Welcome to the latest edition of Talking Hoops With Ted Sarandis. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of former NBA star Kobe Bryant and his daughter, as well as the others killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday, and we looked back at Kobe on Monday.
We begin out show by looking at the Big 12/SEC Challenge, which took center stage on Saturday. It’s a fine event and seems to have accomplished its mission of getting attention by coming during conference play. This year, it was split all across the board, with each conference claiming five wins, three of them at home and two on the road.
The next subject involves Big 12 member Baylor, as the Bears remained atop the A.P. poll and continues to play like the best team. They beat Florida on Saturday in impressive fashion, and just before we recorded this took care of Iowa State in Ames, which is not easy to do. San Diego State also stands out, and the Aztecs won again at New Mexico to go to 22-0.
From there, we get into how we have been reminded of the Big East having less separation from top to bottom than any other conference. That point was especially reinforced on Wednesday, when conference leader Seton Hall didn’t have an easy time getting past last-place DePaul at home, then Xavier continued to under-achieve as they lost a tough one at home on Wednesday night but are surely better than their record.
Next, we look at the emergence of Kentucky big man Nick Richards. The potential was always there, as he was a McDonald’s All-American, but he didn’t play a big role for two years. Now he’s emerging as an SEC Player of the Year candidate as the Wildcats play like the team many expected them to be, and this leads us into a look at the SEC as a whole. Three teams look like good bets for the NCAA Tournament, but who else might get in?
Finally, we get into our thoughts on the big awards at midseason, two of which have clear leaders and another one that should be more wide open when it’s all said and done. We also look ahead to the coming weekend, which features a Saturday packed with good matchups.
We hope you enjoy the podcast and share it with your fellow college basketball fans. Be sure to tune in again next week as we continue our coverage of college basketball.
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