SoCon Edition: Second-Half SURGE

This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. Which teams are poised for a second half surge? SoCon Fast Break starts now. Okay, Darren, here we go. Hey, another winter storm has blown through here in the southeast in the footprint of the Southern Conference. But who cares? Because we know it's coming down to the wire here, the second half of the conference slate. And we're just past the halfway point. 10 games in already to an 18-game conference schedule. We're blinking our eye, and we're going to be in Asheville. Yeah, and you know, like, we always joke around about it as coaches when you're in the grind of it. When you hit conference season, no matter how many games it is, you blink, and that sucker is done. So, yeah, I can't – even just sitting here right now, I can't believe we're 10 games in at this point. Oh, exactly. It's already February. We're recording this on Monday morning, February 2nd, and it's just amazing how fast time goes by. And we consistently talk about it. So I don't want to harp on that because we got to get to the standings. And let's take a look at the standings here as we see VMI down there at the bottom. And we know they have been struggling. But when you look at the rest of the standings in terms of where we are, it's going to start getting bunched up. And Chattanooga, Western Carolina there, UNCG, Samford there as number six. And then you start getting into maybe a surprise team right there. The Citadel sitting at number five, Wofford, Mercer, and Furman all tied for second right there. And then ETSU is the lone survivor, so to speak, as they are top of the standings right now in the Southern Conference. Yeah, and you know, I think we started to see it a little bit last week, and I think we're starting to really see it more now, is we are starting to see the separation. And frankly, we have now seen the separation. I think there are clearly four teams that are better than everybody else. I think there's that middle pack that when they're playing well, they can be dangerous, but they're wildly inconsistent. And then, unfortunately, I think, you know, you get down to the last couple, frankly, really, probably, unfortunately, just VMI, really, really struggling right now. But shockingly, Chatt sitting there at 3-7, they've found ways to, for the most part, be competitive, albeit this week was an interesting one for them. That game yesterday we'll get probably more into, but that game against Furman yesterday was really never in doubt, even though it only ended up being a five-point game at the end. So shocking to see them where they're at. But yeah, top four teams have clearly separated themselves at this point. They definitely have, yes. We can see the separation. We can see the packs there. And knowing what you're talking about with Chattanooga, the preseason favorite, the injuries that they've had to battle. And injuries are now part of the theme as we're seeing some other teams. We talk about Ricky Bradley Jr. there for VMI, but Kamari Holmes there at Wofford. So now you have two players. Don't forget, Luke Flynn has been out also for Wofford. And he's been a stabilizer type of guy on that offense and even defense. He's that kind of grit type of guy, glue type of guy. But he can be dangerous at times. and Brendan Rigsby has done a really good job filling in for him right now. But as you're going down this last stretch, health is a big part of how teams can find success because that's one of the things the teams that seem to stay at the top have been able to weather the storm from an injury standpoint. And that's why you also have to give Furman a lot of credit that they've had some significant injuries. And for all intents and purposes, they really haven't missed a beat. No, they haven't. And look, that's a testament to the program and the culture that Bob Ritchie has there in Greenville. They just do a fantastic job. And to your point, they've had as many injuries, if not more, than anybody else in the league and impact players. We're not talking about guys at the back end of the rotation that have missed games. I mean, we're talking about starters that have missed multiple games, key rotational pieces. And they're still without Asa Thomas. And this team has found a way to weather the storm. And credit to these young guys, too, because this is a roster. This is a roster that has some balance of older guys. But this is the youngest team from top to bottom, especially rotationally, that Bob Ritchie has had there in several years. And those guys have stepped in and not missed a beat. I mean, Cole Bowser doesn't play for the first, you know, 15 games of the year. Comes in and he's been fantastic. And, you know, that's like I said, that's credit to the program and the culture that they have there where it's the next man up mentality and work while you wait. But that's also a credit to these