The panel recaps a busy week, which included North Carolina’s thrilling win against Duke, Michigan State’s thrilling OT win against Illinois, Kentucky’s come from behind win to beat Tennessee, and much more. Gonzaga had a stunning loss to Portland earlier in the week and Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara are battling to try and make the field. Saint Louis is continuing to blow through the Atlantic 10, Saint John’s got a big win against UConn in the Big East, and New Mexico had a rough loss in the Mountain West. We discuss all that and more!!
And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…
If you want to win an NCAA title then you usually need a good coach, a great resume…and a McDonald’s All-American. Only 2 championship teams from 1979-2020 did not have such a player (2002 Maryland/2014 UConn), and while Florida won a title last April without 1, Coach Todd Golden added Arkansas transfer/2024 McDonald’s All-American Boogie Fland to his roster last May. The rosters for this year’s McDonald’s All-American Game were announced last week after selecting the 24 best players in the nation from a list of several hundred nominees. If you do not think these guys can make an immediate impact in the fall, just ask Coach Tommy Lloyd how he likes having 2025 honorees Brayden Burries/Koa Peat at Arizona! Unlike most years when 1 school stands out as the big winner with the most All-Americans, there are 3 different programs tied for the current lead with 2 each (Duke/Missouri/USC) and a whopping 8 players who have not yet committed to a college. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Jasiah Jervis about being named a McDonald’s All-American and being a great defender.
You received offers from several great schools including Illinois/NC State/Tennessee but signed with Michigan State last November: what was the biggest factor in your decision? The coaches built a great relationship with me and my family so I felt like it was home.
Coach Tom Izzo’s team is currently 20-4 after a 3-PT OT win over Illinois last Saturday: how far do you think they will go in the NCAA tourney next month? I feel like they will make a good run, as they made the Elite 8 last March. When I get on campus in the fall, I look forward to trying to help them win another championship.
Your coach Patrick Massaroni has been named Catholic High School Athletic Association COY for 2 years in a row: what makes him such a good coach? His drive/determination: he wants all of us to succeed and get to the next level. What makes us a great team is the standard that he has set.
Earlier this month you were named a McDonald’s All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It was truly a blessing and something I dreamed about as a kid. I give credit to my parents/coaches and it shows that hard work definitely pays off.
2 of your high school teammates were also named All-Americans (Adonis/Darius Ratliff): what is it like to play on a team with so much talent? It is crazy! I have known them since my freshman year and we have a special team so I will miss it next year.
You are part of a great recruiting class that includes Ethan Taylor/Carlos Medlock Jr./Julius Avent: how well do you know your future teammates? We are in touch and I got to see them in person at a basketball event in Brooklyn. We are always checking in on each other via calls/texts to see how our seasons are going.
You are listed at 6’4”: what position do you play now, and what position will you feel most comfortable at in college? I play SG.
You have a 6’8” wingspan: how much of an advantage is your length on the court? It is a big advantage and helps me get a lot of steals/deflections.
You are leading your team in STL this season: what is the key to playing great defense? Just reading your opponent and watching film. If he is fast then you might need to drop back, but if he is slow then you know you can stay in front of him.
Your high school team has won 3 straight state titles: do you think you can make it 4 in a row this spring? Yes, I am very confident that we will do that.
-Tulsa fell at South Florida 80-74, and whatever small hopes they had of landing inside the bubble probably fell along with it.
-UCF, who has had some big moments this year, has not been the best road team and they certainly weren’t good on the road yesterday as a struggling Cincinnati team blew them out 92-72.
-Michigan, Texas Tech, Iowa, and USC (barely) all held serve against teams that were outside the bubble.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-NC STATE AT LOUISVILLE (ACC). This is destination programming for me. NC State is one of the hottest teams in the ACC, they’ve really started to build up their resume, and tonight is another big building opportunity for them. Louisville is solidly in the top half of the bracket and is very tough to beat at home so it should be a good one.
