Six unbeatens still alive! Braden Smith pacing to NCAA record; Darryn Peterson drama won’t cease; UCF, SMU nab big Ws; Kentucky, Florida, ‘Ville, SJU toppled

Summary

Eye On College Basketball Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Title: Six unbeatens still alive! Braden Smith pacing to NCAA record; Darryn Peterson drama won’t cease; UCF, SMU nab big Ws; Kentucky, Florida, ‘Ville, SJU toppled
Date: January 5, 2026
Hosts: Gary Parrish (GP), Matt Norlander

---

Episode Theme & Purpose

This episode dives into an unprecedented early-January state in college basketball: six undefeated teams remain as league play heats up. Parrish and Norlander break down each unbeaten contender, analyze remarkable individual performances (notably Purdue’s Braden Smith), wrestle with the roller-coaster Darryn Peterson saga at Kansas, and whip around a wild weekend where bluebloods and contenders (Kentucky, Florida, Louisville, St. John’s) took notable losses. The hosts offer analysis, debate worthy resumes, share reporting nuggets, and—true to tone—inject humor, barbs, and behind-the-scenes personal stories throughout.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Six Undefeated Teams: Rarity and Rundown

• Historical Context:
  • Last year at this point: only one team undefeated after nine weeks (Tennessee).
  • Six unbeatens by January 4th is "wildly unusual" ([04:44] GP).
  • Last time it happened: 2013–14 season, highlighted by Wichita State’s run ([06:16] GP).
• Overview of the Six:
  • Vanderbilt, Nebraska, Michigan, Arizona, Iowa State, Miami (OH).
  • Different types of resumes and levels of preseason expectation.

2. Vanderbilt Commodores: Are They For Real? ([07:44–13:05])

• 14–0, now SEC contenders after a road win at South Carolina—despite missing star Duke Miles.
• Resume: No wins over ranked teams (yet); possible AP poll boost with UCF and SMU beatings.
• Upcoming marquee home showdown vs. Alabama.
• Debate:
  • GP: “Do you think of Vanderbilt as a national title contender right now?”
  • Norlander: “Not yet. I think it’s fair to want a little bit more” ([10:47] GP).
• Player Spotlight: Tyler Tanner—a local breakout star, now averaging 16.2 PPG.
• "If there are any Vandy skeptics still out there, if Vandy gets to 15–0, they'll all have to come around..." ([11:14] GP).

3. Nebraska Cornhuskers: The Pinnacle Bank Effect ([13:05–22:57])

• 14–0, best start in school history; home court remains a fortress (Pinnacle Bank).
• Ugly but gritty win over Michigan State: defense powered, forced 19 turnovers ([18:42] GP).
• Comparing trust in Nebraska vs. Vandy: host poll leans Nebraska for resume, metrics favor Vandy.
• Gritty schedule ahead—projected underdogs in next two road games.
• Norlander: “If we're still talking about undefeated Nebraska next Sunday night—oh it's been an incredible week.” ([21:18] MN)

4. Michigan Wolverines: Historic Dominance ([22:57–27:22])

• 13–0, No. 1 in most metrics; just became first team ever with three straight 30+ point wins over ranked teams.
• On pace for the second-best KenPom net rating ever, "operating on a different level" ([24:27] GP).
• Debate: Is this Michigan team better than 2021 Baylor? Both: yes ([25:36] GP).
• Injury update: Yak at Lindenborg good to go despite missing time in last game.

5. Arizona & Iowa State: Big 12’s (and Nation’s) Resilient Unbeatens ([27:22–29:54])

• Both favored in every remaining game until their March 2 matchup.
• Iowa State's balanced lineup: all five starters in double figures; portal/international recipe is working perfectly ([28:23] MN).

6. Miami (OH) Redhawks: Mid-Major Cinderella? ([29:54–34:10])

• Now 15–0; only one top-100 win so far, but favored in every remaining MAC game.
• Travis Steele (former Xavier coach) orchestrating a potential Cinderella campaign.
• Metrics skepticism: only 99th at KenPom but has a top 30 resume by some measures ([32:16] GP).
• Norlander: “I could see Miami Ohio being the last undefeated team ... and still not being in the Top 25 and 1.” ([33:33] MN)

7. Prediction Segment: Who’ll Be the Last Undefeated? ([34:42–35:36])

• GP sticks with Michigan; Norlander shifts to Miami (OH), per Wally Szczerbiak’s offseason tip.

8. Weekend Whip-Around: Eye-catching Results

a. Braden Smith: On NCAA Assist Record Pace ([35:43–39:45])

• Purdue crushed Wisconsin, Smith now Big Ten’s all-time assist leader (breaking Cassius Winston’s record, aiming for Hurley’s NCAA record).
• “He is maybe becoming underrated again because of how amazing the freshmen are.” ([37:44] MN)

b. Central Florida 81, Kansas 75: UCF Emerges; Kansas’ Peterson Drama ([40:25–49:18])

• UCF now 12–1, with significant wins over Kansas and Texas A&M.
• Darryn Peterson: puts up 23 in the first half, sits most of the second due to an unspecified “minutes restriction”/“legs bothering him” situation.
• GP: “This is a riddle wrapped inside an enigma put inside of a mystery.” ([47:46] GP)
• Peterson hasn’t finished a close game for Kansas this season—tough rhythm for the blueblood.

c. SMU 97, North Carolina 83: Ponies Stomp a Blueblood ([50:35–52:38])

• SMU posts 95+ points in three straight for the first time since 1976; Boopy Miller goes off (27 pts, 12 ast—rare 25/12/75% line).
• SMU now squarely in the national discussion.

d. Alabama 89, Kentucky 74: UK’s Slide and Resume Debate ([52:38–58:12])

• Kentucky now 9–5, no wins over quality opponents; hosts get into a lively spat over whether UK should be ranked.
• GP: “I honestly don’t think Kentucky as a top 25 team is justifiable ... I don’t think you’d find a Kentucky fan that would disagree.” ([54:04] GP)
• Alabama praised for decisive win—"really nice game plan … impressed with how they pulled away." ([57:26] GP)
• Kentucky’s promising lineups/rotations not used in key loss.

e. Arkansas 86, Tennessee 75: Darius Acuff Stars ([58:12–60:17])

• Freshman point guard Darius Acuff (19.5 PPG, 6 APG) powers Arkansas’s solid start; continues Calipari’s legacy of elite guards.
• Arkansas breaks Tennessee’s dominance in this rivalry.

f. Missouri 76, Florida 74: Gators’ Guard Play Falters ([60:17–62:48])

• Florida, defending champs, fall to 9–5; GP notes struggles with transfer guards and upcoming make-or-break stretch.

g. San Diego State 98, Boise State 97 (Double OT):

• Mountain West thriller, capped by BJ Davis three.
• Norlander shares story about rescuing new dog “Bentley,” which caused him to miss finish live, highlighting the episode’s playful, personal storytelling.

h. Seton Hall 56, Creighton 54:

• Pirates erase 16-point deficit; GP pushes for their ranking, Norlander resists ([68:20] MN/GP).

---

9. Mid-Week Lookahead & News ([69:05–74:41])

• Big Ten Monday: Nebraska at Ohio State, USC at Michigan State.
• Tuesday’s top matchups: Duke at Louisville (Brown, Jr. injury looms), Georgia at Florida, Texas Tech at Houston, San Diego State at Nevada.
• Georgia spotlight: Best start since 1930–31, strong offense under Mike White.
• Louisville’s woes: Brown’s ongoing absence, history-making loss at Stanford.

10. St. John’s, Marquette, Most Disappointing Teams Debate ([74:50–78:00])

• St. John’s (9–5, preseason hype): Norlander laments their collapse and relieves himself of ranking them.
• Marquette’s collapse even worse, with Norlander dubbing SJU “the most disappointing team of all time, history of sport.” ([76:46] MN)
• On preseason picks gone awry, both hosts own up to being too bullish.

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Vanderbilt as National Title Contender:
  “Do you think of Vanderbilt as a national title contender right now?”
  —GP ([10:47])

• On Six Unbeatens:
  "This is wildly unusual to have this many undefeated teams this deep into the season."
  —MN ([04:07])

• On Darryn Peterson Drama at Kansas:
  "This is a riddle wrapped inside an enigma put inside of a mystery."
  —GP ([47:46])

• On the Frustration of Peterson's Injury Saga:
  "I just refuse to believe that he doesn't want to play or that it's anything other than his legs are bothering him. And I wish they would stop bothering."
  —MN ([48:22])

• SMU's Boopy Miller Breakout:
  “Boopy's getting talked about weekly at this point…”
  —GP ([51:33])

• Riffing on Rankings and Kentucky:
  "I absolutely can. In fact. Okay, let's see where Kentucky is right now in... Kentucky is behind Miami Ohio at KPI. It's behind Miami Ohio at wins above bubble. Resume wise. Yes, Kentucky does not have as good of a resume right now as Miami Ohio. That's what the numbers say."
  —GP ([54:04])

• On St. John's Collapse:
  "In my mind, I know this isn't true, but in my mind, St. John's the most disappointing team of all time. History of the sport. History of all sports."
  —MN ([76:46])

• On Preseason Ownership:
  "You gotta own it is what it is."
  —GP ([77:53])

• Podcast Banter and Personal Stories:

  • Norlander — adopting a dog "Bentley," running out to potty during late-night hoops ([63:01–66:19]).
  • Back-and-forth cake idioms and closing self-deprecation ([78:44–81:00]).

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:11 — Opening banter, state of unbeatens
• 04:44 — Historical context on unbeatens
• 07:44–13:05 — Vanderbilt as topic A; credentials and debate
• 13:05–22:57 — Nebraska, Pinnacle Bank, trust vs. Vandy
• 22:57–27:22 — Michigan’s historic run, comparison to champions past
• 29:54–34:10 — Miami (OH)’s Cinderella case and mid-major respect
• 34:42–35:36 — Prediction: last unbeaten standing
• 35:43–39:45 — Braden Smith's assist chase at Purdue
• 40:25–49:18 — UCF upsets Kansas & the Peterson saga
• 50:35–52:38 — SMU knocks off UNC
• 52:38–58:12 — Kentucky's slide & lively rankings debate; Alabama's rise
• 58:12–60:17 — Arkansas, Darius Acuff's emergence
• 60:17–62:48 — Missouri edges Florida; Gators' guard troubles
• 63:01–66:19 — San Diego State-Boise, personal dog story, comedic riff
• 68:20 — Seton Hall comeback win
• 69:05–74:41 — Looking ahead: key midweek fixtures
• 74:50–78:00 — St. John’s & Marquette: disappointment debate
• 78:44–81:00 — “Cake” idiom riff and closing banter
• 81:52–82:29 — Upcoming appearance on CBS Sports Network (Tuesday, 1pm Eastern)

---

Overall Tone

Conversational, witty, irreverent, but always insightful. The hosts balance sharp statistical and resume-based analysis with personal stories, inside reporting, and self-aware humor. Their debates—over rankings, teams, and trends—mirror the lively, knowledgeable discourse that defines the best college hoops banter.

