Eye On College Basketball

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01/31: Ohio State's D.J. Carton takes a hiatus to better his mental health; the Pac-12 is eating itself alive; best bets Jan 31, 2020

Show notes

Ohio State's D.J. Carton announced Thursday that he was taking time away from basketball to improve his mental well-being. The episode starts with Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander applauding his decision, and making the distinction between what happened here vs. the Kobe King sever at Wisconsin. You can't accuse this podcast of bias against the West Coast: the Pac-12 (20:00) gets discussion up and down the standings after a noisy Thursday night in the league. Amid some tangents and digressions, the guys also have a the Final Four + 1 (36:00). They agree on three of the five games -- and also make their Super Bowl LIV pick.

01/30: Wisconsin's got huge issues; Coach K scolds the Crazies; our predictions for the four 1 seeds come March Jan 30, 2020

Show notes

Wisconsin just had one starter quit the team and another get suspended for a crotch punch. That's how the pod opens. Then Parrish and Norlander get to Coach K going ballistic (22:30) on the Cameron Crazies, and a theory as to why he did -- and then some amusement at Krzyzewski's suggestions for some new chants for the students to use. There is also the Dayton Flyers (40:00) to discuss, as Norlander reported on them for CBSSports.com this week. The Dayton chat leads GP and Norlander to make impromptu predictions on who the four No. 1 seeds will be, and then the mailbag (53:00) comes with both long-overdue Iowa talk and a tremendously tough user-submitted Trivia Time!

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, GARY!

01/26: The news of Kobe Bryant's death envelops the basketball world, the sports world — and beyond Jan 27, 2020

Show notes

There is college hoops to discuss, but we can only start with our shock and reaction Kobe Bryant, his daughters and others dying in a helicopter crash. Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander open the podcast with a somber but direct discussion, reacting in real time to the near-unbelievable news that came about on Sunday. There is plenty of college hoops talk here as well, starting with Kentucky, Baylor and Maryland (29:00): who had the best road win of the weekend? The guys also discuss Shaka Smart and the likelihood he's still at Texas (47:30) next season.

01/24: How can the Big Ten be the best conference in America when it doesn't have a verifiable national title contender? Jan 24, 2020

Show notes

Come on in. This Friday ep starts with some discussion on Indiana beating Michigan State in a gripper on Thursday night, and wanders into some larger Big Ten discussion. Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander then assess their level of concern over three slumping teams (15:30): Butler, Memphis and Ohio State. Suspensions were handed down for Kansas and Kansas State players (31:00); the guys share their thoughts on whether the disciplines were rational. And as always on Friday, it's the Final Four + 1 (35:00), which features four Saturday tilts and one Sunday game.

01/22: Kansas' Silvio De Sousa indefinitely suspended, plus UVA's chances of missing the NCAAs and Illinois' surge back to relevance Jan 22, 2020

Show notes

A carryover conversation from Tuesday's overnight emergency pod, this episode extends the conversation with many thoughts from Parrish on the K-State/Kansas fight. NOTE: this podcast was recorded shortly before Bill Self announced Silvio De Sousa was indefinitely suspended, so there is no direct reference to that. After the K-State/Kansas discussion, Parrish and Norlander differ on whether they think Virginia (20:00) will miss the NCAA Tournament. Who won't miss it? Illinois (26:00). Norlander discusses his conversation with Illini coach Brad Underwood. And since this is a Wednesday ep, we've got your listener mailbag (33:30).

🚨 K-State/Kansas fight that will surely lead to significant suspensions and fallout — Emergency Podcast (1.21) Jan 22, 2020

Show notes

On Tuesday night, Kansas State and Kansas players were involved in a donnybrook that spilled into the stands and provided an ugly look for college basketball. Suspensions are forthcoming, but reaction is now. Here's a quickie pod to hold you over before the regular Wednesday edition publishes later in the day.

01/19: Do not curb your enthusiasm: We just had an eventful weekend, so here's loads of thoughts on more than a dozen games Jan 20, 2020

Show notes

Eight ranked teams took losses over the weekend. This podcast is stacked with a look at the landscape of the sport, starting with Louisville dishing Duke its second straight loss. From there, where else to go but Rutgers and the Big Ten (14:00)? We've got some Trivia Time! to get to as well. Speaking off: Vanderbilt (30:30) had its 1,080-game streak of made 3s snapped. And at the 35:00-minute mark, Norlander takes you on a 20-minute tour of nearly a dozen games of note from Saturday. The pod wraps with some miscellaneous chatter that we think you'll enjoy. Does this podcast make you RANDY, baby, does it?

01/17: Shoutout to Devan Downey and shoutout to Chester, South Carolina. The Gamecocks beat Kentucky -- again. Jan 17, 2020

Show notes

On Wednesday night, South Carolina beat Kentucky at the buzzer, paying homage once more to Gamecock legend Devan Downey. There is no other place we could start then there. What's more, Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander touch on Gonzaga (11:00) for a quick minute before getting to Cole Anthony essentially promising he'll soon return to play for UNC (19:00). The final 15 minutes of the podcast gives you a tour of arguably the best weekend yet for college hoops slates. GP and Norlander make their picks (26:00) in the Final Four + 1 and only have agreement on one game.

01/15: Clemson just beat UNC and Duke in consecutive games for the first time in 30 years. Plus: mailbag! Jan 15, 2020

Show notes

Hump day edition of the pod opens with Clemson's win over Duke, combined with some thoughts on why predictive metrics still have the Blue Devils at No. 1 and how that runs counter to proper ranking protocol. From there, the guys get to discussing the ethical matters of whether it's right to fire a coach midseason (21:00), then get to mailbag questions (35:00), which include Norlander poorly attempting to speak in a British accent, a parallel universe for Virginia and whether Mark Emmert should be fired.

01/12: Rush to judgement? Who is the best team in college basketball: Gonzaga, Duke or Baylor Jan 13, 2020

Show notes

This episode opens with Norlander's playful revenge on Parrish, after Baylor proved him correct by winning at Kansas for the first time in school history. Oh, there is a roll call. The guys then get to discussing the compelling debate between Gonzaga, Baylor and Duke for No. 1 status. From there, of course a few words on Clemson (22:00) ending the streak and beating UNC at UNC for the first time in program history. Also, a curious and helpless exercise: GP and Norlander attempt to predict how the Big Ten (32:00) will finish 1-14. They agree on only three teams' ultimate placement. There is also movie chatter. And a listener review special.

Begin the day / With a friendly voice / A companion, unobtrusive / Plays a podcast that's so elusive

And the magic music makes your morning mood

(Listen closely for the subtle Rush references throughout this episode. And rest in peace, Neil Peart.)

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