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

September 1, 2022: Rod and Eric begin this year's Big Ten Previews with a prediction for Nebraska to be the cellar dweller. Despite not doing as well as previous coach, Tim Miles', worst year at Nebraska, head coach Fred Hoiberg seems to have been given a long leash entering his fourth season. Previously, an expert at piecing together teams using transfers at Iowa State, it just hasn't worked out in Lincoln.

Once again, the roster will have almost complete turnover from last year and we will wait to see if they can finally pull it together.

The Final Four Is Not on the Schedule is excited to announce our contest for this year open to all listeners to the show. Can you predict the correct order of the Big Ten this season? Try and beat Rod for a great prize. A free logo t-shirt and opportunity to come on the show after the season to gloat. To enter, send us your name and predictions to [email protected]. Entries must be submitted before the first Big Ten games are played.

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August 24, 2022: Recent comments by Southeastern Conference (SEC) commissioner Greg Sankey shed some light on changes that power 5 conferences might have for our favorite sporting event of the year - the NCAA basketball tournament. The "fresh look" Sankey mentions might include an expanded field up to 96 allowing many more power 5 teams in as at-large bids and obviously, greater revenue with more games.

However, many do not see eye to eye with Sankey. FGCU's athletic director, Ken Kavanagh, worried that what's really on the chopping block is the auto bids for the non-Power 5+1 conferences with the tournament. Mike Decourcey of the Sporting News wrote a blistering response to the proposals to change the basketball tournament which we addressed in the show.

Ultimately, conference realignment, NIL, and TV rights are fueling all of this turmoil and threatening the tournament no matter what we might want. Rod and Eric discuss the implications of what is happening, what might happen, and what should happen.

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August 17, 2022: This Spring, it became official that UCLA and USC would join the Big Ten for the 2024 athletic season and beyond. As with nearly all athletic decisions at the conference level they are driven entirely by football. Most of the discussion about revenue and scheduling centers around what the addition of the two schools will have on football. But what about basketball?

Rod and Eric discuss the implications of these two Pac-12 teams joining the Big Ten. UCLA brings with it some of the most storied programs of all time with 11 national championships. USC adds a middling to solid program that certainly might be competitive.

Does the addition of the schools open up the west coast for recruiting? Does it raise the competitiveness of the conference? How will travel and scheduling work?

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August 9, 2022: Rod and Eric discuss the newest addition to the already strong 2023 recruiting class, Coen Carr from Georgia. Carr is a tremendous athlete who can jump out of the gym and rounds out the 2023 class as a 6' 7" forward who can play the 3 or 4.

The two announced the creation of a new Spartan TFFINOTS community with a website, enhanced production, and a free community bulletin board.

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August 2, 2022: Rod and Eric discuss the newest Michigan State recruitment of 2023 SF Gehrig Normand from Texas. Normand's commitment to MSU comes after just a three and a half week courtship with Tom Izzo and his staff. By all accounts, Normand was heading to Wisconsin to play his college ball until the Spartans staff reached out to him and convinced him that Madison really isn't as great a place to play basketball as East Lansing.

Also, they discuss the hiring of a replacement recruiting coordinator, John Borovich. Borovich has deep ties to the team as he was a high school teammate of Matt Ishbia, played college basketball under Mark Montgomery, worked as a grad assistant under Tom Izzo, and later coached with Montgomery at Northern Illinois. Most recently, he was an assistant coach under Chris Collins at Northwestern. Borovich will fill the vacated role that Mike Garland left after his retirement this summer.

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July 31, 2022: The much hyped recruitment of Xavier Booker from Indiana went Tom Izzo's way as he selected MSU to play his college basketball. Booker was out of the top 100 when Izzo began his recruitment of the 6' 11" power forward but has recently moved up to the top of the charts this season as his game has developed. Booker has even been ranked as the number one of his class according to some recent rankings.

Also, two new recruits for the 2023 class took their official visits to MSU this weekend. Both are out of region targets and very late in the recruiting process but word has it that MSU has a good chance on one if not both. Gehrig Normand and Coen Carr would fill the role of the 3/4 which probably be a large need with the departures of Joey Hauser and maybe Malik Hall.

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Most of the nonconference schedule is released and its is going to be a grueling challenge with matchups against Alabama, Kentucky, Villanova (maybe twice), Notre Dame, Gonzaga and potentials against UConn or Oregon and maybe even North Carolina.

Also, Michigan State just offered a scholarship to 14 year old Randy Livingston, Jr. from Florida. Livingston is a 6'1" point guard and the son of former NBA player Randy Livingston, Sr. Rod and Eric discuss the player, what this means and may tell us about Izzo's emphasis on recruiting.

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Eric and Rod take a deep dive in on where the Spartans stand with commitments and offers for the 2023, 2024, and 2025 classes. They talk about Jeremy Fears, Xavier Booker, Devin Royal, and more. Eric visited MoneyBall and gives his impressions on the new additions to the team and how Sissoko and Hoggard looked.

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Eric and Rod and joined with award winning journalist Jack Ebling now of the Drive with Jack show. Jack offers his thoughts on what USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten will do for the conference, will it stop there, and if they bring in more than bigger TV markets.

We also discuss how the transfer portal and name and likeness will change college athletics probably for good. Will the NCAA tournament ever be the same if these mega-conferences are created and seek more and more revenue? Finally, we get Jack's thoughts on how it Jud Heathcote and Tom Izzo are different to cover as a member of the media.

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Rod & Eric hop into the way back machine and talk about another What If scenario. This time, the 1985-86 Spartans whose season came to an end after a clock malfunction at the NCAA tournament in 1986. This was Scott Skiles' senior year which was one of the most prolific single season performances in MSU history.

With MSU up 4 late in the second half, the clock at Kemper Arena in Kansas City suddenly got 'stuck' for 15 seconds. Michigan State eventually missed some late free throws and #1 seed Kansas ending up tying the game with 9 seconds left and forcing overtime where they won by 10. Amazingly, the clock issue was never fixed during stoppage of the game.

If the clock didn't break, would MSU have won? Could they have defeated North Carolina State in the regional finals to advance to the Final Four? If so, could they have beaten a young Coach K at Duke and perhaps Louisville in the Championship game?

*Warning: some serious Michigan shade is thrown in this episode.

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