Runnin' Hoops Podcast
All things Runnin' Utes basketball and Big 12 basketball.
Runnin' Hoops Podcast
Episode 334: July Hoops Musings
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Helping you get through the summer doldrums with some Runnin' Utes content including Jon Rothstein's offseason look at the Big 12, some schedule and Hall of Fame news, scouting reports on nearly all of the Utah players + much more!
Runnin' Hoops Podcast 30% Off Exclusive Deal! – FlyFitTees - Promo code runninhoops
For a limited time only, Super Chicks is giving you a chance to seize the Caesar with its all new Caesar chicken wrap. As always, you can chase that down with their frozen custard flavor of the week. I believe that is key lime pie this week. You can find the nearest Super Chicks to you online at Superchicks.com. And remember, it's chicks with an X dot com. On this episode, the dog days of summer march on. And we've got plenty of content to help you get through the off season. So we'll have some July hoops musings, including John Rothstein's first look at the Big 12. Where does he have Utah ranked in his power rankings? Plus, Utah basketball is back in the picture for the Crimson Club Hall of Fame. We'll let you know who got in. And we've got some schedule talk, player rankings, law and order, and much more here for you, including some scouting reports on some of the new and returning Run and Hoots. All of that for you here on this episode. But first, I wanted to remind you to follow the podcast over on X at Run and Hoops Pod. You can rate, review, and subscribe to the show over on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We have hit 78 five-star reviews over on Apple. So the March to 100 is on. I would love to get up to that 100 five-star review mark by November 2nd when the Runin' Ute's tip off the brand new season in the Huntsman Center. And of course, you can support the show over on Venmo at Runin' Hoops. Well, we may not know Utah's schedule for a month or so, but more info continues to leak out. This time in the form of an interview with another coach, Josh Pastner. For those who may not know, the one-time podcast guest, Josh Pastner, is the head coach of UNLV, and he announced in a radio interview that the Running Rebels will host the Running Utes in an exhibition game this October. Now, the NCAA recently said that teams can play an additional exhibition game in their preseason schedule. So Utah will be at UNLV and at Nevada. That one is on October 17th. And then they'll have a home exhibition against Oregon all before the season tips off on November 2nd. Now, if I had to guess, I'd think that UNLV would be in Salt Lake City in 2027 for an exhibition, but we'll just have to see. This will be the first time the two squads have squared off since 2017, but again, it won't count. Now, I've also been doing some sleuthing and some talking with people in the know, not at Utah per se, but elsewhere. And friend of the podcast, Rocco Miller, has revealed on his site, bracketeer.org, that Minnesota's opponents in the Charleston Classic will be Utah and Oklahoma State, both out of the Big 12. There was also a reveal last week that Virginia Tech is part of this four-team pod in Charleston. And since Utah and Oklahoma State wouldn't want to play each other in a non-conference game, we can safely assume that both the Run and Utes and the Cowboys will each play Minnesota and Virginia Tech in a non-bracketed event here tied to the Charleston Classic. As a reminder, the dates for this event are November 20th and 22nd. So right before Thanksgiving. Speaking of schedules, we've got a couple more non-conference schedules out from Big 12 teams, BYU and Kansas State. We'll start with the Cougars and their murderers row opponents here. On November 2nd, they will open up against Ohio State in the Delta Center. That's it for them until the Maui Invitational. There's no announced bracket yet. I would imagine that comes out here in the next few weeks. But that's a field that includes Arizona, Clemson, Colorado State, Ole Miss, Providence, VCU, and Washington. You would think that BYU and Arizona would be on opposite sides of the bracket. Typically, the Maui Invitational will do things by net rankings from the previous year. So that's something you could look at if you really wanted to try to figure out who their opening opponent might be for that. On December 5th, they will face Northwestern in the Delta Center. They host Utah State on December 9th. And then December 19th, BYU will take on San Diego State in an accounture game in Palm Springs. So a couple of interesting games for the Cougars, but you'd be hard pressed to say that they are challenging themselves in the non-con, and they continue under Kevin Young to be completely petrified of true road games, which is strange on a number of fronts, but hey, you do you. Moving over to K-State, the Wildcats will begin the Casey Alexander era on Tuesday, November 3rd in the octagon of Doom against the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State. Other notables on their schedule include a home game on November 10th against Creighton, the Players Era 16 against Gonzaga, and then Alabama or Baylor, and then a third game would come from, I believe, but don't quote me, one of Michigan, TCU, Creighton, or Miami. So they could get a second game against Creighton or one of those other teams. They are at Seton Hall on December 4th and then play Wichita State in front of the podcast Josh Eilert in Kansas City on December 11th. And that is pretty much it. A very similar schedule to the Couggs, with the big exception being that this is year one for Casey Alexander and year three for Kevin Young. Turning back to our beloved Run and Utes, I was recently tagged in a couple of Scouting Report type posts over on X the last few weeks. So and I thought I'd share what this person had to say about some of the incoming and returning Run and Ute players. This is summertime content if there ever was summertime content, that is for sure. This comes to us from at Scouting underscore C O L. First up, Noam Yaqov. He says, quote, Noam Yaakov is going to be a fun watch at Utah. He will carry a big offensive load, had a really strong NBA combine, is a legit three-level shot maker and a plus passer at 6'2. He has the strength to guard both ones and twos. Moving on to Tayson Chapman. Quote Tayson Chapman looked good once he returned from an injury at Ohio State. I think he'll start for Utah and average 10 plus points per game with a bigger roll. Shot 47% from the three in 13 minutes per game. And I think there's more off-the-bounce creation than he got to show. To Jackson Holcomb, we go. Quote, Jackson Holcomb is going to be a Swiss Army knife for Utah. 16 points per game, seven rebounds per game, 3.6 assists per game at 6'7. He shot six of 37 from three, so the jumper has to improve. Advanced metrics love him. 99th percentile in warp, which stands for wins above replacement player, DWS, which stands for defensive win shares, and PER, which stands for player efficiency rating. You can look up what all of those mean, but the bottom line here, the analytic single of Jackson Holcomb. To Alec Anjibata, quote, I'm high on Alec Anjibotta. Turns 22 this year and has pro experience at 6'9. He can really shoot it, is really athletic, attacks closeouts, and has defensive versatility. Excited to see how his game translates to the college level at Utah. Over to TJ Birch. Quote, TJ Birch, making the jump to Utah is going to be fun. Loved watching him in the Horizon League tournament. A downhill guard with elite hands, a 1.6 DRAPM, and the best steal rate among guards in the country, 55% at the rim, and doesn't take many threes. To freshman guard Styles Clemens, quote, I think there's a world where Styles Clemens becomes a real rotation piece for Utah this year. Elite quickness, a strong frame, and can really shoot it. Has the ability to score from all three levels and projects as a future plus point of attack defender. To Lucas Longarita, who gave us five magical minutes against BYU. Quote, Lucas Longarita is a massive swing piece for Utah. Came over its semester, battled injuries, and appeared in five games. At six foot six, he brings clear shooting, playmaking, and athleticism. Needs to live up to the flashes that we've seen. Totally agree there. Finn Schott, quote, Finn Schott is one of the best prospects to come out of Austria in recent memory. Utah needs him to play a role this year. Good hands, elite rebounder, moves his feet well, and has solid post moves. Not a rim protector, but brings plenty elsewhere. Malik Goma, quote, Malik will give Utah's front court much needed physicality and rebounding. The 6'9 big average 10.5 rebounds per 40 minutes, moves his feet well and has good hands, needs to improve on 58% at the rim and doesn't provide much rim protection. Zaddi Lubaki, quote, Zaddi Lubaki is a freak of nature. Juco, third team All-American at 6'9 with elite length and athleticism, has a face-up game, can make jumpers, and has a solid handle. His biggest impact for Utah will come