On another daily episode of the Straight Outta WAC podcast, we are talking Bearkats and Cougars. Sam Houston play-by-play voice Rob Hipp drops in to talk about the Bearkats. And special guest head coach Jason Hooten joins the cast as well to talk about the difficulty of preparing for a conference opener with COVID on the table, too. 

Savion Flagg has been really good for the Bearkats. Unfortunately, there has been inconsistency around him, which has led to a struggle throughout the non-conference slate. Tristan Ikpe, Javion May and others need to step up if the Bearkats are to have success when WAC play opens on Thursday. The Bearkats face a well-known foe in Lamar. The Cardinals knocked the Bearkats out of the Southland Conference tournament in 2021 so there is a little redemption on the mind of the Bearkats.

In the second segment, we talk with Josh Hunt who breaks down Chicago State. The Cougars have four wins in the non-conference slate. All four wins have come against Division I opponents. And the four wins are the most Chicago State has had in a season in nearly three years. The Cougars haven't been healthy all season with a pair of freshman still dealing with nagging injuries. JUCO transfer Brandon Betson has been really good for the Cougars under first-year head coach Gerald Gillion. Chicago State opens WAC play at Grand Canyon and at New Mexico State. Not a good combination.