Sparty wins/Purdue loses @ home for 4th time; UConn vaporizes St. John’s; Final Four And 2‼️with a special sendoff for Kyle Boone

Summary

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Eye On College Basketball – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Sparty wins/Purdue loses @ home for 4th time; UConn vaporizes St. John’s; Final Four And 2‼️with a special sendoff for Kyle Boone
Date: February 27, 2026
Hosts: Gary Parrish (GP), Matt Norlander, Kyle Boone (KB)

Overview

This emotionally charged and analysis-heavy episode covers the dramatic college basketball action from Thursday night, featuring Michigan State’s clutch win at Purdue, UConn’s historic demolition of St. John's, and a loaded “Final Four and 2” weekend preview. The show also features a heartfelt farewell to long-time CBS Sports college hoops writer and podcast regular Kyle Boone.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Michigan State Stuns Purdue at Mackey Arena

Segment Start: [02:35]

• Purdue, preseason No. 1, loses its fourth home game (76-74) to Michigan State—never expected at Mackey ([05:23])
• Michigan State now holds a crucial tiebreaker; possibility for a triple-bye in the Big Ten tournament
• Purdue’s struggles in close games raise questions about their championship tier status
• 12 lead changes, 7 ties: "Enjoyable watch," says GP ([05:56])
• Braden Smith passes 1,000 assists but misses potential game-winner from 30 feet
• Michigan State's defense praised: “Very good defensive team... not letting Purdue crack 80 at home” – GP ([04:37])
• Matt Painter laments turnovers leading to "pick sixes" and defensive lapses ([06:49])
• Norlander still sees Purdue as a potential “sneaky” 3- or 4-seed despite the slide

Memorable Quotes:

“Give credit to Michigan State. This is a very, very good defensive team that had a very good defensive night.” – Gary Parrish [04:37]

“Purdue is now taking on enough losses... Are you really in the tier of teams that can win a national championship? I think that is now fair to ask.” – Gary Parrish [05:58]

• Pundits reflect on precedent: Purdue's home record now worse than North Carolina’s disastrous preseason No. 1 season
• Upcoming schedules and tournament paths discussed

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2. UConn Vaporizes St. John's in Highly-Anticipated Big East Showdown

Segment Start: [17:24]

• Final score: UConn 72, St. John’s 40 (St. John's shoots 19.6%, misses final 24 shots, scores 0 FGs for last 17:28—jaw-dropping stats, lowest output ever by a Pitino team) ([20:40])
• Norlander, on scene, describes “the best crowd I’d ever heard in Hartford”—electric atmosphere boosting UConn’s performance
• UConn’s defense, a perceived weakness, is now a dominant force: “This is the UConn team that won back-to-back national titles.” – Matt Norlander ([21:31])
• Historical context: “Fewest points by a Rick Pitino team in his career... UConn had never beaten St. John's by a bigger margin.” – GP ([22:38])
• The defeat is so thorough, hosts wonder if it will define both teams’ March path
• UConn locks in as the likely final No. 1 seed; St. John’s “in danger” of a 6/7 seed and possible March fade ([24:45])
• Humor and humility as GP recounts social fallout after picking St. John’s as a “Final Four dark horse” just before the blowout ([27:02])

Memorable Quotes:

“Missed their final 24 shots in the game. That doesn't even sound real.” – Kyle Boone [17:53]

“This was so seismic and just jarring—does it just send these two teams in different directions?” – Gary Parrish [24:45]

• Shoutout to John Fanta for his “call of his young career” on the game broadcast ([34:00])

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3. “Final Four And 2” Weekend Preview & Picks

Segment Start: [36:14]

• Hosts (mainly KB) run through a loaded slate of top college matchups, naming the arenas (with jokes about honorary names, e.g., “JJ Redick Arena”)
• Game-by-game picks, quick breakdown of key stats, team momentum, and storylines

Highlighted Games & Insights

• Virginia at Duke: [38:03]
  — All three pick Duke to win, Virginia to cover a big spread; Duke’s team leadership highlighted
• Texas Tech at Iowa State: [42:43]
  — Debate over TTU’s "Ewing Theory" moment sans JT Toppin; road environment huge factor
• Kansas at Arizona: [47:17]
  — Arizona expected to win and cover at home, with discussion of player minutes, missing key pieces
• Arkansas at Florida: [51:47]
  — All hosts respect Arkansas’s talent ("Darius Acuff... one of the best freshmen Calipari has ever coached") but see Florida as the better (though possibly not by the spread)
• Gonzaga at St. Mary’s: [57:42]
  — End of an era in the WCC; sentimental reflection on the rivalry
• Michigan State at Indiana: [62:00]
  — Pick split; Indiana’s desperation at home vs MSU’s momentum

“I expect this [Arkansas-Florida] to be the best, most competitive 40 minute game of the weekend... the line being Florida -9.5 is too big.” – Gary Parrish [54:46]

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4. Kyle Boone’s Farewell Segment

Segment Start: [65:00]

The last major block of the show is dedicated to a warm, emotional sendoff to longtime panelist Kyle Boone.

• Boone is leaving CBS Sports for a local school district role with more work-life balance, seeking more time with his growing family, citing meaning, purpose, & life perspective after health battles ([71:17])
• Both Parrish and Norlander reflect on Boone’s immense value as teammate (“the nicest colleague I have ever had in my entire life” – Norlander [66:30]; “the best colleague, best teammate”—Parrish [69:47])
• Farewell includes reminiscences about inside baseball, on-the-road hijinks, covering stories, supporting each other during hospitalizations and personal challenges
• Boone humbly thanks audience and team: “This has been a moment where I can kind of reflect on the goodness that has been the last nine years... leaving with gratitude.” ([83:11])

Notable Farewell Quotes:

“If I ran a media company, I’d be trying to talk you out of what you’re doing. But the best thing about you is that you’re the best colleague, you’re the best teammate.” – Gary Parrish [69:47]

“You’ve been a wonderful guy to hop on and talk on the pod with, no matter the time of year... [always] a burst of positivity, wanting to know how you’re doing, trying to shine some real light on others.” – Matt Norlander [78:18]

“This is an amazing job. I don’t feel like you’re making the right decision when you love a job this much. But I do believe this is best for me.” – Kyle Boone [74:53]

• Boone affirms he’ll remain in the ION community as a fan and occasional pop-in guest

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “He launched from Harry and Izzy’s.” – Kyle Boone, on Braden Smith’s long missed final shot [08:24]
• “Cohen Carr is the best in-game dunker in all of basketball, period. He needs to literally save the NBA dunk contest.” – Gary Parrish [11:23]
• “St. John’s... loses by 32 as a ranked team for the first time since 1960.” – Gary Parrish [23:15]
• On the CBS schedule: “It’s called programming. We put that extra 15 minutes in there!” – Kyle Boone [14:27]
• The hosts parody broadcast formalities and their own quirks, showing their chemistry and humor throughout the episode.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:35] Purdue-Michigan State Game Recap
• [10:36] Tournament seeding implications, Big Ten tournament structure
• [17:24] UConn demolition of St. John’s
• [21:31] UConn’s defense and historical stats
• [36:14] “Final Four And 2” picks and previews
• [65:00] Farewell/Sendoff for Kyle Boone
• [67:19] Reflections on Boone’s impact, emotional closing statements

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Tone & Style

The episode blends sharp statistical/strategic analysis with banter, inside jokes, and heartfelt moments among colleagues. The show is both informative and entertaining, balancing deep dives into games with relatable stories about following college hoops as both reporters and fans, culminating in a moving sendoff for Kyle Boone.

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For New Listeners

You’ll get both thoughtful basketball insight and the camaraderie of lifelong basketball friends. This episode captures the unpredictable drama of the season’s home stretch and the bonds that power great sports coverage.

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Shouts to the one and only Kyle Boone.

Transcript

[Gary Parrish]

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[Kyle Boone]

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[Gary Parrish]

Foreign.

[Kyle Boone]

Gary Parrish welcome back CBS Sports I Own College Basketball podcast where we sometimes discuss camel fighting, dodo birds, Leaky Black Matt Norlander is here with me. So is Cal Boone. It's a three man I Own College Basketball Podcast for you on this Friday. If you're watching on YouTube honor Brandon Davies, smash that like button. And if you haven't yet subscribed to the CBS Sports I Own College Basketball podcast, please also do that wherever you listen to podcasts like Spotify and Apple. Let's get into it and the place to start, I think is Mackie arena, where Purdue hosted Michigan State in Thursday's best game. Final score Spartans 76, Boilermaker 74. That's a quad one win on the road. Purdue led by as many as seven in the first half by three at the break, but still found itself down eight with only 344 remaining. Regardless, Braden Smith, the preseason player of the year, he had the ball in his hands in the final seconds with a chance to win. He launched from 30ft, felt longer, but officially it was 30ft. He missed. Game over nor later. Let's start with the final shot. Did you approve of that pool or did you want something different and less so far away from the basket?

