← Eye On College Basketball
Eye On College Basketball
CBB picked a great weekend to have a GREAT weekend: UNC beats Duke at🚨Sparty over Illinois in OT; Johnnies-Huskies; Coogs>Cougs; Kentucky does it again
01:07:31
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A
Well, for everyone that gets to this after the super bowl, how about that super bowl, by the way? How, how about that, how about that game Sunday night, huh? GP that was one heck of a game. For anyone dialing in live, we appreciate you. We're trying to get this going before super bowl gets revved up. And this was an awesome, awesome weekend for college basketball. You know, we will get to where I was on Friday night, but the thing I loved most about it was while there were a couple of instances where we had two really good, compelling games going at a time, I like the fact that so much of it was staggered. Like Carol, Connecticut and St. John's had Friday night to themselves and then we really got like. There was some stuff early on Saturday that I, that was interesting, you know. Indiana picks up a controversial home win over Wisconsin despite the most brutal officiating I saw over the weekend. That means a lot. Wisconsin fans are rightfully pissed. Indiana fans get a good win. Like there was some stuff that happened earlier in the day.
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B
Hold on a second. Wait, like be specific on that because I, I, I, I, I understand the block charged situation, but then the, the foul at the very end, people seem to think like, you know, slow motion, get this angle that he did get tripped.
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A
Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, and there's something to that as well. It's more, it's more the, that shouldn't have been a charge kind of. Gotcha. But I'm just saying like there was some, some stuff earlier on Saturday that was dial into very interested in. But we know that the bulk of it was all on Saturday evening and it started with Duke, Carolina and then as that was going, then the next block came with, you know, Michigan State, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee was in there. Byu, Houston was in there. There was just, there was a lot happening but it was nice and spaced out and it made for, I was in studio for CBS Sports hq. It made for an optimal viewing experience for college basketball on Saturday and for the weekend in general. It's also, I think you'd agree it was a well timed weekend. I don't know if it was the best weekend yet this season. It was a very good one. We actually had some pretty amazing ones in November and December. They're just not as many people dialed in nationally on this podcast. Sure, a majority of people that listen to this podcast know what I'm talking about with some of those awesome weekends that we had in the non conference portion. But now Saturday college football is done. While I know there are NBA games being played, let's be real about that. They're not. They're not flaring the radar the same way. Ranked on ranked matchups with high profile players, amazing endings, big upsets due. So college basketball and its schedule makers and the leagues which do which try that as best they can. You can't always hit it just right to. To get the right kind of matchups in the right kind of cadence on the right kind of weekends to maximize your potential for exposure. College hoops hit it out of the park. Just one really good interesting result after another. We're obviously going to get to the stuff in Chapel Hill first, but that is the best case scenario. The most intense. Kentucky, Louisville fans, Cincinnati, Xavier fans. I take it back because you can make a case. Yours is just as intense. The most prominent popular mainstream rivalry in college basketball. It did it again and that was a wonderful thing. Your thoughts on the overall weekend? Before we get into heels, Duke, I.
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B
Think you touched on something that is accurate. Like it just felt like one great thing after another. Like all day long. It was like, okay, that was awesome. What's next? Oh, wow. And then it's like, okay, set tremble. That was incredible. What's next, man? Byu, Houston still coming, right? It was just. I mean it was my. My poor wife. She was like, really? Another one. There's another. There's a. There's another one that you have to watch.
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A
She said, hold up.
- [06:16]
B
There's another one that you just have to watch. Yes, yes. That's how it goes.
- [06:22]
A
And by the way, can keep your thought on. But I had that same thought like we had all this this weekend. We have still so much more season to go. That's what I love about it. Like we still have so much more good stuff still to come. This weekend was. Was definitely, you know, if not the high watermark one of them for the season.
- [06:36]
B
It was great. And you know, you're not about. Yes, the NBA is happening, but like a third of the league isn't even trying to win. A third in the league is more interested in our product right now than their product right now.
- [06:48]
A
For real. Which is like actually something where like the Jazz had like, I don't know. They were really.
- [06:53]
B
Dude, they benched their whole. They bench Jaren Jackson Laurie marketing for the entire fourth quarter. I mean it's just, it's incredible.
- [07:00]
A
Yes.
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B
I mean it's. The NBA's got real. I mean we don't have to go down that trap, but they got real problems that they've got to figure out. I mean that last night in Utah was. That Utah game was. Anyway, back to college basketball. So yeah, the NBA is going, but college basketball really did dominate the sport. The live sports conversation this weekend. Obviously the super bowl is the super bowl, but just, just awesome stuff from early in the day through the end of the night. And like you said, it really started on Friday and we'll get to that eventually. Let's dive into some results. Place to start, it feels like, is the Dean Smith center. Final score, NC 71, Duke 68. Duke led by as many as 13 points. Never trailed in the game for a second until set tremble bear to three in the final second to create the final score. Is this something we're going to show people? Do we have that or not?
- [07:57]
A
To my knowledge. I actually, I don't know if we do have it.
- [07:59]
B
Everyone's.
- [08:00]
A
Everyone saw it.
- [08:01]
B
Whatever. Everybody's seen it at this point. All right, awesome moment. Set. Trimble is a Chapel Hill legend for forever. Did you know it was good when it left his hand?
- [08:10]
A
No, I didn't. One of those like as it was playing out, my real time thought was like that's a great pass by Dixon. And it was a great pass.
- [08:20]
B
Yes.
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A
And then it goes in and it's just another amazing moment. So I don't forget it. By the way, shout outs to Dan Shulman. He came through again opening of the broadcast. As always. We appreciate you there. I just didn't want to not mention that because always comes through on that end. The ironic part about the end of the game was that Caleb Wilson first half, he what had 17 points was terrific and really was counterbalancing Duke's attack. And Duke obviously had control of the game. Boozer didn't even get off to a cam. Boozer didn't get off to a prominent start. And then in the final minute when you think like, okay, is, is Wilson going to be the guy that does it? He wasn't. He had the key tip off the missed Boozer attempt with the layup that got Carolina the ball back and had it in place to, to have the bucket to, to win the game. But it was like Dixon hit a three with five and change to go that I thought was big. He had another one with a little more than two minutes to go. That was big. Vasar hit one that tied it a three and when he let that go, I did not think that was going in gp, but it did Go in critically. Patrick Ngongba fouled out. Yeah, it was 62.55 with 618 to go. If he doesn't fall out, just Duke win. I don't know but it obviously was was clearly notable. Duke fans watching the show, listening to the podcast, are probably hoping that one of us will mention it sooner than later. I will mention it. Carolina only had one foul in the second half. I don't think that Vasar fouled Boozer on the play near the end of the game. I thought he was mostly vertical and it was a really good attack by Boozer. It was a good defensive play. Sometimes it doesn't go in. Did I love the ISO play? Not really. But Boozer's amazing and Shire said like I'm gonna take it every time I get that. I I do understand why why you do that in that kind of spot. But he couldn't get it done there. There's just so much attached to this game. Carolina 90 run to wrap it up. First time they won on a shot in the final second in a game since Luke May did it with that deep deep two. I erroneously tweeted it was a three back in 2017 in your town in Memphis to beat Kentucky in the Elite 8. It it actually had been that long since Carolina. I'm talking any opponent. Carolina wins the game, there's one second or less remaining on the clock. It had been that long since they did that. It was the first time. A couple notes from UNC and then take it away gp. It was the first time Carolina beat Duke with fewer than 10 seconds to go on a shot since 1996. Dante Calabria Tippin 6.5 to go. The three point margin for UNC in a win is the closest against Duke since 2005. Sean May had 26 and 24 in that game. Sean May now an assistant on the staff. I like this nugget here. Shouts to our research team. Carolina has knocked off Kansas, Kentucky and Duke this season. The first team to do that since 2001. 02 Maryland, which won the national title that year. Carolina has not defeated those three teams in the same season since the year Jordan hit the shot to give him the title in 81 82. And then in terms of the quality of the win, Carolina hadn't knocked off a top five opponent since March of 2022. Really nice performance. Wilson finishes with 23 points and and UNC only had seven turnovers. So there's plenty to go with here. Take it where you where you please. I thought Vasar's performance in the second half was probably the most important development of the entire game. All of his points, all 13, came in the second half. Amazing visuals. The Trimble triple to win it. Your thoughts on the latest epic chapter in an unending rivalry that just fuels the sport unlike any other. Head to head.
