Eye On College Basketball

Saturday represented the busiest day of college basketball on the 2018-19 calender: the 150 games played were the most in one day of any this season. From that, 7-10 outcomes stood out most. Parrish and Norlander touch on those, leading with an in-depth discussion on Duke's win over Virginia at the top. From there, the guys get to Kentucky's road win at Auburn (28:00), go into the notable Big 12 u...

Before the guys look ahead, Norlander and Parrish check in on Kansas State and the Big 12 at the top of this episode. Plus, Iowa State and TCU (7:10) have had notable weeks. That league is seemingly set to get more unpredictable by the week. The big topic on this episode, of course, is Virginia at Duke (12:00). The guys also touch on what became a debate topic this week: the idea that Zion William...

Monday night brought the unexpected: not just a Duke loss to Syracuse, but Tre Jones' troubling shoulder injury that is expected to keep him out for a while. Parrish and Norlander open this episode by discussing the game and the injury, then get to Indiana (20:45) losing at home to Nebraska. With a tough schedule upcoming, could the Hoosiers go from comfortable NCAA Tournament team to the NIT? The...

North Carolina continued its bipolar ways this weekend. Just five days after winning at NC State, the Tar Heels lost 83-62 at home to Louisville . GP and MN open with that, then get to Cam Reddish (15:27), who buried a 3-pointer in the final second to lift Duke past Florida State on Saturday. Ohio State (28:51) has gone from 12-1 to 12-4, and the Big Ten has 10 teams thinking NCAA tourney. In the...

Markus Howard became the first Division I player in the past 20 years to have multiple 50-point games when he got 53 in Wednesday's win at Creighton . So Parrish and Norlander open this episode with that (and camels). From there Murray State's Ja Morant destroyed a UT Martin Skyhawk on Thursday (12:31); a loaded weekend preview (16:09), including No. 3 Tennessee at Florida, No. 4 Virginia at Clems...

Zion Williamson finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in Tuesday's 87-65 win at Wake Forest. So he's now the first freshman in Duke history to hit each of those numbers in the same game. Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander open on that. And then it's to Tennessee (7:17), UNC's win over NC State (13:23) in addition to the possibility the Tar Heels finish atop the ACC. As for Nova (21:07...

Matt Norlander's Chicago Bears lost a playoff game to the Philadelphia Eagles in the worst possible way, so he and Gary Parrish open this episode on that, with Norlander just trying to talk through the aftershock. But there's plenty of hoops to get to. First up is Nevada (11:34) losing its undefeated season. Then the guys touch on whether Virginia, Michigan or Houston will be the final unbeaten te...

A big weekend for Big Ten hoops awaits. On this episode, GP and Norlander open with a note on Michigan, then get into the bad Bol Bol news (6:00). From there, an extensive rundown on their picks to win each of the seven major conferences: the Pac-12 (12:00), the Big 12 (15:30), the ACC (17:00), the SEC (18:07), the Big Ten (22:29), the Big East (26:31) and the American (28:30). The guys wrap with...

Early Monday morning, UCLA fired Steve Alford midway through his sixth season. That called for an emergency podcast from Parrish and Norlander. The guys start on the news, then discuss the problems with the expectations of what the UCLA job is (and isn't). From there, there go deep into the candidate pool (20:40) and lay out a lot of names. Then, it's time to preview some good games this week. In...

UCLA fell 73-58 (!) at home (!!) to Liberty (!!!!) on Saturday. Bruins coach Steve Alford does not seem long for that job now. Parrish and Norlander open on that and go back in time to the reactions from multiple media members in 2013, when Alford was hired by UCLA. Then they get into who could replace Alford in 2019 (20:10) before moving on to the dumpster fire that is the Pac-12 (35:05), which l...

When you take into account everything of consequence that happened in 2018, it's not that hard to make the argument that the sport won't see another year like this any time soon. Vacated national titles, federal convictions, a 98-year-old nun becoming the biggest thing in sports, a 16 beating a 1, Zion Williamson, scandals, a change in how the sport is operated. Big year.  So GP and Norlander get...

Today's day-after-Christmas podcast opens with some holiday cheer (well, sort of!), then gets to Parrish and Norlander's top-three picks for National Player of the Year (6:15) as conference play is set to begin in earnest in the coming week. Then it's Coach of the Year nominees (14:45), followed by the biggest surprises in college hoops (19:50) through November and December. As for disappointments...

A fun audio stuffing stocker of sorts for our loyal listeners, as Parrish and Norlander didn't let the weekend wrap before getting a good episode in to look back at the weekend and reflect on what went down in Chicago. The guys open -- briefly! -- on deep dish pizza before getting to Kansas' loss at Arizona State (4:20) and how that opens up a debate over who should be No. 1. Additionally, there's...

