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Hey there. I am Gary Parrish. Welcome back CBS Sports. I own College Basketball Podcast where we sometimes discuss Campbell Fighting, Dodo Birds and Leaky Black. The Ion College Basketball Podcast is presented by Jersey Mike's, proud sponsor of the Naismith Award. Jersey Mike's would like to offer their congratulations to all of the athletes on the watch list list. Cal Boone is here with me. If you're watching live on YouTube, Honor Brandon Davies, smash that like button. If you haven't yet subscribed to the Ion College Basketball Podcast, please also do that wherever you listen to podcasts like Apple and Spotify. Let's get into it. We're going to start what with what has become, I think clearly the biggest topic in the sport. Darren Peterson, originally nicknamed dp. These days he is more commonly referred to as dnp. I guess I could have seen that one come. KB thanks for showing up today. I knew you would. If you can promise me that you will still be available when we finish this thing in about, I don't know, an hour or so, that automatically makes you more reliable than the most talented player in college basketball. How are you on this Friday morning? And this Darren Peterson thing, buddy, it's taken a wild turn, hasn't it? What do you make of what's going on there?
C
Yeah, weird deal, weird deal with the Darren Peterson thing. GP I promise I will be here until the end of our show. I know you have another show show after this. I do plan on showing up for both the first and the second half. That is largely not been true of late for, as you mentioned, Mr. DNP himself, Darren Peterson. It is a weird situation going on at Kansas and it just keeps getting weirder. Oklahoma State. Welcome Kansas to Stillwater on Wednesday. He was awesome in the first half, ends up checking out with 17:22 remaining in the second half and doesn't return. And it's like this situation just keeps getting more weird, more frustrating, more confusing. It's hard to wrap your head around Potentially the number one player in the 2026 NBA Draft, just no showing or checking himself out. And for reasons that aren't entirely clear, not returning to games. And this has been happening for several times now. As Bill Self mentioned post game, this is not the first time it's happened and it's just, it's just a strange deal, man. I don't even know like, what do you make of this GB because you've covered college basketball for, you know, two plus decades. I don't remember a situation that is this bizarre in its nature.
A
I don't remember anything like this. I have seen players try to play through things when even maybe it's ill advised. I've seen players shut it down, just say, hey, I'm done with college basketball, I'm going to prepare for the NBA draft. And I thought I'd seen just about everything in between, but this is bizarre. I think that's a great word. And I don't care what, what the explanation is. Like I'm at the point where it doesn't matter what the truth is. It's bad. I don't care what you have as an explanation. It's not good. What if it is as simple as, well, his body just won't allow him to finish games. Well then that's bad then he's a teenager who somebody's contemplating using a number one pick on in a draft where there are other awesome options. So if you're telling me there is something wrong with his body that won't allow him to consistently play basketball, that is a concern to me. If you tell me, oh no, it's not really that. He just, you know, if he feels any little thing then he has been advised to just tap out. And whether it's flu like symptoms or tightness in a hamstring, he's not going to fight through anything. This is all about thinking long term. Well, I don't like that either. I don't like that the number one team, undefeated team in the country is in your building. Big Monday and, and you, you decide I'm not playing. I, I, I, we've been over that one. We don't have to, you know, tell that story again. But I, I, I'd like, I'd like to think the guy I'm investing millions of dollars in would want to fight, would want to. He'd die on that court. Figuratively, not literally before. He just tapped out of an hour before tip off because he didn't feel well. I'm not doubting that he didn't feel well. I'm just wondering why you didn't at least try to fight through that and play in that game. I think other people would have. And then this latest thing, finally Bill is done covering for him, which I appreciate if you go back to an episode, I don't know, maybe it was last week but Bill had held, held a press conference and he was like, there's all these narratives out there and they're bs And Norlander asked me about it and he said what do you think of that? And I said, bill did a good job. Yeah, tippy toeing around, tap dancing around the, you know, reality. He's covering for the player, but he's clearly frustrated, he's clearly disappointed. And I think after this most recent episode, if you will, like, they're done, they're done tap dancing. Like Bill was like, yes, this is frustrating. Yes, this is disappointing. No, we did not expect this. Yes, we need, we need our players to play. I mean, it's an, it's an interesting concept. We need our best players to play if we're going to be the best team we can be. And so I hope the young man, and I've been around him a little bit, sat down with him at Big 12 media day, did a one on one interview with him you can find on YouTube. I found him to be an impressive man, a young man. I've heard really almost nothing but great things about him. But he, he is damaging his reputation. One, one reason or another, one way or another, he is damaging his reputation. We should be at a point where he is so amazing on the court, which he is, that we're having conversations about who's going to be the second pick in the draft. Almost like the Wimby thing, like, okay, Wimby goes one, then what are we doing? Perhaps not that dramatic, but it should be settled. From a talent evaluation, at least in my mind, he looks like the guy you can't pass on strictly from a basketball perspective. But there is something going on either with his body or his mind that I don't, I, that makes me nervous, that gives me hesitation, particularly when on the same night he's tapping out of another game. We watch Darius Acuff get 49 points, play all 50 minutes of a double overtime game. And after his game, and there's never an accident with John Calipari, so I think this was intentional. But after the game, Cal said Darius was in a boot. The pat, I don't think he said the past two days, but he said he was in a boot for two days. And Cal said, I even asked him at one point, do you think you're going to have to miss this game, this Alabama game? And he said, are you nuts? He said, the kid doesn't care. Whatever hurt, whatever, doesn't matter. He's playing. And then you've got this going on over here. The contrast is pretty dramatic. This has reached a point where there's no good explanation anymore for what's going on with Darren Peterson. He is, he is, whatever the explanation is it's bad. And if he's not the number one pick in the draft, it's going to be connected to this stuff.
