I trust someone like Bill Connelly a fair bit more. Especially since Mandel seems to be worrying more about running The Athletic than anything else now. Connelly predicted 7-5, but with the caveat that the ceiling could be high if the late season surge proves sustainable. His take is that the program remains in limbo, that it has neither sunk nor thrived yet in independence. Makes a lot more sense than Mandel's nonsense about returning to the MWC in the name of relevancy.