[Gary Parrish]

Not a good final shot. Gonna be a gonna be a big show today by the way folks. We're gonna get to you. I'm the reason why I'm laughing is I see no escalators in the live chat. We're getting to that, don't you There are Yukon fans already ready doing this. That's the B block folks. Let's deal with the big game from Thursday night. Yeah, let's already get into it. Oh, this is going to be a fun Friday show here. That was not the shot I wanted give credit to if I'm a Purdue fans. And that shot, the one not the shot I expected. Give credit to Michigan State. This is a very, very good defensive team that had a very good defensive night and said we're not letting Purdue Crack 80 on its home floor and not only that, we're not going to let them get the shot they want. I think they were trying to feed it into Trey Kaufman Ren for that final possession. Proper walling up. Great job by Carson Cooper who had himself a very nice night and so not a lot of time on the clock and I don't know if that was option two or three, but Braden Smith finds himself way further away from the 10 than he wants to be. He has to launch. It doesn't go in 76, 74 sparty to get Michigan State to 23 and five get the win over Purdue to put them ahead of Purdue in the standings. This is the only scheduled meeting between these teams this season. And so as a result, Michigan State now has a key tiebreaker for Purdue for the Triple by. Yes, triple by. Because there's 18 teams going to the Big Ten tournaments. And so that would mean Michigan State, if it can hold this would not have to play in the Big Ten bracket until that Friday. Whereas Purdue now it's 12 and 5. It might be getting going on on Thursday. Purdue has now lost four times this season at Mackie Arena. This was the preseason number one team. If you gave me the over under of one and a half losses four months ago at that building by Purdue, I would have easily taken the under. And if you gave me over under 0.5, I would have given real thought that take the under there. It's four. That's the most since the 201920 season. This team. Listen, it was a heck of a game. 12 lead changes, seven ties, enjoyable watch. Braden Smith passes 1,000 assists in the game, but he can't hit the big shot to win it for Purdue. You know, it just. Purdue is now taking on enough losses here where it's kind of like games are at home. Are you really in the tier of teams that can win a national championship? I think that is now fair to ask. The losses are to good teams. They don't have a single bad loss on the resume. And even the ones at Indiana, at ucla, they were close. They were quad one. Indiana might not be a tournament team, but there's some questions there. Kb, take it away. Your thoughts on anything game wise, big picture, it's all you.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, obviously not a good, not a good loss for Purdue. As you mentioned, they're 12 and 4 at home on the season, which is again you mentioned preseason number one team. Stunning to go 12 and four at home at this point in the season. It's not a bad loss to a really quality Michigan State team. And I think probably the story was more Michigan State just taking this game, not necessarily Purdue losing. Although to GP's point, maybe not the best shot to potentially in that game. Braden Smith hailing it from, you know, somewhere in Indianapolis. Jeremy Fierce was awesome. 12.6 assists. I thought he controlled the game. And in the second half Michigan State's defense kind of took over. That to me was the story. I have continued to kind of bang this drum, guys of Like Purdue is better than its record suggests, but they've continued to take on like these not necessarily great losses. They're 22 and 6 on the season. They've lost to, you know, UCLA, Indiana, and so yeah, it feels like kind of time is running out a little bit for this Boilermakers team. Matt Painter, after the game, like basically said there was a couple possessions there where like our turnovers led to pick sixes, which was like Michigan State just converting to easy buckets and transition. They've had some defensive lapses at various points throughout the season, including in those losses, including last night. I'm not totally panicked on Purdue and I feel like if they can figure things out, they're going to be A sneaky like 3, 4 seed in the NCAA tournament. That's a team that I'm probably going to be picking further than many people expect. But yeah, last night, just another loss at home that like probably not a lot of people would have expected coming into the season.

[Kyle Boone]

He launched from Harry and Izzy's. That's right, Braden Smith. He launched from Harry and Izzy's.

[Gary Parrish]

I don't feel like it was that far. I know that you need like borderline half court for me, but that's just me.

[Kyle Boone]

Like in all seriousness, when you are like a six foot guard and Cohen car is in front of you. Yeah, that is one reason to pull from 30. Like no question, because if you can't get by him, the closer you get to him, you're, you're trying to shoot over him and you're not doing that. So like that is why you pull from 30, because he's like, you know, 50 inch vertical. If it falls, it's an all time highlight. Yes, but in truth it wasn't close. I think the story is exactly what you just touched on. Four losses at home, like, that's crazy. I looked this up last night because I focused on in the top 25 and one this morning. North Carolina is like famously at this point, maybe the most disappointing preseason number one team of all time.

[Matt Norlander]

Right.

[Kyle Boone]

A few years ago, I think it was 20, 22, 23, preseason number one, they missed the NCAA tournament. Now let me be clear. Purdue's not missing the NCAA tournament. Purdue's going to be a top four seed in the NCAA tournament. Probably. But that North Carolina team, the one that was preseason number one and missed the Insula tournament, lost three times at home. Produce lost four. And then it's not just that. They also have, like you noted a loss to a UCLA team that is similarly or is disappointing. Relative to preseason ranking and then to an Indiana team that might miss the NCAA tournament. So whatever Purdue's problems are, they are smaller than most people's problems. Let's be clear. But this isn't what we expected. I, I, I, To Norlander's point, you could have any odds you want. Purdue loses four home games this season. No chance like that's not happening. See who got hurt, who died. But that roster is not losing that roster and that coach is not losing four times inside Mackie. And yet we've watched him do it and it's not even March yet. That's, that's pretty surprising.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, it is. And, and we'll see like how Purdue like truly responds down the stretch here at Ohio State, at Northwestern, home Wisconsin. Like if you're, if you are the team we think you are, you win those three. Going to the Big Ten tournament. I'm not even saying win the Big Ten tournament, but you know, can you reach the semis, kind of restore a little bit of your reputation. Purdue has taken a big picture image hit as a result of just its overall record. It was expected to be a team that was going to be in the mix to be a one seed. That's now done like never say never. But Purdue would literally have to run the table and get significant help to get to the one line. That's off the table now. Can you hold on to a 2 as a result of the win last night? Oh, by the way, Michigan State, which won in this building for the first time since 2014 and there had been some really agonizing losses to Purdue in Mackey. It ends that MSU jumps from the 4 line to the 3 line and rightfully so. This is a Sparty team now. That is a win at home over Arkansas. Has a win against North Carolina down in Fort Myers on Thanksgiving, opened up the season with I thought was a very tone setting, important win in the Big Ten by beating Iowa by almost 20, has a win over. What else is there? A good one. That's the home win over Illinois. That was the big one that I was trying to pull from, from my mind there. And then they get the Purdue one here on the road. I thought, I thought a very crucial win for Sparty's hopes of being a three seed or better. It's got at Indiana on CBS on Sunday, home to Rutgers and then at Michigan as always to wrap the regular season against the rival. So we'll see if they can manage a two in one run after this before they go into the Big Ten tournament, but credit to Sparty for getting it done. Jeremy Fears. It wasn't just. This was actually a. The game itself was a very wonderful game to watch. Like a lot of lead changes really, just the. Both teams just trading blows. Cohen Carr is the best in game dunker in all of basketball, period. I cannot get enough of this guy. I think he's probably going to return to college for a senior season. I want him in the dunk contest next year regardless. Make the exception. I don't care. He needs to be in the dunk contest. He needs to literally save the NBA dunk contest. But it was, it was a well spread out, well played game and, and I had a good time watching it. That was, that was a nice pop on a Thursday when we haven't had a lot of men's D1 games that have kind of been must see stuff on Thursdays this season. That was a nice change of pace.

[Kyle Boone]

You mentioned the Big Ten tournament. Eight, 18 teams. Is that what you said is in the bracket?

[Gary Parrish]

Yes. Unfortunately, yes.

[Kyle Boone]

I got to get my Memphis Tigers in the Big Ten. They're at risk of missing the American tournament. I got to get them in a Big Ten.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah. Some way somehow. I mean, this feels like a conversation for about a week from now. 8. We don't need 18 teams going to these tournaments and 18 team leagues.

[Matt Norlander]

What's one more? What's one?

[Kyle Boone]

Hey, speaking. Hey, you're. You're saying that as a non Memphis alum. Yeah, I do need 18 teams.

[Gary Parrish]

You start those games on those Mondays and Tuesdays friends and family special, okay? It's going to make the Thanksgiving week tournaments in random locales look packed by comparison. Not good ball.

[Kyle Boone]

Hey, down Here we need 18 teams in a conference tournament. I don't know if you've been paying attention. It's getting rough. It's getting rough down here. Hey, the biggie showed. Hey, first off, I should, I should promote. Let me take a chance to promote. All right, next up for Michigan State, that's Indiana. Yeah. 2:45.

[Gary Parrish]

Okay, there we go.

[Kyle Boone]

PM Central America's 45pm Eastern on Sunday. Next up for Purdue, that's a 1:30 Eastern tip at Ohio State. Also on CBS. That's America's most watched network, ESPN. If you're listening and you know I love you guys, but I want you to pay attention to something that we did here. We're going to tip one of these games at 1:30 and then the other one's going to tip at 3. 45. You see how we put that extra 15 minutes in there?

[Matt Norlander]

Yep, yep.

[Gary Parrish]

It's called. It's called programming.

[Kyle Boone]

It's called programming. And are we still going to slide the tip an extra nine minutes for no reason?

[Gary Parrish]

More of us?

[Kyle Boone]

Probably. We're probably going to slide the tip for no great reason. All right. But we factored in those 15 minutes and you guys never do. And that is. That's a.

[Gary Parrish]

It's that little yellow bar on the bottom, right?

[Kyle Boone]

Yeah, I know. Hey, I know I can go to ESPN news and watch the beginning of this game. I got it. All right, buddy. I've already got ESPN news up on the screen over here because I know where I'm going to start watching. I know in a minute I'm going to watch this game on an 80 inch television right here. But the first four minutes I'm on a little 28 incher over here with no volume. I know exactly how my Saturday goes. Every Saturday. We got an extra 15 minutes in there. It's America's most watched network. You think that's a coincidence? You think you become America's most watched network by not building in an extra 15 minutes in there?

[Gary Parrish]

Not how you do it.

[Kyle Boone]

That's not how you do it.

[Gary Parrish]

By the way, we don't have an extra 15 minutes on the show waiting

[Kyle Boone]

for you to threaten you to rush me along.

[Gary Parrish]

He is going to have to leave the show before it's over today.

[Kyle Boone]

I can already tell I was waiting for you to rush me along.

[Gary Parrish]

B, B block. Let's go.

[Kyle Boone]

Hey, Biggie showdown. The one we were all looking forward to this week. That was a clunker. Shame on you, Yukon. You ruined. You ruined. You ruined the Biggie showdown. That was so boring. I had my whole little guys baseball team gathered around the tv. It's a Biggie showdown, they said. GP I thought you said this was. I thought you said this was a good game. I said it was good on paper. I didn't know what it was going to be on the court. UConn smacked St. John's by a billion. Norlander was there. He stared at me straight into my television via Sports Center. The whole thing was weird. Hey, we're going to do that next. Let's get a word from our partners.

[Gary Parrish]

Why have I asked my H Vac guy I found on angie.com to change my grandpa's trachea tube? I was so amazed at how he replaced our air ducts. I knew I could trust him to change Pop Pop's tube. I think we should call a doctor.

