With the sports calendar finally about to wake back up, Bob and Mike use one last stretch of the offseason to talk about some of the things they spend plenty of time discussing when the microphones aren’t usually rolling: movies, music, books, and culture.

Using their personal top-10 lists as jumping-off points, they wander through favorites, disagreements, old memories, and plenty of the tangents you’d expect when these two get going.

Along the way:

• The pre-football temperature check: Why IU’s newfound place in the college football hierarchy has changed the way other fan bases—and particularly Notre Dame fans—seem to view the Hoosiers.
• Movies: Bob and Mike compare their favorite films, with everything from Lawrence of Arabia and Casablanca to Dr. Strangelove, The Godfather, Goodfellas, Airplane! and Monty Python opening the door to a much broader conversation about great filmmaking.
• The directors behind them: Stanley Kubrick and David Lean lead into a discussion of what separates truly great directors—and why certain movies keep revealing something new decades later.
• Music: The guys turn their attention to favorite songs and performers, which naturally means revisiting some longstanding Bob-and-Mike debates about musical eras and what actually holds up.
• Books: Their reading lists provide another excuse to bounce between history, fiction, politics, culture, and the works that have stuck with them over the years.
• The lists behind the lists: Neither Bob nor Mike pretends these rankings are permanent. The fun is less about settling a definitive top 10 than figuring out why certain things have stayed with them—and what their choices say about their tastes.
• And because it’s Xs and Joes, even an episode devoted to culture can veer from classic cinema to 1990s politics to Willie Nelson before somehow finding its way back toward basketball.

It’s a different kind of episode: less decoding the winning formula in college basketball and more getting the conversations Bob and Mike would probably be having anyway.

Indiana’s summer trip to Peru is in the books, which means Bob Moats and Mike Wiemuth finally have some actual basketball to dissect. But how much can you really learn from summer exhibitions against overmatched competition? As usual, the answer is somewhere between “nothing” and “everything.”

Bob and Mike dig beneath the scores and individual stat lines to focus on the things that might actually carry over once the games start counting:

• What IU’s trip revealed about Darren DeVries’ preferred style of play and the versatility of this rebuilt roster.
• The offensive concepts that stood out—and why having more players who can both shoot and attack could change the equation.
• Encouraging early signs from Prince Alexander-Moody, Vaughn Karvala, and Indiana’s young players.
• How Sam Alexis’ return changes the rotation math and gives DeVries significantly more flexibility up front.
• The intriguing possibilities created by Aiden Sherrell, Trent Sisley, and IU’s collection of very different frontcourt pieces.
• Why roster depth could become especially valuable on nights when Indiana’s perimeter shooters aren’t connecting.
• What Indiana’s October exhibitions against Butler, North Carolina, and Western Kentucky might tell us that Peru couldn’t.

Plus, Bob and Mike detour into the latest IU-vs.-SEC football discourse before closing with a tribute to beloved Indiana television personality Janie Hodge.

Xs and Joes is presented by Homefield Apparel.

As the offseason rolls on, Bob and Mike are joined by Hoosier Morning After host Chad Schwartzkopf for a wide-ranging conversation that starts with soccer and the World Cup before diving into the ever-present question surrounding Indiana basketball: what should fans realistically expect from Darren DeVries and this new era of IU hoops?

The discussion explores the balance between optimism and caution, how football's success has changed the atmosphere around Bloomington, and which signs fans should be watching for as another highly anticipated season approaches.

• Meet Chad Schwartzkopf: The Hoosier Morning After host shares his IU roots, the story behind his daily podcast, and why staying connected to Bloomington still matters from North Carolina.
• From the Pitch to the Hardwood: A lively detour into the World Cup, soccer culture, and how the global game continues to grow among IU fans and families.
• Defining Success in Year Two: What should fans be looking for beyond wins and losses? The crew discusses the measurable signs that Indiana may finally be building something sustainable.
• Roster Construction Under the Microscope: How much better does this team fit Darren DeVries' vision, and which additions have quietly changed the outlook heading into the season?
• Summer Takeaways (Without Overreacting): The guys debate what can—and can't—be learned from offseason games, player development, and early glimpses of IU's newcomers.
• The Football Effect: Has Curt Cignetti's success changed expectations for Indiana basketball, or has it simply bought the program some breathing room?
• Patience vs. Pressure: The conversation closes with an examination of IU's unique fan base, the desire for continuity, and whether the path back to national relevance looks different in 2026 than it did a decade ago.

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