Countdown to March Madness: Who Will Claim the Top Seed?

Summary

No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show

Episode: Countdown to March Madness: Who Will Claim the Top Seed?
Date: January 23, 2026
Hosts: Zena Keita, Sabrina Merchant
Guest: Eden Lassie

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Episode Overview

This episode centers around the upcoming NCAA women’s basketball tournament, the race for top tournament seeds, and the implications of the 2026 WNBA schedule release amid ongoing CBA negotiations. The conversation also takes a deep dive into current bracketology trends with resident expert Eden Lassie, highlighting which teams are poised to host, who could be surprise entrants, and what’s driving committee decisions this year. The hosts also discuss the WNBA’s schedule quirks, notable rivalry matchups, expansion teams, and creative schedule release videos.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. WNBA Schedule Release Amid CBA Uncertainty

[01:49-06:30]

• League’s Rationale for Early Schedule Release

  • Sabrina Merchant explains the WNBA’s decision to publish its 2026 schedule before a new CBA is ratified:

    “The WNBA is just trying to plan ahead. I think there’s nothing sinister about it. It’s just, hey, we’re assuming we’re going to have a season eventually, and when it does, we would just like to be better prepared as opposed to... having to rush after a CBA.” (02:35)

  • Normal scheduling routines are complicated by venue availability and the anticipation of expansion.

• Schedule Structure and FIBA World Cup Interruption

  • The season extends earlier in May and later into September to accommodate a planned pause for the FIBA World Cup (Sept 4–13).
  • Merchant:

    “There’s a two week break... for the FIBA World Cup... WNBA expects a lot of its players to be competing... So you’ll notice teams are playing through the end of August then there’s a gap.” (04:41)

  • WNBA expansion teams Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire debut with marquee, standalone opening weekend games.

• Growth and Nostalgia

  • Unique aspects include commemorating the league’s 30th season (not strictly 30th anniversary), notably by pitting original teams—Sparks vs. Liberty—on the historic date.
  • Zena:

    “That is like... I got goosebumps reading that. That’s so dope.” (10:26)

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2. Notable Schedule Matchups & Creative Releases

[06:30-21:01]

• Opening Weekend Star Power

  • “Finally”, says Zena, Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury meet early; Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark square off in season’s first days.
  • Merchant:

    “It’s nice to start off the season with that because... everybody’s watching those Team USA video, saw a lot of Caitlin, saw a lot of Paige. Caitlin didn’t play for a while..." (08:36)

• Commissioner’s Cup Evolution

  • Merchant:

    “There have been five different Commissioners Cup champions in five years, so… you have as good a chance as anybody.” (12:48)

  • Desire from hosts to see semifinals and neutral sites for the final, mimicking NBA Cup improvements.

• Schedule Release Video Highlights

  • Favorite: Phoenix Mercury’s faux “business intern” office spoof (16:07-16:35).
    • Zena:

      “He was so charming the whole way through.” (16:07)

  • Most Niche: Portland’s Portlandia/nostalgia-themed video.
  • General critique: more teams could have integrated history and unique brand flavor; some fell flat including LA’s Orly Nails and Minnesota’s A24 “Euphoria” tie-in.
  • Zena:

    "I feel like some teams kind of mailed it in. I’m not gonna lie." (20:16)

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3. Bracketology Deep-Dive with Eden Lassie

[23:39-48:53]

The No-Doubt Top Seed… Plus the Contenders

• Eden:

  “If selection Sunday were today… it would still be UConn right now for that number one [seed].” (24:06)

• Discussion of committee theory vs. personal opinions—and how much the NET ranking dictates everything.

NET rankings, Quad Wins, and Conference Strength

• Merchant explains:

  “The NCAA has a formula... strength of schedule, margin of victory, etc. ...UCLA has nine quad one wins… UConn only has five… They’re not going to get many more because they play in the Big East.” (26:48)

SEC Power: Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Texas

• Vanderbilt remains undefeated and is a “number one, number two” seed (30:27), depending on SEC performance.
• Eden:

  “If they finish as the top team in the SEC… no way to argue they shouldn’t get a one seed.” (30:36)

Who’s Hosting?

• As of recording, projected hosts (top 16 seeds):
  • 1-seeds: UConn, UCLA, South Carolina, Texas
  • 2-seeds: Vanderbilt, Louisville, TCU, LSU
  • 3-seeds: Iowa, Michigan, Kentucky, Michigan State
  • 4-seeds: Maryland, Baylor, Ohio State, Duke (surprising given their rocky start) (31:47-32:18)
• On Duke:

  “They’ve turned things around… The way they scheduled at the beginning of the season was a little terrifying…” (33:51)

Mid-Majors, Sleepers & Tournament Surprises

• Princeton praised:

  “They are a really, really good team. I think they’re not valued as highly as they should be..." (35:31)

• A-10 (Rhode Island, George Mason, Richmond, Davidson) notably strong; expect at least two bids.
• Bracketology is “wild”—NET is, in Eden's formula, weighted five times higher than other criteria (43:40).

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4. Special Feature: NYU’s D3 Dynasty

[44:49-48:53]

• Eden Lassie shares insights from her profile of NYU women’s basketball, which has won 76 straight games, spanning two and a half years and two Division III titles.
  • Eden:

    “If you watch them, they really don’t look like a Division 3 team.” (44:49)

  • NYU’s blend of academic/athletic balance, artist-athletes, and strong coaching staff puts them in rare company—even compared to some D1 powerhouses.
  • Quote from article:

    “…playing them is like being a sugar cube in hot steaming tea… you could survive for a little bit. But at some point, the heat overwhelms you.” (46:40, Zena reading Eden’s writing)

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5. What to Watch This Weekend: Key Games

[50:13-52:08]

• South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt | Sunday, 12pm PT / 3pm ET
  • Key for SEC standings and seeding.
• Richmond vs. George Mason (A10 Top 4 teams)
  • Both vying for at-large recognition.
• Ohio State vs. Iowa
  • Impact on Big Ten race and second place; pressures UCLA and championship implications.
• Merchant:

  “Still undefeated in the Big Ten. So you beat Ohio State and all of a sudden you’re putting a lot of pressure on UCLA.” (52:00)

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Notable Quotes

• “The WNBA is just trying to plan ahead… There’s nothing sinister about it.” – Sabrina Merchant, [02:35]
• “This year’s gonna be a little ox. Little ox, a little Oxford.” – Zena Keda, on the awkward season break, [06:30]
• “My favorite part is when he’s working the front desk and like, bringing people in and he says, like, ‘Hey, Scott,’ and you can clearly see the guy’s name tag says… He’s just calling him the wrong [name].” – Sabrina Merchant, recounting Phoenix Mercury’s schedule video, [16:24]
• “NET rankings are king... that's always going to be the biggest factor.” – Eden Lassie, [25:20]
• “You don’t get punished as much for good losses.” – Sabrina Merchant, on Duke’s schedule, [33:59]
• “Playing them is like being a sugar cube in hot steaming tea… you survive for a little bit. But at some point, the heat overwhelms you.” – Eden Lassie (via Zena), on NYU’s defensive dominance, [46:40]
• “Bracketology is wild. Right? Like, it makes sense that you wouldn’t understand it.” – Eden Lassie, [43:38]

