 This is covering the spread part of the Fandall podcast network It is Friday, which means we have discussed Super Bowl 57 from every angle possible Which means it's time to focus on something else because Saturday They've got a loaded slate once again of some men's college basketball So John Rothstein is swinging by today to break down his thoughts on a couple of those games Which one is Zion also talk about the general landscape across the nation as we enter some key games in conference play This is covering the spread right here on the Fandall podcast network and number fire calm My name is Jim Saunas. I am a senior writer and analyst for number fire calm Joined here as mentioned by John Rothstein check him out on Twitter at John Rothstein Well, he is an insider for CBS Sports You can find his podcast the college hoops day podcast as well John big weekend coming up for you How are you doing today? Never better Jim great to be with you Absolutely great to be with you here as well Talk about something else other than Super Bowl any Super Bowl predictions for you John before we dive into college basketball You know, I'm hosting a party. I know it's the chiefs in the Eagles. I'm gonna make sure there's wings I'm gonna make sure there's pizza But other than that I'm much more interested in Sunday's game between Northwestern and Purdue at Welsh Ryan arena to be candid with you You had Chris Collins and your podcast two weeks ago head coach of my alma mater So I'm pretty excited about that one too. What you got for me with the Wildcats on Sunday Well, you know one of the great stories in college basketball is unfolding in Evanston And you know, I think when you look at what transpired at the conclusion of last season, you know Pete Nance opting to transfer to North Carolina Ryan Young opting to transfer the Duke I don't think there's anybody including myself that would have felt that Northwestern would have had a chance To finish in the top half of the Big 10 But we're here now in Northwestern is in position to be in position to make the NCAA tournament for the second time in program history And look, I firmly believe, you know that Matt Painter has obviously done a great job at Purdue He's obviously got two freshman guards. They're number one in the country. They're surging towards a number one seed but if Northwestern Makes the NCAA tournament for the second time in program history and loses a starting Big man to North Carolina and a starting big man to do I firmly believe that Chris Collins should be the big 10 coach of the year Yeah, I still remember where I was when Derek Parton at that game winner against Michigan back in 2016 or whatever it was. I was in my apartment in Boston Watching that my my now wife and I went nuts on the couch. It was it was a great time So hope we can duplicate that Purdue pretty tough task, but they've been playing well so far So, you know, it's been a blast. We're talking about some bubble teams I know Northwestern is in your your 68 right now We'll talk about that other bubble teams may rise and more in a second But first a reminder to make sure you are subscribed to covering this spread wherever you get your podcast to get all that Super Bowl 57 breakdown. We talked props. We talked the game We talked about anthem half time all that all in the same place Just search for covering this spread wherever you get your podcast hit subscribe And if you like what you hear leave us a rating and review as well now Talking about Purdue. Let's talk about some teams at the top of the nation and John I think that this this year there's a lack of consensus on which team is the best nation and That seems a bit odd when you're looking back at like past years When's the last time you remember? I'm gonna call it parody at the top You know, you can say no team is separated. I'll call it parody When is the last time a year similar to this occurred in your mind, you know, Jim This really reminds me of the 2010-11 season when Yukon won the national championship But was nine and nine in Big East play and you think about the makeup of that final four You had Yukon a three seed Kentucky a four seed on the other side of the bracket It was VCU and 11 and Butler and eight I don't know if we're gonna have that type of discrepancy in terms of who makes the final four But if you told me there's gonna be no one or two seeds in the final four in Houston on April 1st I wouldn't be shocked No, I think that that makes a lot of sense because there can be chaos There's volatility and stuff like that when there is a lack of consensus and that can lead to a lot of fun stuff in March So let's take a look at the top of the nation right now I want to know for you John when you look at the best teams in the nation, which team do you pinpoint as being the one? Maybe not that wins the national championship because there is a lot of volatility there But if you were picking the best team right now, which team are you focusing on there? I don't have a best team and I know that's not a cop-out answer, but I don't I see flaws everywhere I mean Purdue is the team that I think has played the best against the highest caliber of competition In terms of their performance But when you look at Purdue and you think about what has won in the NCAA tournament Part of the equation for all the teams that go to the final four and make and win national championships is elite guard play Think about last year's, you know that perimeter for Kansas Remy Martin. Oh jog Baji DeWon Harris Christian Brown then think about the year before with Baylor Adam Flagler may COT Davion Mitchell Jared Butler think about Virginia in 2019 Ty Jerome Kyle Guy Kihei Clark DeAndre Hunter Those are the perimeters that have won national championships over the last couple NCAA tournaments We are now asking Braden Smith and Fletcher