In this week’s RTC Podblast, we tackle Championship Fortnight with a detailed look at a number of the Other 26 league tournaments around the country. As always, Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114) is our host, but we also bring in the RTC O26 correspondent, I. Renko (@irenkohoops), to help dissect some of the more notable tourneys tipping off this week and next. The schedule of topics is below if you feel like jumping around. Later this week we’ll do our traditional podcast, and next week we’ll absolutely be breaking down each of the power conference tournaments with our cast of microsite correspondents around the country.

• 0:00-4:23 – Gonzaga the Best O26 Team, But Not the Best Team in the Country
• 4:23-6:03 – MW and A-10 Are Elite Conferences
• 6:03-11:07 – St. Louis and New Mexico Battle for Next Best O26 Team
• 11:07-14:55 – Other 26 Teams Looking Good for At-Large Bids
• 14:55-17:24 – The Curious Case of Louisiana Tech
• 17:24-20:37 – Teams That Can Make Noise… If They Get In
• 20:37-23:14 – MW and A-10 are the Tourneys to Watch
• 23:14-26:13 – Other Leagues to Keep an Eye On
• 26:13-29:20 – Dream Conference Tournament Match-ups
• 29:20-30:43 – Conference Primed for Classic March Moment/Wrap

We made it through one of the weaker weekends of action in college basketball this season, but the band is back together for another edition of the RTC Podcast. Hosted by Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114), the guys delve into what was the biggest surprise (?) of the weekend with Maryland shredding the Duke defense to the tune of 60% shooting while also turning the ball over on nearly every other possession. We also found time to discuss the situation with Mike Montgomery pushing his star guard, Allen Crabbe, and touched on other topics such as the “soft” bubble, Gonzaga as a top-five team, and Kentucky’s strategies with their remaining presumptive one-and-doners.

Check back on Friday of this week for our shorter RTC Podblast, which will run down some of the action from this week and look ahead to the weekend’s biggest games. And don’t forget to add the RTC Podcast to your iTunes lineup so that you’ll automatically upload it on your listening device after each recording. Thanks!

• 0:00-11:20 – Maryland Knocks Off Duke
• 11:20-16:25 – Mike Montgomery Pushes Allen Crabbe in the Chest and Cal to Victory
• 16:25-21:52 – Lessons Learned From the 2012 Mock Selection Committee
• 21:51-28:30 – Gonzaga Needs Glasses- They Fail the Eye Test
• 28:30-35:35 – Kentucky in a Post-Nerlens Noel World
• 35:35-47:25 – Weekday Games Preview and Wrap

We welcome any and all feedback on these podcasts including topics for future discussion or if you want to send us any questions for our “May Not Be From Actual Listeners” segment. Hit us up at rushthecourt@yahoo.com or @rushthecourt on Twitter.

With Groundhog Day and, oh yeah, the Super Bowl now behind us, the next couple of months belong to college basketball. Our RTC Podcast host Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114) is back to lead us down a primrose path of hoops enlightenment, including a discussion of the two biggest games of last weekend, examine some of the teams among the best in the country we can’t quite get a good read on yet, and riff on underrated names that should be getting more publicity this season. All this and more (outlined below) in this week’s podcast.

Check back on Friday of this week for our shorter RTC Podblast, which will run down some of the action from this week and look ahead to the weekend’s biggest games. And don’t forget to add the RTC Podcast to your iTunes lineup so that you’ll automatically upload it on your listening device after each recording. Thanks!

• 0:00-8:32 – Oklahoma State vs. Kansas
• 8:32-20:21 – Indiana vs. Michigan
• 20:21-27:07 – Florida, Syracuse and Duke – just how good are they?
• 27:07-30:21 – When does bubble talk start to mean something?
• 30:21-35:09 – Underrated stars
• 35:09-37:54 – Where does Kansas State belong in the rankings?
• 37:54-41:47 – How far does Oregon drop after 2 bad losses?
• 41:47-47:51 – Mid-week previews & Wrap

We welcome any and all feedback on these podcasts including topics for future discussion or if you want to send us any questions for our “May Not Be From Actual Listeners” segment. Hit us up at rushthecourt@yahoo.com or @rushthecourt on Twitter.

And we’re back for another shiny edition of the RTC Podcast. This week our host, Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114), artfully leads us on a discussion of all the crazy goings-on in college basketball over the last week-plus. With so many topics to choose from, we tried to keep it relevant, discussing Louisville’s surprising fall from grace, the possible #1 seeds at this point in the season, what to think about Miami’s ascendant behavior, and a bunch of other junk throw in between. Feel free to use the outline below to jump around to the areas of interest, of course.

Check back on Friday of this week for our shorter RTC Podblast, which will run down some of the action from this week and look ahead to the weekend’s biggest games. And don’t forget to add the RTC Podcast to your iTunes lineup so that you’ll automatically upload it on your listening device after each recording. Thanks!

Welcome to the 10th episode of the 2012-13 version of the RTC Podcast. We’re in the heart of the season and there’s no shortage of things to talk long and hard about, so this week — with Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114), per usual, as our host — we went a little long with discussion of such wide-ranging topics as who was snubbed on the Wooden Award midseason watch list, whether Louisville is a legitimate #1 team, and what’s going with those nutty basketball programs in the City of Angels. The entire outline of the podcast is located below, so feel free to skip around.

Check back on Friday of this week for our shorter RTC Podblast, which will run down some of the action from this week and look ahead to the weekend’s biggest games. And don’t forget to add the RTC Podcast to your iTunes lineup so that you’ll automatically upload it on your listening device after each recording. Thanks!

• 0:00-6:47 – Duke Falls for the First Time – What’s next for them and NC State
• 6:47-10:57 – Michigan Falls for the First Time – What’s next for them and Ohio State
• 10:57-15:02 – How Do the Top Big Ten Teams Stack Up?
• 15:02-18:13 – Louisville – Nation’s New Number One
• 18:13-24:07 – USC Fires Kevin O’Neill
• 24:07-28:01 – The Most Watchable and Unwatchable Teams
• 28:01-32:59 – VCU Fun to Watch But How Good Are They?
• 32:59-35:44 – UCLA Rights the Ship
• 35:44-39:04 – Pac-12 Hierarchy
• 39:04-42:00 – Mountain West Discussion/Week Preview
• 42:00-43:47 – NC State-Maryland preview
• 43:47-44:42 – Minnesota-Michigan preview
• 44:42-54:27 – Wooden Award Discussion/Wrap

We welcome any and all feedback on these podcasts including topics for future discussion or if you want to send us any questions for our “May Not Be From Actual Listeners” segment. Hit us up at rushthecourt@yahoo.com or @rushthecourt on Twitter.

Happy New Year to everyone out there in college basketball land. We’re ready to tip off 2013 with a fresh new RTC Podcast to ring in conference play and the push toward March Madness. This is the time of year where the pretenders start to become exposed, and the contenders establish themselves as legitimate. Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114), as always, hosts this week’s podcast, where we break down most of the big games over the last week, riff about some pre-conference predictions, and look forward to this weekend’s most interesting games. Hey, Bucknell.

After this week, the podcast is also moving back into the normal schedule of Tuesday/Friday recordings. Feel free to jump around using the outline below. Also make sure to add the RTC Podcast to your iTunes lineup so that you’ll automatically upload it on your listening device after each recording. Thanks!

• 0:00-8:09 – Arizona’s Controversial Win to Stay Undefeated
• 8:09-13:58 – Louisville Establishes Themselves as This Season’s King of Kentucky
• 13:58-19:46 – UCLA Knocks Off Missouri in Westwood
• 19:46-22:40 – UNC’s Impressive Win Over UNLV
• 22:40-26:47 – Minnesota and Cincinnati Start Conference Play with Big Wins
• 26:47-30:00 – Illinois Hits First Rough Patch
• 30:00-31:31 – Gonzaga – the Big 12’s #2 Team
• 31:31-33:22 – Creighton Pushes Towards the Top 10
• 33:22-39:25 – Rapid Fire Questions
• 39:25-42:06 – Quick Pick Conference Champs
• 42:06-47:25 – Weekend Preview and Wrap-up

We welcome any and all feedback on these podcasts including topics for future discussion or if you want to send us any questions for our “May Not Be From Actual Listeners” segment. Hit us up atrushthecourt@yahoo.com or @rushthecourt on Twitter.

Here’s hoping that everyone is enjoying a safe and memorable holiday season. Here at RTC we’ve fallen victim to some of the same time-sucking madness that envelops everyone at the end of the year, but we were able to get together Episode Seven of the RTC Podcast last night to publish today. As always, Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114) is our host and he leads us through the last couple week of action with a focus on the nation’s undefeated teams who have already suffered their first losses.

Next week we’ll do Episode Eight at the end of the week and then we’ll jump back into the normal schedule of Tuesday/Friday recordings. Feel free to jump around using the outline below. Also make sure to add the RTC Podcast to your iTunes lineup so that you’ll automatically upload it on your listening device after each recording. Thanks!

