The first true midweek conference play slate threw us right into the fire.

Yes, we were coming off the first full Saturday of conference play, but when the games are condensed into a 4.5 hour window on a Tuesday or Wednesday night the whiplash hits harder. I looked at the 4 games I had on around 9pm-ish on Wednesday night and 3/4 were single possession games with less than 1:30 remaining in the game. The results? Stanford hits a 3 with 2 seconds left for the win, Miami got the stop they needed in a 4 point win, and UConn-Providence hit overtime. This seemed like a lot all at once, and it was, but it pales in comparison to the pandemonium of the 9pm window on Tuesday. Kansas’ comeback, Kingston Flemings walking down Texas Tech, Texas A&M-Auburn drama all happening concurrently. The Saturday’s are great because of the sheer volume of stuff that happens, but the way EVERYTHING happens all at once on a Tuesday or Wednesday provides a fun difference.

The Things of the Midweek…

1. The Phog

More than any other building in the sport, these things just happen in The Phog. Kansas was down 15 with 4:30 left and through nothing other than devil magic and voodoo witchcraft got the game to overtime. They’re good for about 1-2 of these per year in that building. It does not matter how good they are or the opponent, they just do this. Big 12 fans are nodding their heads because they’ve all seen their teams fall victim to this in that place. One day Bill Self might reveal that he sold his soul to Lucifer in return for one get out of jail free card per season to be used at The Phog.

Then there’s the Darryn Peterson of it all. I’m not gonna tell you what he should or shouldn’t be doing, that’s up to him and the Kansas medical staff, but the fact that Kansas now owns 2 overtime wins in games where he played (mostly) normal minutes in regulation but zero in overtime is fascinating theater. Watching a college fanbase process NBA style load managing in a sport where every single game is life or death is equally fascinating theater. Frankly, we, as college basketball enjoyers, are just not built to rationalize load management in our sport for a myriad of reasons (if you are reading this you can name them). That’s ok!

2. Tom Izzo

Monday’s win over USC felt like the ideal game for Tom Izzo. The Spartans won handily, he had visual disagreements with upperclassmen Jeremy Fears and Jaxon Kohler, and even got to yell “what the fuck are you doing” across the court at former player Paul Davis. Not to make judgments on roster building philosophies, but Izzo’s primarily homegrown progrum ass team wiped the floor with a team built almost exclusively transfers by a coach who pioneered the transfer-heavy roster. He’ll never admit it publicly, but I know beating a team of that construction in that manner chuffs Izzo just a little bit.

3. DePaul

This is Georgetown’s second half made shot chart from Tuesday night’s loss at DePaul. Look at it. LOOK AT IT. LOOK. AT. IT. KJ Lewis tipped in a rebound with 10:07 left in the half to make Georgetown’s only bucket. Which means they split the second half into almost 10 equal minutes of shooting ineptitude.
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DePaul is already halfway to last year’s Big East regular season wins total because they are taking advantage of the dregs of the league, especially at home. They have wins over Xavier and Georgetown with a home game against Marquette coming next week. Win that game and they only need 1 road win against that group to match that win total. Get that win and they only need one home win against Butler or Providence to surpass it. Get that win and they only need one win at home against Seton Hall, Villanova, or Creighton to finish middle of the conference. Get that win and…

4. Kingston Flemings

Houston is doing the thing that they have always done under Kelvin Sampson, which is round into form in conference play. It should terrify everyone in the Big 12 just how quickly Kingston Flemings has become a Kelvin Sampson lead guard. Marcus Sasser, and Jamal Shead were nowhere close to this as freshmen. Rob Gray didn’t get there until he was a senior. LJ Cryer joined the program as an upperclassman, but it wasn’t until year 2 that you truly saw a Kelvin Sampson guard. The term “It factor” can be annoying to use because it’s just a stand-in for when you don’t know how to describe what makes a player good, but Kingston Flemings has It.
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His pick roll playmaking had Texas Tech in absolute hell both as a passer and a scorer. Grant McCasland’s hedging ball screen coverage left the free throw line area open, and he was more than happy to spend a lot of his night there. When Sampson switched the screening action from Tulger to a Sharp ghost screen late in the game we saw Flemings show the full 3 level scoring repertoire. There’s nothing left to say about him other than he’s got It.

5. Auburn Drink Guy

Nate_gOATS🏀 @MyTakes101 🤣🤣 5:29 AM • Jan 7, 2026 30 Retweets 561 Likes Read 19 replies

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This guy had a plan after watching KeShawn Murphy’s buzzer beater be overturned. Now the execution of that plan left something to be desired. The best part of this plan is the stealth by which our assailant believes himself to be deploying. If you ask him in this moment he 1000% believes he has pulled the perfect crime with espionage levels that could only be matched by a cartoon tv show on FX. What our operative failed to realize here is that it is 2026 and there are always cameras in a public setting, especially one with 9,000+ people. I like to believe that nobody told 007 that he failed in his self-directed covert mission, and that poor ref is still sticky as hell 2 days later. I also like to believe that this is the same guy from the Marshall Henderson gif (you know the one), cause from this angle it very well could be.

6. John Fanta

Wednesday’s overtime game between UConn and Providence provided us with one of the great John Fanta performances to date. It had all the makings of a Fanta masterclass: a home underdog giving a favorite their best punch, that favorite storming back late, the Big East Conference, and a building known for meeting the moment. As the teams traded 3s in overtime his voice raised an octave with each falling shot. Nobody has more fun calling a college basketball game than John Fanta. He is the heir to the Gus Johnson throne, and hopefully soon we will have his joyous screaming on the NCAA Tournament.

7. Tyler Tanner

29 points and 7 assists for Tyler Tanner in a win over Alabama on Wednesday. That performance was teach tape for how to get to the basket as a smaller guard. He was extremely effective at using his body, his step cadence, and his pace to mess with Alabama’s on ball and help defenders’ timing around the rim. He also just seems like he’s having genuine fun on the court. He’s not the brash personality of Diego Pavia, but the type of impact he’s had on the Vanderbilt basketball renaissance is very similar. He’s on the short list of most indispensable players in the country.

8. Ebuka Okorie

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Ebuka Okorie is at the top of the list of guys that could have you looking up on Friday of conference tournament week and wondering why his team is in the semifinals of the conference tournament. He is a one man offensive show for Stanford with 31 points including the game winning 3 in a win Stanford stole at Virginia Tech. Last week Stanford scored 40 points. This week Okorie had 31 by himself. If you want to watch one dude unsheath the sword, charge into the oncoming army, and try to get as many buckets as he can completely by himself I’d consult the Stanford schedule.