Nick Girimonte and Davis Wilson talk Houston, Cincinnati, Kansas and more before making their picks for Big 12 First Team.
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00:00 Welcome to episode 16 of Frog Fever, a Big 12 basketball podcast brought to you by KillerFrogs.com.
00:12 My name is Davis Wilson.
00:13 I'm with Nick Germani, as always, and we've got a pretty good episode coming.
00:17 A lot of really good games in the Big 12 this week.
00:20 Saturday was full of some fun games, and we'll get into all of that.
00:25 And then we will also get into, as always, the TCU stuff.
00:30 But we'll start with the Big 12.
00:31 Nick, how are you doing?
00:32 What were your impressions of the weekend, the week of basketball we saw?
00:36 Yeah, another fun weekend.
00:38 We had some super fun games.
00:40 That Houston Baylor game was crazy.
00:43 Bedlam, the last one, was insane.
00:47 You know, TCU had a pretty eventful week, too.
00:51 But back to the roots, we don't have a guest this week.
00:56 So just back to us talking some ball here, and we're back to the guests next week.
01:02 But I'm excited to just talk some ball and have a pretty good episode.
01:07 Yeah, it will be a good episode.
01:09 There's a lot of teams that got big wins for themselves as we get closer to March.
01:16 These games are becoming more important, especially for those teams that are kind of fighting
01:22 for position in that NCAA tournament field.
01:27 Last week, we did win of the week and loss of the week.
01:30 If you want to do that again, we can start with that.
01:32 Yeah, let's run it back.
01:34 It's cool because we're in the part of the year where things are starting to shape out,
01:38 and you get a better look at where everyone lies in conference.
01:41 So these games are fun.
01:44 If I want to start with the win of the week, I think...
01:48 So we talked about last week in the In-R-Out segment.
01:51 I think you brought up Oklahoma, and it was like, "Okay, Oklahoma, they had that hot start
01:57 to the year, and you thought they'd be safe."
02:01 But they had a two loss week last week against Baylor, Kansas.
02:04 And they were dogs in Stillwater for the last bedlam there.
02:10 They were missing Hugley.
02:13 That backup big for them has been good this year.
02:16 And obviously, that's one of the best rivalries in college.
02:19 So that environment was crazy.
02:21 And pulling out that win on the JVM McCullum game winner, that was as fun I've had watching
02:28 a college basketball game this year, just back and forth.
02:35 That overtime was crazy.
02:36 It was just and one after and one after big shot after big shot.
02:40 And that last possession for OU, they didn't really get anything, and it was just dead.
02:45 And McCullum had to throw something up, and it went in.
02:47 So I was watching that in the press box room after the TCU game.
02:53 So it was fun just huddling around the little TV there.
02:57 But awesome game.
02:59 It's everything college sports are about, rivalries and game winners.
03:03 And that was a fun one and a huge one for OU's resume, because it kind of gives them
03:07 a little bit of cushion for now.
03:09 Yeah.
03:10 Yeah.
03:11 I mean, I brought it up last week.
03:13 Like they had started, but I think they started, I mean, obviously, they're non-conference.
03:18 They started really well.
03:19 They only lost one.
03:21 And then Big 12, they had a couple decent wins.
03:25 But at this time last week, I think they were like six and seven, Big 12, 18 and eight overall.
03:36 And we're starting to wonder, are they really that safe?
03:39 Are they really as safe as people are saying?
03:42 And basically, they needed to go win this game, and they did in dramatic fashion on
03:46 the road in an environment that really wanted them to lose.
03:49 So that's good for Oklahoma.
03:51 And that really does-- I mean, it is just Oklahoma State.
03:57 You look at that game, and you're like, all right, Oklahoma should be beating Oklahoma
03:59 State.
04:00 But you mentioned the Sooners were underdogs.
04:05 This is a rivalry.
04:06 This is the last game.
04:08 This is the last Bedlam game that will be played in Stillwater, at least for the perceivable
04:13 future.
04:15 And they came out with a really, really big win.
04:17 And I don't think it should be discounted that it was against Oklahoma State because
04:21 of how great that rivalry is and how they were coming off of two straight losses.
04:28 So that's just a really big win.
04:29 I agree with that.