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Timestamps Index

• 01:49 — March Madness & WNBA schedule discussion begins
• 02:35 — WNBA’s rationale for schedule timing
• 04:41 — FIBA World Cup break and schedule impacts
• 06:30 — Discussion on expansion teams, nostalgia, 30th season
• 10:39 — Sparks vs. Liberty, historical commemoration details
• 14:26 — Commissioner’s Cup suggested reforms
• 15:47–19:30 — Schedule release video critiques and favorites
• 23:41 — Eden Lassie joins: Bracketology methodology and top seed debate
• 26:48 — Breakdown of NET, quad wins, and committee logic
• 30:27–32:18 — Vanderbilt, hosting team rundown, and surprises
• 44:49–48:53 — NYU women’s basketball feature
• 50:13–52:08 — Key games to watch this weekend

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Tone & Style Notes

• Conversation is lively, insider-y, funny, and data-driven.
• Hosts balance lighthearted banter (pop culture, millennial nostalgia, friendly ribbing) with granular analysis of basketball metrics, history, and tournament politics.
• Accessible to fans both casual and hard-core; educational breakdowns of technical terms and committee logic.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode is a deep, entertaining primer on women’s college basketball as March Madness approaches, combining sharp WNBA commentary with expert bracket analysis. Aspiring hoop heads will appreciate the balance of behind-the-scenes insight, stats fluency, and community vibes. For bracket-watchers, the NET reigns supreme—so keep an eye on recent results and quad-one upsets—while the WNBA’s expanding future and creative marketing set the stage for a history-rich, competitive 2026.

Transcript

[Sabrina Merchant]

Oh. Could this vintage store be any cuter? Right.

[Zena Keda]

And the best part?

[Eden Lassie]

They accept Discover.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Except Discover in a little place like this?

[Zena Keda]

I don't think so, Jennifer. Oh, yeah.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Huh?

[Eden Lassie]

Discover's accepted where I like to shop.

[Zena Keda]

Come on, baby.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Get with the times. Right. So we shouldn't get the parachute pants.

[Zena Keda]

These are making a comeback, I think.

[Eden Lassie]

Discover is accepted at 99 of places.

[Zena Keda]

That take credit cards nationwide.

[Eden Lassie]

Based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.

[Sabrina Merchant]

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[Zena Keda]

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[Sabrina Merchant]

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[Zena Keda]

Hi, this is Matt from P1 with Matt and Tommy. And this episode is sponsored by ebay. The cars you'll find on ebay are just different. They come with a story that you can't wait to share. Like this 1973 Dodge Charger on ebay that's been tucked away in an Arizona Barn for over 40 years, only for 55,000 miles. And somehow, in great running order, it even has a rare sunroof. Suddenly, a car that was hidden for decades is being delivered in just a few clicks with ebay's secure purchase. All the paperwork handled. There are thousands of cars on ebay, from unique finds like the Pontiac Grand Prix SJ to daily drivers. And now with a new way to buy them. Ebay, things people love. Hello, everyone, and welcome to no offseason. I'm Zena Keda.

[Sabrina Merchant]

And I'm Sabrina Merchant.

[Zena Keda]

And today on the show, March will be here before we know it. So we're going to go ahead and kick off our bracket watch early. Who's in line for the top number one seed? Which teams are in the running to host, and which squads might surprise everyone by punching their way into the tournament. Plus, our resident bracketologist Eden Lassie will join us as we dive into a women's hoops team that has a winning streak that everyone should know about. New Yorkers, y' all probably know who I'm talking about. But first, the WNBA released its schedule on Wednesday, a move that raised some question marks and definitely my eyebrows given that the CBA negotiations are still ongoing and could impact key aspects of of the upcoming season. Sabrina, you wrote about this on Wednesday. And for those of you that haven't read it, we gotta ask you, why did the league choose to release the schedule now?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Right, so you think about leagues that go through work stoppages or lockouts or strikes. They are unable to release schedules for upcoming seasons because there are no terms of agreement. There's no collective bargaining agreement in place that would govern how the next season would look. And because the WNBA is in this unique situation where we're in a status quo period, there's no strike, there's no lockout, everything is proceeding according to normal working conditions other than free agency, which was governed by the moratorium, the league can plan ahead for next year. And that's what it is trying to do. Because you're looking at a summer where you have arena availability conflicts, right? Like a lot of the arenas here host concerts during the WNBA season, they have other events that happen over the course of the WNBA season. So it's a matter of getting availability. It's just a matter of getting everybody planned and sort of just on the same page for if and when the season does start. That isn't to say that they are going over the players unions heads or anything. It's just the schedule was released for 2025 in December of 2024. So this is about the time it would be happening under normal circumstances, which these are obviously not normal circumstances. But the WNBA is just trying to plan ahead. I think there's nothing sinister about it. It's just, hey, we're assuming we're going to have a season eventually, and when it does, we would just like to be better prepared as opposed to having to. Because there are so many things that have to happen after a cba. This technically doesn't have to happen after the cba.

[Zena Keda]

Right. So I like the idea that if the CBA is met and, you know, the terms are met and they move forward, this is already in place. You don't have to worry about the schedule. It was interesting to think about the fact that, you know, the schedule gets released and the 44 games seem like a massive aspect of it because we know that the WNBA is looking to try to expand the season, but we know that even if they were to come to terms with that within this new CBA, it definitely wouldn't happen in this 2026 season. There seems to be a lot of shrinkage in terms of the amount of time that the WNBA has to be able to play this season. What are some of the factors that are having an impact on the schedule and the expanse of the schedule?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yes, you're absolutely right that the WNBA has proposed adding more games to the schedule. And we saw in 2025 it expanded from 40 to 44 because of the addition of the Golden State Valkyries. And you might ask yourself. Hey, there's even more team expansion in 2026 with Toronto and Portland. Why aren't we getting more games? And there's a couple reasons for that. One, they are still governed by the terms of the current collective bargaining agreement, which has a maximum of 44 games. The new one might have expanded possibilities, but for now all the WMA could do is 44 games. So if we're in status quo, that's the number of games you're getting. Also, you may notice the start of the schedule is a little bit earlier than it has been in years past. About a week earlier in May. The end of the schedule a little bit later than it has been in September. That's because there is a two week break in the middle, not even really in the middle, sort of towards the end of the season for the FIBA World cup which is going to be held in Germany from September 4th to 13th. And the WNBA obviously expects a lot of his players to be competing for their national teams during the World Cup. So you can't really have games during the World Cup. So you'll notice teams are playing games through the end of August and then there's a bit of a gap and then they sort of restart around September 17th to close out the last four to five games of the regular season.

[Zena Keda]

That is so awkward. I feel like the Olympic. Yeah, the Olympic break wasn't bad because it was perfectly lined up. All star play the Olympics, it was mid season break. Exactly. But this, we're almost done, but just give us a little moment real quick. Let's go play on the world scale real quick. And then I thought we'll come back.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Was to finish the regular season before the World cup and then have a break before the postseason. But I also can understand how that's awkward because you're not preparing for the playoffs. Then you're preparing for the World Cup. So I think any way you place this break is going to be weird for the WNBA because of FIBA's calendar. And the good news is, is that the next time there will be a FIBA basketball World cup in 2030. They've already set in November, so it will not interfere with the WNBA's schedule.

[Zena Keda]

That's good at least. Yeah. This week, this year's gonna be a little ox. Little ox, a little Oxford. Yeah. Okay, let's keep talking about some of the things that I thought were really, really cool. Number one, there's new teams and I love, I mean we're gonna get into, you know, some of these schedule release videos, but the babies the twin babies being depicted as Toronto and Portland, which I believe might have been in New York's or scheduled release video. Love that because yes, they are two new teams, brand new to the wnba. Of course Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire will debut and they're debuting early. Sabrina.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, they both get opening weekend slots. I'm curious how we're going to classify the Portland Fire's first game because they're not debuting necessarily. They still do retain the history of the three seasons of the Portland Fire that existed from 2000, 2002. So it's like a relaunch, I don't know. But definitely the debut of the Toronto Tempo is happening and the debut of the Portland Fire or relaunch of the board was happening the day after. So they each get their own separate marquee event. So it's not like the WNBA is just putting all of expansion out on one night. They get separate nights to celebrate their entry or re entry however you want to classify it into the wnba.

[Zena Keda]

I love that. I love that. And I also love that we don't have to wait till July to see the brainy champs and their foe that went down Phoenix Mercury and the Las Vegas Aces will match up earlier this year. Finally. We don't have opening day for opening nights. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love that. I love that. We're also getting open weekend Paige Beckers and Caitlin Clark. So we haven't seen Caitlin Clark in a very long time. Of course she went down with injury earlier or towards the middle part. I feel like right before All Star. Right before All Star, yep, exactly. Last season. And so we haven't seen a bunch of her. I know people were clamoring when they saw her at Team USA camp. So now Paige Beckers, Caitlin Clark being pit against each other on opening night. This is could potentially be. I know we had the whole Chicago Sky Indiana Fever rivalry that was really a big thing and now there's this Dallas Wings Indiana Fever thing happening. Thoughts on that opening weekend matchup?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, I think we were kind of force fed a lot of Indiana Chicago last year and it wasn't super competitive. Even with the injuries that Indiana suffered, they very convincingly won those matchups. I mean we got five of them last year which just felt kind of like overkill. So I like the shift. You know the last two number one picks with Caitlin and Paige, obviously there will be another number one pick before that happens, but it would also be on Dallas. So the last actually last four number one picks will be a part of this matchup with Aaliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, and then the two Dallas players. So that's really fun. And as you said, you know, we haven't seen Caitlin in a very long time. We only got Caitlin Clark vs. Paige Beckers once during the 2025 WNBA season. It was kind of anonymous, like sort of tucked away in the middle of a game because Dallas wasn't doing particularly well either. So it's nice to start off the season with that because, you know, everybody's watching those Team USA video, saw a lot of Caitlin, saw a lot of Paige. Caitlin didn't play for a while. Paige didn't get to play in any meaningful games in 2025. So to put them right at the start of the season, I think is super fun. Just a little breakdown because there are 44 games and now there are 15 teams. Every team will play two teams in their conference four times, sort of like their primary rivals, and then they play everybody else three times. So we're not going to get this five matchup thing again. There's just too many teams for that to happen in a 44 game schedule.

[Zena Keda]

You know what it makes me think of? And I don't know if this is with all parents, but I know immigrant parents are good for this. You tell your immigrant parent you like this one snack, you better believe that your entire pantry will be filled with that snack. A year's worth. Okay, so the WNBA was like, oh, you guys like this matchup? You guys like this quote unquote rivalry? Here's five of them. Even if it is nauseating by the time you finish the third. Yeah, no, it was. It was a little bit much last year, but I think we can refresh some things and I think that this is a great way to do it. Another great way to do it. Honoring history. This is the 30th season, Sabrina. This is huge. The fact that we're like barely talking about this is crazy, but it's because obviously there is this cloud.

[Sabrina Merchant]

There's a lot going on.

[Zena Keda]

There's a lot going on cloud called the cba. But I loved, loved learning this part. The Sparks and the Liberty are going to be playing on the league's 30th anniversary. That is like. I got goosebumps reading that. That's so dope.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, it's really cool. They're doing it in LA again, just like it was on opening night of the 1997 WNBA season. Which weird to think that it was on June 21, but it was much shorter season back then with the YBA teams. I Had forgotten that the Liberty won that game. Honestly, I always remember that Penny Toller scored the first points in WNBA history. Cool to be playing this game in LA where her jersey is retired. Another nod to all of the history that brings the WNBA into season number 30. So I think that's awesome. I don't know if the WNBA is still going to have its Rivals week that we talked about last year. We're currently an NBA Rivals week, which has some of its own conversation.

[Zena Keda]

Right, right, right, right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Maybe that's part of it. I do think honoring that history, making a nod to. It's not necessarily historical rivalry because they didn't really have a lot of contests against each other in the playoffs. But it's very cool that, you know, even if it's not an opening night, it's on the 30th. Or at least it's not the 30th anniversary technically because it's 1997. This is verbiage that's going to trip me up for the entirety of this year. We're not in the 30th anniversary season. We are in the 30th season. So things are happening on the 29th anniversary of when they happened in 1997. But no, I like that they picked the same date. Uh, it's cool. And you know, you wouldn't necessarily want Liberty Sparks on the first night of the season because nothing really happened between them last year. So it's, it's cool that at least that gets honored on the exact date that it happened.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, that's, that's so dope. I really hope as many people from that first, those first two teams can be there in person, can be honored. I'm trying to think of, we gotta get Tyra Banks there. You know, she was sitting courtside at that first game. I feel like that's really important. I think she lives in like Australia now. Tyra Banks, if you listen to us, you gotta be courtside for this, okay? Gotta bring back the star and let's make it a star studded affair. Like, this is so dope. This is so awesome. And then of course the Commissioner's cup is gonna be back for year six. Hey, I'm gonna tell you right now, NBA cup looking real good these days. You know, people are excited to win NBA cup and it is modeled a lot after the Commissioner's cup, which is also modeled after like European soccer, but we're not talking about that. Wnba. Wnba. Commissioner's cup is back for year six. Last year, Beaver Lynx. You know, I thought it was very competitive. I don't think that we all expected.

[Sabrina Merchant]

There have been five different Commissioners cup champions in the first five years. So, I mean, if you were a team that has not yet won the Commissioner's cup title, you have a good chance as anybody.