C
I think that's absolutely right. And to your point, I think Self has done a good job managing this, which is like an impossible situation even for a coach of Self's hall of Fame caliber. Last week, to your point, you know, after the Arizona game, he talked about the flu, like, symptoms, and you could sense he was maybe a little bit frustrated, but I think it was defensible up to that point because he had the quad injury. He had, you know, quad cramping. He had a legitimate ankle injury that, you know, by video, looked legitimately painful. He missed a game because of that. And you can kind of explain away all of those things, right? Especially with the, the cramping. It's like there's nothing that suggests that recovery from cramping is linear. Like Palo Benchero had cramping at Duke, and Cooper Flagg had cramping at Duke and Zion Williamson had cramping at Duke. And now that I'm mentioning, all three players played at Duke. But like, all of these great prospects have had various issues. It's not surprising that Darren Peterson has had some sort of injury issues in his freshman season at Kansas. But when you check yourself out of the game at 17, 22 in the second half, and he doesn't play the remaining minutes of that game after the game, Self says, I didn't anticipate that tonight at all. I thought he was good to go. It seems like Darren Peterson is on one page. Bill Self in Kansas are on another page. And when Self is saying, like, I thought we were past it, but obviously we're not, he's frustrated. He's sensing that, like, he can't continuously string together continuity with this roster. And now, like, the positive takeaway from Self postgame was, hey, well, at least, like the rest of the Kansas roster is used to playing without him. That's not great. That's not. That's not a good place to be if you're Kansas going into, you know, 10 days before March begins. You're trying to play your best basketball going into March, and you don't know whether or not your best player is going to be available from half to half because of, you know, flare ups with this hamstring or with the ankle or with the cramping. It's just. It's just an impossible situation. It feels untenable. And Wednesday, I think, reached the point where Self actually, I wouldn't say threw him under the bus. He was just honest. Like, right. I don't. I. I thought we were past this. I need to find out more information because, like, I thought he'd be available, and he wasn't. And so here we are. Kansas is, like, just to add to, like, the crazy situation, Kansas is one game back in the Big 12. Like, they're very much in the mix to win that league, despite the craziness of the situation. Like, this is a really good team that legitimately can win the national championship. And so, like, I think we talked earlier this week on the CBS Sports Network show, it feels like both. Darren Peterson is Kansas's biggest strength, but also, like, his. He is the biggest weakness on this team because you cannot rely on him being available. And that is a. That is a huge red flag for a Kansas team that is so, so talented.
A
It's also red flags for NBA franchises. Last thing for me, and then. And then we'll move on. But, like, it also starts to bring into question, like, what kind of teammate are you? Like, like what. What kind of co worker are you? Because keep in mind, all these players are paid now lots of money, particularly at a place like Kansas. They are co workers. I mean, I know the NCAA doesn't want to call them employees, but they're making money to play basketball. They are employees in any sort of traditional, casual sense of the word, which makes these players co workers. What kind of coworker are you? Like, like, whatever. I don't doubt the sincerity of any of the injuries or the flu, like, symptoms. I just wonder why do you not even look like you want to try to fight through these things and play? I know what cramping looks like with basketball players when they go to the bench and what happens next. And it almost never happens with him. He just sort of sits there and watches the game. Like, like he bought a ticket. Like, the only thing missing is popcorn in a, in a. In a soda in his hand. Like, he just sort of just sits there. Like, all right, I guess I'm done for the day. Like, there seems to be no eagerness to get back into the game. That, that, that would concern me. Like, if we're talking about these people as co workers, like, like you, you knew I was going to be here today. I might show up looking tired. My eyes might be red. I might be on little sleep, but I'm going to be here. I'm going to show up to do the. What I'm asked to do. I'll. And then I'll do the next thing I'm asked to do, and then I'll do the next thing I'm asked to do. Like, if nothing else, I'm reliable. I'm going to be where I'm supposed to be. Why, why are you. I bet you everybody else doesn't feel great all the time either, but they tend to try to play. That's the other thing. Even when he's not playing, it doesn't look like he's trying to get back into the game. It doesn't look like it's life or death with him. Like, there are some days, not to make it stupid, but, like, you know, my back hurts or this hurts and I don't, I don't feel like playing golf, but I've told three other people, I'll meet you there. I'll be there. This is, this is our plan. And I'll meet you and I show up because I, I told people I would. At some point, all that stuff starts to come into question, too. So it's just a messy situation. And like you said with Bill Self, I do think he was finally, I don't want to say for the first time, honest after this latest episode because that implies I think he's been dishonest. I don't believe Bill's been dishonest. Like, I don't think he's been lying. He's just been carefully talking around and in some ways covering for Darren Peterson and his camp. He's just talked around things and covered for them and covered for them. And it felt like after this latest one, he was like, man, I, I, you, you're not going to keep making me go out there and answer these questions, making me look, at some point I look stupid, trying to tippy toe and tap dance around everything. I'm just going to tell the truth. Here's the truth. I thought this was over. Yes, it's disappointing. I don't really know what's going on. I thought we were past this. That's the truth. And I accept that. He sounded. For the first time publicly, I promise it wasn't the first time privately. But for the first time publicly, he expressed the same type of frustration Kansas fans have been expressing for a while. And it's totally understandable. I think that's what I tweeted the other night. Bill Self finally expressed publicly his totally understandable frustration with this situation because it's, it's gotten to a place that it should have never gotten to. I, I, if I were advising Darren Peterson at this point, I would tell him, you, you probably are better off playing through something than you are continuously tapping out of games. You are really damaging your reputation and if you're not the number one pick in the draft, it will be because of the way you and the people around you have decided to handle your freshman season. Let's move on. UConn took a quadrant what what looked like it was going to be a Quadrant three loss at home to Creighton earlier this week. I think because of the strength of that win, it flipped into a quadrant two. So not as bad as it could have been, but suddenly St. John's is alone in first of the big east standings. I Did I jump off of the Red Storms bandwagon that I invented too early? I'm going to ask KB next. First though, let's get a word from
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looked like was going to be a Quadrant three loss at home to Creighton because of the strength of the win for the Blue Jays. It actually flips into quadrant two, but I mean, it's teetering I think as of last night. I suppose I could probably double check it right now. Creighton was 73rd yesterday, now 74th in the net. As long as Creighton stays In the top 75, it's quadrant two. If they dip below 75, it flips into a quadrant three. I know it's, you know, just an arbitrary line that the committee will understand. Doesn't make that big of a difference. But still, you know, it looks different on the on the page. When you go to the page, it's better to have a clean quadrant three than a messy quadrant three. So if you're a UConn fan, you're rooting for Creighton, I guess, the rest of the season. Unless you're playing them either way. The Big East. At one point it looked like they were going to run Away from it, run away with it, rather. Now they've taken a weird loss. They lost to Johnny's at the Garden. Red Storm never lose anymore. And now who knows where this thing is headed, but it doesn't look like UConn's gonna be the outright champs, and it certainly looked that way not too long ago. What do you make of what's going on with the Huskies?