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B
We have first and foremost awesome stuff from Dan Schulman and the J. Billis smile like added to it. I think the J. Billis abrupt smile added to it. So we get a kick out of that. Caleb Wilson was awesome, especially in the first half and we had talked about that on Friday. You brought it up like, man, the conversation is so much about the Bonsa and Boozer and Peterson and like Caleb Wilson is. Is going to be picked right around them, but he just hasn't been a part of that conversation too much. At least when I get roped into those conversations with other people, in other words, I go on CBS Sports HQ and they want to talk to me about Darren Peterson and they bring up Cameron Boozer and they bring up AJ Devonza. But I don't know, the last time anybody asked me, Caleb Wilson and we were like, if he goes big, this is the stage. That. And then he, I think had 15 points at the half. He was great. Then of course, the game is the game. It feels like Duke is in control because they were. But then, you know, Carolina comes back, gets it close and then the final play or the play that leads to the final shot. The set Trimble 3. I thought Dixon got too deep and he was stuck. I thought he was just stuck. And he, you know, there, there's. He draws two defend. He draws. If you pause it. He's got three defenders around him in.
- [13:16]
A
The p. I think the pass is better than the shots.
- [13:19]
B
100%. Pass is better. 100%. That's like in my notes. No guarantee Duck Dixon could even see. See Trimble in the corner or, and, or that he was wide open. But he saw it. He got it there like written right here. The driving kick tougher than the shot. And so he's really, you know, set Trimble legend forever. Because that's the highlight. That's, you know, you make the shot, but the, the, the play to get it there was incredible. And then of course you get the court storming and then you gotta.
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A
The premature one.
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B
I, I was gonna, I actually going to send it to Schulman like, hey, I need the, I need the distance from center, from the court to the stands as the crow flies right now because we got to get all these Students off the court. So they do that and then there's another court storming and. And then it got uncomfortable, I guess, for some people. And I don't care. I'm done talking about court stormings and the dangers of them. I just don't care. Do you care or can we continue?
- [14:22]
A
We've. No. We talked about playing. Listen, it's Duke, Carolina, they stormed the floor. I actually was curious the last time it happened. Plenty of people got back to me. 2014, Duke was ranked, Carolina was unranked. And I think there was another one in. In oh, three. It's hap. It happens every so often. I don't care if you play your rival and you beat him at the buzzer and you storm the floor. Like, I don't.
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B
I don't.
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A
Go ahead and do it now to the seriousness of it, like, Shire said he had staff members that got punched. He said his family was, you know, fearful of what was happening. That's all completely understandable. And also to Shire, his credit, he said, have at it with the court storming. Do what you got to do. I just want us to get off the floor a little bit easier. I completely understand that. And at the same time, and this doesn't absolve it, I know Carolina had the ball with the chance to win it, but the tempo, the way the game just kind of cooked and cooked and cooked. That shot going in the way it did off, the way that play materialized did have a certain level of spontaneity. Spontaneity to a GP where that court storm felt like an old school inspired court storm, where it's like, oh, my God, let's just everyone, everyone evacuate right now. So it remains to be seen if the ACC will do anything about it. I'm not doubting Shire one bit. I haven't seen. I know Carolina fans and defenders have been like, show us the evidence of this specifically. So there's been a little bit of that. The rivalry remains as hot and heated as ever, but it did become a part of the story. I believe Shire even opened his postgame presser with it. Duke, of course, is on the receiving end of more court storms than. Than any school. It doesn't lose a ton. And when it does, if you're not here, if you know on their home building, it's not a neutral site in an NBA arena November, chances are if they're going to storm the floor on you. So, no, not too much more on that, honestly, if we can avoid that.
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B
I would just say because, yeah, I don't want to be. I don't want to sound like I'm dismissive of it.
- [16:11]
A
Yeah, I know you're talking about the general, like, conversation as opposed to what Shire was saying.
- [16:15]
B
Long time listeners will know. Maybe new listeners would not. My opinion on court storming has been documented for more than a decade. Like, I've written about it, I've talked about it, my opinion has not changed. But I also am, you know, smart enough to understand people don't care. Like fans don't want to hear, you know, a nearly 50 year old bald guy talk about. I don't think people should be storming courts because it's dangerous. Nobody wants to hear it. Nobody cares. So one day something bad will happen again because something bad has already happened and then it'll happen again. It'll be on big stage and they'll, they'll, they'll text me to come on CBS Sports HQ and talk about it and I'll be happy to talk about it then. But like, I, I have, I have not been able to convince anybody that we should do something about court stormings in all the words that I've said and typed over the years. So just, you know, keep storming whenever you want to and I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. You know, Cal Filipowski almost died in one of these a few years ago. So Duke's been through this before. And so then you get it. I don't know. Like, it felt like they must have had a gap between, between games and couldn't go back to studio or something because the post game, live from the Dean Smith center, like lasted a long time and you had Roy Williams. That was awesome.
- [17:31]
A
That was great.
- [17:32]
B
Just the best. Like, Roy's the best. And then I thought this was just maybe I thought it was cool just because it's unusual. But like the set Trimble, like post game interview, like happens in the tunnel almost like as opposed to on the crowd.
- [17:46]
A
I actually. So I'm in studio. This, this ends. We've got to get ready to go live. I have to go back and watch that. I still haven't seen that. What I loved shot of Roy on the pod here on the YouTube stream. I loved that Trimble hit the shot. I love everything that Hubert Davis said afterward. And I'm gonna massively paraphrase here, but he basically said that was the guy that deserved to hit that shot. I'm so happy for him. Trimble, not a portal guy. The only guy on the floor that had experience for Carolina in this rivalry ball is in his hands. And it was like, that's a genuinely amazing moment. It would have been great if Wilson did it or if Boozer hit the winner. Like no matter what, you hit the winning shot in this rivalry. It's incredible. But specifically in Chapel Hill, in that building, a lot of alumni on hand and it is Trimble that gets the ball, gets the opportunity, gets the shot. I thought that was really, really cool. And I loved what Hubert Davis had to say afterward. I did not get to see his post game interview. I will seek that out before the weekend's done though.
- [18:48]
B
It was really good. It was just like there was something about the lighting of it. It was darker than. It just didn't look like your typical postgame interview. And it just sort of added to the. This is, this is awesome. Like, I think I tweeted just everything about the past two hours of me watching this on this is like perfect college basketball. Just everything about it was just perfect college basketball. So just, just tremendous stuff and huge win for Hubert, huge shot for Seth and Duke will be fine. I dropped him, I think to fourth in the top 25 and one. But if I were still doing number one seeds today, Duke would still be a number one seed for me. Anything else here? You ready to move on?