young men of just being ready and locked in and ready to go when their number is called. And so, yeah, I've got a lot of a lot of respect for how they have been able to weather this storm, because frankly, there are some other teams that have had some injuries and they have not been able to weather the storm. That's right. All right. So let's look at some of the games that were most impactful, because now, as you talk about the separation, these games truly mean something. Not that they didn't before, but now as you're on that last drive to Asheville, it is oh so important because you want to finish in the top six. We've talked about that several times. And that bunch there in the middle, we're going to see some of those big impact type of games. But we've got to start with the big one. Last night, it was rescheduled based on the time. And Wofford wasn't open to the public, so only students could be there. and the Boneyard did a great job. I mean, they were there in that end zone, so to speak. They're on the baseline right there at ETSU's basket. But ETSU, they came in. I mean, this was a fight for number one versus number two. And yes, we talk about injuries. I would have loved to have seen this game with Kamari Holmes there for Wofford. And so we were almost not only not allowed to go there as public, because I was all set to go and watch this game in person because I haven't seen ETSU play in person yet, and I wanted to see just Cam Mars III. I wanted to see Brian Taylor II there and Alan Struthers and Blake Barkley. I wanted to see those guys in person. But we were deprived of a true matchup because of Kamari Holmes being injured, but ETSU just showed their physicality in this game. They did, and look, credit to Wofford for hanging tough for a while without their leading scorer and their best player. You know, Chase Watley stepped up big time, pouring in, I believe he had 19 in this game. And so, you know, look, they battled, but massive, massive. I've been preaching it. I want to see a really strong road win out of ETSU to kind of illustrate and put their stamp on, hey, look, this thing's coming. This thing is coming through Johnson City. And last night, even without Kamari Holmes, I think they made that statement, at least to me. really, really strong second half. And when they needed to kind of throw that haymaker, they were able to do so, and they did. But to your point, man, I would have loved to see both teams here at full strength because Wofford is legit. I mean, this is a good basketball team. This is a good basketball team. All right, so now let's head down to Charleston over the weekend. Another overtime game for the Citadel as they get the big win against UNCG. And I know when you're looking at it from a team perspective where record-wise at the conference level, you might be looking at this game saying, well, this is not that big of a game because it's UNCG and the Citadel based on how they've played this season. But the Citadel is playing extremely well, obviously at home. We know that's part of it, but you have to win at home. But just continuing to be able to fight. And this was a game where they seem to be in control. And here comes UNCG, led by Justin Neely and KJ Younger and being able to eventually take the lead. But in overtime, I mean, big 7-0 run there for the Citadel to start overtime. And that was all she wrote. No, like you said, I mean, look, UNCG, unfortunately, they ran out of gas. I mean, they shot one of seven from the field in overtime. That's right. Credit to the Citadel. This was a this was not the prettiest basketball game in the world to watch. But, you know, this was one of those, this is one of those funny ones too, that you look at and you look at the box score and you're like, how, how did, how did UNCG not figure out a way to win this game Because frankly Citadel didn shoot it great you know but three point shooting and free throws really doomed UNCG here They did not get it done from the free throw line and they shot poorly from three Credit to the Citadel They found a way to grind this one out. This was kind of a real grind-it-out type game. But look, they also got 22 bench points, the Citadel did, right? And that's a big deal, and they took care of it. They only turned it over six times. So as much as you can say, hey, two big things kind of doomed UNCG, and they win the game, Well, you know, to be fair, the Citadel did some things very well to put themselves in a position to win the game. And look, if you only turn the ball over six times, like you're going to be in a really good chance to win a lot of basketball games. And they're sitting here at five and five, as we talked about over halfway through the regular season. They've proved that, you know, on any given night, they can be a competitive team. and they were able to find a way to get this one pulled out the second overtime game in about two weeks with E2G