C
Yeah, weird situation with, with Yukon and yeah, to your point, like it's quadrant two loss right now. Could be quadrant three. The point is it's not a good, it's not a good loss to take versus Creighton. And UConn has mostly been winning during the stretch, but they really have not been playing all that well. And they've taken two losses here of late to Saint, to St. John's and now to Creighton. They started the season off a bit slow. They beat Illinois, Kansas, Florida, Texas in November, December, and you know, really ascended headed into the new year. But they've really, the metrics suggest at least that they've really fallen off in like the last month plus and they've gotten a couple of close overtime wins. They barely beat Georgetown twice. They beat Providence in a close game now, you know, losses to St. John's and Creighton in two of its last four outings. And you know, suddenly this Yukon team is, is trending in the wrong direction, which is not a good place to be as you prepare going into March, as you mentioned, like, this is a team that looked like it was going to run away with the Big east regular season title. And now, GP you hopped off the Johnny's bandwagon a bit too early because you weren't wrong. You were just early on what looks like the best team in that conference. It's Rick Patino's St. John's Red Storm.
A
Am I allowed to get back on? Am I allowed, Am I allowed to reclaim the Red Storm?
C
Get back on the saddle, baby.
B
Yeehaw.
C
I think so, yeah.
A
There was conversations inside the CBS Sports broadcast center earlier this week that suggested I'm not allowed to jump back on the Red Storm bandwagon, even though I think I invented the. I don't, if you don't mind me taking credit, I think I invented the Red Storm bandwagon. And then I hopped off. I got very frustrated with the lack of point guard play. But now suddenly they have quality point guard play in the form of Dylan Darling. And they are alone in first in the big ease, projected at this point to share the title with UConn because remember, they still got that one more game at UConn to play. But either way, I don't know. I'm gonna let you settle it. Can I jump back on the reds? And let me be clear, I'm not even saying I'm ready to do it. All right? I'm. I got burned last time. I'm trying to protect my heart. I'm trying to protect my heart. I got burned last time. Don't want to fall back in love so quickly with the same, you know, thing. So I'm not saying I'm ready to jump back on. I just need to know from you, in your opinion, am I allowed to jump back on if I want to?
C
You've got a free ticket. Admit one at any point whenever you choose to redeem it. GP that. That is a hype train that you started. St. John's preseason number one. That hype train has continued to roll on as you have jumped off. But that's a hype train without a conductor. You.
B
You.
C
You've got. I think you can redeem your conductor hat. You can hop on and lead that train at any point if you choose to do so without any punishment. That is. That is very much yours. You look like maybe you had some egg on your face early in the season. I get it. But again, you weren't wrong. You were just a little bit early. And St. John's no surprise. Rick Pitino has his team playing his best basketball as the season progresses. And, yeah, like, this looks like a top 10 team in college basketball. I don't know if they're like preseason number one good, but they're certainly playing the way that I think many people expected before the season began. And, you know, because of various injuries, their point guard play wasn't that great. They started the season slow, but they're figuring things out in a hurry at just the right time.
A
As for UConn, I've got him down to 11th in the top 25 and one now talk got him out of the top 10. If you just, you know, there's computer numbers to support having them outside of the top 10. And if you just want to, you know, have a frame of reference so you can say things like, over the past month, like, if you ever find yourself on TV and you need to talk about UConn, you can say things like, well, you know, over the past month, over at BART Torvik, that's a great place to find out things like over the past month. And so today's February 20th. You go back to January 20th and just run the data from there. In that stretch, UConn is 6 and 2, but ranked 15th in that stretch at Torvik. So operating like still a good team, like it's not time to panic and ask big questions like, you know, is UConn even ever going to win another game? You know, you can ask that question about other programs, but, but, you know, UConn's problems are smaller than most. But I think, as you noted, it had been noticeable that they had been playing close games against inferior competition. They played Georgetown close twice. They played Seton hall close. And the UConn teams that won national championships tended to pound those teams. And I thought it was interesting whether you agree or not, but like Rick Pitino very publicly went on the record and was like, I don't think this UConn team is like those UConn teams. Doesn't mean they can't win another national championship. But if we were, you know, I don't think this one's like the other ones. And that he was so comfortable saying that suggested to me that, that, that maybe, maybe it's not. But, but, you know, we'll, we'll have that conversation as the tournament starts to unfold. Let's move on for the final four and one. Hey, we got a historically great weekend on tap. A fun game tonight in primetime between in state rivals that both need a win. I don't think we'll pick that one, but we'll at least make note of it. Let's take a break, come back, get our records. I hope, I hope I did better last week. Show me a word. Get a word from our partners.
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A
All right, it's time for the final four and one where we pick five games against the spread. Norland and I were both under.500 this time last week. I. I think I did okay last weekend, but I'm not completely sure. Josh, turn your mic on. Get in my ear. Softest voice you got. Tell me how good I am at this.
C
Gp, I think it's.
F
I think it's time to go to. To my loaded and drop here from earlier in the season. One moment here. Oh, G.P. you're so good at this. You know, I. You know, I. I'm not sure we can go there for the entire season just yet.
G
Okay.
F
But last week, five. Zero for gp. What's up, Norlander? Now, it was a week that you and Norlander shared a decent amount of picks. Four of the five, actually.
A
Because he was coming. That's what they call.
F
Is that right?
A
Yes, that's what they refer to. I don't know where you grew up exactly. And what kind of words actually do
F
you actually do know?
A
I just. That's the way I set up everything. I just. I just say. I don't know if you watch the news. I don't know where you grew up. I just. That's the way I set up everything I'm about to say. It's my go to. So I don't know where you grew up, but where I grew up. What they call that, they'd call what Norlander was doing last Friday. They'd call that being a copycat. He's a copycat. That's copycat tendencies.
F
Four and one for Norlander.