- [19:26]
A
We can. No, we can move on. There's a lot to get to here and obviously we know folks watching live and you and I both got super bowl stuff so we can keep it moving. I'll just say duke had won 20 straight games in conference play. That was the longest conference streak in. In D1. That's over. Carolina, still 140 at home this season, obviously did real wonders for his tournament resume. Just in terms of, you know what it is. Seedline bump. We can get to the next game.
- [19:48]
B
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B
Final score Michigan State 85, Illinois 82. It was in overtime. Jeremy Fierce 26 points, 15 assists, possibly a trip. Did he trip again? Norlander, did he trip again?
- [22:16]
A
I. Okay, how about we. We address this for no more than 38 seconds and then move on. Honestly, that genuinely to me felt bang bang. But this is exactly what we talked about on the last show. When you have multiple incidents that are not bang bang that show clear intention with ill intent and you are not now, not in the aftermath of this. It's not like we've had this massive, you know, review of his entire life, but in the moment, yes. And you've got Jeremy Fierce Jr. Is building armies on both sides for him. Michigan State fans are ready to go to war for this dude. And any little thing that happens on the court, you've got a vocal contingent now of people saying this is the dirtiest player in college basketball. I happen to think it was genuinely not intentional. That's just me. I can't read into the guy's mind. But you do the other stuff. You make way for this.
- [23:09]
B
It's exactly right. I can't tell, you know, and I can't get into his head. It's quick. I mean it's like that I, I see what everybody, if, if you are somebody who sees the, the worst of it, I see what you're seeing. I just can't, I can't be that definitive with it. But when you have the reputation, I mean, go back to Friday's pod. I said this exactly. Now everybody's looking at everything hyper focused on it and anything like you can do something in your next game that would not have been noticed 11 games ago, but it will go viral in your next game. And there it was. So it's, it's, it happened. The officials looked at it, we all moved on and then he, and then.
- [23:50]
A
He became a first team all American.
- [23:52]
B
I mean, Jesus Lord, 26 points, 15 assists. And his post game interview I thought was, I'm not going to spend the whole podcast talking about again.
- [24:00]
A
This is another one that I couldn't listen to because I had to go up on hq. But apparently he had a really good post game.
- [24:04]
B
He was good. He was good. He was good. He just more or less said he was asked specifically about everything he's been going through and how he's dealt with it. Because it can't be fun when you're a young man and you feel like the whole world in your phone is coming down on you. And I mean we've heard, we've had coaches tell us they had to delete social media off of their phones because it becomes too overwhelming for them. And so I imagine Jeremy Fears was going through that a little bit. Right. Every time you open your phone, it's, it's not great things about you. And he's. Often people just don't tell the truth in that situation. They act like they don't care or it was nothing or I don't pay attention to it. And I prefer people who tell the truth. And he seemed like he was telling the truth because he was asked what's it been like? You know what he said? He said it's been rough. He said it's been rough, you know, but you know, I, I put myself in this position and I need to pull myself out of this position. I'm Paraphrasing here, but the main quote, but the main thing was it's been, it's been rough, it's been hard, it's been difficult, it's been challenging. And again, he did it to himself. Nobody's making excuses for him, but he a different player at a different school. They might not even put him in that interview post game interview under these circumstances.
- [25:17]
A
Correct. That does actually speak to Izzo in general. Michigan State culture, which is very appreciated. No question.
- [25:22]
B
Yes. So they put him out there, they said, yeah, talk to him, ask him about whatever you want to ask him about. And he was asked the obvious question. And I thought he handled it, I thought he handled it well. Obviously big storyline. It goes to overtime. Keaton Wagler was not great for most of it, but Buddy banged home a big three at the end and think they get a steal. I want it. He gave it up and I know why he gave it up, but man, if I could redo it for Illinois, I might just say, buddy, we'll live and die with whatever happens with you. You handle this. You handle this from this point forward. He gave it up and never got it back.
- [25:57]
A
He did. There's just so much going on in this game. How about Jake Davis straight from a dispatch concert, Two foul shots to get it to overtime and he makes it happen. Like even, like I, I, I thought he was going to miss one of them. He's a, you see, it was like a 75% foul shooter going in. I just thought it was a big moment, big pressure. I was like, I don't know if he's gonna make both of these.
- [26:21]
B
I was like, there's no way he makes both of these. Like, like even if you're a 75% free throw shooter, somebody can figure this out way smarter than me. But like, what does that number go to under those circumstances?
- [26:32]
A
Exactly, exactly. But he did hit it. Wogli, yes, had had a bad game. 2 of 16. Amanda still 16 points on 16 shots, but 2 of 16 from the field. And as I said in studio, it is entirely acceptable. Like he has been incredible. You go on the road against a league rival, you know, top 10, top 15 level team. They're trying to dodge three in a row. They've got really, you know, maybe, maybe the best true point guard in the sport. As an aside here fears is now 9.1 dimes a game. Braden Smith. Purdue had zero business being in a close game with Oregon, but it was and it won. And Smith did not have a good game. He is now second in assists Per game, Boilermakers fans, your team's got to get its act together because the schedule's about to get really tough. And I can't believe I was dialed into a Purdue Oregon game on CBS for two full hours because I did not think. I did not. They had me going HQ in the pre game. And you know you're trying to like, what can Oregon do to stay in? And I straight up was like, nate, Bill's gonna have to be amazing. I don't think Oregon keeps us within 10. I just don't think it has any shot. Of course, that's exactly what happens in Oregon. Almost steals it. Anyway, I am truly digressing here. Fears was incredible. And for Wagler to have a stinker of a game, whatever, he's a freshman. He's got more on his shoulders than he could have possibly expected. Boswell not playing in this game I thought was huge because if Boswell plays in the game, like Fears was picking them apart. Dude, he was getting wherever he wanted. He entered into. He was neo in the matrix, man. He knew what he had to do on every single possession. Maestro level stuff from Fears he is averaging. How about this one? In the past five games, 22 and a half points, 11.8 assists. Only two guys in the past 20 years have done that in a five game span. No matter the span. Trey Young and John Morant. Now Jeremy Fierce Jr. Has done it. Incredible. Tied for third most assists in a game in Michigan state history with 15 giveaways. Sparty has now beaten Illinois four times in a row for the first time since 2010. They needed it. Like Illinois, the loss barely affects your resume in general. Like it's one more loss and I get all that. But for the game was way, way, way more significant for, for Michigan State in the context of what had been happening as of late, everything attached to Fears, he. That Fear stuff was just amazing, dude. Like I want to say top five game I've seen this season and there have been some amazing games. So credit to Sparty for getting that done and in the process making the Big Ten race just that more compelling. Like we're coming live here after Michigan didn't have too much of an issue with the Ohio State as expected, was able to get that done and win by more than 20 on the road. But, but below Michigan you've got Illinois with two losses, Nebraska with two losses. Michigan State now has three. Purdue has three. So we'll see. Maybe the Wolverines pull away. But I thought that was, I thought that was a really Compelling game with, with an important result for the context of the league race.
- [29:23]
B
All right, you want to keep it moving. We had another ranked on ranked matchup on Saturday. Final score, Houston 77, BYU 66. This is how I ended my night. Cougars have now dropped and I should be specific. BYU Cougars have now dropped four straight and five of six. What's happened to Kevin Young's team other than the schedule? Because I do think the biggest thing is the schedule.