[Kyle Boone]

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[Matt Norlander]

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[Kyle Boone]

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[Gary Parrish]

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[Kyle Boone]

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[Gary Parrish]

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[Matt Norlander]

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[Kyle Boone]

Biggie Showdown we were all looking forward to it was a total letdown. Final score UConn 72. St. John's 40. 40. You lose. 40. They shot 19.6% from the field.

[Gary Parrish]

Let's go live to GP's living room. After he picked St. John's as his final four dark horse.

[Kyle Boone]

19.6%. They had an over 12 stretch in the first half. They missed their final 24 shots in the game. Like that doesn't even. That doesn't even sound real. That. Like, that sounds like a. That, that sounds like a lie. But it's true. I think that's what I wrote in the top 25 and 1. It sounds like a lie. Like if somebody told you, did you watch St. John's last night? You're like, no.

[Gary Parrish]

What happened?

[Kyle Boone]

They missed their last 24 shots. They. You mean they. They attempted to put the ball in the room 24 times and it's just none. None of them went in. That's right. It doesn't even sound like it could be true. Norlander, you were there. I know that. I know that in part because you made a hilarious appearance.

[Gary Parrish]

We'll get there. We'll get. We'll get there. You know what?

[Kyle Boone]

I'm gonna.

[Gary Parrish]

I'm gonna. I'm gonna dish this three. Man. We've. I'm dishing it. Kb your Thoughts on the game. The floor is yours. And then, and then I'll give you my, my perspective on it.

[Kyle Boone]

Go ahead, bud.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah. Shocking. Shocking. This was just after I gave permission to GP by the way, to, to get back on the St. John's bandwagon and leave that train as the conductor and my God, yukon, him up. 7240. 7240 did not feel real. Right.

[Gary Parrish]

I need the right E on this episode, Josh. Keep going.

[Matt Norlander]

Send me the fine. Send me the fine. I mean, Yukon's defense last, last season

[Kyle Boone]

description, that's, that's the pull out quote from the episode.

[Matt Norlander]

Slid the tip. Slid the tip. Yukon's defense last season was a weakness, obviously and you know, off all off season. Dan Hurley talked about trying to bolster that into the floor specifically. And I think they really have done that. Their top 10 right now on defensive efficiency at Ken palm and holding St. John's to 40 points. I, I think was kind of the culmination of like a, a year long quest for Hurley to try and get back to their defensive roots. St. John's just missed a ton of shots. I think it was largely because UConn's defense was amazing. But yeah, I mean, all the redemption for no escalators. They deserve it. Yukon, that was, that was stunning. That was stunning in every way.

[Gary Parrish]

It really was. The building was incredible. It's now People's Bank Arena. This used to be the Excel Center. Shouts to the Harford Civic center now and forever, just like it will always be. The Meadows real ones know what I'm talking about. But the crowd was like ready from the tip. Incredible, incredible environment. UConn wasn't messing around. They got off what, nine, nothing. Before you knew, it was like 2111, then 2511, then 3111. And good thing about Hartford is Gample, you're the press. They've, they've. Now it's all boosters and money people down on the floor. The press row used to be down there in Gampel till about COVID and now they're all, we're all really high up, up, which is a cool vantage point. But you're not there on the floor. Hartford, you're still on the floor. And you're right, you're right next to the crowd. So you really kind of get enveloped by it in a very, very good way. And I was, I was blown. I think that was the best crowd. And I've been to some big games in Hartford for sure. I think that was the best crowd. I'd ever heard in Hartford. Honestly, they were ready. The game meant a ton first place in the Big East. You know you got to win this to even have a chance to share the regular season title. All that they get it done. A number of just jaw dropping stats attached to this. So yeah, missed the final 24 field goals. Did not get a field goal for the final 17:28 of the game. I'm still waiting for someone to show me and tell me when was the last time this happened in the men's Division 1 game. Any level a team did not make a basket for at least a final 17 and a half minutes of a game. I'm sure it's happened at some point. I'd love to know when it did because this is out. This is outrageous man. This is arguably more impressive than the 30 to nothing run in the elite eight over Illinois. And yes, when I watched this game play out, it is fair to say you're getting some visions, you're getting some vibes. This is the UConn team that won back to back national titles. And even when I talked to Hurley afterward, he even invoked some of that. Basically said you see the way we're crashing the glass, you see the way we're playing defense. You know it's bringing back this is how we played when we won those national titles. And yeah, they got it done. Here are the stats to know with the game. 40 points Fewest points by a Rick Pitino coach team in his career. He has coached five decades and more than 1200 games at the D1 level. That's outrageous. UConn had never beaten St. John's by a bigger margin than it did on Wednesday night. UConn had never beaten a ranked team by a larger margin than it did at home. Specifically as two more larger ones. Those were both on the road home over a ranked team. That was the biggest one ever. Period. It held St. John's to its worst first half showing shooting first half showing points wise in multiple years. St. John's shots 19.6% from the field. It's the worst shooting percentage by any team in any game this season. The worst period. St. John's tied the record for the fewest points in a Big east game in its history. That goes back to the late 70s in the formation of the league. With the game Against Notre Dame 13 years ago, Mike Bray hopped on Twitter to add an extra dunk. On top of all of it was the coach of the team then. The 32 point loss was the worst for St. John's as a ranked team, period, since it got dropped by 35 against the Bonnies in 1960. In 1960, it's one after another after another. Terrace Reed Jr. 12 points, 11 boards, 6 blocks, 2 steals, 31 minutes, his best game as a Husky, became only the third UConn player ever to have at least 2010 and five blocks against a ranked opponent. Emeka Okaform, our own, did it three times and Donovan Klingan did it twice. So it's one thing after another after another. Incredibly impressive by Yukon, straight up, stunning by Rick Patino and his team's lack of ability. Zubie Edge of Ford did make himself available to the media afterward, bloody lip and all. Basically said, yeah, we didn't see that coming. I've never experienced anything remotely like this. We were all kind of, you know, fairly shocked that it went this way. St. John's got the first win, scored 80 plus. You know, it scored more than double in the first meeting than what it did here on Wednesday. The win keeps UConn on the one line. And one of my big takeaways from my column on Wednesday was I do genuinely wonder, like, players, coaches, yes, they can sometimes close it up, throw it in the trash. Let's move on. And it won't have any effect. This was so seismic and just jarring. That does it. Does it just send these two teams in just different directions over the next month? I genuinely wonder. I think UConn is going to be the final one seed. I don't think UConn is going to lose again until we get to the NCAA tournament. And as a result, they're really, no matter what happens around them, three losses, they're in command. I think they'll be the final one. Can St. John's recover? It's got a game at home this weekend against Villanova that takes on suddenly increased significance. You dive into that resume, guys. Look at that resume. They've got the home win over UConn. That's nice. They've got the roadie against Villanova. That's nice. There's not a lot else there. So I almost feel like the Johnny's are in danger here of like six, seven seed territory. And that matters because if you win your first game, the seed that you're ideally going to face in the second round, it gets much more difficult. I have a hard time right now envisioning myself writing St. John's into the second weekend of the tournament.

[Kyle Boone]

Imagine ranking a team preseason number one and then listening to everything you just said. That's A tough spot. I was wrong. I was wrong. They're not good. What I said earlier is totally true, by the way. My little guy had baseball, indoor baseball practice the other night. And my job never comes up at baseball practice. I. I'm Lou's dad at baseball practice. Nobody at baseball practice has ever asked me about AJ DeBonsa or whether Memphis is going to make a coaching change or anything like that. But at. I was like, hey, we got the big TV up here on the wall. You got Peacock. Can we turn on Peacock? And they were like, yeah, what's going on? And I said, it's big game. St. John's and UConn top 15. And I'm dealing with a lot of people who probably know more than you can imagine about SEC football, but don't really care that much about Big east basketball, right? So we turn it on and they said. They. The first. It was just funny. The first thing they see is the conference records on the screen on the graphic. And they're like, oh, gp These are good teams. And I said, ye, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's gonna. It should be good. And so then the game starts, and they're like, I thought you said this was gonna be a good game. And I was like, it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be. Was supposed to be. And then by the time we got to the second half, at some point when it's like. It's like they're up 30, I swear to God, one of the fans goes, GP has anybody ever beat Yukon? Has anybody ever beaten this team? And I said, yeah, yeah, sure. And he said, who? And I said, actually that. The other team. And they were like, how? And I said, I don't. I don't know. I don't know how that happened. And they said. They said, I thought you were a college basketball analyst. And I said, yeah, that's just the title. I'm really just a talker. That's just the title.

[Gary Parrish]

The funniest thing about all of this, genuinely, is that Tuesday, I guess, we taped it. We had to do two halftime shows from CBS Sports Network, and we had to pre tape them, okay? And because of our schedules, we just had to do it, like a couple days ahead of time. And so one of the two shows we did was, okay, this is. This is, I think, my idea. I was like, let's just pick two final Four dark horses. And the. And the caveat can't be that they're, you know, projected four seeds or weren't one. They weren't in the Bracket reveal last weekend. So I went with St. Louis, which proceeded to get by Dayton within 24 hours. And the show had not aired yet. Let's be clear about this. And then Paris lays out his case for St. John.

[Kyle Boone]

So imagine, for whatever reason, and then

[Gary Parrish]

this all aired on Thursday. So by the time this actually was on CBS Sports Network, both of these teams were more than 24 hours removed of getting just downright dump truck, which is amazing. And we were imagining if it never happened, because when we recorded it, it hadn't.

[Kyle Boone]

Imagine you're watching CBS Sports Network on Thursday night, and you're like, oh, this is a nice basket game. I like basketball. I hate Michigan State and Purdue. I want to watch this game instead. So you're watching that game and it's like. And it's halftime. Here's the guys from the Ion college basketball podcast and Brent Stover or Adam Zucker, and they're like, man, you got to watch the Iron college basketball podcast. These guys are great. Let's send it to GP@Norlander. And then I'm like, hey, there. You know, and then. And then. And then Norlanders. And then I'm like, hey, Norlander. The bracket preview was last week. 16 teams in it. Hey, everybody wants to talk about final four contenders. Let's talk about final four dark horse candidates. You got one. It wasn't in the bracket preview. And he's like, I want to talk to you about St. Louis. And then I'm like, that's a good one. That's a good one. I like the Billikens, too, but have you been paying attention to St. John's and then. And there we are. Final Four tonight. I was way off. So then imagine you're walking and you're like, you're watching. And you're like, okay, St. John's and St. Louis. I wonder how they're doing. And St. Louis just got beat by a billion by Dayton. And St. John's got beat by 3 billion by UConn. That's the I Am College basketball podcast. I'll stay subscribe wherever you subscribe to podcasts like Apple and Spotify.

