Eye On College Basketball

Episode: ’25-26 Best of the Rest Preview: Gonzaga, SDSU … and who else steps up? A critical season awaits for mid-majors in the NIL/portal era
Date: October 28, 2025
Hosts: Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander

Main Theme

This episode takes a deep dive into the “Best of the Rest”—college basketball programs outside the traditional power conferences (Power Five + Big East)—with special focus on how the changing landscape of college hoops (NIL, Transfer Portal) is impacting mid-major programs entering the 2025-26 season. Gonzaga, San Diego State, and other notable programs are evaluated for their season prospects, potential NCAA bids, and survival strategies as talent disparities grow.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Gonzaga Spotlight & Tyon Grant Foster Legal Decision

• [00:35] The episode opens with major news: Tyon Grant Foster is cleared to play for Gonzaga after a Spokane judge granted a preliminary injunction against the NCAA’s eligibility decision.
  • Grant Foster’s winding eligibility journey (JUCO, Kansas, DePaul, heart failure and revival, Grand Canyon) and the NCAA’s resistance to grant him a final year.
  • Norlander takes a strong position:
    • [05:16, Norlander]: “The rules as written don’t matter anymore... But if this is the precedent, it’s fine with me. Who wins by telling this young man he doesn’t get to play one more year of college basketball?”
  • Impact: Norlander and Parrish both would have Gonzaga ranked higher had Grant Foster’s eligibility been confirmed earlier.
  • Foster debuts at #70 on CBS’s Top 101 player list.
  • Team outlook:
    • Gonzaga returns two of its top three scorers (including Gramike), adds Grant Foster, and brings in veteran transfers.
    • Still, both hosts stop short of calling them a sure-fire top-10 team, projecting them as a potential 5-6 seed.

2. Mountain West: Last Dance Before Realignment

• [10:37] The Mountain West is about to lose half its heavyweights (Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, SDSU, Utah State) to the Pac-12 after this season.
  • Historic strength: 4.5 NCAA bids per year last four seasons.
  • Norlander predicts a significant drop: possibly just one or two bids.
    • [14:15, Norlander]: “I think [the Mountain West] has a better chance of being a one-bid league than a four-bid league.”
  • San Diego State is labeled league favorite; likely top-25, with elite defense (Bird, Guath, Dixon-Waters return).
  • Other teams (Utah State, Boise, UNLV, Grand Canyon) discussed as possible tournament hopefuls but with lower expectations.

3. The American Conference: Memphis and a Large Gap

• [15:33] The American is now just "The American" (dropping "Athletic").
  • Memphis stands far ahead in KenPom metrics (#52), next closest is North Texas (#88, a 36-spot gap).
  • Norlander: Likely a one-bid league, with Memphis the favorite but not a guarantee; South Florida is "most likely" to be a bubble team, but “does not project as a top-70 team.”
  • GP’s worries: Penny Hardaway has scheduled a tough non-conference—helpful if they win, dooming if they struggle early.
  • By the numbers:
    • [19:46, Norlander]: “The 36-position gap between Memphis and the second-place team ... is the biggest gap between first and second in any of the top eight conferences at KenPom.”

4. Atlantic 10: Still Searching for a Top-Dog

• [20:24] The A-10 hasn’t produced a true top-30 team since Obi Toppin’s Dayton (2020) and hasn’t sent three teams to the tournament since 2018.
  • Norlander’s optimism: Changing thanks to NIL—VCU has outbid high-majors for recruits (Sammy Jackson).
  • This year likely “more of the same” as far as tournament bids and overall league strength.
  • Post-break, Dayton is picked as favorite, with St. Louis and Loyola-Chicago as key challengers. VCU spending big, but coach Phil Martelli Jr. is unproven at this level.

5. Portal Wars & the Great Mid-Major Talent Drain

• [23:31] The core big-picture story: Has the NIL/portal era permanently shifted the landscape, gutting mid-major talent?
  • Convincing evidence of a real divide; not just rhetoric:
    • Recruiting classes: No mid-major team breaks the top 35, compared to Memphis’s #1 class in 2019 and 2021.
    • Transfers: Best non-power-five freshman class is USF at #38; best transfer haul is Grand Canyon at #39.
    • Retention failure: “Memphis… lost its best player to a Big 12 program. Memphis couldn’t even hold on to its best player.” [27:50 - Norlander]
  • The only way this might balance out: enforced salary caps or further disruptions to the current pay-to-play climate.