04:30 That's a really nice win for them and really, I think, kind of gives them a little bit of
04:34 comfortability when it comes to the seeding and the brackets and stuff.
04:38 Yeah, they needed that one too because their next four games is Iowa State, Houston, Sid
04:43 C, and Texas.
04:44 And it's at Texas and at Iowa State for those.
04:49 And you're lucky to win one of those four, to be honest.
04:52 So getting that win against Oklahoma State, they lost it.
04:56 They would have been in such a big hole late down in the year.
04:59 Yeah, good win for them.
05:02 My winner of the week, I chose Houston over Iowa State, but really we can just talk about
05:08 Houston's week as a whole because they were really big winners of the week.
05:14 So we all knew they were really good, but now they've won, what is that, five in a row
05:20 with wins last week over Baylor on the road and Iowa State at home.
05:26 And the Iowa State game, we knew that was going to be kind of a slugfest, a battle.
05:32 It was, they were able to, I mean, they played their style ball and obviously they won.
05:41 But Jamal Shedd is so good.
05:46 Cryer's playing really well.
05:47 Emmanuel Sharp had a really good game against Iowa State.
05:51 But winning at home against Iowa State and then going on the road to play Baylor, which
05:58 that game was, they were blowing Baylor out and Baylor actually made it a game, brought
06:03 it to overtime.
06:04 Houston was still able to win.
06:06 But man, this team is so for real.
06:12 There were some people that got worried about them when they lost to Iowa State and TCU
06:15 back to back, but it turns out Iowa State and TCU on the road are both just really tough
06:21 games.
06:22 And they've since only lost one game since that.
06:24 So I mean, yeah, they beat, I mean, I would say Baylor and Iowa State were two of the
06:33 top five teams in the conference in the same week.
06:36 And that is so hard to do.
06:38 They just are not going to lose.
06:39 It's really incredible.
06:40 Yeah, I want to highlight Jamal Shedd a little bit more too, because I believe he should
06:46 be Big 12 Player of the Year.
06:48 I believe he should win defensive player of the year in all college basketball.
06:53 Like I love watching him play.
06:54 He plays with such fire and is such smart decision making.
06:59 He's like, literally, he's perfectly built for the Kelvin Sampson offense.
07:03 And just, um, I think guys who stay at the same place for four years, you should get
07:09 commanded a little bit more because it's, I don't know, you don't see it as often and
07:13 what a guy can develop because Shedd wasn't didn't come off the, you know, come I don't
07:17 think he played much his freshman year.
07:19 Yeah, he's a three year started, but he hasn't really been that, you know, landmark assassin
07:23 the past couple years.
07:24 So he hasn't really been a star, but he's waited out and now he's developed into such
07:29 a smart playmaker and score and specifically in that whenever I was stayed 26 points, six
07:35 of 10 for the field to three from three, six assists, four rebounds, three steals.
07:40 I mean, he did it all in when he's got the ball for for Houston.
07:45 I mean, he's, he's making that offense go.
07:47 And yes, their, their offense is their kryptonite because they not that consistent with it.
07:53 But if you can keep Shedd healthy and in the game and you know, they're going to be a such
07:57 a tough out in the tournament.
07:59 Yeah.
08:00 Yeah.
08:01 And then in that winning against Baylor on Saturday, he had, he, I think he had 12 points,
08:07 but he also had 10 assists.
08:09 So even when he's not putting up like 26 or whatever, he still has such a massive impact
08:16 on the game.
08:17 Yeah.
08:18 His, his like ESPN stats, I like to say, which is just, you know, you're basically points
08:23 as rebounds aren't, you know, they're not jumping off the board, but I mean, just watching
08:27 plays he's embodies what it means to be a part of that Houston team.
08:32 And, you know, as you said with J1 Roberts, I was like, they're complete.
08:36 They lost the arsenal for the season and guys have stepped up like your Emmanuel Sharp,
08:40 your JV or Francis, you know, all those different types of guys that have taken that next role
08:45 on is just shows how good of a coach Samson is to have guys buy into that system.
08:49 And I mean, yeah, and that Baylor game too.
08:51 I mean, he was 0.1 seconds away from hitting that sick game winner.
