it through my eyes, I was like, yes, I
understand the criticism, obviously from their head coach,
but I was a little surprised. I'm not going to lie, sort of
the the, the intensity behind her, sort of expressing her how
much better they need to get defensively.
You know what I mean? Obviously, you know, 79 points
against the Murray State team isn't ideal even in the win.
But I was very surprised I hadn't seen Terry.
In that sort of mode and and I don't think I have at all in in
my 2 years now going on the three that I've been here in
Indiana, she seemed very, very just unpleased with with how
they performed defensively on all levels.
Yeah, go go ahead. You you do make a good point
that that was Terry. Morton doesn't usually talk like
that about her team especially so early in the season.
But I think it it shows first of all how concerned she is because
like in my mind when I was watching that game like Indiana
was lucky that Murray State wasn't hitting certain shots and
certain threes and and all those things.
And so I think it it shows how much they how high the
expectations are for Indiana that you know every single time
you don't want to be scoring more than or don't you don't
want to be allowing more than 60 points.
Like that's a lot that that's something that's that's
difficult to do. And I think it it was
interesting that it it happened so early in the season.
But I think it's because it has to.
When you're playing, you know these these big teams and you
have a conference like the Big 10 that is going to make those
shots more often than not. Yeah.
And and look, I don't, I don't want to say that I I don't
understand you because I obviously do.
You know what I mean? And and especially if somebody's
going to harp on them the way that she did, it's, you know,
it's going to be the head coach. It's going to be Terry.
But I was just very surprised to see sort of the the the way she
was expressing herself, the way she was trying to get her point
across. It seemed not desperate, but it
seemed to be at a level of, hey, I'm not talking to the media
right now. I'm not talking to the cameras.
I'm not talking to the conference.
I'm talking, I'm using this podium to talk to my players and
tell them and and get the point across of hey.
Defensively we're just not there and right now it may work
against these non conference opponents, but we're coming off
a 30 plus point loss we have. We have arguably our next
biggest challenge coming up in about a week.
You know that's what I really got from that press conference
after Murray State. And another point I want to
bring up is also it seems to be like Terry wants to see a better
defensive adjustment from. The entire staff, not just the
players on the court, not just, you know, Sarah or Mackenzie or
whoever it may be, Sydney, whoever it may be.
She made a couple comments in the press conference saying as a
staff, as a staff of of coaches, of assistants and and coaches
together, we need to prepare our team better.
Look, I'm not saying anything out there.
I don't know anything of what's going in and out of practice
obviously, but based off those comments, when I hear those type
of comments. I tend to think that there's
just been some sort of miscommunication that they're
not on the same page defensively or or that or there's moments on
set plays that Indiana's trying to run defensively or or certain
tactics they're trying to use defensively.
I should say whenever they're playing, that just isn't coming
across and getting through. From the coaching staff to the
players, she she made it seem that there as a as a staff, they
just need to get better. And that was another thing that
really stuck out to me because I mean look when these non
conference games come around in these early parts of November,
there's not much. When you have a team like
Indiana, there's not much to take away from an opponent like
Mary State, you know what I mean?
They're so good that you know. Just the natural talent that
they have is going to get them through the four quarters.
But so I really try to focus in on her comments after the game
and that was one of the more unique press conferences for me
in these past two years, two to three years from Terry, just
because it really seemed in a way a cry for help to get this
team back on track defensively from everybody.
Because I I think Terry has an expectation.
I think Terry. Has an expectation of what she
wants and that it it seems to me that nobody's meeting that
expectation on any level and and that's what I sort of got from
that. Yeah.
Well, and we're also not used to hearing that the team isn't
playing like gritty enough or strong enough, which is
something that she talked about that they they were lacking like
the aggressiveness and the tenacity.
And that's not something that is really a common theme for this
team because of how hard they've played in the past.
And that I think that's why it's so good that they were all to
come out, were able to come out against Lipscomb and keep them
to 44 points. And I I was watching that kind
of in the background on is on Sunday.
Yeah, because that's the men were also playing and there were
so many Indiana sports going on, but they really did look much
better defensively, obviously. I think there's still work to
do, but they looked better defensively.
Sarah Scalia had a very good game.
Mackenzie Holmes had a really good game.
She looked a lot more confident there as well.
And so I think it it was a very good thing that they were able
to come back and do that and that they had a team like
Lipscomb to kind of make those adjustments for before heading
down to Florida and playing Tennessee and Princeton.