[Gary Parrish]

Do we need to talk about maybe. I. I honestly, I have no desire. But if you want to talk about

[Kyle Boone]

the fact that I just want to see it again. It was fun.

[Gary Parrish]

You want to see it again? I don't know. He probably does.

[Matt Norlander]

Such a serious face.

[Kyle Boone]

I mean, what is going on with you right there?

[Matt Norlander]

Concern, Anger. Explain.

[Gary Parrish]

Explain what's going on with you. Gotten a haircut. I was always. I had My haircut scheduled before this, but even more so I was. That lettuce. Needed to get a. Needed to get a chop here. Okay. St. John's loses the game. Rick Pitino doesn't go to the press conference. That's another deal altogether. And I'm just. I'm dialed in. I'm listening. I didn't realize one. It was being videoed to that this would wind up all over his sports center overnight. I got, like, 20 texts about this. I'm just listening. I'm keyed in. It's showing. It's showing good body language and empathy toward a coach who just took on one of the most embarrassing losses of his entire career. Patino spoke for all of 70 seconds and then took a beeline back into the locker room. Which you. Which I wasn't a fan of. Yeah. And then. Yes. This. This image was all across.

[Kyle Boone]

In your head, you think you're looking at Rick Pitino. My head, I'm just. Because of a blizzard in New York City. I'm just stuck at home this week. Yep. To the detriment of everybody I live with, apparently. And I'm just sitting in my chair watching basketball. And my little guy, he'd been watching. We've been. We've been fired up watching basketball all night. He fell asleep on the couch next to me. But I'm still up, and I'm just watching. I'm just enjoying. And I'm like. In your head, you think you're looking at Rick Patino? In my head, you're looking at me with disdain.

[Matt Norlander]

Yes.

[Kyle Boone]

That's what it looks like to me. I just.

[Gary Parrish]

Disappointment. That's Your preseason number one coach, G.P.

[Kyle Boone]

you looked up. I looked up from my. I was like. Had a computer in my lap. And I. At some point, I look up, and that's what I see. Exactly that. I'm like, what the.

[Gary Parrish]

I know. Someone in the chat is saying that the lighting aged me, which is entirely correct. I don't feel like I look remotely that old. And my wife caught this, and she's like, what is with this face? I'm like, I don't know. Even the lighting, it looks like I have no chin here. It looks like my face just goes straight in. Straight in my neck.

[Matt Norlander]

Red tie. Guy behind you is giving a pretty good look.

[Gary Parrish]

Yes. Yes. St. John's Sid figures.

[Kyle Boone]

Yes.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, I didn't get. That's not the best image for him either. So it goes. So there it is.

[Matt Norlander]

Shout out store central for the.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, Central got the video credit to them, and they got it, they got it done in entirely. Kb, you got any thoughts here? I, I, I don't want to hog the mic from, from our buddy here, KB.

[Kyle Boone]

St. John's gets blasted by Yukon. Yeah, how proud are you? Are you of yourself for not ranking them number one in the preseason? Go ahead.

[Gary Parrish]

I'm just realizing nada is in the chat right now.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, nada's in the chat. Shout out to nada. Store central is in the chat. We've got Russ Steinberg in the chat. Thank you all for joining us. Yes, yes. I'm very proud of myself for not ranking St. John's preseason number one. I will say that I was, I was ready to join the bandwagon. I thought they played pretty well of late. This is again a shocking result. Now would be an opportune time for me to note Yukon, my preseason pick to win the national championship. I'm just saying, I'm just saying. I'm just saying. I'm gonna stick with it. They may not be in my pick currently. Don't listen to the last couple episodes I've been on, but Yukon does look pretty good. And if you only watched them smashing St. John's brains in, then, yeah, I'm looking pretty good right now. Look pretty good.

[Kyle Boone]

Tough. It's a tough spot. Look at you. You're just looking right at me. That's what I imagine. Imagine being blurry, blurry eyed late at night and you look up and then it's. You look just staring right at me.

[Gary Parrish]

And my phone was on do not disturb, so I didn't know that this was on video. And then, and then like your text and like, I don't know, eight or ten more start coming in and I didn't know. So I'm like, this thing is on spot. Like, I'm like, I didn't know even know how I looked. And then it was like, and then the screenshots came in and I didn't know how I looked. I left my blazer on the couch when I left because, you know, kids, I'm like, I got to get out of here. It's three days in a row they haven't gone to school. You almost never see me even looking like that after a game. One, one heck of a memorable night in Hartford.

[Matt Norlander]

It almost looks like you have a beard. Like a, you know, like a, just a beard straight down like walrus.

[Kyle Boone]

I don't know, you just look disappointed in me.

[Gary Parrish]

I'm just, I'm, I'm channeling my utter disappointment. I, I was proud of you. For sticking to your guns and going preseason number one on St. John's then you bailed on him.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah.

[Gary Parrish]

And then they brought you back in and. You just don't get it, do you? You just don't. You don't. I mean, you just. Are you done? Can we be done with the Johnny's, please?

[Kyle Boone]

I don't even care anymore, okay? I don't even care anymore. I've given up. I've lost all hope. Hey, special shouts to John Fanta, too.

[Gary Parrish]

Good call. I obviously didn't hear it. I was at the game.

[Kyle Boone]

I think he had the call. The. The call of his young career.

[Gary Parrish]

Oh, wow. Okay. On this show, gp, I said he wouldn't be on the game because he was in Portland doing an NBA thing. Next thing I know, he texts me at like 2 in the afternoon. You coming tonight? I'm like, what do you mean? Yeah, you're not. He's like, oh, I'm overdoing apology. So good on him and good on a great call.

[Kyle Boone]

So he's got the call. It's. This place will explode with a bucket here. It's almost like that Tiger Wood shot. Like they're gonna go cr. When he hits this one. You know that one? It was almost like that. This place will explode with a bucket here. Up ahead to Mullins.

[Gary Parrish]

Boom.

[Kyle Boone]

And then he lays out perfectly John Fanta. I can't pretend to know every call you've ever made and where you've made them, but based on my experiences, I. I'm gonna call that your best call. Your biggest moment of your young career today. And you know he nailed it.

[Gary Parrish]

All right.

[Kyle Boone]

So I was happy for him. Congrats to John Fanta. He's blowing up in real time. He deserves everything he's getting. We ready for the final four and one.

[Gary Parrish]

Let's do it. We got a lot to get to. This is a loaded weekend.

[Kyle Boone]

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[Gary Parrish]

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[Kyle Boone]

That's the OG it kicked off this whole zero sugar energy drink thing, but

[Gary Parrish]

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[Kyle Boone]

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[Gary Parrish]

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[Kyle Boone]

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[Gary Parrish]

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[Kyle Boone]

All right, it's time for the Final Four of one. I had to get a charger down here.

[Gary Parrish]

Like, what are we doing here? I mean, I can bring us back from break if you want.

[Kyle Boone]

I can tell you we're about to go dead if I don't plug this thing in. It's gonna be a two man. It's gonna be a two man. I own College Baske podcast if I don't plug in soon. It's time for the final Four and one. Hey, Josh, turn your mic on.

[Gary Parrish]

Oh, boy.

[Kyle Boone]

Soften your voice. Tell me how good I am at this.

[Matt Norlander]

You're officially no better at this than Matt Norland. You're officially no better than this at this than Matt Norlander.

[Kyle Boone]

How does that feel, GP not great. Not great. But I ain't been feeling great for a little while, so just pile one, I guess.

[Gary Parrish]

What's the record? I. I couldn't tell you the record. I have no idea. I'm Gonna guess we're nine games under.500 this season.

[Matt Norlander]

You guys are both 39, 41, and 1.

[Kyle Boone]

Oh.

[Gary Parrish]

Two games.

[Matt Norlander]

Two games.

[Kyle Boone]

Only two picks on the Internet. Best picks on the Internet.

[Gary Parrish]

Okay, I'll stay. Let's go.

[Kyle Boone]

All right. Hey, hey. Now let me set the stage for you. KB Picked every one of these games. It ain't got nothing to do with me. Yeah, Andy picked more than you're supposed to. Yep, and I assume there's five when there's six. And I assumed he was going to name the arenas, so I didn't. So we will. We will name these arenas in real time together.

[Gary Parrish]

Okay. I got two court names for the final two, but we'll. Let's. Let's get it rolling. Do you want. Okay. You're gonna say the games. I didn't know if we're gonna let KBC the games. You can say the games to say the games.

[Matt Norlander]

No, no, no, no, no, G.P. i'm just here. I'm a bystander.

[Kyle Boone]

Game one, Saturday. It's noon Eastern. Number 11, Virginia, at number one, Duke. You want to name it K.B.

[Gary Parrish]

what's the arena?

[Kyle Boone]

What's the arena?

[Matt Norlander]

J.J. redick Arena.

[Kyle Boone]

It's J.J. redick Arena. I think it's J.J. redick Indoor Stadium. You can watch it on ESPN. Ken Palm has it. It's Duke. It's Duke minus nine and a half.

[Gary Parrish]

Come on, Duke. K.B. you're going first on every pick.

[Matt Norlander]

Big line, two best teams in the ACC. J.J. redick Indonomous Stadium. We're gonna take Virginia plus the nine feels like a big number for Virginia. Team that is 25 and three on the season. They've won nine straight games. Cam Boozer was awesome earlier this week. 24, 13 and two in. In 24 minutes, Duke scored 100 points on Notre Dame. That was an absolute blowout. Virginia has the size, rebounding, shooting defense. Their offense has been pretty efficient. I think they can keep this close. I don't think they can win, but I think they can keep it close. I will take Virginia plus the. Looks like nine and a half. I'll take the plus nine and a half there.