A
Copycat or not, should have copied a little more. Sounds like somebody should have copied a little more.
F
A little bit. 37, 38 and one for GP. 36, 39 and one for Norlander. So we're still under 500. Need one more strong week before we. Before we talk about how good you
C
are for the season.
B
Okay.
A
It's getting pretty late, though. If I'm gonna. If I'm gonna really. If I'm gonna get after this thing, I need to get going. Otherwise, it might be time to pivot. So here's the. Here's my promise. I'm gonna make one more honest attempt today to try to go five and, oh, get above.500. But if I continue to struggle the way I have much of the season last week notwithstanding, I will pivot into tanking. I will start tanking my picks. I'm gonna start trying to pick. I'll try to. I'll start trying to deliver losing picks. So I'm either going to get good at this or I'm going to intentionally try to get real, real bad. That's where I'm at.
F
Either that or maybe just halfway through the final Four and one. You'll just decide you're going to not make any more picks.
C
Sure. Yeah.
F
For the rest of the segment.
A
Yeah.
C
In true DP fashion. Yes.
A
Load management. I got to do something, right? You gotta, you gotta be. You either got to be committed one way or the other. The last thing you want to do is be caught in the middle. So I'm gonna give an honest attempt to get back on the right side of these picks. But if I don't get much better, if I don't see improvement soon, it's going to be time to pivot. I'll just start trying to make the worst picks on the Internet. Right now I'm still trying to make the best picks on the Internet, but if it doesn't get better, I'm going to start trying to make the worst picks on the entire Internet. Game one. Game one. Oh, first we got in primetime tonight, Purdue, Indiana in state rivals. Truth is Indiana is about where it's supposed to be like started, you know, low 30s at Ken Palm is sitting right now. Low 30s at Ken Palm. Safely projected in the bracket, not going to win a conference championship, but should be in the NCAA tournament. I think Indiana is about where it's supposed to be. Purdue, like, it just feels off a little bit maybe because of, you know, what we just saw. But what you got any concerns before we start picking games about Purdue heading into to tonight's showdown with the, with the Hoosiers?
C
Not necessarily. Maybe. Maybe I should. I think we're probably adjusting our expectations off of Purdue based off the fact that they were preseason number one.
A
Right.
C
And so like, you know, this is. This is not a team that maybe is playing like the preseason number one team. That's a high standard. And also they're being measured up against, you know, two or three really good teams at the top of the Big Ten in Michigan, Illinois, you got Michigan State up there in Nebraska which have been playing well. But I, I think Purdue has like kind of figured things out a little bit here of late and obviously they're coming off a home loss to Michigan. So it feels like I'm kind of going out on a limb saying that I feel like this Purdue team has the talent. They're starting to figure things out largely. They've got Matt Painter, Braden Smith is playing at a really high level. So I'm excited to watch this game tonight against Indiana. It's, it's being played inside Mackie arena so that, that are retirement should be fantastic. And I'm curious to see like how Purdue finishes this season because the expectations that they were preseason number one team largely have not panned out. But you know the talent is there, the coach is there. I, I think the scheme and, and offense is certainly there. They could be a dangerous team come the insta way tournament obviously if, if they start to figure things out and continue to play the way that they played of late.
A
Sort of as I wrote in the top 25 and one this morning, like high major compelling college basketball on Friday nights hasn't always been a thing that used to be reserved basically for the Ivy Leagues and that was a night where you could just not pay attention to college basketball and it did not matter because there wasn't much going on that was going to be relevant on a national level and. But now you know you're getting one big game in primetime every Friday and I love it like having something to look forward to on Friday night just to turn on with the family. I mean it's cutting into our wrestling watching. There's no getting around that it's damaging. I'm less aware of what's happening on Smackdown these days than I, than I used to be. But I like having compelling college basketball on in primetime on Friday nights in Indiana. Purdue, we get that tonight. Game one Saturday, 3pm Eastern. Number four, Arizona at number two, Houston inside the Kelvin Sampson Center. He deserves that the arena to be named after him and then he deserves admission induction into the Naismith hall of Fame later on this year. You can watch this one on abc. Houston minus three and a half.
C
Boy, I'm excited for this one. Arizona is a real jeopardy of going from undefeated to three losses in the span of like two weeks. That is not necessarily concerning for Arizona, but going to be without Kopi. He's dealing with the leg injury. Arizona still banged up. They beat a banged up BYU team in Tucson earlier this week. Houston though the fighting Kelvin Sampson's have been an absolute wagon. They lost at Iowa State Monday. We talked about that on the Tuesday show. They're still 23 and three. They're number five at Ken Palm, top 10 in efficiency on both offense and defense. Both teams going into Saturday listed ATOP the Big 12 standing, so obviously a huge differentiator. The winner will be in the catbird seat to win that conference. I'm taking Houston this one. I, I feel like you're probably leading that way. We're both Houstonites, but I feel like the Cougars, minus the three and a half, that, that's my play here.
A
Yeah. Houston loses at Iowa State. Does that bother you at all? Like, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't come away from that game concerned about anything other than perhaps Iowa State closed on like a 17 to 4 run. And I think we talked about this on the I Own College Basketball on CBS Sports Network earlier in the week. We did the hour show on Tuesday. In every one of their losses, now they only have three. So again, a little bit like UConn. Whatever their problems are, they're smaller than most people's problems. But in every one of their losses, they, they squandered leads in two of the three, it's been double digit leads. Then you go back to the national championship game, they squandered a lead there in the second half. And so like nitpicking acknowledge up front that's what we're doing. But I think you can start to wonder like, are they, are they built to close games? Yeah, you know, can't, can they, can they finish, finish the game? Obviously they're 23 and three. So the answer is yes, they finish most games. They finish most. But if you're, if you dive into the losses and try to find a pattern, any sort of common thing there, it's that they've struggled to close dating back to the last, last season's national championship game. They've, in these losses, they've, they've, they've struggled to close them. And Iowa State closing on that 17 to 4 run was not ideal. But here's the truth. I don't think anybody's going to win at Iowa State this year other than Iowa State. I don't think any visitor is going to win in that building this season. So that was a fun game and a loss. Sure. But not one that gives me any concerns about the Cougars. Yes, I'm a building truster. You know that about me. You know that about me.
