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

September 18, 2023: Rutgers has quietly become a serious pest and threat to teams in the Big Ten. After spending years as the league doormat, the Scarlet Knights are not only a legitimate challenge each night but have become somewhat of a regular in the NCAA tournament. Steve Pikiell has done a masterful job in creating a real program at a university with virtually no basketball tradition.

However, last year was bit of a weird year for the Knights as they looked assured to make the field of 68 when all of a sudden, the wheels came off as they dropped 6 of their last eight games. Worse yet, one of those was to Minnesota who had a KenPom profile of a middling team in the SWAC. 

Next year, Rutgers is poised to potentially get 2 of the top 5 high school recruits in the nation. This year, it might really struggle to recover and make it back into the NCAAs. The departures of Cam Spencer and Paul Mulcahy really put Pikiell and his team in a tough spot. They will have to hope that they can bring in enough scoring to overcome the loss of their two seasoned guards.

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, two MSU alums. The business is operated out of Michigan and screen prints super high quality products. They also have a large assortment of apparel for other schools as well as stickers for your wall, car, or computer. You can also buy our merchandise to sport around town where all the sales proceeds go to support the show.

If you have a home in Michigan you know the importance of clearing water efficiently away from your home off the roof. Unfortunately, the outdoor beauty of Michigan means you have to deal with leaves and debris that pile up in your gutters. Sometimes, those gutters also can’t keep up with the rain or leave puddles by your foundation.

If you live in the Grand Rapids area (Muskegon to Saugatuck to Rockford to Lowell) contact Kurt Stauffer at the Brothers that Just Do Gutters. (https://www.brothersgutters.com/grand-rapids-mi/).

If you’re anywhere in the metro Detroit area the Brothers have you covered too! (https://www.brothersgutters.com/metro-detroit-mi/). They are real professionals who will clean, repair, or replace your gutters and protect your home quickly and efficiently with friendly service.

Mention Final Four to get 10% off your gutter work.

#RutgersBasketball #Rutgers #ScarletKnights

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September 14, 2023: Although Purdue and its steamrolling through the Big Ten last year was the main headline - Northwestern may have had an even better season (at least compared to expectations). Chris Collins' crew found 'it' last year and rocketed up to the top of the conference mainly through a tenacious defense.

Collins was perhaps a little bit on the hot seat, but after a second NCAA tournament berth (the second ever in the history of Northwestern) and a first round win, we expect he's safe in Evanston for a while. However, Chase Audige elected to go pro instead of take his COVID year leaving a lot of questions still for the 'Cats heading into the year. 

Northwestern has added some pieces from transfers but like the other teams we have discussed to this point, we will just have to wait and see how they pan out. The one nice thing that the 'Cats have going for them is the return of Boo Bouie who should provide a good foundation for success.

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, two MSU alums. The business is operated out of Michigan and screen prints super high quality products. They also have a large assortment of apparel for other schools as well as stickers for your wall, car, or computer. You can also buy our merchandise to sport around town where all the sales proceeds go to support the show.

If you have a home in Michigan you know the importance of clearing water efficiently away from your home off the roof. Unfortunately, the outdoor beauty of Michigan means you have to deal with leaves and debris that pile up in your gutters. Sometimes, those gutters also can’t keep up with the rain or leave puddles by your foundation.

If you live in the Grand Rapids area (Muskegon to Saugatuck to Rockford to Lowell) contact Kurt Stauffer at the Brothers that Just Do Gutters. (https://www.brothersgutters.com/grand-rapids-mi/).

If you’re anywhere in the metro Detroit area the Brothers have you covered too! (https://www.brothersgutters.com/metro-detroit-mi/). They are real professionals who will clean, repair, or replace your gutters and protect your home quickly and efficiently with friendly service.

Mention Final Four to get 10% off your gutter work.

#NorthwesternWildcats #NorthwesternBasketball

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September 11, 2023: Fred Hoiberg and the Cornhuskers had a moderately successful season last year. They nearly finished .500 in league play and went 6-2 down the home stretch largely behind the emergence of Keisei Tominaga and his infectious personality and deadliness from behind the arc. Last year, Nebraska was finally not awful on the defensive end of the ball or on the boards.

The question coming into this year is an obvious one: was the end of last year a fluke or will it be a foundation for new success going forward? Certainly, if Keisei Tominaga can have a repeat of the shooting performance he put on last year this Nebraska team will at a minimum be a threat to knock you off if you're off your game. 

But just like the other two previews we've done so far, this team's success will depend in large part on whether the midmajor transfers can deliver. The ones the 'huskers are depending on are Rienk Mast from Bradley and Brice Williams from Charlotte. Whether a successful season is a necessity for Fred Hoiberg to avoid the hot seat in Lincoln is unclear. However, it is probably safe to say that a poor performance again this year might spell the beginning of the end for his reign.