lawyer to join that exclusive company That's something that I think is a little bit alarming. I think if Purdue runs against Obviously, you know a team that has great athleticism can double the post and obviously get into their guards We saw it last night. Iowa at the end of the game Frustrated Purdue with a pressure and there was a lot of turnovers down the stretch and here's another thing And you know me I was like at the look at things from 30,000 feet out Purdue is now trending towards being the number one seat in the South region if that holds Purdue then would play a regional final and a sweet 16 at the KFC young center in Louisville That is the same site of the elite eight lost to Virginia in 2019 Jim It's just a little bit of history repeating Absolutely, and I think that other another like ding against Purdue at least in my eyes is like The conference has been underwhelming on the whole I mean Purdue has been a difference in that like they had not been underwhelming, but it seems like the Big 10 in general Isn't the strength isn't the conference as strong constantly typically see have you had a similar perception of the conference in general? With the Big 10 we can't argue the volume of the Big 10 We can't argue what the Big 10 is done in terms of putting teams into the NCAA tournament But remember this the Big 10 earned 18 bids over the last two NCAA tournaments and only sent three Teams to the sweet 16 in the last two years Michigan went twice and Purdue went once other than the boilers I think you look at Indiana you look at Rutgers as teams that could get to that second weekend But after that we're splitting atoms all depends on the matchups, but Jim as you know as well as I do This is only February absolutely so a lot to be decided so let's talk about some teams That could be on the rise here because there is still some time before we get to the conference tournaments and stuff like that When you're looking at the the non-top teams, you know beyond that upper tier we were just discussing Which teams do you think could rise and really make some noise when the games matter as we get into the conference tournaments? You know, I look at what team could be this year's North Carolina Be a team that's in the middle of the bracket and then make a run deep into the field And I think Creighton has all the requisites Creighton as a team again That was a bit, you know off the radar because of Ryan Colpraner's illness in late December But his regained its form has a starting five that can match up with anybody in college basketball He's gotten great play out of South Dakota State transfer Baylor Shireman He's having a better rebounding season this year at Creighton than he did last year at South Dakota State Creighton's a team. I think that could be this year's North Carolina Yeah, and that's an interesting team for sure and see who can make some noise there Maybe don't get a higher seed because of the underperformance earlier on this year because aggregate record does go into a lot of that stuff So that could make them a fun team to focus on later on now That's focusing on March focusing on the conference tournaments But we still have regular season championships left to be decided. So when you look at the Regular season conference championships that are still up in the air John Which races are you watching and how do you see those races playing out? Well, the UCLA in Arizona are obviously neck-and-neck in the Pac-12. That's a really interesting race to watch I think the Mountain West again has been one of the most compelling Conferences in college basketball. There's a real chance for this league to get four teams in the NCAA tournament again And then the Big East with Xavier You know, I think we talked the last time about the musketeers that I was on with you recalibrated under Sean Miller and again still looking formidable Obviously without Zach Fremantle Jerome Hunter is playing more before Colby Jones is playing a little small bowl for They play on Friday night against Butler and Hinklefield's house But Xavier again to me aesthetically pleasing and maybe the best watch in college basketball Xavier right now not the favorite in the big East. You got Marquette at plus 130 Xavier plus 170 Creighton Who you mentioned before also plus 280 When you look at those three teams Do you think that Xavier has the juice to pull this out in the regular season? And then once we get to Conference tournament play, how do you see this this conference all shaking out? Well, I think the teams that we're looking at right now or all the class of the big East Those teams are clearly going to be in the NCAA tournament I had Seton Hall on Friday as one of my first four teams out of my bracket breakdown obviously for fan duel But I think when you look at this league and you think about what's going to happen it down the stretch Xavier still has a road game at Providence Xavier still has a road game at Marquette Xavier still has a road game at Seton Hall who will view that game as an opportunity To get a quad won victory and solidify their status as an at-large team So Xavier has quite a bit of difficulty remaining on its non-conference schedule I give the edge to Marquette, but again, we're splitting Adams again And again creating a team that could make some noise once we get to tournament play as well Now you mentioned your round of six or your your group of 68 your field of 68 you posted that this morning over on the dual So we know who the bubble teams are we know which teams are kind of on the fringes at the moment When you look at those teams whether to be on the good side of the bubble right now or the wrong side Looking at the next couple of weeks John Which teams do you think are going to solidify themselves as being teams that? Cement themselves in the tournament over the next