This Friday episode of the Eye on College Basketball Podcast opens with Duke's comeback win on a quality Texas Tech team that showed some ways in how the Blue Devils can, and eventually may, be defeated. From there, the guys get into NC State's 10-1 start (9:45) after it beat No. 7 Auburn, preview Ohio State-UCLA (20:50) and Kentucky-UNC (24:10) in this Saturday's big CBS Sports Classic, and wrap...

The Memphis-Tennessee rivalry is back on in a huge way, with Penny Hardaway telling Rick Barnes to "get the f--- out of here." Parrish and Norlander open on all that fire, with Norlander pointing out why this could ultimately be a bad thing. From there, the guys get to talking 11-0 Buffalo (20:25), which won at Syracuse on Tuesday night. Wednesday's most critical game (29:30) could wind up being U...

Kansas is 9-0 and ranked No. 1. But the Jayhawks haven’t looked so great much of the season. Is this team overrated? Norlander and GP open on that, then get to Gonzaga (7:45), which lost its second straight on Saturday. Elsewhere, Indiana (18:06) provided the best ending of the weekend. Not good: the Pac-12 (23:27), which is now neck-and-neck with the American Athletic Conference in competing with...

Quade Green has transferred out of Kentucky. Are the Wildcats losing a bit of their grip -- or is Calipari losing his touch? Parrish and Norlander start there, then give Crossroads Classic preview (14:24), as Notre Dame-Purdue and Butler-Indiana play on Saturday on CBS. There are loads of good games this weekend, including UNC-Gonzaga (19:00) and Nova-Kansas (24:05). Plus, Norlander tips you on te...

Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander open this episode by discussing Villanova's worst nonconference performance since 2013, with a focus on the drama surrounding freshman point guard Jahvon Quinerly. From there, the guys discuss Norlander's report about the Big East having been approach by multiple schools about expansion (20:02) and Mark Few's reiterated criticism of NCAA president Mark Emmert (29:03...

Tennessee upset Gonzaga 76-73 on Sunday afternoon. Incredible game. Parrish and Norlander open on that and touch on a whole bunch with both teams, then get to Kentucky (16:09) dropping out of Parrish's Top 25 and 1 rankings. The new No. 1? Kansas (27:44). It had to rally this weekend to beat New Mexico State 63-60 in Kansas City. Elsewhere, there were a couple of good one-point games this weekend...

Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander look ahead to a stacked weekend of good college hoops, but start at the top with Duke landing Vernon Carey Jr., the No. 2 prospect in the class of 2019. From there, predictions and chatter on undefeated Nevada playing undefeated Arizona State late Friday night (6:49). And on Saturday, Kentucky-Seton Hall (15:20) leads off a loaded day slate. Also going down Louisvil...

Matt Norlander was at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night for a doubleheader featuring Oklahoma-Notre Dame and Florida-West Virginia. This episode opens on that, and specifically: Is Oklahoma better without Trae Young? Florida (6:17) beat West Virginia, but pro prospect Jalen Hudson is oddly a non-factor. It's weird. In injury news, Kansas (10:30) big man Udoka Azubuike suffered a right ankle i...

There were no major upsets this weekend. But a handful of good teams -- No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 2 Kansas, No. 20 Texas Tech, etc., -- were pushed by unranked opponents. The pod opens on that, then gets to Lagerald Vick and Kansas (3:09) and Nevada's 8-0 start (12:43). On Sunday, Arizona got to 6-2 (20:17). Is Sean Miller going to get the Wildcats back to the NCAA Tournament even though most predicted h...

Michigan is 7-0 with blowout wins over the past two national champions. And the Wolverines are, once again, excellent defensively thanks to John Beilein's hiring of Luke Yaklich. Matt Norlander and Gary Parrish open this episode by discussing what appears to be the Big Ten's best team. After that, the conversation went like this: 7:03: Roy Williams said North Carolina stinks. Is he right? 11:52: T...

Chris Mack got his first signature win as Louisville's coach Tuesday night when the Cardinals upset Michigan State in overtime. Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander open on that, then get to a lot going on with Duke and its win over Indiana (13:04), including Coach K's jacket-throwing technique and why Duke team managers run like Usain Bolt at the end of each half. Elsewhere, Nevada had no issues with...

Villanova got its first quality win of the season by beating Florida State 66-60 on Sunday in the title game of the AdvoCare Invitational. Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander start this episode by discussing a lingering curiosity with Villanova, then get to Oklahoma State (10:02), which is off to a nice, under-the-radar start. From there, predictions and thoughts on the ACC-Big Ten Challenge (17:29),...