---

For listeners: This episode covers the most significant early-January storylines around college basketball—unbeaten teams, emerging stars, uncertain bluebloods, and unpredictable mid-majors—with humor, analysis, and a finger on the sport’s pulse. Perfect for anyone looking to catch up and get a taste of the season's chaotic energy.

Transcript

[Gary Parrish]

We all want to feel good and no matter the environment we find ourselves in, feeling good can often be tied to what we're wearing. You want to look nice, be comfortable and know you're in quality fabrics. And I found Vuori checks all of those boxes. Vuori isn't your typical old school workout gear. Everything is designed to perform, but it doesn't feel like it. Soft, lightweight moisture wicking fabric with four way stretch means you can train, lounge, step out, grab coffee, meet friends without skipping a beat. I could wear it to go cover a college basketball game. The versatility is insane. These pieces are truly an effortless wardrobe essential. Inspired by the coastal California lifestyle, Viori makes clothing built to last and built to inspire. Viori is an investment in your happiness. For our listeners, they're offering 20% off your first purchase. Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the [e-mail] basketball that's v u o ori.com basketball exclusions apply. Visit the website for full terms and conditions. Not only will you receive 20% off your first purchase, but enjoy free shipping on any US orders over $75 and free returns. Go to vuori.com basketball and discover the versatility of Viori. Clothing exclusions apply. Visit the website for full terms and conditions.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Are you interested in effortlessly growing your Bitcoin portfolio? I sure am. The Bitcoin credit card by Gemini earns you Bitcoin back on every purch. Use it like any credit card. Buy lunch, gas or your weekly groceries and you'll earn up to 4% back instantly in Bitcoin or one of over 50 other cryptos straight to your account. All that with no annual fee. And right now you can grab a $200 bitcoin welcome bonus. It's the easiest way to start building your Bitcoin stack. Go to gemini.com card to learn more. Terms apply. See the link in the description for more information regarding rates and fees issued by WeBank. To qualify for the $200 crypto intro bonus, you must spend $3,000 in your first 90 days. Some exclusions to instant rewards apply. This is not investment advice and trading crypto. Check Gemini's website for more details on rates and fees.

[Gary Parrish]

We spend over 690 minutes a week thinking about football. Yeah, that's more than 11 hours watching.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Highlights, arguing rankings, running mock drafts. It's what makes NFL fans the most passionate fans in the world.

[Gary Parrish]

And we know sometimes it only takes one play to win the game. One quick decision during a timeout can.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Change everything Same goes for game day. In real life, we spend hours prepping food, setting up TVs, planning the perfect tailgate. But what about planning how you'll get home?

[Gary Parrish]

Think about how long it takes you to smoke ribs or make your famous chili. Now think about this. It only takes one minute to make a plan so you don't drive impaired.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Whether you're hosting, heading to a friend's place, or catching the game at a.

[Gary Parrish]

Bar, plan ahead, take a minute, make a plan. Never drive impaired. This message was brought to you by Diageo Mad and the NFL. Please drink responsibly. Diageo New York. Visit take a minute now.com.

[Matt Norlander]

There I am. Gary Parish. Welcome back to the CBS Sports I own college basketball podcast where we sometimes discuss caval fighting dodo birds. Leaky Black Matt Norlander is here with me. If you're watching on YouTube, be Brandon Davies. Smash a little bit. If you haven't already subscribe to the Ion College Basketball podcast, please go do that wherever you subscribe to podcasts like Apple and Spotify. Let's get into it. Today is January 4, 2026. We are now nine full weeks into this season. There are still six undefeated teams left in the sport. Trivia time. Can you start with the trivia time? Rock it. Okay, Norlander, do you know how many undefeated teams there were after nine full weeks of last season?

[Gary Parrish]

Zero.

[Matt Norlander]

That's an incorrect answer.

[Gary Parrish]

Really?

[Matt Norlander]

I think Tennessee started 14 and oh, through the first nine weeks of the season, then lost on January 7th at Florida. They were 14. Oh, I don't remember this. This way. They were 14. Zero, went to Florida, lost 70 to. Lost 73 to 43. So their first loss was a 30 point loss. But they were the last undefeated team last season and that lasted through January 7th. But through the first nine weeks of the season there was only one. Again, there are six right now. So this is, this is wildly unusual to have this many undefeated teams this deep into the season.

[Gary Parrish]

It is. Okay, so they must have cleared that final week. What's funny about you saying you don't remember? This is. I brought up that very loss on our Year in Review show, like two podcasts ago.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, I was, I clock out on a lot of that stuff. I don't feel like, I mean, I feel like I live through it. Anytime we're doing like year in review, it's like I lived through this. I've already forgotten most of it. I don't know if I'll ever need it again. So when you start like then if you remember Tennessee was undefeated. It went to Florida. I'm like, whatever. And I'm just over here, like, looking. I'm scrolling, you know, seeing what Tom Brady and Alex Earl are up to.

[Gary Parrish]

Okay, fair enough. Trivia time.

[Matt Norlander]

Okay, let's go.

[Gary Parrish]

We're gonna get to at least January 5th tomorrow because none of the undefeated teams play until tomorrow night at the earliest. So we'll get to at least January 5th with six undefeated teams. When's the most recent season that we had six undefeateds remaining as of January 5th in that given year?

[Matt Norlander]

I can tell you it hasn't been in the last five years because I wouldn't look that up. So it's gonna. It's gonna be before that.

[Gary Parrish]

This doesn't include the 2021 Covid season, which was staggered, started late. You got to throw that one out the window.

[Matt Norlander]

You know what I'm do? I'm gonna go to the 2007, 2008 season.

[Gary Parrish]

More recent than that.

[Matt Norlander]

Oh, yeah, then that was the. Oh, you. It sounds like we're talking about 2011, 2012.

[Gary Parrish]

More recent than that.

[Matt Norlander]

Oh, this. If I'm thinking correctly, this sounds like to me, this feels like 2014, 2015.

[Gary Parrish]

Not as recent. It was 1314. That was most memorably the year that Wichita State got all the way to the second round of the NCAA tournament with an undefeated record. You want to know the others? I'm gonna make you wait for it. I'll have that a little bit later in the [e-mail] to me, GP the six that are standing, all interesting stories for a variety of reasons, but you led with Vandy in the top 25 and 1. It's win over the weekend wasn't the most notable. In fact, I'd say, I'd say Vanderbilt's win wasn't one of the 12 most notable results at minimum of what happened on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. But Vandy is 14 and oh, and getting there. Getting the win at South Carolina, putting itself in the position of a valid SEC contender. It's been there for a couple weeks, but you open up league play. You don't mess around. You don't even have your start, your best player, your high score in that game. Duke Miles didn't play. Tyler Tanner shows up well. So let's open on the Commodores. Where do you have them in Your latest top 25 and 1 ranking? What are your general thoughts on their viability nationally? Because right now this, this team is putting up the kind of performances, the kind of wind differentials, point differentials, that suggest it's very good. The one major thing lacking here, of course is at this point it's yet to beat a truly, I guess, notable opponent. They beat St. Mary's at home. Good. But the real big test comes Wednesday when Alabama comes to town.

[Matt Norlander]

And all of that is partly why I wanted to start with them. And then we will get to the other five undefeated teams. But with Vanderbilt, I think it's, it's real interesting because a, like, like most of these other undefeated teams, you could kind of maybe not see undefeated on January 4th coming. But like they were supposed, like Iowa State was supposed to be good, Arizona was supposed to be good, Michigan was supposed to be good. Miami, Ohio, like always projected as a team that was going to win a lot. But Vandy is the one that was like, all right, they're not ranked in the preseason AP poll. Well, you know all that stuff now they're 14, zero, like you said, zero victories over currently ranked teams in the AP poll. But I did think it was a nice weekend for Vandy because of what happened elsewhere. Because despite it having zero wins over currently ranked teams. And that could change on Monday, by the way, went over ucf. UCF just beat Kansas. They do have a win over smu. SMU just beat unc. I move Central Florida and Southern methods into the top 25 and 1 on Sunday morning. So right now UCF is 19th, SMU is 20th. So as I wrote in this moment, Vandy has zero wins over ranked teams. But they could have two by tomorrow if the AP poll follows the top 25 and 1. Not that it will or even that it should, but if it does, then Vandy's resume, you won't be able to say what you've been able to say about them all season long. You won't be able to say it anymore. Either way, something changes on Wednesday because that's when they do play not only a ranked team, but outside of them, perhaps the favorite to win the sec. They get Alabama at home in Memorial. And I gotta imagine like I have friends who graduated from Vanderbilt and I should have sent some text off just to pick their brain, but this has got to be one of the most anticipated home games at Memorial in a, in a really, really long time. So Vandy doesn't have the signature wins that say in Arizona has, but they are 14 and oh with 12 double digit wins. They've got the two wins over SMU and UCF with an opportunity midweek to really establish themselves in a way that perhaps they haven't been able to do so far. But bottom line, if there are any Vandy skeptics still out there, if Vandy gets to 15 0, they'll all have to come around because we know what Alabama is and if you are able to get to 500 beating that team after what that team just did to Kentucky this weekend, we'll get to that later. Then then you, you then then the computer numbers that you have created start to look, look more realistic than maybe some people have attached to them to this point. Let me ask you this. So Vanderbilt is up to number five at Ken Palm, fifth at Kingpom, suggests national title contender. Do you that way. Do you think of Vanderbilt as a national title contender right now?

[Gary Parrish]

No, not yet. I think it's fair to want a little bit more. They do have three wins over teams that will be projected into the tournament. Now I mentioned St. Mary's you mentioned the UCF and the SMU components there. So they've got three good quality quad one level or borderline Q1 level wins right now. Beat Alabama. Then I think we, we have a different conversation. I also think, by the way, that's entirely fair. What they've done so far is extremely impressive. No doubt about it. They're well balanced on both sides of the floor. Duke Miles and Tyler Tanner have been one of the better duos in the country. They're only two of six Division 1 players in the entire sport, averaging at least 16 points, four assists and two steals plus per game. And they're the only teammates doing it. So I think they're knocking on the door. I don't think it's irrational to say let me just get, can I get one more really good performance. You're at home. Alabama coming to town. Let's make sure this thing is solidified. So if they can win on Wednesday and obviously preview this game again on the Wednesday morning show before that tips off on Wednesday, we'll wait and see. But a really, really good story. Only second time ever Vanderbilt's gotten to this point on the calendar without a scar. The best start ever was 0708. They got to 16 0. That team was a four seed upset in the first round. It was actually a trendy. I remember that tourney. I remember that upset pick because it was very trendy. Sienna was the trendy upset pick and that indeed wound up happening. Vandy went down but, but this, this team's got a chance to match that for best start ever, if not exceed it.

