ITP: Assessing KU's noncon slate as Big 12 season nears

The post Christmas episode, everybody is feeling well, and I mean, Landa, do you feel are you fat and out of hope right now? Is that the post Christmas vibe in the Field's house.

A little bit fat? Would it surprise you to know that I ran two miles on Christmas morning?

Wow? That is that is wild? That's not that I didn't not that it stuns me because of who you are. I just didn't know.

Oh, I've only recently become a running type. Two miles. It's the longest I've ever run. It felt bad in the moment and good afterward.

Yeah, no, I would think so and bad in the moment and good afterwards. I mean I set a goal at the beginning of this year where I wanted to walk ten thousand steps every single day.

I remember you talking about this. You told me about that time.

Yeah, and still still hanging in there with five days left in twenty twenty four. It really like, it's not that hard to get ten thousand steps. Do you have to like have one hour worth of walking without stopping and that's like seventy percent of it?

Yeah, ten thousand steps wouldn't that sounds like a lot, But it actually isn't that much if you're trying. It's kind of the same with running, Like if you actually try to run, you can you can get to pretty decent numbers pretty fast. Like I'm not very good at all, but I was only running like a mile a month ago. I'm already up to two so well.

Considering that you have been on load management recently, I'm glad to see that you're still staying in shape off the court, because after missing the last show, we're now giving Cam the the lebron Hey, you've done thirteen shows out of thirteen possible episodes. Go ahead and take a night off. Cam's due for a day off, right, Let Austin Reeves cook. That's is Cam the Austin Reeves of this show.

Ooh, maybe I feel like he might be someone a little more feisty than Austin Reeves.

I get to be JJ Reddick. I was good at one point, and I have a tattoo sleeve and that's it's and I'm a white dude.

Yeah, it feels right.

I don't know which Laker you are. I don't watch enough NBA basketball to be good at that.

I just watched the Lakers beat my Warriors. On Christmas. That was great.

That the year Warriors beginning twenty Alexa, what year do they win the first title?

Alexa, go back in time and note that I started rooting for them before they won.

Interesting, all right, I do remember that you've held on to the Dubs for a while and then they've won about as much as the Chiefs, who we have some Chiefs ask GARCBS that the Chiefs aren't even really that interesting at this point from a it doesn't matter what they do, the end result is always the same as weird as that is to say, kind of like the Jayhawks used to be in Big Twelve play. We don't

Yeah, that's absurd, that is absurd, But Ryan, have you considered that at different points in this year we will get epic matchups such as TCU Central Florida, Utah Arizona State this time in the twelve play at Arizona versus byun Oh. Sure.

The best part is how like four Big twelve matchups have already happened in preseason tournaments that were set before Big Twelve play started. If Iowa State and Colorado play in the Big twelve tournament, that will be the fourth time this year that they play. We all know who doesn't want for Iowa State Colorado basketball games in one season.

Not Colorado.

But the way the first one went, Yeah, the first game didn't go too well for Colorado, and we'll see how that goes. Kansas has a ten o'clock tip at Colorado here coming up down the shoot in a few weeks. So yeah, man, we'll be there. We're all not like they're in the in the arena, but well, I guess we could. I hear Colorado in February is very Ryan's Up Ryan's Alley. From a weather perspective, yeah, one hundred

I've been trying to adultify my wardrobe. I'm more in a crew neck phase. I like jeans a lot more puilled out, a lot more hoodies lately.

It's nice adultifying. Adultifying your wardrobe is not a quote I'd ever thought i'd hear you say, because I still associate you whenever we were in high school wearing rock Chalk blog shirts and a Jay flat flat bills. That's that's what I will always think of you wearing. And then overnight you turned into a hippie.

Yeah, I mean eventually, I do. Hope girls give me the time of day, So I thought it was better wardrobe my help in that department.

You're telling me that being on the inside of the Paint podcast for now eight seasons? Is it eight or is it seven?

A I think it's eight eight.

You're telling me that that doesn't do enough for the ladies where you also don't have to change your style.

Yeah, I mean I did think senior high school land and did think that being on aku basketball podcast with profane drops was going to get him women eventually. That is the target demo of this show, believed in correct, is my age women. But the last I didn't work as well as I was hoping, So we're trying a different strategy that's more recommended.

Yeah, some are saying it was a very.

Yeah, this is a very sad, sad loss.

But hey, eight years has gotten you plenty of other things that have happened as a result of this podcast, like a little bit more gray hair and a little bit less patience for nonsense. You've answered a lot of me.

One mercyb in the JCCC hallways recognizing who I was.

That's crazy because that I've never I've never been recognized for anything IP related. But both you and Nick have, which is which is hilarious. Yeah, we're gonna and we're we're we've committed to each other off the off air, which I'll now tell everybody for the first time, We committed to do this podcast until Kansas eventually wins back to back titles at some point, so we're here for a while.

Well, it'll be tough to do that podcast through World War three and four, but we will be there for you.

This is the Inside the Paint podcast on Rock Chalk Blog. Two man show.

Today I am Ryan am Landenfields.

So today's gonna look different because we don't have a game to recap, and for I believe the first time that I've ever done an in season podcast, we just went like a full week of college basketball where there were no other noteworthy other matchups at all. Sometimes there are still games around Christmas time, but there was nothing. There was one Top twenty five team in action all week, and the opponent that they scheduled was shameful and it

That should be doable. There's some Wednesday nights that I'm absolute polutely not gonna see, but West Virginia I'll be there for.

And the Big twelve schedule is weird for Kansas because they open. This is a Big twelve schedule that opens with West Virginia, Central Florida and Arizona State and then Cincinnati. Imagine being told that a few years ago, like what the one game against West Virginia which I missed the home and homes though not going to Morgantown this year. You can add one to their season win total as a result of that. And then three teams that were not in this conference, two trips around the sun that go,

That's correct, That's the new college sports. Everybody, isn't it great?

Damn Brett yor Mark? All right, so I guess I'll blow the air horn and then we can talk about non con Yay, all right, get amped? Just so you know in the shows that you've missed. Cam has been insistent on doing the Mary drop. Like remember how we've gone back and forth between the air Horns and the air Horns with Mary's and all that. Cam's a stickler for the Mary one.

I feel like the Mary is the more popular among other ITP co hosts. Other i TP co hosts like the Airhorn.

