Mad About Hoops

This region has Purdue in it folks. And when you're a Purdue fan, you know you have to brace for failure and disappointment. I know that because of my Purdue parents and 44 years of not going to the Final Four. They're a one seed for a second straight year and they have some making up to do from last year. Do we believe in them this time? Find out, and find out who we have cutting the nets down in Phoenix. That's it for the breakdowns folks, now it's time to watch hoops until we drool! Enjoy it!

If you were wondering, our nicknames for these regions mean absolutely nothing. Less than nothing. Although, the Top 5 seeds in this region all bowed out early in their conference tournament. So maybe we're on to something. This one is interesting because of lovable underdogs like Vermont and JMU. Do we get crazy here? Check it out as we break down the South.

That's kinda the ironic nickname for the region. You might notice that Evil Bald Colin and I couldn't even be in the studio together to do our next region breakdown. That's how it goes during March Madness. So here's how we see UConn's region going. What kind of trouble is facing the defending national champs? Do either of us have them being bounced before the Final Four? You should find out!

Jake Diebler news crashes our first Bracket Breakdown, but whatever! It's March Madness and crazy stuff is going on in college basketball. The full on West Region dissection starts at the 9:15 mark, and boy oh boy do I have a Sweet 16 sleeper waiting for you. Plus, we have a new employee here at the station and part of his training is to force him to jump on a college hoops podcast. Say hello to UNC fan Jacob Rhymer! Enjoy the podcast and listen carefully so your brackets can look nice. And remember, make your free throws.

Thanks to Terrence Shannon Jr. turning on the afterburners and some of the worst and most unpredictable Big Ten refereeing you will see in a big time game, the Buckeyes late surge to The Big Dance came up short. They needed that win over Illinois to do it, and a 77-74 loss will be a tough pill to swallow. You get some of my reaction from my OSU Sports Network postgame show in the immediate aftermath in this snippet. And then in the 2nd segment we spend some more time on Chris Holtmann taking the job at DePaul and how unique a situation it is for him.

Hello hoops fans! We continue to live in this beautiful month of March where basketball is front and center everywhere you look. This is our time to walk tall. But not if you're a Kansas fan. I am a not so proud alum and I'm currently in my feelings with this team with how the last few weeks have gone. We also open up by breaking down how much we enjoy this week of conference tournaments and why. In segment 2 (14:29) we break down a HUGE head coaching position that just became vacant....Louisville. We talk about how fascinating a coaching search that one will be, and will it mess with Ohio State's search? More pods coming folks. Enjoy this time and remember, make your free throws!

The March Madness continues as we get closer and closer to Selection Sunday. We are jam packed in this episode. We first welcome on the senior writer for The Heat Check, Brian Rauf. Brian is based out of Raleigh so he knows Tobacco Road hoops better than anyone. And since we talked in depth on the Tar Heels last week, we get a read on who these Blue Devils are in advance of the big game part Deux. Then we have our friendly bracketologist on the show again, the Big Underdog! You can tell this guy is in it for the Cinderellas. We certainly ask him about those guys, but he's certainly paying attention to the big dogs as well. One of the biggest rivalries in sports, conference tournaments everywhere, resumes heading towards the finish line and Selection Sunday in our near future. What's not to like? Enjoy the episode folks and as always, make your free throws!

Folks, it's the March edition, even though we're dropping it on Leap Day. We start by rocking out to the beautiful month that we're embarking on. Then Evil Bald Colin takes us through his thoughts about Purdue star Zach Edey. Is he overshadowing some very deserving NPOY candidates that are just as worthy of the talk? Then in the 2nd segment our guy Dave Nathan from the Tar Heel Sports Network joins us to talk about RJ Davis' big game and North Carolina's March Madness potential. Dave does the pre, halftime and post-game work for UNC Basketball. In the 3rd segment it's the latest on the OSU Basketball coaching search and what we're hearing about Sean Miller. And finally we take a look at a huge weekend with 5 games featuring ranked vs ranked. Welcome to March everyone, and as always, make your free throws!

Whether the school will publicly talk about it or not, the Buckeyes are in the early stages of the search for its next basketball coach. We jump into it at the 16:15 mark. Names like Dusty May at Florida Atlantic, Sean Miller at Xavier and a couple Buckeye names in the NBA have surfaced. In the opening segment we take a look at the big games from the past week and talk about UConn's week. At the 10 minute mark we look at a team that might have wildly thrown away a shot at a Big Ten Title! And because he's Evil, Colin really loves him some Rick Pitino. Enjoy the podcast hoops fans! And as always, make your free throws.

This one is dominated by the news that Ohio State fired HC Chris Holtmann. We hear from Gene Smith on the decision to move on from Holtmann. We form our lists for Ross Bjork to consider for the position. We finish off the week looking ahead to the weekend full of games!