- [29:42]
A
Okay, that's part of it. But man, at a certain point you got to get some good wins here. Byu, yes, it has dropped five of six, but it had Arizona opportunity on its home floor close and lost Houston on its home floor certainly in the game for points. Couldn't get it done. And I want to obviously touch on Houston here, but BYU 17 and 6, I haven't broken. I mean, we got so many more games to figure out. I didn't dive into it. I would guess BYU right now is like a best bottom end 5 seed. It might be on the 6th line because it, it is not yet proven it can beat a Final four threat. Not even like a Final four candidate. I'm talking like a Final four threat. It's best wins and these are aging well. Villanova and Clemson. It needed to come back from 22 down at the Garden. Caught that game in person back in December. Those are the best wins. Wisconsin in Salt Lake City, they destroyed them. Like it's a good win but hasn't been proven yet. DeBonta had another nice game, a really nice game. Game high, 28 points. Had some really good moments. But they got a. The thing I said last night was I do think that BYU can be a team where if it, wherever it lands on selection Sunday, if that is 4 seed, 5, 6, I don't think it drops below a 7. So let's just say it's in that 4 to 7 range wherever it winds up. I do think BYU, because of its talent is going to be capable with the right matchups of being one of those teams where it's not on the top line, it's not a second line, probably not on the three line and it gets the Sweet 16. It's like, well, damn, they just beat two opponents by a combined 39 points because of the talent, the scoring they have there. So some of the struggles they're having right now, I don't, I'm not that concerned about its impact in the first weekend of the tournament, but at the same time, when it gets to the second weekend or it gets to a 1, 2, 3 seed level team, maybe even a 4 seed level team. Do you need right. DebonSA and Saunders all to be playing in harmony? Can you afford to have one of those guys have an off night? Because the thing that I love about BYU is a now I think they've entered into Final 4 dark horse territory GP just because they haven't been good against the teams they need to be good against. They haven't been able to win those games. Is they, they need those three. And then Keda as a defensive presence. Like I still love Keda's overall energy on the court. I thought Houston would win the game. I picked him to win the game. I thought it would be a little bit more competitive and the biggest reason why it wasn't was because of what Houston did. But I'll, I'll throw it back to you on BYU before we dive in and give credit to team that went on the road and won yet again.
- [32:12]
B
Well, you know, Kevin mentioned the front court debacle after the game and I don't know who asked the question, but it was something along the lines of, you know, obviously Houston's Houston and they're tough and you know, it was like, hey, what are you gonna do? That's, that's, that's the Houston Cougars. They're really tough. And he was like, yeah, of course. But like, we gotta be better up front. I mean that's not good enough. What my front court did tonight is not good enough. And so, you know, obviously when you go from top 10 in the country to losing five or six, frustration starts to set in. So maybe that's, we're getting a little hint of that. But again, most of this is the schedule, the four game losing streak, it's a loss to Arizona, number one, undefeated Arizona at home by three, a loss at Kansas by eight, at Oklahoma State by seven. That's the tough one. But then Houston at home by 11. Most even good teams would go 1 and 3 in that stretch. So. Oh, and 4 isn't too far off, but it still is not good. At some point, like you said, you got to win a game. In this four game stretch, they're 0 and 4 and 68 in the country at Torvik in that stretch. That puts them six spots behind Stephen F. Austin, four spots behind Grand Canyon. So yes, the record looks the way it is because of the schedule they've been asked to play recently, but they're still not performing well even in defeat, if that makes sense.
- [33:44]
A
Yeah, it does. Now as for Houston, I mean, just vintage the way that this team plays, like, it's got to make some of these coaches just go home and want to break furniture. The offensive rebounding prowess. There were multiple instances in the second half of this game when it was still in striking distance when a shot went up for Houston. And BYU had like two, if not three guys around the rim, and there was one cougar, and the freaking cougar grabbed it. It was just. And. And Khalifa Sacco had a couple of extremely important rebounds when they actually happen in the context of that game. In addition to Kristen Knack, who played well, obviously Fleming's. He's just silky smooth. Like, he had 195 and 5 in this game. And that's not a stat line. That's. That's going to pop to you. If you watched the game, he was the dude that was deciding how this thing was going to end. He's just unflappable. He didn't have a perfect game, but he was. Dude. It's just crazy how reliable he is. Like, we go back to the start of the season, and we're thinking usan, we're thinking Yuzan's going to be the guy that was doing what Flemings was doing last night. No. And usan's a nice player. Sharp. I still think Sharp's got a big moment of redemption coming for him at some point this season after obviously what happened the national title game. But it's Fleming's the whole way. They're 21 and 2 right now. Houston is. And I don't know if they. I, like, I don't really care, frankly, because we have so much time to go. But given the losses for Duke and Connecticut over the weekend, maybe Houston's got viability on the one line after getting a road win here. That's our poll right now. Which team impressed you most with the win? Was it Carolina at home over duke? Was it St. John's at home over Yukon? Was it Michigan State at home or Illinois or by. Or Houston doing it on the road to byu? I thought it was just vintage Houston stuff. Mighty impressive. They have one long have one loss since late December. They're gonna take another. But you. You've gotta. You need to stab them and make sure they are dead, man. They. They. It's just same story after another after another after another.
- [35:51]
B
I. I didn't know we were going to turn to stabby on the podcast.
- [35:55]
A
I'm speaking metaphorically, of course.
- [35:59]
B
Okay. Okay. Yeah. Houston's awesome. You mentioned the offensive rebounding. They recruited. They recruit that they coach. It they prioritize it. I love the programs that every year, regardless of the roster, there's very specific things you can look at, and you just know they're going to be there. Like, you know, this team never turns the ball over, regardless of who's playing for them. They just do not turn the ball over. This team, regardless of who's playing for them, they, they kill you. On the offensive glass, it's just like if you walk into somebody's house and they got three kids, and every day, from the day these kids were born, it was like, hey, every morning when we wake up, the first thing we do is we make our bed. That's just, we don't do anything until we make our bed. Then you'll just, you got, you got a house full of bed makers all day, you know, for the rest of their lives. Here at my house, nobody makes anything. And so you get no, no struck. So it's just what you prioritize. And, and that's something they prioritize at Houston. As for Flemings, it was it Franny. Was Franny on the game?
- [36:59]
A
He was. Yes.
- [37:00]
B
Okay. I, I, yeah, okay. And here's this, this stood out to me. You want to know how awesome Kingston Flemings is? Forget the box score. How many times did he make Franny go, oh, wow, ooh, like, just make those type, like there's that. He makes a guy who watches basketball for a living go, ooh, yeah. Like, he gets, he, he gets to places normal people don't get. He does it in ways nor you can see it with him. And yeah, he's going to be a top 10 pick.
- [37:31]
A
Obviously, I'm, I'm at the point.
- [37:33]
B
Yeah.
- [37:33]
A
If that dude is on the board at six, something has gone terribly wrong. I don't know if I can be shifted. And we have such a deep class. He's got no business falling past five. And I'm pretty sure I can be talked into three by the time we get to mid March.
- [37:45]
B
I, I, There is nothing anybody could say that, that I would go, that's crazy. I mean, you know, I, I think I know who goes one, and I think I know who goes to. But if somebody tried to make a compelling case for you just can't pass on Kingston Flemings, I'd at least listen to it. I'd at least have to, I wouldn't, I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand. He's special and Houston special. And I've said it a million times, like, if I had to just, I get one, I get One dart to throw at the board for a national champion. I would take the Houston dart and throw it. That's. That's where I'm at.
- [38:18]
A
I had at the start of the season. Who'd you have at the start of the season?