[Gary Parrish]

Virginia hasn't beaten Duke since 2223. That was an overtime win at home. That was technically more than three years ago, but three seasons ago in effect. This is the. By the way, we get this going Saturday at noon with Virginia at Duke. Let's go big time, big time Saturday. Yes, we. KB did not pick. He did not pick the Michigan Illinois Friday game. I'll include that at the tail end of this, but that is not in the final four and two this week. Direct your complaints to KB because he doesn't give an F anyway, so don't worry about that. If Virginia does win this game to 26 and three, it is. Oh, the ACC has two legitimate final four contenders. Oh, Virginia can actually get potentially a two seed.

[Kyle Boone]

The out.

[Gary Parrish]

The upside for Virginia in this spot in general is humongous. Do I think Virginia's gonna win? No, I think it'll be inside the number. I'm expecting a really, really good competitive game. Wahoos. They've got enough diversity in their offense and they've done such a wonderful job this season. Their losses are. There was a loss to Butler on a neutral back the week of Thanksgiving. Okay, random one off. New coach, new team. They're getting to know each other. Triple OT on the road against your rival in Virginia Tech on New Year's Eve. I'm going to excuse that one. And then they got beat by five at home against a healthy North Carolina team. That's it. To this point, Virginia has been an outstanding team. Odom has been by far the best first year high, major hire of the 25, 26 season. I really, really want to see Duke get pushed at home and give us a really good game here because I think that Would be good for the acc. I think it's probably good for Duke. Big picture. Duke is in command of the number one overall seed right now. It has overtaken Michigan at number one at Ken Palm in the past 36, 48 hours as well. I will take Duke at home, but I will take the Wahoos to cover the nine and a half.

[Kyle Boone]

I think Duke wins the game. I will also take the points with Virginia. Duke on a five game winning streak. Like you mentioned, number one in most places. Did you guys see the video that was on social media circulating from halftime of the Michigan game?

[Gary Parrish]

I loved it. So awesome. Yes, loved it.

[Kyle Boone]

And that is what every coach wants. Every coach you've ever talked to wants to just leave the room and let them handle that. Hey, I'll be here if you need me. Raise your hand and ask your question. If you need me. But if you guys can figure this out on your own. Oh man, that's the best. I've said it so many practices I've heard coaches say, why do I have to coach you right now? You know what to do, you know

[Gary Parrish]

how to do it.

[Kyle Boone]

Go do it. Why am I yelling? I should not have to yell at you right now. And that was like, that was a moment where I was like, and this is gonna sound stupid because they're number one in most computers.

[Gary Parrish]

Like you know the moment you should

[Kyle Boone]

have been like, oh man, they really could do the whole thing. You know when you should have thought that when they signed Cameron Boozer, it should have been way back then. But that was a moment where like, okay, they got something, they got something special there. It sort of echoed everything John said post game Michigan when he was doing that interview. The question was something along the lines of, what'd you learn about your team? And he's like, ah, in the most humble way he said that. I didn't really learn anything. I know what I got. I know who these guys are. I know the team I'm coaching. And I thought that halftime video was just a beautiful illustration of that. That, that, that, that, that said something to me. Game two, Saturday, 4pm Eastern. Number 16, Texas Tech at number four, Iowa State. You can watch this one on CBS, America's Most Watched Network. Network of Stars. Iowa State minus seven and a half inside.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, Melvin Edgim.

[Gary Parrish]

Oh, okay.

[Matt Norlander]

Texas Tech 20 since losing JT Toppin. By the way, I know we probably got some crossover Bill Simmons listeners, some Ewing theory potential here. Texas Tech losing their best player. Still looking pretty good.

[Gary Parrish]

Having a moment.

[Matt Norlander]

They, it may be Having a moment Ewing theory maybe we're about to see some resurgence here. Texas Tech looks pretty good and that's in part because Christian Anderson has been awesome all season. He's been awesome In Thompson Toppins absence 21 and 10 Saturday in the win vs Kansas State 31 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists in the Cincinnati win. Iowa State hasn't lost at home this season. I think that probably continues but I will take the points here. With Texas Tech the road underdog plus the seven and a half

[Gary Parrish]

I'm gonna go on record and say Texas Tech is not a better team without its best player.

[Kyle Boone]

By the way, I'm gonna co sign that. But they are undefeated without him. Yes. At least since he told that's kind

[Gary Parrish]

of true but he left the game and they lost against Arizona State so

[Kyle Boone]

I don't even know I I I since he tore his ACL and was not able to appear in the subsequent game starting lineup they ain't lost. I guess that's one way to put it.

[Matt Norlander]

Yes.

[Gary Parrish]

Fair enough. These teams have not met yet this season. If you have lost track, it's their only scheduled meeting. But with the way the Big 12 tournament could shape up we could well see these two teams play each other in the next two weeks. Iowa State getting the game at home. I I am I want to see how Tech shows up on the road in a big spot here because this is the first road game without topping in full for a full 40 minutes. Road game against notable opponents for Texas Tech so far this season. Lost 8177 back in November against Illinois. These are just true road games. Lost 6965 close against Houston at the start of January. You want to call UCF a notable one Lost at at the Knights there. Couldn't pull that one out. And then Arizona won in OT7875 of course that was just a couple of weeks ago. By far the most notable one. It's on the road. It's tough to win obviously but. But they play close even against really good competition when they have been able to pull it out. See what they can do here. This feels like it might take a superhuman Christian Andersen effort for the cyclones 244 and jockeying with UConn for that final one seed. And a game like this feels like it has real consequence to that. You're basically fighting for the one seed in the south at this point. Oh by the way, you know it's a plane ride from Ames. But nonetheless just keep that and keep that in mind in general. Joshua Jefferson this is the kind of game where I think, you know he, he can and will and should show up all the more to prove why he is a first team all American. And then can Tech, can they take Milan Momcilovic kind of out of it as a three point threat? Way easier said than done. Just determine again we are loaded on Saturday. This is such a perfect way to wrap up February. I will, I gotta take the Clones to win the game but I'm going back to back road covers here. I'll, I'll take, I'll take take Tech on the road to be inside seven and a half.

[Kyle Boone]

24 and four for Iowa State. They're fourth in the top 25 and one right now. That means I would have them as the fourth number one seed right now. But they are just eight and four in their past 12. So you know that's eight and four in the past 12. It is what it is. I, I, I'll take them here. I, I just think JT Toppin missing is Texas Tech has like I give Grant and Christian Anderson and everybody else connected that credit. They've, they've done well since this devastating season. Shattering thing happened to them. It's just heartbreaking. I mean I think most people assume JT Toppet will wear a red Raiders uniform again. Maybe not for two years, but again at some point. But you've got a season that's got so much potential and it feels like it's just ripped away from you just randomly in Arizona after midnight on the east coast in the middle of the week a few weeks ago. They've done well in his absence, but this is tough. Nobody's wanted Hilton this season other than Iowa State. I think that probably continues on Saturday. I'll lay the points. Game three Saturday, 4pm Eastern. Number 14 Kansas at number two Arizona. KB, what you got?

[Matt Norlander]

We're playing this inside. Channing Fry Memorial Center.

[Gary Parrish]

Buddy. I love this channel.

[Kyle Boone]

Fry Memorial. Okay.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah.

[Matt Norlander]

Kansas just kill Canning.

[Kyle Boone]

Fry. Just kill C.H. fry on a Friday morning.

[Matt Norlander]

Kansas is 3 and 2 in their last five games. Two of those wins, Houston and Arizona obviously top five teams. Zone is 1 three straight after taking two consecutive losses. That's their only two losses on the season, I think. Think Arizona gets this done. I don't feel good about taking them minus the eight and a half but they've been playing really well. Anthony Del or so Braden Buries have been really big in the stretch. Not exactly sure what Kansas is going to get from Darren Peterson. Night in, night out. That has been the case here over the last you know, two months really. Kansas been a little bit inconsistent shooting it as well. I will take Arizona inside chanting for my memorial to get the win and the cup.

[Kyle Boone]

I, I should, I should, I should set the record. Channing fry is 42 years old.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, he's young. He's younger than me.

[Matt Norlander]

He's alive. He's alive.

[Kyle Boone]

He's still very much alive. Born in on May 17, 1983 in White Plains, New York. I can't tell you how many mornings I used to spend standing outside White Plains airport, freezing, waiting for them to open the door.

[Gary Parrish]

Efficient airport though. Big fan of White Plains there.

[Kyle Boone]

I almost took my own life in that place seven times.

[Gary Parrish]

Completely unnecessary. Okay. These teams played as a reminder and it wasn't that long ago. And guess what? Kansas won. When Kansas won, what happened? Arizona took his first loss of the season. Took back to back losses and the Tech loss at home came after that. Arizona's won three in a row. Kansas will go for, for the sweep here. Arizona with a win, locks up number one. Big 12. It's a wrap if it can do it. Games on his home floor. I think a win is going to be in store here. Just a wonderful matchup. And let's go over under Darren Peterson, 29 and a half minutes. What do you guys got? Under under 29 and a half. DP, what do you got?

[Kyle Boone]

I'm going. I think, I think he is now very aware of how his reputation has been damaged. I think he, he and his people now understand whatever it is you guys were dealing with, you have not approached it the right way. People need to see you. Just like Bill Self said. Bill Self said, you want to change the narrative, here's how you do it. Finish games.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah.

[Kyle Boone]

And I think he's now on the finish games mission. I think he now understands if I'm not the number one pick in this draft, it is because people don't know what kind of competitor I am, what kind of teammate I am. If I can play through things, and I'm about to, I'm going to spend these next. However much time I got left, I'm going to spend it trying to show people those things that every podcaster in college basketball has been talking about. Those things are not legitimate concerns going forward. I think he's on that mission now. I think he goes over over 30 minutes.