as a defender and a play finisher. Finally, Babakar Faye, quote, Babakar Faye missed all of last season, but should be Utah's starting five man this year. 6'9 big, averaged 15.2 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game in nine games at Western Kentucky during the 24-25 season. Long arms plus rebounder gets to the line a ton. Utah needs the rebounding to translate. So there you go. Always interesting to hear some unbiased opinions on the guys Utah is bringing in. Now, in former Run and Uts news, Jekai Howard finally has a landing spot. He will go to LIU, that is Long Island University, where Rod Strickland, former Washington Bullets great Rod Strickland, is the head coach. Now, I believe that leaves Josh Hayes as the only player from last year's team to not find a landing spot just yet. I've seen a lot of social media on Instagram from Josh Hayes on visits he's taken to places like Ball State and other places, but hasn't yet landed anywhere just yet that I have seen. More former run-in-utes news, and it comes in the form of the Hall of Fame. One week you're putting a guy into the post-2000 Mount Rushmore for Utah basketball, and the next he's going to be inducted into the Crimson Club Hall of Fame. That can't be a coincidence, can it? Utah Athletics just announced its 2026 Hall of Fame class, which has some strong run-in-mute representation. I quote from the university's release. Quote, the University of Utah Athletics Department will honor four of its all-time greatest student athletes, one highly decorated head coach, and one legendary team when the 2026 Hall of Fame class is inducted in September. The class announced today includes Zane Beatles from football, Daria Bijak from gymnastics, Catherine Smiggin from women's skiing, Delon Wright from men's basketball, Jerry Pym, a men's basketball coach, and the 1991 softball team. On Jerry Pym, here are some of his accomplishments. Head coach of the Redinutes from 1974 to 1983, after serving as an assistant for 13 seasons under Jack Gardner and Bill Foster, won 66.8% of his overall games as a head coach, finishing with a record of 173 and 86, including a 68.8% win percentage in conference games, won three Western Athletic Championships and had winning seasons in eight of his nine years as head coach. Coached five NCAA tournament teams, including four Sweet 16s, coached and developed Run and Ute's legends, Tom Chambers, Danny Vrains, Jeff Judkins, and Pace Mannion, among others. Joined Jack Gardner's staff in 1961 and was an assistant coach on the 1965-66 NCAA Final Four and WAC Championship team, ultimately spending more than 22 years with the program. Was a high school All-American and national scoring leader in 1956, along with Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, and Jerry Lucas. So pretty good company there for Jerry Pym. So big time congratulations are in order to Jerry Pym and then Delon Wright. Now we made his case on our last episode for Mount Rushmore. Well, here's his Hall of Fame credentials as well. The 2015 Bob Kuzi Award winner for the nation's top point guard. 2015 consensus, second team All-American, two-time first team all pac-12 selection in 2014 and 2015. First run and ute to earn either first or second team All Pac-12. Two-time Pac-12 all-defensive team choice in those years as well. NABC All-District team those years. USB WA all-district team those years. Led the running ute to the Sweet 16 in 2015. In just two seasons, he scored 1,022 points, grabbed 397 rebounds, dished out 352 assists, and collected 155 steals with 77 blocks. Drafted 20th overall in the first round of the NBA draft in 2015 by the Toronto Raptors, and had a 10-year NBA career that included 2024 NBA Cup Championship with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Hall of Fame ceremony itself is on September 18th, and the class will be inducted at halftime of the Utah football game on September 19th against Utah State. But especially again, congratulations to Delon Wright and Jerry Pym. After uh a few years not in the Hall of Fame representation, the basketball team once again gets some representation. We go to some big picture college basketball news here in July. And this is an absolutely wild story from a few weeks ago. Notable one-time annoying Arizona Wildcat Kirk Harisa was arrested by the FBI for, quote, allegedly carrying out a scheme to obtain nearly $2.2 million from multiple victims using false representations, fabricated identities, and deceptive communications per the DOJ's news release on his arrest. According