October 14, 2024: There's no question that last season was a disappointing year for fourth year head coach, Mick Cronin, as the Bruins had a losing record and missed the NCAA Tournament. The young team struggled especially on the offensive side ranking a dismal #152 in Division 1. But this year offers a lot of promise as Cronin has gone to the port…

October 13, 2024: Michigan State visited Marquette, MI today to take on Tom Izzo's alma mater, Northern Michigan, in a rare early preseason exhibition game. Another signature event scheduled by the Spartans as they played in the Superior Dome where Izzo's number was retired earlier. As for the game, despite being one of the better teams in the D2 G…

John, Kev, and Ash talk beating Oklahoma State, Diddy's parties, and the exhibition game against James Long's University of Charleston. Don't forget to shop at The Book Exchange with our BRAND NEW CODE 4CAST! Save 20% off your order with our promo code at checkout. http://bookexchangewv.com!

October 11, 2024: Thursday evening, Virginia 4* high school recruit, Jordan Scott, committed to Michigan State. Scott is a 6'7" wing who ranks inside the top 75 in most recruiting rankings. He is talented and versatile where he has played positions 1-5 on his AAU team in the UnderArmor circuit. Scott is a winner and comes from great college basketb…

October 9, 2024: Head coach, Brad Underwood, just had his most successful season at Illinois leading the Illini to a Big Ten Tournament championship, second place in the Big Ten regular season, and a trip to the Elite 8. Although it seems Underwood has struggled to maintain a core of recruits to stick around Champaign more than a few years, he has …

October 7, 2024: Ohio State finally parted ways with Chris Holtman last season after many years of underperformance. There's definitely patience at a football school like Ohio State but it isn't unlimited. A general lack of success and missing the tournament multiple years in a row led to his dismissal. Surprisingly, the Buckeyes ended up hiring in…

October 3, 2024: The expressions "dumpster fire, clown show, apocalypse" to describe last year's season for the Wolverines probably all work. Michigan had their worst finish in 60 years and a number of really weird circumstances. Head coach Juwan Howard started the season recovering from a heart surgery and while serving as an assistant coach got t…

John and Ash talk about our beating Kansas! We talk Diddy and the allegations against him, and we try to get John nominated to the WVU Sports Hall of Fame! Don't forget to shop at The Book Exchange with our BRAND NEW CODE 4CAST! Save 20% off your order with our promo code at checkout. http://bookexchangewv.com!…

September 30, 2024: The 2023-24 season was obviously a disappointment for the Scarlet Knights as they failed to make the tournament for the second straight year. It wasn't entirely unexpected with the loss of Paul Mulcahy and Cam Spencer to the transfer portal. However, Rutgers made a huge splash by early Spring where it became clear that they were…

September 26, 2024: Last year second year head coach, Kevin Willard, and the Terrapins had a season they'd like to forget. Despite bringing back some key veterans and picking up highly rate recruits, the team took a turn for the worse last year. Nearly elite defense was negated by an abysmal offensive presence especially outside the 3 point line. I…

September 23, 2024: The third PAC-12 team we have previewed is the Oregon Ducks as they shift to a deeper basketball league that they are used to. Oregon has had a tradition of boom and bust teams and with the close relationship with Phil Knight and Nike, there is every reason to believe Oregon will be competitive. This year's team features some in…

Kev's playing away from home so it's John and Ash! We talk to a fan in our brand-new segment we're still working on, The Final Rage Cast Four Minute Anonymous? Title TBD, of course. We talk the Pitt game, the Elite 8 reunion, and more. Don't forget to shop at The Book Exchange with our BRAND NEW CODE 4CAST! Save 20% off your order with our promo co…

September 19, 2024: The Nebraska Cornhuskers finally made it back to the NCAA Tournament last year - the first for Head Coach Fred Hoiberg - but it resulted in yet another loss. Nebraska still hasn't won an NCAA Tournament game despite 8 tries over the years. It wasn't long ago that we talked about how maybe Fred Hoiberg would find himself on the h…

September 16, 2024: The USC Trojans are joining the Big Ten this year and although they are mostly thought of as a football power, they have some history of occasional success in basketball. Fans might recall MSU's matchup in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 2023 with a talented and dangerous Trojan squad. Well, the Trojans have overhauled…

Kev, Ash and John are back together - And Ash actually WATCHED A GAME! We discuss the Albany game, whether or not we should replace the Coliseum entirely, and we ponder, once again, about our tailgate we need to do! Don't forget to shop at The Book Exchange with our BRAND NEW CODE 4CAST! Save 20% off your order with our promo code at checkout. http…

September 12, 2024: Last year was a strange one for the Wisconsin Badgers. They started out blistering hot in the Big Ten behind tremendous athletic scoring of transfer AJ Storr with a halfway record of 8-1 and first place in the conference. Then the wheels (sort of) came off as they limped across the line to finish 11-9. A bright note was despite …

September 9, 2024: After 5 straight years in the NCAA tournament, the Hawks missed the Tourney this year without the services of any of the Murray twins. It was a largely forgettable year for Iowa and head coach, Fran McCaffrey with a middle of the pack Big Ten finish and a team that statistically wasn't nearly as good as recent years. The Hawkeyes…