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, two MSU alums. The business is operated out of Michigan and screen prints super high quality products. They also have a large assortment of apparel for other schools as well as stickers for your wall, car, or computer. You can also buy our merchandise to sport around town where all the sales proceeds go to support the show.

If you have a home in Michigan you know the importance of clearing water efficiently away from your home off the roof. Unfortunately, the outdoor beauty of Michigan means you have to deal with leaves and debris that pile up in your gutters. Sometimes, those gutters also can’t keep up with the rain or leave puddles by your foundation.

If you live in the Grand Rapids area (Muskegon to Saugatuck to Rockford to Lowell) contact Kurt Stauffer at the Brothers that Just Do Gutters. (https://www.brothersgutters.com/grand-rapids-mi/).

If you’re anywhere in the metro Detroit area the Brothers have you covered too! (https://www.brothersgutters.com/metro-detroit-mi/). They are real professionals who will clean, repair, or replace your gutters and protect your home quickly and efficiently with friendly service.

Mention Final Four to get 10% off your gutter work.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

September 10, 2023: Well, MSU fans who went to bed Saturday night feeling pretty good about their football team awoke Sunday to some very sobering news. It turns out that Head coach Mel Tucker, is the subject of a serious Title IX investigation alleging sexual misconduct with a former off campus individual. His coaching future with Michigan State is probably over as we await the next steps within the program and athletic department.

However, whenever anything happens within athletics at MSU, it seems Tom Izzo becomes a part of the discussion. Partly because there is such a huge power vacuum at the university and partly because he cares so deeply from the school. In this episode we have a brief discussion over what, if any, impact this will have on the basketball program and season this year.

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, two MSU alums. The business is operated out of Michigan and screen prints super high quality products. They also have a large assortment of apparel for other schools as well as stickers for your wall, car, or computer. You can also buy our merchandise to sport around town where all the sales proceeds go to support the show.

If you have a home in Michigan you know the importance of clearing water efficiently away from your home off the roof. Unfortunately, the outdoor beauty of Michigan means you have to deal with leaves and debris that pile up in your gutters. Sometimes, those gutters also can’t keep up with the rain or leave puddles by your foundation.

If you live in the Grand Rapids area (Muskegon to Saugatuck to Rockford to Lowell) contact Kurt Stauffer at the Brothers that Just Do Gutters. (https://www.brothersgutters.com/grand-rapids-mi/).

If you’re anywhere in the metro Detroit area the Brothers have you covered too! (https://www.brothersgutters.com/metro-detroit-mi/). They are real professionals who will clean, repair, or replace your gutters and protect your home quickly and efficiently with friendly service.

Mention Final Four to get 10% off your gutter work.

#MSUHoops #MichiganState #Spartans

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September 7, 2023: In perhaps the most surprising season in the Big Ten (outside of Purdue winning and then face planting in the NCAA tourney), the Penn State Nittany Lions did what few thought possible. Micah Shrewsberry cobbled together a team of veterans, grad transfers, and portal additions without any size and managed to get a .500 record and NCAA tourney berth. 

Not only did PSU make the NCAA and win a game, they almost knocked out a really tough Texas team to make the Sweet 16. However, the most shocking thing about the Lions was that they have to be the most unconventional Big Ten team in recent memory usually playing 5 guards and no one over 6' 5". Despite the size limitations on the team, Penn State managed to be competitive and just pesky enough to defeat a lot of teams who looked much better than them on paper.

But then forces that were working in the background (or not working) as Penn State's successful coach - a real diamond in the rough for this sorry basketball program - and let him slip away. Clearly, the administration at Penn State never saw the real value in Shrewberry (and basketball in general) and were way too late in providing any overtures to keep him from leaving Happy Valley.

So now Shrewsberry is at Notre Dame and Penn State's roster has been reduced to rubble. They only have 3 remaining players on the roster - none of whom played much last year - and ten new bodies as the new coach, Mike Rhodes, tries to bring his success in the A-10 at VCU to the Big Ten. Much like Minnesota, Penn State is filled with more questions than answers this year.

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, two MSU alums. The business is operated out of Michigan and screen prints super high quality products. They also have a large assortment of apparel for other schools as well as stickers for your wall, car, or computer. You can also buy our merchandise to sport around town where all the sales proceeds go to support the show.

If you have a home in Michigan you know the importance of clearing water efficiently away from your home off the roof. Unfortunately, the outdoor beauty of Michigan means you have to deal with leaves and debris that pile up in your gutters. Sometimes, those gutters also can’t keep up with the rain or leave puddles by your foundation.

If you live in the Grand Rapids area (Muskegon to Saugatuck to Rockford to Lowell) contact Kurt Stauffer at the Brothers that Just Do Gutters. (https://www.brothersgutters.com/grand-rapids-mi/).