- [38:21]
B
Oh, I'm about to talk to. I'm about to talk to you about that. I'm about to talk to you about that. You know what? Let's back up. Let's back up to Friday night. Let's back up to Friday night. Friday night. You know what, Josh? Give me a word from our partner. I want to get pumped up for this. I want to get properly pumped up for this. I need to take a breath. Residence day savings are happening now at the Home Depot with up to 40% off select appliances. Looking to upgrade your fridge? Check out LG's newest model serving up ice in all kinds of styles. Cube crushed craft ice and now new mini craft ice. Straight from the dispenser. From cold brew to fizzy favorites, these refrigerators will have you entertaining like a pro. Shop president's day savings and get a to 40% off plus free delivery on select appliances like LG at the home Depot. Free delivery on appliance purchases of $1,498 or more. Offer valid February 5th through the 25th, US only. Store online for details.
- [39:09]
A
The world moves fast. Your workday even faster.
- [39:12]
B
Pitching products, drafting reports, analyzing data.
- [39:16]
A
Microsoft 365 Copilot is your AI assistant for work built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other Microsoft 365 apps you use, helping you quickly write, analyze, create, and summarize so you can cut through clutter.
- [39:31]
B
And clear a path to your best work. Learn more@Microsoft.com M365 copilot Let's back up to Friday night. Final score, St. John's 81, Yukon 72. Norlander, you were there.
- [39:44]
A
I was there.
- [39:45]
B
Tell me what it was like to watch the top 25 and one preseason number one.
- [39:49]
A
No.
- [39:50]
B
Dominate. Dominate the huskies inside the garden.
- [39:52]
A
You don't get to do this. You bailed. You picked Yukon like I did. But I own it. Picked Yukon to win and cover. Okay. It wasn't the number one team in the country. You can't.
- [40:06]
B
It was a strategic pick. I. I picked with strategy. I was trying to protect my piece, by the way.
- [40:11]
A
Apparently Stover was in the building. I didn't. I didn't get a. I didn't get a. Hey, I hear you're. No, I got none of that. Got a bunch of nonsense about St. John's and a Mass text extra bunch of CBS guys.
- [40:21]
B
Dude, our group text went wild Friday night or Saturday night or whatever.
- [40:25]
A
In all honesty, I. I had to mute it. I was like, I can't. I'm trying to work right now. I can't do this. Just going nuts with a bunch. I'm like, I got. I'm on the desk. I'm like, like, you think Zook would appreciate if I just start bombing like 13 packs in a row? He's getting ready to come up at halftime.
- [40:41]
B
No, Zook is a professional. You know what Zook does every time he's coming back from breakfast? He takes his phone and he puts it face down just like that. Ain't nobody bothering Zuck while he's working.
- [40:50]
A
That is correct.
- [40:51]
B
He is.
- [40:51]
A
He is the best. The Garden on Friday was outstanding, and St. John's fans took over the building, which, yeah, it's the home venue, but it's the Garden. And as Steve Masielo, the associate head coach of St. John's told me, after year one, we got here, it was like 65, 35 UConn fans. Last year we were able to flip it and get it better in our favor. And now Friday night, a minimum 85 Yukon, they were in the building for sure. But St. John's fans came up big. I appreciate. There was a group of guys at the end of the game that love the show, wanted to say hi, and I was literally getting ready to file and go on hq, but I said hello, wanted to give them a shout. Very, very kind guys that were on cloud nine with this kind of win. Amazing, amazing environment. Everything. I wanted it to be like for the final parish, I want to say for like the final 10 minutes of the game. Everyone's on their feet, you know, St. John's was ready, capable. Zubie, edge of four, had himself just. Hell of a night, man. 21, 10, 7, 3 blocks, 2 steals. And for as good as he was, Dylan Mitchell had an. An outrageous put back that I want to say, did it put him up five, maybe seven. When that play happened, he materialized out of nowhere. It looked like, okay, you got. As it's unfolding, okay, you kind of get the ball, we'll see if they can do something. And then he just. It was just, you know, just a quasi dagger, as much as it could be. You had Dylan Darling, who in the second half really kind of flipped the mojo for St. John's in general. Like he showed up in a. In a significant way. And this was after, of course, the team's battle to, to be level at halftime big for the Big East. That was kind of my biggest takeaway late late late Friday into Saturday was if you kind of won the game, it would have been 23 and one undefeated in the league, conceivably potentially on the table to run the table in the Big East. And Instead we've got two one loss teams. Johnny's technically a half game back because they're 11 and one. UConn is at this point and we have some real drama here. Like we actually have a race which is beneficial for the biggies because it's probably only going to be a three bid league. Like Seton hall lost at the buzzer to Creighton over the weekend. And I know that game meant a ton to Creighton and his fan base spent some heavy times there earlier this week. But Seton hall losing that opportunity on the road, Quad one, like its chances are fading away. Villanova looking good, got another win, didn't mess around one at Georgetown. So if you're only going to have three teams get in the tournament, can we at least have the top of the league be something that's really drawing us in beyond the obvious things that are bringing us in. The two hall of Fame coaches, the two big brands, we get all that. You actually had a fantastic game, really well played. Johnny's had how many? 10 turnovers, but force UConn into 15 of them and really capitalized off that in a big way. Demery had just a weird night. He had top five dunk of the season. Really was dictating a lot of stuff, but had nine turnovers. Like stunning, stunning stuff. I know the cameras were catching Hurley, just vintage Hurley, like it just cut away and it's just, he's. There's no one better. Mid game, Izzo comes close in terms of just the bemusement on his face. And then I talked to him afterward and like he wasn't, he wasn't beating himself up over it, but he's like, you know, we had it. And he called it great adventure with Demery because like the highs were so high. But if you turn those nine turnovers parish into like five, yeah, maybe it makes a difference in the end. Final score is 81, 72. The game was closer than that. St. John's pulled away at the end. I know that's a bit of a long monologue, but it was, it was wonderful to be there and really, really cool to see St. John step up in a major way and give you just a bit of redemption. But a Reminder, this is not the number one team in the country, nor is it 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10.
- [44:58]
B
They are the preseason St. John's number one team in the top 25 and 1. I think everybody remembers that. Didn't have. I don't know why, I don't know why people didn't want to bring that up this weekend. People loved bringing up. St. John's was number one in the preseason top 25 and one when they were 4 and 3, 7 and 4, 9 and 5 with a loss to Providence. Man, they couldn't stop tweeting about it then. Now, nine game winning streak, 18 and five overall, 11 and one in the Big east since January 6th. St. John's is nine zero and ranked 12th at Torvik, which is one spot ahead of. It's one spot ahead of UConn.
- [45:42]
A
Okay.
- [45:43]
B
It's one spot ahead of uConn in the same stretch since January 6th. You go over to Torvik, you sort some data, here's what you're going to find. St. John's is undefeated and ranked 12th in the country. UConn is not undefeated and ranked 13th in the country. Rematch in Harp for two weeks from this Wednesday.
- [46:00]
A
Yeah, we'll see if. And that. That game should have stakes. And as I wrote, I think, like, there's a chance here. So you cost 22 and 2. It could be 23, 4, 5. Could be 26 and 2. Although it's got a roadie against Nova before that. So we'll see. And then St. John's upcoming schedule, home to Xavier, at Providence, at Marquette, home to Creighton. So St. John's could be 22 and 5. These two teams might not lose again before they meet again later this month. Fantastic stuff for the Big East. It needed that kind of result.