-ARIZONA AT KANSAS (Big 12) – Another Big 12 game that showcases two likely protected seeds. Arizona is unbeaten and Kansas is playing their best basketball of the season. It is one of the tougher games Arizona will have played this season, but they are no strangers to tough games.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Xavier @ Saint John’s (Big East) – Round Two of the Pitino Shootout! Saint John’s just beat UConn, is playing like a protected seed, and is one of the hottest teams in the Big East. They should cruise in this one
-Yale @ Howard – an interesting OOC game between two conference favorites that are underperforming right now
-East Texas A&M @ Stephen F Austin (Southland) – SFA is in control of the Southland and should be able to hold serve tonight
-Belmont @ Bradley (Missouri Valley) – this is another road test for Belmont, but they’ve played well on the road all year long. I still think they should be inside the bubble if they win out
-UNC Wilmington @ Charleston (CAA) – this should be a good one. It’s the two best teams in the conference battling for the top spot in the conference
-Oregon @ Indiana (Big Ten) – Indiana has been stringing together wins and should pick up another one tonight
The HoopsHD panel is back to debate and decide what teams are in, what teams are out, and where they are all seeded heading into Sunday, February 8! Check out our latest Bracket Rundown, but don’t look at the bracket, below, until after you watch the show!
Here is the bracket:
Audio only:
EDITOR’S NOTE – The podcast was recorded at 1:30 PM EST on Sunday; a few notable games went final (i.e. Michigan over OSU and Texas Tech over West Virginia) after we went off the air. The only change we would have made would have been on UCF; they had a bad loss at Cincinnati that would have absolutely changed their spot on the seed list. We will discuss this further on tomorrow night’s Hoops HD Report.
We are 5 weeks away from Selection Sunday as we continue to make our NCAA tourney predictions. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel correctly picked 66 of the 68 teams that made the 2025 tourney: 62 of his 66 were within 1 spot of their actual seed and 52 were right on the money. He will spend the upcoming months predicting which 68 teams will hear their names called on March 15th. See below for his list of who would make the cut if they picked the field today and if you agree or disagree then feel free to tweet us. To see how he stacks up with other websites (ranked 7th out of 186 bracket veterans over the past 5 years), check out: www.bracketmatrix.com
SEED: TEAM (CONFERENCE) 1: Arizona (Big 12) 1: Michigan (Big 10) 1: Duke (ACC) 1: Connecticut (Big East)
-I say that Duke and North Carolina do not always deliver, but the ALMOST always deliver, and they delivered yesterday! Duke took control early against a really good UNC team on the road, and every time the Tarheels made a run at them and the crowd got into it the Blue Devils had an answer. Every time, that is, except for the last time. UNC ended the game on a 9-0 run, which included a game winning 3pt shot with less than a second to go. The fans stormed the court thinking the game was over, and after they cleared the floor for the last 0.4 they stormed the court again after a massive 71-68 win. Lots of things in college sports don’t feel the same due to NIL, the heightened number of transfers, and conference realignment killing off a lot of traditional rivalries and series, but this rivalry has thankfully survived it all! At least so far.
-Michigan State held on to beat Illinois in Overtime 85-82 in another thrilling game. Illinois hit two freethrows to force OT at the end of regulation, and almost overcame a 6pt deficit in the final seconds over OT after making a 3, stealing the inbounds pass, and getting another 3 up at the buzzer, but it didn’t go down. It was a massive win for Michigan State against an Illinois team that had been playing as well as anyone in the country.
-Houston got a battle from BYU, but got another big road win as they held on 77-66. Houston is just a great defensive team and a great rebounding team. BYU has now lost five of their last six. They’re still in good shape overall, but they are in a bit of a tailspin.
-Vanderbilt was getting absolutely blown out at home by Oklahoma, but cut a 21pt second half lead down to just 1, but couldn’t complete the comeback and fell 92-91.
-Florida absolutely mauled Texas A&M on the road 86-67 (and don’t be deceived by the final score, the game was much less competitive than the score would suggest). TAMU just could not hit any shots and the Gators picked up another impressive road win. TAMU has now dropped two straight after blowing through a schedule that is largely backloaded. It will be much more challenging between now and the end.
