It’s been a bit over six weeks since the Louisville Cardinals cut down the nets in Atlanta, but we here at RTC never fully transition into hibernation for the summer. We’re always thinking and reflecting on college hoops in one way or another, so we figured why not throw out a few more RTC Podcasts while we’re at it. In this, the first of several offseason editions, host Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114) walks us through a few of the hotter topics that have arisen since Rick Pitino got tatted up. We’ll be back with another edition probably sometime in mid-June. Until then, the full lineup of topics for this time is below.

• 0:00-8:51 – Kansas Wins the Wiggins Sweepstakes
• 8:51-13:01 – Big Returnees in the Big 12
• 13:01-15:52 – Doug McDermott Headlines Other Returning Stars
• 15:52-17:43 – Returning Stars from the National Championship Game
• 17:43-20:44 – Adreian Payne vs. James Michael McAdoo
• 20:44-23:52 – Transfers That Could Affect the 2013-14 Season
• 23:52-34:53 – Transfer Culture

And so it goes, and so it goes. The 2012-13 college basketball season came to a resounding end on Monday night with Louisville cutting down the nets and taking home the hardware. As such, the RTC Podcast is back for a review of last weekend’s Final Four and a last look at the season that was. Our host, Shane Connolly, walks us through some of the highs and lows of the sport’s ultimate weekend before stepping back and reflecting on some of the most memorable images and notable moments of the 2012-13 season. We plan on revisiting the podcast every month or so during the offseason, so keep an ear out for those starting in May. Thanks to everyone who has continued to listen to the RTC Podcast and we hope everyone has a safe and happy summer!

• 0:00-9:53 – Cards on Top
• 9:53-13:48 – Beilein’s Blunders
• 13:48-17:09 – Pitino Reaches Legendary Status
• 17:09-19:34 – Leadership Came Through For Louisville
• 19:34-21:39 – Refs at the Final Four – Was the Outrage Warranted?
• 21:39-23:51 – Crowd Reactions to the Louisville Final Four Deficit
• 23:51-28:02 – Evaluating the Crowd/Arena Experience
• 28:02-30:24 – Final Four Memories
• 30:24-37:09 – NCAA Tournament Wrap-Up
• 37:09-46:59 – Enjoying 2012-13’s Parity and Other Full Season Reflections

From 68 down to four, as we tip off the penultimate games in the college basketball season on Saturday evening in Atlanta. In this week’s RTC Podcast, hosted by Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114), the guys take a look back at last weekend’s action, discuss all the news and notes on hirings and firings from this week, and move forward with picks and analysis on the Final Four. We’ll be back on Sunday with a short podblast to discuss what went down the night before, so keep an eye out for that.

• 0:00-4:45 – Shockers Back to Their Shocking Ways
• 4:45-8:28 – Louisville Looking Almost Unbeatable
• 8:28-13:43 – Kevin Ware Enters the Pantheon of Grotesque Sports Injuries
• 13:43-19:17 – Trey Burke Carries Michigan to the Final Four
• 19:17-22:43 – Syracuse Goes From Good to Great
• 22:43-26:40 – LA Coaching Carousel
• 26:40-32:17 – Big Ten Related Coaching Changes
• 32:17-36:52 – Rutgers Controversy
• 36:52-40:55 – Pac-12 Ref Controversy
• 40:55-47:28 – Final Four Picks

Happy Sweet Sixteen, everyone. The RTC Podcast crew is back with several of our NCAA Tournament Region correspondents this week to break down what we saw over the weekend and what to expect in the coming one. As always, Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114) is our host, with Brian Otskey (@BOtskey) and Drew Murawa (@AMurawa) joining us to discuss the East and West Regions, respectively. If you missed them earlier, we also published the South and Midwest Region podblasts today. Enjoy the Sweet Sixteen!