- [46:31]
B
Yes.
- [46:31]
A
And, like, it really, you know, they.
- [46:34]
B
Really did need that kind of result.
- [46:35]
A
I'm not, I'm not, I, I agree.
- [46:37]
B
I'm not suggesting the biggies that they're rooting against, Yukon or whatever. You just need a tight race. And this, this, this. If UConn does, if UConn beats St. John's however they do it, it's like, well, I guess they're just head and shoulders above everybody in the, in the league and they've got no challengers. And they still, I think, are the best team in the league. I think most people would agree with that. But at least now we got something to look forward to. They, they, you know, these two teams might not lose again until they meet again. Which, which Would obviously be awesome. So that was fun. Friday night in the gardenless transition over to Rick Patino's old school final score. Kentucky 74, Tennessee 71. UK has now won three straight and eight of nine. Yeah, awesome week for Mark Pope. I think you mentioned this on social media. He, his daughter came back home for the first time in a long time. I'll let you get the specifics. So that was a, a sweet visual. And then obviously you get the big win over a ranked opponent this weekend. Now you get the week off to like enjoy this. They don't play again until Saturday at Florida. So three straight one eight of nine. I did move UK back into the top 25 and one at number 26 on Sunday morning.
- [47:47]
A
17 and seven. This is seven. They were 17 and seven a season ago. I'll be in a tougher sec. But eight of nine, the only one they lost was the game I went to when they were a no show in Vandy. Thanks Pope. We could, couldn't have mixed in like a 57 point margin. There is 80 to 55. They have been wonderful as of late. And yeah, so Pope's I believe youngest daughter went on a, went on a mission. Was away for 18 months in El Salvador. So we actually had a little bit of an adorable moment after the win against Oklahoma on Wednesday. I don't know how long he was there for the press conference. They won easy. Like typically you want coaches to say is stay as long as they need to at a presser but he was, he had his phone out and was tracking his daughter's flight and it was saying you know like 19 minutes until scheduled landing. He gets to the airport, they meet up. So we got to see his daughter for the first time in a year and a half. Got back to back wins. And then on, on Saturday it's not just the win, it was 74.71. It's against Tennessee. Kentucky has sweet swept Tennessee two seasons in a row for the first time since 2011, 2012 and Tennessee and Kentucky like that. Those fans do not like each other whatsoever. So you get that you, you do it this season with back to back comeback wins from double digit deficits. Remember the first one was from 17 down. This one they were down by 14 at the half. It's the largest come from behind win by halftime deficit in the history of Rupp arena. Which is wild to me but true nonetheless. And not only that, they did it on Denim night. They had the throwback unis from the 9596 season which by the way There was someone else at the Garden. Guy said, guys, they were. They were like 20 minutes away from doing, you know, the putt to win, whatever.
- [49:33]
B
Yeah.
- [49:33]
A
So one guy's in a Kentucky 95, 96 hoodie. I was like, is that home field or. He's like, no, this is the genuine thing. I was like, that's awesome, man. That 95.96 Kentucky team's one of my favorite ever. It made me want to. Made me want to cover college basketball. Basically that he. The guy in the. In the hoodie didn't have the putt. His buddy did. He sank it from like half court. They got like four tickets to go to the US Open at Shinnecock on Long island this year. That was awesome. But it was interesting that he was wearing that hoodie on the same weekend that obviously Kentucky was celebrating the 95, 96 team. So all of Pope's buds are in the building. They all came to the post game press conference. You want to talk about vibe swings, you go back to Kentucky six weeks ago. We talked about it, we podcasted it. One of the most disappointing teams in the country. And now it has flipped it. 5 double digit comeback wins. You don't want to have that consistently, but impressive. And they did it. Despite Nate doing great stuff again, 29 and 8. He leads the SEC at 23 and change since January 10th points per game. But owe played well again. Always averaging like 20.6 points in league play. GP, he was awesome. That's a, that's a good win. And as you mentioned, it sets up the Florida game next weekend. That will be for first place because. Oh, by the way. And admittedly it was very busy. I had eyes on it, but it was a blowout. I missed the start of it because of the end of. I guess the end of Michigan State, Illinois, but like A and m started like 1 of 27 at home from the field against Florida, it loses 86, 67. So congrats to the Gators. That got them in command of first place and sets up next weekend. Maybe the biggest matchup of the of the weekend. I haven't looked at the full schedule, but with with Florida and Kentucky squaring off with first place in the SEC on the line again, really, really good stuff for the Wildcats. Kentucky back shorthanded and they're actually playing better, which is the biggest surprise of all. They got all these injuries, but the depth has come through majorly and. And I was really, really impressed with.
- [51:26]
B
What they did on the mark. Pope leaving the press conference early or quickly like as a journalist or at least I think I was a journalist once. I don't know if I still am, but I.
- [51:37]
A
You still are.
- [51:37]
B
All right.
- [51:38]
A
I was.
- [51:38]
B
I was once upon a time. I got the. I got stuff to prove it to you. Um. Like. Yeah, I mean, I. I guess I want coaches there as long as necessary, but I'll never get mad at a man for going to see his daughter for the first time in 18 months. And if you are. And if you are a journalist who does.
- [51:55]
A
Yes, there were any that were okay. You know, I'm sure there might have been one out there that's like, come on, dude, it's okay.
- [52:00]
B
Yeah. Yeah. I. I don't even know if there was, but if there was, like, calm down, calm down. Your job's not as serious as you think it is. If you. You're upset about Mark Pope getting to the airport as quickly as possible to see his daughter. Gotta acknowledge the undefeated teams. I think Arizona, Yes. And Miami University both win this weekend. The Wildcats are 23. 0 with, I mean, the best thing on tap. We're going to get to that in a minute. Miami is now 24. 0. Next up for them Friday against Ohio. If you got anything on either. I know neither game was like whatever, but like if you got anything from that.
- [52:36]
A
This is no place. 53 points. I kind of wondered if Miami would get it done on the road against Marshall. It did. I mentioned on Friday show that was statistically their least likely win or most likely loss. Didn't matter. They didn't mess around, which has been a change of pace from what they've done. Good on them. No. Only other things I have here. Before we look ahead, I will note that Oklahoma almost blew an epic loss that might have caused Porter Moser to quit on the spot. They beat Vanderbilt, but they had a 19 point lead with like 3 minutes and 20 seconds to go and they almost lost it. They get the win. Tyler Tanner was awesome in the. In the defeat, but that was one where it's just poor emotion is really going through it. So I couldn't help to notice that Bama won at Auburn. Good win for Bama. We still don't have a Betty Ako update, I guess that's supposedly coming on Monday. They did the court stuff on Friday. They presented their cases and all of that. It seems to be something that might genuinely be up in the air, but we'll wait and see and when we podcast again, we'll talk about the developments there. But Bama did win. That's a good One for them. They were able to get, get some good dubs there and there were some other stuff. But this weekend felt primarily about six or seven major results that are really defining the contours of the conference races and the pushes for the ones and twos and three seeds as we move forward.
- [53:50]
B
All right, up next, let's do the AP poll. Look ahead. I actually don't think it's that easy this week. We've had some interesting results over the past seven days. Last week, a reminder, it was the top five in order this way. Arizona, Michigan, Yukon, Duke, Illinois. It will not look like that tomorrow. What's it going to look like tomorrow? I'll give you first crack, Norlander.