to the Department of Justice, Kriesa allegedly ran a four-year scheme that involved convincing one victim to send him money by saying his mother had cancer and needed treatment. By posing as his mother in another scheme, he allegedly told one victim that he needed money to quote save the family farm. He also allegedly acted as a woman named Irene to sign a fraudulent promise to repay one of his victims $100,000 by a February deadline per the DOJ's indictment. So through his college career, Kirk Kreesa played for Arizona, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Cincinnati. So that's four different coaches. Tommy Lloyd, Mark Pope, Darren DeVries, I think that could have been Josh Eilert's interim year. It's foggy there for West Virginia, and Wes Miller, who all brought this guy into their locker room while he's in the process of running a multi-million dollar fraud scheme, pretending to be his mother and trying to get people to give him money for her cancer treatments wild. Now, as a matter of record, I would like his 21 point, 10 rebound, 10 assist, triple double against Utah in the 2021 season wiped off the books, which would actually give Utah a 77 to 76 win versus a 97 to 77 loss. So let it be said, so let it be written. Sticking with our law and order theme, it is injunction season, and judges all over the U.S. are granting players who are otherwise out of eligibility per NCAA rules an injunction that would allow them to play this season as part of the new five for five rule, despite the fact that that rule, as it is written by the NCAA, is precluding players who finished their eligibility this past season having an extra year. Now, a lot of college basketball experts and pundits seem to agree that the NCAA might just need to take the L on this one because that's very likely where this is heading anyway. In fact, let me play you a clip from the ION College Basketball podcast with Gary Parish and Matt Norlander.
SPEAKER_05If those players win that case, and I, you and I will not be remotely surprised if they win that case. Uh pardon me, I was telling a couple coaches. I was like, the N Clays might need to relent here. I know why they're gonna fight, I get this, but this is the only year this will apply because five or five is gonna be the thing moving forward. Like you might need to just let it go. Just take the losses. I I like it's gonna be super messy with a lot of these rosters, and it's gonna screw over a lot of the uh a lot of the players coming into college. I get all of that. Um but this is just be for our our listening audience, our viewing audience, just be aware that like this has the potential. It's not a guarantee, it just has the potential to become a very widespread, messy story in the back end of summer, into the fall. And coaches are also waiting to see you know, about six weeks from FGP, there's gonna be guys getting cut from NFL training camps. Are we gonna see this? Are we gonna see guys trying to double back and go play for Ohio State, play for Clemson, play for Tennessee, you name it. Um because the the five to five roles is for best months, it's cover support in Mel in Division I. So just keep an eye out for that. This is that's been kind of the talk of the town over the past three days, yeah.
SPEAKER_04And it's it's messy in ways we haven't even verbalized. In other words, it's also messy in this way. There's a young man at Cincinnati or Xavier or somewhere right now who's signed with those goals thinking I'm the starting point guard, I'm the starting spontal, I'm playing 31 minutes a game, I'm gonna lead my team in whatever, and that could just be ripped away at the end of July because a judge says, Yeah, go ahead. And they think you know that your coach is just recruited over into like I know.
SPEAKER_05Well, he told me he's not gonna do it. He's saying I won't do this. He's like, I'm head turned on there. I didn't have a coach say he's like, I don't care, he's like, I don't care who'll be the best player on my team. I just I can't do it. That coach is in the minority, but I did talk to one guy.
SPEAKER_04I have 100% head coaches tell me that too. That even if there were a better player out there for like I can upgrade my roster at this point, I don't do it because you messed up your locker room. You, you, you, and I don't know if that's true universally, but at least at least one coach was like, whatever you think you're getting by upgrading your roster in late July, you are messing up your locker room. You're gonna have to take a phone call from a parent.