[Zena Keda]

There's hope. There's hope. No, it's awesome that they're continuing that tradition, getting a little extra money, giving some money to charity. It's fun. It's competitive. It gets the juices flowing early, gets you playing some meaningful games early in the season.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Eventually, I would like an expansion of the commission as it currently stands. You have all the Western games, and then they. The top seed in the Western Conference gets a bid. The top seed, I should say, in the Commissioners cup game gets a bid to the final. And then the top seed in the Eastern Conference, among their Commissioners cup games, makes the final. And now, because the conferences are bigger, you have more Commissioners cup games on each side of the conferences because there are eight west teams and seven east teams. So there are seven cup games on the west and six on East. What I would like is for them to sort of like, throw a semifinal in here somehow. Like, if you were to potentially have, like, three groups of five instead of eight and seven, then you have, you know, your four games in your group, and then, like, the top three seeds plus a wild card could do, like, a semifinal and then a final. I also think it's time we move the Commissioners cup final to a neutral site. It's very hard for people to plan so close to when the final happens. I think it'd be a good way to, you know, like, let's say you held it in Cleveland, right? As, like, hey, Cleveland's coming to the league next year. Let's have a Commissioners cup final here. So something to think about for 2027, since we're already, you know, far beyond the possibility here. We're not. We're not amending the schedule. Let's make that clear. This is a schedule. Unless games don't start by May 8, this is a schedule. So something to think about for 27. I think there's interesting things that can happen with the Commissioner's cup that don't have to relegate it to east west all the time.

[Zena Keda]

1,000%. I see. I feel like, you know, NBA cup borrows a little from the wnba, and now the WNBA can borrow a little bit from the NBA cup because they have those pods and they're the group play first, and they have the semifinals, and they have a neutral site in Los Angeles.

[Sabrina Merchant]

They have a quarterfinal, too. We don't even get that far, but I think the semifinal.

[Zena Keda]

Exactly. Exactly. Okay, so I was jumping the gun. But I appreciate you, you know, breaking that down with the Commissioner's Cup. I like that idea. Again. Wnba, you listening? I don't know. Maybe you are. Ideas, everybody, and Tyre Banks w. Figure it out. Call her up. Okay. Go eat her ice cream soup.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Excuse me.

[Zena Keda]

It is not ice cream soup. It is.

[Sabrina Merchant]

It sounds terrible.

[Zena Keda]

Have you seen this?

[Sabrina Merchant]

No, I have no idea what you're talking about.

[Zena Keda]

Oh, my gosh. It was a whole phenomenon. She is, like, basically selling hot ice cream and she is not calling it melted ice cream. I can't remember. Listeners tell me I'm not crazy. You have seen this. She has opened up stores in Australia. We're going to hit her up. She's going to be courtside for that Sparks Liberty game. Let's get back on track. I gotta talk about some of these. I mean, this was a missed opportunity for some of these teams to hit up Tyra for their cameos for their schedule releases. Because I really want to, quickly, before we get into bracketology, talk about these scheduled releases and what we liked, what we didn't like. Who was our favorite? So I wanted to start with Sabrina. Which one was your favorite schedule release?

[Sabrina Merchant]

So I'm not even sure this was actually a schedule release, but it was posted yesterday, so I think it was. It was Nate Tibbetts becoming a business intern for the Phoenix Mercury.

[Eden Lassie]

That's crazy. Me, too.

[Zena Keda]

It's so good. It's nostalgia. It's the sports center, like, the old sports center, but it's also like the office. He was so.

[Sabrina Merchant]

He was so charming the whole way through.

[Zena Keda]

So charming. I loved him, like, also doing what we've done in corporate spaces, being in meetings and not knowing what the hell.

[Sabrina Merchant]

We'Re talking, like, driving up basketball plays. In the Q3 analysis, he's talking about coming out for the third quarter of a game.

[Zena Keda]

I'm so. I can't. I was, like, not expecting you to say that. I'm very.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I think my favorite part is when he's working the front desk and, like, bringing people in and he says, like, hey, Scott. And you can clearly see the guy's name tag says. And he's like. He's just calling him the wrong.

[Zena Keda]

Just wrong. My favorite was when he was watching them play pickup basketball, and he was just like, yeah, go. Like, you know, trying to encourage them, like, trying to fight the coach within him. It was so good. It was really Good. It was so, so good. So, yeah, shout out Phoenix and their stick little characters that they did like the cartoon drawings as well. I like that too. So I don't know. Phoenix was like, all around great, great, great job. I actually took notes, so I just want to. Really quickly. I just. I do want to give Cred Portland for having the most niche nostalgic schedule release.

[Sabrina Merchant]

So if you're not Portland, you don't get it.

[Zena Keda]

Okay.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Which I didn't get a lot of it.

[Zena Keda]

Right. If you're not from Portland, if you've never watched Portlandia, this was very millennial coded. This was very Portland Coded. You noticed something, Sabrina, that I completely even missed. So when the very beginning.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Did you see Carrie Brownstein is reading this book and she's like, yeah, I'm reading Transforming Basketball, which is a book written by the new head coach of the Portland Fire, Alex Sara.

[Zena Keda]

It that completely. I think I was just like, so catching up. I was like, oh, fukads. Okay. I didn't even capture. I didn't even grab that. And I know that it's like the strength LED approach. Yeah. I love that. Valkyries having Kayla Thornton. I liked any integration of the players. So Kayla Thornton being a terrible graphic design. Graphic designer. It was good. It was good. It was cute. It was very similar to, like, the office internship type of thing. The Washington mystic spy movie. I liked the effort. It was a lot like. It was a. I said.

[Sabrina Merchant]

It also just kind of bummed me out that I missed going to the spy museum when I was in D.C. last month. So something to get back on my radar.

[Zena Keda]

Right, right, right, right. New York, also very millennial coded. They had family matters. Ms. Ellie is Ms. Cleo, the animal Planet. Like, there were so many good references that if you are of a particular age, you get. If you're the new babies, you have no idea what they're talking about. But that's okay. That's. That's okay. Dallas, your whole staff must. Must be of some sort of color, because Monteleo and all of those influencers having a ball in that office, I was like, who is working the staff at the Wings? I need to know. I need to know. But I love Monteleo as a rapper in general. The influencers I got. I thought it was like, a lot. There was also some kind of bad acting, but they were on point with representing each of their teams. I will say that. And you know the Toronto Legos. I like the Legos. Yeah, it was very cute. I wanted to ask you, what did you think about the Orly Nails for the ladies.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Not super memorable. Like, didn't. Didn't resonate for me at all. It was just there. Yeah.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah. I think that was the thing I would say in overall, like, opportunities, if you're going to do something with a sponsored brand for this, it's gotta feel off, like authentic, but it's like, memorable as well.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Also, we just hit this like, the Sparks are playing their third 30th WNBA season, which only four teams in the league can say, you know, Phoenix, New York, Las Vegas and the Sparks. And, you know, a little more nod to that would have been cool. It felt like you're missing out on a special opportunity here. I do just want to highlight real quick the Chicago Skies schedule. Release the art but make it Sports. Yeah, not my favorite release, and here's why. Not that I don't love art but make it sports, but the whole point of that is that it's a special sporting image that you then translate into art. And these were just boring, one of the mill sports images. So we're sort of wasting the purpose of it here. So I like that idea, but I don't think it's the correct execution of, like, why art for make it sports works.

