CBB With Danny Z: Indiana Player Blasts IU Fans, Mick Cronin Goes Off Again, And More
I had so much fun doing the first edition of "CBB With Danny Z." last week that I thought I would do it again! College basketball is great because there are so many games that it's nearly impossible to see every crazy thing that happens over the course of a week, which is exactly why I'm here.
Now, let's dive into the second edition of "CBB With Danny Z."
Luke Goode, who transferred from Illinois to Indiana this year, attacks IU fans for booing their team
Things are not going well in Indiana. The once-great college basketball powerhouse hasn't reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2016. This year, the team is 13-5 but just 4-3 in Big Ten play.
The Hoosiers are coming off back-to-back embarrassing 25-point losses, first on the road against Iowa and then at home against Illinois. Fans lost their patience and booed Indiana off its own court during the beatdown against the Illini.
They also chanted "Fire Woodson!" in reference to head coach Mike Woodson, who has one NCAA Tournament victory in his first three seasons at the helm.
Senior forward Luke Goode, who is averaging just over seven points per game after transferring from Illinois, went after IU fans following the blowout loss.
Fans quickly turned on Goode, who said his comments were taken out of context.
Fans have every right to boo when they feel their team isn't performing. It doesn't mean you're not a true fan. In fact, it means the opposite. Fans put so much emotion into their teams – particularly when you're dealing with college sports, because you have alumni and current students – and they demand a level of success.
At a school like Indiana, where basketball greatness is expected, the worst thing you can have in your fanbase is apathy. I understand where Goode is coming from, but this is part of the deal with high-level athletics.
Mick Cronin goes from blasting his own players to criticizing Big Ten referees
We covered Mick Cronin in last week's edition of "CBB With Danny Z." and it's starting to look like he might become a weekly staple.
UCLA is 12th in the Big Ten and on a four-game losing streak. That's not good. But Cronin seems to think that being the "outsider" in the Big Ten is contributing to his team's poor performance.
"I don't remember the last time I had a technical," Cronin said after being ejected during his team's loss against Maryland on Friday.
"I had enough. I'm sending a message. I'm tired of it. I know we're the outsider and all that -- us, SC and Oregon -- but that was ridiculous. And take nothing away from Maryland, a really good team at home, but you got to defend my players. If you can just mug guys and chop their arms off, throw them out of the way, it's hard to run any offense."
Unfortunately for Cronin, none of this is working. His team followed up the loss to Maryland with a 75-68 loss at Rutgers. The Bruins have upcoming home matchups against Iowa and Wisconsin and they need to get it turned around, quickly.
If not, Cronin could be on his way out of the Big Ten. Which, according to his commentary, might be for the benefit of everyone involved.
North Texas and East Carolina deliver one of the worst "bad beats" of the year for college basketball bettors
As OutKick's betting guru Geoff Clark reported earlier this week, North Texas and East Carolina ruined the night for bettors who wagered on the UNDER when the team's met on Tuesday night.
To set the scene, the total for the match was set at 127.5. The game appeared to go final with North Texas winning, 69-57. That's a total of 126 points, which obviously meant the under cashed.
But wait. North Texas simply held onto the ball in the waning moments with their eight-point lead. Except, referees determined that there was still .5 seconds left on the clock when the shot clock ran out.
No worries, East Carolina would just inbound the ball, the clock would run out, and the game would end. That's not what happened, though. ECU inbounded the ball and guard RJ Felton decided to heave up a shot from beyond half court.
You can probably figure out what happened next…
Early candidate for "bad beat" of the year, for sure. The good news is that it was East Carolina and North Texas, probably not a game that saw a lot of betting handle. Still, you know there are some degenerates out their who lost their rent on that shot. Thankfully, I wasn't one of them. At least not this time.
Roundball Roundup…
Kentucky's Otega Oweh, who was featured in last week's "CBB With Danny Z." for dropping an ice-cold diss while standing at the free throw line against Georgia, makes another appearance this week but for a different reason.
Minnesota hangs banners for … NCAA Tournament wins?
What did you say, Gus Johnson?
Last week, we featured the rare game-winning four-point play by North Carolina's Elliott Cadeau. Apparently, it's not that rare…
Never leave the table when you're on a heater!
It's all about the kids.
Well, that's it for me this week. Want to see something included in next week's "CBB With Danny Z"? Shoot me an email at dan.zaksheske@outkick.com or a tweet @RealDanZak.