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Hello! I’ve missed you! Last week feels like forever ago. I’m glad you’re back! Let’s talk sports post-college football season!

Death, taxes, and Brenda Frese leading Maryland to 20+ wins. The Terps have hit that mark in 20 of her 23 seasons at the helm, and appear poised to do it again. This year’s team is led by Duke transfer Oluchi Okananwa, who is averaging 21 ppg in 8 conference games. They’ll need her to ball out if they want to hand Iowa its first Big Ten loss of the season.

Two of the four teams tied at 3-2 in the standings. The Rose have dropped two straight close ones as they try to figure out how to work newly-healthy Kahleah Copper into the mix. They will try to get back on track against a Mist team led by the always-underrated Allisha Gray. She is currently 4th in the league in scoring, and I badly miss her being on the Lunar Owls.

Unrivaled Friday continues as old friends Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby face off. The Vinyl badly need someone other than Hamby and Rhyne Howard to score some points. They are the only other non-Lunar Owl team to have just two players averaging double figures. Meanwhile, the Phantom are just 0.2 Natasha Cloud points per game away from all 5 players averaging double figures. Their well-balanced attack almost took down the league-leading Laces last Friday. Horseshoe and hand grenades, but they are very good.

March is just around the corner, so it’s about time we start getting familiar with some non-Power conference schools we might be seeing in the tourney. Army and Navy are currently tied for first place atop the appropriately named Patriot League standings. Impressive coaching jobs on each side. Not only is it Katie Kuester’s first season at Army, but it’s also her first season ever as a head coach. On the other side, Tim Taylor has his team in the hunt for March Madness just 3 years after a 1-29 season. They match up well, too, so it should be a close one!

It’s been a while! Standard events and distances will take place, but we’ll also get to see some of the biggest names in the sport participate in intermediate events. For example, Noah Lyles, whose strength is the 200m, will face off against 400m specialist Vernon Norwood in the 300m. As a bonus, this will probably not go bankrupt in embarrassing fashion!

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite matchups to watch. Their previous 3 games were decided by a combined 13 points, including Houston’s 4-point win just a couple of weeks ago. That was the Red Raiders’ only Big 12 loss to date, and they’d like to return the favor. Can they generate enough points against a Cougars’ squad that’s on track to finish in the top-3 in scoring defense for the sixth straight season?

The Broncos survived an OT thriller against the Bills, but lost QB Bo Nix for the rest of the postseason in the process due to a broken ankle. Jarrett Stidham will start in his place and try to take down the team that drafted him back in 2019. The Patriots’ defense just had C.J. Stroud looking like Nathan Peterman, so he might need some Mile High magic to pull it off.

Last Saturday night, I learned a very important lesson about the perils of overtired babies. During this three-hour-long ordeal, the only thing that kept me alive was the thought, “Well, at least I’m not a 49er.” That’s how badly Seattle beat them down in a 41-6 drubbing to advance to this one. They look like a buzzsaw, but the Rams are too good and too familiar with their NFC West foe to go down like that.

They split their matchups this year, with the largest margin of victory being 2 points. Their Week 16 showdown might have been the most exciting game of the entire NFL season, as Seattle got down by 16 points before storming back to win it on a 2-point conversion in OT. With a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, the excitement levels could exceed what we saw in that one.

Let’s start getting familiar with potential tourney teams on the men’s side as well! The Lumberjacks have already won more Southland Conference games than they did all of last season. First-year head coach Matt Braeuer was the Director of Basketball Operations right here in my hometown of Charleston for the Cougars when they made the 2018 NCAA Tournament. That was also the last year we saw the Lumberjacks in the tourney. That appearance was one of three that were vacated due to NCAA penalties, so let’s see if he can get them one that stays on the books!

This is the only time you’ll see the Jazz on national television all season, which means it’s your only chance to see Keyonte George hoop. The 3rd-year guard out of Baylor got a wake-up call in the form of a tough conversation with head coach Will Hardy after last season. He has responded in remarkable fashion by putting up career-highs across the board. Yes, the Jazz stink, but it’s not George’s fault!

Let’s wrap up with some more mid-major hoops as the George Mason Patriots are seeking their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2011. Head coach Tony Skinn was on that Patriots team that made the historic Cinderella run to the Final Four back in 2006. I don’t know if I’d book a trip to Indianapolis yet, but they are 1 of 10 teams with no more than 1 loss so far this season.

As always, thank you for reading! Make sure you’re subscribed so you get this in your inbox first thing every Thursday! Also, share with your friends! I’ll see you next week!