here. Yeah, there you go. And so the Citadel is still trying to climb those standings and Ed Conroy is doing a fantastic job. Fantastic job. They've got three games upcoming on the road. So this is really going to test their DNA, what type of team they are. Speaking of a team that has been tested to the nth degree, and we've already talked about it, VMI, But on the road at Mercer, and give VMI credit. I mean, TJ Johnson made sure that they were in this game, and it took until the very end right there for Mercer to really figure some things out offensively and go on a big 21-7 run, I think, there at the last five minutes of that game that really put this game away. But VMI, man, they continue to battle. And I know the injuries have plagued them, but this was an opportunity of just seeing their type of grit also. Yeah, and you know, like we talked about it, some teams have found ways with injuries and some haven't. The reality is, for instance, if you're comparing the injuries between Furman and VMI, Furman has the depth to be able to withstand that a little bit. And that's not to take away the things I said earlier about what helped Furman be able to maintain. But unfortunately, VMI just doesn't have the depth and experience to be able to withstand the losses that they've dealt with from an injury perspective. But like you said, to your point, they continue to battle. They hung tough. Like you said, TJ Johnson just continues to be fantastic, putting up first-team all-league numbers. But the Mercer Bears, man, continue to just really – not taking anything away from them defensively. But, man, do they continue to put up points. I mean, 95 points in both games this week. and they had 21 assists off their, you know, they had 10 turnovers, but 21 assists to that. And Baraka Okoje just, I mean, continues to lead the way. 7-12 shooting, 24 points. Armani mighty chips in 17-8. And Brady's shoulders, we've talked about him before. Coach Ritter talked about what he means to this team, the guy that you want in any fight with you. But quietly, just doing a lot of the nitty-gritty, a lot of the real tough kind of just hard-nosed things that help you win basketball games. And he chips in here the quiet double-double of 11 points, 10 rebounds, and three and five assists. Yeah. I mean, Brady Shoulders is the epitome as far as what we say a glue type of guy. But he can be effective offensively. And a lot of times you see these glue guys that might not be, you know, from a standpoint from an offensive side of things, that they might not be somebody that you can rely on. But Brady Shoulders seems to make some big shots at big moments and somehow gets that rebound, which we do know that is the epitome of a glue guy. Somehow he will get that rebound. And Darren, a lot of times, too, it might not even show up in the stat sheet for Brady Shoulders, just in terms of the hustle that he'll get his hand on a rebound. And he might not get the rebound, but somehow then it falls into Armani Mighty's hands or it's fallen into Zaire Williams' hands, those type of things. or a deflection that we don't typically see in our stat sheet, but we know the coaches are keeping track of that, how many deflections you have in a game. And Brady Shoulders is probably a guy that is leading in that category for Mercer at times just because he does so many of the little things. And we talked about it also. I mean, he was voted team captain. He's a sophomore. He's only been there for a year. Yeah, and these older guys coming in and realizing that, okay, This guy has that it type of factor, and that's Brady's shoulders. And what about Armani Mighty, though? He cuts his hair. I was like, wait a second. Where's the dreads? It's like, don't – we don't – I was worried that it might be like a Samson situation. You cut your hair and you lose all your power, but he's mighty. It doesn't matter. He just continues to – he almost put up another double-double there and just a force inside for Mercer. Absolutely. And he got back on track after, you know, I mean, a couple of games where he maybe wasn't himself. And he clearly got back on track against VMI. One thing that really stands out to me about Mercer here as a team is they scored 95 points. And uncharacteristically, they didn't really shoot it well from three in this game. But they got 40 of their 95 in the paint. And they got 18 second chance points and 17 in transition. And then 16 points off turnovers. So, you know, they are continuing to play well and to be able to put 95 up, not doing something that they typically do well, illustrates to me how well this team is playing because they are able to get their points in a number of different ways. Yeah, no question about it. And those numbers that you were talking about, that was their safety net because VMI had the opportunity. You get hot from the three-point line, you can upset somebody. And it almost happened right