1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,960 Speaker 1: On Wednesdays, we chat with our friend Rick Browing from 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:08,360 Speaker 1: Musketeer Report dot Com and the NKU radio broadcast. The 3 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: Nurse beat the Bearcats last night, the Brescia Bearcats ninety 4 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: two to fifty three. NKU was on the road on 5 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:20,720 Speaker 1: Saturday for a tilt against Bellermint. Meanwhile, Xavier as the 6 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:23,919 Speaker 1: school erects the Trey Carroll Statue outside the Cintas Center. 7 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:26,759 Speaker 1: The Musketeers have one more non conference game against Missouri 8 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:30,520 Speaker 1: State before beginning league play against Creighton a week from tonight. 9 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:32,800 Speaker 2: Rick is with us. How's it going. 10 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:36,640 Speaker 3: Well. I just want to tell you. I can't say 11 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:38,199 Speaker 3: how fun it was to hang out with you at 12 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 3: the Crosstown shootout. 13 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 2: We had a really good time together. It was fun. 14 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:41,200 Speaker 2: It was fun. 15 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 1: I'm glad we got the chance for fellowship, a chance 16 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:47,639 Speaker 1: to get caught up, chance to get to know each 17 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:48,880 Speaker 1: other on a more personal level. 18 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 2: It was great. 19 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 3: Yes, so thank you for that. 20 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:54,279 Speaker 2: That was the only part of the Crosstown shoot at 21 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:55,280 Speaker 2: that I enjoyed. 22 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 3: Understandably. So I think about the only way it could 23 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:04,560 Speaker 3: have been more embarrassing for Wes Miller and we talked 24 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:06,840 Speaker 3: about last week. He said that you felt like Wes, 25 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:09,760 Speaker 3: Miller was kind of the central figure going into the shootout, 26 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 3: which I agreed with. I think the only way it 27 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 3: could have been more embarrassing for him was if Richard 28 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 3: Patino had gone up in Panston before the pregame panshitt. 29 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 1: Uh, what is the is the worst take you've ever 30 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:24,840 Speaker 1: had in your podcast mine where I said Bobba Miller 31 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:26,279 Speaker 1: was going to be the best player on the floor. 32 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 1: You know, here's the thing. 33 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:31,319 Speaker 3: He wasn't that bad. 34 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 2: He put up pretty good numbers. 35 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:34,680 Speaker 3: I mean he had a double double, right, But like 36 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:38,480 Speaker 3: the thing is, the shootout is about who makes the 37 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:45,240 Speaker 3: plays when these games on the law as they're going 38 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 3: head up. Trey Carroll from Florida Atlantic, like Trey Carroll 39 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 3: just got the best of him. He didn't score in 40 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,120 Speaker 3: the final seven minutes, and Trey Carroll made big shot 41 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 3: after big shot with the game on the line. And 42 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 3: yet you know that's really what the shootout is about. 43 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 1: It is, I thought, but the stories of the game 44 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 1: from a xavior perspective. Number one, Tray Carroll without saying right, 45 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: thirty points, he was awesome. If he makes his free throws, 46 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 1: it's an even bigger game. 47 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 3: But to me. 48 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: It was just sort of the juxtaposition that Xavior team 49 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 1: and the Xavior team of the last couple of weeks 50 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 1: versus the Xavior team we watched play the first three games, 51 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: I think culminating with how badly they got beaten against 52 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:25,919 Speaker 1: Santa Clara. The improvement over the last number of weeks 53 00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:30,200 Speaker 1: has been striking. Has has that rapid? Has that rapid 54 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: accelerated growth and improvement caused you to recalibrate your expectation 55 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:36,080 Speaker 1: for this year's. 56 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,480 Speaker 3: Team without question. I just got done talking about that 57 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 3: on the Musketear Report podcast, where you know, if you're 58 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:44,760 Speaker 3: trying to do like the Vegas win total of they 59 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 3: always have that changing throughout the years as the team 60 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 3: goes on. It's like I had him at eleven to 61 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 3: start the season. I think you'd have to give him 62 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 3: a pretty significant bump all the way up into like 63 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:57,840 Speaker 3: that fourteen or fifteen total wins range at this point 64 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 3: at least. The one thing that says out to me 65 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:03,520 Speaker 3: about the West Virginia and Cincinnati wins are both of 66 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 3: those teams are ranked right around seventy. 67 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 2: Five in ken Pom. 68 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:10,120 Speaker 3: Right now. There are five teams if you include Creighton 69 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 3: Crayton sixty eighth currently in keen POM. So if you 70 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 3: say they're pretty similar to that level of team, there 71 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 3: are five teams at that level or below right now 72 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:22,400 Speaker 3: in the Big East. I mean ten games bigger where 73 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 3: they can finally go five and five or even have 74 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 3: a winning record six and four against those teams that 75 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 3: are similar to West Virginia and Cincinnati, two teams they 76 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 3: all beat. Then yeah, I mean the conference late looks 77 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,240 Speaker 3: way different than we originally expected for the Musketeers when 78 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 3: we were thinking they're going to struggle to win a 79 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 3: couple of Big East games this season. 80 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 1: What has been the most striking or surprising thing about 81 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 1: the way they've played since that Santa Clara game. 82 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 3: Well, I think the most striking part is how Richard 83 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 3: Patina was so willing to flip his starting lineup, which 84 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:01,320 Speaker 3: meant completely changing the way his team looked and operated. 