SPEAKER_01The fascinating thing about the timing of all of this is that most teams have their rosters filled out by mid-July. But you may have a whole new crop of players like MJ Collins, who averaged 17 and a half points per game at Utah State last year, who, when the injunction was granted for him in the case for him, which was in Ohio, he immediately committed to Cincinnati. So will programs drop players or will programs who've swung and missed on a ton of guys this offseason that have some money left over, like a BYU, be able to swoop in and grab one of these newly eligible super seniors? That part will definitely be interesting to see as we move closer towards the Season, it would be quite the reward for so many whiffs in the offseason for some of these programs. Now, on the flip side of things, because of the five for five, we're also seeing 17-year-olds reclassifying and jumping to college hoops early. So there's going to be a number of impacts to rosters specifically for this season, as Matt Norlander pointed out, no doubt about it. But it's just going to be really interesting to watch how this all plays out and how quickly these rulings get made as sort of a once and for all, and whether or not the NCAA ultimately just decides that, hey, this isn't worth fighting. We're going to let these players come back to college basketball, these guys that have been playing in the NBA summer league and whatnot. Just going to let them come back for this one year, and then hopefully it all irons out here over the next several years. But we'll just have to see. The NCAA loves to lose in court. Now, one of the major impacts that these rulings are going to have is to all of the off-season content that's currently being produced, like conference previews or top 100 lists. One such list was published last week by Basket Under Review. And so we've got their list, so we've got to review it, right? So let's take a look at some of the notable players on the Basket Under Review top 100 that Utah will very likely face or that may be of interest to Utah. So what they do here is they list out 50 players before they get to their top 100 as honorable mentions. That list includes Finley Bizjack from West Virginia, Dior Johnson from UCF, Jackson Holcomb from the University of Utah, Leroy Blyden from Kansas, former running ute Terrence Brown, Bruce Branch, the third, BYU's five-star freshman prospect. By the way, the Coug's five-star last year, AJ Demanza was 15 on this list. And then Joquen Johnson from Iowa State. So six players from the Big 12 in the honorable mention category. Now we get into the top 100. Here we go. Number 98, Colin Chandler from BYU. 97, Caden Mingo at Baylor. Number 91, Wesley Yates from Washington. He will be in the Huntsman Center this fall. Number 89, Del Reco Gillespie at Houston. Number 81, Amani Hansbury from Virginia Tech, formerly a West Virginia Mountaineer. Just mentioned that Utah will be facing the Hokies in Charleston. Number 69, Cruz Davis at Texas Tech. 65, Barrington Hargress at Colorado. Number 64, Killing Intorre at Iowa State. Number 61, Keanu Daws from Kansas, a player that we are very familiar with in Salt Lake City. We'll see if Bill Self can unlock a second gear for KD in Lawrence this season. Number 41, Xavier Edmonds at TCU. 37, Daydan Thomas at Houston. Number 35, Ivan Kartenkov at Arizona. Number 29, Mason Falslev at Utah State, former Utah commit many, many years ago. Number 23, Paulus Moraskis at Arizona State. 18, Rob Wright III at BYU. 16, Jojo Tugler at Houston. 14, Caleb Holt at Arizona. 6. Tyron Stokes at Kansas. And 5, Modius Krivos at Arizona. Okay, so between the honorable mention and the top 100, that's a total of 22 players in the Big 12 on this list of the best players in college basketball heading into this upcoming season. By way of comparison, last year's top 100 by these guys and honorable mention had 25 Big 12 players on it. Now, in my humble opinion, and I feel like I'm safe in saying this, the ceiling of that group of 25 is way higher, or was way higher than what you've got here with the group of players for this upcoming season. So you got to take that for the nickel that it's worth. But I think it's interesting because a lot of the focus on the Big 12 this offseason heading into this season is going to be that talent void. Nine first round picks, a lot of players moving on. So who are going to be the guys that take those spots in the Big 12? And will they be as good as their predecessors? So of those 22 players from the Big 12, which ones are projected to play in the NCAA tournament? Well, we've got some July bracketology, courtesy of ESPN's Joe Lenardi.
SPEAKER_02That's a six thing to fill.
