Eye On College Basketball

Illinois doesn't get many seasons like this anymore. Preseason top-10 expectations and boasting two of the 20 best players in the sport. Brad Underwood enters his fourth season in Champaign with a chance to win the Big Ten at Illinois for the first time in 16 years. Here's all you need to know about a team getting a good dose of preseason hype -- and who Norlander and Parrish are higher on than the preseason metrics. 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

Kansas was securely the best team in college basketball in 2019-20. That's probably the No. 1 reason why the Jayhawks, who have a roster that's far from stacked the way other KU teams have been stacked in the past 15 years, nonetheless finds itself ranked No. 7 in our preseason countdown. As Norlander promises on the pod, here's a link to our Top 100 And 1 players list, which published Wednesday. 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

Duke is No. 8 in Gary Parrish's preseason Top 25 And 1. Norlander's got Duke No. 12. KenPom rates Duke No. 3 heading into the season. It's an interesting team with plenty of questions, but on today's episode the guys give the case for and against Duke as a Final Four contender for the season ahead. 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

Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander lay out the case for Creighton as a top-10 team (though Norlander has it No. 11 in his 1-357 rankings) and why the Bluejays are looking at school history. Greg McDermott's done a stellar job guiding CU from Missouri Valley pillar to Big East power player in the past seven/eight seasons. 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 begin our top-10 countdown series with an examination of the under-hyped Wisconsin Badgers, who are Final Four contenders thanks to so many quality players returning from a team that would have been the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament last March. Greg Gard's doing quite well for himself after all. 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

Cassius Winston was a highly rated point guard prospect coming out of high school. He went on to a stellar four-year career at Michigan State. No 2020 NCAA Tournament may have dinged his draft stock, but in this episode Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander explicitly make the case for why Winston should be taken in the mid-to-late 20s of Nov. 18's draft. 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 Houston Cougars are looking like the best team in the American Athletic Conference. Memphis isn't far behind. But then? Well, it's going to get interesting. This is a big year for the American, which loses UConn. It's still a major-seven conference, but that distinction isn't promised for the years to come. What teams will be in the NCAA Tournament mix? Our final league preview is here. 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

OK, it's settled. The Big East by far the most unpredictable league Nos. 3-8 in college basketball. Our latest podcast episode takes an informative scan of every team in the conference. Parrish and Norlander only agree on the placement of four teams. Villanova is the best, that's clear. Creighton is right behind. Then? Hey, UConn is back here, and they've got good potential. As Norlander notes, his 1-357 has now published in full. You can read the top tier, No. 1-68, right here. 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

Let's chat now about the SEC, which has NCAA Tournament contenders in Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Alabama, LSU ... and then who? There's a lot to be determined there, a lot of intrigue. Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander fill you in in the fifth of our seven conference preview eps. 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

Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander do not agree on the best team in the Pac-12 this season. In fact, they might disagree more about this league than any other. That's a great thing for Pac-12 teams, because it means the conference is again built to put a minimum of five teams into the NCAA Tournament and a maximum, most likely, of seven. Which seven? What are the tiers? Should Arizona State be the pick? We hope you get out and vote on this Election Day, and if you are, and if this podcast helped pass the time while waiting in line, we're happy to have provided some info and entertainment. Five stars and nice comments, you know what to do! 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