08:55 Like he's, he's so legit.
08:59 Yeah.
09:00 Yeah.
09:01 I think Kelvin Samson should absolutely be one of the front runners to win national coach
09:05 of the year.
09:06 I think he's done a really good job.
09:07 He just has his brand of basketball and he plays it every year and it works for him.
09:12 The other thing I wanted to say about this game, I mean the Houston Baylor game was that
09:19 Houston really dominated the first half, but the second half was actually not really even
09:24 close Baylor like storms back to Kobe.
09:29 Walter has a really good game.
09:31 Ray J. Dennis, another good game for him.
09:33 Jalen bridges, all those guys play really well, get them back in the game and it goes
09:37 to overtime and Houston completely flips it.
09:40 Like they went overtime 13 to seven when they had been kind of, I mean, dominated in the
09:47 second half.
09:48 So being able to, to come back and settle down and you know, go get a win in overtime,
09:54 despite not playing great the last 20 minutes of the game was really impressive.
09:59 And that's another loss, overtime loss at Foster pavilion for the bears.
10:03 I'm sure those fans are getting tired of that, but yeah, just wanted to shout out the week
10:09 that Houston had there.
10:12 They're so good and they're really, really fun to watch if you, I mean like they're just
10:16 that textbook college basketball team that is just fun to watch.
10:20 They really, they play insane defense.
10:24 They have stars, they have, you know, LJ Cryer at any moment could go off and give you 25.
10:31 So it's just, they have it, they have it all for me.
10:33 They have a fun coach who's really good and yeah.
10:40 Shout out to Houston there.
10:41 If anyone was curious, they are really good.
10:45 Yeah, exactly.
10:47 And that that Houston Bailey to showed the ceiling and floor, I think of both teams in
10:52 the half, like the first half it was Houston plays in their style.
10:56 They're getting great looks on offense and they're just making it insanely tougher for
11:00 Baylor to get points and then the opposite, you know, when Baylor can get hot, their offense
11:06 is so legit that they can score at a point.
11:10 And you know, if even Macy hits a free throw there, you know, he had the offensive interference
11:15 lay like that.
11:16 They, he, he had a couple of rough, rough bounces the ball there, but I mean that game
11:21 could have gone either way.
11:22 So we could be talking about Baylor being great too.
11:24 And they were out of links and love as well, which is there, you know, he's, he might be
11:28 six man of the year in the big 12.
11:29 So for Baylor to compete with Houston, like they did into respond in the second half like
11:36 that, because when I was watching the first, I was just thinking, Houston's going to blow
11:40 them out.
11:42 But they responded well.
11:43 And I think you can take positives from both of these teams.
11:45 And in this scenario, it was just an awesome game that showed you a lot.
11:49 Yeah, for sure.
11:50 Baylor is still really good, although they did lose twice last week.
11:54 They're still really good.
11:55 And they, I was, I just did the math.
11:57 I think they did, they outscored Houston 44 to 28 in the second half.
12:00 So they stormed back and made it a game.
12:03 So good for them.
12:05 Good for them.
12:06 Yeah, definitely.
12:08 Well, for my loss of the week, I want to do Cincinnati over Oklahoma state.
12:14 I think we're gonna, this is the first week in a long time.
12:17 We're going to scrap the in and out segment for this week, because this loss kind of put
12:21 an end to it.
12:22 We were talking about Cincinnati again, just barely missing it.
12:28 You can't lose to Oklahoma State at home and then not, you know, get a win, you know, like
12:35 they will talk about TCU later, but you can't lose two games in a week.
12:38 And one of the losses being to Oklahoma State at home when you're on the bubble and expect
12:42 to be in.
12:43 And it's funny, because in the press, remember the TCU guy, I asked Wes Miller, and I was
12:48 like, what does your team have to do to make the NCAA tournament?
12:51 And he gave like, almost like a defensive answer.
12:54 Like, it was, um, it's like, oh, we don't worry about that right now.
12:59 We don't want to get into the players heads.
13:01 But I think it did kind of put in a perspective for them that it's gonna be real tough for
13:06 them at this point of the year, because they don't have crazy opportunities other than
13:10 at Houston Tuesday, which is not going to be a win.