Mary, and that originated whenever we were complaining about how only Saint Mary's exists in Gonzaga's otherwise terrible league.

That is correct.

Saint Mary's beat Utah though, so there's that and Santa Clara beat TCU. So the West Coast Conference lea be better. Yeah, awesome league. I'm looking at the other some of these other ITP drops, and I'm trying to think of if any of them have an interesting backstory, because this would be the first time, this would be the show to do it. Any of the things that Daniel yeah, that one, that one, well, obviously he used to very much. So

Ass Landed Builds. That's good stuff.

It's it's pretty cool podcast Editor of the Year that you know that award is coming up in February.

Is it a prestigious ceremony or is that like, did they just send you the mail?

It's me and I've lost to Joshua Brisco about twenty years in a row at this point, because it's I'm oping this is the year. Uh you know, it's like the It's like in The Grinch, when the same person wins the decorating contest every year. It's like, eventually it's gonna be my turn. I'm going to right into the lead.

You watch, it's almost like he's not paid to do it and is good at it, and we just sit on our couch and yell about I mean, Dickinson.

Technically, I am paid United States currency every year. I will not say whether or not it exceeds the total of the podcast host fee that I pay the website every year, and I will say that that fee is sixty eight dollars a year. So if that goes to show how much revenue this show makes, I'll say it's either below or above that number. And of those two, if you were choosing what you'd like it to be, what would be your second choice.

I was confused by the syntax of the question, but I will not. I'll take any other gig I think than what he makes in a year. This is a very sad, sad loss.

Hey, that's okay because as we have gone full circle and we talked about the intro, the ITP being on ITP gets you recognized in the hallway at Johnson County College once. All right, let's level in eight years. Let's talk about non con place. So this Jayhawks season began with the team ranked as the number one team in the preseason poll, and they began by winning their first seven games, and they lost to and now they've bounced back with two wins against teams they were heavily favorede against.

Yeah, I mean that's pretty accurate. I think that's pretty true. I do think Cam's variance, shall we say, is largely dependent on the quality of team that Kansas plays. And I think that is because the quality of team Kansas plays is heavily dependent on how Kansas looks now. To be fair, I've missed a few games, as you said, I've had a really weird schedule, just had a bunch of things come up. I've been out of town for

Way, you're you were out of town for a couple of them and working for a couple more. You didn't really need to watch any of those games. By the way, like even the lousier Kansas teams of years past, you pretty much knew what was going to happen in those matchups. Those were wins by what quick math tells me twenty one, eighteen, thirty five, and thirty four.

Yeah, I have seen older games against Power five, Power four excuse me, opponents, that's five no offense, Craton or Power League. At this point, I think this Kansas team is disgustingly similar to last year's And this is we've talked about this. Cam and I have definitely agreed on this point this year that I think this Kansas team right now through non con is almost one for one. Not one for one maybe, but they're similar. They are painfully similar to what they were last year. Albeit I

I'm looking at their stats from last year versus this year, and last year was such a hard it was a very difficult year that you definitely could tell if you look at their college Basketball reference numbers. But the stats are as you've said, the eye test has been that they're pretty similar slightly better version. The stats would show that's exactly the correct case because last year's Kansas team, you look at their college basketball numbers and you look

That's a great question. I think it's a great way to kind of frame conference play. I think they they absolutely have the shooters to make a higher percentage of free throws. If those guys can get to the line, like aj Store and Zeke Mayo in particular, Dwan Harris too, those guys should all be like pretty solid free throw shooters, really solid free throw shooters, and they have been historically.

I think you're gonna see them get to the line better one because they can't get worse, Like they're like six to the bottom in the country. And we know the way Big twelve games are called. We know that the point the possessions per game go down. Whenever these teams start playing each other, I think you're gonna see that get better. I don't know how much better, but I don't think I don't I don't think there's any room for it to go. But up, I think this

I mean actually good? Or like what I would take?

Uh? Both kill me both.

I think actually good is like thirty seven and up percent And I think what I would take is like thirty five and up.

Because right now they're at thirty five point five percent as a team. Last year they were barely thirty two percent and just boy did that thing? Yeah, that that was that was really rough. And last year I'm looking at the conference stats, it got so much worse in conference play. They were at thirty three percent in as a as a whole, and they were less than thirty one in conference play. And boy does that make a difference.

Better than thirty percent? Yep, two one.

Johnny Furfey made thirty seven percent of his threes. However, it was right around everybody else thirty one percent in the last fifteen games. He had a great first third and then a really bad last two thirds of conference played everybody everybody else. Nick Timberlake fourteen for forty six. That's thirty percent. Kevin mccullor nineteen for sixty four. That's twenty nine percent, Dwan Harris ten for thirty five that's also twenty nine percent, and Hunter Dickinson eight for thirty

Took fifteen attempts.

Yeah, el Marco Jackson actually was like like like six for fourteen or something, So it was uh, he had a great percentage, albeit in a tiny sample size. I'm looking at the numbers this year. David Koit's been a forty five percent three point shooter. He can be consistently relied on to come off the bench and hit shots. We've seen it. Zeke Mayo is shooting thirty nine percent on six threes a game. That's the piece they didn't

If that plays out that way, then yeah, I would have some confidence.

I mean, you look at the non conference play and thus far, what I have seen is Kansas has been great, perfect even in all settings that aren't road settings, and zero to two with two the Missouri game was a nine point loss, but two games that weren't competitive for almost for seventy three of the eighty minutes that we saw them play like two road blowouts, even though I know they they almost came back in the Missouri game, but for that game will be remembered as a blowout.

I think we did this prediction. I think I have them going four and six in conference play, and honestly, I think it could be worse than that if they can't write the ship.

I was gonna read you the matchups, but I don't know if the matchups matter. They haven't been able to beat good or bad teams on the road the last couple of years.

Right, And also, I mean, you do still have to go, Like you gotta go at Houston, and I know Houston's not looked like the absolute world beaters. Maybe if someone thought, or some people thought, but none, that's a tough place to play. Colorado's played decently. Well, you gotta go there. That's tough. At BYU, at Utah, at k State, at Baylor, at TCU, at Iowa State, at Cincinnati at UCF. That's the reverse order of the road games. But that's not easy. Like,

And if I if you look at just specifically the non conference assessments, I think Hunter Dickinson gets an A minus. His per forty numbers are better than they were last year. It's pretty obvious that whenever he doesn't play well, the team doesn't play well. But he statistically is always going to be there. And I don't think you can give Zeke Mayo a grade of less than an A. At this point, he is the team's second leading scorer, averaging

I still think I would give Jwan Harris a name. I think Dwan Harris at times has been the team's best player. I agree with your assessment of Dickinson and Mao in that regard. I think you would take them over Harris for sure, But I think Harris has been an integral part of the team this season. Do you disagree?

