Today’s email begins with a story I wish I didn’t write: My tribute to my longtime friend and CBS colleague, Greg Gumbel, who passed away Friday morning at the age of 78 following a battle with cancer. True to form, Greg wanted to keep the news of his illness private. I’ve known for a while this day might be coming, but when it arrived, it still felt surreal. I know I am probably known best for my work on television, but in my heart, at my core, I am still an ink-stained wretch. I am at my happiest when I am typing on a keyboard, so the best way for me to deal with the grief at losing my friend was to write about him. That’s what I did.

We made this story free to the public, so I encourage you to share it so that everyone can know what a special human being we lost on Friday. If the world were full of Greg Gumbels, life would be a lot easier for everyone.

As Greg knew well, the show – and the games – must go on. So we’ve got the usual fare for you today as well, including my picks against the spread and Chris Dortch’s Inside the SEC column. I’d also invite you to check out my column about the retirement this week of Miami coach Jim Larrañaga. His comments set off yet another narrative about the warped state of college sports and I felt compelled – again – to push back on that. Also included are Faux Pelini's March Madness-inspired tips for college football fans.

As for the games, we’ve got a light schedule this weekend as the holidays wind down, but that will change in a hurry next week as conference play gets into full swing. The sport’s pace will quicken considerably in January and it will keep accelerating right on through the first weekend in April.

So enjoy your final weekend of 2024, Hoops HQ community, and here’s to happy days ahead.

—Seth

Farewell to My Friend Greg Gumbel

By Seth Davis

Greg Gumbel did not care for parades. Maybe it was something about the artifice of it all, the way people got together and cheered for all those silly things that were strolling by. Mostly, I think, it was an affectation, a touchstone of humor for Greg to come off as curmudgeonly when everyone knew that he was the sweetest man alive.

Greg also didn’t like golf. He tried it a couple of times, hated it, then spent the rest of his life mocking the game. Clark Kellogg and I love golf almost as much as we love college basketball. When we would wax poetic on the CBS set about our respective games and the courses we played, Greg would sit back in his chair and roll his eyes. He would make us chuckle with the overly grave tones he used when reading a promo for CBS’ golf coverage. If a highlight came on showing a player about to strike a putt, Greg would crack, “Bet it goes in.” The only thing Greg loved more than laughing was making other people laugh. When you were around him, that’s what you usually did.

Jim Larrañaga Learned the Hard Way: When the Money Stops, So Does the Winning

By Seth Davis

On April 23, 2022, John Ruiz, the billionaire CEO of LifeWallet and a major booster at the University of Miami, rocked the college basketball world when he revealed he had signed Kansas State guard Nijel Pack to a two-year Name, Image and Likeness deal worth $800,000. It was more than enough to convince Pack to transfer to Miami.

Ruiz solved one problem, but created another. In light of the Pack agreement, Isaiah Wong decided that if he didn’t get a better NIL deal, he would enter the transfer portal. Ruiz quickly made Wong an offer he couldn’t refuse and the Hurricanes, who had just come off an Elite Eight, had one of the top backcourt tandems in the country.

Wong and Pack proved to be smart investments when they led the Hurricanes to the school’s first Final Four the following spring, the second Jim Larrañaga reached as a coach. So it was, shall we say, incongruous to hear that same coach say he was stepping down as Miami’s coach because he had become disillusioned at how college sports has become one big chase for the almighty dollar.

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No. 22 UCLA vs. No. 14 Gonzaga: We're back! It's been a quiet week due to the holidays, but Saturday's slate is jam-packed. The best game of the day will also be the first-ever college hoops game at Intuit Dome, the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers. Gonzaga has dropped its last two matchups against ranked opponents (Kentucky and UConn), while UCLA is coming off a crushing loss to North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic. Both teams could use a statement win heading into conference play. 4:00 p.m. ET on FOX.