So unless you have anything else to add about the last two games,
we can go kind of right into talking about this week.
Well, yeah, I mean. They they played, they played
much better defensively obviously like you mentioned
against Limbscomb they held them to six points there in that
second quarter and and this kind of to go back to Murray State
right before we get into Tennessee.
The thing that this Indiana team and honestly you can say about
both the men and the women this season is they're trying to find
their identity. You know, they're they're trying
to find who they are. The men obviously lost church,
Jackson, Davis. But another comment that I found
very interesting about from Terry after Murray State is she
said Grace Burger's not going to come in here anytime soon.
You know what I mean, she she said.
I was really surprised to hear that.
Yeah, I did too. Just simply because that to me
as an observer from outside of the program, that tells me that
you know the team is. Trying to find who they are, you
know what I mean? Last year everybody knows that
how great of a year. Last year was and and obviously
on the front page of that was Grace and and Mackenzie.
But now that great or yeah, now that Grace isn't there, you
know, sending that message to your team means we got to find
out who we really are. You know what I mean?
We're not the the Indiana team that we were last year, although
we have similar pieces. There's a new identity.
There's a lot of new roles that need to be.
That need to be fixed. So that would that you know to
keep it short. Now you know that's one thing
that very surprised that really surprised me.
But yeah, it's just a lot came out of it out of these two
games, which I, which I was very glad to see more on the mental
side of things exactly. And yeah, and we knew.
Indiana's going to win these games regardless, you know what
I mean? But right now, I think again, it
can be set for both teams, but for the women.
Mentally, where is this team at? Where is this team sort of being
pushed at? Toward the direction.
So, yeah, yeah. And that's why this week against
Tennessee and Princeton is going to be so important and such a
big test for them. So getting right into that,
yeah, arguably for me, the bigger opponent of the two this
week is Tennessee. The Lady Vols are ranked 19th in
the AP poll, so that is now above Indiana.
They're three in one with wins over Troy, Memphis and Florida
A&M and then they had a one point loss to Florida State and
Florida State is currently the number 13 team in the country,
so you can't overlook that by any means.
They're coming off of a 100 to 73 win over Troy and it was a
really interesting game for them because they had some people out
with injuries and they had some people step up and have like
career games that could possibly carry over into this week.
The Bulls were missing three of the top or one of their their
best player and then two other important players and Rakia
Jackson, Jasmine Powell and Avery Strickland, who are all
sidelined for various reasons with injuries.
Jackson, if you kind of keep up with any sort of women's
basketball in Tennessee, you you recognize that name, you know
who she is. She had 31 points and 17
rebounds against Florida State in that game.
Is a massive presence in the post the best post player on the
team, on a team that also doesn't have a whole lot of
other post players capable of playing at the level that she
does. She was on multiple pre season
watch list and as of Sunday she was listed as day-to-day with a
lower leg injury. So we don't really know what
happened or if she'll be back on Thursday.
But that is something to keep in mind because if she's not,
that's a big deal for both Tennessee and Indiana.
Powell and Strickland for both guards were also notable
absences. Powell played a decent amount of
minutes. Strickland doesn't play a whole
lot but can still come in and is important for the team in that
regard as well. Sort of like a a depth sort of
thing. As of Sunday, Powell had a brace
on her right hand in Strickland Head was out with concussion
protocol. So all three players, we don't
really know when they're coming back but something to keep an
eye on and the reason like because they were out over the
weekend allowed other players to step up.
Like I said, they had a slow first quarter and this is
something that Rickia Jackson brings so much because she has
so much confidence and she instills so much confidence in
the team and the way that she plays.
So they had to kind of adjust. But now that they after they did
adjust, they they ended up obviously having a really,
really good game. A couple notable players who did
step up forward, Caroline Stripling had her first career
double double and then also set career highs with 19 points and
14 rebounds. Jillian Hollingshead, who's also
a forward, tied her career high 18 points and added ten
rebounds. And then Destiny Wells also
scored 18 points. And then she had eight assists,
4 rebounds and only one turnover, and she played like 30
minutes. And I think they had five
players hit double figures, which is not too surprising when
you score 100 points. But obviously there's more to
talk about with this team than just Rakia Jackson.
But I do want to ask Kevin, if the Lady Vols don't have Jackson
against Indiana, what's that going to do?
What do you think it's kind of going to look like?
Well, I mean if we look at it like, I mean my point of
reference comes from last year a lot.