No, I think he's been very good. They haven't needed the three point makes from him. I can't think of him being like thirty percent you expected to go up based on his career. It should, but Harris hasn't cost them anything this year. The people who have complained during the Creighton and the Missouri losses, man, I can't wait for Dwan Harris not be that. That's not even close to the biggest problem with this team. Just like in either of those games, if people complained about Dickinson, that

Oh, this is tough. This is tough because I want to say kJ Adams I'm most confident in, but at the same time, we've seen him the most on this team, in particular, we've seen him with Bill self the most and he's been basically this guy, whereas like AJ Store has really shown me nothing. But also he has the most room I think to grow certainly, and AJ.

Store has the highest ceiling of the three. He's also been the least impressive of the three.

That's that's a very succinct way of putting it exactly. I think I would have to put Man. I think I still have to put aj Store last. I've seen so so little from him that I've liked consistently.

And I think I think AJ Storre being the team's sixth best player at best, I think that's that's twelve and eight in conference play probably.

I think then I would go Adams, and I think I would go Griffin first.

Really, so you have you have the most confident in Ryland Griffin, who out of those three is scoring the least amount of points and playing the least amount of minutes.

Because I think he can shoot threes, he can play the most in the open floor. He's he's well, he's not the most athletic. That's a very athletic group for one. But like Ryland Griffin theoretically has like NBA draft pick like potential.

I think he's the best pro prospect on this roster.

I think he is too, maybe Flory, but Flory's a little undersized for what he is.

Flory's a question mark.

Yeah, but yes, I think Ryland Griffin is the most like traditional pro player on the team. And like heay, you know, Kelly Ubray dicing it up in the league right now having a pretty good season. He was not that great at Kansas, so maybe that like Ryland Griffin might be a fine NBA player and not be that great at Kansas. But nonetheless, I think Griffin has the ability to hit like a true another another year in a way that Age Stor does. But I've seen so

Yep, I agree completely with Adams store. I mean, story isn't even close to the player he was at Wisconsin. He averaged seventeen points a game at Wisconsin. He's at nine this year this year at half, But that's that's the easiest stat to look at and say he's been worse. He's also shooting the Okay, let's just let's just get into these numbers here. The shooting percentage has gone down three percent, the three points per game that he's taking two less per game on a team that needs threes.

Okay, so hear me out on our hypothetical. What happens if AJ Store averages like seven points in conference play? What's K's record.

Twelve and eight? Maybe they Yeah, they're twelve and eight, which is basically last year, but ten percent better.

Okay, what if he averages seven points but Ryland Griffin averages like twelve.

I think that adds at least a couple of wins. The road wins are what's getting added here, because they're gonna go like nine and one at worst at home, Like you just know that's gonna happen. If they don't it's some if they lose multiple home conference games Hunter Dickinson's hurt like that, that just shouldn't happen. If you make Griffin a very promising player where we're talking about him going pro after this year, that probably adds two wins. If you make Store a very viable player, I think

I don't think that's necessarily unreasonable if you're saying everyone else is holding about the same.

And I don't think the reason this team doesn't feel quite right, it's not because they're not good. They're nine to two. They've had a good non conference season. I think overall you have.

To give them a beef. They've had a fine non conference season.

I mean, what at the beginning of this year, and I know they were the number one team in the country. But if I had given you North Carolina, Michigan State, Duke Creyton Missouri, you probably would have said, the most likely record in those five games is three and.

Two, right, probably, But I do think you have to like acknowledge how those two games went against who they were, and also acknowledged like North Carolina is not like anything.

Yeah, yeah, and Duke Duke was a complete fifty to fifty game that they sniped at the end. Credit to him, but that was one that whereas and North Carolina was two three and two in those five games. Is fine three and two while being two and zero in true coin flips, that rings a little bit more alarm bell.

Yeah, yeah, especially when you got like absolutely like you were not competitive base in your two road games.

Well, and I think so right now, we would say that three players get an A, kJ Adams gets a B and two guys get a C, and David Kite gets a B and Florie Bedoonga gets a B. Probably so off their top eight guys, we're given at least a B grade to six of them, only two of them have a C. We should be feeling a lot better. The problem is it's the two guys that have to be at least the B that are both not. Griffin

Yeah, I think that's well said. And again, those guys are are so talented and and both those guys are way more talented with way more upside than Nick Timberlake. So it's not It's not a gravestone on the season by any stretch. Like this team can still absolutely be very, very, very good. But I do wonder if that is ever gonna happen. We'll see it. Might it definitely could. Bill self's a great coach, Hall of Famer for a reason.

Oh, you're absolutely seeing it take a toll. But I mean if if and I think this is a this is a pivotal year for Bill self, who was was then who is the the the reigning national champion with a number one seed bolted into his lap potentially going to Kansas City, and then he had the heart problems and missed the rest of the season. Since he built two back to back preseason number one teams and last year didn't go very well, this year hasn't gone any better.

I think I'm gonna stick with four and six on the road so that's six and I think they drop one at home, so that gives me thirteen and seven?

How many and what place is good enough for that?

My guess, based on the rest of how the league has looked so far, that's still probably like, Yeah, I don't know, I mean what fourth or fifth? Does that make sense?

I think they're gonna be better. I think if they get to thirteen wins, they're better than fourth. I don't know who on this really right?

You think seven losses finishes top three?

Yeah? I do, I do?

I think? Okay, okay, I would say who gets to who gets to better than seven or less than seven losses? Iowa State for sure does not lose seven conference games?

Yeah, anybody else? Maybe Houston.

I think Houston and Baylor both have a chance to lose less than seven. And now I mean Baylor also, like who knows they absolutely could Baylor I don't really fully buy.

