The road to Super Bowl 60 is officially set — and it didn’t come without drama.

On today’s episode of Sports IQ with Larry Smith, we break down a wild Championship Weekend in the NFL, including two nail-biters that sent the Patriots and Seahawks to San Francisco for a Super Bowl rematch. Heavy.com’s Shane Shoemaker joins the show to analyze the conference title games, Sam Darnold’s career-defining run, the Patriots’ suffocating defense, and what this matchup says about the NFL’s evolving quarterback and salary-cap landscape.

We also dive into one of the biggest headlines of the week: Bill Belichick failing to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first ballot, plus a flurry of coaching news across the league as teams scramble to fill vacancies in an increasingly offense-driven NFL.

On the college hardwood, ACC basketball takes center stage. Virginia is back in the national conversation, and Zach Carey of StreakingTheLawn.com explains how first-year head coach Ryan Odom has reshaped the Cavaliers with modern analytics, three-point shooting, and elite shot-blocking — all while ushering in a post-Tony Bennett era in Charlottesville.

We also cover:

• Nebraska’s first loss of the season and what it revealed about the Huskers

• Purdue’s skid and Big Ten shakeups

• Major results across college basketball

• Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers surging in the NBA

Plus, today’s Moment of Awe looks back at Olympic history as the Winter Games return to Italy — 70 years after the host nation’s only medals in 1956.

Smart analysis, big stories, and context beyond the scoreboard — that’s Sports IQ with Larry Smith.

🔍 Topics Discussed in This Episode

• Super Bowl 60 preview: Patriots vs. Seahawks

• Sam Darnold’s postseason rise and legacy shift

• Bill Belichick’s Hall of Fame snub

• NFL coaching carousel and offensive trends

• Virginia basketball’s resurgence under Ryan Odom

• ACC depth and March Madness outlook

• Nebraska, Purdue, and Big Ten title implications

• NBA: Clippers surge behind Kawhi Leonard

• Moment of Awe: Italy’s Olympic history

The college basketball season is heating up — and this episode of Sports IQ with Larry Smith hits every major storyline shaping the road to March.

We begin with one of the best stories in the country: Miami of Ohio’s 20–0 start. Associate Head Coach Jonathan Holmes joins the show to break down how the RedHawks have stayed undefeated, why culture and continuity matter more than ever in the transfer-portal era, and what last season’s near-miss taught this year’s team. It’s a masterclass in building a winning program the right way.

Later, Sports Illustrated senior writer Hondo Carpenter delivers a wide-ranging, no-nonsense conversation on Michigan State, Tom Izzo, and the Big Ten’s rise. Hondo explains why Izzo schedules the way he does, why March is always Michigan State’s time, and why elite coaching matters more now than ever in the NIL era. The discussion expands into the future of college sports — including why a breakaway from the NCAA feels inevitable and how the next wave of coaching hires may surprise fans.

Plus:

• Arizona moves to No. 1 in the AP Poll

• Nebraska’s historic rise into the Top 5

• Big nights across college basketball and the NBA

• Super Bowl 60 trivia and storylines

• Pro Bowl controversy and roster chaos

• Today’s Moment of Awe featuring an all-time freshman performance

Insightful, informed, and forward-looking — this is a must-listen episode for college basketball and college sports fans alike.

What a show.

Larry Smith and the Sports IQ crew break down a packed sports weekend that somehow managed to deliver history, perspective, and jaw-dropping performances all at once.

The episode opens with a deep dive into UConn women’s basketball, as CT Insider’s Maggie Vanoni joins the show to explain how the Huskies look just as dominant—if not more—after losing Paige Bueckers to the WNBA. Why is this team blowing everyone out? Who (if anyone) can slow them down? And what does the current state of women’s college basketball look like in a post-Caitlin Clark, post-Bueckers era?

Then, history is made on the men’s side. Larry walks through a never-before-seen college basketball feat: three freshmen scoring 40+ points on the same day. From BYU to Houston to Illinois, the performances weren’t just big—they were draft-shaping, narrative-changing, and a sign of how wide-open this season may be heading toward March.

The centerpiece of the episode is a fascinating, emotional conversation with longtime NBA executive Pete Babcock, who joins Larry to discuss his new book Courts of Justice: Life in Basketball and Activism. Babcock shares remarkable, rarely told stories about Red Auerbach, the integration of the NBA, Bill Russell, Chuck Cooper, and how basketball quietly became a vehicle for social change. It’s part history lesson, part memoir, and entirely compelling.

The show wraps with Super Bowl thoughts, college basketball parity, and a Moment of Awe honoring the first Winter Olympic gold medal ever won—setting the stage for the upcoming Games.

This is Sports IQ at its best: smart, thoughtful, and packed with stories you won’t hear anywhere else.