[Matt Norlander]

Just real quick on the roster you mentioned Duke Miles has missed the Past couple of games, he is their leading scorer. Tyler Tanner has been like the breakout player for them. One of the breakout players in the sec, one of the breakout players in the country. Fun story. Little guard, six foot from Brentwood, Tennessee, which is, you know, that's, that's Nashville. So it's a local guy starring at the local university. Average 5.7 points as a freshman last season. Now up to 16.2 points per game. 52.7% from the field above 43% from three. He's been fantastic. And yeah, what's happening in Nashville right now? Just everything. Like, you know, incredible football season with a legitimate Heisman trophy candidate. And now your basketball team's one of the six remaining undefeated teams in Division 1. You want to move on to the other five?

[Gary Parrish]

Let's, let's talk about it because there's a lot to get to. I mean, we had 12 of the preseason top 25 teams take a loss this weekend, and we're going to get to those eventually. But I figured we start with the positive here and maybe even flash it back to start with with Nebraska and what it did Friday night. GP at Pinnacle Bank.

[Matt Norlander]

Number nine. Nebraska in the top 25 and one after its victory over Michigan State at Pinnacle bank. They're now 14 0. I tried to tell you. You were, you were.

[Gary Parrish]

You conducted. You conducted yourself.

[Matt Norlander]

You conducted yourself as a non believer. You didn't trust Pinnacle Bank. I've worked relentlessly to try to build this podcast into the official Josh, you.

[Gary Parrish]

Can go to a commercial anytime you.

[Matt Norlander]

Want podcast of Pinnacle Bank Arena. And I thought I pulled you along with me. I thought this was something we were doing hand in hand. But you broke away from me on Friday and then you paid that price on Friday night as you were sitting there watching Peacock. What'd you think when you saw the court storm? And once again the home team inside Pinnacle bank walked away with a victory like always.

[Gary Parrish]

Well, unless I'm mistaken, I think we're supposed to have a break before we get to the rest of the undefeated teams. I'm going to make good on that. Cut me off, Josh. Word from our partners. Let's go. Ah, dsw Earth place of the humble. Brag here. The shoes are so good. No one would ever know how little you paid if you didn't go telling everyone that is. And with never ending options for every style, mood and occasion, all at really great prices, we'll definitely give you something to brag about. So go ahead, stock up on fresh sneakers from your favorite brands or try those Boots you always secretly knew you could pull off. Find the shoes that get you at prices that get your budget. At DSW stores [e-mail] let us surprise you.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

I cannot believe it's already 2026. Truly. Where did the year go? I blinked, planned Thanksgiving, watched a little football, and boom, suddenly we're here. And with a new year comes that little voice saying, all right, big guy, time to make a change. That means getting organized, tidying up, giving my bedroom a refresh, and finally fixing my game room so it feels peaceful instead of cluttered and stressful. And Bob's is perfect for all that. Their storage pieces are so smart. Sofas with hidden storage, beds with drawers and storage headboards, dressers with hidden jewelry, storage. They find a way to put storage into everything. And their office furniture makes working from home feel a little more inspiring. When it comes to sleep, Bob's has a huge range of mattresses. Memory foam, hybrid, firm, plush, dual feel, and many are Consumer Reports recommended. You can add adjustable bases with massage, programmable positions, motion activated under bed lighting, even Bluetooth speakers. And if you want a fresh look for the new year, Bob's has stylish options like the Sofia sofa or an extendable dining set with beautiful nail head detailing. Get your picks in 26 at Bob's Discount Furniture.

[Matt Norlander]

I tried to talk to you about this.

[Gary Parrish]

There it is.

[Matt Norlander]

I tried to talk to you about this.

[Gary Parrish]

We were both right and we were both wrong. Can we be explicitly clear about this? No. You had Nebraska winning in a blowout, which did not happen. And covering, which did not happen. I had Michigan State winning outright, which did not happen. I did have sparty covering. That did happen, by the way. So that one's on me.

[Matt Norlander]

I don't get caught up in the little numbers. You can get caught up in the little numbers if you want facts, results.

[Gary Parrish]

Why should those matter? Right?

[Matt Norlander]

You can play around with your little numbers.

[Gary Parrish]

Little numbers. Dude, all you do is look at Ken Palm every day. I don't want to hear about you. Don't get caught up in that little numbers.

[Matt Norlander]

You can keep referencing your little numbers if you want to. Me, only thing I remember about Friday morning's episode is that I was in the woods. That was fun. And, and I was certain Pinnacle bank would prevail again. Then I, I, you know, spent the day with, with my family, won a couple of paintball wars. Not bragging, not bragging, but won a couple of paintball wars, settled back into the house. My wife said, hey, you want to watch? Welcome to Dairy I said, baby, maybe another time. But tonight we focused on Peacock and Pinnacle Bank. It was a fun night. True story. Yeah, true story. My wife was getting sleepy. She was getting. She wasn't as fired up about Nebraska, Michigan State as I was. So. So at some point she lays down like, you know, lays down on the couch next to me. And I said, I know. I knew how that was sounding as it came out of my mouth. There was nothing to it other than my wife was sleepy. I promise. That's it.

[Gary Parrish]

Oh, yeah. Let's. Let's go.

[Matt Norlander]

My wife was sleepy. That was all it was. And she put her head down. It's been me like seven minutes to go in the game. And she put her head down and I said, hey, I know you're sleepy and I know you're falling asleep, but if this goes the way I think it's going to go, I'm going to have to pull out my computer in a minute because I got all sorts of clips. I got to start getting out there into the world. So at that point she was clearly cheering for Michigan State. Of course she had to wake up. I had to start popping off. That was a fun Friday night. Man, I wish I could do it again.

[Gary Parrish]

The double entendres in the past 90 seconds. Ridiculous. Let's keep it moving. Nebraska 14 0. Yep. That's starting school history. 18 straight wins. Best in school history. 20 now all time. It's only had two games. Ever mentioned this on the Friday show. Two games ever where it has hosted a top 15 matchup here and in 91 against Kansas. It's won both of those. Really an enjoyably ugly game. In all seriousness, Nebraska should have won this thing by like 14 points. Michigan State went through like an eight minute stretch in the second half where it was turning it over. Couldn't hit a shot. Nebraska refused to bloat its lead, but they get the win. And not only they get the win. 58, 56. This was the first time ever under Hoiberg. Nebraska 1 when it didn't get to 60. It was 0. 25 in those scenarios before Friday night. But the defense showed up again as it's done way more often than not this season. 10 of the 14 times it's played this season under a point per possession. For the team that's going up against Nebraska, including six of the last seven, it's done a tremendous job. It forced Michigan State into 19 turnovers, including fierce, who had a turnover off his foot in a big moment. They coughed it up. I thought that was and one of like five or six sequences in the final two minutes that ultimately led to the Huskers getting it done and getting out of there with a win. Held Michigan State to A season low 56 points. Held Michigan State to just 34 from the field rink mast was a Madman in the first half. Finished with 19.7 boards, three assists, three blocks. What a gamer that guy is. So I want to talk about all the undefeated teams, but Nebraska getting yet another win and just re emphasizing its credit credentials is. Is awesome. Our, our live chat here on Sunday is which, which of these two undefeated teams which you know, you don't expect to ever see undefeated at this point in the calendar. And Nebraska had never been in Vandy's only done it once. Who do you trust more? Which, which undefeated team between Vanderbilt and Nebraska? Nebraska is winning this 69 to 31, which is interesting because Nebraska's been really good. I think that's based on the opponents it's defeated because the predictors right now would tell you Vanderbilt is the more trustworthy team. But our live audience says Nebraska, what about you? In all seriousness, all pinnacle jokes aside of these two, which do you trust more to be. To be the better seat on selection Sunday?

[Matt Norlander]

At this point I'd probably say Vandy. Probably say Vandy. Just not just because, but I mean they look awesome. The only, the only thing missing from the Vandy story is and they've got the win over Alabama or and they've got the win at Purdue or and they got the win over something like that. But everything else is there. And so I think, I think probably Vandy. But these are two, two terrific stories on Nebraska. Just know if we're still talking about undefeated Nebraska next Sunday night. Oh, it's been an incredible week because they're two road week at Ohio State on Monday and then at Indiana on Saturday. Projected underdogs in both of those games. So Nebraska goes from 14 and oh to 16 and oh, you're now we're cooking. But if you're a Nebraska fan. Hey, let me make you a Nebraska fan right now.

[Gary Parrish]

Let's do it. I'm open to it.

[Matt Norlander]

Okay. Would you take 15 and 1 through 6 right now?

[Gary Parrish]

Oh, of course, yeah.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah.

[Gary Parrish]

If it's that simple. Yes. Or, or what? Like, or just gamble and say can we get to 60? No, you're taking 15 and one. You split the next two. You're still four and one in the league at that point and you will have played three roadies in Big Ten play. Remember, you've already Got the reason why our chat responded and it did for anyone. Anyone that's not a Nebraska fan and dialed in week by week. Nebraska now owns the win over Michigan State. It won at Illinois, had a 30 point win over Wisconsin, 21 point win. Rivalry one over Creighton. Has a neutral court win over an Oklahoma team. That might be good enough to make the NCAA tournament. The resume is stronger from Nebraska's end. At this point the metrics still favor.

[Matt Norlander]

All right, let's keep it in the Big Ten. We'll go to undefeated Michigan. They are number one in the top 25 and one have been for roughly a month. Beat USC Friday night 9666 to improve to 13. 0. Morris Johnson got 29 points and the Wolverines made history, becoming the first team in AP Poll history to win three straight games against ranked opponents by at least 30 points each. Like in all the years we've been watching ranked teams play other ranked teams that had never happened. It's just a, another little bullet point connected to Dusty May's team that suggests that, you know, they're operating on a, a different level than most and perhaps a different level than everybody. Because as of this morning, yeah, the, the, the highest net rating at Kim Pom. Obviously they're number one in all the computers, but it's the second highest net rating. Let me rephrase. Duke once finished with a net rating above 40. I think it was 1999. That is the best net rating any team's ever finished with at Ken Palm in the history of the database. That I believe goes back to 96, 97. And right now if you just said boom, season over, that's Michigan's net rating, it would be the second best ever. The second best ever. So they are, if they're not operating on a different level than, than everybody, they're certainly operating on a different level than most.