You know when Indiana play over at Tennessee in Knoxville and
it's a very fast-paced team, it's a very, it's a team that
plays a lot faster I would say than a lot of the other SEC
teams. They they sort of play side to
side from what I remember, they play from corner to corner and
they're they're not afraid to make the long pass and sort of
play in transition. But to answer your question, I
mean, if you're missing Jackson right there that that does a
lot, that that switches the game up completely, you know what I
mean? Because who is Jackson most
likely going to guard? You know McKenzie, right?
You know, you say, you say post and your brain just goes whoa, I
know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
And so if you don't have her, you know that break that opens
up the door for Indiana to completely use McKenzie at
another level. Obviously the the game is going
to go through McKenzie regardless, but.
You don't. If you don't have your best
player down to defend Mackenzie, it's going to be, you know, a
lot more difficult for Tennessee.
And and you know, look, I mean the travel, the travel aspect is
going to play a big part in this.
I think naturally. I mean, both of these teams are
playing on Thanksgiving away from home.
Like I I don't know how many. Players are where players are
from, from Tennessee, but can't imagine a lot of them are from
Fort Myers, FL. You know what I mean?
Yeah. So it's like, you know, here The
thing is, and we, you know, this is what I want to like, like
really hone in on for this episode is the mental aspect of
these games sort of at this point of the year, and
especially for Indiana specifically because they
they're coming off or because they have that Stanford law sort
of hanging over their head. But you know, to go back on
Jackson, if you don't have Jackson, that changes your game
plan completely. What a Tennessee Indian, what a
Tennessee team looks like without Jackson.
I I couldn't tell you just because she is such a big part
of what they do and what they have been doing these past
couple years. But yeah, you know, it'll be
interesting to see. We'll have to monitor,
obviously. If she's going to come in, you
know, we're recording this, you know, Tuesday afternoon, late
afternoon, early evening. You know, she could very easily
be announced later today that she's going to play, but without
her. I think it gives Indiana a much
bigger advantage if they, you know, if they did have her well.
And it also it goes back to that mentality thing because she's
such a stable presence. She is averaging a double double
with 22 points and 12 remands and she's played in two games.
So she clearly takes on a lot of the work for the team because
she's so talented. And I was reading an article
earlier that was talking about all the injuries and that one of
really arguably the biggest thing that Tennessee loses
without her on the floor is confidence and kind of that
ability to like know what's going on all the time.
So it is going to be interesting.
We'll definitely have to have to keep an eye on that if she is
in. I mean I think I don't see how
it's not going to be a highly, highly competitive game.
I do think the kind of like you mentioned the the structure of
the two teams are a little different.
And that I feel like from what I remember Tennessee like you said
does move pretty quickly and and Indiana not take as many risks
as they do. Which will be interesting just
to to see how the flow of the game goes because we know that
Indiana likes to move quickly and move in transition.
But they have also struggled at that in some points and and have
struggled to kind of keep control of the ball and and deal
with turnovers and everything like that.
So we'll just kind of have to see.
I did want to touch on the last time these two teams matched up.
Like you mentioned, Kevin, Indiana did beat Tennessee.
It was technically an upset because Indiana was ranked 12th
and Tennessee was ranked 11th, but everyone was kind of like,
this is not how that was going to go.
It was the first ever win that they had against the Bulls.
They won 79 to 67 in Knoxville, and that was a really big game
for Claymore McNeil, who obviously we've seen grow a lot
in the last year. That was kind of her homecoming
game because she's from Tennessee.
She had 15 points, and then Mackenzie Holmes and Sarah
Scalia both had 16 points. Mackenzie Holmes had 10 rebounds
for a double double. And so all three of those
players are very much, I don't know if I would say they're in
their prime right now, but they're the top some, arguably
the top three biggest influential like players Indiana
has right now. So it'll be interesting to see
how they they match up it. It's also a relatively similar
Indiana team this year because we've we've talked about it so
many times, but they really are only without Grace Burger.
And Tennessee also has a decent amount of returners, including
three starters from that game last year.
So they're these teams are familiar with each other and
they they're going to prep really, really well.
They're they're going to know what they need to do as best
they can. So I'll turn it over to, you
know, what do you think Indiana will have to do to get the win
on Thursday? And let's say that Jackson is
playing and that she's like, back-to-back to normal.
Yeah. Yeah, I was gonna say that I
have two different, you know, answers and you could give both.
I I'm gonna operate under the assumption that she will play,
but because if she was listed as ads day-to-day on Sunday, I feel
like by Thursday. By Thursday, I mean that's what,
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. That's almost four days, you
know, if you're just somewhat counting Sunday.
