Marching to Madness

East Tennessee State head coach Desmond Oliver checks in to talk Buccaneers as his team has battled through injury and currently sits at 3-2 in the Southern Conference and tied for fourth place. ETSU took a 96-74 win over The Citadel on Wednesday evening when guard Jordan King led the Buccaneers with 42 points as he was 14-of-19 from the floor.

Topics of discussion include:

• Important situations in the deep SoCon
• Jordan King's 42-point performance
• Jordan Haynes' productivity in shooting 58% from the floor
• Three-point shooting on both sides of the basketball

Loyola Marymount head basketball coach Stan Johnson has the Lions currently at a 12-6 start in the WCC. Cameron Shelton is LMU's leading scorer and the fourth in the WCC at 18.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Loyola Marymount has a solid defense against the three that only allows 6.2 made triples and 30.9 percent from three.

Topics of discussion include:

• How Cam's shooting percentage is a solid part of the team
• The skills of Kelli Leaupepe and how they allow him to find shots
• The depth of the WCC
• The Lions' defense against the 3

Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson is back on "Marching to Madness" as his Cougars are now 16-1 and back to being rated No. 1 in the nation. Houston has the top defense in the nation as the Cougs lead the nation in holding the opposition to 33.2 percent from the floor and 51.5 points per game.

Topics of discussion include:

• The depth at guard with Marcus Sasser, Tramon Mark, and Jamal Shedd as the three starters in the backcourt
• The ability of freshman Jarace Walker
• How this top-rated defense is consistent
• Many thoughts on philosophy and abilities in the program
• Much more!

North Carolina State head coach Kevin Keatts is back on "Marching to Madness" as his the Wolfpack are 13-4 overall and play with one of the nation's top point guards in Terquavion Smith while Ole Miss transfer Jarkel Joiner and Casey Morsell are solid guards on the perimeter.

Topics of discussion include:

• The Wolfpack's defense in the win over Duke
• The trifecta in the backcourt of Smith, Joiner, and Morsell
• DJ Burns in the pivot
• Player development from Coach Keatts and his staff

New Mexico head coach Richard Pitino is back on "Marching to Madness" as his Lobos were the last team to lose a game in college basketball this season. Saturday's home matchup with UNLV is the first sell-out for New Mexico since 2015.

Topics of discussion include:

• The shooting prowess of Jamal Mashburn, Jr. and Jaelen House
• Morris Udeze and Josiah Allick as the Lobos still feature double posts inside of their attack
• Solid defensive for the Lobos who allow opponents to shoot 41 percent from the field
• The depth of Mountain West basketball once again

… And much more!

Coach Sonny Smith is back on "Marching to Madness" as he discusses his programs at Auburn, VCU, and ETSU where he had solid rebuilds at all three schools. Smith took Auburn to five consecutive NCAA Tournaments and had them on the cusp of the Final Four when the Tigers lost to eventual national champion Louisville in the Elite eight in 1986.

Topics of discussion include:

• The dynamics of Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl
• How Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome have reasserted the post position at Auburn
• The Tigers' depth at guard
• Would Sonny rather be a connoisseur of the Transfer Portal or the NIL?

… And much more!

Coach Mike Magpayo checks in as he is in his third season as the head coach of the UC Riverside Highlanders. UCR is 8-5 against after last night's Big West opening win vs. Cal-Bakersfield after going against a tough non-conference schedule where they finished 7-5.

Topics of discussion include:

• Zyon Pullin's success in the workouts for the NBA Draft
• Flynn Cameron's existence on the perimeter with Pullin
• Matching up against a tough non-conference schedule to pull a 7-5 record
• Lachlan Olbrich and Kyle Owens in the paint

… And much more!

Coach Phil Martelli is back as he checks in as the associate head coach to Juwan Howard at Michigan. Coach Martelli won 444 games in 24 seasons as the head coach of the St. Joesph's Hawks after he spent 10 years as an SJU assistant coach. The coach also provides analysis on the Wolverines thus far.

Topics of discussion include:

• The solid post play of Hunter Dickinson
• Jaelin Llewellyn's ACL injury
• How Jett Howard contributes as a consistent shooter
• The closeness of the conference races as well as the Big Ten

Coach Jim Harrick won the national championship at UCLA in 1995 as he totaled 470 wins in 23 years as a head coach at Pepperdine, UCLA, Rhode Island, and Georgia. Harrick took all four of those teams to the NCAA Tournament as his teams allowed a 66.7 winning percentage.

Topics of discussion include:

• The 1995 national championship at UCLA
• Potential national titles at Rhode Island, Georgia, and UCLA
• 4 NCAA appearances at Pepperdine
• How Coach Harrick sees the Pac-12 this season

Bob Richey enters his sixth season as the head coach of the Furman Paladins, who have started 9-4 overall and they will be in the mix for the Southern Conference crown once again. Furman has one of the most solid offenses in the game as the Paladins are averaging 82.6 ppg (23rd/CBB) and shooting 50 percent from the floor (18th/CBB).

Topics of discussion include:

• Mike Bothwell being a focal point of the offensive attack as he is the second leading scorer in the SoCon right how with 20.2 ppg.
• Jalen Slawson as a key overall scorer and rebounder
• Furman averaging 19.5 assists per game which is fifth in the nation
• Coach Richey's looks at the challenging Southern Conference
• Much more!