[Gary Parrish]

They are operating on a different level than everyone at this point. You know, not even halfway home. It's, it's asking them to keep up this pace. It's not, it's not unreasonable, I guess, but they've been insane. They'll be number two again, I would think when the poll refreshes for the hello. The first time in two weeks on Monday. And with that I am prepared to declare that this is the best second ranked team in the first week of January in the history of the sport. Arizona. Arizona's got the resume. The, the. And to, to have a claim at number one. You can pop in here. GP I'm just saying, like, like Arizona. I do not expect Arizona to fall as lost, demolished Utah on the road. Got it. Picked up a road win over the weekend. Like there's for anyone that wanted to keep Arizona number one. I just don't think they're gonna. They're gonna drop down. I could be wrong. Michigan keeps, you know, piling up these wins, but I. I don't expect. I don't expect those teams to switch spots.

[Matt Norlander]

The only thing I was going to say is thinking back, is it 20, 20, 21? Because at this point, we would have still had undefeated Baylor.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah. People in Gonzaga.

[Matt Norlander]

True Zaga 1. This Michigan team's better. Better than national champion Baylor.

[Gary Parrish]

Yes. I would take this Michigan team over that Baylor team. Yes. Yeah. This team. This Michigan team is better than that Baylor team right now for sure. Where Michigan is at this point in the season versus where Baylor was the first week.

[Matt Norlander]

You say it to his face.

[Gary Parrish]

I will. Did you ever text Scott Drew that highly inappropriate text that we were going to do in the middle of the show? You ever send that or. No.

[Matt Norlander]

Just decided to go out and ruin college basketball first weekend of 2026. You say it to Scott Drew's face.

[Gary Parrish]

Did you send the text? Yes or no?

[Matt Norlander]

I did not. No.

[Gary Parrish]

Loser. Yeah. Okay. That's what I thought.

[Matt Norlander]

You say it to Scott Drew's face. You think this Michigan team is better than his national championship team at Baylor. If you're going to say it, you say it to his face.

[Gary Parrish]

His national championship at Baylor didn't even finish ahead of Gonzaga in the final rankings. Lest you forget, my friend, say it.

[Matt Norlander]

To his face if you want to.

[Gary Parrish]

I've got the same book in my eye for anyone that's listening, which, again, is the majority of people who take this podcast. Paris has been holding up the road to joy in front of the camera for about 90 seconds now. I got my own book behind me right now. It's somewhere over there. But I'm. I'm all good.

[Matt Norlander]

I don't.

[Gary Parrish]

I'm not gonna say it to the face there.

[Matt Norlander]

You won't say it to his face. That's not his face.

[Gary Parrish]

It is. You know what I'm saying.

[Matt Norlander]

That's Kendra's face.

[Gary Parrish]

Michigan 13 and no Yaks at Lindenborg, I'm told, is just fine. He left the game, didn't play the final 15 minutes. They didn't need him. He got kicked in the shin. He'll be good to go. So if. I don't know if Dusty has provided an update as of us doing this podcast, but I checked in on that late Friday and was told he is good to go. Michigan just continues to pace to destroy fools and I don't know when they're catching. They didn't even play. This was like a B minus game. They shot poorly, had some foul trouble. Didn't matter. 96.66 what do you want? Probably disappointed they didn't hit a hundy again. You want to keep a move in Arizona?

[Matt Norlander]

I should point out a gift from the schedule and gods, guess who doesn't have to go to Pinnacle bank this season.

[Gary Parrish]

Michigan.

[Matt Norlander]

That's right.

[Gary Parrish]

That's their only scheduling break. If you actually Michigan's got. They've got to go to. They go to Purdue.

[Matt Norlander]

Yes.

[Gary Parrish]

To Michigan State.

[Matt Norlander]

Correct.

[Gary Parrish]

To Illinois. Michigan State's obviously rivalry game. So that's a two play to Iowa, I believe. Yeah. And they. And those aren't return games. So from this. So they're only scheduling break. It's not going to Pinnacle bank. But otherwise it's not. It's not tilted that heavily in their favor which is a tad ironic considering just how. How great they are. Arizona and Iowa State continue to be undefeated. Arizona World Utah, As I mentioned, Iowa State discards West Virginia. Just worth noting in the segment here because they're still undefeated and still continuing a pace and Joshua Jefferson still looks awesome. Any quick notes on them before we dash it out A little mid major love.

[Matt Norlander]

Well, so Arizona and Iowa State, you know, both undefeated, both out of the Big 12. Arizona favored in every game going forward according to Ken Palm. Even at Houston, at byu, at Kansas, at Baylor, at Baylor. Iowa State favored in every remaining game going forward until they play at Arizona on March 2nd. So you know, this is shaping up to be an awesome conference race and we haven't even mentioned Houston because they're not one of the undefeated teams like Houston could, could obviously very reasonably win that league even though they're not part of this conversation. I would just say that, you know, Momcilovich, 26 points in this one. All five starters at Iowa State are now averaging double figures and points. So I just love the recipe that they put together. We've talked about this before. We can move on. But three returning starters, transfer portal plug and play and international prospect who projects as a future NBA guy. Like that's, that's, that's the starting lineup. It, it fits together well. They are all five averaging double figures and TJ Otzelberger's gonna keep a streak of never missing the NCAA tournament at Iowa State alive pretty easily.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, no good stuff out of them. And we'll see if that Iowa State, Arizona game in the start of March, we'll see if whether or not that's got, you know, projected one seed consequences hanging the balance or not. We could have a pretty crowded race for the ones. I'm interested to see how that grows over the next two months. Let's talk Redhawks 150120 against D1 opponents. I think about 12 minutes ago you kind of just tossed in there that they were expected to be good. They weren't expected to be the best team in the league, maybe not the second best team.

[Matt Norlander]

This is all I'm basing it on. Wally Zerbiak texting me throughout the offseason.

[Gary Parrish]

Objective observer, a reliable narrator.

[Matt Norlander]

No, All I remember is while he was. When we tried to predict in the preseason. This is hand to heart true. When we did the pot of the preseason where we tried to predict the last undefeated team. I think I went with ucla. Wrong.

[Gary Parrish]

Wrong.

[Matt Norlander]

Do you remember who you went with?

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, Michigan.

[Matt Norlander]

Damn.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah.

[Matt Norlander]

I wish you would have said somebody different like Eastern Michigan or something. Here's what Wally said. He listened to that episode and he said, hey, you know who, you know who really might be the last undefeated team in the country? And I said, who? Wally? And he. And I said, really? And he said, yes. Look at the schedule. Nobody would play them. I said, okay. I put it back in the back of my head and now here we are.

[Gary Parrish]

They're looking great. Josh is telling us. Akron 11 first place votes. Miami University. The Redhawks had two first place votes in the preseason Mac poll. They, they were expected to be good.

[Matt Norlander]

No one thought, I don't pay attention to the Mac poll. I just listen to Wally, whatever Wally says. Yeah, I didn't see the Mac poll. I just listened to Wally. I just. Nevertheless, I don't look at Mac polls. I just look at Wally's Urbiak text. So regardless of what the Mac poll said, the text message I got said, keep an eye on Miami Ohio. They could be the last undefeated team.

[Gary Parrish]

And now here we are, 15 and oh, really impressive. Got it done against those very same zips over the weekend. What's your. What are your further impressions of this team outside of what may or may not have been told to you by Wally?

[Matt Norlander]

I have zero impressions about this team other than what Wally has told me about this team. But in all serious, just some, some numbers. 99th Ken Palm. So like they're nowhere close to getting a number by their name in any sort of traditional way. They've got three.

[Gary Parrish]

I Mean that that shouldn't be the case. By the way, they objectively have one of the 30 best resumes in all of college basketball. They should be knocking on the door being ranked. You look at the resume based stuff that they have done. They are very close to having one of the 25 best resumes in the sport by getting to this point at 15.

[Matt Norlander]

And now perhaps it's not, it ain't the way I would do it.

[Gary Parrish]

Fair enough. They will receive votes in Monday's poll. I would rank them, but I understand why they won't be. But they're not. I. If you think they're not close, they, they actually are. Because most teams wouldn't get to this point at 15. Zero. That's all. Okay, let me stand up for Wally. I know you're listening. Nine days after this podcast publishes. Who's standing up for your team now, huh?

[Matt Norlander]

Okay, okay, let me rephrase. They might be close to the AP poll. I have no control over that. They're not close to the top 25 and one. They're 99th at Ken Palm. Three of the 15 wins are over 91 teams. They've got five more against teams in the three hundreds. Only one top 100 win and that is the win this weekend over Akron. By the way, Akron is the only other top 100 team in the Mac. And Miami doesn't have to go to Akron. They're done with them now until the conference tournament, perhaps.

[Gary Parrish]

That's a hell of a break.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, so they're done. Like it's, they're favored in every game going forward. Just like Michigan, just like Arizona. So they could take this zero in the loss column deep. I mean, they could really reasonably be the last undefeated team in college basketball. And like, don't hold me to what I've already said. I'll reevaluate when I need to reevaluate. But both of these things I think are true right now. I could easily see Miami Ohio being the last undefeated team. And I could see them being that. And then looking on that same day like, hey, my, that's it. Everybody's lost except Miami. Miami Ohio. And then I look at the top 25 and 1, I go, yeah, they're still not here. There's just, you know, it's, it's an awesome story. But if you put them on a neutral court against any team in the top 25 and 1, they would be pretty significant. Under Bucks.

[Gary Parrish]

Correct. But a top five, top ten team from three point range this season, top five from the foul Line. They've got some good indicators that this is a real legit Cinderella candidate. Interested to see how far Travis Steele can take him? If you've lost track, yes, that is former Xavier coach Travis Steele. Gotten a great second lease on life there in the Mac. Good to see. And one of the seven unbeatens here and. And the rare mid major to get to, you know, second week of January without a scratch. Plenty more to get to. By the way. Pretty, pretty bulky weekend gp. You want to take one more break and then dive into the most notable results?

[Matt Norlander]

I do, but I want to get us on the record before we get to the weekend whip around. The last team to lose a game this season will be what team?

[Gary Parrish]

Well, I think we find ourselves in the position where you have to change your answer from the preseason. I don't. Right.

[Matt Norlander]

I think that's true. And I was going to change mine to yours, but I don't want to copycat.

[Gary Parrish]

You're welcome.

[Matt Norlander]

I want to be able to root against you now. I want to root against you.

[Gary Parrish]

Okay, well, I'm sticking with Michigan. I feel very good about the Michigan pick.

[Matt Norlander]

Okay. I do have Michigan at 20 and oh heading to Michigan State and if you're 20 and oh heading to Michigan State, that might be good enough to make you the last undefeated team. But I'm going with Miami Ohio. Wally told me to. Wally told me.