If you’re anywhere in the metro Detroit area the Brothers have you covered too! (https://www.brothersgutters.com/metro-detroit-mi/). They are real professionals who will clean, repair, or replace your gutters and protect your home quickly and efficiently with friendly service.

Mention Final Four to get 10% off your gutter work.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

September 4, 2023: Head coach Ben Johnson and the Minnesota Gophers are coming off of a statistically historically poor season. Out of 351 division-1 teams, the Gophers rated 235 in KenPom which was easily the worst in Big Ten. This is following a relatively successful year for a team that was cobbled together by Johnson with mostly transfers.

Unfortunately for the Gophers, their weak roster was plagued by injuries to their star players - Dawson Garcia and Jameson Battle. The mild magic that occurred the year before (although Minnesota still didn't win a lot of conference games) was now gone and they only managed two wins in the league.

Toughest yet is that Johnson and the Gophers continue to struggle to keep Minnesota talent from escaping the state and heading to other programs. Michigan State got Tre Holloman, Duke got Paulo Banchero, and the list goes on. So this year Minnesota is again faced with a challenging roster that has some unknown potential. Unfortunately for them, they will be without Jameson Battle and Ta'lon Cooper who have transferred out.

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, two MSU alums. The business is operated out of Michigan and screen prints super high quality products. They also have a large assortment of apparel for other schools as well as stickers for your wall, car, or computer. You can also buy our merchandise to sport around town where all the sales proceeds go to support the show.

If you have a home in Michigan you know the importance of clearing water efficiently away from your home off the roof. Unfortunately, the outdoor beauty of Michigan means you have to deal with leaves and debris that pile up in your gutters. Sometimes, those gutters also can’t keep up with the rain or leave puddles by your foundation.

If you live in the Grand Rapids area (Muskegon to Saugatuck to Rockford to Lowell) contact Kurt Stauffer at the Brothers that Just Do Gutters. (https://www.brothersgutters.com/grand-rapids-mi/).

If you’re anywhere in the metro Detroit area the Brothers have you covered too! (https://www.brothersgutters.com/metro-detroit-mi/). They are real professionals who will clean, repair, or replace your gutters and protect your home quickly and efficiently with friendly service.

Mention Final Four to get 10% off your gutter work.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

September 1, 2023: MSU finally released it's non conference schedule and it has a few surprises. First, there is no true road game which is very unusual for Tom Izzo. He usually likes to challenge his team at least once in a hostile environment before the Big Ten season really gets under way.

Second, the schedule is much more manageable this year without games sandwiched between crazy travel schedules. Unlike last year where MSU logged thousands of miles in the air and moved multiple time zones before playing at Notre Dame, this year doesn't look to have any of those difficulties.

Finally, 1979 national champion opponent, the Indiana State Sycamores, visit the Breslin in their first matchup since the title game over 40 years ago. It will certainly be an interesting matchup and one that is sure to get a lot of media attention.

As far a recruiting, MSU is hosting official visits for Jase Ricahrdson and Davion Hannah this weekend and unofficials for 2026 targets TJ Crumble and Steven Reynolds.

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, two MSU alums. The business is operated out of Michigan and screen prints super high quality products. They also have a large assortment of apparel for other schools as well as stickers for your wall, car, or computer. You can also buy our merchandise to sport around town where all the sales proceeds go to support the show.

If you have a home in Michigan you know the importance of clearing water efficiently away from your home off the roof. Unfortunately, the outdoor beauty of Michigan means you have to deal with leaves and debris that pile up in your gutters. Sometimes, those gutters also can’t keep up with the rain or leave puddles by your foundation.

If you live in the Grand Rapids area (Muskegon to Saugatuck to Rockford to Lowell) contact Kurt Stauffer at the Brothers that Just Do Gutters. (https://www.brothersgutters.com/grand-rapids-mi/).

If you’re anywhere in the metro Detroit area the Brothers have you covered too! (https://www.brothersgutters.com/metro-detroit-mi/). They are real professionals who will clean, repair, or replace your gutters and protect your home quickly and efficiently with friendly service.

Mention Final Four to get 10% off your gutter work.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

August 23, 2023: Tom Izzo and Spartans are already off to a great start in solidifying their next class of high school recruits for the 2024 class. They have already received commitments from talented 6'5" dead eye shooting Kur Teng and 6'11" big man Jesse McCulloch who we would assume makes up half of the planned class for 2024.

To round out the class, MSU is seriously working on landing 6'3" combo guard Jase Richardson (son of Spartan and NBA great, Jason Richardson), 6'6" phenom guard  Bryson Tucker, and 6'11" Aidan Sherrell. It looks like Michigan State is seriously in the running for the first two with a good chance at securing one if not both. 