there, but that was the safety net for Mercer. All right, so what about Western Carolina going to Johnson City for the sweep over ETSU? The blackout there in Freedom Hall, and Western Carolina said, no, we're just going to lead from beginning tip to the end of the game, and we're going to win this game, and they held on. Yeah, they did, and man, what a first half. I mean, they came out guns blazing, shot 61% from the field, 43 from three, uncharacteristic, especially at home for ETSU to kind of come out flat. And look, we've talked about it before. Western Carolina is one of these teams that's in the middle of the pack. They are a roller coaster. They can get it done, but there are nights where they don't look like themselves. Against ETSU, they get six guys in double figures. We've talked about it. they've got guys that can score the basketball against anybody. And when they do that, they are very, very dangerous in this league. You know, and look, credit to ETSU too. They came back in that second half and they fought and they fought and they fought and they almost found a way to pull it out. But Western getting six guys in double figures and then 14 second chance points too. I started to look at the little things here, you know, as we get later into the conference slate and they really did well in transition. They got 17 points in transition. fast break points compared to just eight from ETSU. And held ETSU, who's a team that's physical, big, strong, kind of will bully you at times, held them to just nine second chance points. So ETSU still got five guys in double figures, but credit to Western. They found a way to pull this one out. And like I said, when they're scoring like that, they're going to be a challenge. They are. They scored 90 points on the road against ETSU. And probably the toughest environment in the league. Defensively. Yes, no question about it. So it was a big win for Western Carolina and showed that it wasn't a fluke when they beat ETSU for ETSU's first loss of the conference there in Culloway. All right, real quick, I will mention the Samford-Furman game. As Furman goes on to win 78-73, and this was a game that it was a little bit of a roller coaster for both of these teams, but they're watching it live. I was right behind the Samford bend. And one of the things that we've talked about Samford is the rollercoaster ride. And the frustrating thing, because they've got some talent. Now I do think Dylan Faulkner I think he still just banged up He got the shoulder injury and I just don know if he 100 but what I saw is that Samford is a dangerous team Jaden Booth I think was like one of nine at one point and then all of a sudden he catches fire. And he made that game much closer, and that's the reality with Jaden Booth is that he can get hot. And even the bench, as he hits a shot, and it was just a jumper there, a little bit of a floater, but it was almost the sense of, okay, there we go that's what he needs he just needs one basket and then all of a sudden he's pulling the trigger from beyond the arc and knocking them down and keeping that game much closer than it was right there at the end yeah and you know you mentioned you mentioned Jaden Booth uncharacteristically inefficient night for him yes credit credit Furman absolutely credit Furman defensively but you know he did kind of put them on his shoulders and help get them back in that ball game. You know, look, you mentioned it, the dangerous capabilities of the Sanford team, you know, they can get it going on any night as well. I think the one thing that stands out to me, especially for them is whenever you got a Lenny Acuff coach team, I just don't ever think that's going to be an easy task knocking them down. So you're going to have to play well, but they do continue to unfortunately be a little bit frustrating because I just, you just feel like they're better than their record and you know they get down big in this game and they have to fight back so you know the final score not fully indicative of kind of how this game went for a lot of it but one thing to mention the last thing I'll add on this is I know that they have had injuries and their bench is not necessarily as deep as always and at the pace they play sometimes there are big runs but one thing to watch out for for the Furman Paladins is they've had a handful of games in conference where they've gotten up real big and they've let teams come back. Obviously, the game at the Citadel, they end up losing, but they're up big both games this week. Fortunately, they pulled them both out, but these were both games that were against Chattanooga yesterday was cut to one possession, and the Sanford game was also cut to one possession around two minutes, right? And so if you're Furman, you've got to figure out a way to not allow teams to come back late in the game, you've got to be able to finish these games off. Yeah, you definitely do. But