SPEAKER_01Coming in at a two seed, the defending Big 12 champion Arizona Wildcats. A couple of four seeds projected by Joe Lenardi, Houston and Kansas, a couple of five seeds as well in Iowa State and Texas Tech. A six seed coming in the form of BYU. TCU in at a 10 seed. Arizona State Baylor and Oklahoma State are all 11 seeds. And Oklahoma State is the last team he has projected in the field. And then Cincinnati and West Virginia are among the first four out, teams number 79 and 80. So 10 teams in as of mid-July, two teams on the fringe, and four teams with a lot to prove, including our running utes. All right, when we come back, John Rothstein has put out his Big 12 offseason preview. What did he have to say about Utah, if anything, and much more? We'll take a look at that right after these words from one of our sponsors. My fellow Americans, as we close in on America's 250th birthday on the 4th of July, it's important to hearken back to some of the most impactful presidential quotes in history. Quotes like, ask not what your t-shirt can do for you, ask what you can do for your t-shirt. Or a houseful of t-shirts that don't fit well, divided against itself, cannot stand. Or the only thing we have to fear is the fear of not having a strong t-shirt game. Or finally, Mr. Borbachev tear down that boxy stretched down t-shirt. These great leaders do one thing that matters more than anything else. The most patriotic thing that you can do this 4th of July is show up to that barbecue parade or fireworks show in a proper fitting t-shirt. So let me recommend my fit tea. The blend to green is funny top in polyester. It's the perfect t-shirt to wear this summer no matter the occasion, and it comes in many colors, including red, white, and blue. Listeners of this podcast will get 30% off their first order by entering the promo code RUNIN'HOOOOS at checkout, or by going directly to the link that is connected to every episode of this podcast. This is a great way to support the show and get a good-looking, fantastic fitting t-shirt in the process. That promo code for you at checkout, run and hoops. Well, I'm not gonna lie to you, friends. When I saw that John Rothstein was doing a Big 12 offseason preview, I was pretty excited. It makes for good content for the podcast, and it's always good to hear what the national guys think of our beloved running youths. But unfortunately, the answer is not much. We go right to the end of John's power rankings.
SPEAKER_03The rest of the Big 12 preseason power rankings, UCF is 13, Colorado 14, Kansas State at 15, and Utah at 16.
SPEAKER_02I'm not crying, okay? I'm allergic to jerks.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, Utah in the 16th spot, right where they ended last season. Now, in fairness to John, he spent about 10 minutes talking about Cincinnati's embarrassingly long seven-year NCAA tournament drought after picking them 12th in the league. So I guess he didn't have enough time to discuss Utah or its embarrassingly long NCAA tournament drought, which is now a decade. Still very disappointing from John because he gave a projected starting five for each of the top 12 teams and then just kind of mailed it in after that. But I digress. Here's how his power rankings fully shake out here in mid-July. He's got Arizona at one, Houston two, Iowa State three, BYU four, TCU five, Kansas six, Oklahoma State seven, West Virginia eight, Texas Tech nine, Baylor at 10, Arizona State at 11, Cincinnati at 12, UCF at 13, Colorado at 14, K-State at 15, and Utah at 16.
SPEAKER_02I'm not crying, okay? I'm allergic to jerks.
SPEAKER_01His impact freshman list, with the caveat that he puts no international players on the list because their eligibility is unknown. I mean, can you imagine putting a guy on the impact freshman list and then finding out that he's a sophomore or gasp? A junior? But once again, I digress to the list. Tyron Stokes and Talen Kinney from Kansas, Caleb Holt and Cameron Holmes from Arizona, Bruce Branch from BYU.
SPEAKER_00I don't know about that.
SPEAKER_01Dylan Mingo from Baylor, Miles Sadler from West Virginia, Dakari Spear from Texas Tech, Rothon Dane from Houston, and Latrell Almond from Oklahoma State. So you won't recognize most of those names, but just trying to help you get to know some of these names as we inch towards basketball season. Now, his players who have a chance to make a jump during the season, that is, players who have not yet averaged double figures but could during the 26-27 campaign. He's got Killian Torrey at Iowa State, Paul Mbaya at Kansas, Mercy Miller at Houston, Chase McCarty at Houston, and Josiah Mosley at Texas Tech. His sleeper team for the Big 12 here in July, West Virginia. And finally, his player of the year in the Big 12 heading into the season, Rob Wright the third from BYU.