As for 2025, MSU has a whole lot of targets they have shown interest in, made offers, and begun official and unofficial visits to campus. In fact, there are 15 to date who we have identified as targets for the green and white.

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, two MSU alums. The business is operated out of Michigan and screen prints super high quality products. They also have a large assortment of apparel for other schools as well as stickers for your wall, car, or computer. You can also buy our merchandise to sport around town where all the sales proceeds go to support the show.

If you have a home in Michigan you know the importance of clearing water efficiently away from your home off the roof. Unfortunately, the outdoor beauty of Michigan means you have to deal with leaves and debris that pile up in your gutters. Sometimes, those gutters also can’t keep up with the rain or leave puddles by your foundation.

If you live in the Grand Rapids area (Muskegon to Saugatuck to Rockford to Lowell) contact Kurt Stauffer at the Brothers that Just Do Gutters. (https://www.brothersgutters.com/grand-rapids-mi/).

If you’re anywhere in the metro Detroit area the Brothers have you covered too! (https://www.brothersgutters.com/metro-detroit-mi/). They are real professionals who will clean, repair, or replace your gutters and protect your home quickly and efficiently with friendly service.

Mention Final Four to get 10% off your gutter work.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

August 16, 2023: 6' 2" sophomore point guard Tre Holloman had a very solid freshman year playing nearly 9 minutes a game as a backup to AJ Hoggard. He was solid defensively and good protecting the ball with nearly a 2.5:1 assist to turnover ratio. Not relied upon to score last year, almost certainly we can expect to see him contribute more on the offensive side of the ball this year.

Tre has been working on his shot and handle over the off season and those who went to Moneyball saw his improved confidence and three point shot. With the addition of Jeremy Fears as a another point guard there is a good chance that we will see Tre playing backup as both a one and two. Holloman also gave us his impression of Izzo showing up at his football practices in high school and comparing Minneapolis to East Lansing.

Did you see Holloman's NIL hot dog commercial? Find it here (https://spartanshadows.com/aj-hoggard-tre-holloman-best-nil-commercial-all-time-video/)

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, two MSU alums. The business is operated out of Michigan and screen prints super high quality products. They also have a large assortment of apparel for other schools as well as stickers for your wall, car, or computer. You can also buy our merchandise to sport around town where all the sales proceeds go to support the show.

If you have a home in Michigan you know the importance of clearing water efficiently away from your home off the roof. Unfortunately, the outdoor beauty of Michigan means you have to deal with leaves and debris that pile up in your gutters. Sometimes, those gutters also can’t keep up with the rain or leave puddles by your foundation. If you live in the Grand Rapids area (Muskegon to Saugatuck to Rockford to Lowell) contact Kurt Stauffer at the Brothers that Just Do Gutters. (https://www.brothersgutters.com/grand-rapids-mi/).

If you’re anywhere in the metro Detroit area the Brothers have you covered too! (https://www.brothersgutters.com/metro-detroit-mi/). They are real professionals who will clean, repair, or replace your gutters and protect your home quickly and efficiently with friendly service.

Mention Final Four to get 10% off your gutter work. 

#gogreen #michiganstatespartans #bigtenbasketball #Holloman

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

August 9, 2023: 6'5" freshman wing Gehrig Normand joins us again to discuss his first impressions at Michigan State. Our sit down went down a number of avenues from what he thinks of East Lansing (in the summer), Moneyball, his freshmen teammates, and coach Izzo.

When we asked him what he thought of the yelling from Izzo and the staff he simply shrugged it off and said it showed they actually care. Besides, he recalled, his dad yelled all the time and coached him through middle school. But is there a difference between Izzo's corrections and his dad's? Tune in to find out what he said.

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, two MSU alums. The business is operated out of Michigan and screen prints super high quality products. They also have a large assortment of apparel for other schools as well as stickers for your wall, car, or computer. You can also buy our merchandise to sport around town where all the sales proceeds go to support the show.

If you have a home in Michigan you know the importance of clearing water efficiently away from your home off the roof. Unfortunately, the outdoor beauty of Michigan means you have to deal with leaves and debris that pile up in your gutters. Sometimes, those gutters also can’t keep up with the rain or leave puddles by your foundation.

If you live in the Grand Rapids area (Muskegon to Saugatuck to Rockford to Lowell) contact Kurt Stauffer at the Brothers that Just Do Gutters. (https://www.brothersgutters.com/grand-rapids-mi/).

If you’re anywhere in the metro Detroit area the Brothers have you covered too! (https://www.brothersgutters.com/metro-detroit-mi/). They are real professionals who will clean, repair, or replace your gutters and protect your home quickly and efficiently with friendly service.

Mention Final Four to get 10% off your gutter work.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.