C
I do.
A
I mean, I will also Lay the points with Houston. Put me down for Houston minus three and a half. Game two, Saturday, 4pm Eastern Missouri at number 20. Arkansas inside Darius Acuff Jr. Arena. You can watch it on ESPN. Arkansas minus ten and a half. And I'm not going to pretend that this is actually one of the four best games on the schedule this weekend, but buddy, I wanted to talk about Darius Acuff Jr. That was wild the other night. Freshman record at Arkansas. They've had some great ones come through there. Shouts to Cortis Williamson. And this is the one that, that surprised me. I'm sitting there watching him. He gets 49 points. It was a double overtime loss at Alabama, but he gets 49 points. Oh, if he'd have got. If he'd have got 51. We, you know, we, we still play him. Fun game. He was efficient. He was also five assists, five rebounds. Played all 50 minutes. And after the game, John, as noted earlier, was like he was in a walking boot. I said, are you going to have to miss the game? He said, are you nuts? Doesn't matter if he's hurt. Whatever. All he wants to do is play basketball. Like, if I'm an NBA agent or manager, that's the stuff I want to hear. Like, just. And I'm not saying it's going to be a conversation between Peterson and Acuff, but if you do start to have that conversation, perhaps you just land on Peterson no matter what.
E
What.
A
Because the talent's just the talent, and I get that. But if I'm somebody running an NBA franchise, getting ready to invest a pick and millions of dollars in this thing. I love hearing what John Calipari said about Darius Auff. And I'm terrified of what Bill Self says about Darren Peterson. Like, like, I'm still going to do the evaluation. It's a basketball evaluation. But the others, that, that other stuff does matter. That other stuff is the difference between you being really talented and. Or really great. Like everybody had always said, deandre Ayton is really talented, but he has never been able to be great because there's something not fair that that is, that is there with the greats. It's not there with him. And when you're talking about the number one pick, the number two pick, the number three pick, you need to make sure you're, you're, you're drafting somebody who has that stuff. And I'm not saying Darren Peterson doesn't. I'm just saying people are starting to question whether he does. And nobody has questioned that about Darius Acup. After what he did the other night. Yeah.
C
And I think, I think your point of Deandre Ayton is, is well made. I would also add Markel Fultz to that mix. 2017, like the clear for me, the number one prospect in that class. It didn't work out. And you know, I don't know if you can exactly pinpoint exactly why that was. Maybe he had the ips. There was, you know, something that, you know, in his makeup. It just for whatever reason, it didn't work out for Marco Fultz is the number one pick in the class. The lack of information on Darren Peterson is, I think, why there are so many, like, concerns about it. Because when there's a vacuum of information, people fill that with, oh, well, he hates basketball. Oh, well, he's protecting his draft song. Oh well, actually he's really, really injured and he's playing through it like. And so to contrast it with Darius Acuff, who as you noted was in a walking boot for two days leading up to the game, played all 50 minutes in that game, had 49 points. And like on top of that, this is not like completely out of nowhere. Like, this Arkansas team has clearly been hiding in plain sight for a really long time. This is a good John Caliperi team. I think it's one of the best offensive teams that Calipari's had in a decade. There's some questions defensively, like they're coming off a game where they just gave up 117 points, so duh. But this Arkansas team is super fun. They're ten and a half point favorites at home versus Missouri. And Acuff's a dog. Like, it just, it the, the makeup of him is just different. You love hearing things like that from a coach like Caliper, he said about Acuff. And so, yeah, I'm. All that being said, I'm going to trust the building here. I'm taking Arkansas minus the 10 and a half.
A
I think Arkansas wins the game. Yeah, I'll take Missouri plus the points. Ten and a half's a big number. Missouri's like, I mean, the bubbly. And that win the other night against Vanderbilt where, I mean, the ball rims out at the buzzer. That would have been an all time awful blown, you know, flip a win into a lost moment from a zoo if that ball goes in. But it didn't. So they get the win. Now they're on the road to Fayetteville. Like, I guess the best, the best way to enjoy a basketball season is like the way Michigan fans are enjoying it right now. Like, your team's just awesome and just beats everybody's brains in. I imagine that's fun. But there's also, like, something intense about just living on the bubble. Like, every game is just a big game. We had it the other night, our doubleheader on Wednesday night. We had back to back games with teams that were like, last four in, first four out. And the point I made is like, I know you tend to think of big games as like, that team's ranked third, that team's ranked seventh, they're playing each other. That's the game of the weekend. It's a top 10 showdown. And it is. I love those too. But whoever wins, whoever loses, somebody moves up a little bit in the rankings. I move down a little bit in a ranking. But nobody's season is on the brink. Nobody's on the verge of missing anything of significance. But like, when you're living on the bubbles from mid February on, like, every game, every game does matter. Every game could be the difference between making it or not. And Missouri's kind of been living that way for, for a while now. On the Arkansas side of things, like John Caliper, he's got a team that's in contention to, to win the sec. And so I think Arkansas gets the win at home on the strength of Acuff and, and that building. But Missouri stays within the ten and a half. Let me ask you one more question about Acup. Kendrick Perkins was on television and he said he believes Darius Acuff Jr. Is the best guard John Calipari's ever coached. Oh, now let me name some guards for you. Shea Gilgamesh Alexander, the reigning mvp, is one. John Wall was the number one pick in the draft. Derrick Rose was the number one pick in the draft and the youngest MVP in history. I want to be clear. I think Kendrick, when he got specific, when he got really pushed on it, he was like, I mean, as a college basketball player, not necessarily as an NBA career, but I thought it was an interesting take. Is Darius Acup the best college basketball guard that John Calabari's ever coached? It's been a minute. I have to go back and look, but I remember John Wall being amazing.
C
I. That was the first thing that came to mind. John Wall, like, hello. Yeah, like Shane, maybe I will say
A
Darius Acup is a better college player than Derrick Rose was as a college player. He just, he just is.
E
Yeah.
A
Derrick Rose was not even the best guard on that Memphis team. That was Chris Douglas Roberts was the first team All American. Derrick Rose was the most talented dude. And in the tournament, he's the one that took off. He's the reason Memphis went all the way to the title game. But on the season, CDR was the better guard. Yeah, but John Wall was, I believe, first team All American and like, awesome from the jump. I'm not arguing, I'm just wondering out loud.