And then yeah, if she didn't play Sunday, they didn't, they
wouldn't have played Saturday. So who knows?
But we'll we'll go with if she is in the game.
What? What?
If she is in the game. Yeah, I mean, look, I just think
Indiana really needs to obviously these past couple
years it's been all through Mackenzie, right.
It's been, hey look, this is how we play.
It's through you know Mackenzie and and loan the post.
But I kind of want to see the sort of game plan that Sarah's
been playing these past couple games sort of be.
Spread out to the entire team, make it, make it more of a
perimeter game. And they have the tools to do
that. You know, and you know, Sarah's
coming off Big 10 Player of the Week.
She had two great performances against Murray State and then
Lipscomb and then Sydney. I mean, we know what Sydney is
able to do. Sydney's been she's just gotten
off to a little bit of a slower start than I think a lot of
people would have anticipated. But Sidney can very easily light
up from behind the arc and you know it's it's not hard at all
for her to do that. Lanae Lanae Beaumont's also
seemed very confident which and and she can shoot the range more
than a little bit of the other players on the on the team but I
want to see Indiana sort of attack from the outside and that
and and The thing is I what was it.
I believe they shot 32 three pointers against Stanford.
And they and they only got five of those to fall.
But that was just a a single game thing.
You know what I mean? If you can, if you can, shoot
out of desperation. Out of desperation, exactly.
If you can get let's say low 20s, maybe 25 tops and get
slightly like, you know, 40% of those to fall in, you put
yourself in a very good position because that's adding.
To what McKenzie can do. Obviously Indiana's going to
push through McKenzie this game and that's what they need to do.
That's what they should do. It's they're all American.
But I I just want to see the more outside element of the game
be inserted for this time around, you know what I mean?
Because right now in let me know if you agree or or you disagree.
It seems like Indiana has only lived in the paint and in the
post this season, they they haven't really.
They haven't really been as active on the outside aside
aside from Sarah obviously and and then the mid range is just
not there as much. It just seems like a lot of
Indiana's movement has been through the through the paint,
driving in the lanes, and I would love to see a shot chart
so far through. The first couple games of these,
I mean, I don't know if I'm going to be be able to grant get
a hold of something like that. You can.
You can make one. I can make one, yeah, exactly.
But you know it. It just, it just feels like to
me, look, thinking back of these these couple games that have,
that have been happening during in the end of the season that
has been just solely through the inside.
It's been just basketball around the rim.
You know what I mean? And I I I kind of, I think in
order for Indiana to win this game in a comfortable fashion,
which they kind of want to do, you have to expand the court a
little bit. And that's that's what that's
what I think Indiana has to do. And you know, let's see if they
can do it this coming Thursday. No, I I completely agree.
I want to see first of all, Mackenzie Holmes comfortable in
the post again, and you know all of that because you need that if
you're idiot and you need that if you're Mackenzie Holmes.
And then I also, I want to see Sydney Parish and Garden Girl
Zone step up, especially from deep.
I think both of them are in need of just a couple games or one
game where they're really in their groove and they're hitting
shots and they're doing things consistently throughout the
entire game. And I know that Sydney has
struggled with hamstring issues in the last few games, so we'll
see where she's at later in the week.
But if she's back to full health, I would really, really
like to see her hit some more shots from the outside because
she's shot the second she has had the second most attempts
behind Sarah. She's 6 for 20 and then Yarden's
three for 12:00. So I think obviously we know
both of them hold and I would really like for them to, to be
able to get on that a little bit more against Tennessee as a
team. Indiana is shooting 29 for 93,
so it's like about 312. And then looking at Tennessee,
they're shooting 32 for 93, so it's 344, so, so they're
relatively evenly matched and I think Tennessee gives up sort of
a decent amount of three pointers.
Let me find that. I have the stat right here.
They they allow around 9-3 pointers from opponents so far
at least. So you know we'll see.
I think there is the potential for this game to kind of turn to
the outside more. It's just whether or not Indiana
wants it to. I guess.
So, yeah. And and just to throw it out
there, I mean last year Indiana was shooting 36% from the field,
essentially 30 or 37% from three.
And look, I get it, it's a, it's a much smaller sample size that
we're comparing this year to last year.
I mean it's you're comparing only a couple of games to an
entire season. But it just feels like Indiana
has not had as much success from the outside.