Tom House had a great game, and it's great to see Tom House. And we enjoy seeing spectacular performance from any player, not just Furman players, I can promise you that. But it's almost one of those situations. You talk about Asa Thomas' injury. Is that a positive in terms of a benefit that Tom House gets to step up and get some extra minutes, get some confidence, and he had 20 points in this game, and he's been a big part of why Furman's being able to weather some of the storm from an injury perspective. So that could be a positive. And Alex Wilkins, he continues now. He fouled out in this game, but he just continues to play really well. Okay, so speaking of that, team of the week, though, we could say Furman. There's no doubt about it. We could say Mercer also, another 2-0 week for Mercer. And as you talked about, They did score 95 points in both games. So offensively, they're putting up some absolutely ridiculous type numbers. But don't we have to look at the Citadel? They went 2-0 this week also. And they're 5-5 sitting there in the conference standings, as we've talked about. But I'm going with the Citadel as the team of the week. And again, we're probably splitting hairs because I know both of those games were at home. I get that. But for the Citadel, this is a big opportunity. They didn't win a conference game last year. And I know I'm not comparing last year to this year, but to a certain degree, you do because we didn't know exactly what to expect from the Citadel. And you can't even calculate a percent growth because you can't divide by zero, which they won last year. They didn't win a game, I should say. So this is like infinite growth that we can't even calculate for the Citadel to be sitting there with five wins. And so I'm going with the Citadel as team of the week. Hey, I got no problem with that at all. And to kind of add to your point there, you can see that they're getting better as the conference season has gone on. And I'm not sure that over the last couple of years, you've been able to see that growth, I think like you are right now down there in Charleston. But that's an incredibly well-coached team. I mean, Ed Conroy does a phenomenal job. And so it's not shocking that they've found a way to figure this out. I'm going to go with, however, though, the Furman Paladins. 2-0 this week. Two big wins. Two games that you had to get. You got a reeling Chattanooga team that had lost three straight. Always going to be a challenge just because, again, another great coach, one of the better coaches in the country, Dan Earl, frankly doing an incredible job with this bunch. And they kind of took their soul early in that game. Now, like we mentioned, Chattanooga came back, but Furman really kind of shut them down early in two games that they needed to get to keep pace and dealing with the injuries that they've dealt with. Getting Cooper Bowser back yesterday was huge, but I think that this week for them was really important, especially with some of the other games on the schedule with some of the more prominent teams playing each other. They put themselves right back in position to go win this league as they just sit one game back now. Okay, there we go. The Citadel and the Furman Paladins are teams of the week. Okay, player spotlights. Okay, you look at Dylan Faulkner. We talked about him and 21 points and 13 rebounds over two games and a 23-point, 14-rebound game there against Western Carolina. Baraka Koje. Oh, my goodness. It seems like we can consistently say his name each and every time we record. He's the engine of the Bears offense. had 40 points and 15 assists in the two games and just showing that he's not just a scorer. I mean, he is an orchestrator for the Mercer Bears right now, and we could easily look at him. Justin Neely, double-double machine. I mean, it's just ho-hum each and every game for him, and I just love the energy I see from Justin Neely. He runs the floor with a passion. He gets to his spot. He stands wide. He gets a wide base, and sometimes they just don't get him the ball. I'm like, throw it to him. And it was a heartbreaker for him, I know, as he missed the game-winning three-point shot there at the end of that Citadel game in regulation. That obviously would have given the Spartans the win there. But Justin Neely just continues to be one of those strong type of contenders here in the Southern Conference. TJ Johnson, yes, we talked about him. Just massive weekend for him, connecting on 11 three-pointers for the week, including a season-high seven against Mercer. Cam Morris III, steady Eddie. We've talked about him before. I think he's somewhat underrated. We don't give him enough attention, in my opinion, just because ETSU gets the attention as a team. Christian Moore from the Citadel, he continues to be a veteran type of guy, the leadership that he provides. But, Darren, we've said this before, it's just a timing situation. And