Preview + picks: Kansas-UNC, G’town-Maryland, Bama-St. John’s, Arkansas-Sparty headline CBB’s first weekend; No. 1 prospect Tyran Strokes switching schools

Summary

Eye On College Basketball Podcast

Episode: Weekend Preview & Picks – Kansas-UNC, Georgetown-Maryland, Alabama-St. John’s, Arkansas-Michigan State & No. 1 Prospect Tyran Stokes Updates

Date: November 7, 2025
Hosts: Gary Parrish (GP) & Matt Norlander

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Episode Overview

In this lively Friday episode, Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander dive into college basketball’s first real weekend of the new season with detailed previews, picks, and banter. The pair spotlight marquee matchups—Kansas at UNC, Georgetown at Maryland, Alabama vs. St. John’s, Arkansas at Michigan State—and break down roster storylines affecting everything from preseason All-Americans to blue-chip prospects. Notably, they unpack the situation with top 2026 recruit Tyron Stokes and muse on college hoops culture and scheduling.

The episode is filled with the duo’s signature blend of statistical insight, quick wit, and in-jokes, establishing a fun, informative primer for anyone looking to catch up before the weekend’s action tips off.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Quick Recap: Opening-Week Snoozers & Florida’s Rebound (02:45–06:59)

• Florida’s Big Win over North Florida:
  The reigning national champs easily dispatch North Florida after a tough loss to Arizona.
  Norlander points out most high-major teams this week have been “playing by games to get right,” leading to massive point spreads and few notable upsets.

  • “The Gators got a cool, simple, easy 104–64, 40-point drubbing win, but we need an A block then we gotta pay some bills and then we’re gonna preview the weekend here.” (04:07 – Matt Norlander)

• Alex Condon Discourse:
  Condon’s strong performance (<span title="25 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks in 26 mins">stat line</span>) earns praise.
  Parrish needles Norlander about not appreciating Condon enough in the CBS Sports team Slack.

  • “At what point do we stop respecting champions? … When I was younger, around here we—the champions—a little bit more than I’ve seen going on lately.” (07:20 – Gary Parrish)

• Loyola Chicago’s Weird Loss:
  The hosts briefly riff on Loyola falling at home to D2 Mercyhurst and the demise of the “magic” of Sister Jean.
  Parrish jokes: “At some point, I gotta teach you how to fish. I think that’s in the Bible.” (11:08 – Gary Parrish)

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2. Scheduling Lament & What Needs to Change (12:39–14:10)

• Too Many Lopsided Games:
  Parrish laments the parade of ranked teams pounding low-majors; the average margin of victory for top-25 action this week was 38.5 points.

  • “Too many games in November and December are played between teams that shouldn’t even be playing each other… There are too many lopsided matchups in college basketball.” (13:18 – Gary Parrish)

• Upcoming Games Should Improve:
  Higher profile matchups finally arrive this weekend—including Kansas at UNC, Alabama–St. John’s, Arkansas–Michigan State, and more.

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3. RECRUIT SCOOP: No. 1 Prospect Tyron Stokes Switching Schools (16:27–19:43)

• Background: Tyron Stokes, consensus No. 1 in the 2026 class, recently withdrew from high school after reported altercations—creating headlines and questions.

• Recruitment & Path Forward:
  Finalists: Kansas, Kentucky, Arizona. He has a major NIL deal (Nike), and recruiting experts peg Kentucky as the likely landing spot.

• Host Reactions:
  Stokes’s path described as “bumpy;” hosts hope he finds stability.

  • “You don’t typically have the number one player in a given class withdraw from his high school in November of his senior year. That’s obviously a highly unusual thing.” (17:15 – Matt Norlander)
  • “On some level, it’s sweet… It is also odd. There’s just a lot of odd stuff. And you just hope the young man finds a little smoother path from this point forward.” (20:10 – Gary Parrish)

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4. THE FINAL FOUR AND ONE: Expert Picks & Previews

Game 1: Kansas at North Carolina

Friday, 7:00pm ET, ESPN
UNC -1.5
Location: Kendall Marshall Center (Dean Smith Center)

• Historic Context: First-ever meeting in Chapel Hill. Kansas vs. UNC: 4,810 combined wins, 10 national titles.

• Matchups to Watch:
  Darren Peterson (Kansas) vs. Seth Trimble/Caleb Wilson (UNC); Floyd Badunga vs. Henry Visar in the frontcourt.

• Picks:

  • Both hosts pick Kansas to win outright—“classic wrong team favored.”
  • Score projections: Parrish sees a star turn for Kansas’ Darren Peterson (“31 points, mark it down!” at 29:38), Norlander calls for 24 PTS.

Game 2: UMass Lowell at UConn

Friday, 7:30pm ET, Peacock
UConn -33.5
“Inside the Aiden Mahaney Arena”

• Parrish inserts a blowout as a joke tribute to Elvis’s alma mater.
• Picks: Norlander takes the Huskies to cover a massive spread, Parrish goes with UMass Lowell and the points.

Game 3: Alabama vs. St. John’s

Saturday, 12:00pm ET, FS1
St. John’s -6.5
“Inside Zubi Ejiofor Arena”

• Player Watch: LeBaron Phylon (Bama) gets the spotlight.

• Patino Quotes: GP shares Rick Patino’s recent comments on NIL and coaching style:

  • “Players embarrass too easily… If I call them out in front of their teammates, it can shut down a little bit. But if I pull them into an office and show them the exact same stuff and tell them the exact same things, it resonates a little better.” (40:50 – Rick Patino, via GP)

• Picks:

  • Parrish: Lays the 6.5 with St. John’s, “ride or die”.
  • Norlander: Takes Bama and the points (“six and a half is too many”).

Game 4: Arkansas at Michigan State

Saturday, 7:00pm ET, Fox
MSU -1.5
Breslin Center

• Trivia Time: Only their 3rd meeting ever; last in 1995.

• Musical Interlude: Hosts banter about the #1 song at the time (“Fantasy” by Mariah Carey overall, “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” by Smashing Pumpkins on alt radio—show in-joke).

  • “Sometimes I don’t even know how this happens… I have watched an unusual number of Billy Corgan interviews lately.” (44:23 – Parrish)

• Pick Philosophy: Hearty debate over whether “buildings” (arenas) can be trusted.

• Picks:

  • Norlander: Arkansas (“more talented”)
  • Parrish: Michigan State (“I trust the Breslin Center”).

And One: Georgetown at Maryland

Friday, 6:00pm ET, FS1
Maryland -7.5
“On Lonnie Baxter Court”

• Context: Revival of regional rivalry, first meeting since 2016; a four-year series begins.

• Staff Stories: Joking speculation that loss of Willard at Maryland tied to Georgetown series delay.

• Picks:

  • Parrish: Maryland covers (-7.5), citing Buzz Williams’ new resources.
  • Norlander: Georgetown (+7.5), has teams close in preseason ranks.

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5. Across the Week: Other Notable Storylines (52:29–61:20)

• More Games to Watch:

  • VCU vs. Utah State (Frisco, TX): Key early mid-major clash, especially after a bad week for Mountain West teams.
  • Penn State at New Haven: Norlander heading to see the rarest of games—Big Ten team at a new D1 program’s tiny gym.
    • “Penn State’s going to stay like 45 mins away. The whole thing is wild, but I kinda love it.” (55:30 – Norlander)
  • San Francisco at Memphis: Penny Hardaway’s team in the spotlight after negative preseason vibes.
  • Virginia Tech vs. Providence, Vanderbilt at UCF, Oklahoma at Gonzaga (at Spokane Arena), Indiana vs. Marquette (Chicago), Washington at Baylor: All headline Sunday’s schedule.

• Division 1 Too Big?