[Zena Keda]

Agreed. I also. I feel like some teams kind of mailed it in. I'm not gonna lie. Minnesota, I get you are partnering with a 24. Euphoria is not even a movie. Like, it's not even a movie. It's a series. I'm sorry. I love y', all, but no, I'm so sorry. I was not a fan. I was not a fan of LA's Orly Nails, Indiana. Now, as an ADHD, girly, ASMR is cool, but that board felt like we have 24 hours to do something. We didn't think this through.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Honestly, I wouldn't even mind if a team was just like, we have a couple, like, slides in the Instagram carousel. That's where we're about to schedule. Like, that's okay. It doesn't have to be like this every year. We're not the NFL.

[Zena Keda]

That's true. Right? Remember that one year everyone made a Game of Thrones thing? Yeah. Clearly, people have been trying to top that ever since. Okay, we gotta move on. But shout out to the schedule releases. Shout out to all the marketing teams, because you do know, like, there's a lot of work that goes into those. So we appreciate your efforts, everyone, and hopefully you guys do what they're telling you to do. Go get your tickets and, like, make sure you're set up for the season. On the other side of this break, though, we're going to talk to Eden Lassie about everything that's going on on the college space and bracketology. Don't go anywhere.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Oh, could this vintage store be any cuter? Right.

[Zena Keda]

And the best part, they accept Discover.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Except Discover in a little place like this?

[Zena Keda]

I don't think so, Jennifer. Oh, yeah.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Huh?

[Eden Lassie]

Discover is accepted where I like to shop.

[Zena Keda]

Come on, baby.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Get with the time. Right. So we shouldn't get the parachute pants.

[Zena Keda]

These are making a comeback, I think.

[Eden Lassie]

Discover is accepted at 99% of places.

[Zena Keda]

That take credit cards nationwide.

[Eden Lassie]

Based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.

[Sabrina Merchant]

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[Zena Keda]

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[Eden Lassie]

Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited.

[Zena Keda]

We're excited. You are new to our world of no off season, so I know our listeners are gonna be very excited to have you as you're gonna be the ones guiding them into bracketology. You kicked things off a couple weeks ago with your bracket watch, so I wanna go ahead and just dive right in. I don't feel like this is gonna be a hard question. Okay, but if selection Sunday were today, who would you give that number one seed to and why?

[Eden Lassie]

Yeah, so the thing I will say is it's not different right now, like, who I would give it to and who the committee will. It would be the same. But in terms of bracketology, it's all about me trying to figure out what I think the committee will do, not necessarily what I would do. That being said, if it was a committee of one and it was me versus the actual committee, it would still be UConn right now for that number one.

[Zena Keda]

Overall, I feel like that's pretty easy to get to. I feel like we've already discussed why we think UConn is number one, but in the wins that they're doing, the dominant fashion in which they're winning, like, that all makes sense. But once it gets past UConn, things get interesting. And this is where I want to get to know more about what you just said, thinking about what the committee is going to do. So we've done this now, I think, two years or so. Sabrina, we've had our bracketology, and we've talked to Sabrina, we've talked to Chantelle, we talked to Ben. We had another bracketology resident expert on our team that is now with Toronto Tempo. Shout out Mark. But. But what I want to know is your process, Eden, when you start watching games and you're taking your notes, is there a ridiculous whiteboard somewhere in your house? Like, what does your process look like? How do you get into bracketology?

[Eden Lassie]

Yeah. So speaking of Mark, shout out Mark for me as well, because he really helped me kind of figure out how to do this.

[Zena Keda]

Oh, awesome.

[Eden Lassie]

I don't have a whiteboard, but I do have an Excel sheet, which has been really virtual whiteboard.

[Zena Keda]

Exactly.

[Eden Lassie]

So essentially, the first step is. And I also have to shout out my older sister Ellen, because she's an engineer. So she helped me set up a math equation. Okay. Do all this, right? So we have a little equation, and that kind of gets us our rankings. And then I move those around based on, you know, like, who had had a big win, who looked really bad in a game, etc. But I will say, like, the first thing in bracketology is net rankings are king. The committee loves net rankings. Those have more weight than anything else. There's obviously other factors, like, you know, strength of schedule, you know, win percentage, quad one, quad two, etc. But they love the net. So that's kind of why you'll see even when Like LSU hadn't beat anybody and they had lost those first two games in conference. They were still pretty high up in the seating because they have a great net ranking, because they're blowing out those teams in the beginning of the year. So that's always going to be the biggest factor. And then of course, there's all these other things that go into it.

[Zena Keda]

There you go. Okay. And then, Sabrina, I know we've talked about this at ad nauseam, but break it down one more time in case you got some new listeners. Net rankings. Quad one, quad two. What does that actually mean for teams?

[Sabrina Merchant]

The NCAA has a formula that determines the net ranking and that sort of gets into strength of schedule and how many wins you have and how many wins are against good teams, how many bad lots, margin of victory, all that sort of thing. The question that you pose at the beginning of this who should be the overall number one seed? It seems very obvious that it should be UConn. Although maybe Vanderbilt could plug its way into this conversation depending on how many SEC games they win. UCLA has been trumpeting their case for the overall number one seed, and that is because they have nine quad one wins. And that's basically the number of wins you have over the certain top quartile of the instability population. Right. And UConn only has five of those wins. And I don't think they're going to get very many of those more of those wins over the course of their schedule because they play in the Big east and there aren't really quad one teams in the Big East. Whereas ucla, if they run the table in the Big Ten, could up this number to like 14 or 15. Right. So that's sort of one of the distinguishing factors of like, hey, you look at UConn, eye test wise, they're the best team in the country. Right. They look at, they beat teams by a magnificent margin. They're winning every single game. And yet you could look at teams in the SEC or the Big Ten and they have such a higher difficulty every day that they show up that should that be rewarded, even if they have one or two losses versus a team that goes undefeated over the course of its entire regular season. And that's sort of something that UConn has faced over the last five years. Like, I don't think they've gotten a 1 seed since maybe the 2020 tournament. And that's just because their schedule is not giving them the same opportunities relative to other teams in the field.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, yeah. Having that Big East Conference kind of anchor, it's not so big. Yeah, it kind of bogs them down a little bit. I'm just curious, Eden, if the loss that UCLA had versus Texas, does that hurt them in any way to get that top seed in terms of getting.

[Eden Lassie]

The number one overall seed? A little bit. But the committee is very much a what have you done for me lately kind of situation. Right. So when the season's over, they're gonna value what teams have done at the end of the season a lot more than they're gonna value what they did at the beginning, which is unfortunate for a team like UConn because they can't really do anything right. They schedule really hard. They have one of the best strengths of schedules. They, I believe they had the best non conference strength of schedule. But like Sabrina mentioned, the Big east isn't that big when it comes to top teams. Right. So it becomes hard for them. That being said, ucla, there is a case for them down the line to potentially get that number one overall seed. If they were to win out in the Big Ten, not lose a single game in that conference when it is very strong, then go on to win the Big Ten tournament. I think the committee would really value that, like I said, because they. They care about what you've done right now, but I don't think you could really go wrong, like, if that was how it ended, I don't think you could really go wrong with either one of them. Yeah, but again, that doesn't mean I don't think UConn is the best team in the country, because I do. It's just this weird thing that we call bracketology where we can't really. You know, what I think doesn't matter. So I'm just trying to predict what they might end up doing.