13:14 Like, um, you know, I don't expect Cincinnati to go into Houston and get a win under any
13:19 circumstance.
13:20 But yeah, and then home against K State that really doesn't boost your resume and home
13:25 against West Virginia does not boost your resume.
13:28 So if they and they mean they need to make a run in the Big 12 tournament to be able
13:33 to get a bid at this point of the year point blanket sample because of what, um, what position
13:40 they put themselves in and that Oklahoma State loss was mind blowing.
13:45 To be able to have all the pressure, or not the press, but be able to play for so much
13:49 thought, yeah, they're at Victor like in there, they're big men and but Oklahoma State is
13:53 out Bryce Thompson the rest of the year.
13:55 So I mean, it's it's an inexcusable loss that I think might turn since he's season upside
14:03 down.
14:04 Yeah.
14:05 Yeah, maybe I mean, they're gonna have to start worrying about the tournament.
14:09 You know, I know that's probably coach speak saying whatever.
14:12 We don't want to get into the guy's heads.
14:14 Yeah.
14:15 Yeah, I mean, now they do need to start.
14:17 They need to start realizing that they can't I mean, they that was the worst case scenario
14:22 for them this week.
14:23 We talked last week on the pod about how it was still all right in front of them.
14:27 You know, they're outside of the bubble for us, but a good week here, which was a very,
14:32 very gettable week against state and TCU.
14:36 You know, even if you split those, they're still probably at least close and they lose
14:43 both and they lose to get blown out.
14:47 Yeah, yeah, they lose to TC pretty handedly and we'll get into that later.
14:53 But yeah, and it's that was about as bad as it can get for you for Cincinnati this this
15:02 week.
15:03 It just you know, Oklahoma State is not a team you can be losing to at home when you're,
15:11 you know, on the bubble and trying to put together a resume and they yeah, just bad
15:19 really bad and they're probably I agree they're gonna have to they're probably gonna have
15:24 to I mean, they're gonna have to beat Kansas State, West Virginia at home.
15:27 They may have to beat Baylor on I mean, Oklahoma State on the road.
15:30 I mean, sorry, Oklahoma on the road.
15:32 Yeah, they're gonna have to, you know, win a couple games in the tournament Kansas City.
15:37 So just a really poor week for them and it it makes it makes the tournament much more,
15:49 you know, unlikely for them, I think.
15:52 Yeah, and they're in a great position a couple weeks yet to learn.
15:56 I don't want to say great position because they have been on the bubble the whole year,
15:59 but in a business where I think and I if I were to bet like a month ago, if they would
16:06 have made the tournament or not, I would have said yes, just because you know, they were
16:10 having decent success at the start of the big 12 season.
16:13 And if you do that, you feel comfortable enough to be able to be there, but it's not looking
16:18 good for them right now.
16:19 Yeah, I think they're the thing is, I think they're good.
16:24 And I think they like have good players.
16:27 They wish they showed earlier in the year when they you know, they beat Texas Tech on
16:31 the road, they beat TCU at home and over time.
16:34 Like they're good, but they just I think it's an it's one of these cases where it's a new
16:40 big 12 team that is finding out how hard it is every single week to play in this conference.
16:46 And you know, there's just an adjustment, I guess there they haven't won two games in
16:53 a row since December 29th and January 6th.
16:57 So they haven't won two in a row in conference play all year.
16:59 They had a chance to do that against Oklahoma State on Wednesday, and obviously didn't.
17:04 So yeah, really rough.
17:07 Yeah.
17:08 And to your point about adjusting, like that's even more compliment to what Houston's doing
17:13 because coming on the AAC schedule.
17:15 I mean, they didn't miss a beat coming in and they're solely first place for the big
17:20 12, which has been Kansas's conference and these upper echelon big 12 teams conference
17:25 and just be able to come in and dominate like they've been doing is so sick.
17:29 So I guess it's another shout out to Houston for that.
17:31 Yeah, them and I think BYU still, you know, adjusting.
17:35 Yeah, a lot.
17:36 Yeah, they beat Baylor this week.
17:38 So yeah, yeah, they're still hanging around.
17:40 Yeah, but bad loss for Cincinnati.
17:45 Bad losses for Cincinnati.
17:46 My loss the week.
