Eye On College Basketball

Michigan’s win at Ohio State on Sunday might have been the most enjoyable game so far this season. Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander obviously open with that and share their thoughts on both teams and whether Michigan is right there with Gonzaga and Baylor. Then: uh-oh. Duke’s not dead yet. The Blue Devils (20:50) got their best win of the season by hanging on vs. Virginia. Let’s objectively evaluate the resume and determine their chances of dancing. The weekend whiparound begins at the 35-minute mark with some entertaining takeaways and commentary, and then our listener mailbag closes the show as it does every Sunday (55:00). As teased on the show, here is Norlander’s column on Michigan-Ohio State: https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/as-the-ncaa-tournament-looms-ahead-michigan-vs-ohio-state-arrived-at-perfect-time-for-college-basketball/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wichita State’s home win Thursday night over top-10 Houston was good enough to finally catapult the Shockers into the NCAA Tournament conversation. Parrish and Norlander disagree at this point about if they should be in, though. Another Q: Should Isaac Brown be promoted from interim to full-time head coach, or is an NCAA Tournament appearance necessary to make that jump? After that, the guys touch on Friday’s notable news: The NCAA allowing for 25% capacity in all NCAA Tournament venues this season (14:45). From there, the curious cases of Belmont and Winthrop (22:15) and why the selection committee should give them more slack this season. You can read Norlander’s story on this below as well. The pod wraps, as it does every Friday, with the Final Four + 1 (31:15). Norlander shouts out a number of listeners who came through with that Arkansas Sweet 16 stat, so stick around!https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/court-report-selection-committee-chair-mitch-barnhart-explains-new-ncaa-tournament-bracketing-process/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu is college basketball’s premier closer at this point, or so one high-major coach who texted Norlander said. The pod opens on the Illini before getting to the most controversial story of the week, Jalen Johnson leaving Duke (11:30). GP and Norlander make some time to talk about Florida State and Arkansas (24:00) working their way into the top two spots in their respective conference races and then ask the important question: Who would you rather have an edible with, Leonard Hamilton or Eric Musselman? The pod closes on Boston College (40:00) deciding to fire Jim Christian in the middle of February. What’s the point? And is it a better job than, say, Penn State, which also will have to fill an opening in the next 6-8 weeks? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are now under a month away from the Selection Sunday’s bracket reveal. Strap in! Our Sunday evening ep opens with Michigan’s come-from-behind beatdown on Wisconsin. The selection committee said Michigan had the No. 3 profile on Saturday morning, and the guys agree. Segment No. 2 (11:30) focuses on Ohio State, Oklahoma and Alabama, three current top 10 teams that were not projected by any stretch to be in this spot back in November. All three won this weekend. The weekend whiparound (22:15) touches on Illinois, Creighton, Virginia,, Arkansas, Iowa, Loyola Chicago-Drake, UConn, VCU and more. Our Sunday night mailbag (40:00) includes the latest grammar grievance from the guys! Here’s Norlander’s weekend takeaways piece as well: https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/college-basketball-scores-weekend-takeaways-bracket-facts-big-wins-ayo-vs-luka-creightons-statement/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the more enjoyable episodes this season, we do think. The guys start with an array of thoughts on the Pac-12 … but there is an off-the-rails discussion mixed in, so be prepared. OK, maybe a couple. And then GP’s thoughts on why Duke could be the No. 1 team next preseason (29:00) with a good Trivia Time! tossed in. A lengthy, entertaining weekend preview starts right around the 36:30 mark. As promised on the pod, here are links to Parrish’s column and Norlander’s Court Report. Read as ya listen:https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/duke-will-rise-again-and-it-all-starts-with-the-recruiting-class-the-blue-devils-are-expected-to-enroll/https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/court-report-cameron-krutwigs-harmonica-has-loyola-chicago-humming-along-as-it-tunes-up-for-run-at-big-dance/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Should UNC have had to forfeit its home game Tuesday vs. Miami in light of video surfacing showing players partying without masks? No. Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander get into why. Then the guys touch on one of the bigger stories of the offseason (13:00) that went absolutely nowhere this season. What is it? Listen to find out. And about Duke and Kentucky (27:00), which lost again on Tuesday night — do we think these teams will be able to regain their top-10 form next season? For one, yes. For the other, not so much. And finally, Chris Beard (37:00) and his epic end-of-game meltdown from Tuesday night. Would you believe that’s Beard’s first technical foul at Texas Tech? At the end of the pod, Norlander shares some news on the NCAA Tournament. Here’s the story about it, which includes the TV schedule for the 2021 Big Dance. You can read more here:https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/ncaa-tournament-2021-march-madness-tv-schedule-tip-off-times-and-selection-sunday-announced/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our Sunday evening podcast was recorded in the early afternoon, before the Super Bowl. The guys open with Kansas’ fifth loss in seven games. Hard to justify ranking KU at this point. They then turn to Texas and Alabama (14:00) losing as road favorites and get into those games. The always-lively weekend whiparound (29:00) touches on essentially every outcome of note — UNC over Duke, USC over UCLA, Illinois over Wisconsin, the quagmire in the A-10, but with an emphasis on Iowa losing for the fourth time in five games and being swept by Indiana. As always, the end of the Sunday ep gets into some listener reviews (52:00), including a story about someone running into GP for a change! Here’s Norlander’s column from Saturday night, easy to read as you listen to the show.https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/uncs-win-at-duke-delivers-excitement-even-without-rankings-or-fans-in-the-sports-best-rivalry/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ohio State got its seventh Quad 1 win by virtue of beating Iowa on Thursday night, so the guys open with that and spent about 15 minutes on the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes, including some chatter on how more experienced teams are atop the rankings almost universally this season. Then it’s the upset-laden Wednesday (15:45), which was statistically the nuttiest day of the season so far. And if it’s a Friday, it’s Final Four + 1 time (40:30), in addition to Norlander’s usual viewing guide on the other matchups to watch. If you want more “Let’s go!” Coach K drops, this episode will not disappoint. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Show open: No. 2 Baylor’s 83-69 win at No. 6 Texas, which prompts a discussion about Parrish deciding to keep Gonzaga at No. 1 in his rankings. (Norlander prefers BU at this point by a narrow margin.) There’s a lot more to dig into as well, including on the Texas side, so come on in. After that, the guys get to Duke and North Carolina (23:30) both losing in recent days, setting up a highly urgent and historic Heels-Devils game this weekend. We've got a dash of Drake/Loyola Chicago love (35:00) and a then quick tour of other noteworthy Tuesday results, plus a good Final Four hypothetical GP asks Norlander. Happy Wednesday, all, and remember: you can play CBS Sports’ Super Bowl Props Pick 'Em game for free. Check it out: https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/games/props-pickem To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The death of John Chaney on Friday is still lingering as the biggest story in college hoops as we exit the weekend. The guys have a long discussion on Chaney in the back end of the podcast you won’t want to miss. But before that, an extensive tour around the weekend’s results. The pod opens with thoughts on five games featuring ranked teams falling to unranked or less-ranked opponents. Oklahoma and Florida are the biggest winners. Then GP and Norlander get to other notable outcomes (18:45) and touch on more than 10 games from Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Chaney talk starts around the 33-minute mark, and then the listener mailbag -- with a ranking of some of the best bits and moments on the pod in the past 12 months -- concludes the final 20 minutes of the pod. Links below that Norlander references in the episode:https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/temple-coach-john-chaney-a-naismith-hall-of-famer-who-led-the-owls-to-17-ncaa-tournaments-dies-at-89/https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/weekend-takeaways-secbig-12-challenge-proves-need-for-more-nonconference-games-later-in-regular-season/https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/games/props-pickem To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices