[Xs & Joes #44] The Ohio River Rivalries with special guest Josh Burton
Bob Moats, Mike Wiemuth, and special guest Josh Burton from Everything College Basketball reunite to break down the rekindled border wars between Indiana, Kentucky, and Louisville.
Bob Moats, Mike Wiemuth, and special guest Josh Burton from Everything College Basketball reunite to break down the rekindled border wars between Indiana, Kentucky, and Louisville as the three programs meet over consecutive Saturdays in December.
Growing Up in Basketball Country
The guys open with personal stories about how geography and family shaped their allegiances in the heartland of college hoops. Josh Burton shares his journey from a Kentucky-loving kid playing College Slam on Sega Genesis while his IU-fan dad looked on, to becoming one of the voices of Everything College Basketball.
Josh’s dad from Kentucky roots, moved to Indiana, raised UK fans
The “ugly girlfriend” Brian Evans comparisons at the Boys and Girls Club
Geography matters: South of I-64 = Kentucky rival, North = Purdue rival
Economic migration brought Kentucky fans north decades ago
The Golden Age of the Rivalry
A walk down memory lane to when these matchups defined college basketball in the Midwest, featuring 50-50 splits at the Hoosier Dome and Freedom Hall that felt more like college football atmosphere.
The Dome and Freedom Hall rotating neutral sites with perfect 50-50 ticket splits
Bob Knight’s late entrances causing entire stadiums to erupt (only 2% could see him)
Mike Davis’s 2002 incident liquidating 35% of his chip stack in one moment
Freedom Hall’s designated smoking room and nightmare parking lot
The 2012 Sweet Sixteen in Atlanta: IU-UK reunion on the way to UK’s title
The Modern Coaches: New Chapter, Same Synchronicity
All three programs now feature modern, uptempo coaches running similar five-out systems after years of divergent philosophies. The synchronicity creates potential for recruiting battles and on-court drama not seen since the mid-eighties.
Kenny Payne: Possibly the worst major hire in 30 years (lost exhibition games to start)
Pat Kelsey’s beautiful flare screen offense at Louisville proving doubters wrong
Mark Pope’s year-one home run at Kentucky vs. year-two injury crisis
Lamar Wilkerson recruitment: DeVries beats Pope for the elite shooter UK desperately needs
First time since mid-eighties all three programs are nationally relevant together
Breaking Down IU vs. Louisville
The hosts dissect Saturday’s Indianapolis matchup with tactical depth, focusing on Louisville’s 36 three-point attempts per game and IU’s rebounding challenges.
Sananda Fru as the X-factor: relentless rebounder who gets all his points within three feet
Why this is a Sam Alexis day, not Reed Bailey day
Mikel Brown vs. Conerway/Enright: Can IU frustrate the talented but sometimes immature freshman?
Long rebounds from 36 three-point attempts require boxing out 3-4 feet beyond the rim
Foul trouble could doom IU’s seven-man rotation against Louisville’s 10-deep bench
Kentucky’s Crisis and the UK-IU Preview
Josh Burton provides honest analysis of Kentucky’s early-season struggles, from the Louisville loss to getting boat-raced by Michigan State and North Carolina, while explaining why Pope isn’t on the hot seat despite fan outrage.
Three marquee losses in three different ways: quit when opponents throw haymakers
The connectivity problem: Do these players even like each other?
How injuries have devastated Pope’s shooting-based system
Why 50% of Big Blue Nation needs to “shut the hell up” on Twitter
Still 15th in KenPom at 5-3 with incredibly difficult schedule
The weekend ahead: IU-Louisville at 2:15pm in Indianapolis, followed by IU-Ohio State Big Ten Championship at 8:17pm - potentially the craziest IU sports weekend ever.
On the mics: Bob Moats, Mike Wiemuth, and Josh Burton (Everything College Basketball)
This episode brought to you by the Back Home Network and Homefield Apparel.
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