17:48 I think my loss the week is Texas Tech losing to UCF.
17:55 They were on the road, but coming off a really nice win for them against TCU at home.
18:03 This was definitely one where they could capitalize and one, you know, got undefeated on their
18:06 week puts them in a really good position.
18:09 They're still in.
18:11 It's not one of the it's not like a Cincinnati where they're, you know, not falling out completely,
18:16 but they're in and they're, they're fine.
18:18 But this is a not a good loss.
18:19 They lose by 14 to UCF, a team that is has no real tournament hopes.
18:27 I don't know, like Joe Toussaint, three points doesn't give you a ton.
18:32 Pop Isaacs only got eight.
18:34 It's just I don't know.
18:36 I don't know.
18:37 I'm not really sure what happened here for Texas Tech.
18:42 But it it's not a good look as you again, as we get closer to March and you don't want
18:49 to lose these type of games.
18:52 They just didn't have it, I guess, which happens.
18:55 It happens sometimes.
18:56 But losing by 14 to UCF is just not great.
19:03 Yeah, no, for sure.
19:05 I will add to that they were out chance McMillan, which is a big part of what they want to do.
19:10 They did get Warren Washington back, but he only played 13 minutes.
19:12 So I didn't do much for them.
19:15 Yeah.
19:16 And yeah, the UCF has been has lost four straight and earlier in the week, they lost to West
19:21 Virginia.
19:22 So it's not like they were even building momentum coming in.
19:26 It may just be a letdown game.
19:27 I think that you will get a TCU game too.
19:30 But that was a tough bounce.
19:34 Like comeback.
19:35 Rivalry win that I think is a really good one for them.
19:38 Yeah, maybe took a lot out of them there.
19:41 And, you know, they had been kind of having success coming into the game.
19:44 So winning three, four and their only loss to us at Iowa State.
19:47 So I wouldn't panic too much yet because they have a favorable schedule down the stretch
19:53 home against Texas at West Virginia at Oklahoma State and then home against Baylor, which
19:58 you could win.
19:59 I mean, all four of those games are, you know, they could be favorited.
20:02 So I wouldn't panic too much about this and hopefully they get chance to come back soon
20:08 for their sake.
20:09 But yeah, you don't you don't want to lose the UCF by double digits, especially as a
20:13 team that wants to compete for the top of the big 12.
20:16 Yeah, it's definitely not anything to to worry about, I don't think.
20:22 But it is just this time of year.
20:25 You don't want to be losing to UCF, regardless of if it's home or away.
20:30 And then also, I think an underrated thing that that loss did was it pushed them.
20:35 I think they had after the win at TC against TCU, I think they had made their way in the
20:41 top four of the big 12, which the top four gets the the tournament by.
20:46 Right.
20:47 Yeah.
20:48 Yeah.
20:49 So they were in position there and then they lose.
20:50 And now it's TCU in that fourth spot along with Iowa State in Kansas, which we'll get
20:56 into.
20:57 But I think that's kind of the reason why you don't want to be losing games like that,
21:03 because the buy is going to be huge.
21:04 I think those four buys are going to the teams that get them are going to, you know, that's
21:10 a big win.
21:13 So yeah, just an unclutched loss.
21:16 Nothing, I guess, really to worry about, but just an untimely loss when they had a lot
21:21 of momentum.
21:22 And, you know, I don't know, just not great at this time of year.
21:30 Yeah.
21:31 And they could have put themselves in good position to get that top four seed, as you
21:34 said, which is which is massive.
21:35 So yeah, big letdown game.
21:38 That's that's not good for them at all.
21:41 Yeah.
21:42 OK, I put down here on our list that we should talk about Kansas because we didn't we haven't
21:46 talked about yet.
21:48 They so they had a fine week.
21:54 They went undefeated or no, they only played once.
21:57 They beat Texas yesterday, but they have now won two in a row.
22:00 They beat Oklahoma last Saturday.
22:02 But I saw on Twitter, there's a lot going on on Twitter right now about Kevin McCullough
22:06 Jr. and his health and his knee.
22:09 It seems like that is a bit more concerning than we initially thought that Kansas fans
22:14 hoped.
