Hope & Rauf presented by Heat Check CBB; Brian is joined by Tobias Bass of NBC Sports Edge and NXTPRO Scouting to hand out some NCAA Basketball midseason awards!With non-conference play mostly in the books and conference play kicking into full gear, the duo hands out their awards for the first half of the season. Brian and Tobias each give their midseason selections for:- National Player of the Year- Freshman of the Year- Defensive Player of the Year- Coach of the Year- All-Americans- Mos...

Hope & Rauf presented by Heat Check CBB does a Final Four Draft! Connor and Brian alternate picks and each select 10 teams they think are the most likely to make the 2022 Final Four - and top-ranked Baylor wasn't the first selection.The duo also discuss NC State's punishment handed down by the IARP and what it means for other schools awaiting penalties resulting from the FBI investigation.Check out the 20 teams that were picked in the Final Four Draft and much more in the latest epis...

Hope & Rauf presented by Heat Check CBB: Connor and Brian recap the past week of NCAA Basketball action and dissect the biggest storylines across the sport.In this episode, Hope & Rauf discuss:- Mark Turgeon leaving Maryland and the Maryland coaching search- Issues plaguing Gonzaga- Parity among top teams- Are Arkansas, LSU, USC legitimate threats?- ACC's struggles- Memphis' poor play- Best games of the week ahead!Check out all that and much more in the latest episode of Hope & Ra...

Hope & Rauf presented by Heat Check CBB: Connor and Brian recap the past week of NCAA Basketball action and play "Contender or Pretender" with the teams that have surprised us early in the season.How good are teams like Arizona, Florida, Iowa State, and Wisconsin? How alarming are the problems that have plagued teams like Illinois, Memphis and Michigan? Hope & Rauf break it all down before previewing the biggest games in the week ahead, headlined by the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.Listen to...

Hope & Rauf presented by Heat Check CBB: Connor and Brian recap the past week of college basketball action and offer in-depth previews of the biggest games of Feast Week.Purdue and Arizona both turned heads over the weekend with their play, but which one was the biggest winner of the weekend? The duo also dissect the most pressing concerns with Michigan, Villanova and others.Finally, their Feast Week preview is headlined by two top-five matchups with Gonzaga taking on both UCLA and Duke t...

Hope & Rauf presented by Heat Check CBB: Connor and Brian recap the opening week of the NCAA Basketball season. The duo discusses why Gonzaga is the clear top team, why they've lowered their expectations for Kentucky, and why Villanova may not be a Final Four contender. They also discuss the teams that impressed them the most and the ones they're the most concerned about (looking at you, Ohio State and Illinois).Hope & Rauf close by looking at the week ahead in NCAA Basketball and pre...

Hope & Rauf presented by Heat Check CBB: Connor and Brian conclude their NCAA Basketball season preview series with a look to the future. The duo hands out their preseason selections for four major awards - Most Improved Player, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Player of the Year - before making their Final Four and National Championship picks.Perhaps unsurprisingly, they each have the same team cutting down the nets in April!They close by giving out the bold predictions they ...

Hope & Rauf presented by Heat Check CBB: Connor and Brian break down Pac-12 basketball in the final edition of the 2021-22 conference preview series. UCLA enters the new season as the clear favorite, but who are the biggest threats to unseat them atop the conference?Listen to their projected standings and break down all 12 teams before they give their bold predictions for the season. Who is Connor's surprising Player of the Year pick? How many coaches does Brian think will be fired at the...

Hope & Rauf presented by Heat Check CBB: Brian and Connor break down the preseason AP top 25 that was released on Monday. Who is ranked too high and who is ranked too low? UCLA, Illinois, and Maryland's respective rankings lead that discussion.Then they get into previewing both the West Coast Conference and Mountain West Conference. Gonzaga - preseason #1 for the second straight year - will have to deal with an improved WCC that could send three or more teams to the NCAA Tournament. The s...

Hope & Rauf presented by Heat Check CBB: Connor is joined by Lukas Harkins to discuss their takes on the Big East in the next edition of the conference preview series. Topped, as always, by Villanova, how many teams in the Big East have legitimate NCAA Tournament dreams? And who do Lukas and Connor view as the other Top 25 caliber squads?Listen to their projected standings and break down all 11 teams, before they give their bold predictions for the season. Who does Lukas think will be Set...