[Zena Keda]

Now, before we turn our attention to who might be hosting, I just want to bring up the school that, you know, Sabrina, you just mentioned, Vanderbilt. Someone that hasn't taken a loss yet. And they're also in a conference that is very competitive and definitely more competitive than the Big East. They could rack up some big time Quad one wins. We're preparing for them to face off against South Carolina, which will be, I think, a massive test of just how resilient they are and how talented they are as a team. But how much is the case, you know, for Vandy being built right now with the win, especially that they just had over Michigan?

[Eden Lassie]

Yeah, I think Vandy has a massive case to get into the. The number one conversation right now. They are my number one, number two seed.

[Zena Keda]

Okay.

[Eden Lassie]

And just depending on how things go in the sec. If they finish as the top team in the sec, again, another really, really good conference, then there certainly is, you know, no way to really argue that they should get a one seed. The problem right now is going to be that, to me, I think, again, like I said, the way UCLA is playing, I think that they're. And their conference is strong enough that I think they're going to end up being kind of a lock for number one. Unless something wild happens. UConn's kind of a lock for number one, so then it's okay. We have all these SEC teams competing for the last two spots, Right. So I do think we'll see two SEC teams in there as number one seeds. It's just a matter of which ones we see.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Right. And Vaynerchuk really controls their own destiny there because they will play South Carolina and they will play Texas, and you have an opportunity to prove yourself in the regular season against those teams and probably in the conference tournament as well for the sec.

[Zena Keda]

There you go. Okay, so let's talk about the teams that will be hosting, because we know that is a huge advantage in the tournament, not having to go anywhere for a while before you have to go play some really even bigger games. What teams? If. Eden, I like the way you place it. If you were the committee of one, if you're the committee of one, what teams would you have hosting in the tournament?

[Eden Lassie]

Right. So obviously we have those four number ones that we talked about again, if the season ended today. UConn, UCLA, South Carolina, Texas. Then my twos are Vandy, Louisville, TCU and LSU. We have the three. So for Iowa, Michigan, Kentucky, Michigan State, and the Fours, I still have Maryland holding on, but it is close. They're getting ready to potentially drop down Baylor, Ohio State. And then this one is probably the most shocking given how they started the season. But my final number four is Duke. Yes.

[Zena Keda]

That's crazy. That is crazy.

[Sabrina Merchant]

What team should be ahead of Duke in this session? I'm not saying this is a homer. I'm just saying, like, considering the wins that they picked up.

[Zena Keda]

No, you're absolutely right. You're absolutely right. They have turned things around. But I'm just saying it's just like, it is wild that we're having this conversation. We started the season with them being in the top 10 in the country. And when I'm telling you, within a day we went to sleep, we woke up, they were like, out of the conversation. It was crazy. Some of the losses that we had seen just they Looked discombobulated on both ends of the floor, but now we've seen them kind of pick some things up. What were the wins that you saw and the aspects of those wins that made you go, you know what, Duke, you win this conversation too?

[Eden Lassie]

Yeah, I just, I don't think you're being a homer at all. I think to me it's pretty clear. I do think some people would make an argument for Tennessee, but to me, just the way they've run the table since that last loss to lsu and they've got good wins in there, like, you know, people don't give them enough credit, but South Dakota State's a really solid team and they beat them by over 30 points. Like they beat Syracuse, who is right now in the field. You know, they beat Notre Dame, they beat Cal, they beat Stanford, who's kind of in and out of that top 25. They beat Virginia, who was a bubble team. So they're really, I mean, they look good and, you know, they weren't afraid to play all these really, really tough teams. So I think like, you know, the way they scheduled in the beginning of the season was a little terrifying watching them play.

[Zena Keda]

Terrifying is a hilarious word.

[Eden Lassie]

But you're right.

[Zena Keda]

The gauntlet they went through, South Carolina, ucla, lsu, that was tough.

[Eden Lassie]

Yeah.

[Sabrina Merchant]

One thing that Duke's schedule shows is that you don't get punished as much for good losses. Right. Like losing to Baylor, who's another hosting team that Eden mentioned. And those three teams that you mentioned doesn't affect you in the same way as it would if you lost to like Central Connecticut State. Right. Like, it's okay if you schedule good teams and you lose. Although I do wonder how much the losses to South Florida and West Virginia should be considered here because those were, were not good losses.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, those were tough.

[Eden Lassie]

But remember what I said about, you know, the committee is, what have you done for me lately? Like, they're winning so many games right now, so they're going to be less likely to. To point out the fact that they lost to a West Virginia team with five players or that they lost to South Florida.

[Zena Keda]

You know, those were interesting circumstances we're not going to go back into. That whole melee was weird.

[Eden Lassie]

It was crazy.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, definitely. If you don't know what we're talking about, we talked about it on the show, but definitely go back and see what happened between West Virginia and Duke. That was a strange game. And then that was what really opened up up that four streak loss that went into that gauntlet that I just listed For Duke. But the Tennessee thing is interesting. Like, what is it that Tennessee needs to do to possibly push themselves up into the conversation?

[Eden Lassie]

Yeah, I think Tennessee, you know, also has a good chance to move up because of their conference. You know, it takes one good win in that conference and then you kind of get pushed up a little bit. The SEC is stronger than the acc, so if they're able to, you know, get an upset or two, they'll definitely be in that four seed conversation.

[Sabrina Merchant]

There's a couple other teams that I have an eye on just for hosting potential. What about Princeton?

[Eden Lassie]

Love that you said that. Because I think Princeton is incredible. I often think that there should be more mid majors kind of higher up in these tournaments. I don't know that the committee will do that just because especially I do think, you know, the last couple years, the Ivy, the top three teams have been really good in Princeton, Harvard and Columbia. This year, that's the same. But Columbia and Harvard aren't quite as good as they have been, so it's a little harder for them. I would love to see Princeton host, though, just because I think they are a really, really good team. I think they're not valued as highly as they should be just because they're a mid major. They play in the iv. But I love that you brought that up because I think that would be incredible.

[Zena Keda]

Okay. All right. Any other team, Sabrina, that you've got in the hosting conversation?

[Sabrina Merchant]

I mean, we talked about them a little on our earlier show this week, but could Texas Tech get into this conversation?

[Eden Lassie]

Yeah, Texas Tech is. I think they could as well. And I did have them hosting earlier, but they've had a couple losses that were not, not the best. I think that BYU loss is really.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Going to get me after yesterday. Yeah, that's a. That's a toughie.

[Eden Lassie]

And this is the crazy thing about bracketology, right? Is it changes so much day by day. So we're recording this on Thursday and then tomorrow when my bracketology goes out, this could all be different. That's just how it works.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Thursdays are big days.