22:16 And it seems like I mean, I think he's already been ruled out for their game on Tuesday against
22:22 BYU.
22:23 Yeah.
22:24 So said it was week to week and that he doesn't like he said when or if he'll play the rest
22:29 of the year.
22:30 Yeah, it's not a good sign.
22:32 That's not good.
22:33 That's not good.
22:34 So I just wanted to talk about his health.
22:37 And we've talked a lot about Kansas and what you know, we've asked that question.
22:41 What happens if McCullough or Dickinson go down?
22:45 We saw that earlier in the year.
22:47 McCullough missed a couple of games and they didn't look great.
22:49 And now it looks like he's going to miss time this week for sure.
22:54 Next week, I mean, we'll see, but they have BYU and Baylor this week, two good teams.
23:00 They have Kansas State and Houston to close it out.
23:04 I don't know.
23:05 Yeah, it's concerning to me for them, because just what we saw earlier when I think it was
23:12 that Texas Tech loss where they lost by basically 30.
23:15 I don't know.
23:17 Was that the game that McCullough was out?
23:19 Yeah.
23:20 It's an interesting dilemma because he's been out three games now.
23:24 He was out that Baylor game when they game day there and they got the win.
23:29 That was at home.
23:31 Yeah, that was at home.
23:33 Tech away, they get blown out with that McCullough and then Texas at home.
23:37 They get the win.
23:38 So a role player, the role players need to be at home and you know, they're fine with
23:42 them.
23:43 But once you get into posting a play, that's not going to be a thing.
23:45 So I do really worry about this and I do think it self says if he's going to play the rest
23:51 of the year.
23:52 I mean, that's not a good sign, especially in the injury that could linger and it's pretty
23:55 serious stuff.
23:57 Yeah, yesterday was a very encouraging sign.
24:02 Murphy, my guy, balled out 16 points.
24:05 Nick Timberlake.
24:06 Timberlake.
24:07 We finally get to talk about Nick Timberlake.
24:08 He like, he that dunk was sick on the law.
24:12 I don't care.
24:13 I remember who was for Texas.
24:16 I mean, they're going to have to step up every game.
24:18 They're going to have to prove that they can do it on the road because they've only been
24:20 able to do it at home so far.
24:22 So I'm very interested to see the rest of the season for Kansas.
24:28 These last four games, they get BYU, Baylor, K-State and Houston.
24:34 So tough games, but you're also Kansas.
24:38 So you expect to have success and you expect to be able to have guys step up.
24:43 Yeah, it's it's a super interesting dilemma.
24:47 I do.
24:48 I really worry about them come tournament play because they're not going to be able
24:51 to play it out in Fieldhouse.
24:52 So yeah, I was going to add it's a big red flag for picking them in your back.
24:56 It's for sure that they really like yours.
24:58 But I mean, if you can get them back, I mean, this is like flip the script type of thing.
25:05 That's like if you can get it back for the Big 12 tournament or something like that,
25:09 just randomly, I guess, just wait and see how the knee is.
25:12 But then you get your like your furries and your Timberlakes and your Marco Jackson's
25:16 a little bit more experience in there than they get some some footing under their under
25:21 the belt.
25:22 Yeah.
25:23 Which I guess could be good.
25:24 But yeah, if if McCuller is down for the year, then I think you can count out Kansas title
25:29 hoops.
25:30 Yeah.
25:31 And the thing about Kansas is even with McCuller, I worry a lot about them when they aren't
25:37 playing it out in Fieldhouse because they just aren't good on the road.
25:41 They haven't been good on the road.
25:42 Yeah, you're a good point to even with.
25:45 Yeah.
25:46 Even with McCuller, like they lost to UCF in West Virginia earlier in the year on the
25:50 road.
25:51 They lost to Kansas State on the road like they aren't a good road team.
25:55 They I think they I mean, they're one in one or I guess they're two in one on neutral
26:00 sites.
26:02 So but you know, you remember November, they got smoked by Marquette, which was a neutral
26:09 site game, which is, you know, Marquette's a tournament team.
26:12 That's a you know, that's as close to like a tournament neutral site preview as you'll
26:16 get.
26:17 And they didn't handle it well.
26:18 Obviously, they're a different team now.