East Region

• 0:00-2:22 – Marquette Barely Makes Our Upset Pick Look Bad
• 2:22-8:17 – Timeout and Flagrant Foul Rule Changes
• 8:17-10:36 – Marquette’s Other Close Call
• 10:36-13:20 – Miami Survives a Close Call of Their Own
• 13:20-16:00 – What Does Indiana’s Round of 32 Scare Mean For the Hoosiers
• 16:00-20:04 – Syracuse, Finally a Good Team Without a Close Game
• 20:04-25:14 – Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight Predictions
• 25:14-29:12 – Reactions to the Latest Breaking Conference Realignment News

West Region

• 0:00-3:54 – Gonzaga the First #1 Seed to Fall
• 3:54-6:12 – Wichita State Deserves Credit
• 6:12-9:57 – La Salle’s Under the Radar Cinderella Run
• 9:57-16:48 – Examining the Other West Region Upsets
• 16:48-20:49 – Mountain West March Sadness
• 20:49-22:23 – Arizona Looking to Recapture Top 10 Form
• 22:23-25:57 – Arizona Comes Into Elite Eight Off Blowouts, Ohio State Off a Buzzer Beater
• 25:57-30:27 – Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight Predictions

Happy Sweet Sixteen, everyone. The RTC Podcast crew is back with several of our NCAA Tournament Region correspondents this week to break down what we saw over the weekend and what to expect in the coming one. As always, Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114) is our host, with Kevin Doyle (@KLDoyle11) and Bennet Hayes (@HoopsTraveler) joining us to discuss the South and Midwest Regions, respectively. We’ll have our podblasts for the other two regions up a bit later today, so be sure to watch for those as well. Enjoy the Sweet Sixteen!

South Region

• 0:00-6:47 – DUNK CITY!
• 6:47-11:41 – FGCU Chances Against In-State “Rival” Florida
• 11:41-16:18 – Kansas Under the Radar Struggles
• 16:18-20:04 – Michigan Looking Good Again (With Kevin’s Florida Love Mixed In)
• 20:04-25:11 – Previewing a Hypothetical Florida-Michigan Game
• 25:11-33:35 – Minnesota-UCLA Battle of the Walking Dead Coaches

Midwest Region

• 0:00-3:30 – Oregon’s Proving the Committee Wrong
• 3:30-7:22 – Louisville Proving the Committee Right
• 7:22-11:13 – Clash of the Coaching Titans in Duke-Michigan State
• 11:13-13:53 – Final Four Picks
• 13:53-17:20 – Favorite Game of the Region
• 17:20-20:15 – Surprises of the Opening Weekend
• 20:15-24:40 – Opening Weekend MVPs and More Oregon TAlke
• 24:40-27:00 – Opening Weekend LVPs
• 27:00-31:22 – Coaches That Deserve Ben Howland-Tubby Smith Treatment
• 31:22- 34:50 – Hedge Your Bets Predictions

We’re approximately 24 hours ahead of the opening tip from the field of 64, and the RTC Podcast crew has spent some time putting together a short preview podblast for each of the four NCAA regions. We invited four of our correspondents to the party to help us work through the brackets — Brian Otskey (@botskey) for the East Region, Kevin Doyle (@kldoyle11) for the South Region, Bennet Hayes (@hoopstraveler) for the Midwest Region, and Andrew Murawa (@amurawa) for the West Region.  We may not nail every one of our picks, but we had a blast recording these and hope you enjoy listening to our coverage on these four ‘blasts.

East Region

South Region

Midwest Region

West Region

We’ll bring everyone back next week to look forward to the regionals. Happy March Madness!

The Big Ten Tournament gets under way Thursday, so the RTC Podcast guys invited Big Ten microsite writer Deepak Jayanti (@dee_b1g) along for the discussion. In this podblast, the trio breaks down what we see as the key storylines and possible outcomes from an event where the tourney semifinals could be as good or better than the Final Four in a few weeks. Feel free to hop around to your areas of concern using the handy outline below, and make sure to check back frequently this week as we’ll be rolling out a new podblast for each of the six major conference tourneys.