And then you got what who else is there? Like anybody else that's given you confidence? I mean, Iowa State is the best team in the Big Twelve to this point. They are ten and one. Since nat He's probably been the second best team. They've been impressive, albeit against the worst schedule. I mean what, Yeah, I think Kansas goes fifteen and five. I think they lose five on the road and then go five and five and they win

I think that probably is is the take. I think. I don't know. I think there's a really good chance that three teams. I don't know about three. I don't know. If Kansas goes thirteen, I think I feel pretty confident with if thirteen and seven happens, that that's fourth. But I would agree that I would not confidently name a third team. Maybe I just would go Iowa, Stay, Cincinnati, Houston. I think that's what I would have to say, is one, two, three, Kansas four. That's what I'll look in.

Let's look at their schedule, because we said last year that it was pivotal for Kansas to get off to a good start in Big Twelve play, and they did not. They had three losses by the end of January. We knew that if that team did not start like seven and two or eight and one, which is that that's a big It's not like we're asking that them to

I do think they opened three and oh with a slight scare against West Virginia.

Yeah, I think that's the most likely law, the most likely scare. And then you have at Cincinnati and at Iowa State, and that's brutal. That is a brutal back to back. You think they lose both of them if they win one. If you get to four and one through five, feel awesome because I don't know who else is four and one or better.

I agree if they can win either one of those games, more likely Cincinnati, of course, But if they can win either one, I do think you're probably you're very likely four and one, and you're feeling pretty good. I do think they will lose both of those games, though.

Then Kansas State at TCU and Houston at home, those are three games they should win. They will be favored in all three of those games. And if they do win those games, even in your scenario here, they are what six and two at that point, that's still two road wins as many as they had all of last conference play, and six and two I would be willing to bet No one in this league is seven and one through eight games.

I disagree maybe with that. I think I think Iowa States good enough to maybe do it. I don't know their schedule the top of my head. We'll see. Also, I will say, looking ahead to the road slate, I do think they'll beat TCU on the road. I agree with that, very good chance that they will do that. I don't know if they're gonna win more than two road games the rest of the year after that.

Though, interesting well, I'd see I should have put UCF in there, because that's the next game, UCF at home. So the first let's just splitting this up into January, and I'm gonna throw West Virginia in there because it's New Year's Eve, but still West Virginia at Central Florida Arizona State three to zero at Cincinnati at Iowa State two toughies. Case State at TCU Houston UCF, that should

I agree, and I would pick seven and two on page Okay.

So then after that, if you have them going thirteen and seven, then you have them going six and five in their last eleven games, which is bad, and February will have a lot of sad asscarcbs if that's the case. Here's the February schedule at Baylor. That's tough. They haven't won there since Udoka as a bouquet was here. Iowa State at home most likely home ol on the schedule, that's a brutal, brutal two day turnaround there at Kansas State.

Yeah, I agree, and I think they will absolutely lose one at least, I mean if.

They so, if they may get through that with one loss there, and you have them at nine and three at this point, then to get to thirteen and seven, you have them going four and four down the stretch to end, which probably means you don't have them winning any road games.

Uh, yeah, they I would, I honestly would pick all four of those l's on the.

Road that which that would be the home games Colorado, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and Arizona. You give them wins there. The road games Utah BYU, Colorado and Houston. I mean, geez and and and to you to your points. If you lose to Utah and Colorado on the road, if you lose both those games, you shouldn't be better than fourth in the Big twelve.

Yeah, yeah, Yeah, if you're losing, if you're losing in Salt Lake on a random Saturday at nine pm, that does not scream series contender.

I'm with you, though, nine and three to that point, and that's where we have them splitting because I think they go six and two in those last eight games. You think they go four and four. That's the difference between thirteen and fifteen wins. Correct, So we'll see, we'll see. And in that stretch, I don't know if we picked them to lose any home games. We kind of did it in chunks. But like that my initial thought on that running through that, and this may blow up in

That I think is as like tough a road slate as you'll find.

I mean, who are the five best teams? Who are the five teams in this league that you think are Kansas's biggest competition? They play all of them on the road. Iowa State and Cincinnati. There's two, Baylor, there's three, Houston, there's a move. Yeah, so but Colorado are both not

But like you know, we've said that before and and Case State makes that a game.

Do you think hundred Dickinson wins Big Twelve Player of the Year.

No, I don't. Actually he probably won't. If they finished four, he'll be one of the top three.

Yeah, someone in Iowa State will win it if if they win the league, and I mean Houston's got players and Cincinnati he's got players. Yeah, if they finished, they got to finish top three for him to have a chance at it. But all right, so it'll be interesting if what they're thirteen and seven with your prediction, that's riding into the NCAA or the Big Twelve tournament at

Yeah? That sounds about right. That's that's about what i'd say. Yeah, twenty four and ten.

Feel that feels like a lot of losses.

And that's gonna be a three or four probably three.

And a loss to a good shooting three seed or six seed, a weights. It feels like, sounds about right. That's I said, round to thirty two loss. That was the music that was playing in my ears the other night when we recorded, and that will still be the music playing in my ears.

Come March, I fear, But who knows. If you very pessimistic, admittedly this team is still very good and very talented. There's absolutely a future where this team is, like, you know, twenty seven and seven are better at like a one seed and rolls to an elite eight.

I remember whenever Kansas was a one seed in twenty eighteen, at twenty seven and seven, I remember people saying, like they deserve it. But it's wild that there's a one seed with seven losses that used to just never happen, and now you look at the big twelve slate. I don't know how anybody, I mean Iowa State has as good of an argument as anybody to be a top

Than it usually is. Uh, well, we'll see what case State does you know? You know we gotta have that.

Not for Kansas, Kansas State, except for the one year for Kansas your least favorite Kansas team of all time is the only one that's ever won an easy game out there, And boy was it a good one.

Fifty four forty one, fifty.

Nine forty one, sir, they scored fifty nine and that game, use me, excuse me. By the way, do you know what the score of that game was with one minute left?

Wasn't it like like fifty to thirty six or something.

It was fifty nine to thirty five with a minute left, and Kansas State got to walk on threes that pulled them out of the thirties, which I believe would have been the fewest they've scored in like seventy years or something like that.

One of the worst games of any sport I've ever watched.

And only a couple thousand souls were there to watch it, which is good because now you know how, like like years later, like a thousand more people than actually were there tell their kids they were there for the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl. It's it's the opposite for that kuk staking there's only like four hundred people who claim to be there.

Yeah, exactly, So Okay.