  • GP reiterates his “D1 is too big” take: “These teams should not be playing each other… these teams should not be competing theoretically for the same championship.” (57:02–57:21)

• News Tease: NCAA will announce new steps on monitoring potential game manipulation (betting-related) in next 90 minutes. Stay tuned to CBSSports.com and HQ.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On November Scheduling:

  • “We have too much of this junk… too many lopsided matchups in college basketball.” (13:18 – Gary Parrish)

• On Condon and Champion Respect:

  • “When I was younger, around here we—the champions—a little bit more than I’ve seen going on lately.” (07:20 – Gary Parrish)

• On Tyron Stokes’s Odd Path:

  • “It is also odd. And so there’s just a lot of odd stuff. And you just hope that the young man finds a little smoother path from this point forward.” (20:10 – Gary Parrish)

• On NIL and Motivation (Patino):

  • “Competitors are competitors. Our entire sports system is built on us watching multi-millionaires compete at a high level.” (40:50 – Gary Parrish recounting Rick Patino’s comments)

• On Building Trust & Home Courts:

  • “Are you a building truster or not?” (47:08 – Parrish start of elaborate analogy)
  • “Buildings are not like humans whatsoever, Parrish.” (48:06 – Norlander, exasperated)

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Segment Timestamps

| Segment | Topic | Timestamp | |---------|--------------------------|-----------| | Opening & Sponsor Reads | — | 00:00–02:45 | | Gators Recap & Alex Condon | 02:45–06:59 | | Loyola Chicago upset, schedule banter | 10:10–12:05 | | Lopsided November games rant | 12:39–14:10 | | Tyron Stokes recruiting update | 16:27–19:43 | | Final Four and One (Game 1–4 Analysis) | 26:16–49:54 | | “And One” Game (Georgetown-Maryland) | 50:18–53:02 | | Quick Hits Around the Weekend | 52:29–61:20 | | Upcoming NCAA news tease | 61:20–62:24 | | Wrap-up & Closing | 62:44–63:54 |

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Tonal & Style Notes

The episode is infused with the hosts’ trademark blend of humor, sarcasm (“I think facial follicles, that’s devil hair, it’s in the Old Testament… Devil hair,” 42:48), deep stat drops, and years-long in-jokes (Smashing Pumpkins/Billy Corgan bits). Parrish’s “building truster” rants and Norlander’s deadpan retorts add personality while still delivering sharp analysis.

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For Listeners Who Didn’t Catch the Episode

This episode guides fans through the biggest opening-weekend games with in-depth previewing, offbeat facts, and anecdotal insights. Expect inside references, running gags involving arena names, tribute “arenas” for obscure players, and the kind of broad context that will make the weekend’s slate both familiar and exciting for viewers.

Everyone’s picks and the context for the season’s opening marquee matchups are delivered with both expertise and entertainment, making this a must-listen for any college basketball diehard.

Transcript

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[Gary Parrish]

I am Gary Parrish welcome back CBS Sports Ion College Basketball podcast where we sometimes discuss camel fighting, dodo birds and leaky black. Matt Norlander is here with me. If you're watching on YouTube, smash the like button like your Brandon Davies. And if you're one of us, let the world know in the chat and in the comments. And if you haven't already subscribe to the I Own College Basketball Podcast. Please make sure you do that anywhere you subscribe to podcast. Let's get into it. I want to start I think with the reigning national champions, the Florida Gators who bounced back from their season opening loss to Arizona with a 10464 win over North Florida last night down in what I will always call the Odome. As is typically the case when whole Florida takes on like parts of Florida, Whole Florida had no issues with North Florida, so the Gators are now one and one. Norlander, it's good to see you on this Friday. Does what whole Florida did to North Florida last night make you care less about what co opiete did to whole Florida earlier in the week? Or are you more in the camp of gp? North Florida is never going to be a real opponent, quality opponent for a school like whole Florida and they're also ranked 344th at Kinpom, so wake me up when they play somebody of better caliber. Where do you land on all this stuff folks?

[Matt Norlander]

Welcome to a slow Wednesday Thursday in the opening week of College Basketball344 at Ken Palm is North Florida which lost its head coach Matthew Driscoll who is now an assistant at Kansas State. The Gators got a cool, simple easy 1046440 point drubbing win, but we need an A block and then we gotta we gotta pay some bills and then we need a B block then we gotta pay some bills and then we're gonna preview the weekend here. But we might as well just briefly touch on Florida because the past two nights have for the most part been high. Major teams playing by games getting right. The Bethune Cookman team that took Auburn to overtime got drubbed by Miami by 40 last night. So you know you have seen this across the landscape over the past couple of nights at least Alex Condon played well. I mean there's really like takeaways wise not much here. Florida's the reigning national champion. They play Arizona to a tight game. They lose. Co opic goes off. He's the best player in the sport through the first four days of the season. How does Florida respond by returning back home? Can they just, can they just wipe the, wipe the floor clean with opponent? They did. It wasn't even close. Condon had himself a really nice night. And here is what Todd golden said afterward on Thursday. Quote I thought it was great coming back from Vegas. We took Tuesday off practice yesterday and he just had a great mentality. He wasn't feeling sorry for himself or making excuses. He was just like I'm going to get back to it and get back to what I know. And I thought he did a great job kind of letting the game come to him, being aggressive when he needed to and had a very efficient night. 25 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists with 1 turnover, 2 steals, 3 blocks. Just an insane all American level type night. So he was disappointed. We were all disappointed with how Monday went, but I thought he answered the bell right away. End quote. That is Todd golden on Alex Condon. GP Your quick takeaways on the Gator Boys.

[Gary Parrish]

I just wonder if this Alex Condon slander that I consistently see in our Slack channel is going to calm down a little bit now. I've picked up on it throughout the off season. In the preseason Alex Condon been taking a beating in the CBS Sports College Basketball Slack channel and I would like for you to explain to me why.

[Matt Norlander]

I haven't I he's not a first team All American. He was voted that he might not be the team's best player, but if you want to stand up for Alex Condon right now and call him a top five player in America, the floor is yours.

[Gary Parrish]

GP I do not want to call Alex Kahn a top five player in America. I want to be clear about that. But what I do want to call him is somebody who averaged 10.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists for a team that won the national championship last season. He started 35 times. He's the leading returning scorer from that team. Had 25, 10, 4, 3, 2 last night in 26 minutes and still takes a beating in the CBS Sports College Basketball Slack Channel weekly. And I just wonder to be clear, at what point do we did we stop respecting champions? I always thought we respect the champions, but clearly we've lost our way.

[Matt Norlander]

All right, so you're saying Alex gone and top five player in America heard it first here.

[Gary Parrish]

What I am trying to say is that I agree with the sentiment that Alex Condon probably didn't deserve to be an AP preseason first team All American. It felt very Alex Carabani to me. All right.

[Matt Norlander]

What'S the word?

[Gary Parrish]

I think it's Carabani.

[Matt Norlander]

All right, Carabani. Let's go.

[Gary Parrish]

It could be a little kid. It felt a little Carabanish to me. I think it's Carabani. It felt a little Carabani to me, if you know what I'm saying. He did not appear on my first team All America preseason ballot. And if you want to argue he's not the best player on his team and or even the best front court player on his team, I will listen to that. But by the time you're through explaining all that, I think you should have to say. On the other hand, though, he is the leading returning scorer for a national championship program. Somebody who averaged double digits and started 35 times last season for a team that concluded things on a 12 game winning streak resulting in both an SEC tournament championship and an NCAA tournament championship. When I was younger around here we the champions a little bit more than I've seen. Than I've seen it going on. Going on lately. That's what I'm trying to tell you.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah. What does this have to do with Matt Painter defending Fletcher Lawyer? I thought we were, I thought we were starting the show with that video.

[Gary Parrish]

Josh, if you've got that, let's just go ahead and go to it now. Defending Fletcher Lawyer against the Fletcher Lawyer haters. I think you're aware of the pulse of your fan base where people love Fletcher Lawyer or they want to replace him. It seems like that's kind of been the. Well, the people that want to replace him aren't very smart. That's what I was going to ask.

[Matt Norlander]

So let's don't hang out with them actually. Happy.

[Gary Parrish]

I know.

[Matt Norlander]

Hey.

[Gary Parrish]

Hey. Day two better than day one, right? I queued it. I queued it and he was ready.

[Matt Norlander]

Buddy, let's not, let's not get too aggressive here. You're in a hotel right now. Signal might not be the strongest. We did not go live at 9:45am sharp. So maybe I'm not ready. Let's get through the show first.

[Gary Parrish]

Let's. Let's get through the show first. But I did want people to finally see that Matt Painter clip. I would, you know, up to me, up to me. I would have loved to shown it to you on Wednesday, but I forgot to send it because my wife let her car go dead overnight.