It feels like it's only been coming from one player, which is
Sarah Scalia. And yeah, I just think in the
end it needs to be add a little bit more dimensions, you know
what I mean? Last year if you have the mid
range game that you, you know you got from Grace Burger, you
have the post game from Mackenzie and everybody else
working on the outside from like yard and then Sidney and Sarah,
you know that gives you different elements to work with.
Now this year with no Grace and sort of the slow start of
Indiana from the outside. You know it it gives you sort of
a a perception of OK, we need to add something else.
We need to be better in a different area offensively.
But yeah, yeah, it can't. You can't be predictable or else
against good teams with good defense you're going to be
completely shut down and then you're going to be you're lost
and you don't have anything, you can't do anything.
So this is this is a good time of any to figure it out.
Yeah. And and you I I think that might
be the best way to describe what happened against Stanford is
Indiana just became predictable. I mean what else were they going
to? I mean the shots were following.
Granted look you know it just it seemed like it wasn't Indiana's
day, but it just seemed like they're they had two options
offensively. Either they were going to give
it out to Sidney Yarden or Sarah or not even Yarden.
Yarden didn't even shoot that many threes from that game.
I don't believe you were either going to get.
I didn't. You were going to give it to
either Sarah or Sarah or Sarah or Sarah, you were going to give
it, I mean, basically. Sarah or Sydney on the outside
and when their shots weren't falling, you were dumping it off
to Mackenzie, and Mackenzie obviously didn't have that great
of a game. So Indiana became predictable
and I think that's the concern right now offensively.
It's just Indiana needs to add another element.
And I think you said it perfectly right there.
Yeah, so, I guess so it feels like we could keep talking about
Tennessee for a very long time, but we do have to move on to
Princeton at some point because that's also another really
important game. And I think it's interesting in
the way that it might be being overshadowed a little bit by
Tennessee because Tennessee is the first game the Indian will
play down in Fort Myers. And they're ranked.
And you know, there's they played each other last year, but
Indiana played Princeton two years ago in the NCAA tournament
at at Indiana at Assembly Hall. And we can't forget about that
one because that was also a very big game.
But looking at Princeton themselves first, they're three
in one. They have wins over Duquesne.
Shout out to my sister and Keander Brown.
They just beat Pitt over the weekend, so good for them.
They also. For those for those who don't
know, Amanda's sister goes to Duquesne and she's also a
manager. Yeah, she's a she's a basketball
on the women's basketball team or a manager on the women's
basketball team she was on. I had her on an episode last
year, actually, which was really fun, but yes, for anybody who
doesn't know, that's why I'm I'm shouting them out anyway.
Princeton also has wins over Middle Tennessee and the
University of San Diego. And then they took UCLA, who was
#3 at the time and is now #2 in the AP poll all the way.
They fought till the very end and they lost 77 to 74.
So similar to Tennessee and that they have kind of a really good
loss when you look at it. They're averaging 66.5 points
per game with 5.8 threes. They're pulling down an average
of 38 rebounds, and they force almost 15 turnovers per game,
but they also give up about 14 turnovers themselves.
So, Kevin, just to start off, what are your initial thoughts?
What are you going to be looking at for Princeton on Saturday?
I I I'm very intrigued by this game just just the simple I mean
Indiana played them not that long ago right?
Like you mentioned but also and this goes for any any sport and
and college athletics. You never know what you're
getting with these Ivy League teams.
You know what I mean? It's just, you don't know.
I mean, I mean, Princeton last year in the men's tournament
came out and was a complete surprise.
And the Princeton team that Indiana faced in the tournament
was a very good team. I mean, yes, they came into
Assembly Hall and lost eventually, but you know that
that was a very good team as well and that was an awesome
game to be at and sort of watch. Well, they had.
They had Abby Myers, who then went to Maryland and completely
tore it up. So and then she got drafted.
So yeah. Yeah, exactly.
Completely off topic, but how about Maryland falling out of
the top 25 for the first time in 13 years?
I believe it is. It's something around that 1314
years just goes to show how crazy.
Talented and crazy how much depth there is this year in in
women's basketball. But anyway, Princeton again, you
you just don't know what to expect with these Ivy League
teams because they only play within themselves.
Really. Within the Ivy League,
obviously, but yeah. But you know, I'm very excited
to see how Indiana will adapt I from what I remember.
Princeton was a a a team on the smaller scale but played small
ball to their advantage. You know what I mean?
They they played to their advantage, they played with
their strengths and again, the travel aspect is going to be
very, very, very interesting. From interesting from what I
remember, the Princeton fan base travelled well to Assembly Hall,
especially obviously the parents and the family and the friends.