at some point, there was going to have to be a time where he was just a little bit above everybody else, and that's Alex Wilkins at Furman. What an amazing week that he had for the Furman Paladins, averaging 26.5 points per game in the past two games, a career-high 33 against Chattanooga, and shot 17 of 25 from the field in the past two games, and also 10 of 11 from the free throw line, and also shot 75% from the three-point line, 9 of 12, over the past two games. Yeah, so that's pretty special right there. So we don't know 100% because we're recording it this morning on Monday. The Southern Conference will release their player of the week later today, but you can't tell me it's not Alex Wilkins. I'm saying Alex Wilkins, Furman Paladins. Oh, me too, all day, all day. He he hit that game yesterday in particular. He was he was just fantastic. He's playing with such a high level of confidence as he has all year. But you can tell that he's really gotten into a good rhythm. And I have to I have to agree that I think this has got to be the week that he gets it So many great performances and we talked about it before as well but so many of these performances and now I know we didn necessarily mention it just now but so many of these good performances are out of these freshmen. I am just blown away by how good this freshman class is of just the impact that they're having on so many of these rosters. But Alex Wilkins, that would get my vote for player of the week this week without a doubt. The only thing I want to say about that, though, is I hate to look at the negative, but he's got to cut down on the turnovers. Has to. Yeah. Has to. He leads the league in turnovers right now, and he needs to cut those down. If he can do that, I mean, watch out. I mean, we already know he's a spectacular player, but that's one of the things that, hey, if there's an area in improvement, that's definitely it. You've got to slow down on the turnovers. He's a special talent. You know, I'm nitpicking there, right? He's a special talent and a great, great young man, too. Like, just a really, really good dude. And you can tell the level of respect, even as a freshman, that the rest of that roster has for him, which I think tells you a lot about who he is and what he's doing on the court as well. Hey, and the rest of the league also, you know he's at the top of the scouting report, and he's still putting up these type of numbers. That speaks volumes right there. I'll say this. You know, look, the Southern Conference has some of the best coaches in the country. I'll go to bat and argue that with anybody. But I don't understand why teams are letting him do some of the things that they're letting him do. Now, he is that good where he's able to find other ways. I think so. Man, I mean, I'm just surprised that he isn't getting a little bit more attention from teams' defensive schemes than he is because, man, And I mean, he makes the game a lot easier for his teammates in addition to the scoring that he's doing. He can get downhill so fast, and he gets the defender on his hip, and it's over. And then the other side, I've seen several situations where, as we know, Mark Jackson, hand down, man down, and he's out on the perimeter, and there's no hand up. And it doesn't matter if it's 27 feet. He'll pull it, and he'll knock it down. That's how special he is. Yeah. No, he is going to be an elite level player when it's all said and done. I mean, he's already done incredible things as a freshman that, frankly, most freshmen don't do. That's right. He's a hooper. Let's put it that way. Yes, he is a hooper. Yes. All right, stat of the week. I'm going with the Citadel. Yes, I'm going back to the Citadel. They lead the nation in overtime wins this season. Three overtime wins. Yes, so there we go. And also, their back-to-back wins this past week, that's the first time they've had back-to-back conference wins since 2023. Yeah, it's been a while. And also, how about this? If they can finish in the top six of the standings, they haven't done that since 2009. So this could be a special season for the Citadel. All right, our power rankings. All right, we'll go through these. I've got VMI, Chattanooga, UNCG, Western. The Citadel sitting there at six. I've got Sanford at five. I know we could probably flip-flop those. We've got Wofford at four, the Kamari Holmes injury. And we know also Luke Flynn is not there. That could be an impact there type of situation for Wofford. Furman at number three. Mercer at number two. Yes, you could split hairs right there. I get it. I just think that right now, until Furman is completely healthy with Asa Thomas back, then we might see a different type of Furman team. But again, it's oh so close. And then ETSU at number one. I don't think it's hard to argue that. No, I think I think ETSU is clearly number one at this point. I had I had a very similar ranking. I had I swapped Western