[Matt Norlander]

Correct.

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Yeah.

[Matt Norlander]

Clear on the show. It was. It was not Josh's fault. Certainly wasn't your fault. No limb lies entirely with your wife.

[Gary Parrish]

That's right. And. And on behalf of her, I accept responsibility on her behalf, I expect I accept responsibility on behalf of my wife. In all seriousness, as I knew the other day live that I was like, oh, God, he didn't have it. Did I not send it? What happened? Because I know I sent it and I'm scrolling through and I can't find the group text that says Josh and Matt. Right? And I'm like, where is this? Because it should be right here at the top of my computer. And then, then we do the show and we laugh about it and move on. And then later on in the day, you guys text me from that. So it pops right back up. And when I go to respond, there's the Matt Painter video. It was in there locked and loaded. It was like I put it in the. Whatever you do with guns when you load them, but then you don't actually pull the trigger. That's the equivalent of what I did with that video on Wednesday. Anyway. Shouts to Fletcher lawyer shouts to Alex Condon. They've been getting a little too, too much hate, best I can tell. And that's a good way to tie both of those things together, I suppose.

[Matt Norlander]

So that's about the most notable stuff from the past two days. Loyola Chicago did get beat at home by Mercyhurst, which Mr. Jean's not going.

[Gary Parrish]

To be able to bail you out every game. All right. She did.

[Matt Norlander]

First of all, what's going on? We go from buzzer beating win to home loss to Mercyhurst, which is a school, but also sounds like a band that had a mid afternoon billing at Lollapalooza 25 years ago. What is going on with Loyola Chicago, Lollapalooza?

[Gary Parrish]

Are you having a good time?

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah.

[Gary Parrish]

Well then, welcome to the stage Mercy Hurst.

[Matt Norlander]

That's right.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah. That's exactly how that would go.

[Matt Norlander]

Yes, exactly like.

[Gary Parrish]

All right, guys, I'll handle the opener. All right, I'll handle the opener.

[Matt Norlander]

Correct.

[Gary Parrish]

But you guys, at some point you gotta. I can't spend all my time in heaven. We're trying to bail you guys out of bad basketball situations. I'll handle the opener. But at some point, it's a little bit like lead a horse to water type of thing, right? You gotta drink. At some point, I gotta teach you how to fish. I think that's in the Bible. Actually, I think that part's in the Bible at some point. I can't keep giving you fish. I gotta teach you how to fish.

[Matt Norlander]

But that's the passage. You've heard the phrase, it's in God's hands. It's literally not with loyal to Chicago anymore.

[Gary Parrish]

It's.

[Matt Norlander]

It's in Drew Valentine's hands. It's no longer like everybody gets one and you're done.

[Gary Parrish]

I respect Drew Valentine, you know, that's. But can we acknowledge it's tough going from God's hands to Drew Valentine?

[Matt Norlander]

It is.

[Gary Parrish]

It is. That's tough. That'd be tough transition.

[Matt Norlander]

That is not in the Bible, by the way.

[Gary Parrish]

That. Are you sure?

[Matt Norlander]

I'm positive.

[Gary Parrish]

When's the light? But I'll be honest. When's the last time you were in your scripture?

[Matt Norlander]

It's been a minute. It's been a minute.

[Gary Parrish]

When's the last time?

[Matt Norlander]

So you don't know you were in your scripture? You haven't even been in scripture?

[Gary Parrish]

I get in the scripture sometimes when I want to send funny text to Prince Dover. I get the scripture. I send him little. I send him stuff.

[Matt Norlander]

Okay.

[Gary Parrish]

I get in the scripture sometimes. You ain't been in the scripture in a minute and it shows.

[Matt Norlander]

Sure. I think it might be time for the B block. We're 10 minutes in. You want to send it.

[Gary Parrish]

You want to send it to your point. To your point. And then we'll get to the be block. Because I feel like I gotta say something important before we can move on.

[Matt Norlander]

I. I don't. But go ahead.

[Gary Parrish]

I don't have anything important. But to your point about the past two days, because we had some couple of interesting things on Monday and interesting thing on Tuesday. Wednesday, nothing. Thursday, nothing. On Wednesday And Thursday, only four teams in the top 25 and one played a game. None of them played each other. And it was without exception, high major ranked team against mid major or low major, whatever team. And the average margin of victory in those games was 38.5. So not only did we not have anything interesting on paper, we didn't even have anything interesting developed once the game started. It is something I point out every year and will forever. We have too much of this junk. There's too many games in November, December played between teams that shouldn't even be playing each other. Like you don't get this in the NBA. Like the worst team and the best team are not going to be separated by 30 points. I mean, it can happen, but that won't be the point spread. There are too many lopsided matchups in college basketball and that's all we've had on on Wednesday and Thursday. But Friday gets a little better. We'll get to that in the Final Four and one. But when we come back, do want to turn our attention to a significant headline from the past couple of days. Tyron Stokes, who is the number one prospect in the class of 2026, has reportedly withdrawn from his high school. It's just the latest little unusual twist in in his path to college basketball slash professional basketball. We'll run you through what has been reported. We'll do it next. But first let's get a word from our partners.

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[Matt Norlander]

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[Gary Parrish]

Cmo.com Tyron Stokes is the consensus number one prospect in the class of 2026 and he has withdrawn from his high school. Reportedly, like I mentioned, going into the break, it's just the, the latest, let's call it unusual thing connected to his path to the next level of basketball. We've seen this young man for, for a few years now, Norlander, on the grassroots circuit down at Peach Jam, and he's undeniably gifted, talented, skilled, all of that stuff. The whole world's at his fingertips on some level, but it, it does seem to just be one unusual thing after another connected to him. And I guess I'd say it, I bet you'd be nicer if everything could just somehow, some way calm down a little bit because this is a lot of, there's always a lot of stuff going on, right?

[Matt Norlander]

So Tyrone Stokes was going to Notre Dame High School, actually wanted to play like he has a future in basketball. Basketball, you know, projected potential, potential top pick in the NBA draft a couple years from now. Physically, like super developed. He's ready now from a physical standpoint. And there were moments the past couple of years, particularly two summers ago, when he was performing at a level alongside AJ Debancer and Cooper Flag. Like he was a year behind in terms of what class he was in. But he was, he was all on the level. He's the number one prospect in the class and a down class. And from a talent standpoint, it doesn't seem like he has real legitimate competition there. But he wanted to play. He played football when he was younger. He wanted to play football one more time. He had been doing that, but reportedly just there's been some altercations with some students, who knows. He's withdrawn, he's gone. You don't typically have the number one player, a top five player, a top 10 player in a given class withdraw from his high school in November of his senior year. That's, that's obviously a highly unusual thing. And so because of that it's going to make headlines. Coincidentally enough in the past, I want to say week, it might be a week and a half at this point. He has released his final three schools. It is Kansas, Kentucky and Arizona. Stokes has a multi year nil deal that's been publicly reported. That's with Nike. I don't know if that affects Kansas's chances are not obviously Kentucky and Oregon are Nike Schools. 247Sports project him to be going to Kentucky. I know that our experts there think that that's the way that this is ultimately going to go. He hasn't made his decision yet, hasn't made it public. We'll see. And apparently the expectation is that he will pick a new high school to attend and play his senior year by the end of next week. Where that is to be determined, I guess we don't, we don't know. But it is. You have some negative headlines associated with the number one prospect in the class of 26. And we wait and see on I guess how this story continues. It's just, it's, it's not what you want to see out of Stokes who's a super, super talented player and will be among the most tracked players heading into next season of college basketball. But yeah, we're just normally not talking about headline like this in the context of this podcast but we are also aren't normally talking about a player that is withdrawing from a high school, you know, less than nine months before he's due to graduate.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, I see in the chat somebody's like withdrawing from high school. Like what does that even mean? Like yeah, when I was a kid and if you weren't a basketball player that was just called dropping out, it'd just be called dropping out of high school. But like in all seriousness, he will, he presumably will land in another high school and, and, and one way or another be eligible to play college basketball. He had reportedly cut his list to I think it was Oregon, Kansas and Kentucky. 247 Sports has him headed to Lexington. I'll trust those guys. But just a super talent prospect that if we start doing the bullet points connected to him, you just got a few too many that you'd prefer some of the stuff not be there. Withdrawing from high school in November after reported altercations with classmates decided just to up and play football in the middle of his last year of high school. Like, on some level, it's sweet. Like, I read the quotes. I just wanted to be a kid on some of that. Sweet. It is also odd. You know, it is also odd. And so there's just a lot of odd stuff. And you just hope that the young man finds a little smoother path from this point forward to wherever he's headed, because things have. Things have been. Been bumpy for. For a variety of reasons. Let's move on before we get out of here. Obviously, it's the first weekend of the college basketball season, and that means I'm going to launch another edition of the Final Four. And one where I'm coming off of a triumphant victory last season to extend, I believe, what is my winning streak to seven straight years. I think I've won seven straight years.