6. Other Notable Non-Power Programs to Watch

• [30:19+] Hosts run down key “Best of the Rest” teams:
  • WCC: Only Gonzaga and St. Mary’s seen as real tourney threats. St. Mary’s may struggle after losing four of top five scorers.
  • Mountain West: Boise, Utah State, UNLV (new coach Josh Pastner), and Grand Canyon get notice. Utah State cited as having an NBA prospect in Mason Fosslev.
  • A-10: Dayton (favorite), St. Louis (Robbie Avila), Loyola-Chicago (strong bigs, “RIP Sister Jean”), and VCU (optimistic spending/excitement for new coach).
  • Others: Belmont (MVC favorite, 3PT specialist Lumblade), UC Irvine (Big West), South Florida (AAC dark horse), Yale (Ivy), Charleston (CAA; “coach on the climb” Chris Mack), Miami (OH) potential MAC champ.
    • Rotating segment of fun: [46:13] “Do you have a go-to rule on telling if it’s Ian or I-an?” [Both hosts joking about name pronunciations.]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the Grant Foster court decision:
  • Matt Norlander, [06:02]: “If the clock starts, and before you’re able to finish four years… you have a heart condition that requires you to be resuscitated multiple times, then yeah—come back and finish your eligibility. Who is even arguing the other side?”
• On the growing gulf in mid-major recruiting:
  • Norlander, [25:40]: “Once upon a time the mid-majors could try to offset [high-major recruiting] by retention and development… [now] they’re taking the best young people and the best old people. Everything’s shrinking on the mid-majors right now.”
• On the American’s issues:
  • Parrish, [19:43]: “Memphis is 52nd at KenPom right now. Second in the American is North Texas at 88. That is a 36 spot difference.”
• On the Mountain West’s uncertain future:
  • Norlander, [14:15]: “I think it’s got a better chance to be a one-bid league than a four-bid league.”
  • Parrish, [14:35]: “I think there’s a better chance at four than one… That’s kind of spicy for you, this early, GP.”
• On potential mid-major Cinderellaes:
  • Parrish, [41:41]: “Just a variety of different mid-major teams to keep an eye on. As always, there will be surprises and that’s why we love it.”

Segment Timestamps

| Time | Topic | |----------|-----------| | 00:35 | Tyon Grant Foster cleared for Gonzaga; eligibility debate | | 05:16 | Norlander argues for Foster’s eligibility, the future of mid-major eligibility fights | | 08:24 | Can Gonzaga re-enter the top 10? Discussing roster depth/transfers | | 10:37 | Mountain West realignment fallout, San Diego State preview | | 13:36 | Norlander: MWC definition, likeliest at-large teams (spoiler: very few) | | 15:33 | The American—Memphis vs. the field; non-league scheduling stakes | | 20:24 | Atlantic 10’s identity crisis; NIL arms race | | 23:31 | Portal & NIL war: Has mid-major talent truly declined? Stats/proof offered | | 30:19 | Team rundown: St. Mary’s, Boise, Utah State, UNLV, Grand Canyon | | 34:06 | A10 deep dive: Dayton, St. Louis, GW, Loyola, VCU | | 41:41 | Sleeper mid-majors: Belmont, UC Irvine, Yale, Charleston, Miami (OH) | | 44:26 | Chris Mack at Charleston; coaching “on the climb” | | 54:25 | Notable new mid-major coaches: Pastner (UNLV), Farokmanesh, Olin, McCaffrey, Bibby, Hodgson, Martelli Jr. | | 55:17 | Josh Pastner at UNLV: Will he get them to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008? |

Fun/Light Segments & Banter

• [46:13] Norlander and Parrish riff on the pronunciation of “Ian/I-an” and “groin,” leading to a series of tongue-twisters and laughs.
• [47:44] “Soft tissue injury” becomes a running joke, with Norlander unable to pronounce “groin.”

Predictions & Bracket Talk

• [48:06] Last season, just four at-large bids outside the high majors.

  • Norlander: Predicts under 4.5 this year, only three at-large non-power bids. "That’s depressing as hell."
  • Parrish: Takes the over, tips five bids, with specifics:
    • St. Mary’s (WCC), Boise State and Utah State (MWC), Dayton and St. Louis (A10).

• [51:03] Parrish names his all mid-major first team:

  • Grammy K (Gonzaga), Robbie Avila (St. Louis), Miles Bird (San Diego State), Doug McDaniel (Memphis), Mason Fosslev (Utah State)

Conclusion

The mid-major landscape for 2025-26 is more polarized than ever. Gonzaga still sits atop the “Best of the Rest,” but with realignment on the horizon and the power conferences draining both high school and transfer talent, the room for upstarts and Cinderellas is shrinking. The Mountain West and A10 face pivotal seasons, while leagues like the American now seem like one-bid situations unless Memphis (or a dark horse) overachieves. Amid these changes, top mid-major coaches, new and old, are adapting—or struggling to keep up.

Memorable closing quote:

• Matt Norlander [49:09]: “We’re going to get an unusually small number of at-larges from the non-Power Fives. And then the Power Fives are going to convince us the best way to fix this is to expand. Then they’ll fill the expanded tournament with their own teams. That’s what’s happening.”

If you missed this episode:
You’ll come away understanding which programs could still play spoiler in March, why veteran players and the transfer market mean everything now for non-power teams, and which leagues/coaches might be most ready to adapt (or face extinction) as college basketball’s balance of power shifts even further in the years ahead.