[Gary Parrish]

Trying to have it. Trying to have his cake and eat it too. Yeah, that's what's happening right now. You want that cake?

[Matt Norlander]

I do want that cake. I would like to eat the cake too. Hey, you want to do the weekend whip around?

[Gary Parrish]

It is a loaded one.

[Matt Norlander]

I say our little buddy Braden Smith set a record this weekend. Let's discuss it next. First though, pay my bills, get some words from partners. It is time for the weekend whip around Saturday night. This is a big primetime game. Network television. Purdue 89, Wisconsin 73. Braden Smith made history. 14 points, 12 assists. That gives him 893 assists in his career. He is now the Big Tens all time assist leader, breaking a record previously held by former Michigan State star Cassius Winston.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, you know, I gotta do to myself here in the preseason. You. You're gonna be right. Preseason. Wow.

[Matt Norlander]

I didn't think I was right about anything in the preseason. I can't wait to hear this preseason.

[Gary Parrish]

We. I'm pretty sure you said that he'd break the record, Bobby Hurley's assist record. And I said no.

[Matt Norlander]

Right.

[Gary Parrish]

Conservatively. If he can average. If he can average 9, which is below his current Average. And Purdue, like, loses in the Big Ten semis and only makes the Sweet sixteen and he averages nine. He's going to break it.

[Matt Norlander]

That's.

[Gary Parrish]

That's not a Big Ten title game run. That's not making the Final Four. I think he's gonna do it. He is. Pretty big acclaim over the weekend. Deservedly so. They win 89.73 at Wisconsin. It's not close. I. If they get to 20 games and he averages not a game, Braden Smith is going to be the all time leader in assists overall for a career. And that's pretty, that's pretty awesome and pretty outstanding. Any quick thoughts on Braden before? I got a couple notes on Purdue, but I wanted to at least give him some shine at the top of the third block here because he is. He's maybe becoming underrated again because of how amazing the freshmen are. That was one of my biggest takeaways of the weekend is are we getting to the spot where we are underrating how good of a college player he is again? Because I, I think we're drifting into that territory.

[Matt Norlander]

Wait till you see when we do the podcast asking this question. Big bold letters. Josh is going to type them. Is, Is Braden Smith even the best point guard in the Big Ten? Because Bennett Sturt's gonna get that one going in a minute.

[Gary Parrish]

Maybe. I don't know. He's. He's a really good player. But right now it's. I think, I think Smith is commanding in the lead in the way that he plays.

[Matt Norlander]

Arguing with you. I'm just saying I could see it, I could see it getting there. I'm not arguing with you.

[Gary Parrish]

You're saying we should toss up one of those just, you know, hair deep thumbs that just trigger everyone just completely overreaction. Just, just to fire up the, the angry YouTube viewers.

[Matt Norlander]

I think that's the way you're supposed to do it. I think that's what, I think that's what they.

[Gary Parrish]

Josh's message us, that he will never type that.

[Matt Norlander]

I'll type it for him. I'll get it in there. I'll give you some numbers. Bobby Hurley holds the record, of course, 1076. So Braden Smith is now 183 assists behind Bobby Hurley. He's averaging right now 9.6 assists per game. At that rate. At that rate, 9.6. He needs 20 more games.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah.

[Matt Norlander]

Purdue has 17 more in the regular season.

[Gary Parrish]

Yep.

[Matt Norlander]

So he's got to stay healthy and, you know, they've got to play probably deep into the Big Ten tournament and probably, you know, we'll see. But might have to make a little bit of a run in the, in the NCAA tournament.

[Gary Parrish]

Two needs bracket and he gets there because they'll play, they'll be auto slotted into the quarters. Right. So win the quarterfinal and then win the semis and then get into the sweet 16. And then again then I think you're comfortably there. If you tell me they play six postseason games, no matter how they happen, he's definitely breaking the record.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah. Because he would at 9.6. He needs 20 to eclipse it with six postseason games. He's at 23 games.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah. And then he needs like, he needs like 8 and 8 and barely change. I think in that scenario.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah.

[Matt Norlander]

So I, I, I thought he would get there in the preseason. Wally told me he thought that too, so that was reassuring. And he's on pace to do it. He's on pace to do it.

[Gary Parrish]

Might have to fact check that. Lost in some of this is the fact that Purdue has the best offense in the sport because of Braden Smith primarily. They're now at 129.2 points per 100 possessions, adjusted for competition best in all of men's college hoops. They've won five straight games. Have Purdue by an average of 26.6 points. Really, really, really good team. Wisconsin's going the other way. 03 versus ranked teams this season. Lost by 28 against BYU, lost by 30 against Nebraska, lost by 16 here. Oh, and 4 and 104 in quad one. Games 9 and 1 and all others. Bucky's chances at making the big dance very much up for debate as we get ready for the second week of 20.

[Matt Norlander]

Can I take you down to Orlando?

[Gary Parrish]

Let's do it.

[Matt Norlander]

Central Florida 81, Kansas 75. I guess the story is UCF is 12 and 1.

[Gary Parrish]

I think that is the Prime. It's the 1A to the 1B that we also have to talk about.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah. So let's start there. UCF 12, 1 lone lost to undefeated Vanderbilt. So nothing bad in the loss column. Now got wins over Kansas and Texas A and M. That's not great, but it's enough to get you in the top 25 and 1. I moved them all the way up to 19 CF ahead of Kansas right now. I think UCF has a better resume than Kansas right now.

[Gary Parrish]

I think that is objectively the case at this point after what happened in Orlando. And the bigger picture here is Johnny Dawkins was not expected to be the coach this season. Whether it was a, a retirement of his own accord or or a gentle force out behind the scenes. It just never happened. And now look at him. 12 and 1 and in the midst of his best season ever. UCF only has one other tournament run under him. It's when they almost took out Zion and Co in the tournament back in 2019. Riley Coogel has found a place where he can thrive. He had 19 in this game. The team in general just played composed, unintimidated, which was especially interesting considering what happened in the first half, which we're going to get to in just a second. But good on you Knights. You know we are not shy on some really good surprising storylines in this sport this season. We've talked about a few of them on this very show. Put UCF near the top of the list. Don't know if this is going to be a team that's of 4, 5, 6 seed quality. I think that's still to be determined. But yet Kansas come to your place, took care of business. You get the win. That's mighty impressive. Now they were unintimidated despite the fact that Darren Peterson had 23 in the first half and then he finishes with 26 and six boards was, you know, reliable from deep. Again, only got what, five minutes in the second half sat for the final however long that was 12 and change or whatever it was there. I just. Where do we go with the story? GP it is, it is. Kansas fans got to be out of their minds on this. It's all the more frustrating because there's so much happening with this story. You see him play and it's like damn dude, that really might be the best player in the sport. He can't stay on the floor. And yet even despite of that, it's like Melvin Council grows into the second coming of Jordan. Once Darren Peterson can no longer play in the game, it's weird. They could have won the game without him if he had been available on the floor. All credit to UCF and how it played. If Darren Peterson's on the floor, I don't think UCF wins the game. Got a couple quotes from Self. You may well have them as well, but we only found out afterward that Peterson was on a minutes restriction which is not like this big stunning news. But when you lose the way you lose and then the information is passed along after the fact, it's why KU fans, I'm not gonna say, although some of them are about to and however listening to this on their runs in their cars are about to dispute what I might say. Some of you, I'm not going to say they're fed up with the Darren Peterson stuff because you're going to take them any way you can get them. But this is an absolute roller coaster ride. And as we, as we do this show here on Sunday night, KU's got a game less than 48 hours from now and it's to be determined whether or not he's even going to play in the game.

[Matt Norlander]

Whole thing's weird. And you're exactly right. Like, where do you go with this? On some level, this should be the A block of a college basketball podcast this weekend. The projected number one pick is unbelievable for a half and then sidelined again. But we've talked about that every other.

[Gary Parrish]

Week this time, no, this time now on the show that has come up.

[Matt Norlander]

I don't have anything new to say about it. I, I, you know, my first attempt at discussing this was like, hey, everybody just calm down. It's a soft tissue injury. And you know, I talk about the Memphis Grizzlies every day. Have you seen the injury report? It ain't nothing but soft tissue injuries. And so this is just the way these things are handled when basketball players are worth hundreds of millions of dollars and Kansas happens to have one who's worth hundreds of millions of dollars. So it is what it is. The only thing I ever pushed back on with any sort of energy was stop it with he doesn't want to play. Of course he wants to play. That's why he enrolled. It's why he practices, it's why he puts the uniform on, it's why he' in games he wants to play. It's just his body is breaking down on him for weird reasons. And then here we are again in the second half. And so afterward Bill mentions the minutes restriction, but never put a number on it, to my knowledge. And then, you know, I wasn't in the rooms able to answer the follow up questions. But like he played 18 minutes in the first half. So if you're on a minute restriction, why are you playing 18 minutes in the first half? Like, nobody knows more about minutes restrictions than I do. Talking about the Grizzlies. Every day by the whole team lives on a minutes restriction. All right, if, let's just say that for the sake of the conversation, the minutes restriction was the number that he hit, which was 23. And I don't know that to be true, but like you would. How about this? Forget that number. Whatever the minute restrictions is, it's got to be less than 40. And he played 18 in the first half and I know that was because of foul trouble and other things. And Bill said after the game he felt like he had to keep him on the court. Plus he's cooking, so let him go. Yeah, yeah. I mean, he's killing, he's 23 points at the half. But then perhaps because he played 18 minutes in the first half, I guess there's no way to know this, but his body started bothering him again. His legs started bothering. I think that was the quote from Bill. His legs are bothering him.

[Gary Parrish]

The exact quote is among a few of them to reporters. Quote, that's been a concern that his legs feel differently in the second half. And a lot of that I think today was just based on if I could have played him less in the first half, would he have been more available in the second half? And I think the answer is probably yes, end quote.

[Matt Norlander]

I know, like, yeah, that's just throwing.

[Gary Parrish]

Their phones again, their houses and apartments and driving through. Yeah, it's wild.

[Matt Norlander]

Now let's, let's make sure we're on the same page here because I, I've heard other people talk about this and seen people tweet about it and I don't know that everybody is interpreting the situation the same way. So let's make sure we are. And if not, let's try to get on the same page when Bill says minutes restriction. Let me ask you this. Do you believe Darren Peterson didn't play in the final 10 minutes because of a minutes restriction or because his legs were bothering? Because here's what I think. I think these things are getting conflated. I think Bill said he was going to be on a minute's restriction, but then like we had to really play him in the first half for a variety of reasons. And I think because we played him so much in the first half, it might have caused problems in the second half. But if the question is why didn't Darren Peterson close the game, it's not because we had already hit the minutes restriction and he was not allowed to go back in as much as his legs were bothering him. What do you make of all that?