Traveled well, but there were there were plenty of Princeton
fans to support them in those games.
But yeah, look, I mean, a lot will dictate my answer, what I
want to see from Indiana, depending if they win or lose
against Tennessee. But very, very excited for a
matchup that sort of has this mysterious tone.
But it's not a, it's not a. Cakewalk by any means.
I mean, Princeton received votes just yesterday and the latest
eight people. So they're very good team.
They're, you know, they're near the top of the Ivy League.
So look, I'm, I'm not going to sit here and act like I know
everything about every team and in college basketball.
So I again like, I'm very, very curious to see what is going to
come out of this matchup that you typically wouldn't see in a
regular season exactly when you mentioned height.
So Princeton has two players that are 6 foot four and then
everyone else's is shorter. So they are a little bit on the
smaller side like you said. I'm looking through their roster
and seeing a decent amount of heights that start with five S
Granted there it's like 510 and 511 and five nine but still
compared to a team like Indiana who has a little bit more
height, something to keep an eye on statistically, just want to
look at some of their top players.
One, Caitlin Chen was on the team two years ago when they
when they came to Indiana and she's second on the team in
points. She's averaging 16.5.
And then the only person above her is Madison St.
Rose who's averaging 17.8. And it's so as as a team, like I
mentioned, they're, they're scoring, but it seems like
they're a fairly well-rounded team.
And it's kind of like you said, the the thing with Princeton and
some of these schools is that it's just a toss up because they
always play so hard and so you never really know you, you don't
know what to expect. And that's going back to that
2022 game in the tournament, people weren't expecting
Princeton. You know, people outside of like
the insider women's basketball world, I guess weren't expecting
Princeton to be so good. And that was really the first
time that they put made a name for themselves and like kind of
put themselves on a national level.
Indiana ended up winning 56 to 55, which was very low scoring.
It's very, very low scoring, which I remember thinking and
then very, very close. I remember Abby Myers hit or she
hit a three, but it she couldn't beat the buzzer and so then
that's how the game ended. So they came.
They came so close. And so then then last year they
made it to the second round of the tournament and they lost to
Utah, who was the two seed. So it's like they're the the
rosters are a lot more different now than they were like for for
the Indiana Tennessee game. But like I mentioned the there's
some two big holdovers really for both teams, Ellie Mitchell
and Caitlin Chen for the Tigers. And then you have Mackenzie
Holmes and Clover McNeil for the Hoosiers.
And so it's just, it's going to be a really interesting game
because Princeton also is going to play Oklahoma, who's
currently ranked in the 20s, and the AP poll on Thursday before
they go into Saturday. So I think, you know, both
Indiana and Princeton are going to have things that they're
going to want to work on and improve upon depending on how
their earlier games go, which could dictate, like you said
earlier, just a lot of how this game goes.
It's also at 11 in the morning, which is something to keep in
mind because that is not a like that.
That is not a great time for a basketball game in my opinion.
Yeah, I know that's a little funky.
So that we'll we'll see. I'll be rolling up to the court
with a big cup of coffee in my hand.
I I was also going to say that game is going to be on
fswbucks.com, which I don't know what that is.
That's the Florida Southwestern College Athletics website, which
is where they're playing. Oh, OK, yeah, I don't know what
it means broadcast wise, but I that's the website because I
looked it up earlier because I didn't know what it was either.
So yeah, I'm assuming they're going to have some sort of
stream is my guess. I'm assume, yeah, I'm assuming
that's what it's going to be. But yeah, to go back to that
match up that you were talking about two years ago, I forgot
that that game ended just by. It was a one point game and it
was so low scoring and I mean I was just kind of while you were.
Talking about it right there, I was just kind of looking over at
the box scoring. Indiana somehow won this game,
committing 17 turnovers. They They had Princeton.
Have Princeton at 8 you know they I, I have to rewatch that
game you know it's been it's been a lot has happened since
March 21st 2022 just just a little bit just a little bit but
yeah you know our whole point with with Princeton is.
You know, it's going to be very interesting to see how Indiana
reacts to a team that they're not as familiar with.
You know what I mean? That you know, a team that
nobody's really familiar with just because of the true nature
of these Ivy League teams. But yeah, very exciting.
It should be a fun trip, all things considered.
You know what I mean? It's it's a trip that is, you
know, in Florida, a very fun trip.
You know, it's during Thanksgiving week.