85 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 3: Going from a lineup with big athletic front court and 86 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 3: shop blocker and Anthony Robinson at the center spot to 87 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 3: a team that's like a small ball approach and really 88 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 3: spacing the floor and utilizing its skill on the perimeter. 89 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 3: That has changed everything for this team. They are causing 90 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 3: real matchup problem, and not just for the old dominions 91 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 3: of the world, but we saw it against West Virginia. 92 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 3: I think we saw it even more for real against Cincinnati. 93 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 3: It's hard to guard two front court players who play 94 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:34,000 Speaker 3: on the perimeter and have legitimate skill and passing and 95 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:37,839 Speaker 3: shooting abilities. I think that's the biggest thing to me, 96 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 3: without question, is that switchover and style of play and 97 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:45,960 Speaker 3: leaning more on their skill and their passing ability and 98 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 3: their ability to not turn the ball over while doing so. 99 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:51,039 Speaker 3: That's really been so impressive to me. 100 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 1: Last Saturday, I was driving with my daughter and we're 101 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: in the car and we're going to Newport to go 102 00:04:56,839 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 1: visit Santa Claus. Santa Claus was in town, and as 103 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,520 Speaker 1: taking my daughter to go see him, go and find out, 104 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 1: you know, for him what she wants for Christmas. And 105 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:08,920 Speaker 1: we're listening to your call of Nku Versus Perdue fort Wayne, 106 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: and you sounded like you were having a blast. And 107 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:13,359 Speaker 1: I think when we got to the to Newport on 108 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:15,200 Speaker 1: the levee, I believe it was forty to twenty five 109 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:17,560 Speaker 1: or forty to twenty seven. It was right before a halftime. 110 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 1: And we go and see Santa Claus and we have 111 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,840 Speaker 1: a hot chocolate and I had a libation, and then 112 00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: we get back in the car and you sounded like 113 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: you wanted to kill yourself. 114 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 2: They lose the game by two points. What happened? 115 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:32,560 Speaker 3: Uh, yeah, you want to see a mood flip quickly. 116 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 3: That's that's about as quick as it can happen there. 117 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 3: NKU had a fantastic performance through twenty minutes of that game, 118 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 3: and then they let up a twenty zero run in 119 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:48,279 Speaker 3: the second half there against Perdue Fort Wayne, where you know, 120 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:50,720 Speaker 3: Darren Horne has been telling us throughout this they were 121 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 3: on a six game winning streak. He'd been telling us 122 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:54,640 Speaker 3: after each game that's like, you know, yeah, happy to 123 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:56,640 Speaker 3: get the wayn happy to play well in certain areas, 124 00:05:56,680 --> 00:06:00,280 Speaker 3: but we have to get better defensively. And we finally 125 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:02,560 Speaker 3: saw what he was talking about in this road game 126 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:04,839 Speaker 3: at Purdue Fort Wayne, where all of a sudden, the 127 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:07,040 Speaker 3: shots didn't go in for them on the offensive end. 128 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:08,640 Speaker 3: It got a little bit hard on that end. They 129 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:10,840 Speaker 3: lost a little bit of confidence, and then they didn't 130 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:13,760 Speaker 3: play the same way defensively. The energy was gone. They 131 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 3: weren't pressure on for Due Fort Wayne's perimeter players like 132 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:21,039 Speaker 3: they have been and Prdue Fort Wayne has three guys 133 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 3: that can that can really score, and all of a 134 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:25,400 Speaker 3: sudden it just became an avalanche effect on them in 135 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:28,440 Speaker 3: the second half. Now, they still could have come up 136 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:30,520 Speaker 3: with a road when there had they been able to 137 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 3: not fumble the ball away multiple times and have some 138 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,240 Speaker 3: silly turnovers. It was just kind of an all system 139 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:38,760 Speaker 3: failure there in the second half as they collapsed. But 140 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 3: either way, there's no doubt that the focus ever since 141 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 3: that that loss on Saturday a p Rdue Fort Wayne 142 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 3: has been fixing the defense and that's something that that 143 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:48,520 Speaker 3: Darren Horn's been been trying to get across to this 144 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 3: group for weeks now. 145 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 1: All Right, but you're okay, you sounded you sounded like 146 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:54,040 Speaker 1: I felt on Friday night. 147 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 3: Well, you know, it's just like you drive out there 148 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:00,640 Speaker 3: at that three in them. I think I got to 149 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,160 Speaker 3: the hotel around four am. You play that well in 150 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:04,599 Speaker 3: the first half and it's like, Wow, this was really 151 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:06,720 Speaker 3: worth it, and all of a sudden it slips, and 152 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 3: as it's flipping and they're losing, all that was going 153 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 3: on in my mind is and then I'm gonna watch 154 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 3: the Bengals do the same thing tomorrow and the Bills. 155 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 3: You get that feeling as a Cincinnati sportsman where you're like, 156 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 3: you know what's coming next MO, and it just it's 157 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:20,560 Speaker 3: so defeating sometimes. 158 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: I at least had Saturday between the shootout and the 159 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: Bengals game, and Santa Claus brightened my mood until Josh 160 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:29,480 Speaker 1: Allen picked up a first down on third and fifteen. 161 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:32,560 Speaker 2: Rick, thank you as always, all right, Thanks Bo