[Gary Parrish]

I, this is a riddle wrapped inside an enigma put inside of a mystery. I mean, I, I'm guessing it's because of how he was feeling.

[Matt Norlander]

That's what I assume.

[Gary Parrish]

Is it a weird ass visual to see this dude just pop back in after a hiatus? And it's like, that's why some people can't get off the idea that it's him, that's the number one pick in the draft. And, and Then they're caught in this big game on the road, competitive, and every two minutes, there's a camera shot to him just sitting on the bench.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, no, it's tough. I understand the frustration from Kansas fans. I'm not telling you not to be frustrated. I would be. I'm frustrated. I don't care. I'm just frustrated having to talk about this all the time. But, yeah, I. I just push back on the idea that it's anything other than his. His legs are bothering him. Like, Darren Peterson's not a dumb dude. He knows what the reaction is and what it's been and what it. What it was going to be before he sat and watched the rest of the game. He knows what people are going to say about that. I just refuse to believe that he doesn't want to play or that it's anything other than his legs are bothering him. And I wish they would stop. I wish they would stop bothering you.

[Gary Parrish]

We can. We're gonna talk about this again on Wednesday because either he's gonna play or he's not. And it will be. We'll have something to say about again so we can keep it moving. There's still plenty to get.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, but just for. For. I. I did. I didn't realize this until I read it, but I thought this was interesting. Michael Swain at 247 Sports had this in a piece that he wrote about it. Darren Peterson has only played in the final four minutes of a game this season once Kansas has played 15 games, he's appeared in five, hasn't been able to finish the last two he's appeared in. And if you just. Final four minutes of any of these 15 games, the only time he's been on the court for any of them is in the final minutes against North Carolina. Outside of that, they have to finish games without him without exception. That's tough. And it's tough in multiple ways. It's tough because you play them without your best player. That's never ideal. But then when your best player comes back, it just. I don't want to say it messes up anything, but it changes everything. It changes everything. Yeah. And that can. That in and out of the lineup stuff can. Can. It just really can make it difficult for a team to ever find its rhythm. I feel like I've said this 17 times a season. I hope this is the last time we talk about this, but I'm starting. But I'm starting to wonder whether that's even a smart thing to say because we keep talking about this.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah. Speaking of Carolina, it loses and not only does it lose, it was caught in a good game and then suddenly it just let go of the rope and SMU was doing a great job pulling on the other end of it. 9783 the Ponies get their first ranked win as a program since 2022. They have now had 95 plus has SMU in three straight games for the first time since 1976. Spirit of 76 hello. Let's go. Shouts to weane Boopy Miller. He's getting more love. We had some people write in recently say can't believe you guys don't talk about Boopy more. Boopy's getting talked about weekly at this point at 27 and 12 in this game. The 12 being dimes shot better than 75% from the field in doing so. He was the first player shouts to CBS Sports Research for this outstanding nugget. The first player in the last 30 years with at least 25 points, 12 assists and 75% shooting against a ranked opponent. He was big time. SMU hit 14 threes again in this game. It's the first time in the history of the program it's gone back to back with at least 14 triples. Andy Anfield doing one hell of a job. He left USC under just some quasi weird cadences and circumstances to take the SMU job. They get thrown into the acc. What is this even going to be right now? SMU is a really really good team and it's a ranked team. GP's got them ranked. They're going to be in the rankings when they refresh on Monday. Pony sit here at 122 and got a validating win. Carolina was holding teams under 62 a game in the seven games prior. All of those Carolina wins and then SMU says F that we're going for 97 on your head. It's a long road for Carolina in January. Gp, they've got five road games. This is the first of five and I thought, I thought the win was, was really, really, as I said, validating for SMU to get this win and vault itself into the national conversation.

[Matt Norlander]

So that's too straight with Blue Bloods losing on the road. Let's do another one. Alabama 89, Kentucky 74, 4 UK now 9 and 5 with a 22 million dollar payroll. Now I kept them in the top 25 and 1 and then got, I got called dumb over and over again by people on Twitter. But here's my argument. The five losses are to Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, Gonzaga and Alabama.

[Gary Parrish]

The final Loss volume has to matter, though. I mean, I get that. But at some point, how many they have to lose before they get booted out? For a team that might have one.

[Matt Norlander]

Or two, that's all I For me. For me, as long as your losses are to nothing but teams ahead of you, you're fine in my book, period.

[Gary Parrish]

I mean, I would push back on that. I wouldn't have Kentucky ranked. They're not going to be ranked tomorrow. Their wins over Indiana and St. John's they don't have any wins of real value at this point. Those are not. St. John's isn't a project.

[Matt Norlander]

You cannot, on the same podcast, say Miami Ohio's top 30, but Kentucky can't be top 25.

[Gary Parrish]

I absolutely can. In fact. Okay, let's see where Kentucky is right now in. Yeah. Miami Ohio and strength of record is 25. Kentucky is 47. Kentucky is behind Miami Ohio at Keep KPI. It's behind Miami Ohio. It wins above bubble. Resume wise. Yes, Kentucky does not have as good of a resume right now as Miami Ohio. That's what the numbers say.

[Matt Norlander]

So that's what those numbers say. But.

[Gary Parrish]

And those numbers are important. They're not just breaking it down into Quad one, Quad two, which can sometimes have a. An arbitrary line of delineation. I don't. Listen, I'm not going to lose a wink over sleep over this. I honestly don't think Kentucky as a top 25 team is justifiable heading into Monday. And I don't think you'd find a Kentucky fan that would disagree with me on that.

[Matt Norlander]

I'm sure you could find one.

[Gary Parrish]

Maybe one. Maybe one. But like St. John's we're going to get to them in a second. St. John's is crap. India has proven itself as an NCAA tournament to this point and this is the guy I am, the guy who had Kentucky top three in the country heading into the season, who believed in Kentucky to turn a corner after getting the wins over Indiana and St. John's and I'm still not ready to bail on this team because you had to open up SEC play on the road against a really good Alabama team that got Filon back. So we'll see if this is truly just the okay, early league play. Road team could be one of the 10 best teams in the country. Maybe we look back and it's not a big deal. I want to see what Kentucky can do over the next two weeks and see if they truly can level up here. But quite clearly it can't just be like low was Good. Quaintance was sort of neutralized in this game. It was way more about Alabama than Kentucky. Always showed up. He played well. I want to give credit to and I know you got more than this but I do want to give credit to see a blue writer, Dylan Ballard, because he had a really good note that I didn't realize credit to him. This is when you have people that cover the team on a day in day basis, they pay attention to this stuff. Jalen Lowe, Otega O Way, Cam Williams, Mohammed Diabate and Jaden Quaintance played most of the second half in the St. John's win including a 100 run that helped flip the game in Kentucky's favor against Alabama. They run the floor for one minute combined in this game. Now Cam Williams was a non factor having a couple of really good games. So I don't know his involvement or not, but finding himself running into an issue that Khaled would have sometimes like Kentucky fans, you probably feel like you can't get out of this nightmare. So certain where it comes to like okay, what are the rotations that we're clearly seeing benefits from and why aren't our coaches going to more. Well right here we saw real evidence of one that had been working and wasn't utilized over the weekend.

[Matt Norlander]

I agree with you. That is interesting. I'd be more interested in knowing just the Low diabate acquaintance combination. Just those three, because I think those are the perhaps the three most important. How many minutes were they on the court together? Because to me at the CBS Sports Classic, that was my column in the second half, those three appeared on the court together for the first time all season and that's when things took off. Then obviously you didn't get that in the subsequent game because Low didn't play. But then you had an opportunity for that on Saturday and either they didn't use it enough or it didn't work well because they got embarrassed. I would just bottom line, then we'll move on because it ain't that important. But forget Kentucky and forget what you think about St. John's and I'm not even disagreeing with about St. John's I hate that team more than any team I've ever hated in my life. But just you have two top 30 Ken Palm wins and every loss is to a team ranked ahead of you in the top 25. And one, I got no problem ranking that thing that makes sense in my head. You've got two top 30 wins and no losses to anybody below you. That makes that makes sense to me plus the computer numbers. Like they're still 24th at Ken Bomb. They still have the metrics to, to some.

[Gary Parrish]

I don't disregard that as well. I just, I have some metrics backed up.

[Matt Norlander]

Let's not sit here argue about rankings.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah. Can we at least give Bama some love real quick though? They've won four in a row against Kentucky for the first time in program history. Aiden Holloway had a really, really nice game. I don't want to make the Kentuckiers all about the Kentucky side. I thought that NATO's team showing up and getting it done because they can be a little bit unpredictable here. They had a really nice game plan and I was, I was impressed with the way that they were able to pull away and get it done. They had a freshman, Amari Allen who stepped up, had 11, 9, 3 and 31 minutes. I thought that was mighty impressive. And they took advantage of a trend that Kentucky's had this season. Kentucky is 1 in 4 when it doesn't play in its home building and it's one in five now against ranked teams this season. Good on Bama I huge game. We'll talk about on Wednesday show. But Vandy and Alabama took care of what they needed to set up really one of the more unexpected, highly anticipated mashups of January. That's all.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, with Alabama. You know, when we did the dribble handoff a couple of weeks ago, it appeared the SEC was up for grabs. We asked who's going to win the sec. I think six of us answered. There were four different answers. I went with Alabama and obviously everything we saw this weekend suggests that that's a pretty reasonable pick. We'll see if it holds up, but absolutely. Alabama, Vanderbilt on Wednesday. That could be a matchup of of the two best teams in the sec. Theoretically that could be the game that that determines the regular season championship. Elsewhere the SEC, Arkansas 86, Tennessee 75. Story here, Darius Acuff 29 points. He's now averaging 19 and a half points, 6.0 assists. The latest likely one and done freshman point guard to star for John Caliperi. The list goes back decades and it is littered with multimillionaires. And looks like Darius Acuff's gonna gonna be the next.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah. Arkansas fans gotta be thrilled because Tennessee had had this program's number over the past five, six seasons and Acuff put an end to that. He has had 24 points per game and almost 50 from beyond the three point arc in his last five games period. He showed up well against the ranked opponents 18.6 points, 5.7 assists against ranked foes this season. For Acuff, he is looking very much the part, very impressive, very smooth player and was extremely impressed with, with how good he looked. And I actually thought it was, I thought it was notable that Arkansas, although it got the benefit of the venue, it had been shooting well from three. It was like 46% in its previous five games. It was only seven of 23 in this game and yet still won with with plenty of breathing room. I thought that was. I thought that was notable for sure. So a good win for the Hogs and good on Calipari on weekends like this. Kentucky stumbles. Cal's really got it going with, with Arkansas right now. The juxtaposition between those two entities is always going to be something worth bringing up when one is doing one thing and one is doing the opposite of that. What else you got from around the weekend?

