The Final Four Is Not On The Schedule - A Podcast Discussing Michigan State Basketball.

June 28, 2023: Today we look at the long storied basketball traditions in the Big Ten (sorry, not talking about you Northwestern) and rank them 1-14. Obviously, this would change once UCLA joins the conference next year but it is a great exercise. It is especially interesting to see what you have to parse to rank the teams that haven't won a national title but have varied success in the NCAA tourn...

Jun 19, 2023: Mady Sissoko joined us again on the show and this time to discuss all that he has accomplished on and off the court since our last time visiting back in February. Not only did MSU make the Sweet 16, but Mady's charitable organization, the Mady Sissoko Foundation (https://www.madysissokofoundation.org ) managed to build a school, medical clinic, and install a new well in his home town...

June 14, 2023: What are the toughest arenas in the Big Ten? How about the easiest to walk away from with a win? We dove into it this week in our continued rankings of Big Ten Basketball. Are you looking for Spartan gear? There’s only one place to go to get your MSU T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts — Nudge Printing. ( https://www.nudgeprinting.com ) Nudge is owned and operated by Gabe and Brittany, t...

June 8, 2023: We continue our summer off-season discussions about the Spartans and Big Ten as Rod gives us his rankings of Big Ten coaches. You might be surprised with the order although there's a very good chance that you can guess who tops the list of Big Ten coaches. In fact, Rod argues that the gap between 1 and 2 is bigger than 2 and the rest of the field as Izzo is the top coach by every met...

May 31, 2023: On the cusp of the deadline to withdraw from the NBA draft and maintain your eligibility, MSU guards Jaden Akins and AJ Hoggard both announced they will return for the 2023-24 MSU Spartans season. Their return brings a lot of experience, talent, production, and potential upside assuming Akins plays the entire year without injury. Coupling their return with Hall and Walker taking thei...

May 25, 2023: We are joined today by the great Robbie Hummel, 3 time All Big Ten Player and current TV and radio analyst. In today's episode we delve into all sorts of topics. Why did Purdue flame out in the NCAA tournament? Will Matt Painter change his philosophy on roster management? Is the Big Ten doomed in the tournament? Also, we spoke about what he thinks MSU's chances are this year in the B...

May 20, 2023: We're thrilled to welcome Jay Bilas (https://www.twitter.com/JayBilas) from ESPN onto the show where we covered a ton of topics on college basketball. Jay is one of the most recognizable analysts and colormen in the college game for decades. The best thing about Bilas is that he is more than happy to state his opinions on the game and the overall landscape of the game. We spoke about...

May 10, 2023: Eric and Rod got a chance to sit down with long time reporter, Michael DeCourcy , of The Sporting News. We discussed MSU's title chances both in the Big Ten and nationally and the overall success (or lack thereof) for the conference in the NCAA Tournament. DeCourcy also spent some time explaining why he thinks NIL has on balance made the product on the court better for the college ga...

May 3, 2023: MSU assistant coach Thomas Kelly joins us again this time to recap last year and gives a little insight into what is coming for next year. We discuss what it's like to have a stable roster versus what he used to deal with at Western Michigan where summer was spent finding players in the transfer portal instead of preparing for the next season. Also, we ask coach Kelly what was harder,...

April 27, 2023: Unsurprisingly, Jaden Akins declared his intention to enter the NBA draft for evaluation while maintaining his college eligibility. After Akin (probably) didn't enter the transfer portal, it was expected by most that he would look to see what his draft prospects were in the NBA. Also, Tom Izzo mentioned at a press conference a few weeks ago that he wouldn't be surprised either if A...

April 20, 2023: As had been rumored for weeks now, 6'9" 4 star power forward, Jesse McCulloch, from Cleveland, OH committed to MSU as their second 2024 recruit. McCulloch joins Kur Teng who committed to MSU a few weeks ago to add a second top 100 recruit to what looks to be another good high school recruiting class. McCulloch's game is one where they expect him to play on the post but also stretch...

April 19, 2023: It’s unofficial roster season in college basketball as the transfer portal is wide open as are the pockets of a lot of boosters. Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) money is flowing in ways not anticipated and there are definite winners and losers in the new system. The biggest losers appear to be incoming freshmen and the schools who haven’t figured out how to do NIL or have small alum...