26:20 It's been a long time, but I worry about them even with McCuller.
26:24 So without him, it's it definitely gets really interesting.
26:29 Like we said, they have BYU at home on Tuesday.
26:32 Getting them at home is a big deal.
26:34 But then you go to Baylor on Saturday.
26:37 Come back, it's gonna be crazy.
26:40 Next Tuesday, not this Tuesday, but next Tuesday, they play Kansas State at home, which is a
26:44 rivalry game.
26:45 Who knows about that.
26:46 And then you get Houston on the road, which is so tough.
26:48 So I'm concerned about them.
26:51 They're gonna have to have some guys step up.
26:53 Dickinson is definitely good enough to, you know, win a couple games by himself.
26:58 But if he really is out for the year or a true extended period of time, it does get
27:05 a little hairy.
27:06 Their March Madness around the hopes.
27:09 Also like they're not they're not safe from falling out of that top four in the Big 12.
27:15 I don't think so.
27:17 Like if they I don't know if they don't handle this absence well, they'll fall out of that
27:24 top or not get a bye, which would be just insane to see Kansas.
27:28 Yeah, I mean, TCU is only a game back from from that mistake, which is kind of crazy
27:33 looking at it from a TCU perspective.
27:35 Makes that TCU game earlier in the year so much.
27:39 Yeah, exactly.
27:40 Important for them.
27:41 You don't call that UDU play.
27:43 Yeah.
27:44 There's so many things like that.
27:45 It's crazy college basketball to look back on.
27:48 But it is how the how the ball rolls.
27:51 Yeah.
27:52 All right.
27:53 Before we go and talk about TCU.
27:58 You put down here that you want to do our Big 12 first team picks.
28:01 I think that that's a fun idea.
28:03 Yeah.
28:04 I figure we are.
28:05 They're thinking.
28:06 Yeah, I figured we are the the Frog Fever fans and actually segment this week for scrap
28:11 it in and out.
28:12 Yeah.
28:13 But yeah, I can go first here.
28:16 Oh, yeah, I'll just run off my five.
28:20 So my number one pick, as I said before, no, no.
28:23 Is Jamal Shed.
28:26 I mean, he's I again, I said it before.
28:29 I think he should be a big player of the year.
28:31 I think he he's such a fun college basketball player.
28:34 He reminds me of like, like a Frank Mason or like a Devon, like those old Kansas guards
28:39 that were big players of the year.
28:41 You know, I mean, Devonte Graham, those guys.
28:44 Yeah, I love watching.
28:45 I already talked about him before, but he's in there.
28:47 I think you can put Tame and Lipsy in there for Iowa State guard.
28:52 I think you have McCullough in there.
28:54 I think Dickinson in there.
28:55 The two Kansas guys.
28:56 I know McCullough's hurt, but what he's done this year is is nothing.
29:00 He was probably a big player of the year favorite maybe before he went down.
29:05 So you still have to give the guys props.
29:08 And for my last spot, I'm going to go Emmanuel Miller.
29:13 He's well, we're going to talk about him more for TCU, but he he's as consistent as a college
29:18 basketball.
29:19 I mean, just staying and watching him do what he does on an everyday, every day basis.
29:26 Yeah, he deserves big 12 player or a big 12 first team for sure.
29:32 Yeah.
29:33 Well, it's going to be pretty boring because our list looks pretty similar.
29:37 I'll try to switch it up.
29:38 I think the same.
29:39 I'll give I'll give I'll give some other guys some chances.
29:42 Yeah, we can do it.
29:44 I was thinking.
29:45 Yeah.
29:46 Yeah.
29:47 Yeah.
29:48 All right.
29:49 So Jamal Shedd, obviously, I agree that he's this conference's best player, the player
29:55 of the year.
29:57 We already talked about him.
29:59 He's he's awesome.
30:00 If you haven't seen him play, go see him play.
30:03 He's great.
30:04 Next, I had McCuller and Dickinson.
30:08 The Kansas duo has to be in there.
30:12 When those two guys are healthy, they're the best duo in college basketball, probably.
30:17 In this conference.
30:21 Tame and Lipsy has had a really good year.
30:25 Another really fun player.
30:28 Just one of those guys.