[Matt Norlander]

Just one more from the SEC. Missouri 76, Florida 74. I think maybe in the SEC, the disappointing label gets attached to Kentucky because it's Kentucky and because it's 22 million. But you know, Florida, reigning champs, preseason top 10 team, now sitting here at nine and five. And the story continues to be the backcourt. I mean, Boogie Flam was 2 of 10, Xavier Lee 4 of 10. They combined to go 3 of 13 from 3. These were their targets for lots of money in the transfer portal and it's just not working out. Both are shooting below 40% from the field on the season. Go back to last season when they win the national championship with that trio of guards. Walter Clayton, Elijah Martin, Will Richard. Every one of them dudes shot above 44% from the field. Now there are two primary guards that replace those guys, both below 40% from the field. It's obviously more complicated than that, but that's where the conversation starts with Florida's troubles.

[Gary Parrish]

And we have a big stretch here. So when I talked to Cod golden after they lost at the Garden to UConn, he was, you know, reasonably confident that their worst ball was behind them and they'd actually been losing by close margins for the most part here. And I could, I could see the vision. Now you go on the road, you play Missouri loose by two. You know, it's a forgivable offense. But you're home against Georgia. We'll get to the dogs before we get out of this podcast. Home against Tennessee, at Oklahoma, at Vandy in our next four. If we're going to think Florida is going to be able to be in that not just SEC contender but can you actually play yourself into like right now Some predictors still have this as a top 15 team. If you're going to be that or knocking on the door of top 10 status, to me it's a non negotiable three and one in the next four minimum. We'll see if they can do that. Missouri, I thought that was you know, 11 and three. They hadn't played since they were lamb based it by Illinois in the bragging rights game. They get this done. It was an inspired effort to get to 11 and 3. When I see Florida play like if Florida could clone Thomas Hauck, they wouldn't lose a game. This dude does just everything right on the floor practically. And it was another really, really awesome game for him. I was really impressed by, by that late night. Saturday we had an incredible game on CBS Sports Network. I did not make it to the end. I'm curious, did you make it to the end of what went down out in San Diego on Saturday?

[Matt Norlander]

I was driving home from Lookout Mountain on Saturday and I got home, took a shower and yeah, we were in bed before the late night tips went officially final. So.

[Gary Parrish]

On Saturday I was taken in a ton of hoops. But we, we had to put down our dog in September and we had been looking at some rescues and you know, humane society about 30 minutes from us had one up that I'd seen a couple days prior. I was like, maybe this one's got some potential. And so we drove out, rescued this pup. Josh, you can flash, you can flash the pup on the screen if you want. It's the newest addition, Cutie.

[Matt Norlander]

Give me a name. What's the name?

[Gary Parrish]

Okay, so we agreed.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Caleb.

[Matt Norlander]

You did Caleb. I know you did.

[Gary Parrish]

You kidding me? My youngest wanted to name him Rome for Roma Dunes. Okay, we, but we said like if we're going to do the name we all have to be in agreement. Like when we picked him up, he was Max. But Max is the most predictable dog name and our in laws had a dog they had to put down like a year and a half ago who was also Max. It was just not going to be Max. And he'd only been Max for like three weeks since he was, he was rescued by animal control. They brought him in the whole deal. So we agreed and I swear this is getting back to the San Diego State boys to say game. We agreed that all four of us had to agree on the name. Well that's a disaster. Anyone that has had a taken a dog, had children. Everyone except my Wife was in on Leo. Everyone except one of my sons was in on Ringo. Big Beatles family couldn't do that. So I was looking up just like, interesting dog names. And I was like, what do you. And I honestly, I just tossed it out. I was like, I don't hate this. What do you guys think? And I threw out Bentley. And they're like, you know what? Yeah, let's do it. So that is Bentley. Bentley Norlander. Chill dog, kind of shy, ton of fun, loves to play in the snow. Good stuff. But he's. He likes to cuddle, which I love. So I was. I was fading because I just have done everything with this dog trying to watch all these games over the course of eight to 10 hours. And I was fading, fading. And he woke me. He kind of like startled me as I had the San Diego State. Boise State game on my TV. And I'm not kidding, GP with maybe like 15 seconds to spare. I see the back and forth of the game in regulation almost, almost. And the both. Both teams had their chances, didn't go in. I was like, okay, I'm kind of. I'm kind of invested here. And then he had to. Yeah, I had to take. I gotta take this dog out like once every. My wife's already taken him out since we started this podcast because you got a house. House. Break him the whole thing. He's feed on the rug three times already. It's a disaster. But we welcome the dog edition. Long story, way too long. I missed the. The end of this game because I was taking him outside and he had to poop one more time before the night was done. They wanted. They wanted the buzzer. Boise State was down 42 to 18 in this game. Got up 93.87 in the first overtime. BJ Davis stealing a three to get it done. Incredible job by San Diego State and I love my new puck. It was apparently dumb. Let me give you.

[Matt Norlander]

Let me give you some advice. Best investment you can make. Doggy doors.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, we're not gonna do that.

[Matt Norlander]

Incredible, incredible, incredible.

[Gary Parrish]

They go in and they go in and out, right? It's 15 degrees outside right now. Like, I know you don't have to worry about that in Memphis so much, but I don't know what that does to the heat situation in my den.

[Matt Norlander]

That's doggy door goes from our dog. One doggy door goes from our home into our garage. Other doggy door out the garage into the backyard. He goes through two doggie doors. And I am telling you, and I'm not sure this Makes me a good dog owner.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, we. He's a rescue, by the way. And one of the last things they told us was he will run and you will never see him again. You have to train him. He can't be off the leash. So. Yeah.

[Matt Norlander]

So, yeah, yeah. We lose our dog every two weeks.

[Gary Parrish]

It's no.

[Matt Norlander]

It's no big deal. But he goes.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

He.

[Gary Parrish]

We.

[Matt Norlander]

We've had. So in my life, I've had four dogs. Mickey, Piper, Lola and Luca. And Piper, Lola, Luca have all been in this house. And we put the doggie doors and they taught each other like Piper taught Lola, Lola taught Luca. And like, we don't. We don't take our dog out. He goes when he needs to go, comes back in when he needs to come back in. We do not stress about. Got to take the dog out, got to go for a walk, got to do that. We don't. That's not a thing. In our home, we've had dogs consistently here for, you know, 20 years. And we don't have to take them out because doggie doors are amazing. Unless the Internet says they're not. And that's a rude thing to do to a dog. Then I take it all back. I love a doggie door.

[Gary Parrish]

I'm sure it's less work for you. Why wouldn't you not? Yeah. Big time win in the Mountain West. The only one I'd give you Seaton Hall 1 dramatically on Sunday. Near the buzzer. 56, 54. Najee Hines. 3 point play, minute or a second and change to go 16 point comeback for the Pirates. After only getting 18 points in the first half, Creighton led for 37 of the 40 minutes on the road in this game, was up 16 points in the second half. Hall fart hard, forced two jump balls in the final 14 seconds. They get it done. 13 and 2 parish Seton hall rank them. Don't tell me you're gonna rank Kentucky and not rank Shaheen Holloway's Pirates. Don't tell me that.

[Matt Norlander]

I'm literally right now in this moment ranking Kentucky and not ranking Seton Hall. I'm doing it right now.

[Gary Parrish]

Hate to see it.

[Matt Norlander]

I'm doing it right now.

[Gary Parrish]

Sorry, Pirates fans, I got your back.

[Matt Norlander]

What you need to get is some doggy doors. They're terrific. We can get them on Amazon.

[Gary Parrish]

I gotta get an electric fence. That's what I gotta get.

[Matt Norlander]

We tried to do one of those in our front yard because I think it was Piper way back when, she was just going wild and she would just run right through it. It Was crazy. So I think we have, we have the remnants of a electric fence in our front yard, but I don't know what happened. Doggy doors is where it's at.

[Gary Parrish]

Look ahead to the weekend and then we can get out of here. Go, go on with our Sunday nights. Monday relatively slow. Yeah.

[Matt Norlander]

Nebraska at Ohio State. So like gotta be dialed in.

[Gary Parrish]

Road game, undefeated team. I'll be there right at tip.

[Matt Norlander]

And USC at Michigan State. So those are the two big ones, both in the Big Ten. On Tuesday we got a double header on CBS Sports Network. I will be in studio with Brent Stover, Wally Zerbiak and former NBA coach of the year Avery Johnson. Looking forward to seeing Coach Avery in in studio. George Washington at Dayton. Both those teams 20 in the A10. That'll be followed by UNLV at Wyoming. Elsewhere on Tuesday night. I mean there's some good ones. Duke at Louisville. Yep, probably game of the night. Georgia at Florida. St. John's at B. Butler. George Washington at Dayton. I mentioned that. Texas Tech at Houston. UCLA at Wisconsin, San Diego State at Nevada. What interest there?

[Gary Parrish]

Well, all right, let's bing bang boom these Louisville lost Friday at Stanford. Mikel Brown Jr. Hasn't played in what, four games in a row now because he has dealt with a lower back injury. So we have another high profile freshman that hasn't been as available as desired. His team losing as a result of it on the road. Now Louisville welcomes in Duke which won on CBS over the weekend. Cam Boozer had another really good game. Evans. Yeah, 28 points, 18 the second half. He was awesome. They got it done as expected. So now Duke's got to go on the road and play against Louisville. And I guess we wait and see on Brown status if he's going to be good to go. I mean, I don't know if it's mandatory that he's on the floor if you're going to beat Duke, but oh boy, it certainly feels it. So hopefully his back is okay. But that's one of those results. Friday night kind of slips through the cracks because it's. Well, first of all, it's Cardinals at Cardinal and that was Stanford's first ever win over Louisville. I think they'd only played four or five times. Good win for Kyle Smith's program, but still looks weird as hell to see Louisville playing it. That's sketchy.

[Matt Norlander]

It's a league game.

[Gary Parrish]

Nonetheless. It is a league game. Louisville took. Took the loss there. Any quickie thoughts on that before? I got a couple things on Georgia.

