Marching to Madness

Coach Hodge steps onto the hardwood at "Marching to Madness" as he is in his first season as the North Texas Mean Green head coach. He discusses his team's defensive philosophy as he spent six seasons as coach Grant McCasland's assistant in Denton, Texas. Coach Hodge coached at the junior college level as he rolled up a 146-24 record at Paris JC and Midland College.

Topics of discussion include:

• Coach Hodge's coaching career
• The defensive mindset of the Mean Green
• Jason Edwards' averaging 18.6 points and 14.2 shots per game
• "The Mastermind of the North Texas Defense"
• Much more!

Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson comes back onto the "Marching to Madness" college basketball podcast as his Cougars are sitting at No. 1 this week while they lead Iowa State in the Big 12 race by one game. We chat about the toughness and backcourt skills of Jamal Shead, LJ Cryer, and Emanuel Sharp and posts, J'Wan Roberts and Ja'Vier Francis. The Cougars defeated Cincinnati, 67-59, on Monday as they scored 15 points off of 19 Bearcats turnovers.

Topics of discussion include:

• The Cougars as a sustainable basketball team
• The backcourt presence of Jamal Shead, LJ Cryer, and Emanuel Sharp
• Post-play with J'Wan Roberts and Ja'Vier Francis
• The skills of freshman JoJo Tugler, who averages 16 minutes per game

The Washington State Cougars have had a strong season in the Pac-12 as they sit one game behind Arizona for the league lead. Coach Smith and I talk about the Cougs' trips into Arizona State last week as well as look at the two home matchups with USC and USC at the end of this week. WSU features a big lineup with Isaac Jones in the middle and Myles Rice, Jaylen Wells, and Andrej Jakimovski as consistent three-point producers.

Topics of discussion include:

• Last week's trip to Arizona as well as checking out UCLA and USC in the Palouse this weekend
• The inside play of leading scorer Isaac Jones
• On the perimeter with Myles Rice and Jaylen Wells
• Coach Smith's hopes of capturing third base in Houston as a senior in high school and an Astros fan

Coach Turner once again has his Anteaters battling for the top spot in Big West basketball. Currently, they hold a one-game lead over UC Irvine and they match up with a solid rival in UCSB on Thursday night before playing at UC San Diego on Saturday evening. This team is known for it's stingy defense as well as connectivity on offense as those are two keys in building a tough team that has potential in March.

Topics of discussion include:

• The Anteaters' control of defensive analytics, via kenpom.com, in the Big West
• Building a three-point attack as part of the overall offensive scheme
• Justin Hohn, Andre Henry, and Pierre Cockrell on the perimeter
• Coach Turner closes on his ninth 20-win season with the Anteaters
• Much more!

Coach Drew returns to MTM as his Baylor Bears have won four of their last five following a three-game losing streak where all of the losses were one possession. Baylor is one of the top offenses in the nation as the Bears average 82.6 points per game and are ranked fourth on kenpom.com in raw offensive efficiency. Ja'Kobe Walter leads six Bears in double figures as the Baylor offense is one of the toughest matchups inside the game.

Topics of discussion include:

• Following the three-game losing streak by winning four out of five
• How opponents generally matchup with the Bears' offense
• The offensive abilities of different players
• Freshman big man Yves Missi's quickness on both ends of the floor
• Much more!

The Charlotte 49ers are off to their best start in a league since 2005 in Atlantic 10 play. Coach Aaron Feaene and his staff have developed a physical team that is one game back of first place behind South Florida and tied with Florida Atlantic as they and the Owls have two losses in the AAC. Charlotte is a physical team with several options on offense as they play Pack-Line Defense as their ultimate defensive scheme.

Topics of discussion include:

• Charlotte's successful first season in the AAC
• Coach Fearne's background as a coach and player in Australia's Pro League
• Leadership ability of Lu'Cyr Patterson
• Dishon Jackson and Igor Milic in the post
• Much more!

Yale Bulldogs head coach James Jones is back on MTM with his Bulldogs in the Ivy League lead at 16-6, overall, and a perfect 7-0 in Ivy League play. Yale has won nine consecutive games as they defeated Cornell, 80-78, to take the outright Ivy lead. Watch 7-0 Danny Wolf, who posted 25 points and 10 rebounds against the Big Red as his versatility gives Jones the ability to run a 5-out offense with Wolf as a threat on the perimeter as well as in the paint.

Topics of discussion include:

• Coming from 15-down to edge Cornell on a three-pointer by Matt Knowling
• Danny Wolf's overall ability
• The versatility of Bez Mbang
• How the schedule breaks for the Bulldogs down the stretch
• Much more!

Coach Senderoff and the Golden Flashes are in the middle of the Mac right now where seven teams are within two games each. The MAC only brings eight teams to its conference tournament, so Kent State is among the teams that hope to keep winning down the stretch and create one of those top eight seeds for Golden Flashes hoops. Kent State is a solid three-point shooting team which is a key to their squad's offensive approach.

Topics of discussion include:

• Kent State moving into the middle of the MAC at half of the league season
• Jalen Sullinger and Gio Santiago on the perimeter
• VonCameron Davis' approach to the game and his leadership
• The Golden Flashes' rematch with Northern Illinois on Saturday
• Much more!

Coach May has seen his Florida Atlantic Owls portray a solid follow-up to last season's Final Four as they have recorded an 18-4 record and 8-1 in the AAC at this point. The Owls are tied for first place with South Florida as both currently have once loss each and FAU has currently won seven in a row. Coach May discusses his roster as well as the high level of offensive intensity which has the Owls in the Top 15 in the nation in effective field goal percentage.

Topics of discussion include:

• Coach May's returnees from last season's Final Four squad
• The prolific offense that averaged 36.9 percent from three
• How guard Johnell Davis has gotten even better
• The inside presence of 7-1 Vladislav Goldin
• Much more!

Coach Alan Huss makes his initial entrance to the "Marching to Madness" college basketball podcast in his first season as head coach of the High Point Panthers. Coach Huss has led HPU to a 20-4 record and the Panthers are currently alone at the top of the league with a 9-0 BSC record. High Point is one of the fastest and most viable offenses in the country, averaging 84.9 points per game.

Topics of discussion include:

• Coach Huss's background at Creighton as he also coached high school, prep school and AAU basketball
• The 85 points per game as a scoring average
• Duke Miles and Kezza Griffa as a pair of consistent scorers
• The play of Kimani Hamilton at power forward