[Matt Norlander]

Remotely true. What are you talking about?

[Gary Parrish]

I think I've won like, seven great years.

[Matt Norlander]

Biggest load of crap I've ever heard.

[Gary Parrish]

How do you remember it in your head?

[Matt Norlander]

Well, I think you did beat me last season, but there's no evidence in the Google Doc right now, so I don't know. We got. We got a new producer.

[Gary Parrish]

Text Nada right now.

[Matt Norlander]

I'm not. I will not be texting Nada asking him the record from last season.

[Gary Parrish]

Hey, Nada, I know you're busy with your daughter and. And you have nothing to do with this anymore, but could you check the final 41 number from last season? GP's bragging again, by the way.

[Matt Norlander]

You started that with before we get out of here, which is GP's typical segue when we have like, one more thing with like three min. Folks strap in. We got at least 25 minutes talking about this weekend here before we get out of here. We've barely started.

[Gary Parrish]

I'm gonna be completely honest with you. I have. I have cues on my computer screen.

[Matt Norlander]

We all know that. Yes.

[Gary Parrish]

And when my eyes latched onto my cue, the first word was before. And I realized very quickly I have latched on to the wrong word. And then I was just trying to get out of it.

[Matt Norlander]

You're too tied into your scripture, gp. That's the problem. You're too devoted to your own scripture.

[Gary Parrish]

You have not been in your scripture lately. And it shows. And it shows. Got that facial hair, that devil hair on your face.

[Matt Norlander]

Is that what this is?

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, I think facial follicles. I think that's devil hair. I think that's what they. I think that's in the Old Testament. Devil hair.

[Matt Norlander]

Let's take a break. And after the break, we've got the the grand return. Yes, Final four and one Paris made an egregious, by the way, overnight change. You're gonna find out what that game is. I know why he did it, but there's a very high profile game that has been sacrificed and taken off. Speaking of scripture and sacrament and sacrificial lambs. How dare you. You'll find out after the break. First, here's a word from our partners.

[Gary Parrish]

If you love the NFL and NFL draft, you'll love with the first pick.

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A part of CBS Sports Podcast network, CBS Sports draft analyst Ryan Wilson and.

[Matt Norlander]

Former Titans GM Ran Carthon come to.

[Gary Parrish]

You twice to give the front office.

[Matt Norlander]

Perspective on the biggest NFL storylines of the day. We also follow the NFL draft closer.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

Than anyone, the weekly updates on our favorite college players, names to know based on your favorite NFL team's needs and all the mock drafts and big boards you could want.

[Matt Norlander]

If you love football, you're exactly where.

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You'Re supposed to be.

[Gary Parrish]

Download with the first pick and follow.

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On Apple Podcasts, Spotify and anywhere podcasts are found.

[Gary Parrish]

What's good, y'?

[Matt Norlander]

All?

[Gary Parrish]

It's Vaughn Miller, super bowl mvp, SAG.

[Matt Norlander]

Master, and now your host of Free Range. This is where NFL meets Real Talk.

[Gary Parrish]

Every week I'm bringing you inside the.

[Matt Norlander]

Game, from locker room stories to league wide headlines. You want football iq, locker room insight.

[Gary Parrish]

And real conversations with the people shaping the league. Welcome to Free Range with Von Miller.

[Matt Norlander]

Where nothing is off limits and every down counts.

[Gary Parrish]

New episodes every Wednesday. Listen and follow Free Range with me.

[Matt Norlander]

Von Miller, wherever you get your podcast.

[Gary Parrish]

Carolina basketball isn't just a program, it's a legacy. I'm John Henson and we'll be the host of Tar Heel247, a UNC basketball podcast for fans who bleed Carolina blue. Each week I'll be joined by players, coaches and insiders for real, unfiltered conversations about the team, the tradition, maybe some funny stories and everything in between. No filters, no fluff. Just hoop talk. The Tar Heel way. Subscribe now to Tar Heel247@ UNC Basketball Podcast or wherever you get your podcast at. We will have a good time. Get ready to go. Watch this. Watch this. Before we dive into the games, we're going to be picking in the final four and one. See what I was doing? Let me remind you that we do have a double header tonight on CBS Sports Network. Six o', clock, Tulsa, Rhode Island. 8:30 Eastern. Yale, Navy. It's the Veterans Classic here in Annapolis, Maryland. I'm In Annapolis, Maryland, if I haven't told you already. Ready for the Veterans Classic tonight, John Sadak, Steve Lapis going to be on the call and I will be on the sideline to get started. 6:00 clock Eastern on CBS Sports Network. Hey, checking into the hotel last night. Checked in the hotel. Guess I bumped into immediately Ed to Chalice, former Navy coach, Navy legend. You know what he said? He said, hey, living down in Charleston now. I said, is that what everybody does? Just make all your money in basketball and then move down to Charleston? Apparently so. Okay, excited about the Veterans Classic tonight as I try to win for the eighth consecutive year in the final four and one. Let's start it with game one, Friday, 7pm Eastern. It's number 19, Kansas at number 25, North Carolina. We're doing it inside the Kendall Marshall Center. You can watch it on ESPN. UNC -1,½.

[Matt Norlander]

Wait, what is the number?

[Gary Parrish]

05.1.5 Kendall Marshall Center. I thought of Kendall Marshall. This is how he popped into my head. Yeah, because there was that report announcement in recent weeks that we're going to have status reports in college basketball. Right.

[Matt Norlander]

Well, we've had them. We're going to get more and we're going to get them during the NCAA tournament. That's.

[Gary Parrish]

What's that. That's okay. So that was the thing because I can remember during the NCAA tournament it was like for, for a handful of days, like the whole job was trying to figure out if Kendall Marshall is going to play or not in the Internet.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, that was a big thing back in the day.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, you're like direct messaging Kendall Marshall and text messaging Kindle Marshall. And I just, when I saw that report, I was like, won't have to do that ever again. They're just gonna tell us from now on. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. Shouts to Kendall Marshall. It's North Carolina minus one and a half at home over your Kansas Jayhawks.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, this is a fantastic matchup. Back end of a home and home series here. These are the teams that are 2 and 3 on the all time wins list, people. Kentucky, if you're curious, is number one. It has a seven win lead on Kansas for the most wins, but they combined. Carolina and Kansas combined for 4,810 victories, 106, six NCAA tournament bits, 36 Final Fours and 10 national titles. That's just Carolina and Kansas. Good stuff. These teams obviously met in the 2022 national title game. Kansas came back from a 15 point halftime deficit. That's the biggest halftime deficit ever overcome in an NCAA championship for a winner. Kansas leads the all time series 7 to 6 with Carolina. So only 13 meetings and if you can believe it, this is the first time they have ever played in Chapel Hill. It'll go down for the first time ever tonight. I'm really excited for this. Kansas, by the way, is 16 1, folks. Kansas is 161 against the ACC since 2012, four of those 16 wins have come against the Tar Heels. Matchup wise in this game, how does Seth Trimble match up with Darren Peterson? Seth Trimble, veteran player, physical, athletic. Okay, go ahead.

[Gary Parrish]

Not well.

[Matt Norlander]

Not well. Okay, so over under. No, not even over under. If it's not well, how many points for Darren Peterson tonight?