-Miami OH appeared to be facing a tough challenge yesterday, but they had no problems handling Marshall on the road and picking up the 90-74 win. It was one of their more impressive showings of the year. The Redhawks are still undefeated.
-Kentucky once again overcame a double-digit-deficit and came back to win 84-81, this time against a really good Tennessee team. The Vols are a good team, but they haven’t been the best road team and a win yesterday would have really boosted up their resume. Now Kentucky has a sweep over the Vols in their back pocket.
-Indiana had a lead for most of the game against Wisconsin, but the Badgers came back and forced OT. Indiana held on for a really big 78-77 win, which certainly helps their tournament profile. Wisconsin may also be looking closer to a one-trick pony.
-Alabama knocked off Auburn on the road 96-92 in a rivalry game that had a pivotal feel to it for both teams. Auburn still has work to do to safely make the field and Alabama needs wins like this in order to end up as a protected seed. (And if you’re keeping score, the Tide are 3-1 since the return of a pro player who shall go unnamed.)
-Seton Hall kind of blew it at Creighton. They appeared to be in control, but fell apart at the very end and Creighton won 69-68. This pretty much torpedoes Seton Hall’s chances at earning an at-large as the Pirates have now lost six of their last eight.
-And if Butler wasn’t already dead, a loss at Marquette pretty much sealed their fate.
-Utah State got a battle at Wyoming, but managed to escape 85-83 with another road win. It wasn’t their most impressive win of the season, but it was a win on the road against a team that can be hard to beat.
-New Mexico, who was right on the bubble, did something that no bubble team should do and that’s lose at home to a team that’s nowhere near the bubble. Boise State went into The Pit and knocked off the Lobos 91-90. Boise State has been good at times, but they’re still the kind of team a tournament caliber team needs to beat at home. And worse yet, Boise State now has a sweep of the Lobos which makes their at-large case nearly impossible to make.
-Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara both had to sweat out games against San Francisco and Washington State but ultimately did win their games to remain in the at-large hunt.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MICHIGAN AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). It’s a rivalry game between two teams that are standing in very different places. Michigan is trying to play their way into a #1 seed and Ohio State needs to string together several big wins just to make the field at all. Winning this one on the road could be a challenge, but Michigan has been challenged many times this year and come up big almost every time.
-TEXAS TECH AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). Texas Tech is solidly in the field and likely a solid protected seed, but they have just two true road wins and could use a few more. This should be a winnable road game for them. West Virginia can still reach the bubble, but they’ll need to win a few games like this in order to do it.
-Tulsa @ South Florida (American) – these are two of the better teams in the American and it’s perhaps Tulsa’s toughest remaining game. If they have any hopes at all of getting inside the bubble they need this one
-USC @ Penn State (Big Ten) – this is a winnable road game for a USC team that’s hovering around the bubble.
-UCF @ Cincinnati (Big 12) – UCF is inside the bubble and needs to hold serve in games like this in order to remain safely there. They’ve had a good year, but a few more road wins certainly wouldn’t hurt. Also keep in mind that the Knights barely survived at home against UC in their first meeting.
-Northwestern @ Iowa (Big Ten) – Iowa is on a rampage right now and should be able to hold serve at home in this one. Northwestern is on what you would call the opposite of a rampage.
UTR WATCH:
-Liberty got a bigger scare from Missouri State than many of us were expecting, but they held on to win 79-76 at home and remain unbeaten in the conference.
-Central Arkansas continues to be a big story in the Atlantic Sun. They beat Lipscomb on the road 86-78, which is one of their toughest conference games to win, and are now just a game behind Austin Peay.
-Portland State got a huge scare at Sacramento State in an emotionally charged game, but held on to win 74-73.
-UC Irvine fell at UC Santa Barbara in the Gauch Eater Cup in a game that was also emotionally charged with several technical fouls and a few ejections. The 84-79 loss for UC Irvine now puts Hawaii in first place in the Big West after their 72-67 win over UC San Diego.
-Yesterday was a great day for the Sun Belt as they went 10-3 against the MAC to win the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge 14-12. Troy over Akron also killed whatever at-large NCAA hopes the Zips may have been harboring.
