Marching to Madness

Coach Calhoun and I chatted about the Aggies as I saw them play at Disneyland twice last week when they defeated two excellent teams in North Texas and St. Bonaventure to win the NIT Preseason Tip-Off. Coach Calhoun discussed what has been overall, a strong offense for Utah State this season as well as the play of Ian Martinez and Mason Falslev.

Topics of Discussion Include:

• Flaslev's 28 points in the tournament championship against North Texas
• How Martinez's game has grown since coming to Logan, Utah
• Depth which averages from 5.6 to 9.4 ppg
• Ideas on the three-point offense
• Much more!

Coach Terry saw his Longhorns pick up a pair of wins in the Barclay Classic in Brooklyn as they defeated Syracuse and St. Joe's last weekend. Coach and I recorded the show before the Longhorns' 90-68 win over Delaware State on Saturday evening. Freshman Tre Johnson is a major competitor on the point for Texas as he averages 21.1 points per game and is a solid playmaker at the D-1 level. Arthurs Kaluma and Kalen Shedrick power the Longhorns inside.

Topics of Discussion Include:

• Tre Johnson's multi-faceted talents
• Kaluma and Shedrick averaging 60 percent the paint
• Fitting into the SEC
• Looking at Texas' depth

Coach Penders returns on "Marching to Madness" as we chat about the differences when he played at UConn in the mid-60s and now with the transfer portal and NIL atop the stories in college basketball. We discuss the Texas Longhorns who won the Barclays Classic over Syracuse and St. Joseph's and thoughts on the Houston Cougars. Coach Penders built Texas basketball into a national entity while returning Houston to the NCAA Tournament in 2007 after it had fallen since the days of Phi Slamma Jamma.

Topics of Discussion include:

• The transfer portal and NIL and its effects
• Texas basketball and the move to the SEC
• The opening weeks of the season
• Thoughts and philosophies inside the game

Looking at the UNC Greensboro Spartans, Coach Mike Jones had to refurbish his roster, but he has put together a quality unit that will look to once again become a challenger in the Southern Conference. Coach Jones opens his fourth season as he has back-to-back 20-win seasons which allowed the Spartans to be able to challenge in each of the past two campaigns. We recorded our show the day after UNCG battled Indiana, but lost a 69-58 decision in Bloomington.

Topics of Discussion Include:

• How Kenyon Giles and Ronald Polite can be leaders inside of the offense
• UNCG's defense holding opponents to 26.3 percent from the field
• Donovan Atwell's versatility and leadership skills
• Finding Jalen breath more shots inside

Coach Jim Harrick is back on "Marching to Madness" as he won 67 percent of his games and took his teams to the NCAA Tournament in 17 of 23 seasons at UCLA, Pepperdine, Rhode Island, and Georgia. Coach Harrick led the Bruins to the 1995 NCAA title when the Bruins defeated Arkansas and squelched the Razorbacks' chances for back-to-back championships.

Topics of Discussion Include:

• The High-Post offense
• Ideas of the season through three weeks
• The Clippers' new Intuit Arena
• Remembering icons in Coach John Wooden and Bill Walton

Coach Beard once again joins "Marching to Madness" as he discusses lots of his philosophies on both offense and defense as well as players who make up key parts of the team. Ole Miss has a balanced offense as seven players currently average from 6.3 to 14 points per game. We recorded our show before Ole Miss defeated Oral Roberts, 100-68, behind 19 points each from Matthew Murrell and Sean Pedulla.

Topics of Discussion Include:

• How Ole Miss manages such a balanced scoring attack
• Seven 1,000-point scorers compose this team as Matthew Murrell leads with 1,473 points
• The athletic ability of Jaemyn Brakefield
• Applications of complementary skills on defense

Coach Chris Jans comes back on "Marching to Madness" to talk about the start for his MSU Bulldogs as they were 3-0 at the time of the recording and they moved to 4-0 earlier this afternoon with a 78-73 win over Utah. We chatted about the brilliance of point guard Josh Hubbard, who led all scorers with 23 points this afternoon, as he made five three-point field goals. The Bulldogs nailed down a tough win against a quality opponent in the Utes, who enter their first season as a Big 12 member on the hardwood. Coach Jans and I looked back through MSU's three previous wins as we talked about the presence of Cameron Matthews at power forward.

Topics that are discussed include:

• 2023 and 2024 being the Bulldogs' first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances since 2008 and 2009
• Point guard Josh Hubbard's versatility on both ends of the floor
• How Cameron Matthews and Shawn Jones add to the ingredients of the Bulldogs' attack
• A philosophy in the realm of sports psychology

Coach Eran Ganot has built a solid basketball program at Hawaii and his Rainbow Warriors are off to a 3-0 start as they just won the Rainbow Classic earlier in the week. Hawaii again features a strong post-attack with 6-10, 245, Tanner Christensen in the middle. Coach Ganot solidified his roster with a strong transfer portal where guard Marcus Greene transferred in from Houston Christian. The Rainbow Warriors will again be a challenge in the Big West this season.

Topics of Conversation Include:

• The successful Rainbow Classic title
• A look at Tanner Christensen's skills and abilities
• Marcus Greene and Kolby Williams combining for a strong backcourt
• Embracing the rise of the Big West to the 13th-rated conference, according to kenpom.com

Coach Driscoll and I recorded this on Friday, which, of course, was before Sunday's 105-93 win over Georgia Tech. The Ospreys have moved to 3-0, starting with wins over South Carolina and Charleston Southern. To begin the season, the Ospreys defeated an SEC and an ACC opponent. Coach Driscoll explains the team's makeup as a unit and discusses players who will step up, forming Coach Driscoll's culture at UNF.

Topics of Discussion include:

• UNF's opening 74-71 win at South Carolina
• Confidence and momentum that carried into the win over Charleston Southern
• Josh Harris's game personality as he comes in as a freshman
• Ability to work the glass to supplement both offense and defense

Fullerton State was smitten with injuries a year ago and Coach Taylor had to spend the season without three talented players who were a springboard to the finish in '22-23. The Titans bring back four of their top five scorers as they have the potential to be able to score at a faster pace than a year ago. Kaleb Brown, who came over from Missouri, gives the Titans a nice inside threat in the conference and Donovan Oday should bring his all-around game consistently each night.

Topics of Discussion Include:

• Restructuring the TItans after losing 4 of the top 5 scorers
• Lolo Rudolph's potential on the point
• How Donovan Oday formulates his attack
• The Prospectus of Freddie Cooper and Zion RIchardson