[Gary Parrish]

Tonight will be the night folks in Chapel Hill look back on for decades and they'll say, you remember that? Decades, perhaps centuries, but I don't know that we got centuries left. I'm not sure we have decades left. Tonight will be the night North Carolina fans look back on for days and they'll say things like, remember it was November 7, 2025, and that was the night Darren Peterson came into the Dean Smith center and dropped 31 points on North Carolina 31 in Kansas's upset victory over uncle they will call it when we watch the documentary someday. They'll say this was the night Darren Peterson stardom arrived. That's what we're, that's what we're doing tonight. We're watching Darren Peterson's star arrive. I mean, I'm gonna be watching the Veterans Classic, but. Yes, you will, but you might be watching. You're probably gonna have multiple screens.

[Matt Norlander]

I'm gonna be going multiple screens up here in the office.

[Gary Parrish]

That's for sure gonna be happening, Darren. Peter Peterson stardom arrives. That happens tonight. It happens in Chapel Hill 31.

[Matt Norlander]

I mean, generally it's like this. That's a, that's a big thing on the table. Chats ahead of me as well. If not Seth Trimble, will we see Caleb Wilson go head to head with Darren Pearson, try and shut him down? I think that's very much on the table and it's going to be very awesome and interesting to see just how Peterson is schemed up against. And is this going to be a game where he needs to try and carry Kansas to a win? Floyd Badunga versus Henry Visar. That's a good big man matchup as well. Caleb Wilson's coming off A team high 22 earlier in the week against Central Arkansas. Badanga, by the way, in his, in his own right had A nice game 23 points against Green Bay, six rebounds, three blocks. Carolina, a much different kind of opponent. I, yeah, I want to see Wilson on a big stage here. Obviously Peterson's gotten plenty more run. I know Carolina fans are very in as I think they have a right to be on the, on the idea, on the notion that Caleb Wilson will be one of the five best freshmen in the country this season. I think that's a, that's a scenario that's on the table. But it also speaks to the loaded freshman class that maybe he'll cozily find himself somewhere in the top 10, but not top five. But you want to make a big statement. Can you get it done at home? Carolina has lost nine of its last 10 games against ranked opponents. Keep that in mind. But they're in the midst of something they haven't done in a long time. Right now Carolina is going to start its season with five consecutive home games. That hasn't happened. Shouts to our CBS Sports research team. Carolina has not started a season with five straight home games since the 1918. 1919. That long? More than 100 years. One more player to keep an eye on. Luka bogovac. He is 22 years old from Montenegro. Had 10 points, 5 assists, 2 seals off the bench. Really talented player. What kind of role does he play in this? And if he can step in and be an impactful guy like, you know, Peterson, really good defender, where is he going to be matched up on? Awesome game all around. I will lean into my preseason projection that Kansas is a top 10 team and Carolina is not. Carolina has it at home, but I will say Kansas wins straight up.

[Gary Parrish]

I also have Kansas winning straight up. It's a classic wrong team, favorite situation. It's a classic wrong team. Situ. Wrong team, favorite situation in Chapel Hill. Kansas wins straight up and Darren Peterson finishes with exactly, exactly 31 points.

[Matt Norlander]

I'll say Peterson finishes with 24. If I asked you to say it, I'll say, I'll say. I'll say. I'll say 24. It's exactly how many for Caleb Wilson. I'll say I said Caleb at 16. I'll say 18 for Caleb and 24 for Peters.

[Gary Parrish]

I got 16 and 31. Okay, 16 and 31. Now let's see what, let's see what Terry Roger does with those, with those player props. Game two, Friday, 7:30pm Eastern. It's UMass Lowell at number four UConn inside the Aiden Mahaney Arena. You can watch it on Peacock.

[Matt Norlander]

This is just wrong.

[Gary Parrish]

Peacock. Peacock. Yukon minus 33 and a half. Yeah, 33 and a half to the King's Alma Mater this close to the 50th anniversary of his GP. Of his demise. Absolutely not. That's wildly disrespectful. And put some respect on Aid Mahaney's name. He did the best he could. He did the best he could.

[Matt Norlander]

We're trying to preview the first weekend of the season, the most tantalizing matchups, and you've got a 33 and a half point dog in the final four. And one for who? For what? For why?

[Gary Parrish]

For Aid Mahaney. He did the best he could. All right.

[Matt Norlander]

Did he, though?

[Gary Parrish]

I think he did. He did the best he could. And for Elvis Aaron Presley, it's UMass low catching. Catching more than four touchdowns in aid Mahaney arena this close to the 50th anniversary of the King's demise. Too many points. Give me UMass Lowell plus the 33 and a half.

[Matt Norlander]

You know, there was. I think it was the pep band from Mary Max. Hockey team or something. Soccer team. They sent us something. Josh, you got that video. No, you don't, because we did not.

[Gary Parrish]

Send it to you.

[Matt Norlander]

Anyway, they sent a video to us, like, I want to say, a month ago. And because Mary Mack was. I want. It was Merrimack playing UMass Lowell in soccer, or somebody was playing.

[Gary Parrish]

Okay, here's what we know. Somebody was playing UMass Lowell in something. It was not basketball. And the band decided they were fired up because regardless the competition, it is still a competition against Elvis Aaron Presley's alma mater. And so they had fun with that. And it made me smile. I appreciate it. And if I appreciate the young folks.

[Matt Norlander]

I'd like to have the video up so we can at least invoke a little bit UMass love. We don't have the video. We'll get, you know what. Sunday's show.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, that's what we're gonna do from now. That's the new thing we're gonna do. We're gonna. We're gonna act like we should show you videos on one episode and then actually show it to you the following.

[Matt Norlander]

Episode, because that won't annoy our audience whatsoever. This is a big. I mean, this is a huge number.

[Gary Parrish]

Too big.

[Matt Norlander]

Where's. Where's Elvis's alma mater? Ranked at Ken Palm, 293, but it's 1 0. It just destroyed something called Riviere, which. Okay. Sounds like a sparkling water. 107.55. I guess I'll take the Huskies. Huskies did not cover against New Haven. We'll get to them in Just a second. By the way, only a 24 point win the other night at home. I'm sure Hurley's been furious over it. I'll say. Yukon covers here. They cover the 33 and a half. I know you're taking. I know you're taking. Presley's alma mater though.

[Gary Parrish]

Yes, the Riverhawks. It's the Mississippi Riverhawks. The U.S. lowell Mississippi Riverhawks. Plus the 33 and a half. That's the official play. Game three, Saturday, noon Eastern. It's number 15 Alabama at number five, St. John's we're doing this inside Zubi edge of 4 Arena.

[Matt Norlander]

No, no, no. What's on the team?

[Gary Parrish]

Huh? Yeah, but preseason Biggie's player of the year and the one guy who decided to stick it out with Rick.

[Matt Norlander]

Okay, I'll allow it.

[Gary Parrish]

I wanted to honor the one man who was. Who was loyal to Rick Patino. That's zubi edge of four. All right. You can watch it on FS1. It's St. John's minus six and a half.

[Matt Norlander]

The line's already out.

[Gary Parrish]

What. What do you feel more comfortable with given what makes you more uncomfortable? Giving the King's alma mater 33 and a half points or Nate Oates six and a half talk.

[Matt Norlander]

That's tough. By the way though, this line is already out. Typically when we do a Friday final four and one for Saturday games, we don't have the line. But they're out. Huh.

[Gary Parrish]

I saw it.

[Matt Norlander]

That's.

[Gary Parrish]

I saw that.

[Matt Norlander]

This isn't like shady offshore liners.

[Gary Parrish]

That to me. Damon Jones told me it was six and a half. He texted me.

[Matt Norlander]

I got my. For my game. It's going to be on Friday. We'll get to that in a second for the N1. That's tonight. But I got it through fanduel. So I got my saying in the, in the, in the private chat said it's. It is real line. He checked it. He's all over it. Six and a half.

[Gary Parrish]

I feel like you're questioning me in the opening week of the season.