So you know, these these student athletes are not with their
families, obviously. Most of the time.
But that just means they're going to be able to count on
each other more and they're able to you know spend Thanksgiving
to with each other and and and whatever hotel they're staying
at, which I, you know, is is is fun in its own way.
You know what I mean? It's cool in its own experience.
So, you know, these are the type of invitationals of that
Indiana. It needs to plan.
It needs to continue to play. And that's one thing that I was
thinking about this. I mean you have two quality
opponents right here in a in a very fun Fort Myers
Invitational. I mean, you know, credit to
everybody over there at the athletic department that is
scheduling these type of games for Indiana.
I mean, if you were to go to a Indiana basketball fan and you
would have asked them 5678 years ago?
Hey, are your early non conference games going to be
against a top 15 Stanford team and then a week and a half later
you're going to go to Florida and play a top 15 again
Tennessee team or top 20 sorry a top 20 team and then another
quality team in Princeton. I mean that's that's my whole
thing with these Invitational. I mean, these are the type of
games that you want to play to get you ready for for Big 10
play and. And yeah, I mean, look, you
know, it's we're not that far away from the first Big 10 game.
That's December 9th against Rutgers.
So it should be a very fun week. You're going to be there and
then you're going to find out bright and early Wednesday
morning. Yeah, we'll be there Friday.
We'll be that. We'll be there that Thursday,
Friday. You're coming back Sunday,
Saturday night, Sunday. Or no Sunday morning?
Sunday morning, because we're going to go up to Indy together.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. For the the men's Harvard game.
It's full of basketball. Like we said, you know it.
Never. Stops.
It never stops. But yeah, I'm just very, very
excited to just sort of sit back and and watch Indiana through
through the TV because obviously, I mean there's
nothing compared to watching. Any team in person, right.
But, but because of the, I mean we're still in school and
everything because I can sort of take a step back and sort of
really sort of focus in on Indiana on a broadcast view, it
gives me another perspective and that's kind of what I'm liking.
You see things that you don't see in person.
Yeah, yeah. I mean, because of, you know,
the chaotic nature of of, of any basketball game, you sort of
miss stuff, right? So yeah, I'm just very excited
to take a step back, sort of have a little Turkey next to
next to me, have my have my computer there it is some Turkey
for me. I don't know what the media meal
is going to be on Thursday. I bet you it's going to be
Turkey. I bet you I hope so.
Why would it not be? Yeah, I bet you it's going to be
like Turkey Mashed potato or whatever it may be.
I mean, I bet you they're going to give you a I'll get a full
review. We'll we'll need a picture.
We'll need a picture. We'll need food review from Fort
Myers. OK.
I'll do it. I bet.
I can't imagine it being I. If the if you walk in let me
just say this we're we're recording completely so
everybody knows. On the record.
On the record, if you walk in and they got like just, you
know, just like chicken parmesan pasta or something, hey, I love
chicken parm. Granted, but on Thanksgiving?
Is that what you're craving on Thanksgiving?
No. Like, would I be happy with it?
Yeah. But I would also be like, I
really wanted, like, some stuffing.
So. There we go.
But to my look, if they come in here and they give you like
hoagies or something, I I would. I would.
I would be. I don't know what's this.
What's the staple sandwich place in Florida?
What do they have? Honestly, probably like Publix.
Publix people love. Public sandwiches.
I don't like if anybody can't, not until they try it, but.
If anybody from Florida is listening, let us know what your
favorite sandwich or whatever sandwich I'll be there for four
days. I can go.
I can go around and just try all the different sandwich spots in
Fort Myers. But.
Yeah. Anyway, I bet you, I bet you we
can give you Thanksgiving. OK, that's, that's good.
Well, kind of skip a little bit back on track.
You mentioned So at 11:00 AM on Saturday, Indiana and Princeton
will be broadcast on fswbucks.com.
It's bucs.com. There's no K Indiana and
Tennessee will tip off at 6:00 PM on Thursday, and that will be
on Fox. So yay, national broadcast.
Go women's basketball. There's also, of course, they're
both going to be on B97 with Austin Render.
If you're, you know, driving to and from your your family's
house and you still want to listen to women's basketball
that will be available. Kevin, I think we should keep
the fun going and make some predictions before we close this
out. I can go first.
This is also something that I popped in my mind when right
before we started talking about Thanksgiving.
