Weekly Reflection: What Fouls Us Makes Us Stronger
...and the weather was brutally cold in Hannahland this week, but the hoops were red hot.
Greetings, Congregation!
It’s the Rev. here reporting live from Iowa City where …no, now I’m at O’Hare Airport as I prep to board….no, I’m actually now at O’Hare baggage claim since my flight was cancelled…no, now at a nearby hotel at 2am trying to finish this…no, now back at baggage claim…no, now reporting live from seat 23E en route to LGA after the grand Pilgrimage 2026. I am barely hanging on to the weak inflight wifi and trying to finish this off before the person in 22E decides to lower their seat back making it impossible to type…aaaaand there they go… so, never mind, I’m home.
As you might have guessed, I have been on the road for CoB Pilgrimage 2026, a 5-day, 4-game road trip through Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, which might explain why it’s been a bit quiet from me as I was driving and still learning how to write in the car through dictation. I can do it. I’m just not very good at getting flow without accidentally ordering some Sabrina Carpenter through my sound system thanks to a confused digital assistant. So, my apologies for getting this one out late as I have been working on it in pieces, but I promise it’s up to date (big news tonight!)
Regarding the Pilgrimage, the trip was fantastic other than the drama to get home, but what fouls us just makes us stronger so life’s full-court press won’t detract from the great experiences in the Hoops Heartland of our fantastic landscape.
I will be writing all about the trip as soon as I get home and post those in a new section and link it in the Higher Post.
Until then, here is what has been going down…
In Case You Didn’t Witness:
Basically, here is a quick review of the weekend events in case you missed it.
Infoulable no longer! Nebraska Men and Vanderbilt Women go down: It was only a matter of time for our undefeated friends. Not because they didn’t have drive or talent to go all the way. It’s just so hard to run the table. Also, opponents were catching up to them giving them some close calls.
The Commodores also hit #3 South Carolina squad coming off a loss to #16 Oklahoma. Coach Staley very rarely drops two in a row. The time was right to give Vandy the crooked number.
Meanwhile in Ann Arbor, #5 Nebraska's undefeated run came to an end Tuesday night in a heartbreaker against #3 Michigan, 75-72. The Cornhuskers led most of the way in an extremely physical game, but the Wolverines had just too much grit and determination to let this one go.
MBB: Rick Pitino gets his 900th win. And just to prove the Basketball gods love chaos, he did it against Xavier, who is coached by his son - Richard Pitino! Yup, that is how the timeline laid out. Think about it. It’s not much of a surprise because they are both coaching in the Big East, but who would have guessed this when Ricky Senior got his first win 5 years before Ricky Junior was even born.
WBB: Big Week For Hannahs!
Hannah Hidalgo hits two milestones: It’s been and up and down season for Irish this year. Many players from last season top-ranked team were lost to graduation or transfer, making the season a struggle at times. This is still a good squad but it’s not the same depth that we’ve seen the past few seasons. However, one constant is Hannah Hidalgo, who reached two separate milestones in one game this week. In the Irish’s win over Miami, Hannah achieved:
2000 Career Points
Notre Dame All-time Steals Leader - Passing ND legend Skylar Diggins.
Hannah Stuelke’s Honor Roll! As Iowa rolls on to a 9-0 start in the B1G, 18-2 overall, Hannah has very much been the anchor of this success. She is coming into her own in her role at the 4 and putting up great numbers. Over the last 4 games, which include: Oregon, #15 Michigan State #15 Maryland, and #12 Ohio State, Hannah has averaged a double-double: 17.5 pts, 10.75 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. From there, she received the following:
AP Player of the Week
Naismith National Player of the Week
USWBB Player of the Week
Iowa Player of the Month
B1G Player of the Week.
Congratulations Hannahs!
MBB: 3 teams are 20-0 (Arizona, Nebraska, and Lil Miami) - which has not happened since the 1948-49 season. More on that below.
The Infoulable!
Tracking the remaining teams who have yet to commit the ultimate sin...of losing.
MBB: And then there were two. Nebraska's undefeated season ended Tuesday night, falling 75-72 to #3 Michigan. Miami of Ohio survived another close call, escaping UMass 86-84.
#1 Arizona Wildcats (20-0 overall, 7-0 Big XII):
✅ Wednesday: Arizona 77 - Cincinnati 51
✅ Saturday: Arizona 88 - West Virgina 53
Next: Monday 1/26 vs. BYU (8p, ESPN)
#5 Nebraska Cornhuskers (20-1 overall, 10-1 B1G):
✅ Wednesday: Nebraska 76 - Washington 66
✅ Saturday: Nebraska 76 - Minnesota 57
❌ Tuesday: Nebraska 72 - #3 Michigan 75
#24 Miami of Ohio! (21-0 overall, 9-0 MAC!):
✅ Saturday: Miami 107 - Kent State 101 (OT)
✅ Tuesday: Miami 86 - Massachusetts 84
Next: Saturday 2/1 vs. Buffalo (2p, ESPN+)
WBB: UConn is The Highlander!