Overall, I think that we feel pretty similarly with Kansas regarding what hasn't gone right. I have more optimism just based on history's sake. Eighty percent of the time they wind up as a top two seed under Bill self, the talents there, they usually compete to win this league. I'm betting on history because it just tells that tells us that they normally figure things out way more often than they don't.

You're betting much, right, I'm betting on recent history.

Yeah, recent history, which is what since twenty nineteen, nineteen twenty one, two, three, the last and four the last six years, they've only won the Big Twelve twice. No, they won it three times, twenty twenty two to twenty three. Half the time they have a which is frustratingously still quite good. Yeah, but we'll see a lot of it all depends on our buddy. Yep, come on, damn it there,

Beat him so bad they turned into Arlington Catholic.

Oh snap, that was actually pretty funny. Look at that. It came on a show that I don't know if anybody's listening to, but you know, at least it was funny, nice work.

For all four people that heard it, hopefully they left.

So whenever we have literally quite literally zero other games to recap, I guess we just go right into the next SEGMENTE ask RCB. That's this very short other game segment really helps our average here in my goal to not make the game where we're the show where we're not recapping any games, be less than an aaron half. We only have a few askarcbs as well, because people have been busy with other stuff this week. I guess I guess I'll start with my own question that's not

Hey? It was really good. It was really good. Had a good time just with the family. This year. We didn't go anywhere, so just my mom, dad, and sister. It was fun. They got me a refurbished laptop, still a couple years old, but I didn't have a laptop of my own. Actually I was living in the year nineteen forty five. So they got this one podcast I borrowed my mom's really my sisters specifically specifically for the show. Yeah, I would also use it to I'm writing a script.

Well, I won't spoil I do know a lot of in the script. I've read it, and don't steal his idea. It may or may not involve a basketball coach. That's bald that.

We all know the ending at lead eight loss.

They all know. I mean, hey, you know what I was gonna say, takes teams that are really good early in the season and they limp their way to a to a sub five hundred record in the second half of the year. Who would play Hunter Dickinson there, sir, Because whoever is is going to get booed off the stage?

Are doing this on the stage?

No, it's oh, it's not a movie. It's not a play. Okay, I was picturing. I've been in I mean, it's been the year of musical sir. I've seen a lot of plays. I feel I'm still in Wicked mode at this point, which I refuse to watch. I haven't even seen it. I refuse to watch till it comes out on the streaming apps, because there's no chance my walnut sized bladder is sitting in a movie theater for that long. But everybody's talking about Wicked. So I feel like that that's it must be a play.

Right it is. I mean it's a musical, it's a movie also, but it was a Broadway show. Yeah it was.

And here's my like, I don't know if this is if this is gonna be a quick audible out of it. I so I listened to Ariana Grande singing a Santa Claus song in like twenty seventeen, and I saw the Wicked preview and I didn't know who it was, and my wife said, that's Ariana Grande. I said, no, it's not. That person's white. When did Ariana Grande go Michael Jackson. She's not even close.

To what she looked like a few years ago.

Like, is this it's an audible out of because I'm genuinely curious when that happened.

No, it happened. I'm as far as I know, as someone who does not really follow Ariana Grande that closely. Uh, as far as I can tell, it happened for this movie. She's gone with fairy like pale makeup, and she has the blonde hair for for the movie, so as far as I know, this is a very recent development.

Interesting I didn't know. I didn't know that was her because she looked so different, which is wild. But I hear the movie's great, so I'm sure she's counting her one hundred dollars bail was in the process, because there's probably a lot of them.

Good.

I'm glad your Christmas was good. There wasn't any The Chiefs didn't ruin Christmas this year. They've lost one time since last Christmas, so I'm sure every other fan base is thrilled to hear me talk about how Oh I'm glad the Chiefs didn't ruin Christmas by losing their second game in a year. But I think that there was only one political moment when we had a Trump bobblehead pop up in a in a in a gift exchange where there's plenty of people in the house that did

I would certainly assume the person that did that new exactly what they were doing.

Yes, yes, they most certainly did. And it sounds like something that Dick Underscore would do. But unfortunately he did not. He did not cleat a political question this week. So everybody can come back out from underneath there, out of your hiding spots. So Wayne got this question in just a little bit too late last show, and I copied and pasted it in my own notes because I want to make sure I asked it. But then Wayne reasked it,

I'm knowing myself, I would consider it for about a day and decided it wasn't worth it. If it was forced upon me, I would probably like a few days, maybe three or four days.

So according to Google, the average or median rather median income in the United States for an adult man was forty five nine hundred dollars last year. For the average person it was thirty nine thousand. Won't get into that debate, so we'll just take the average person thirty nine thousand dollars was the median income. In order to make that, you would just need to stay in prison for like

Uh.

Like, you take like like five weeks and stay in federal prison, and then the last like forty seven weeks of the year, you can do whatever you want. Then you wouldn't have to watch Kansas lose eight conference games in that stretch, and you'd have a ton of money when you got out.

That's true. I mean that's all upside the way you've put it there.

I couldn't do it. There's no way. The money wouldn't matter. I would die in federal prison.

You know me.

You know I would die in federal prison.

It would be yeah, I'd be rough. It'd be rough time for Ryan Landrath. I think it would be only marginally better for landin Fields. I think it would be equally as bad.

Landon is more endurant than I am. As far as I'm sure Landon can fall asleep in a room that doesn't have a fan going, I cannot do that. So therefore the prison every night.

But you could.

But if you got tired enough, I think you could. You seem more likely to be capable of falling asleep on anything. Whereas that ain't gonna work for me. I'm i'm I know. I need a cat, I need a fan, I need a heated blanket. I'm not doing I'm not out to to stay.

Can you sleep on airplanes? No?

I cannot. I cannot. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Before you ask how tired, it doesn't matter. I can't do it.

See I thought, but that I wouldn't be able to, And then recently, one of my out of town trips was overseas, if nothing else, so its first time going overseas. I was in Europe. It was cool, and I fell asleep.

I am so envious of that, because that would make the time go so fast if you fell asleep and woke up and the flight had half of it was done.

See it is, and that does rock. I will say though, on the way over, not tired enough for an eight hour flight, didn't sleep a wink.

Yeah that's see. That sounds right. So it's something you kind of have to go through your battle scars. And then after dealing with an eight hour flight with no sleep, you kind of then are a case of falling asleep on said flat exactly. Yes, but if you can't fall asleep on a but if you can't fall asleep on an airplane. You probably aren't falling asleep very well in prison.