[Matt Norlander]

And opening week is not relevant to the situation. This has track meet potential. First. First to 85 HP. Let's go. Let's have a real offensive firepower game here. St. John's has the athletes to match Alabama front court edge. St. John's back court edge. Theoretically should be Alabama. I would think lebaron Phylon might see some Oziah Sellers might see some Joseph Sanon guarding him. I do not expect Ian Jackson to be matched up on. On lebaron Phylon, but We'll see. Stranger things have happened in the front court. You've got Zubi probably switching off between Aiden Cherelle Taylor bowl Bowen for Alabama. Fun game. I almost feel like Bryce Hopkins is going to be X factor difference maker here. Interested to see his role in contributions in this one. Six and a half. I hate it when we start off and we're. Well, we're not. We're not in agreement because we disagree on the. The Lowell Yukon game. So we've got some differences, but I think we're going to be at the same here. Six half is just too many, I think. Although maybe I'm wrong. GP's got St. John's number one ride or die down with the ship, the whole deal. If it's six and a half, give me Bama to cover.

[Gary Parrish]

First off, I'm ride or die with St. John's I'm laying the six and a half.

[Matt Norlander]

Oh, my gosh.

[Gary Parrish]

I wouldn't be able to look myself in the mirror if I didn't lay the six and a half here.

[Matt Norlander]

Okay.

[Gary Parrish]

I wouldn't be able to look myself in the mirror. All right, so I'm laying the six and a half. But did you see or hear or read the quotes from Rick's interview with Boomer and Geo yesterday morning?

[Matt Norlander]

Yes. He had some stuff to say about Zoran Mumdani. I saw that. Yes.

[Gary Parrish]

No, not that. That's not what I mean. You thought, you thought I brought this up.

[Matt Norlander]

That's what got aggregated.

[Gary Parrish]

So. So people are asking me, like, they're like, gp, you go ride the bus to the studio now for free. I said, I don't think I'm probably just gonna keep walking to the studio. I did not bring this up to bring up Mom Don, for crying out.

[Matt Norlander]

Wow. He did. The agenda has been fulfilled.

[Gary Parrish]

He. He said two things that were interesting. He said lots of things that were interesting. But there are two things that I, I made note of. One, it was a little bit like, hey, I saw you guys get their biggies, championship rings. And they like, they looked like, really excited. Like they were genuinely, like, fired up to get, like, for a championship. And the implication was, like, I didn't know they felt that way or cared that much given that they're all now making, you know, millions of dollars or lots of them are making millions of dollars. And Rick sort of acknowledged we did spend $10 million roughly on our roster. That's not the most in the country, but we spent a lot of money. And yes, I have. I have some millionaires, but they still want to win. Competitors are competitors. And I just. I. With all due respect to everybody involved here, I just have never quite understood why people are skeptical that college players could still care if they have money in their checking account, even, like millions of dollars in their checking account. Because our entire sports system is built on us watching multi millionaires compete at a high level. In the NBA, they're all rich. In the NFL, they're all rich. In the Major League Baseball. All is a big word, but you get the point. And they still compete like crazy. Like, Shohei has a lot of money. He wanted to win the World Series. And so Rick just sort of hammered down on that point. My guys still want to win their competitors, even if they've got lots of money. Secondly. And I thought this was interesting just given what has been going on with the Grizzlies and John Morant, but he said the one way he coaches differently than he used to, since at Kentucky Louisville, he would call out players in front of their team in the locker room in front of their teammates, and he says, you just can't do that anymore. Or at least I don't do it anymore, he said, because players embarrass too easily. It's not because they're not tough. But I have noticed, as I've continued to coach, if I call them out in front of their teammates, it can shut down a little bit. But if I pull them into an office and show them the exact same stuff and tell them the exact same things, it resonates a little better. What do you make all that?

[Matt Norlander]

I think there's a lot of truth to what Rick is laying out there. You know, I'm not in practices on a weekly basis, but I do get to dip into practices here and there. And just anecdotally, you know, having been in practices, say, the. The past two, three years versus 2010 to 2015, it does feel a little different. And, yeah, the idea that, you know, there's no reason why we shouldn't have a certain level of expectation given how much money a lot of these players are making. And. And the fact that, you know, on. On a very basic level, like a lot of these players, even though they're young, they are professional. Yeah, the general. The general points Patina was making there were definitely very interesting. Those did not get aggregated, though. That's not what came across. My timeline. That. That's. That's not. That's not what was shared. It was. It was Patino joking about mom, Donnie and everything. Everything in New York now. Yeah.

[Gary Parrish]

In the spirit of giving credit where credit is due. I read those. Adam Zagoria aggregated them and. And pushed them out there. And that's where. That's where I pulled the quotes. Game four, shouts to Zags. Game four, Saturday, 7pm Eastern. It's number 14, Arkansas, at number 22, Michigan State, inside the Cleave Center. Shouts to my team. You can watch it on Fox. Michigan State minus one and a half. This should be a fun one.

[Matt Norlander]

It should be a fun one. I'm looking forward to it. And I've got a trivia time for you.

[Gary Parrish]

Okay, let's go.

[Matt Norlander]

This is only the third meeting ever between Arkansas and Michigan State. When was the most recent meeting? GP and if you get it within three years on either side, I'll give you a. It'll count as correct. Got to be within three years, though.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, that's no problem.

[Matt Norlander]

The last meeting ever.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, I know the last one. That's what you're asking me. When was the most recent one? Yeah, yeah, that was obviously 1994. NCAA tournament.

[Matt Norlander]

Not in the tournament, but that's a right answer there. It was 1995.

[Gary Parrish]

Wow.

[Matt Norlander]

November 8th. The number one movie in the country. Toy Story.

[Gary Parrish]

Yep.

[Matt Norlander]

You want to know what the number.

[Gary Parrish]

One song was in 1995?

[Matt Norlander]

Hold on. Well, there's. There's two answers here. What do you think the number one song was in the country in November of 95?

[Gary Parrish]

You know what? I hope it was. They Come to Snuff the Rooster.

[Matt Norlander]

That was not on top of the Billboard top 100, but I'm getting there.

[Gary Parrish]

Okay.

[Matt Norlander]

It was Fantasy by Mariah Carey. Okay.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, that was good, too.

[Matt Norlander]

However. However, as fate would have it, as the scripture once foretold, okay, the number one song on alternative rock radio the last time Arkansas and Michigan State played.

[Gary Parrish]

The World Is a Vampire.

[Matt Norlander]

Said to J. How about that? Now, if there's some newbies, listen to the pod. You don't get this. This is very inside the show. But the fact that this was the song, that's incredible.

[Gary Parrish]

Sometimes I don't even know how this happens. I'll just be scrolling through my phone. Next thing you know, I'm watching a Billy Corgan interview. I have watched an unusual number of Billy Corgan interviews lately. What do you think's going on with me?

[Matt Norlander]

I. Don't make me answer that. I don't know. I don't know. Despite all your rage. Crazy, crazy stuff there. Really? Really. I just. I couldn't believe my eye. I was like, how many times have these schools played? I Was like it's got to be five or six. No, it's only two. Okay, 95. What was the number one song on Alternative rock radio?

[Gary Parrish]

Amazing.

[Matt Norlander]

Amazing. Amazing. Good stuff. Love it. Love it. Great stuff. Great, great stuff. Okay, let's pick the game here. I believe this is a home and home year one. Michigan State gets the game at home. I think it's fair to say Arkansas on the whole is more talented. It's viewed as the more talented team. You got Malik Thomas, Darius Acuff that are going to be stepping up in this spot. A big spot here. Cohen Carr, ready for, I wouldn't say breakout year because he's been a really good player overall gp, but maybe he's going to potentially ascend even more than the preseason accolades that he was or wasn't receiving overall. Sparty on its home floor. What was the line?

[Gary Parrish]

When'd you say the one and a half Spartans favored inside the Mateen Cleave Center.

[Matt Norlander]

I will say give me. I, I could come to regret this. Arkansas fans think I hate their school.

[Gary Parrish]

Their school too.

[Matt Norlander]

I, I will take the Hogs. I'm gonna call the Hogs on this one on the road. I will take, I will take Arkansas to go in Malik Thomas to have a tremendous game. DJ Wagner to show up and a competitive one like I think that I'll guess this is the, the best game of the weekend. Start to finish the the most enjoyable 40 minute watch. That's my guess. And I will take, I'll take Caliper to get it done.

[Gary Parrish]

I had one Arkansas fan in the top 25 one tell me they have never followed me on Twitter and this is exactly why they would never follow me on Twitter. Because there's no way in the world, not, there's no way in the world, no way that there are 19 better teams in the country than Arkansas. All right.