• 0:00-6:00 – Indiana Knocked From #1 – Meaningful?
• 6:00-7:02 – Butler is King of the Upset
• 7:02-8:23 – Jim Boeheim Wins #900 Then Loses
• 8:23-11:40 – Florida Goes 0-2 Against Wildcats
• 11:40-13:13 – Impressions of Arizona
• 13:13-14:43 – Kansas State Enjoying Life with Bruce Weber
• 14:43-19:10 – Bragging Rights Reactions
• 19:10-20:54 – Thoughts Heading into New Mexico-Cincinnati
• 20:54-27:48 – Kansas Wins at Ohio State
• 27:48-30:44 – Bluegrass Battle Preview
• 30:44-35:25 – Can UNC Avenge Last Year’s Loss vs UNLV?
• 35:25-37:10 – Gonzaga’s Big 12 Holiday Weekend
• 37:10-38:09 – Quick Picks and Wrapup

We welcome any and all feedback on these podcasts including topics for future discussion or if you want to send us any questions for our “May Not Be From Actual Listeners” segment. Hit us up at rushthecourt@yahoo.com or @rushthecourt on Twitter.

Welcome back to Y2 of the RTC Podcast. A brand new season has dawned on us and after all the monotony of preseason chatter and previews where we get to pretend we know what will happen, it’s time to get down to the business of evaluating actual game action. Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114) is our host again as this week we take a look at some of the results from the opening weekend of college basketball. From aircraft carrier games to the ongoing eligibility status of Shabazz Muhammad to a look ahead to tonight’s Champions Classic games, it’s all there, and more.

These full podcasts (roughly 45 minutes to an hour long) will publish on Tuesdays during the season, while our shorter (~15-20 minutes) podblasts will drop on Fridays with a quick look at the intervening week’s worth of news and action. Feel free to jump around using the outline below.

Also make sure to add the RTC Podcast to your iTunes lineup so that you’ll automatically upload it on your listening device after each recording. Thanks!

• Start-8:15 – UConn downs Michigan State in Germany.
• 8:15-15:35 – Shipwrecked – Three aircraft carrier games fail to deliver.
• 15:35-22:10 – Kentucky survives scare from Maryland in first game as defending champs.
• 22:10- 24:45 – McDermott vs. Mitchell shows two good players and one good team.
• 24:45 -34:50 – Emails from Shabazz Muhammad and Leonard Hamilton.
• 34:50-38:30 – Highlights of the weekend from around the rest of the country.
• 38:30-40:52 – Does Michigan State start 0-2 vs Kansas?
• 40:52-45:30 – Kentucky and Duke marquee matchup.
• 45:30-47:40 – Florida finally gets to play their marquee OOC game vs. Wisconsin.
• 47:40-51:00 – 24 hour marathon thoughts.
• 51:00-52:40 – More UK-Duke knocking the dust off the old rivalry.

We welcome any and all feedback on these podcasts including topics for future discussion or if you want to send us any questions for our “May Not Be From Actual Listeners” segment. Hit us up atrushthecourt@yahoo.com or @rushthecourt on Twitter.

Welcome back to the RTC Podcast. Last season we unveiled this endeavor along with its less-sophisticated cousin, the RTC Podblast, and we enjoyed the hell out of it. Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114) returns as your host, with the RTC editing team and several of our national and microsite writers joining us from time to time to riff about all things college basketball.

The plan for the preseason is that we’ll do two nationally-focused podcasts (this edition plus one more recording during Opening Week), plus a number of power conference-specific podblasts that will break down each of the six major leagues over the next three weeks. If we’re feeling especially frisky, we’ll try to knock out an Other 26 podblast while we’re at it. Look for the Big East and Big Ten to drop a little later this week, and make sure to add the RTC Podcast to your iTunes lineup so that you’ll automatically upload it on your listening device after we record.

We welcome any and all feedback on these podcasts including topics for future discussion or if you want to send us any questions for our “May Not Be From Actual Listeners” segment. For now, enjoy the listen and feel free to jump around to the areas you’re most interested in by using this handy outline.

RTC Podcast: 2012-13 Preseason Edition

• 2:20 – Connecticut/Jim Calhoun/Kevin Ollie
• 14:30 – Other Coaching Moves (Frank Martin, Larry Brown, Billy Gillispie)
• 21:00 – ACC Poaching of the Notre Dame
• 24:40 – Butler and VCU Moving to Atlantic 10
• 25:45 – Teams Losing a Lot (Kentucky, North Carolina)
• 30:50 – Teams Bringing a Lot Back (Louisville, Indiana)
• 36:05 – Underrated/Overrated Teams (NC State, UCLA, Tennessee, UNLV)
• 42:55 – Players Receiving Preseason All-American Hype
• 53:30 – How Many Mid-Major Players Will Make the AA Team?
• 57:30 – What CBB Memorabilia Would We Want to Own (inspired by Bob Knight)?