- [54:11]
A
All right, let's do. I'll give you five, you give me your five and I'll try and figure out the six or 10. Arizona 1, Michigan 2. Obviously 3, 4, 5, Iowa State 3. Just kind of out there quietly dominating. They're gonna have some high profile games coming again, don't worry. Houston 4. And then I'm gonna say UConn maintains top five status. Lost. It was, it was the highest ranked team to only lose once and it lost against a ranked team, St. John's you could make the case that maybe Duke is going to be five because it was a closer margin against Carolina, which had a higher ranking. But I go zone in Michigan, Iowa State, Houston, Yukon. What do you say?
- [54:50]
B
I think that's, I think that's right. And with the only possible difference. Maybe not the only possible difference. It could, you know, who knows? AP voters are wild sometimes, but obviously Arizona, Michigan, that's, that's easy. I do think Iowa State moves up to number three. They were seventh last week, but they were the highest ranked team outside of Arizona, Michigan, not to lose. So I think Iowa State goes up to third. Houston, I think, goes up to four at 21 and two. And then it's either Yukon or Duke. And I think it probably is UConn at 5, Duke at 6. But you could do that in either order and I wouldn't be mad at it if you're interested in the top 25 and 1, because what I would predict is different than what I actually have in the top 25 and 1 as of this morning, it's Arizona 1, Michigan 2. I've got UConn at 3, Duke at 4, Iowa State at 5, Houston at 6, Nebraska at 7, Illinois at 8, Gonzaga at 9 and Kansas at 10.
- [55:49]
A
3, 4 and 5. Losing on Friday and Saturday marked the first time since not that long ago December 3rd and 4th of 2024 that we had at least three top five teams lose in a two day span. Back then it was number one Kansas, number two Auburn, number four Kentucky and believe it or not, number five Marquette. Yes, last season Marquette was as high as number five. Times change. With a quickness for the back end of the top 10. I'm gonna say Duke is six, Nebraska is seven. I think Kansas did well for itself. I think it's going to be eight. I have Illinois still staying in the top 10 as a result of its win at nine. And then I have. We'll see if they'll jump. I think Carolina getting that win gets him into the top 10. That I'm going to reference our poll here from this episode of Ion College Basketball Viewer results. Best win of the weekend. Of the four most notable ones, Carolina over Duke 63%. Number two, St. John's over Yukon 22%. And then Michigan State over Illinois and then Houston over byu. Bringing up the caboose there. So you, you and C over Duke was the most dramatic. I kind of feel like St. John's doing what it did was the best win real quick. Like what of those four? Remember Houston's the only one that got it on the road. Which one was the quote unquote best to you from the weekend?
- [57:11]
B
Yeah, I mean I think Houston going into the Marriott Center.
- [57:14]
A
Yeah, yeah. Did do it on the road. People's still a pretty good team. The other one's got him at home. I don't know that's. I came in last in the poll but I think you can make a case for case for that. I've Gonzaga falling out of the top 10. Parish because remember got the loss against Portland. So I don't think there's any way the AP voters will, will have the Bulldogs in the top 10. Wanna look ahead to Monday?
- [57:32]
B
Yeah, let's look ahead to the next couple of days. On Monday it's the patino ball at MSG, Xavier at St. John's NC State at Louisville and then the big one. And this is like this ain't even like this is a great game. This is like all time great stuff. This is. There is stuff connected to this game that I genuinely didn't know until I started. Just it honestly it found me as much as I found it and I will give credit where credit is due. Tell me if you're aware of this. I, I even. I'll just tell you what I got. So it's number one Arizona at Kansas, wherever Kansas happens to be ranked when The AP poll updates on Monday. It's Arizona undefeated. Yeah. On big Monday inside Allen field house. Arguably the greatest stage in college basketball against a two time national champion coach blue blood program and the presumed number one pick in the NBA draft. I mean, what this is like. Yeah, I'm gonna have a party tomorrow night.
- [58:35]
A
Super Bowl.
- [58:37]
B
Oh no. I'm have a party tonight too.
- [58:38]
A
Well, Seahawks. Seahawks. Pat says nothing on Arizona, Kansas and I. And I'm not being funny. Oh, and I love me. Are you ready to college basketball. I am so much more jacked for Arizona at Kansas than I am Seahawks, Patriots. Knowing full well most people are going to listen and watch this after the super bowl has been played. Maybe it's an all time epic, but I kind of think we're getting a clunkery zone of Kansas. Come on.
- [59:00]
B
I have no idea what kind of super bowl we're going to have, but I will tell you, if somebody for some reason right now said, gp you can only watch one, I would say. I would say. First off, shut up. You don't get to tell me what I can do, all right? I can watch.
- [59:12]
A
What I'm in my house.
- [59:13]
B
I can watch whatever television setup you see. My tell.
- [59:17]
A
You should. Still haven't tweeted it, by the way. Still waiting for that photo.
- [59:20]
B
It will not come across the right way. It will come.
- [59:25]
A
We're getting there slowly but surely. You shared the video with the suitcase in the snow in your neighborhood. We're getting there slowly. I've got hope by the end of the year. Maybe we'll get you there.
- [59:33]
B
But even that was like I was uncomfortable with that for that reason. Just because I didn't like people seeing my neighbors houses. Like genuinely, I didn't like people seeing my neighbor's houses.
- [59:43]
A
You weren't being held at gunpoint to post the video.
- [59:46]
B
I know, but like first I thought it was a funny video. Like I was walking a half mile through ice and Snow like Leonardo DiCaprio. But no, you're not gonna see a picture of my TV set up. But first I say you can't tell me what I can watch, then we'd argue, all right? But if they convince me they can tell me what I can watch, and I can only watch one of these sporting events over the next two days, hand to heart. And I'm not somebody who tries to tell you college basketball is the best. You know, it's, it's, it's the best. I don't know if it's actually the best. It's great. I don't know if it's actually the best sport. Like, people like to say things like that college basketball is the best sport. I don't know if that's actually true. All right. But this is true hand to heart. I'm being honest with you. If you told me right now I could only watch one of these games, I'd say, you're not in charge of telling me what I can watch. But then I'd reconsider. I'd calm down, and then I'd say, yeah, I'd rather watch Kansas and Arizona. I swear to God. I'm gonna have a party. I'm gonna have a party tonight with my wife and kids at my home, and then I have a party tomorrow night in my hotel room in New York by myself. I'm partying the next two nights. You can't stop me. You ain't gonna be able to. Okay, now let me tell you what I read. Tell me if you knew any of this stuff. Credit to Rock Chalk Blog.
- [60:59]
A
They're all over it.
- [61:00]
B
They're all over it. Arizona will be the first number one team to play inside Allen Field house as a visitor in the Bill Self era. Did you know that was true?
- [61:15]
A
No. But that's a half truth. Because I think when Oklahoma played and there was the buddy healed 46 triple OT, I think Oklahoma was number one in the coaches. So Arizona will be the first in the AP poll. Okay, that's the half truth.
- [61:27]
B
Yeah.
- [61:28]
A
So.
- [61:28]
B
But. Well, I'll just make it the whole truth then. Here's the whole truth. Arizona will be the first top ranked team in the AP poll to visit Allen Field house in the Bill Self era according to Rock Chalk Block. If this is wrong, take it up with Rock Chalk Blog. All right, but that's. So that's one. You ready for this? Bill Self has never lost a Big Monday game at home.
- [61:50]
A
That's insane.
- [61:52]
B
Take a shot at the record Bill Self Big Monday games. Allen Fieldhouse. What's the record? I've already told you, it's a zero in the lost column.
- [62:04]
A
I'm gonna say, first of all, that's a joke. That's a joke. I'm gonna say 46. Zero.