[Eden Lassie]

Yeah, Thursday is huge, so. But I do think Texas Tech could get itself back in there. I just think that BYU loss was particularly tough for them.

[Zena Keda]

Okay, is there any space of redemption for Iowa State to get into this conversation? Eden, help help us out. For the Iowa State fans, this is.

[Eden Lassie]

Okay, I'll start with a bad Iowa State. You don't want to hear this, but you guys actually are a bubble team right now, which is nuts.

[Zena Keda]

Hey, it's real.

[Eden Lassie]

That's because their strength of schedule was really bad. Yeah, I'm sorry to say it, but they didn't play. They played Iowa. That was a good one. But other than that, their non con strength of schedule was not very good. And then they've lost. You know, they lost those five games in a row. But they. Again, it's so volatile. They just got Ariana Jackson back, which is huge for them. She's their best defender now. Once Adi Brown is back, this is a completely different team. Right. So I think those five losses are kind of going to be a thing of the past here in the future. If everybody's healthy and they win a bunch of games, I don't think we're needing to be too concerned about them. They're on the bubble. Like again, if the season ended literally this second, but by the time the season's over, I don't see that being the case. So I do think they could move up pretty quickly and get back into kind of that hosting conversation, depending on how they do down the stretch.

[Zena Keda]

Okay. All right. I don't think that Iowa State would be considered a sleeper team, but you just also mentioned South Dakota State. Talk about some of these mid majors. We wanted to kind of turn the attention to folks that might surprise us and earn a spot in the tournament. Overall, not necessarily a host, but just would be punching a ticket to the tournament. And you're like, oh, I didn't know we were selling those to you. But yes, here you are.

[Eden Lassie]

Yeah, I think the A10 is way stronger than people realize this year. Rhode island is currently got the auto bid from that league and they're really strong team. But I think George Mason, Richmond and Davidson could all potentially get in.

[Zena Keda]

I don't think another repeat. They always have this good, right?

[Eden Lassie]

Yes. I don't think the committee is going to give four bids to the A10, but I do think we could see. We definitely will see two, I think. And we could see three. So, you know, if a team like Richmond gets in, right. They're. They're always going to be a team to watch just because of Maggie Dugan. Like she's one of the best players in the country. She's always going to be one of the best players in the country. She was phenomenal against UCLA last year in the first round of the tournament and so. Or maybe the second round.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, yeah. They just absolutely beat the tails off of Georgia Tech in the first round.

[Eden Lassie]

Yeah, exactly. So like they're always a team that could do something because they have one of the best players. In the country on their team and they, you know, they're a really solid mid major team that's got a lot of chemistry, they've played together a long time, that kind of thing. So I think we could see an A10 team kind of be sneaky good in the tournament again. Princeton, I think is always a team that when they, you know, are a lower seed that beat somebody in the first round, I'm like, I guess that's an upset, but not really because they're so good, right?

[Sabrina Merchant]

So good. Yeah, they are.

[Eden Lassie]

Okay. Yeah. And anyone who hasn't watched Princeton, you really should because they'll blow you away.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I think this is sort of where we see like the divergence between the AP poll and the bracket, which I think a lot of people are interested in, because, you know, my ballot is a little bit different. I'm sure yours is, but like Princeton is going to be getting like top 20 votes this week, you know, probably like in that late teens, early 20s. And yet I don't know that the committee's gonna consider them for like a five seed. Right. So why is there such a divergence between how, you know, the pollsters view Princeton versus how they're seated?

[Eden Lassie]

Yeah, so I think the big thing about the AP poll is again, it's purely opinion from one person to another. You know, we all have different criteria on how we do our rankings, whereas the committee, supposedly they all have the same kind of ideology going into it. Right. We can argue whether or not that's true because of course there's still human compel component to it and we all have our own biases and all that. But when it comes to the AP poll, it's basically however many people vote, watching these teams, watching the game, saying, I think this team's better than this team. And it doesn't always necessarily reflect in what the committee is going to do because of those things like strength of schedule. Right. So at the beginning of the season, I looked at LSU and I thought, this is a good team. I'm going to have them in the top 10 even though I know they're not going to play anybody until conference play. Whereas if, you know, they only played those very beginning games in the season, they probably wouldn't be in an NCAA tournament, that kind of thing. Right. So yeah, it's very, very different based on, you know, all these different factors. And again like that, that math component of who did you play, how much did you beat them by, what's your strength of schedule? All those things go into March madness a Lot more than they do a people.

[Zena Keda]

As someone that, like, just gets to enjoy bracketology, like, I get to read what you write. Right. You know, and I get to understand, like, what writers are looking at, et cetera. This doesn't make any sense to me. Sometimes I'm just like, how did you. How did this team get to host? Or how did this team get into the conversation of punching a ticket in? But this team isn't. Like, even we talk about Duke. Like, where's North Carolina in this conversation that's been a little bit better more consistently than Duke has. Right. Like, where. Where do the, you know, Arizona State that started off pretty much undefeated, that they're going to be in a big turn, a bigger conference, et cetera, than some other teams. Like, there's so many different teams. Oklahoma. Have we talked about Oklahoma, which. The top of this year. I ain't gonna lie. I thought they were gonna drop out of the top 25 and never come back because I just sit. I didn't quite believe in the product on the floor. They have gelled and coalesced a little bit more than I anticipated. So shout out to Oklahoma. But, like, even Oklahoma, could they punch their way back into a hosting conversation?

[Eden Lassie]

Yeah, I have. Oklahoma's a five right now, and I think they could easily get back into that. That conversation again. It's just a couple losses that they've had recently that have kind of pushed them out. And it, you know, it changes so much week to week. Like, if you had me on next week, I, you know, there's a. I could be like, oh, yeah, Oklahoma's a three. You know, it just really depends. It changes so much. But again, it's like you say you don't understand it. Yeah, because it's wild. Right? Like, it makes sense that you wouldn't understand it because it is just largely based on, you know, these. These mathematical things that the committee are doing. And a lot of it comes from watching how they seed teams over the years. And that's how, you know, I've kind of learned that the net is more important than anything to them.

[Zena Keda]

When did you start doing this, Eden?

[Eden Lassie]

I've done bractology stuff for a couple other places, but this is my first year doing it with you guys, so I would say I've gotten a little more intense this time around, but I did it in some of my previous employers, like, four or five years ago. But I will say just a little insight into my silly math that I have to do for this net is about five times more weighted than everything else because they just really care about that. And we've seen that in the past.

[Zena Keda]

It sounds like I need a sister named Ellen and Eden to just help me out and figuring this out. So before we let you go. Cause we're gonna have you on throughout the rest of this college season just to keep us posted on everything that's going on. So you might come. Oklahoma's number three. I just love the way you. But we also wanna hear about another story that you wrote on the site that's really, really good about NYU and NYU being undefeated and on the streak that is in the same conversation as a UConn streak. Break that down for us.