[Gary Parrish]

I'll be optimistic too. I'll say, I'll say over 30. Marking out for a 32 minute day for Peterson. I checked in on the co appit situation early in the week. I mean I'd love to be wrong and things to change. I don't think he's expected to play in this game and if Tommy Lloyd said something at availability in the past like you know, X amount of hours and actually clear cleared that up, my bad. But I'm not expecting copy to play in this one. Him not being on the floor obviously, you know, brings Arizona down just a little bit. You've got Florida Dunga on the other side. You've got actually elite defenders all over the floor in this game. The previous game was 82:78. I kind of feel like the winning team is a hitting 80 in this one. See if I'm wrong. As always, Braden Burries and Jaden Bradley coming off of just an impressive performance on Tuesday night in the road win. A well earned road win against the Baylor team that's not going to make the NCAA tournament. How do they respond here against the Kansas group on the road? Can you coalesce into something that is like okay, we're at tough spot, tough opponent. What can we get from Council? What is like Bryson Tiller in this spot? How does he show up? Really, really intriguing. Good game. That line as A reminder is 8 1/2. I like dooming myself to a 1 in 4 week. I am a. You know what? No, I'm going to flip this. I want to say Kansas. I'm going the opposite. Arizona wins and covers.

[Kyle Boone]

Yeah, J.P. i'll take Kansas plus the points but Arizona wins the game. Game four, Saturday, eight, 8:30pm Eastern. Oh, this is gonna be fun. I'm gonna have a party. Number 20 Arkansas at number 7, Florida. KB what do you got?

[Matt Norlander]

It's inside. Matt Bonner center.

[Kyle Boone]

Okay. The Matt Bonner Center.

[Gary Parrish]

Yes.

[Kyle Boone]

Is he alive or do you want

[Gary Parrish]

to kill him or not alive?

[Matt Norlander]

It is just the center. We've not memorialized it yet.

[Kyle Boone]

Good, good. Matt Finder alive and kicking. You can watch this one on ESPN. Florida -9 and a half.

[Matt Norlander]

-9 and a half. That is. It seems like a big number. I'm going to take Arkansas to cover the points. I think Florida gets the win. Florida's two games up in the SEC race. They can kind of put this conference regular season race away with a win. Arkansas, one of the two teams that is back two games in the SEC standings from Florida. Florida's playing pretty well. I feel like there is another level this Gators team can hit. They haven't quite hit it yet and yet they've won eight in a row. They've been very, very good at home this season I think they get the win and do it, let's say 83, 77, something like that.

[Gary Parrish]

Got a whole bunch of one time only meetings in this week's final four and one Virginia Tech and excuse me, Virginia and Duke first meeting Tech, Iowa State first meeting Arkansas, Florida first meeting, only scheduled meeting. Arkansas, just like Virginia with Duke, has not defeated its opponent this weekend since the 22, 23 season. Gators get this one at home big time front court performance. This, this is a game with talent all over the floor and so in my opinion the the possibilities for how it will play out are numerous. Gators now have gotten up to top five in Ken Palm defensive efficiency still number one at Torvik since January 1st is the most efficient overall team in college basketball. Oh by the way, its chances at a one seed still on the table as far as I'm concerned. Gonna need to run the table. That includes a roadie against Kentucky next weekend to wrap the regular season. Let's deal with the here and now. You got Arkansas coming into your building with Darius Acuff who is a first team all American right now. At this point he is. I honestly don't think it is refutable from a statistical standpoint. And when you combine the stats and you actually watch the games and you see what this dude is doing and you see how talented he is and what he is doing to uplift Arkansas to the kind of team at this stage of the season, 21 and 7, I get it, they kind of. Arkansas has been reliable for a loss like every seven to 12 days. But if you're watching the games and seeing how he is willing Arkansas to victory and he's not doing it by himself. He's got talent all around him. Trevin Brazil, you know, Carter Knox unfortunately has faced some injuries. Malik Thomas has moments that where he, he can pop. Obviously I thought, I think Nick Pringle has actually been a very undervalued member of this team, but it is a cuffs team. He is one of the best and most talented freshmen John Calipari has ever coached. We don't have the time to rank it, but he's knocking on the door of top five if he's not already there at this point I expect this to potentially be the best, most competitive 40 minute game of the weekend. The line being Florida nine and a half to me is too big. I know the Gators have been on fire. I love what I love Florida's prospects going into March. I have to take the Hogs inside nine and a half.

[Kyle Boone]

Please tell Me? You guys saw Darius Acuff Sports center interview the other night.

[Matt Norlander]

Yes.

[Gary Parrish]

If this was Wednesday, all the more. I didn't because I was obviously in Hartford.

[Kyle Boone]

It was hilarious. They bring him on. And every question is like, so we know you've had an ankle issue and you've been playing through it. What is it about you that that makes you want to play through things even though you're a projected top 10 pick? He was just like, well, you know, I just want to be there for my teammates, if I could be there for my teammates. And they were like. And then the next question is like, so we know you're a projected top 10 pick, and you have to keep in mind on your draft stock, but like, what is it about you exactly, that makes you want to play through this? It was like. They were like. I was waiting for the next question to be. So it's pretty clear you're not Darren Peterson.

[Gary Parrish]

Why?

[Kyle Boone]

Why? Why are you not Darren Peterson? It was lol. And. And by the way, every answer was perfect.

[Matt Norlander]

It was.

[Kyle Boone]

They were like throwing him alley oops and he was. Boom, boom. He was nailing every one of them. He was like, I don't care about my draft stock. I care about the Razorbacks. Woo. Pig. I mean, he was. It was perfect. And so I hate not being at work this week in New York, because of the blizzard, I couldn't get there. But one of the great things about not being at work this week is I've got to sit at home and just watch college basketball with my boys every night. We've watched every night. And by the time it was done Wednesday, my. My boys were like, dad, you going to FedEx for tomorrow? Of course. Can you get us a cuff? Grizzlies jersey? I said, I think probably you can get them to make one. They're like, yeah, let's get it. Darius. They. We're all in on Darius Acuff over here. All right. Then last night, swear to God, we're watching Michigan State, Purdue, and my little guy, we're coming home for baseball practice. We're streaming it in the car. I don't know whether you're supposed to stream games in the car on your ride home or not, but that's what we were doing. I'm just trying to be honest with you. And my little guy goes, so, dad, if you could have Darius Acuff or Darren Peterson, which one would you have? I think, say, son, I don't know anymore. I used to think I know, but I don't know anymore. And he said, do you think they'll get one of them, the Grizzlies? And I said, I don't. I don't know that either. We're gonna have to wait on the lottery. And this was the next thing he said. He said, well, you know, dad, if. If we don't get Darren Peterson or Darius Acuff, keep in mind, we're watching Michigan State, Purdue. He goes, we. You know, we could get Braden Smith.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, you could.

[Kyle Boone]

He said, what would you think about that? I said, I'd be very happy for Braden Smith, but, son, let's not talk like that right now. Let's not talk about that right now. So it's been fun. I'm taking Arkansas plus the points for my boys. Game five, Saturday, 10:30pm Eastern. Number nine, Gonzaga at. It's the end of an era. It is St. Mary's, yep. KB you. You can name this. I know what I would name it. What would you name it?

[Matt Norlander]

I'm gonna name it Jock Landale Pavilion.

[Kyle Boone]

Say Omar Samhan.

[Gary Parrish]

I thought Sandman was coming. Matthew Della Vadova Court, by the way, always. Just so we're clear.

[Kyle Boone]

That's fine. You can watch this one on espn. Gen Zag at the Zags. Minus one and a half. It's the end of an era. We will never. We will never after Saturday night, have a West Coast Conference regular season like the one we just had.

[Matt Norlander]

End of an era.

[Gary Parrish]

End of an era.

[Kyle Boone]

Let's have a moment of silence.

[Gary Parrish]

We don't have time for that. By the way, this show is running over G. Cool. You just as a heads up. Oh, my gosh. That bald's got some shine on it right now. Look at you.

[Matt Norlander]

It looks good. Looks good.

[Kyle Boone]

They don't powder you before you get on camera over here at Grind City Media. Nope, nope.

[Gary Parrish]

Outer there.

[Kyle Boone]

Over up at the broadcast center, they got Jules and Kim and everybody's up there down here. I'm on my own.

[Gary Parrish]

Yep. No powder.

[Matt Norlander]

All right, kb, I'm taking Gonzaga here. Gonzaga minus the one and a half. Gonzaga really not been fully healthy for very many games this season, and yet they're 282 pushing for 30 plus wins going into the postseason. Going into the NCAA tournament, they can get to 29 wins in the regular season with a win here. I think they get it. I think it's going to be a close one. St. Mary's playing pretty well right now, but I do think Gonzaga goes on the road, knocks off a St. Mary's team that has won seven consecutive games.

[Gary Parrish]

I'm going to cherish this game. I'll be in studio Saturday night for CBS Sports HQ. I have loved the St. Mary's Gonzaga games regardless of the venue. Over the past 15 plus years, St. Mary's has leveled up and been an appropriate foil to Gonzaga in that conference. Gonzaga is going to go to the Reborn back to PAC12. I really want to see these two find a way to schedule home and homes don't know if they can, don't know if they will. And frankly just for the spirit of it all, the WCC schedule is not going to change. The WCC always has its regular season end at the end of February. I'd love these two teams to mix in a non con February game. You know, home and home. That'd be, that'd be really cool because always seeing them play in this month, there's always a lot of big stakes around it. I'll take it in a lot. I, I love that we're getting this game in particular when both these teams are really, really good. If you're unfamiliar, St. Mary's kind of sitting, they're sitting like on the eight line right now as far as I'm concerned and they get Gonzaga in their building with a chance to send off, send them off on a really, a really powerful finish on the St. Mary's side. Going straight up. I'm going Gale's here. No Huff for Gonzaga. Gonzaga has been sitting between, you know, 8 and 13, 8 and 14 in predictive metrics for the majority of the season. The season that that gym and it is a gym. It is a tiny building. It is seats what, 34, 3500 folks. It's going to be probably in a weekend filled with amazing games. I think that's going to be the best environment of the weekend. Given the stakes. Everyone knows what it means. There's been huge wins for that program in that building over the over the Zags in the past. Yeah. St. Mary's Randy Bennett straight up win and get to 27, four in the process. Seed line bump to the seven line coming out of the weekend for the gales.