[Matt Norlander]

That same person has found me.

[Gary Parrish]

I think I am embarrassing myself every day.

[Matt Norlander]

That's got nothing to do with Arkansas.

[Gary Parrish]

I know it's totally different reasons. It's totally different stuff. But yeah, Arkansas fans think I hate, hate their team as well. I don't. I think this really just comes down to are you a building truster or not?

[Matt Norlander]

Oh, yes, the old building truster.

[Gary Parrish]

Are you a building trust or not? You answer that question. Are you a building truster?

[Matt Norlander]

No, we've gone over this. No, I actually, I, I, it's more about the human beings involved in the competition than the inanimate objects that house sporting competitions. I've always maintained that and I always Will.

[Gary Parrish]

Amateur analysis. Yeah, amateur analysis. No, there are certain buildings that can be trusted. All right, The Dean Smith Center. Typically, yes, but not with Darren Peterson. You got to take everything into account. You can trust the Dean Smith center in most situations, but not on a Friday night when Darren Peterson's lurking.

[Matt Norlander]

Right. No, I. That's.

[Gary Parrish]

You're.

[Matt Norlander]

You're changing the rules. I won't allow it. You either trust the building or you don't. It's.

[Gary Parrish]

That's.

[Matt Norlander]

Period. It's either you trust it or you don't trust it.

[Gary Parrish]

No, buildings. No, buildings are just like humans. Buildings are just like humans.

[Matt Norlander]

They're. They're actually very much not. No, they're not.

[Gary Parrish]

No.

[Matt Norlander]

They don't eat, they don't breathe. They don't have a consciousness. They don't have legs. They don't have arms, they don't have blood. Buildings are not like humans whatsoever. Parish.

[Gary Parrish]

I've seen a building road, and suddenly.

[Matt Norlander]

You'Re like a kid lost in the forest.

[Gary Parrish]

No, no.

[Matt Norlander]

Where you are.

[Gary Parrish]

Okay. In spite of all that technically correct stuff you pointed out, buildings are a lot like humans in this way. You can trust a building. You can trust a building, just like you can trust a human. But sometimes humans put themselves in bad situations. I'm just gonna go down to the hotel bar and have a drink. Right? Like, just stay in your room every once in a while. Humans put themselves in bad situations, and that's when bad stuff happens. Buildings also can put themselves in bad situations. A normal Friday night for the Dean Smith Center. I trust it.

[Matt Norlander]

Someone else. Buildings aren't humans. Why do they have names? Fair enough. See? Well played.

[Gary Parrish]

Well played.

[Matt Norlander]

Papa Dragon. 568.

[Gary Parrish]

See? Now, on a normal Friday night, Dean Smith center says, hey, gp, I'm going out tonight. I'm like, go, have a good time. I trust you. But then it's like, hey, gp, I'm going out tonight, and I'm going to the same place Darren Peterson is. Oh, you put yourself in a bad situation. I don't know if I can trust you anymore.

[Matt Norlander]

The game.

[Gary Parrish]

I've already done it. I've already done it. I can't trust the Dean Smith center when Darren Peterson is hanging around the bar. But can I trust the Breslin Center? Yes. Yeah, almost. Almost. Regardless of the circumstances, we're taking Michigan State.

[Matt Norlander]

We're laying the one and a half Arkansas fans. That's what he thinks of Malik Thomas and Darius Acuff Jr. Just so you know, that's.

[Gary Parrish]

They're not Darren Peterson. They're not There.

[Matt Norlander]

That's all.

[Gary Parrish]

That's all that is. That is the only thing you can. You can. That's the only thing. That's the only thing you can draw from what I just said is that I don't believe Arkansas has Darren Peterson. Okay, put Darren Peterson on Arkansas. Send him to the Breslin Center.

[Matt Norlander]

I'll re.

[Gary Parrish]

I'll reevaluate that situation.

[Matt Norlander]

It's now time for the N1 and then we'll do a quick tour around the weekend. Other games. I'll soon reveal what game got sacrificed for Yukon versus UMass Lowell. My N1 is tonight, Friday, 6 Eastern on FS1. It's about damn time. Georgetown at Maryland on Lonnie Baxter Court, folks.

[Gary Parrish]

Let's go.

[Matt Norlander]

Terpstrom favored by seven and a half points. They lead the all time series between these two, 38 to 27. This is a first in a four game, four year series between the two programs. It was actually supposed to start, I think a year ago. Cooley wanted to nudge it off another season. Kevin Willard couldn't convince him. Then Kevin Willard said, I'm out of here.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, peace out. Maryland don't give me anything, so I'm leaving. Bye.

[Matt Norlander]

Now this. That's the story that hasn't been told. You want to know the real reason why Kevin Willard left Maryland for Villanova? It's got nothing to do with losing his ad or not being able to stay an extra night in New York City, which he did cite as a reason. As speculation increased around that job, it was the fact that Ed Cooley would not start this series in 2024. So now in 2025, it is buzz Williams going up against Ed Cooley again. Terps minus 7.5. Who you got?

[Gary Parrish]

Do you see Buzz in his press conference? All the reporters, names. Everything about Buzz makes me laugh.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah.

[Gary Parrish]

I'm gonna lay the seven and a half. I'm gonna trust that building. I'm gonna trust Buzz Williams.

[Matt Norlander]

Is that all you got?

[Gary Parrish]

I think Bless has an NCAA tournament team in year one at Maryland based in part on resources that Kevin Willard didn't have at his disposal.

[Matt Norlander]

Okay, there's. Well, that could be a valid, a valid theory, by the way, that Josh has been running some polls in the chat. So if you're listening, audience. 63, 37. Kansas went straight up on Friday night. Arkansas 71, 29. It wins against Michigan State. Not building trust, my people. Not building trusters. 29 splits.

[Gary Parrish]

They'll rue the day. They'll ruin the chat. Will rue the day. You'll Learn you got to trust buildings in this sport.

[Matt Norlander]

They're going to rue the day, huh? You've got, you've got Buzz and Maryland covering seven and a half. I am going to take Georgetown to get inside of that number. I have these teams actually relatively close in my preseason rankings. In fact, let me dial those up right now to give you exactly where they work. So I think I had Maryland at like 51 or 52. So I have Maryland in my preseason rankings with Buzz. They were sitting scrolling down terps 51. Georgetown, I had it 57. So a six spot difference between the two. I do think Maryland wins. I think they're not covering seven and a half. This is the first time since 2016 these teams have played. By the way. Back then it was part of the Gavin games. If you want to remember a dude, the high score in that game played for Maryland. His name was Melo trimble. He had 22 points. It's just great to have that, you know, just to state the obvious. But we want to reinforce the obvious so that we hopefully don't lose this. For the most part, we are getting at least four more years of this. But Maryland and Georgetown played each other at least once a year every year from 1935 to 1980, except when World War II was happening. The series started in 1911. Georgetown has a 61 by 301 by 6 and 301 25. Maryland has the the lead in the all time series. As I said, 38, 27. Look for Pharrell Payne in this game. Could be a big time player there. And I want to see if Malik Mack can, can show up for Georgetown. Team up alongside KJ Lewis. It's gonna be a fun game. This is the one that, that you click on alongside the CBS Sports Network games that we've got tonight in advance of Carolina and Kansas. That should be, that should be a good one. That is your final four tour throughout the rest of the weekend. We also have VCU versus Utah State in Frisco, Texas. Don't ask me why that is. That is on Friday night. That's an upper echelon mid major matchup. It's actually kind of, I don't know, quasi urgent for the Mountain West. You had Boise State lose to Hawaii Pacific, not Hawaii Atlantic. You had UNLV lose to UT Martin and you had Fresno State lose to USC Upstate. So the league has already taken some bad losses. See if you can pick off a good one against VCU on Saturday. I am going, going to a new spot GP and to a new Division 1 school. I'm going to take my kids. Penn State is playing at the University of New Haven. They're playing the Chargers. The school just joined D1 this season. I guess Penn State football has a game at 3:30. I was told game sold out. It's gonna be a madhouse in there. Capacity of the Hazel center is 1,000 seats. Parish, why is a Big Ten team playing a road game against a brand new Division 1 school and what I am guessing amounts to a high school gym? I actually intend to find that out. I think the ads have a relationship and that has something to do with it. But what's funny about.