C
I. Yeah, I think I. I would put John Wall ahead. I would also.
G
Maybe.
C
This is controversial. I would put de' Aaron Fox up there too, dear. Fox is really awesome just in terms of, like, production at the college level. Like Shea and, you know, some other, like Devin Booker, Jamal Murray. Yeah, like that. In terms of talent, probably not at the top, but in terms of college production, he's got to be top three, I think. And that says a lot about, like, how fantastic Acuff has been for Arkansas this season. And I think he's gonna be an All American. Like, it probably won't be a first team for me, but he's certainly put himself in contention with the way he's played. Coming off a 49 point win or 49 point scoring outing at Alabama, he is. He's certainly vaulted himself in the discussion and I think deservedly so. He's been awesome this season.
A
Did I. Did I make note of this earlier? I know I started to, and I don't remember if I actually did. The 49 points was the most scored by a freshman in college basketball, Division 1 level, since. Did I say this?
E
No.
A
Kenny Anderson in December 1990 for Georgia Tech against Loyola Marymount. Think of all of the freshmen who have played college basketball between December 1990 and February 2026. Like, just Kevin Durant, for one.
C
Yeah.
A
And Nobody had done 49 since Kenny Anderson did 50 in December 1990. You could have. Let me guess. Forever. You could have said, G.P. darius, aka 49. That's the most points by a freshman in college basketball since. And I would have. I'd have started saying things like, I don't know. Trey Young.
C
Yeah.
A
Kevin Durant. I don't know, Michael Beasley. I just. I don't know. I'd have hit a. I'd have never got to Kenny Anderson. No, there's. There's no scenario. I would have been like a Tyler Hansborough. I don't know. I just would have never gotten all the way to December 1990. Kenny Anderson. So that a Cup performance was awesome. Like, just. I. I don't want to sound like a broken record, although I acknowledge sometimes I do. But like, just this college Basketball season is incredible. You know you if you can get past the G League players coming and trying to dabble and mess around and you know, the court cases and you know, just the stuff we have to deal with these days. The on the court product has been amazing and it was just fun sitting in studio watching college basketball on Wednesday night. And the biggest reason was because of that performance. A cup put on just end. The game was maybe the game of the season. That Alabama, Arkansas game, game three, Saturday, 6:30pm Eastern. Number one Michigan versus number three Duke. We're doing this inside John Wall Arena. We're playing it in D.C. i think John Wall deserves that arena. He did good things there. You can watch it on ESPN. It is Michigan minus two and a half numbers.
C
Too little G.P. oh, that number's too little. Michigan is, as you noted, it's beating everyone's brains. They lead college basketball in scoring margin selection. This is a matchup between teams I think will be the top two seeds on Saturday's selection. So early reveal Michigan 101 in quad one games. Top five offensive and defensive efficiency at Ken Palm. Number one in scoring margin. As I noted, Duke also has 10 quad one wins. This is a great team, this Duke team is, but they are not Michigan. I think Boozer vs Michigan size doesn't have the 2010 type performance that he's consistently putting up. I think Michigan makes a statement. I think Michigan wins and wins handily in this one, proving that it is once and for all the best team in all the land.
A
25 1.
F
Yeah.
A
151 in the Big Ten 10, 0 in quadrant one, 9 and 1 in quadrant two. Only power conference team with just one loss. Obviously number one in the AP poll, but should be the unanimous number one for sure. Number one in the net. Number one at King Palm, number one KPI. Number one at Torvik. Number one. Number one in strength of record. Number one in wins above bubble. If you're wondering, we got the bracket reveal show coming on Saturday. Spoiler, spoiler. Michigan will be the number one overall seed. There's not even a debate about that. And, and you know, Arizona and Duke will be one seeds and then you can get into a conversation about Iowa State and Houston. But Michigan is is number one everywhere except for bpi. I don't know what's going on with bpi, but if whoever's in charge of bpi, you guys got to get your little computer fixed. That one's y' all being. Y' all got a goofy computer because any computer right now telling you any team in the country is better than Michigan. Like, that's a, that's a silly computer. You need to turn that in, run like a virus check or something that be. They need to run a virus check on that BPI computer. That's a goofy computer. I, I said this earlier in the week. I stand by it. I, I, Mondays are hard days for me, man. I gotta, I gotta, I got, I do, I do one show and then I do another show. I take the boys to school, I jump on a plane, plane fly to New York. I mean, they're not the hardest days. As I'm talking through it, I mean, it's, you know, I just sit in a chair and have a drink. It's not that big of a deal, but, like, I'm busy, I'm busy. That's what I mean. But if, if Michigan wins this game, if Michigan wins this game on Saturday and is it the unanimous number one in the AP poll on Monday? I don't care how busy I am, how tired I am. As soon as we get to 20,000ft and that little thing goes bing and they say you can pull out your laptops and do whatever you want to do. Poll attacks column is coming back Monday afternoon. If Michigan, if Michigan wins this weekend to go to 26 and 1 and they're not number one unanimously in the AP poll, I will identify the voter that doesn't have them number one, and they will be the centerpiece of the poll attacks conference, the return. And I will, I will name call. I'm going to get vicious with it. Look who's here. It looks like sleeping with.
G
Yeah, I mean, I hop on this streamyard and Paris is talking about himself. What else is new here? Hi, guys.
A
Hello. I'm just telling you what I'm going to do. I'm not threatening anybody, but I am making promises. You do your job right, or else I'm coming for you on Monday afternoon from a Delta flight. Michigan wins this weekend. Yes. I'm taking Michigan, by the way, minus the two and a half. Michigan wins this weekend. If they're not unanimous number one on Monday. Politics column makes its return. How you doing, Norland? Did y' all get your little bracket put together up there in Indianapolis? Did you get.
G
You, I assume that was the A block, right? I haven't listened to the show, but, but you left with the bracket, right?
A
What?
G
What? Yeah, I mean, come on. We got the one Cs, the twos, big vigorous debates about Miami University. It was wonderful, by the way.
A
Hello from.