Correct, Yeah, yeah, probably not. You're actually probably in significantly more danger in prison.

Yeah, not gonna work there. I would take zero days, Wayne, But I am curious for you to answer that, because you're very good at giving me feedback on the show. Tell me how many days would you opt to spend? Even though if you're spending Christmas in Nicaragua, twenty seven hundred dollars a day to go to prison, you may not need it. So here's the building of life wherever you don't need to go to prison to make twenty

I know? And how is this not figured out? With college football game?

Elon Musk he can send a lot of stuff up in the air. Can he not figure out college football? Play college basketball video games?

Those two are equal skills like those are feeding off one another. They're dependent.

Yeah, if he can send a rocket ship to the moon, I have to hope that he can make a college basketball video game, which is why he was elected. Well kind of, he's going through the president land, and I'm not sure if you know that.

He's going through the president or going for the president.

I have lots of comments I want to make that would infuriate both sides of the political spectrum, but I'm just going to move on to this question about ranking Chiefs teams instead. That seems safer. From one to six, rank every Chiefs team besides the current one in the Mahomes era. Okay, so right off the bat, I want to say the eighteen team is first. It wasn't the best, but it was the most fun.

The eighteen Chiefs team is like one of the single most fun seasons of any sports team I've ever had.

That was so unexpected, like neither one of us had ever had anything like that, and it just was a dream until the coin landed on heads instead of tails in the AFC Championship game.

Correct, I would co sign that exactly. That's not the best, but it is the it's my best.

Am I crazy if I say that half of those seasons ended in Super Bowls, and I think the team that I would pick to beat any of them was one that didn't.

I don't think eighteen would beat many of the other teams quite frankly, too flawed.

No, it's twenty twenty is the best team of the Mahomes era.

Yeah, you're probably right. I think you are probably right.

It goes in this order, and I think there's a decent gap between each of these blocks. Actually, twenty then twenty two, then nineteen, and then twenty three, then twenty one, then eighteen. Eighteen was the quote worst team.

Eighteen eighteen was not worse than life lat season, not even close.

You think the eighteen team beats that's because of offense. Last year's defense was the second best in the league. Twenty eighteen's offense was the best in the league. It's similar, just it's not as pretty to watch. But last year's team was. They won more close game.

Yeah, but the eighteen team would not lose that Christmas game to the Raiders.

I don't know that that eighteen team also wouldn't have beaten the Ravens. Seventeen to ten in the title game.

That is true, but they still might have beat them.

We do you agree that it's twenty twenty two and nineteen of the top three in some order?

Yeah, those are the three best, Like if we're bracket styling, those are the top three seeds. I agree, And I really.

Thought I thought eighteen was better than nineteen until the second quarter the Texans playoff game too, And now I'm not sure. I don't know a lot of people would say last year's Chiefs team was the worst of the six. I don't think that that can be true, but I like because why because the offense wasn't as good.

I I mean, eye test, it was the worst. But the eighteen defense is probably The eighteen defense is probably worse than the twenty three offense.

The eighteen defense is the worst of any of those twelve units.

Yeah, I think that is true, even though the twenty three offense really wants you to believe that it's them.

Like you say, the eighteen team definitely beats the twenty three team or whatever. The eighteen teams defense literally lost the game for the Chiefs on the title game with a self inflicted error. The twenty three teams big thing was they didn't beat themselves. Mahomes was two and two through four games in his career where he scored forty points.

Which is absurd. I still think, and this is good basketball analysis.

A lot of basketball they analyze right now.

It's true. I still do think like that. The eighteen Mahomes team though, like they could torch anybody, and I think they would scored on the twenty three defense easily, and the twenty three offense would score on that eighteen defense. But I like, I don't know. I mean, they were kind of a super jankie unit.

It's a matchup thing for sure, and I'll hear that argument. Also, fun fact the eighteen Chiefs were the eighteen Chiefs defense was the first time that caused, at least for my years to hear Landon saying the F word because the Chiefs scored fifty damn points in Los Angeles and lost. Somehow, there's still this day the only team that's ever scored

Oh you hadn't had one before that, I know at least.

No, I was a goodie two shoes in high school, Sir, you should know that I was homeschooling.

No, so was I. I really let it slip on the on the chat, try to try to pull it back, But yeah, that did happen. That's true. That's true. If there was one day, six turnovers in one game, five turnovers in one game, losing the greatest game I've ever watched with my eyeballs.

Hey, you know what, three he had six turnovers and led his offense like six hundred some yards. That game wasn't on my homes and Skip Bayless tried to make it sound like it was, and I hated it.

It definitely wasn't just a frustrating, frustrating night, even though in hindsight that is like the only Chiefs loss that I go back and watch the highlights occasionally, because that game was just absolutely sick.

So the breakdown of that game, they scored fifty one points and had five drives into turnovers.

Right, that is absolute banana pants.

And in order to get a game to have fifty four to fifty one points, you have to have a lot of special teams or defensive touchdowns. There just simply aren't enough possessions in a game. And I think that game had three defensive touchdowns. It did Alan Bailey fumble recovery and then to like book them. I think that was his name. I can't remember his first name. Touchdowns for the Rams, Aaron Aaron Donald forced one of the strips at he did and and up until the Raiders

I didn't even know that. That's wild.

I actually don't think that's true.

I think, yeah, curious Tony, Yeah, let a ball go through his hands for pick six. He also threw yeah, the Bills, that's.

The one I'm thinking of the Lightning game with threw Tyreek Kill's hands. Okay, how about this. That was the only time Mahomes had a pick six that wasn't a drop.

I don't know if that's true either. I do the film of every game.

I pride myself as a man of faith slash man of stats. And there goes Castianos to make it a four to nothing ball game. That's disappointing, Like, really, I'm better than that. I'll do better with my next k U stat. Here's an other football question, and Landon, I think you're gonna agree with me on this at Show Me Hawk, who is always giving me the business on Twitter for my very very aggressive NFL coaching takes, says, can you elaborate on why football coaches should go forward

Uh, it's not crazy, And you kind of did catch that situationally.

No, if it's three nothing in the fourth quarter and your defense is playing well, sure kick it away. But like if your offense can't get one or two yards, you should lose.

Yeah, I largely do agree with that. If you're at like the thirty plus going the other way, yeah, you're kind of going for that fourth and two or less anywhere on the field.