[Gary Parrish]

They better be married. They better be married. Otherwise it makes.

[Matt Norlander]

They're not married. But what is funny about this is that Mike Rhodes, I believe he became the first former VCU coach. Now maybe this will be changed next year, the year after. But I know this. If you go to VCU and you're the head coach and then you leave when you agree to become the head coach at vcu, you sign a contract that says if and when I leave I have to bring my next team to play at VCU or face like a five hundred thousand dollar buyout. Essentially. I think they've now since upped it to one million because Mike Rhodes has not and I guess will not go back to vcu. But he's going to fly his team into Connecticut. I was also told there's some. There's something. What is it? There's a Yale Clean Energy Conference happening this weekend in New Haven. So there are no hotel rooms around New Haven. Like I personally, I'm about to. I'm about 23, 24 minutes away. Okay. There's a Marriott property in my town. I don't know if it couldn't house an entire basketball team or not. Apparently Penn State's going to stay like 45 minutes away, period. The whole thing is wild. But I, I kind of love it.

[Gary Parrish]

All of this to play a game that to circle back to my point from earlier shouldn't even be played.

[Matt Norlander]

But you know what? Hi. Major team. Why not? I'm happy to see it. I'm guessing it's going to be more Penn State fans than New Haven fans in the building. I could be wrong about that. But Penn State's a massive school. I assume it's alums in Connecticut are going. I'm going to be there one EAS in and take my boys to the game. Very excited to, to get to, to have them see, to see that opportunity.

[Gary Parrish]

Just let me be clear. For a second.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah.

[Gary Parrish]

Nothing against New Haven. Congratulations. I just have forever stuck a flag in the ground on Division 1 is too big. These teams should not be playing each other. These teams should not be competing theoretically for the same championship. But congrats to New Haven. I look forward to I whatever I.

[Matt Norlander]

Listen if you want to destroy the New Haven Chargers, by all means. I did tell them we'd be giving them a bump on the pot in advance of the show so I'm sure.

[Gary Parrish]

They I'm sure they love it for New Haven. I just don't think a Big Ten team should be ever playing somebody ranked 360th in the country.

[Matt Norlander]

That's my other well, not to not to the rankings but if anyone out there happens to know this like when's the last time a power five team and you can retroactively include the PAC 12 so formerly the the big six if you will. When's the last time one of those teams played a true road game at us not just a one bid league. I'm talking like at a gym that's five like this is 1,000 capacity like 5,000 or fewer. 6,000 or fewer. I'm sure it has happened but has this happened in the past 25 years? There's probably a random one off but this is super duper duper rare and and so that's above all that's why I'm going New Haven actually opens its season today at home against Columbia. Kevin Hovedy, the new coach there. They play this afternoon, then they'll turn around 24 hours and they'll welcome in Penn State elsewhere around the weekend. Just to be aware of San Francisco at Memphis. Memphis is the only top 101 top 100 KenPom team yet to play a game. As of our show's taping here, just 11 teams overall have yet to play a game. Sounds like Penny's gotten around to installing the team's offensive sets in the past week. Exciting news. Intrigued to see how that goes. You got any quick thoughts before I continue or just leave it there?

[Gary Parrish]

Well, he had some interesting comments a few days ago, three days in advance of the opener where he's like the the players who I need to bring effort aren't and the ones who are aren't talented enough to help me and we just lost two exhibitions to SEC teams by, you know, 20 plus points and I've got some real concerns, just not the type of stuff you want to hear heading into a season opener. Memphis should beat San Francisco this weekend. But. But San Francisco is good enough to come into FedEx form and particularly with the way Memphis showed itself in those two exhibitions. We'll see. But if you go look at Memphis schedule, if they get caught by San Francisco after that it's Ole Miss on the road. Good luck. After that you get Josh Pastor coming back to FedEx forum. That should be, you know, we'll see. But then it's Baja Mar opening with Purdue. It could get really sideways on him quickly.

[Matt Norlander]

Shasta Rush from the Boneyard, who's always on top of it. He he noted that in Recent years the PAC 12 had that initiative where it actually had schools go play road games against swack teams. That is your answer the last time a power conference team would have played in a in a in a tiny gym here. A few more games before we wrap up. Virginia Tech vs. Providence in the hall of Fame series in Uncasville. Here in Connecticut. That's on Saturday. Providence was number four in the Big East Pole. Virginia Tech was slotted 12th in the ACC. Could be a toss up game. Also four Eastern Vandy plays at UCF. That's two higher major teams in a road home road environment. Vandy pump fans are pumped for their season, rightfully so. UCF isn't expected to be good so we'll see if the Doors can travel down to Orlando and get out there without getting too caught up or if UCF can can pull off the win Saturday night a good one. Oklahoma at Gonzaga. It's the fifth meeting all time between the schools and all those meetings have happened since 2007. This game is not in the kennel. It's at Spokane arena, which Gonzaga does not play at often. This one six straight in that building. Its last loss came in 2011 to speak of the devil. Memphis. That was the last time Gonzaga lost to Spokane Arena. And then on Sunday, the game that was in the There are two games on Sunday that are notable. The game that was in the Final Four and one that got booted. The Tom Crane Special. And I meant to text him. It's on ESPN1 Eastern Indiana versus Marquette in Chicago. Is Crane on the call? Like he should be on the call for this game. He left one school for the other. An intriguing matchup overall. Very excited to to see what goes down there. And then 8:30 Eastern on Sunday night Washington plays at Baylor. Kind of random but I'm for it. Let's go. Tons of unknowns with all those teams. Just keep an eye out. Keep an eye out for that one on Sunday. But I think the pod might be going live before that one tips off. But that is your, that is your Sunday to know.

[Gary Parrish]

Tom Crane took one of those schools to a Final Four, one outright Big Ten championships, multiple at the other. He did real good work at both of those schools and I hope those fan bases, I hope those fan bases recognize that.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, no doubt about it. Couple notes here. One, I think we're gonna have news happen here in the next like 90 minutes pertaining to the NCAA and monitoring game manipulation with players. I don't have the teams yet, but I've gotten word of that recently here. So just keep an eye out on that. That's by the time you listen to the pod, I would think that's going to be out. But just watch CBS Sports HQ. Keep an eye on CBSSports.com I think there's more coming with that story later today. It's just happened so that we're wrapping the show now and we won't be able that on real time. Can, can talk about that on Sunday show and then. Yeah, that's pretty much it. I'm, I'm heading, I'm traveling on Sunday, so I don't know if I'll be able to be on the show, but if not, you will see me live from Illinois next week. We still got to figure out all the plans with that.

[Gary Parrish]

The plan will be to go live around 3 o' clock Eastern on Sunday. Most of the notable stuff should be done by then. So 3 o' clock Eastern on Sunday, Norlander traveling. We'll figure that out. But 3 o' clock Eastern in that range is when we'll be back for the next episode of the Eye on College Basketball podcast.

[Matt Norlander]

That's a show.

[Gary Parrish]

Did we pick the N1?

[Matt Norlander]

I I Yes. I took Georgetown to cover.

[Gary Parrish]

You got it. Okay.

[Matt Norlander]

Oh my gosh.

[Gary Parrish]

And I took Maryland. Rusty and I took Maryland. Okay.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, I think we're good. I think we have.

[Gary Parrish]

I'm having to pick between Tom Crane and El Elvis Presley's alma mater. This is a tough spot for me.

[Matt Norlander]

Chat says St. John. 6040 is going to beat Alabama. I don't know if that's covering or winning, by the way. That's a little bit different deal.

[Gary Parrish]

Shouts to Devin Downey. Shouts to Chester, S.C. shouts to Terry Teagle. He's a legend. Hawk Larnell. Thank you guys once again for watching and listening to the I Own College Basketball podcast. If you're not subscribed, please go subscribe anyway. You subscribe to podcasts, Apple Spot, Spotify. There's more of us than there are of them. That needs to be reflected in the comments. So do it. And again, we'll talk to you Sunday, 3 o' clock Eastern, right in that range. Till then, take care. The world is a vampire.

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