G
Can you hear me okay. I'm in a diner in Cloverdale, Indiana right now. Is my sound okay?
A
Yeah, I mean, it's a little loud for my liking, but whatever.
G
Well, I can, I can bring it down just a little here. I actually asked him. I was like, listen, I got to hop on a meeting. I said, I got off on a meeting. And I was like, I'm going to go out to my car. And they're like, no, we got this room here. I'm off to the side. This is vintage Middle America. I couldn't love it more. Shouts to the diner. I'm at Lou's Diner in Cloverdale, Indiana. Hey, I'm making my picks on this right now. Okay?
C
Okay.
G
All right. So I know you've already done a couple of games. Josh set it up. I, you know, I'm good for a surprise here. I won't do some. I won't do the analysis. I know GP's up against these guys. Other show. Zona, Houston, I will go. What we got? Houston minus three and a half.
A
Yep.
G
Give me Arizona, the COVID You've done Missouri at Arkansas. That line is ten and a half.
C
I will take.
G
I will take Mizzou inside of that line. And then you both just picked Michigan versus Duke.
C
Yes. Michigan minus two and a half.
G
I know. I actually, I don't know who either of you guys pick for that. I will go. I will go Michigan to win and cover that game. If this has not been mentioned on the show, I'm going to bring it up because I researched it earlier this week. Michigan, Duke, Arizona, Houston. The top four teams in the AP poll, they're playing on the same day against each other. It's only the fifth time in history. Have you brought this up on the show?
A
I thought it was three, but it's five.
G
It is three in the regular season. It is five overall. The two in the postseason were both years that the final 4 was all 41 seeds.08 and then last year. So that's just a phenomenal deal altogether. Weirdly enough, Duke has been involved in when that's happened four of the five times and the first time it ever happened, I had a tweet thread about this was 92. Michigan was the number one team. It played at fourth ranked Duke when Michigan had the Fab Five and it was a rematch of the national title game the season before. So that's. That's kick ass stuff.
B
All right, gp, continue.
G
Game four.
A
Game four, Sunday. What time does that game start? I don't have it here. 1pm Eastern, 1pm Eastern, that's right. Let's start over. Game four, Sunday, 1pm Eastern. Ohio State at number 15, Michigan State, inside the Steven Jamerson Center. I think he deserves that. That young man deserves that. You can watch it on cbs. It's America's most watched network. It's the network of stars. Michigan State minus nine.
C
Minus nine. Yeah, I'm gonna. I'm gonna take Ohio State to cover this number here. This feels like a big number. Ohio State's been plenty feisty. Played Virginia close last week, beat Wisconsin. Played Michigan close on the road. This Michigan State team has quietly lost three of its last five. Michigan State's pretty reliable at home overall, 13 and 2 in East Lansing this season. So I think. I do think Michigan State gets the win, but I will take Ohio State to cover that number. The. Plus the nine.
A
Norlander.
G
I will say this is Michigan State in a major way. I'll take Sparty to win and cover. Ohio State did not make the mock bracket yesterday.
B
I know.
G
I know. Listen, we. We did it as though the season ended as of Wednesday night's games. So we had some. Some interesting debates. Ohio State not in the field. And I honestly, I feel like this game is. Is set for them to lose. They have won or lost nine consecutive games in a row. If the pattern continues, it's a loss. Give me Sparty to win and Sparty to cover Michigan State. As I know, GP you're eager to know Sparty a three seed in the mock media bracket.
A
I am. I was dying to know that. So y' all got your little bracket put together? Did you get your little bracket put together?
G
It was wonderful. Hey, Clark Kellogg was the chair. Zook.
A
He should have been.
G
He absolutely should have been. It was like. It was like sitting with. With royalty. I was the vice chair. I had the. The. The honor of sitting right next to Clark Kellogg. But Zucker was there, set plenty of folks with plenty of podcast listeners. It was. It was wonderful. And then there were, you know, and there were a couple people that were maybe making a little bit of a fuss and obstructing the proceedings, but I
A
think I remember seeing David Cobb jump into Slack last night and said, hey, if there's one thing I know about this mock thing, ain't nobody got to wonder what Norlander's thinking about anything. No, nobody has to wonder what Norlander thinks, because he. See, he can't stop telling you what he thinks about everything.
G
That is the. Oh, thank you so much. Breakfast just arrived, by the way.
A
What's your breakfast Order. What do you get at a diner?
G
I'm. I got. I mean, we want to dive into this here. I mean, we're breaking. We're breaking new boundaries on this show, left and right. Rye toast, hash browns, scrambled eggs.
A
Yeah. You know, get it done.
G
You know, get it done. That's how that. That's how you do it.
A
I walk into Waffle House, and this is what I say. I say, I would like three scrambled eggs, cheese, onions, jalapenos. Mix it all in there. And then I would like a side order of bacon and a side order of sausage. And I. And I would like a glass of orange juice, please. That's what I would do.
C
That's solid.
G
I just did the water. I didn't do the. I didn't do the oj. Anyway, the mock. The mock selection was just an absolute, absolute joy. And I wish you were there.
A
You got your little prank.
G
Wow.
A
This just.
G
Just dripping with envy. Dripping with envy over the mock. I just. I just don't.
A
I don't understand.
G
I'll get you in there next year. Okay?
A
I, I. I am a little. Like, everybody I worked with is like, yeah, heading to Indianapolis. Like, everybody I know was like, hey, head to Indianapolis. And there were GP.
G
I'm not exaggerating. I want to say there were 11 people associated with our company that went to this thing.
A
So everybody I bump into was like, hey, gp, what time you going? What time you get to Indianapolis? And I was like, not only am I not going to Indianapolis, nobody even asked if I wanted to. It was never put on my radar. And maybe, Maybe it is because they know how busy I am, and you don't want to add things to GP schedule, and it's out of respect for
G
my well being, by the way. You have.
A
I bet that's it. I bet that's it.
G
Do you not have to be. Do you not have to be on the air on your other show in, like, 10 minutes?
A
Yeah, I'm just. I've decided I'm just pushing everything today. I'm gonna make every. Every aspect of my life stressful today. Oh.
G
Oh, you tell me you were late
B
to start the show.
G
Did that happen?