Field goals are also utterly useless unless you are extending a possession game to one more possession of a game. Think about it. You have to score more than two field goals to be worth one touchdown.

Ryan, that is one of the wisest things you've ever said in your days on this earth.

Wow, that's crazy, and like eventually, so like right now, we look back at like the nineties Chiefs who would punt on fourth and one at the opposing thirty eight, and we laugh at how conservative coaches used to be, whereas now, I mean in the Lions, one of the early two thousand Lions teams literally kicked off good to kick off in overtime because of the wind, like teams were so conservative back then. In twenty or thirty years, we're going to look back at this era of NFL

Of the field. Correct, that is going to happen.

Yeah, Fourth and fourth and like four or less on the plus side of the field is an automatic go unless I can kick a easy field goal to make a one score game with two.

Score game, Yes, I agree, or if I'm up forty.

Especially right, exactly, especially if you have a quite possibly the best football player that will ever be seen when all said and done, with a rocket launcher attached to his right shoulder.

Whenever you have that guy and you choose vision making.

Correct, yes, so when like when you have that guy, I would prefer not to kick the eighteen yard field go off the one yard line like they did not too long ago.

I concur I think you're onto something there. I think let the best player in the history of the football make plays that seems good to me.

Sure would be nice, but you know how that works. At Bentley Hunt fifteen, what's the record and conference play this year? We kind of went over and I'll say fifteen and five, thirteen and seven. We got two from cam who we missed dramatically. Here, he says, ask RCB your face with two choices. Number one, let Bob Huggins be your designated driver in rush hour traffic. Oh lord,

God, I'm I'm uh. I don't Jerome Tang's polish is wearing off a bit these days, considering their six and five start with shameful l's. But uh, you know, I'd spend six hours in a car with Tang. I think as a guy, he's probably okay, okay.

Whoever has captured landing and is holding him hostage. We're coming for you. We know who you are, and we know you're making him say stuff like that because nobody is on purpose spending six hours in a car with the shoeless Jerome Tang, who is the We were talking about this on the last show, how crazy it is that Jerome Tang. What he said was what bought him good grace immediately, and now what he says is like making it fall apart quickly.

Yeah, to be sure he is, he is slipping a little bit.

It seems Jerome Tang would be like a fifty four percent winning percentage if he was just five hundred in overtime games. Like the overtime stat is the only thing holding him up from having some ugly numbers. Yeah, that is somewhat true. That is showing, especially this season, they're bad. Cam also wants to know what is our opinion on eggnog? Coming from a pre diabetic man, he says, I have never had actual eggnog. We used to have that like

I just this year tried eggnog like a vanilla spice one that was really really good, and I had regular, which was fine ish, it was okay, okay, So you would.

Give it a solid five out of ten.

Uh? Yeah, Regular, I would give maybe like a six. And but the vanilla one, I would say, that's like an eight. Is it better than pumpkin flavored drinks? Uh? The vanilla one?

Yes, Okay, I'll have to I'll have to add some point, like you remember how crazy how cuckoo people would go for that at Culver's.

Yeah, I do remember the eggnog shake being fairly popular.

It was also really easy to make. I hated being on shakes and having people order like thick candies because they were harder to blend. But the eggnog was completely liquid, so it blended right into the shake mix and you could sandbag the hell out of those orders. It also was the same color as the white, so you didn't really even need to try. It looked like it was blended.

Oh well, that's true, that's true.

That is a fun fact. I have never been recognized on this show, but I know sometimes people who used to operate Alait that Colvers sometimes listening to the show, So hopefully they missed this episode. If you ever have asked arcps to Twitter hashtag is eggnog better than pumpkin? Come back cam? Come on? Come on? Well that was my fall. I had the sound thing muted once again, going for podcaster of the year. All right, previewing a

This is the single least accessible conference game in the history of Kansas basketball.

Ah, but you are forgetting, oh Kansas basketball. I thought you're gonna say the Big twelve because Arizona State and BYU played two hours later on the same day on the same app.

That is significantly less accessible than this.

Awful, just awful. Darien Devrii's West Virginia Mountaineers enter Allen Field House with the same record as Kansas at nine and two. They pulled off one of the biggest upsets in college basketball this thus far, by shocking third rank in Zaga and Atlantis. They also in that tournament beat Big twelve Fox Arizona. They were paired together before they became conference rivals. The losses for the Mountaineers are the only other two teams on the schedule that people have

Coach's kid, Tucker Devrez is a six to seven wing as one of the best shooters in the country. He is forty seven percent from three this year. It's very, very good, but he hasn't played since the Atlantis tournament and is out indefinitely. He's almost certainly out for this game as well.

That hurts slash helps depending on who you're rooting for here. Oklahoma State transferred Javon Small has exploded onto the scene as one of the best guards in the conference. He leads to the Mountaineers with twenty points and five assists. He's shooting thirty nine percent from three, and he's just a dynamite key to my heart caliber eighty seven percent

Just like this next guy. The West Virginia front court normally would feature six to eight Money Hansbury, who's averaging eleven and seven, but he is also hurt. We don't know if he's gonna play. Six to seven Eduardo andre is the center, and six to eight Toby o'canne. Good thing Nick's not on the show, gets plenty of run,

Yeah, it's interesting.

These are the type of basketball player.

These are the type of teams that have given Dickinson and Kansas problems in the past, which means, hello, kJ Adams, they're gonna need you. West Virginia has really good defensive metrics against a underwhelming slate of opponents. Their slow pace and strong rim protection have carried them statistically. They shoot a ton of threes, averaging ummost thirty attempts per game as a team great, and they make a fine but

Except when they play an Alfield House against this team. Kansas is sixteen and oh against the Mountaineers and games played outside the state of West Virginia, including a perfect twelve to zero at Allen Field House, and that I believe that would make four and oh in the Sprint Center. Yeah, the team moble centers overall KU twenty one and seven against the couch Arsonists, and I.

Don't think they're gonna have any couches to burn in this game. Although West Virginia is a total wild card. Like now, there's a lot of there's a lot of people that are speculating that Devid is done for the year and we'll seek a medical red shirt. And it's hard to see West Virginia winning this game without him. He is just electric and it sucks not being able to watch him play. He's one of the most fun

Yeah, I do think that streak continues. I think the streak against West Virginia in out house continues. I do think Kansas will flirt around a little bit here with West Virginia. I don't think this is going to be just like a runaway and hide from the jump kind of game. I think West Virginia will keep this close for a little while, but I think Kansas ultimately does win comfortably by eight to ten or so. I'll say they win seventy three sixty four.