• 0:00-5:02 – Indiana Claims Outright Big 10 Title With Thrilling Win in Ann Arbor
• 5:02-8:45 – Post Season Award Discussion
• 8:45-10:25 -Brutal Big 10 Cause For Concern at the End of the Season?
• 10:25-13:30 Indiana Outright Champ, But Not Outright Favorite
• 13:30-14:55 Minnesota and Iowa Looking to Win Their Way Off the Bubble
• 14:55-17:25 Seed Possibilities for the Top Teams
• 17:25-19:05 – Dark Horse Team
• 19:05-21:26 – Tournament’s Breakout Star
• 21:26-23:23 – Player You Don’t Want to Say Goodbye to
• 22:23-25:53 – Dream Match Up
• 25:53-28:08 – Big 10 Team That Last the Longest in March/Wrap

The ACC Tournament, 12-team edition, gets under way tomorrow, so the RTC Podcast guys invited ACC microsite writer Matt Patton (@rise_and_fire) along for the discussion. In this podblast, we question whether this is simply a coronation for Coach K en route to his 14th ACC crown (most ever), or if teams like Miami (FL), Virginia and/or North Carolina can cause the Blue Devils problems. Feel free to hop around to your areas of concern using the handy outline below, and make sure to check back frequently this week as we’ll be rolling out a new podblast for each of the six major conference tourneys.

• 0:00-3:08 – Miami’s Surprise Championship Season
• 3:08-11:05 – ACC POY and Award Discussion
• 11:05-13:51 – Duke the Favorites With Ryan Kelly
• 13:51-16:16 – Third Time the Charm for UNC Over Duke?
• 16:16-19:21 – Virginia the Only ACC Team Still on the Bubble
• 19:21-23:44 – ACC Seed Predictions
• 23:44-26:29 – Dark Horse Team
• 26:29-28:16 – ACC Tournament breakout star
• 28:16-30:48 – ACC Swan Songs
• 30:48-32:05 – Marquee Match-ups We’re Hoping to See
• 32:05-33:40 – ACC NCAA Tournament Predictions

The SEC Tournament begins tonight, presumably in front of dozens of people with the #11-#14 seeds in action, but that won’t stop us on the RTC Podcast. We invited SEC microsite writer Brian Joyce (@bjoyce_hoops) along for the discussion. The group breaks down a fairly wide open field, and wonders whether Florida is going to roll through this tournament or run into some additional problems. Feel free to hop around to your areas of concern using the handy outline below, and make sure to check back frequently this week as we’ll be rolling out a new podblast for each of the six major conference tourneys.

• 0:00-3:55 – Florida Wins the SEC Because of Their Talent or Everyone Else’s Lack of Talent?
• 3:55-6:13 – Non-Gator Favorites in the SEC Tournament
• 6:13-15:36 – SEC Teams Trying to Win Their Way into the NCAA Tournament in Nashville
• 15:36-17:42 – SEC Player Poised for a Breakout
• 17:42-18:48 – Players We’ll Miss in the SEC
• 18:48-20:14 – Best Potential Match-ups
• 20:14-22:46 – NCAA Prediction for Florida/Wrap

There’s no Missouri or Texas A&M this year, but the RTC Podcast guys persevered regardless and invited Big 12 microsite writer Danny Spewak (@dspewak) along for the discussion. In this Big 12 Tournament podblast, the trio questions whether Kansas is destined for another championship or if some other team is poised to establish their postseason chops. Feel free to hop around to your areas of concern using the handy outline below, and make sure to check back frequently this week as we’ll be rolling out a new podblast for each of the six major conference tourneys.

• 0:00-2:56 – Kansas Continues Their Big 12 Dominance
• 2:56-5:38 – Big 12 1st Team and Award Talk
• 5:38-8:43 – Can Kansas Carry Their Regular Season Crown Over to the Tournament?
• 8:43-14:05 Baylor, Iowa State and Oklahoma Try to Win Their Way Off the Bubble
• 14:05-16:30 – Which Team Actually Wins the Big 12 Tournament?
• 16:30-19:06 – Bottom Four Seed With Potential For a Run?
• 19:06-21:10 – Big 12 Tournament Breakout star
• 21:10-22:50 – Players Waving Goodbye to the Big 12
• 22:50-24:57 – Match-up We Want To See Again in KC
• 24:57-28:00 Big 12 NCAA Tournament Predictions/Wrap