A
I was late to get my boys out of the house because I promised my wife on Fridays, given I'm out of town the rest of the week, I will take the boys to school every Friday morning. Somebody couldn't find their backpack, so we were late getting out of the house.
C
Late.
A
We were on time for school. Nobody was tardy for school. But then we hit a Little traffic. Traffic. And then, you know, and then. And then, if I'm being completely honest, left the house without my wallet, don't have my car, had to park. Couldn't get in the parking garage at FedEx Forum, had to park across the street, Carry. Carry a whole podcasting equipment. Knock on the front door at FedEx forum like an idiot. Hey, hey, it's GP can you let me in, please? So. So then it was.
G
Wow, you're an absolute disaster. What's the N1?
C
It is. I always stayed at BYU Saturday.
A
No, hey, I didn't. I didn't make my pick. I didn't make my pick. I didn't make my pick. I've taken Ohio State. That's too many points to give a deeper. That's too many points to give a deeper. Particularly when you just. When you just. When all you CBS employees flew to Indianapolis together to conspire against the Buckeyes and leave them out of your little bracket. I'm riding with the Dblers. I think Michigan State wins the game. Hey, Michigan State students, in all sincerity, I know you did the Xavier Booker chant the other day. That was sweet. I want a Steven Jamerson chant. Let's make this young man feel good.
G
Steven.
A
It's not a great chant name. It's a lot of syllables. There's got to be a way to do it, though. You guys are young, smart, creative. You figure it out. But we need a Stephen Jamerson chant. We got to make that young man feel better than the way his coach made him feel the other night. What's the and one bone? And keep an eye on the clock.
C
Iowa State at BYU Saturday, 10:30pm Eastern Time. You can find it on ESPN. I'm taking Iowa State. Iowa State in this game. Minus one. Minus one. Minus One on King Palm right now.
A
No, but. But Josh has got it right here. Iowa State minus three and a half.
C
Minus three and a half.
G
Okay, what's your pick? That change yet? That change you up? Boom.
C
I am. I am still going to take Iowa State. I was taking a minus the one. I'll take a minus the three and a half. BYU is banged up, missing Richie Saunders coming off a loss on the road at Arizona. I think AJ DebonSA goes for 30 plus again, but BYU just doesn't quite have the horses right now. I like Iowa State in this one.
A
Yeah, I mean, it's been a bad week for, like, injury stuff, particularly in the Big 12. Richie Saunders done at BYU. J.T. toppin done at Texas Tech. Like that goes. And Wally Zerbiak had made this point the other night in studio. Like that goes from maybe being the best league in the country to. You can't call it that anymore because two of the teams just lost two very. Two of the better teams just lost two of their best players in Texas Tech, obviously the best. So, yeah, BYU shorthanded here. I'll take Iowa State on the road. I'll lay the three and a half Norlander.
G
I will take Iowa State to loons and not cover BYU to win and cover massive game for them. I know GP's dying to know. BYU was 6 in the west in the media mock on Thursday.
A
In your little practice, you got your little bracket done, so I got BYU.
G
This is a. BYU has not defeated a top 25 Ken Palm team this season. I think huge spot at home. They get it done. I'm going to bounce out of here. But two things real quick. Why am I coming to you from a diner? I am driving from Indianapolis to St. Louis. I will be at the VCU St. Louis game tonight. So that is why I'm here. And honestly, how socially inappropriate is it that I'm doing a podcast in the middle of it now? I don't have anyone sitting next to me. The closest people are probably about 25ft away. But, like, how egregious is this right now?
A
I would not do it. I would not do it.
G
There's no, there is zero chance you would ever find Parrish doing what I'm doing right now. But I love this. The thing is, I love the show.
A
I'm dedicated to the show. I would be so uncomfortable that I could not do it. Hey, Shaffetz arena tonight. I've been there. It's great. You're going to have a great time. St. Louis, great sit. You're going to have a great time. I was on the sideline one time. I think they're playing Butler and Brad Stevens when Butler was in the 18, and it's like they're going to storm the court. It becomes clear there's about. They're about to storm the court. And it's like, gp, you got to get Jim Cruise or whatever, you know, the post game interview. And I'm like, okay, I got it. And this is my first experience with the court storming as a sideline reporter. And I. This is back before we had wireless mics. I had a wired mic. So the wire is like, you know, 200ft long and you can carry it wherever you want. And the students stormed the floor. One of them kicked my wire out, but I have no idea because I can still hear everything. So they're like, and now we'll go to gp, who's standing by with Jim Cruz. And I'm like, hey, Coach. And it's nothing. There's just nothing there. Well, it's just. It's just. This is what you see. And now we'll go to Gary, we'll go to gp, who's got Jim Cruz. And I'm like. And they're like, all right, I guess, I guess we're having some technical difficulty. It was just like, you just feel awful and you know it's not your fault. You know, you, you know, your boss is knowing it's not your fault, but it's still, it's still. It still stinks. All right, Nor did we lose Norlander.
C
I think fittingly, Norlander's having technical issues.
A
All right. It's a good way to end the show. Well, that's a. That's it. I don't know if it's a good way to end the show, but is it is a way to end the show. So let's end the show. Shouts to David Dowdy. Shouts to South Carolina Terry Teagan, the legend. Huck Larnell. Thank you guys once again for watching Listening to the I Own College Basketball podcast. You're not subscribed. Please go subscribe anyway. Subscribe to podcast Apple Spotify. More of us than there are of them. That should be reflected in the comments. So do that. We'll talk to you real soon. Till then, take care. Paramount Podcasts at Planet Fitness.
H
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In this episode, Gary Parrish and his CBS Sports colleagues—joined mid-show by Matt Norlander—take an in-depth look at the biggest storylines gripping college basketball with March approaching. The hosts discuss the ongoing, bizarre saga of Kansas star Darryn Peterson and his repeated early exits from games, examine UConn’s unexpected stumbles, preview a historic weekend of marquee matchups (including Michigan-Duke and Arizona-Houston), and deliver their lively “Final Four and One” game picks. Interwoven are characteristically sharp, candid takes on player mentality, team outlooks, and broader implications for the NBA draft.
For timestamped highlights and deeper context on any game or quote above, simply refer to the time markers provided.