[Kyle Boone]

Since 1998, the Zags have won at least a share of all but four WCC regular season titles. In 2000, Pepperdine won one. Since then, St. Mary 2012, 24, 25. So the only school to win a WCC title, even a share of it in the regular season since 2000. It is Gonzaga. St. Mary's that's it. And it's Gonzaga almost always. It just feels like they should get the outright title on their way out the door, doesn't it?

[Gary Parrish]

You can make the case. But I'm going. I'm going. Gails.

[Kyle Boone]

I'm. I'm taking the. The Zags on the road. They exit the WCC with an outright conference championship game six and two. It's the final four and two today. I don't know. We couldn't settle it for five. I don't know why. Game six, Sunday, 1:30pm Eastern. Number 13. Michigan State at Indiana. You can watch this one on CBS. Kim Palm has it. Michigan State minus 4 KB. It's at Indiana. You can name it whatever you want.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, they're going to be playing this one inside. Steve Alford Hall.

[Kyle Boone]

That's fair.

[Matt Norlander]

Steve Alfred Hall. Michigan State minus the four. By the way. We actually included Michigan. Illinois in this but had to cut them. We had to include Gonzaga, St. Mary's Michigan State, Indiana. This is a tough one. Indiana playing at home.

[Kyle Boone]

Is it tough, though?

[Matt Norlander]

It's. It might be tough. Backs against the wall. This feels like a obvious Michigan State spot, but feels like it could be a Michigan State let down given how they played. All signs point to Michigan State in this game. That said, I'm going to take Indiana to cover. I'm going to take Indiana straight up. Let's go.

[Kyle Boone]

Okay.

[Matt Norlander]

Hoosiers. Hoosiers.

[Gary Parrish]

We're on the same page. Indiana straight up. Big win for the Hoosiers. They come off the loss to Northwestern at home. Darren Devries has life. Kurt Signetti, take a walk. Hoosiers are back. They're dancing on the bubble. They're right on the fence. They get it done on America's most watched network and find a way to narrowly win. And I like them to cover big time. Yeah, I'm on the hoop.

[Kyle Boone]

I wouldn't put out all my Indiana facts. You. You. I don't know if you remember my Indiana facts. I got some. They haven't finished top 25 at Ken Palm since 2016. I think I've been like, you know how long I've been saying that?

[Gary Parrish]

Since 2017.

[Kyle Boone]

Yeah, at least. At least. Haven't finished ahead of Purdue in the Big Ten standing since 2016. Hadn't made the Elite Eight since 2002. Hadn't won a national title since 1987. I'm taking Michigan State minus the points.

[Gary Parrish]

All right, so you got Spotty to win. All right, Real quick tour around the weekend and then we got to wrap the show. GP we're going over. I'm just telling you right now you're not going to be ending the show. He's got his guys met the show, Miami university. Let's go to 290 Friday night here. 6 Eastern at Western Michigan. Obviously that's a big one. Michigan at Illinois, 8 Eastern on Fox on Friday. Huge game. Very, very, very, very big game. Another big one there will be dialed in and ready for that.

[Kyle Boone]

And then I plan on my boys falling in love with Keaton Wagler a little later on tonight.

[Matt Norlander]

Let's go. Yes.

[Gary Parrish]

For just for fun, not for the final 4. And 1. Who do you guys got in that one?

[Matt Norlander]

I'm taking Michigan. I'm taking Michigan. Yep.

[Kyle Boone]

I'm taking Keaton Wagner. In the spirit of getting some Keaton Wagner Grizzlies jerseys custom made, tomorrow morning

[Gary Parrish]

I will take Illinois. I cannot wait for that game. This is a phenomenal weekend. Real quick. On Saturday, I'll be in CBS Sports HQ studios all evening late into the night. Look for me there as you dial in on tons of hoops to Eastern. CBS San Diego State in Mexico. Double bubble, 2 Eastern, ESPN Vandy at Kentucky, plenty tasty, 2 Eastern, ESPN 2 Louisville at Clemson, 4 Eastern, ESPN 2 double bubble. Texas at Texas A&M 5:30 Eastern, Fox, BYU at West Virginia. Just keep an eye on it. 6 Eastern, Alabama at Tennessee, 8 Eastern, Fox, Villanova at St. John's those are what to know. And now we get to, we get to the big stuff here. It's time. It's time to do it, I guess I'll say it. Kyle Boone is leaving us this weekend. He is gonna log, log a few more hours over the weekend on this final weekend of February. It's been nine years at CBS Sports. It was, I don't know, three weeks ago that we wrapped the podcast. He called me not so long thereafter, floored me, broke the news. We're gonna let you talk a lot, Boone, and you're gonna have to talk a lot here. But I'm gonna, I'm gonna get us going here. I hate that we're losing you. I understand. You know, I understand why. But I wish we weren't. You are sincerely the nicest colleague I have ever had in my entire life. A wonderful dude. For anyone that listens to the show and has taken in this podcast and read Kyle Boone's work over the near decade he's been with us at CBS Sports. The best teammate, always uplifting, just a wonderful person to have in your organization. And I'm genuinely bummed, man. Like, this has kind of hit me on the level of we've been fortunate at CBS Sports and Kind of in our writing hut, if you will, with the college basketball team, where, you know, we've had changes over the years. We'll try and get to Vasini before the end of the show, but we're running out of time. It's. We don't. We don't tend to lose a lot of folks. You know, every so often here and there, it happens, but this is one where it's like, ah, it's a real. It's a. It's a. It's a gut punch for sure. So we knew we had to have you on the show, and this was. This was the show we have done here has been one of my favorite shows of this entire season. Like, easily. We've had a. We've had a blast. Didn't know what to expect. But, yeah, man, we're gonna. We're going to miss you dearly. I'll let you decide if you want to kind of reveal, you know, what's next for you or not. But you're not going to see him on another college basketball podcast, folks. That's not what's happening here, but I'm gonna toss it to Paris first, and then KB can take the mic.

[Kyle Boone]

We should, for the sake of transparency, point out because it's a weird media climate now.

[Gary Parrish]

Yes.

[Kyle Boone]

This is Cal Boone's decision. Correct. Hey, we keep him as long as we could if it was up to me and if it was up to cbs. He is. I'll let him explain. Found an opportunity that he thought was. Was too good to pass up. And so when Norlander says he's bummed, I. I get that. I am, too, selfishly. But separate from that, I'm excited for you and happy for you because you're running off to an incredible opportunity that's gonna. I hate losing you. I. I've lost teammates. As Norlander described you before. I will say that not every time. Not every time. I don't want to lie to you, but in my experiences, I've been doing this a long time now. You can probably tell from my head, when people voluntarily leave this life for another lifestyle, they have real reservations. They do not know if they're making the right decision. Almost always when they look back on it, they think that they did. Yeah, almost always. I can't promise you you'll be that, but the odds are in your favor. So I know you're conflicted. I would be, too. But I bet when we talk a year from today, you're gonna. You're gonna wonder how you live the life you were living, as opposed to regret the life you're now living. And so, in that. In that way, I'm happy for you, excited for your family. And as I was thinking through this last night, like, okay, so what do you say? I think Norlander touched on the most important thing. Obviously, you're great at your job. You can string words together, you can talk, you can do all the things you need to do to do this. If I ran a media company, I'd be trying to talk you out of what you're doing. But the best thing about you is that you're the best colleague, you're the best teammate. We work with a lot of people. I really do consider myself lucky. I mean this sincerely. There is not a person I work with closely or a person I work for that I don't enjoy. I'm fortunate in that way.

[Gary Parrish]

I agree with that entirely, by the way.

[Kyle Boone]

I don't hate my bosses. None of them. I don't hate my co workers, none of them. I can't tell you that's always been true, but I can tell you it's been true for a while. And, yeah, if I were ranking people, and I shouldn't, but, man, I'd put you right at the top. You're just a delight to be around. You make people feel better. And when I got that call from you, like, I said, hello, and you were like, hey, are you sleeping? Because, you know, I was in New York and it's the middle of the day, and I probably am. And I. I lied to you. I said no, but I was. But honestly, I didn't know if it was, like, an emergency. And so I just was like. And then we talked through it, and, yeah, I was bummed when I got the news, but then I quickly moved to, this is going to be great for you. It's going to be great for your wife, it's going to be great for your children. And I hate to lose you, but I couldn't be more excited for you and your next employer is. They get a special person. Man, I. I mean that sincerely.

[Matt Norlander]

Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, it's bittersweet, for sure. You know, we've been talking about players starting and not finishing games. I'm. I'm starting a season, I'm not finishing it. I feel like a little bit of a hypocrite, leaving just before March Madness, but it's tough. It's tough. I love my job, as, as you've noted, gp. Like, I love everyone I work with. I love you guys,

[Gary Parrish]

and I Definitely

[Matt Norlander]

don't have, like, the meaning of life figured out, I would say. But, you know, for me personally, over the last couple of years, dealing with, you know, Covid sickness with my daughter, I've had cancer twice. I found that for me to flourish emotionally and professionally, I need to be around people and I need to work for something that brings me meaning and purpose. And so for me, getting a chance to get my nights back, get my weekends back with my family. We have a third kid on the way in June, which we're thrilled about, obviously. And so I'm excited to be in office, to work around people, to be able to spend more time with our family. I'm going to coach my daughter's basketball team on Saturday mornings. I'm really excited about that. And I'm going to work for a school district here locally that, you know, I'm born and raised in Tulsa. And so I think, though, I'll find some meaning in being able to share stories from a diverse school, school district where I was born and raised. And, yeah, like, it's, it's going to be tough. It's. This is a, this is an amazing job. I've had some amazing opportunities. You know, being able to take time off when I was going through chemo, getting encouragement from you guys when I was going through tough times. You know, I know that you guys both know this, but I love you both. I appreciate you very much. I can remember, I could tell stories all day. But I remember in 2021, after I had my, my cancer recurrence, I was doing week long stints of chemo in the hospital. And this was during the height of the delta wave of the pandemic. And it was the toughest. It was the toughest time of my entire life. You know, I'm locked away. The only person who could even come and see me was my wife. And she had the kids at home. So, you know, there's only so much she could be able to do for me. And I remember you guys gave me a small segment on the show and someone had sent it to me. Maybe it was Norland or someone had sent it.