So not a game that has you either way feeling better or it's just kind of up. That's what I expected you right around the number and they're one to.

Oh yeah, I think it's about right.

And I asked Cam to pick the game. He said Kansas by thirteen seventy six sixty three, which feels about right. This is Cam's first show that he's missed, so we had to send him to score the games to pick, and he responded instantly, we want to talk about somebody who's taking pick him Seriously, it's almost like he knows what the punishment is. Here are the other games beginning with Big twelve games, and none of these games sound like they should be Big twelve games. Number seventeen Cincinnati

Yeah. I was gonna say your logic for all of that makes a lot of sense, and normally I would agree, but I think Case State sucks out loud, So give me the bear.

They are they are dreadful, Like they are just dreadful right now, you cannot and if if they beat Cincinnati, it's not one you're gonna kick yourself for not picking right Like, no one should pick Kansas You nobody should bet anything, especially dollars, but anything like pick them on Kansas State until further notice. Number fifteen Houston at Oklahoma State. This feels like when Houston starts to remember who they are. I think they.

Roll a close win for UH for Houston.

Battle of teams with nine losses TCU at Arizona. They played a real entertaining NCAA tournament game a couple of years ago. I predict this one is worse, and I think Arizona has an arrow that points up. At some point they beat the Horny Frogs.

Same. I think they'll get this one. Tough place to play.

This is a tougher one to pick too. Number three Iowa State at Colorado. I don't love loading up on road teams, but I think Colorado's got to prove you something. Iowa State's been here before, like they feel. We saw him win by twenty eight and MAUI. In this matchup, they have to be the pick.

It will be a closer. I agree. I was about to say the same thing. I do not love just picking a bunch of road games road teams to win, I mean, but I will take a third one in the cyclones.

I bet you won't pick a fourth one, at least not yet. Utah at number twenty five, Baylor bears big corracts UCF at Texas Tech. That's kind of tempting, but I don't think UCF is as good as the record shows, and Texas Tech's pretty good at home.

Yep. Agree.

And then Arizona State at BYU on New Year's Eve right after Kansas hopeful this game, but I'm going to overtime, so we can get onto this one boy, probably BYU and pro. All these games feel pretty straightforward, right, like like none of these were really that hard to think about.

Yeah, I mean this is definitely picked the favorite until further notice territory. So yeah, I'll take the well TPAU as well.

Which means we're all going four and four because we all.

Picked the exact same eight games because k State and Oklahoma State will win. TCU beats Arizona at the buzzer in Colorado pulls off a shock.

And Kansas well, the good thing they have the streak, that's the only thing keeping them going. Two other games, by the way, so we can get ten. I don't know what I'm gonna do with pick them, because normally we picked five Big twelve games and five other games, and then it was seven and three, and now it's there's gonna be more than two other good games each week. So I don't know what I'm gonna do. But you get two this week, Number twenty two UCLA versus Number

I'll take them. I'll take them here.

I will too, I think they're good. I don't think they're going to be deserving of their seed, but I do think this is a good roster. And number eight Marquette at Providence. I will take Marquette on the road. Don't love it, Yeah, I was. I was tempted with Providence, but I will go Golden Eagles. Providence is probably the worst team in the Big East not named to Paul so far. So I mean, but that's like.

In geometry, and they're like the thing of the thing is this. It's like, obviously the worst team in the Big East is always to Paul So at all.

It doesn't matter. Like Providence could lose one hundred in a row and they'd still be the second worst team in that conference. Like it doesn't matter.

That's how I feel about to Paul. No offense to.

Paul so Kansas's next game will be on Sunday, not Saturday Sunday. If you're a Chiefs fan, you should be happy that it'll be Carson wins time and not Patrick Mahomes taking the field against the Broncos, because you're gonna need to be in stead on the ESPN Plus app to watch Kansas go to Orlando and play Central Florida where they have never lost, in the second game of the year to Central Florida on conference play, right never.

I didn't see it.

That was horrible. And I got on this stupid microphone after that game and said, hey, guys, you know what, it's a stinker. It happens.

I think we all kind of did say that.

That was like, and then West Virginia happened.

That might actually be the first KU basketball game I ever watched. After I moved out of my parents' house.

Hey, moved back in after that horrendous show.

Yeah, yeah, that's the key. That's the I'm just saying, they.

Want a lot more whenever you still live with your parents. Landing actually correct, you are right, Well, you're gonna have to take one for the team. All you have.

Won zero national title since I moved out, and they moved to one two when I lived at home coincidence.

All right, that's that's it. Cam, get down to Kansas City. You and I can go pick up Landon's bed. We'll drive the moving truck. We gotta get this done. Somebody's gotta let your parents know that you're coming back. Okay, Well then, and so will Bill self because that's what needs to happen. So we'll do another show late, probably late next week because they won't play till Sunday, and that'll be on the new year. You made it through

Man what Yeah, this is really original stuff.

It's also nice to talk to you entering your last year because once you lose pick Him this year, there will be no twenty twenty six for Landon.

So you're moving back in your house.

Your your move back into the your parents house will be quite brief if you don't start picking games better.

Hey, we'll see what happens.

You might be moving again if you if you catch that gies. Yeah, this is Inside the Paint on a rock chalk blog.

I'm Ryan Landreth. I'm Landing Fields all right.

And the way you said that, you went up like you were expecting to cam to slam it home like you're not supposed to, like like leave that like door opens, like you were throwing a law. But there's no one there to slam it down.

There's no threats like when someone plays notes on like a piano and they don't finish the sequence and just left open. Sorry about that.

That's exactly what happened. But next time, Campbe'll be here to finish the duet. I guess that's what? What's that? What? What's duet? But with three? And I almost said thropple and I'm sure as hell is not a thropple. Yes, trio, that's the word that. That's the word that.

I'm thinking of, and so very different things.

Oh man, hey, what what I t t Who wants that? Nobody? Absolutely nobody. We're coming Wayne, because Wayne is kind of sick in the head like the rest of us.

Boy, Ryan, I'm glad this forty five minute shows an hour and a half. Goodbye, guys, Yeah, yeah,