SPEAKER_00I don't know about that.
SPEAKER_01Now, apparently, Rob scored 101 points in a Powder League game last week, but I'm going to need some Ernst and Young auditing of that number before I would believe it. Now, one clip I did want to play for you here is John talking about NCAA tournament expectations for the league and power for schools in general. And this is a mashup of a clip from the beginning of his episode and the end of his episode. So take a listen.
SPEAKER_03Now, last year, you had eight teams in the NCAA tournament in a 68 team bracket. This year, in my opinion, the Big 12 should accept nothing less than 10 bids in the field in 2027. But the bracket, to me, is also going to provide a great opportunity for a number of teams that were not in the NCAA tournament a year ago to make a push towards March Madness in 2027. But I will say this missing the NCAA tournament right now, if you are a power conference team, in my opinion, is catastrophic because there's 76 teams in the NCAA tournament. Now, somebody says, well, what does that mean? I'll tell you. Well, think about this from a math perspective. We are all gearing right now towards a world that is associated with the term power four. It is the ACC, the Big 12, the Big Ten, and the SEC. So if there's 76 spots in the NCAA tournament and the new Pac-12 is going to take an automatic qualifier, that means that we now have 32 automatic qualifiers and we have 44 at-large bids. So if all four of the power conferences were to get 10 teams in the NCAA tournament and have nine at-large bids apiece with those four, there's still eight at-large bids left to get to 44. So if you are a power conference coach and you don't hear your name on selection Sunday, that to me is something that would be really, really alarming. And here's the thing as well I don't see the ACC getting 10 teams in. Let's say the ACC got seven or eight teams in. Now you're looking at 10 other spots for the at-large bids to come from. Let's say the Atlantic 10 gets one. Let's say the Big East gets five teams in. There's still three or four spots to be had. It is going to be fascinating to see where the NCAA bids come from in 2027 in a 76 team NCAA tournament format.
SPEAKER_01All right. So you put those clips together and you've got some pretty clear expectations for the Big 12 as a league. First, the expectation is that the league gets 10 teams in the NCAA tournament in an expanded 76 team field. Second, there are more spots than 10 to be had for a league like the Big 12 if its teams can perform in the non-con and in league play, which opens up an opportunity for a team like Utah. Third, his assertion that if you are a team in the power four and you don't make the NCAA tournament, that should be a crisis level concern after each season. Now, bringing that back to Utah again, the opportunity is there because of the strength of the league. But is the urgency to return to March madness there from the admin and from the fans? That part is much less clear heading into year two of this new regime. But it'll be fascinating to see how it all plays out here in just a few months. So there you go. John Rothstein's peak at the Big 12, I gotta be honest, it left a little to be desired. And not just because it was light on Utah content, I get that part, but all the caveats with teams and breakout players spending as much time as he did on Cincinnati. I felt a little bit like Ralphie in a Christmas story when he finally got his Dakota ring.
SPEAKER_02A Tommy Comartial?
SPEAKER_01So yeah, I felt like it could have been a much stronger look at the Big 12, that's for sure. All right, one last thing to know here. This Saturday, July 25th, marks the 100-day point until the Run and Uts opener on November 2nd. So by the time my next episode is out, we will be under 100 days until the fellas return to the court. Of course, many of you are rightfully focused on being less than 50 days away from the football team kicking off against Idaho. So we'll keep an eye on that countdown clock here for you on the Run and Hoops podcast. But that is gonna do it for this episode of the Run and Hoops podcast. I want to thank you as always for listening. Thanks for letting me help you get through these summer doldrums here to talk a little college basketball hoops. Please give me a follow over on X at Run and Hoops Pod. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the show over on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get a podcast. That's super, super helpful. And of course, you can support the show over on Venmo at Runin' Hoops. But until next time, I'm Andrew Crowley. This is the Run and Hoops Podcast. And as always, go use