[Matt Norlander]

Obviously you Would want your one and done lead guard to be available. But I think that Louisville team, even without Brown in that building with that crowd, they go with that game. Without Michael Brown. I don't know that I'll pick to do it. But they, they can win that game without Michael Brown.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah. In fact hold on. Let me look up something real quick here. Duke has. Duke has had some struggles as of late. Duke has allowed. How about this. Duke has allowed 53.7% shooting. This is a CBS Sports research note but nonetheless notable allowed 53.7% shooting or better in three straight games for the first time in more than 16 years. So from a defensive standpoint has shown some vulnerabilities. We'll see on that. Georgia at Florida. That is Mike White coaching against his former team. We talked about Florida earlier in the pod. Georgia 13 and one for the first time since 1930. 31. The dogs were 23 and one as a starter that season. How about Georgia 103.1 points per game in the midst of this seven game winning streak. It's averaging 99.4 for the season. That is the most points per game of any team in the sport. Jeremiah Wilkinson leads this team in scoring 18.3 a night. He was awesome over the weekend in Georgia's game. I know Georgia has flown off the radar. Understandably so. The only loss in overtime against Clemson in Charleston in the Charleston classic. But they win 10400 over the weekend against Auburn. The first truly notable win so far. So you know the non con schedule was. Was atrocious and now you go and play at Florida. I don't know if that'll lead it. Probably the show on Wednesday. We'll talk about it regardless. Mike White might have a genuine squad but best to reserve a little more judgment on where it lands overall because it just hasn't played a lot of good opponents. But nonetheless 13:1 I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna shake a stick at that. And they. They just. They pour it in GP that team is destined to. To win more than not the season. Really impressed by them. I don't know how much you got to see or not. I know you were driving home but it was a really entertaining game against Auburn and I thought an important win for Georgia's just general psyche to make sure that it didn't lose its first notable game of the season.

[Matt Norlander]

It's. It's. I saw more of that game than I saw of anything because we were driving during the day stopped. I have an electric car so we had to charge and so we stop in Huntsville, right?

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, yeah. Charge the Cybertruck, of course, do not.

[Matt Norlander]

Have the cyber truck, but it is electric. Got to plug it in. And so we, you know, it's fun traveling with an electric car because you like it. It's a part of the experience. Like where are we charging and what are we going to do?

[Gary Parrish]

When's this going to run out of battery?

[Matt Norlander]

No, but they like put the chargers like around stuff and there's always like somewhere to go and something to do or something to look at. And anyway, this was perfect for the boys because guess what was right next to the chargers? Dave and Busters.

[Gary Parrish]

Oh, Dave and Busters. There you go. Good spot.

[Matt Norlander]

So I watched Auburn Georgia inside Dave and Buster's on like a 5,000inch television. And the way that it even got to overtime with the. The. The whole thing was just ridiculous. So, yes, I saw a lot of that game. I do have Georgia in the top 25 and one at number 26, one spot behind Kentucky, obviously. You go win at Florida, I'll respect you a little more.

[Gary Parrish]

Okay, fair enough. Fair enough. We get, we can't get out of here with talking about Johnny's. They're playing at Butler.

[Matt Norlander]

I'm not talking about Providence.

[Gary Parrish]

They got out to a 13 nothing lead in this game that Providence erased in the first half. I'm not talking double digit deficit with 14 and change to go. Got outscored St. John's 8 to 1 in the final two minutes or so.

[Matt Norlander]

What are we doing? Why are we talking about this? I thought we were done.

[Gary Parrish]

Deafen Vax was awesome. Zubie edge of 4, 33 and 15. Do I have that right? I'm double checking my notes here. Did he really go 33 and 15 in this game? In the loss?

[Matt Norlander]

He definitely went 33.

[Gary Parrish]

I'll be damned. He did 33, 15, three blocks, two steals and seven turnovers. Can we get our guy some help? I thought that's what the money's for. St. John's is 9 and 5, ranked 17th in Paris's rankings as of Sunday.

[Matt Norlander]

I got him out of there. I got him out of there. I got St. John's out of there. I'm disgusting. What are you doing, by the way? There's a certain pattern to this. We, we talk about. We're going to talk about. We take a break. We talk about something and we take a break. We. We can whip around and we. Then we look ahead and then we say bye and we go watch the Grizzlies and Lakers. And you just wanted to be like, hey, and before we get out of here, you see St. John's lose again. GP I'm like, what do you do? It's like you're rubbing it in my face. I hate that team. I hate them.

[Gary Parrish]

Are they. Hold on. St. John's in Kentucky. Right. But who's. I guess you've already answered it. You got St. John's out of your ranking and Kentucky's knocking on the door, top 20. So St. John's is the most disappointing team in college basketball this season, according to. Actually, no genuine question. More disappointing. St. John's or Marquette, which is what, 5 and 10 now after losing at UConn on Sunday? I think it's. I think it's Marquette.

[Matt Norlander]

Well, I didn't think Marquette would be I.

[Gary Parrish]

You yesterday, because I thought, well, here's. Here's where. Here's me. I'm owning myself as well. Okay. I had Marquette 25. 25 in the preseason. I was so wrong, it's not even funny. And you had to have thought that Marquette was going to the tournament, right?

[Matt Norlander]

Preseason, I would have said tournament team, but not top 25 team. Tournament team, but not tournament team because I respect what Shaka's built and done and never missed it there. But not top 25 team because I got real questions about the roster. I didn't think they'd be good. I didn't think they'd be this bad. I thought, St. John's will be great and they stink. Yeah. In my mind, I know this isn't true, but in my mind, St. John's the most disappointing team of all time. History of the sport. History of all sports.

[Gary Parrish]

We got some nominations for Florida in the chat. Not yet. Not compared to St. John. I understand it. Not compared to St. John's and not compared to Marquette, but yeah. GP Adam, number one. You had St. John's preseason number one.

[Matt Norlander]

Thanks. Thanks. I wish everybody else would remember, like, everybody had them. Top five. All I ever hear about.

[Gary Parrish]

I did not have stuff. 5.

[Matt Norlander]

All I ever hear.

[Gary Parrish]

I had a number 10. And I also was extremely wrong. So. But I was less wrong than everyone else. I was wrong. You gotta own it is what it is.

[Matt Norlander]

I. I am owning it, but I'm tired of owning it by myself. I wish some other people.

[Gary Parrish]

The responsibility that comes with off season rankings.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Damn.

[Gary Parrish]

And if St. John. Are you kidding me right now? If St. John's was the number one team in the country, every single podcast would open on St. John's that's right. Yes. Yes, you're trying. You're doing that. You're doing the thing with the cake again. You want to have your cake and eat it too. That idiom has been explained to me, I think, at least four times in my life. I still don't understand its origin or what it means. Gonna have to look it up again. Because if you're having your cake, aren't you eating it? I think it's one of those things where the. Where that's to become the saying, but that's not actually how the saying began. That wasn't the exact wording. You want to have your cake and eat it too. I think at the.

[Matt Norlander]

Kind of weird because I. I identify as somebody who I. I don't mind having my cake, but I often don't eat it too.

[Gary Parrish]

I am not big on cake. We need.

[Matt Norlander]

That's what I'm trying to tell you. I'm not big on cake.

[Gary Parrish]

I am. I'm. I turn down cake many times in a given year. And if it is cake and almost any other dessert option, it is always the other one.

[Matt Norlander]

I am not going like my sweet mother, you know, I told you my middle guy's birthday was last week, but we were. He was out of town for his. He left with his older brother and then we left town. So my. My sweet mother, she brought a birthday cake over for him tonight, like earlier today. And she was like, you want a piece? And anytime your mother asks you if you want a piece of cake that she made, you have to say yes, otherwise you hurt her feelings. So I said, of course, Mom, I would love a piece of cake. And so I. And then I got a fork and I took a bite. I was like, oh my, this is great. And then I just sort of walked away and left the rest of it there because I didn't want the rest of it. I wanted to have my cake to make my mom happy, but I did not want to eat it too. But in this world, I do like to have my cake and eat it too. And I also sometimes. As long as we're on the subject, you want to know something else about me? I like to count my chickens before they hatch. I count chickens. I count chickens sometimes before they hatch. I also like to have my cake and eat it too.

[Gary Parrish]

There's a Wikipedia entry for this as we wrap this show. Mercifully. Then the title for this Wikipedia entry is, you can't have your cake and eat it. You can't have your cake and eat it too. As a popular English idiomatic proverb or figure of speech. The proverb literally means quote, you cannot simultaneously retain possession of a cake and eat it too. Once the cake is eaten, it's gone. It can be used to say that one cannot have two incompatible things or that one should not try to have more than is reasonable. The proverbs meaning is similar to the phrases, you can't have it both ways and you can't have the best of both worlds. And the first usage of this was from 1538, Thomas Duke of Norfolk to Thomas Cromwell as quote, a man cannot have his cake and eat his cake. That's a show.

[Matt Norlander]

I hope so. Shouts to Devin Downey. Shouts to Chester, S.C. shouts to Terry Teagle. He's a legend. Shouts to cake. I love it.

[Gary Parrish]

Hey, legit band, by the way, love me some cake. I've seen can you destroys cake the food and I will not hear otherwise.

[Matt Norlander]

I've seen Cake the band at some festival somewhere.

[Gary Parrish]

It's great.

[Matt Norlander]

Shasta, Huck and Larnell, thank you guys once again for listening to and watching the Ion College Basketball podcast. Be not subscribed. Go subscribe anyway. What are you yelling about? Can I just say I still gotta, I still gotta pack. I still gotta pack tonight. All right, so, so let's, let's say goodbye and then on. Oh, hey, you know, hey, seriously, we need to update, folks.

[Gary Parrish]

What's up?

[Matt Norlander]

Do you want to tell people where we're gonna be on Tuesday at 1:00 clock Eastern?

[Gary Parrish]

CBS Sports Network.

[Matt Norlander]

That's right. We're gonna do a one hour television show on CBS Sports Sports Network. We're gonna put coats on and everything. It's gonna look so much more professional than this.

[Gary Parrish]

We'll see.

[Matt Norlander]

We'll see about that. So Tuesday, the next time you'll be able to see us Tuesday, 1:00 clock Eastern on CBS Sports Network. Then I'll be in studio Tuesday night. Then on Wednesday morning we'll be back with a fresh episode of the Ion College Basketball podcast where Norlando will figure out some way to bring up St. John's again. If it's up to me, we ain't talking about them ever again.

[Gary Parrish]

How about this? You get Kentucky out of those rankings and I won't bring attention.

[Matt Norlander]

All five losses are the teams ahead of them. I gotta go. Bye, bye, bye.

[Gary Parrish]

Paramount podcasts. Paramount plus is the new home of ufc. It isn't just combat, it's cinema. Unbelievable. Every strike is a frame.

[Matt Norlander]

What a shot.

[Gary Parrish]

Every rivalry a story.

[Matt Norlander]

Oh my goodness.

[Gary Parrish]

This canvas is more than a stage.

[Matt Norlander]

Are you not entertained.

[Gary Parrish]

It's where legends are made. UFC on Paramount.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Plus every Fight one subscription streaming this January.