- [62:09]
B
It's 38 zero.
- [62:10]
A
Yeah, just come on, man.
- [62:12]
B
Come on. And they don't just lost on Monday.
- [62:16]
A
When Bill stuff is going. That's crazy.
- [62:18]
B
That's what Rock Chalk Blog said. That's what Rock Chalk blog said.
- [62:22]
A
That's crazy.
- [62:23]
B
380 on Big Monday. And keep in mind, Big Monday is not like Kansas against whatever the worst team in the Big 12 is. It's like it's going to be Kansas against another team. We felt in July was going to be awesome.
- [62:36]
A
Again, this is at home, though, not on the road. They've obviously been picked up on the road. But. But even still, that's a joke.
- [62:40]
B
Yeah. Right. Okay. And here's another just thing that I had no idea was true. According to Rock Talk Block, Kansas has never beaten a number one team in the AP poll at home in Allen Fieldhouse.
- [62:56]
A
I think I've heard that before.
- [62:57]
B
Yeah.
- [62:58]
A
Yeah. One of those weird ones. But they've often been like. They've been.
- [63:00]
B
They've often been the number one.
- [63:02]
A
Prevented other teams in the Big 12 from being the number one team. I had heard that one. But yeah, there's a lot of incredible stuff on display here. Yes or no? Arizona takes its first loss Monday night. I believe it's going to be favored in the game. For what it's worth, I'm gonna. Arizona. I think Arizona will be favored in the game.
- [63:21]
B
I mean, you're talking to a building truster.
- [63:24]
A
Yeah. Then I think we have our answer.
- [63:26]
B
You're. But Arizona is beating people's brains in. I mean Oklahoma State's not bad.
- [63:35]
A
And.
- [63:35]
B
They beat him by 50,000.
- [63:37]
A
Arizona, one loss as of Tuesday morning. Yes or no?
- [63:43]
B
I'm gonna say. I'm gonna say yes. I'm gonna. I'm gonna say I'm just gonna trust the building. But I'm gonna say they. Either way, I am either picking against an Arizona team that is beating everybody's brains in or Allen Fieldhouse with the number one pick in the draft. Either one sounds stupid. Yeah, either thing you say about that game sounds stupid. You are either picking against an Arizona team that's undeniably awesome and killing everybody or Bill Self, Darren Peterson and Allen Field House. How do you pick against either one of those things? I refuse to pick. I take my pick back. I have no pick on the game.
- [64:16]
A
That will be I believe checking out here on the Monday schedule. Do we think NC State and Louisville will both be ranked? Because if they aren't, if one of those team isn't ranked when Arizona plays Kansas, it will be the 75th ranked on ranked matchup so far this season. We'll obviously get more later in the week. NC State, Louisville. So really, really tasty. Like Wolfpack on the road against the Cards. Cardinals won against Wake Forest over the weekend. North Carolina State was able to get a home win against Virginia Tech. It's one six in a row. That's a Wonderful appetizer from the ACC to get Monday going. What do we have on Tuesday, JP.
- [64:53]
B
On Tuesday I'm gonna be in studio, CBS Sports Network with Brent Stover, Roy Hibbert.
- [64:58]
A
I heard Brent, Johnny's guy now.
- [65:00]
B
He's got to do something. He's got to do something. That Kansas State thing ain't working out. My God, that's gotten rough. That's gotten rough.
- [65:08]
A
It has.
- [65:09]
B
Stover, Roy Hibbert, John Rothstein will all be in studio with me Inside college basketball at 8:30pm Eastern, followed by Oklahoma State at Arizona State at 9. And then we're going to knock out Inside College Basketball and call tonight a one game night.
- [65:25]
A
Wow, look at you.
- [65:26]
B
This is. You have no. That. That schedule changes my week. It changes the way I will change our Wednesday morning podcast. It'll change the way my eyes look on my Wednesday on the Wednesday morning podcast. That Tuesday schedule is a gift from God himself. This is proof that I've been in my scripture. This is God paying me back. This is God paying me back for being in my scripture. He gave me a one game on Tuesday night. We probably out of there at what, 11:30 Eastern. This is God paying me back. Elsewhere in the sport, Vanderbilt at Auburn, BYU at Baylor.
- [66:04]
A
It's just, you gotta tune in because byu, you're on the road. Come on now. Baylor's a letdown.
- [66:10]
B
Yeah. But then the big one, I think. Yes, clearly. Purdue at Nebraska, the Boilermakers inside Pinnacle Bank. That feels like the game of the night.
- [66:19]
A
Game of the night to be sure. That's Purdue after again the Oregon. I'm not going to call it. No show they won. Like did you see the post game interview that Robbie did with Fletcher? Lawyer, like Fletcher was understanding. Like Fletcher was pissed. Like Robbie was, was expecting. Lawyer like he asked that you get the win. And Fletcher basically not in a, not in a disrespectful way. Like he was definitely like what the hell was that? We had no business playing Oregon to a four point finish and I, I agree with him. So we, we'll see if Purdue can respond here because it had three losses prior to the win over Maryland. Nebraska at home, that's a good one. And we'll see if Purdue can actually walk in the Pinnacle Bank. That's gonna be a, that's gonna be a big ass there. Wisconsin also plays at Illinois on Tuesday. See how Illinois bounces back. Those are two teams coming off of losses, but that's a tasty one as well. You want to call that a show? I think that's a show.
- [67:17]
B
I think that's a show. I'm about to have a Super bowl party.
- [67:21]
A
I'm heading over to a friend's house.
- [67:22]
B
I got it.
- [67:23]
A
We're gonna. We're getting in. Get in the car and see. We don't. Would you rather go to the super bowl party or host the Super Bowl?
- [67:30]
B
Host it every time, buddy.
- [67:31]
A
I'd rather go. I don't want to be hosting.
- [67:33]
B
No, I don't want to go. I want. I want to. I want to have a party and then I want to put my head on a pillow, and I don't want anything in between those two things. Okay. I want to have a party and then I want to put my head on a pillow. I don't want to have to get home. No. I'm always just like, I. I send the group text to a very select. That's the other thing about a Super bowl party. When I say I'm having a Super bowl party, I don't mean a Super bowl party. I mean I invite a small handful of people that my wife and I both enjoy being around, which is like one other family. No, that's not true. We got a couple friends coming over, their kids are around the same age, that type of thing. And it'll be fun. We're gonna get the. We're gonna get central barbecue and have a wonderful time here in the greater Memphis area.
- [68:15]
A
All right, let's have a. Let's have a night here. To everyone listening after. Super. I hope it was amazing and you will hear from us again. I believe schedule is correct. We'll have our special Tuesday CBS Sports Network show, one eastern in real time. And obviously that populates in the feed on the YouTube channel thereafter.
- [68:31]
B
So if you want to get our thoughts as quickly as possible on Kansas and Arizona, well, then we'll be with you Tuesday, 1:00 Eastern on CBS Sports Network. Let's get out of here. Shouts to Devin Downey, Chester, S.C. terry Teagle, 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 anywhere you subscribe to podcasts, Apple, Spotify, more of us than there are of them. That needs to be reflected in the comments. So do that and we will talk to you again real soon. Till then, take care. Paramount Podcasts. I'm back.
- [69:18]
A
I'm really back.
- [69:19]
B
School spirits returns. Why am I here? Not dead, right? This place is an absolute death trap.
- [69:26]
A
We need to get out of here now.
- [69:28]
B
School Spirits. New season now streaming only on Paramount plus.