April 18, 2023: It's unofficial roster season in college basketball as the transfer portal is wide open as are the pockets of a lot of boosters. Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) money is flowing in ways not anticipated and there are definite winners and losers in the new system. The biggest losers appear to be incoming freshmen and the schools who haven't figured out how to do NIL or have small alum...

April 10, 2023: In a move that has been telegraphed for a few months now, senior guard Tyson Walker has elected to return for his "COVID Senior" season and will complete his college career on the 2023-24 MSU Spartans. There has been speculation for a few weeks now especially that Tyson would play another season with Michigan State and that he will be joined by Malik Hall. Malik has not officially...

April 7, 2023: Another Big Ten Men's basketball season is in the books and as we predicted before the season began, it would be a very difficult year to predict winners and losers. The parity in the league was unprecedented this year as places 4-10 were separated by only 2 games. Purdue was the surprising winner of the league and won it easily by three games. However, the season highlights the unp...

April 4, 2023: Kur Teng is the first commitment for MSU's 2024 class. Hailing from New England, Teng is a 6' 4" wing best described as moderately very effective shooter who excels coming off screens as a catch and shoot guy. Other huge positives are his coachability and interest in being in a situation where the coaching staff pushes him. Teng is a consensus top 40 recruit and bodes well for anoth...

March 29, 2023: The 2022-23 MSU men's basketball season was a strange one in that it was marked by consistently inconsistent play. After a fast and very promising start against top rated Gonzaga, Kentucky, and Villanova, the injury bug hit MSU as Jaden Akins was shut down a second time (he had foot surgery before the start of the season) and Malik Hall suffered the same stress reaction injury in h...

March 23, 2023: In what will be remembered for a long time for both schools, Michigan State fell to Kansas State in the Sweet 16 behind an historic performance by Wildcat point guard Markquis Nowell who finished the game with 20 points and 19 assists. His assist total was an NCAA tournament record` and provided the Wildcats with just enough to defeat the Spartans in an exciting back and forth game...

March 21, 2023: Once again the Spartans find themselves on a little bit of a run in March. How far it goes is yet to be determined but their next obstacle are the Kansas State Wildcats. The Wildcats are the 3 seed and defeated Montana State and Kentucky to make their first trip to the second weekend since 2018 where they made it to the Elite 8 and lost to Loyola-Chicago. Kansas State, out of the t...

March 19, 2023: Michigan State advances out of the second weekend of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2019 when they made their push to the Final Four. The Spartans defeated the Big East regular season champs, the Marquette Golden Eagles, 69-60 despite only making two three pointers on 16 attempts. MSU has been able to show off its famed versatility and ability to win games in a variet...

March 18, 2023: Michigan State advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament by defeating USC 72-62 March 17 and will face the #2 seed Marquette Golden Eagles from the Big East who advanced by beating Vermont. Marquette won the Big East and the Big East tournament and is a dangerous team led by head coach, Shaka Smart. Smart doesn't employ his 'Havoc' defense that made him famous in his days...

March 17, 2023: Michigan State entered the 2023 NCAA tournament for the 25th year in a row and the second as a 7 seed. This year, MSU faced the USC Trojans and like last year, will head into the weekend with a chance to make the Sweet Sixteen. The Spartans headed to half time tied 34-34 but came out in the second half with a renewed focus on defense holding the Trojans to just 33%. Couple that wit...

March 15, 2023: Erik Qualman was a manager on MSU's basketball team in 1990 but ended his career on the team with a jersey. He played with Steve Smith and Shawn Respert and was involved in the NCAA tournament as both a manager and teammate. He tells us what it's like as a player on the team and what it was like with Jud Heathcote and Tom Izzo running the show in the Breslin Center. Qualman is best...

March 14, 2023: Michigan State garnered a 7 seed in the East and will face the Pac-12 (soon to be Big Ten) USC Trojans in the First Round in Columbus, OH on Friday the 17th. Tom Izzo has a 1-0 record against the Trojans in the NCAA tournament a few years ago but that will not play much of a factor in this first round matchup. Basically, these teams are a little bit similar in that they have simila...

March 12,2023: Today was the NCAA bracket reveal day and MSU will be heading to its 25th straight NCAA tournament putting Tom Izzo as having the longest streak for a coach in NCAA history. The Spartans will play Friday as the 7 seed against 10 seed USC in the East Regional. 8 Big Ten teams made the field with Rutgers getting left out despite being in most brackets. We discussed the brackets, Rutge...