in the Citadel. I had the Citadel at seven and Western at six. I think that that win obviously really disappointing to go back home after such a big win on the road and not get a second win this week for the Catamounts. But I still think that that win against ETSU showing that they can get six guys in double figures. So I had them at six. But again, you know, splitting hairs. I had Furman, and I struggled with this because I do think that they're so tightly bunched together. But I had Furman at two, and I had Mercer three, Wofford four. And frankly, really only had Wofford four because of not having Kamari Holmes last night. I think you could easily put them at three. But like you said, one through, I mean, probably maybe two through four, but even throw ETSU into that mix a little bit. I mean, those top four teams. Oh, yeah. Look, I said it before. I'll say it again. If any of those four teams takes on the regular season crown, I'm not going to be surprised at all. Yeah. The only reason we would be surprised for Wofford if they take the regular season crown is because we didn't know what to expect out of this team, you know, heading into the season. And that's the only reason. But now that we've been able to see them play, there's no doubt one of those four teams can easily finish at the top of the standings. Okay, speaking of the games that are going to have an impact on some of those, how about this? Western Carolina at UNCG on February the 4th. And I highlighted this one just from the perspective of this is those bunch of teams that you're going to have to have some separation. And we talked about it. You want to finish in the top six. So that's a battle for positioning there. Furman at ETSU. Okay, here we go. This will be a test for Furman taking it on the road. Can they also have the same type of success? And can, you know, in Freedom Hall, can ETSU, after Western Carolina comes in there, you're going to have to play better at home. The Citadel at Samford, and again, this is one of those games you might not have highlighted at the beginning of the season. But now where we are in this season, this can have an impact on the standings, especially from both of these teams. The Bulldogs are meeting there in Homewood, Alabama, and this is a big opportunity for both of those teams to create some separation. And then Mercer at Chattanooga. This is now Mercer. We know you're undefeated at home, the only team that's undefeated at home right now. Now can you take it on the road and be able to take on a Chattanooga team that has been battling injuries? So this is almost one of those type of situations for Mercer. If you want to continue to be up there in top of the standings and be one of those teams that we feel can win this conference, this is a game where you've got to go win. No, absolutely. You know, I think, look, Chattanooga is reeling right now. Lost four straight, but that's never an easy place to go play. You know, that's a game, like you said, Mercer's got to go in there and they got to take care of business and they got to get that one. I agree with you. The Citadel at Sanford, really, really intriguing one. Can the Citadel take another big step? and illustrate that they can win on the road against a very capable Samford team. And then you mentioned Furman at ETSU. I mean, this will be for an opportunity for first place in the league. And can ETSU slow down Alex Wilkins? And they're going to have to take care of the basketball that the Paladins are because, as we've talked about before, ETSU thrives on those turnovers. They want to turn you over, and they've been doing that at a very high clip all year. You know, can Furman take care of the basketball, not allow ETSU to get easy buckets in transition? and frankly if they're able to do that, ETSU can control the pace a little bit better so confirm and play a little bit quicker pace that they want to play at. And then one other game that I do think is worth mentioning, another Chattanooga game is the Citadel at Chattanooga. Another opportunity for the Citadel to go in and try and get a win against a reeling team and the flip side is injuries or not, does Chattanooga have anything left? I know they made that run in the second half yesterday, But frankly, for the better part of 80 minutes, they got the doors blown off them this week. And so, you know, do they have anything left to be able to make one last kind of push, you know, to hopefully not have to play that first day of the conference tournament in Nashville? Yeah, that's a big task. And we know you've only got eight games left of the conference slate. So we are coming down to the wire. But here's what's easy, though. just make sure you hit that subscribe or follow button and that can be on youtube apple podcast spotify or wherever you get your podcast including the iheart radio app until next time may all your jumpers hit nothing but the bottom of the net