This week on The IX Sports Podcast College Basketball Edition, hosts Michael Waterloo and Melissa Triebwasser preview the Southeastern Conference (SEC) ahead of the beginning of women’s college basketball.
Triebwasser and Waterloo jumped right into their preseason segment. Each week, the pair will pick the teams from each conference they think will make the NCAA Tournament come March.
To make those picks, Waterloo and Triebwasser flipped a coin. With the first pick, Triebwasser chose the University of South Carolina.
“Melissa, that is a slam dunk pick, and we’re not betting people here, but that is they are the safest bet to get to the Elite Eight that I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Waterloo said.
Waterloo then chose Vanderbilt as his top pick.
“I was torn between them or another team, but it’s Mikayla Blakes. How can you not be excited for her? She’s somebody that I’m very excited to watch as she just continued to progress from freshman season to sophomore season, and now she gets to kind of take it over as a junior,” Waterloo explained.
Triebwasser took the University of Texas as her second pick, and Waterloo took Louisiana State University (LSU) with his second pick. You’ll have to tune in to the episode to hear more of their middle-of-the-pack picks!
Later in the show, the pair made some choices informed by the fact that the NCAA Tournament field will be bigger this year.
Waterloo said that the University of Tennessee will punch a ticket to the tournament despite last season’s performance and postseason exodus.
“It is a brand new roster, a brand new team. We know the history that the [Volunteers] have, and that’s why I expect them to continue to keep their streak up of making NCAA tournament,” Waterloo said.
For her last pick, Triebwasser said Texas A&M could make it to the tournament from the SEC.
“They obviously — they lost some really really good talented players, but there’s always going to be a team that nobody’s talking about. That roster continuity plays a huge role. I think they’re well coached. I think they play good style defensively. They’re a real menace, and so I definitely could see this team winning just enough games,” she said.
Be sure to tune in to the episode to hear which other teams Triebwasser and Waterloo think will make the tournament — and who will be left out.
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