#1 UConn Huskies (21-0 overall, 11-0 Big East):
✅ Thursday: UConn 83 - Georgetown 42
✅ Saturday: UConn 92 - Seton Hall 52
Next: Wednesday vs. Xavier (7p, Peacock)
#5 Vanderbilt Commodores (18-1 overall, 5-1 SEC):
✅ Thursday: Vandy 81 - South Carolina 53
❌ Sunday: Vandy 74 - South Carolina 103
CoB Saturday School!
What did we learn from the weekend that will help us win the office pool?
Balanced Teams usually have a long March: One thing I have noticed while watching this season’s Iowa team is their balance. When Caitlin Clark was there, there was a lot of power. Power of the shot, power of the pass. If Caitlin didn’t shoot it, she passed inside. There is a new CC at the point now. She too hits Redickulous 3s, but with Chit Chat Wright, it’s not about being from the logo, but her fast catch-and-release that makes them special. The emergence of sophomore center Ava Heiden has allowed Hannah Stuelke to move out of the paint to cause more havoc. Now Coach Jan Jensen’s Hawkeyes have options: Outside, midrange, down low.
By contrast, this season’s Notre Dame team’s struggles partially come from lack of balance. Last season’s Irish squad was special, but there were lots of options. Liatu King down low, Hannah in and out, Soni Citron from the perimeter, and PG Olivia Miles, who could just bullet pass to any of them. This season, it’s all about Hannah and it’s not enough. Even UConn Coach Geno Auriemma said this week that his game plan against ND was to take focus solely on Hannah and take her out of the game, because he knew the Irish’s options were limited. Without balance, you don’t have options. Without options, you get shut down that much easier.
You can see the first loss coming! One of the interesting things about tracking The Infoulable is seeing the first loss getting close. Sure, we can dissect matchups, offensive and defensive strategies, etc, but at the end of the day, some teams just run out of ways to pull it off. The more teams play, the bigger the sample size is for coaches to review when scouting. There are teams like UConn women who just roll opponents because they have too many weapons. But, teams like Vanderbilt are centered on a Mikayla Blakes, who usually cannot drive the full road to the Final Four without changing a flat. In this case, Vandy was just pushing others off the road. Then Miss State gave them a 5pt scare. Followed by #7 Michigan, who got within 3 of dethroning the Commodores. Then along came Dawn Staley, coming off a loss, to do the homework. This was also true with Texas Tech and then Michigan on the Mens side. The one who is still playing with fire is Miami of Ohio mens who have just survived 2 overtime games back-to-back. Let’s see what happens when they rematch with Buffalo who was one of those teams to go to OT before succumbing to continued perfection.
The PAC is Back! ESPN Resident Bracketologist (and CoB’s unofficial but honorary Godfather) Joe Lunardi predicts the new PAC-12 will challenge the power conferences: The landscape of power conferences completely overhauled with the break up of the PAC-12. Oregon, Washington, UCLA and USC went to the B1G, while Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado headed to the BigXII, leaving just Oregon State and Washington State for scapes. Both those schools were able to retain the name and started the rebuild pulling in major programs including Gonzaga, along with San Diego State, Colorado State, Texas State, and Utah State, who have all been consistently dancing in March. It may feel like a mid-major, but there is a lot of strength here.
We Got Next: Games to watch this week! (all times EST)
Lots of fun action this week, including all the Infoulables. See key games below:
MBB: Keep your eyes on lil’ Miami!
Tuesday - 7p: #5 Nebraska at #3 Michigan (Peacock)
Tuesday - 9p: Kentucky at #18 Vanderbilt (ESPN)
Tuesday - 9p: Massachusetts at #24 Miami (OH) (ESPNu)
Thursday - 9p: #8 Maryland at #21 USC (Peacock)
WBB: Get the multi view out for Weds!
Wednesday - 7p: #2 UCLA at Illinois (B1G+)
Wednesday - 7p: #25 Washington at #16 Maryland (B1G+)
Wednesday - 6p: Iowa State at #21 Texas Tech (ESPN+)
Thursday - 6:30p: #24 Alabama at #23 Georgia (SECn)
Thursday - 8:00p: #7 Louisville at Stanford (ESPN)
Thursday - 9:00p: #7 Iowa at USC (Peacock)
Final Seconds
Ok, friends! The Jumbotron is off for now!
47 days until Selection Sunday (March 15)
51 days until First Round (March 19-20)
67 days until Final Four (April 4)
And remember, to do these three things: Like, Share and Subscribe.
Always live One Shining Moment at a time. Never be boring.