30:29 That's a fun college basketball player.
30:31 He's done a lot for Iowa State.
30:34 And I had Emmanuel Miller because and maybe we're biased, but I think he's been so good
30:40 for you, especially in a year where we're all wondering, how are they going to replace
30:47 their star power that they had last year?
30:50 And he has done a really good job of being this consistent, steady hand on that T.C.
30:56 roster.
30:57 But since you picked him, I'll go Keyshawn Gilbert.
31:02 I was going to say.
31:05 He's a St. Louis, Missouri native.
31:09 So got to shout him out.
31:11 But yeah, he's good.
31:13 He's really good.
31:14 He I mean, he and Lipsy are right behind McCuller and Dickinson when it comes to those duos
31:19 in the conference.
31:20 I don't have his averages pulled up, but he I can get him, though.
31:26 Yeah, I think he leads him in scoring.
31:27 And yeah, he's been out there.
31:30 Other honorable mentions I had to just like listing some other guys off who could definitely
31:35 be in consideration.
31:36 A. Smith for Texas has been amazing all year.
31:40 L.J. Cryer for Houston has been amazing.
31:43 J. Owen Roberts for Houston.
31:45 I mean, Jacoby Walter, Baylor, Ray J. Dennis at Baylor.
31:49 You know, there's there's guys that every team that can that can make a huge difference
31:54 for him.
31:55 So it'll be interesting to see what these what these awards do.
31:59 I mean, we probably should have dressed out.
32:00 I might have been more fun, but I guess it doesn't really accompany what the big 12 first
32:06 team is.
32:07 But yeah, that's just because we're into the year.
32:10 Time of the year where we only got like four games left.
32:13 So these awards are going to start being talked about soon.
32:16 And yeah, I definitely want to throw my vote in the ring for E-Man.
32:20 Yeah, I think we've got to give him credit here on the Frog Fever pod.
32:25 I think he's going to get looks even from outside people.
32:30 He's been that good.
32:31 I have Keishon Gilbert stats here now.
32:34 He's averaging 14 points a game, four point six rebounds a game, four point one assists
32:38 per game, a seal and a half.
32:41 He's shooting the ball pretty well.
32:43 So he'll probably be my fifth one just to switch it up a little bit.
32:46 Although in my heart, I do say Emmanuel Miller, but for the pod, for the content, I'll put
32:52 Keishon Gilbert in my fifth spot.
32:54 And yeah, he's so I want to put in a lot of talent.
32:58 There's a lot of talent in this guy.
32:59 Yeah, it's actually crazy.
33:01 Yeah.
33:02 I mean, even like UCF, like Jan Sellers and Darius Johnson are both like Sellers.
33:06 I don't know, top in top in scoring.
33:08 I mean, they probably won't get it because UCF isn't good.
33:11 But I mean, it just goes to show there's there's so many dudes in this conference and it's
33:15 so tough to get those awards.
33:18 I guess Sellers will be back next year.
33:21 So that'll be probably that'll be kind of cool to keep UCF.
33:27 And I don't know, like with this, since this NBA draft class is so weak, that it's like
33:34 for these guys who may not know, like this is the year to declare for the draft because
33:39 it's true.
33:40 It's unbelievable.
33:41 Like I saw like a mock that like Reed Shepard for Kentucky guy.
33:44 So like a mock that like, Furphy being like a first round pick.
33:48 And it's crazy how weak this this draft class is.
33:54 Yeah, to say that, like, if you have a good year, you should go this year.
34:01 It's Yeah, it's crazy.
34:03 Yeah, like Zack Eby is going to be a lot of that's crazy.
34:07 That's crazy.
34:08 Yeah.
34:09 Yeah, it's wild.
34:10 Yeah.
34:11 So like Sellers, who knows what he'll do?
34:13 Darius Johnson, you mentioned him as well for UCF, that duo both could be back.
34:17 So you see if next year, maybe it will be fun.
34:20 I don't know.
34:21 I don't know.
34:23 But all right.
34:25 Let's take a break.
34:26 And we'll come back and we'll discuss TCU one in one week and get into the previews
34:32 of the Baylor and BYU games.
34:35 Yeah, let's toss the frogs.
34:37 [BLANK_AUDIO]