I I'm curious to see if either of these teams will employ or
try to at some point use the full court press against
Indiana. And I'm very, very curious to
see. I don't, I don't know a whole
lot about either Tennessee or Princeton's defensive schemes in
general. I don't know if that's something
that they are like capable of doing per SE, but I'm very
curious to see if that's something that either will try
to do, at least for a little bit.
That being said, I feel like this is going to be a split for
Indiana. I could see them beating either
and losing to either, if that makes sense because it goes back
to what you were saying. It's all about mentality because
I think they have the talent to win both.
But I don't know. You know, say you come out and
you lose to Tennessee. You should beat Princeton if
you. You know however it is.
But I I question not like the drive of the team because
they're all very motivated, but I don't know if they can play 2
talented teams in such close proximity to each other and come
out with two wins. If that makes sense.
Because of just there, the other teams are going to pick up on
issues no matter what, and they're good enough to adjust to
those issues. And then it comes back to is
Indiana good enough to get over those problems and adjust in
their own right? And yeah, so I feel like I'm,
I'm feeling AA11 split. My gut says a loss to Tennessee
and a win over Princeton. So that's that's kind of where
I'm going to sit I think right now.
I I mean you told me we were going to do predictions before
and our little pre production meeting but and I I was going to
say Indiana comes in. Gets the two victories gets
against the win over Tennessee or Princeton.
But I mean just simply in this conversation it makes total
sense why Indiana would go on and and and split the week, the
weekend I should say. You know it's it's a quick turn
around and look I, I, I, I have a fear that if if Indiana does
split or if Indiana loses both of them because I mean that's
also on the table. People are going to have sort of
a a somewhat of a reaction, but you know, I I think these are
the type of team or I'm sorry, these are the type of games you
want to play for Indiana. And in the way these are the
type of losses that you want to have.
I mean kind of kind of because these are, I mean these it's you
got these two teams in Stanford and those are your non
conference games that you really from a from a perspective like
later down the road for selection committee all that
kind of thing. Like you really have to come out
very successful especially after that loss to Stanford.
But I do get what you're saying in that, like you you do need to
play these games and so it's good that they're playing them
regardless. Yeah.
And look, I mean, I just, I just don't.
I just want to get this point across that.
No matter what the weekend goes like, I mean, well, I mean,
obviously if they went to, if they went both, it's going to be
just fine, right, Right. If Indiana goes on and doesn't
look as good, as look as polished as as we've seen them,
you got to keep in mind this team is still finding out who
they are. This just this just goes back to
what we were talking about earlier.
The there's role even with just the lone loss of grace this the
roles on this team completely switched around.
And we've seen that here in the early parts of the 23 season.
I think we've seen that more to a level that a lot of people
didn't expect, including myself. I did not expect Indiana to be
playing this way, just without Grace Burger essentially.
So look, this Indiana team is still finding out how they want
to play, what roles people are going to fit in.
But with that being said, you do need a little bit more
production from a a few certain players on the team.
Yarden is one of them. Sydney is the biggest one in my
eyes. Lily has gotten new quality
minutes when she's been out there.
Lennae has been out there, really played out there well.
But yeah, the the the conversation about Indy.
I feel like the conversation about where Indiana is at is
going to take either a left turn or a right turn after this
weekend and and you know they got, they have the big game.
Big emotional game I should say, against Maine after this, But
you know the conversation about where this Indiana team by the
public is going to take one is 1 is going to go one way or the
other. But my only thing with that
being said is, I mean, this team is still finding out who they
are and they're still trying to find out what roles work for
what players and whatnot, but this is still one of the best
teams in the country. No, I I completely agree.
And so I think that that just about does it for today.
So thanks so much for listening as always.
Should be a great week of college hoops all around.
And like we said, this really is the most important week of
basketball for Indiana and now before they start conference
play. So be sure to keep up with Kevin
and myself on our social media accounts for all updates.
I will have probably more updates than Kevin does because
I'll be there. But hey, Kevin, you update
people as much as you want. I also there you go.
I also I UW BB you got a distinguished man.
Come on. I also won't have much else to
do down in Fort Myers unless I'm prying all of the different
sandwich spots, I guess. So we'll see.
But also make sure to follow along with coverage on inside
the hall as well as always. And we'll be back next week to
recap both games, however they turn out.
Whatever they mean, we'll talk about it and we'll figure it
out. So stay tuned for that.
And happy Thanksgiving. Happy yeah, Happy Thanksgiving.
Oh my gosh, Happy Thanksgiving. Your families enjoy.
Your families enjoy some college basketball.
Have a Turkey dinner? No.
Or a Publix dinner.