[Gary Parrish]

Paris doesn't remember this, so refresh his memory.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, and it was, it was basically just like, hey, good luck. We're thinking about you. We love you. We're sorry you're going through this. And, you know, it was just a small, small gesture that meant a lot. I can't tell you how much it lifted my spirits at that time. Norlander would send me a custom playlist on Spotify that I could listen to. G.P. always checked in. You know, I mean, I would have

[Kyle Boone]

sent you a custom play. I just don't know how to do that. I'm sorry. I would, I would have loved to have done it. I just don't know how that.

[Matt Norlander]

That is. That is Norlander's love language is sharing music. So I appreciated that. That helped me get through so many tough times. And it's been an honor being part of a great team who, you know, I, I consider you guys to be friends. And again, it is, it is tough. I don't, I don't feel like, you know, it. It's hard to feel like you're making the right decision when you love a job this much. But I do believe that this is best for me. And so I'm gonna miss you guys. I'm gonna miss everyone in the. In the Ion community and, yeah, we'll stay in touch. I'll continue pestering everyone in the chat and doing my thing.

[Gary Parrish]

So GP, I'm gonna. GP's gotta go in a second here. This is typical podcast fashion. We're just not going to be able to end this, all three of us, at the same time. So GP and kb, you guys wrap here, and then I'll land the plane after you gotta hop off.

[Kyle Boone]

All right? Yeah, you guys can take it from here. I'll go talk about lottery odds and stuff like that. I'll spend the next couple hours talking about lottery eyes and stuff like that. But, buddy, you know how I feel about you. I love you. I'm happy for you. I hate that we're gonna lose you, but I'm, I'm happy for you. And I know when we consistently check in, moving forward, you're going to look back on all of this and, and, and I think cherish everything that, that, that all of us have done together. But, but really be appreciative of, of the step that you're taking for you and your. Your family. So congratulations on a big move and I'll see you guys later.

[Matt Norlander]

Thanks.

[Gary Parrish]

We'll talk to you on Sunday night here. By the way, today's album behind me, Coldplay. Russia Blood to the Head. This is my favorite Coldplay record. I gave KB an option. I said, what do you want behind me? Give me your top five favorite band, Slash artists. Coldplay was the only one I had a vinyl record of. So this is big time album. I'm gonna, I would say Politic Warning Sign, maybe my two favorite on that, on that album there. So I appreciate you. I hadn't dropped Coldplay behind me in a minute there.

[Matt Norlander]

I love it.

[Gary Parrish]

Classic. I want to let the audience know that Kyle Boone is. This is not his last podcast appearance. It's just not going to be. We will see. I am not going to ask this guy to do, to do a pop in during the tournament at, you know, 1245 Eastern after the first Friday of the tournament. But if we can and the schedules do align, I want to get you on at least once next month, provided it's not too far out of your, uh, comfort zone. Does that sound like a plan to you?

[Matt Norlander]

That absolutely sounds like a plan. I'm looking forward to, uh, following the tournament, not covering it. It's gonna be weird. I'm still like a huge college basketball fan. I am just like all the S's. I'm not a them. I'm just an us.

[Gary Parrish]

Yes.

[Matt Norlander]

And so I've, I've been privileged to have the elevation of being a small part of the Ion universe of the CBS team. You know, it's, it's been a dream job, truly. And yeah, like, it's just a different part of life. I'm excited to be able to spend a little bit more time with my family. And yeah, like, this is, this is all good news. And again, I appreciate you. Let me have a few words here at the end of the show.

[Gary Parrish]

No, without a doubt, man. And I'm, I'm very, very happy for you that in the next stage here, you're going to get more time with your family. Like the jobs we have, they do. It's a lot of sacrifice. It just, it just is. But you know, you have to make time. You got to make time for your family. And the fact that you will not have to have your Saturdays and, or Sundays occupied during college basketball season and can do what you need to do and, and, and be able to live a more comfortable life. I completely, I completely get it. But I meant every word I said. I love you, man. Like, you've been, you've been a wonderful teammate and you know, when KB came aboard, you know, and you know, we. What? Lost. Lost Sam, you know, who went to.

[Matt Norlander]

He's still on.

[Gary Parrish]

We'll see if we can get to him. Maybe, maybe we try and do you, me and Vicini on a pod during the tournament.

[Matt Norlander]

There we go.

[Gary Parrish]

Maybe we could try and truly get that going there. Sam's obviously gone on to do tremendous work as well. Wasn't an easy role to fill. You did it beautifully. You've been a wonderful guy to hop on and Talk on the pod with, you know, no matter the time of year, basically. And I just want people to know, like, I want to reinforce it. Like your job and who you work with and the people that you're surrounded with, it can really have major impacts on just your day to day and week to week and month to month enjoyment. And Kyle Boone here at the very top of the list. Like, it just, no question, no doubt about it, and always just, you know, a burst of positivity, wanting to know how you're doing, trying to shine some real light on others. And the, and the biggest bummer of all of this, and I do agree with you, like, our jobs and the nature of this is we do work remotely, like, so I don't get to see you in person a lot. And since COVID we haven't been able to do our college basketball summits in, in the summers. And those were always real highlights of what we were able to do. And that stuff just doesn't happen as much anymore. So getting to see folks at the Final Four, that's the other thing. Like, Boone was going to go to the Final Four, but he, he is giving this up to take a better job, to give himself a chance at what will be, you know, a better life with his and his family. I get it, but I'm just, I'm not gonna see you in Indianapolis, buddy. That's just. I know.

[Matt Norlander]

I was really looking forward to it. I missed. Wasn't able to go to the Final Four last year, was planning on going this year, was excited for Indy. So, yeah, I'll be, I'll be there in spirit. I hope you guys facetime me from one of the, one of the parties.

[Gary Parrish]

As long as you want it. Yes, we will.

[Matt Norlander]

Yes.

[Gary Parrish]

Yes. One thing that hasn't been said yet, that needs to be said is that you are a very, very good writer. And I know you know that and I know our editors know that you have real like you multifaceted, wore a number of hats, did a wonderful job doing draft coverage. But if anyone didn't read what Boone wrote a year ago when he went to Green Bay on Doug Gottlieb, it's must read award winning level stuff, like tremendous stuff, unquestionably so. You know, it's not just losing a great teammate, it's losing a very, very talented writer, someone who brought so much to our team. And yeah, man, I hate to lose you, but I'm very, very happy for you and I'm, and I'm all the happier that on some show, unexpected you know, the audience won't know when it's coming. He'll be back on. We'll talk more ball. But, but I appreciate everything that you've done for us for CBS and how you've made my, my life better and, and been a great friend, but I just, I can't wait to see you again. And, and the weird thing is I don't know when that'll happen.

[Matt Norlander]

I know. And I think the last time I saw you, you had a bad back and I jumped on your back.

[Gary Parrish]

Yes.

[Matt Norlander]

So that, that, I hope that is a lasting memory for you that I made you.

[Gary Parrish]

There was also that and then there was also the. We will not reveal the. One of the sources that I was talking to. So we will not indicate that person on the show. Yes, but you were at the Final four and we did the what, 1:30 local time. Arizona Calipari is going to leave Kentucky to go to Arkansas. And I was just, I unexpectedly ran into a source and I was talking to them being like, hey, listen, I'm hearing this is really possible, this might happen. And so we're getting information and I mean this like I don't care whatsoever. But as we're in the process of doing it, KB just strolls right in and just goes right into the conversation.

[Kyle Boone]

I was like, what's up, dude?

[Gary Parrish]

Trying to, trying to firm up the biggest headline of college basketball is actually going to be a thing here in the next hour or two. That was a very funny memory.

[Matt Norlander]

After that, it took so much courage just to walk up and introduce myself to this unnamed person, only to immediately realize that I was in the middle of a very serious and discreet conversation. So yeah, that was a good memory for sure.

[Gary Parrish]

That was an all timer. And that pod I did with you, late night. I mean it was late from my hotel room, man, sitting on my lap. That's like one of my, that's genuinely one of my five to ten favorite podcast episodes we've ever done. And I was exhausted, but we needed to do it and it wound up being like, like that download was. And views and all that stuff was one of our all timers as well. So not surprised.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah.

[Gary Parrish]

Love you. Appreciate you. Thank you, folks. Find him on social. Wherever you do, wherever you are on social. Kyle the Boone on Twitter, Instagram, whatever, just let him know you appreciated everything he did because he absolutely deserves it. He is working tomorrow. He'll be getting some. A few more, A few more words in one more long shift and then, and then it's on. It's on to a new life. But but you're not leaving our lives, man. We'll stay in touch frequently and I look forward to to crossing paths here. Any last, any last words before I before I wrap the show?

[Matt Norlander]

No more. No more. Thank you so much for giving me the chance to talk and thank you everyone who's who's commented. Thank you everyone who's supported me over the years either reading my work or giving me encouragement through sickness. All of it is truly appreciative and this has been an exciting time. This has been a moment where I can kind of reflect on like the the goodness that has been the last nine years and just thankful leaving with gratitude and hopeful that the next step will be will be a lot of fun for me and my family. So thank you.

[Gary Parrish]

Absolutely bud. And I look forward to talking to you again on this podcast at some point.

[Matt Norlander]

Absolutely.

[Gary Parrish]

In March. Our next show will be Sunday that Michigan State Indiana game around 3:45 Eastern tip on CBS. I we haven't decided when we'll go live. This is my reminder here. If you subscribe to the YouTube channel CBS Sports College basketball and we've had a nice little we've had a nice pop here. Click the bell when we go live. If you want the mobile alert real time, get that done. Please leave reviews for the show. We very much appreciate that we're about to hit a spike in viewers, viewership and listenership because March is arriving. So we expect that. But we like the folks that are here with us 12 months a year to continue to support and give us some some good reviews. So we'll be back on Sunday night and I don't typically do the shouts. This is my one right here. That's a show shouts to the one and only Kyle Boone.

[Kyle Boone]

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