WE'RE BACK!! After a hiatus due to TBT, work, moving house, and returning to Japan ... Kevin, John and Dave are back to talk about everything WVU, life, and everything else. We're back with a commitment to weekly episodes. Video episodes will also return soon! Don't forget to shop at The Book Exchange with our BRAND NEW CODE 4CAST! Save 20% off you…

September 5, 2024: Head coach Mike Rhoades took over at Penn State after the premature departure of Micah Shrewsbury. He was left with pretty much a decimated roster and had to rebuild from transfers and a couple players from his previous coaching job. Surprisingly, the experiment sort of worked last year as the Nittany Lions became a competitive t…

September 2, 2024: Chris Collins has gone from us questioning if he would hold onto his job into now sending the Wildcats to back to back NCAA tournament bids and wins. Clearly the greatest coach Northwestern has ever had Collins will now try to establish something new - consistent winning. But he will have to do this without Big Ten killer, Boo Bu…

August 29, 2024: The Big Ten welcomes in four teams from the PAC-12 this year which includes the Washington Huskies. Not only are the Huskies facing change by coming into a new league but they also have a new coach. Danny Sprinkle takes over for Mike Hopkins who only managed to go 12 games over .500 overall in seven seasons in Seattle. Sprinkle wil…

August 26, 2024: The season isn't far away so it's time to start our previews and sneak peak into teams in the Big Ten's 18 teams. We always begin our trek following Rod's expectations from 18 to 1. This year, Rod will again project Minnesota as the cellar dweller. Head coach, Ben Johnson, seems to be snake bit in Minneapolis. After an impressive i…

August 20, 2024: Michigan State left for Spain for an exhibition basketball tour. College teams are only allowed to do this every 4 years or so but it had been 9 years for MSU since their last overseas trip. Coach Izzo felt it was time with a new point guard and five new players on the roster. The Spartans opened up play with a close victory over t…

August 15, 2024: 6'5" freshman wing Kur Teng hails from New Hampshire which is not traditional recruiting territory for Michigan State. However, Kur committed to MSU back in April of 2023 so he was convinced early and has been following the Spartans ever since. Are you looking for collegiate apparel including Spartan gear? There’s only one place we…

August 8, 2024: We met with incoming Freshman Jase Richardson and talked to him about his experience so far at MSU. He discussed his recruitment with Tom Izzo and described how it was different than other coaches. Finally, Jase is probably most famous with fans because he is the son of former MSU & NBA great, Jason Richardson. Richardson is probabl…

August 1, 2024: The second commitment to this year's freshman class was Jesse McCulloch from Cleveland, OH. The 6' 9" 215 pound power forward visited with us today to discuss his initial thoughts on MSU and coach Izzo. Jesse talked about a host of things including his recruitment, what it's like in practice, his bond with the other freshmen, and ex…

July 25, 2024: In a bit of a surprise move, Tom Izzo and the Spartans brought in 6' 11" grad transfer Szymon Zapala in after the departure of Mady Sissoko. In a transfer portal move that few knew was happening until the deal was pretty much done, Zapala brings his skills from Longwood University to East Lansing. The Polish native offers an intrigui…

July 18, 2024: Moneyball, the free pro-am tournament featuring Michigan State's roster and various current and former D1, D2 players is once again under way in the Lansing area. Hosted at Holt High School, the tournament highlights 12 of MSU's 13 scholarship players with only Jeremy Fears left out while recovering from his surgery over Christmas fr…

July 11, 2024: We are lucky to have the best expert in the legal field, Professor Michael McCann, join us for a deep discussion on what is happening to the NCAA from a legal perspective. Professor McCann was on the legal team for Maurice Clarett's when he sued the NFL and helped write the book on Ed O'Bannon's legal challenge for NIL. Today's discu…

Kevin and John are here in a slightly delayed episode talking baout Hawk Tuah, Kevin's ultimate NIL price to leave WVU (if they had it back in the ancient times), John talks Joe winning the NBA championship, and more. Don't forget to shop at The Book Exchange with our code BX4FINAL4! Save 25% off your order with our promo code at checkout. http://b…

July 5, 2024: Robbie Hummel returned to the show again to talk Big Ten Hoops, Purdue making the Final Four, the prospects of Zach Edey in the NBA, and what went wrong with Michigan State last year. Robbie brings his usual honest and folksy analysis to college basketball with a small dose of Indiana Hoosier shade. Are you looking for collegiate appa…

June 27, 2024: It might be the off season but that doesn't mean Michigan State's coaching staff isn't busy working on its future roster. With the era of the transfer portal, roster construction has changed and the importance a staff puts on new recruits has altered. The Spartans, however, have been operating similar to how they have in the past wit…

June 20, 2024: College basketball analyst and ESPN commentator, Jay Bilas, returns the show to discuss the college basketball landscape again. After our discussion with Jay last summer, we wanted to get his expanded thoughts on the direction the NCAA athletics has moved over the past year and where it is headed. The House decision is awaiting appro…