couple of weeks You know Wisconsin had a great win against Penn State the other night in state college Wisconsin's turning a corner and again when you're in a conference like the big 10 or the big 12 You are going to get opportunities to move the needle that obviously benefits teams in those conferences Yeah, Wisconsin a team that has been interesting for sure We'll see what they can do as far as trying to ascend towards the bubble I know teams you're you have your eyes on as far as ones that you think are going to You know really cement themselves in the next couple weeks Oregon's got an opportunity To get a quad won win on Saturday against UCLA. That's a big opportunity for the Ducks And I also think you know the Texas A&M because of what happened last year just mission missing out on the bracket Is an interesting team to follow the one thing we have to keep an eye on with Texas A&M Texas A&M has a pair of quad for losses on its resume. They lost obviously to Wofford at home They lost to Murray State on a neutral court Those two losses will follow them around like a 10 pound dumbbell on their ankle from now until selection Sunday Absolutely. Now you alluded to some big games coming up this weekend Let's take a look at Saturday's slate of games John when you look at all those games if you're making like a Must watch list or someone who is watching college basketball on Saturday, which games to you crack that must watch list You con Kraton is appointment television Sonogo clock runner Hurley McDermott obviously Kraton is such a tough team to be at home A great matchup to at the point guard spot between Ryan Newton and Ryan M. Harden Tristan Newton who's playing outstanding basketball Virginia against Duke can Duke solidify its status as a real real contender to make noise obviously down the stretch in the ACC Then I think every single big 12 game as always is going to be one That's you know, we're gonna be looking at obviously really really closely TCU limping a little bit without Mike Miles. How do they match up with Baylor? And I think Baylor is built for the NCAA tournament. I look at this Baylor team and I think about their makeup and It's really similar to the makeup that they had when they won a national championship in 2021 Well, let's go through it for a sec. Who were the fives in 2021? Chama Chachua and Flo Thamba They have them and they also have Josh and Juana who I think is a terrific terrific cross-back long term The four on that team was more vital great defender Jalen Bridges is obviously a little bit different But you still have a capable foreman and then The guards on that team were Teague, Mitchell and Butler the cards on this team are Flagler, Crier and George So you got the same five men you have another elite perimeter and you got a four man who's a borderline all-conference player So what do you view as being the ceiling for Baylor, you know, they're 17 to 1 within a national championship right now They are not in that upper tier, but as we said, there's a lot of ambiguity there Do you think they have the upside do that again? Or is this more such to team that is going to be making noise maybe not having the ceiling to win at all? No Baylor can go to the final four again win a national championship. I have no doubt about that Alrighty Baylor 17 to 1 right now to win the national championship Over at fan dual sports book their odds to advance the final four are plus 350 as well That is John Rothstein once again Check him out on Twitter at John Rothstein find him over at CBS Sports and the on the college hoops today podcast John Have fun this weekend. Enjoy the games. Enjoy Northwestern versus Purdue on Sunday as well. We'll talk to you once again here soon Jim always great to be with you. Sorry about the cough, but you know, we sleep in May We sleep in May we we have cough drops and may as well that is John Rothstein. Thank you, John as always John Rothstein doing a great job as always welcome back on here again as we get closer to March as well to talk about Whether it be the conference tournaments or the NCAA tournament as mentioned if you want to see his field of 68 As it stands right now that is up over on the dual so search for that or just check us Twitter as well You can find that over there Get a piece of ten a million dollars in bonus bets with a fan duals kick of destiny All you have to do is bet five dollars on Super Bowl 57 And if Grant kicks a field goal live during the game, you'll get a piece of ten million dollars in bonus beds It doesn't matter if you knew to fandal or already have an account Gronk kick you win. It's as simple as that. 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We had Ryan Williams Ryan Alexander to score W Pamela Maldonado Pamela M35 and JJ Zachary's now late round QB and John Rothstein getting a set for what should be a Fantastic weekend of betting but as always it doesn't stop there next week. We'll be breaking down I'm gonna go through my takeaways of betting the NFL this year what I learned what I'm taking into 2023 Recapping the Super Bowl as well. Obviously on there. We'll talk some NHL. We'll talk some PGA We're gonna preview the Daytona 500 on Wednesday So a lot of good stuff still coming your way if you want to check out those past episodes about the Super Bowl or check out Next week shows make sure you're subscribed to covering the spread wherever you get your podcast hit subscribe And if you like what you hear leave us a rating review as well And as always all these shows do go up on the fan dual YouTube page as well That's all that we got here for today though. Have a fantastic weekend. Be safe Have fun bet responsibly and enjoy Super Bowl 57 men's college basketball and anything else you're betting this weekend This has been covering the spread right here on the fan dual podcast network You