June 13, 2024: One of the worst kept secrets came to fruition as Tom Izzo and the Spartans officially named former UM assistant coach, Saddi Washington, as a new assistant coach. Despite his 8 year stint in Ann Arbor, Saddi actually has very deep ties to Michigan State as his father, Stan, was a former star at MSU from 1964-66. Saddi Washington wil…

Kevin, John, and Ash are back and they're discussing everything about the current WVU men's basketball team! Ash catches a vibe, John champions the WNBA, and Kev talks about his youth camps in Charleston this summer. Our friends at The Book Exchange want you to look and feel your best and save you money with our codeBX4FINAL4 - save 25% off your or…

June 6, 2024: We were joined again this week with prolific sports columnist Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News to talk college hoops. DeCourcy is also a regular on the BTN so he follows the Big Ten very closely as well as the college basketball landscape in general. We talked about what the Big Ten expansion means for basketball by adding a famed p…

May 30, 2024: Summer brings us time to reflect on the Spartan teams of the past and current events in the college basketball world. Today, we decided to riff off a column by Graham Couch from the LSJ and look back at past MSU teams to rank which teams were the best that never won it all. Although the LSJ column focused just on past Izzo teams, Rod …

May 23, 2024: One of the new additions to the Big Ten this year will be the USC Trojans. Best known for their football, the Trojans have had some success on the hard court as well. Especially located in Southern California, USC has access to some great talent and money. However, USC just had their long time coach, Andy Ensfield, depart for other op…

May 14, 2024: Today, the MSU Spartans landed what appears to be the last piece of the roster puzzle in 7 foot 240# Szymon Zapala. With this center, addition it appears that Tom Izzo has added depth inside without upsetting the dynamics in the locker room with Kohler and Cooper. Zapala played his first three seasons at Utah State in a limited role b…

May 9, 2024: The Washington Huskies are joining the Big Ten which has obvious implications from a football standpoint. But what about in hoops? The Huskies are not known for great basketball but Seattle produces a lot of solid talent. Washington is in transition as it moves to a new coach who will try and right the ship, score some talent in the po…

John, Ash, and Kev are back to discuss the WVU football spring game, the two Pat's (McAffee, White), AAU program, and if you like the taste of alcohol or not. We also discuss the new WVU basketball team and what it's shaping up to be.Από τον J Flow Entertainment

May 2, 2024: Beginning this fall, UCLA leaves the PAC-12 and joins the Big Ten to create an 18 team mega-league. The move was obviously spurred forward by football and the Big Ten's lucrative TV rights but there are obvious implications for basketball. Although UCLA is a decent football program, their basketball heritage is one that will boost the …

Ash, Kev, and John are back together after a month of not being able to record together. We chat everything WVU basketball, including a letter John will present to the new coaching staff, his first encounter with Coach DeVries, we try to guess what the new coaches jobs will be (poorly), thoughts about the NBA playoffs, and why Tropic Thunder is the…

April 23, 2024: Portal season (roster season) is in full swing and Michigan State added a player today from the University of Omaha, Frankie Fidler. Now, ordinarily one wouldn’t look to the Summit League for talent but Fidler is an exception. Fidler is a 6’7” 200# wing who averaged 20.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and 8 free throws a game while shooting 45/36/84…

April 17, 2024: College basketball roster season is officially open now that the NCAA tournament is over. Every team is active trying to acquire the right players to complete their team. Players still have until the end of April to enter the transfer portal so we expect a lot of movement yet. As for MSU, the Spartans seem to be looking to add a lar…

April 11, 2024: Now that we've done our season recap for the Spartans, we turned to the rest of the Big Ten including Michigan's historically bad (putrid?) season. Purdue and Illinois had very good seasons whereas Maryland and Ohio State underperformed. Nebraska and Northwestern built on last year and had some success that carried them into the NCA…

April 6, 2024: Now that the season is over, it’s time for coaching moves and roster changes for college basketball. A few days ago, assistant coach Mark Montgomery was named the new head coach for the University of Detroit-Mercy. He was formerly a head coach at Northern Illinois. His vacancy will leave room for Izzo to add a new coach to the staff.…

March 28, 2024: Michigan State ended the 2023-24 season 20-15 and 10-10 in the Big Ten. It was a year in which expectations were sky high coming off a Sweet 16 exit and impressive performance from the MSU backcourt led by AJ Hoggard. The 2023-24 year had all the signs of what might be a deep tournament run and competing for the Big Ten with almost …

March 23, 2024: Michigan State’s season comes to an end after losing to North Carolina 85-69 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The first half saw huge swings in the lead as MSU went from up 12 to down 9 at half time. The story of this game was much the same as it was in many games throughout the season - inconsistent point guard play. The…

March 22, 2024: Tom Izzo and the Spartans easily dispatched a Mississippi State team in the first round of the tournament to earn an opportunity to make its second straight sweet 16. Next up are the mighty Tar Heels from North Carolina who were regular season champs in the ACC and earned the number one seed in the West. MSU is 0-5 against the Heels…