[Eden Lassie]

Yeah. So I spent a few days over the weekend with the NYU women's basketball team because they have won 76 games in a row. That streak spans two and a half years. Two titles in there. And it's just pretty remarkable. You know, they're a Division 3 team, but if you watch them, they really don't look like a Division 3 team. And I think that's part of the fun of this, is that because NYU is such an incredible school and it's in New York City where, you know, lots of people want to be, they're able to recruit talent that could go to Division 1 mid major schools. So that's how they've been able to be so good. But I think anytime you get talked about in the same breath as UConn, particularly if you're a Division 3 school, like, that's crazy. And that's kind of what all the. The women on the team were telling me. It's like, I can't believe that, you know, we're talking about UConn and then talking about our team. So, yeah, it was just a really cool experience and such a cool team and a fun thing to be a part of.

[Zena Keda]

That is so fire. I loved your story. 1. I loved how it started about this, like, mythic event that happened. A loss. It's a loss. I was like, the funny part is that the last time they lost was against a team. Some of you may know this. I did not know this school at all. Transylvania. So it sounds like a vampiric type of, like, is this like, what is happening? And then. No, it's a real school.

[Eden Lassie]

That was our last one.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah.

[Sabrina Merchant]

The word sinister is great there.

[Eden Lassie]

Yeah.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah. Another really, really good line. Thinking about just how efficient New York is and also really, really tough. Just you talked about playing them is like being a sugar cube in hot steaming tea that you could survive for A little bit. But at some point, the heat overwhelms you. And I was like, ooh, Eden. Yes.

[Eden Lassie]

You ate with that.

[Zena Keda]

Yes. So good. That was really. Yeah, it' really beautiful writing, but it also tells a really cool story, and I resonated with it a lot because, you know, the Ivy Leagues are in very similar boats. Right. There's no athletic scholarships. A lot of folks are going to Ivy Leagues. Now. This is back in the day.

[Eden Lassie]

Yes.

[Zena Keda]

Now you go to Ivy Leagues, you can compete for a national championship. Okay. But back in the day, it was mainly because you wanted a great education. You wanted balance of both. Same thing. You don't work out in the summer. You get to go do internships and things of that sort. And learning about this New York team, I like, they are artists. They play the saxophone. They have all these other interests and things that they want to do. They want to. I'm sure this is the case that we also see on the D1 level. But when you know that the money isn't the same, the recognition isn't the same, the platform isn't the same, there is a greater appreciation for the love of ball. So really, really cool article and appreciate you doing that work for us.

[Eden Lassie]

Yeah. Thank you so much. Yeah, I think that was one of the most fun things, is, like, especially in today's day and age where, you know, specialization is huge in sports. Right. At a young age, you just got to focus on only basketball. And then by the time you get to college, like, that is what really matters. And to them, you know, that's their priority. They love basketball. They really love being on the team. But it's not their only thing. You know, the coach was telling me about, probably like once a month at least, they have somebody leave practice to go do a zoom interview to get like an internship or something and then come right back in, you know, so it is a very different world, but a really fun world. And, you know, kind of something that I felt like should be talked about and should be highlighted. Yeah.

[Sabrina Merchant]

And you can tell that, like, Meg Barber knows how to coach because I think she's on the roster for the Nike Hoop Summit coming up in April. Like, those are players who do specialize in basketball and, like, they wanted her to be a part of that team.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah. She learning in your piece that she had been on the national team, like, coaching staff before?

[Eden Lassie]

Yeah, she coaches in USA Basketball. And you know, their top assistant, Nettie Respondeck, played at Vanderbilt. She's been on multiple D1 staffs. But they just, you know, there's been plenty of opportunities for them to go to other places to quote, unquote, move up, but they just don't want to because they're happy there and they get to play this really high level basketball with a bunch of kids that are just committed to it for no other reason than they love. They love playing.

[Zena Keda]

Oh, I love it. Well, go read this article, guys. It's a really, really cool story. Shout out to New York, New York University for just being excellent, quite literally, since their mythic loss against Transylvania years.

[Sabrina Merchant]

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[Zena Keda]

And the best part, they accept Discover.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Except Discover in a little place like this?

[Zena Keda]

I don't think so, Jennifer. Oh, yeah, huh?

[Eden Lassie]

Discover's accepted where I like to shop.

[Zena Keda]

Come on, baby, get with the times.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Right, so we shouldn't get the parachute pants.

[Zena Keda]

These are making a comeback, I think.

[Eden Lassie]

Discover is accepted at 99% of places.

[Zena Keda]

That take credit cards nationwide.

[Eden Lassie]

Based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.

[Sabrina Merchant]

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[Zena Keda]

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[Sabrina Merchant]

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[Zena Keda]

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[Sabrina Merchant]

Those were raisins, right?

[Zena Keda]

Next time, use Amazon Pharmacy. We deliver. And no, those were not raisins. Amazon Pharmacy Healthcare just got less painful. All right, we're gonna close the show like we sometimes do, and that is telling you where to set your screens this weekend. So first up, I'm just gonna hit on the very obvious one, South Carolina. Vanderbilt. We know Vanderbilt is undefeated. They narrowly got that win over Michigan, and this game is going to be the game to see if they're really about their business. Of course, South Carolina is a juggernaut coming into this game and it's a big batch up for the top of the sec. Of course, Texas is in their mix too, but in that top three, seeing two parts of the triangle go at each other, I'm very excited for that game. That is going to be on Sunday, 12pm Pacific, 3pm Eastern Time. All right, Eden, I gotta Ask you, is there any matchup that might be actually impacting bracketology that you're looking at for this weekend?

[Eden Lassie]

Yeah. So, you know, I gave some love to the A10 conference. We've got two of the top four teams in that conference, Richmond and George Mason are playing. So those are two bumble teams, and that should be a really good one.

[Zena Keda]

Okay, and then close this out. Sabrina, who you got your eye on.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Pretty obvious one, I think, but Ohio State, Iowa, you know, just, we're always looking at second place in the Big Ten, right?

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Still undefeated in the Big Ten. So you beat Ohio State and all of a sudden you're putting a lot of pressure on UCLA heading into next week's matchup between the Bruins and the Hawkeyes.

[Zena Keda]

There you go. Okay, guys, those are. Those are the games. You gotta look at those. Keep your eye on them. We'll be talking about some of them on the other side of the weekend, but we appreciate you guys tuning in. Eden, as always, appreciate you joining us for bracketology, breaking down some of your pieces as well. On the athletic, make sure you go check her out on the. We will be back next week with more women's hoops content. But please do us a favor and help us fill out this quick survey about you and your podcast [e-mail] survey 26 as a thank you, three listeners will get an Amazon gift card for $100. That's a lot of money on Amazon. Okay, three people will get that. So please fill that survey out. We value your feedback. We implement your feedback. We love your feedback. So unless you're like, hating, don't be a hater. Just give us good feedback. That's what we want to get. So make sure you fill out that survey theathletic.com survey26 and if you haven't already follow our show, you know, press that subscribe button. There's even a Little Bell on YouTube that lets you know when we're here. That's a thing I didn't even really, really know about like that. So I'm telling you now, press that little bell. It'll give you the notifications. And took our partner, the Yahoo. Sports hub. It's sportsyahoo.com womens sports sports on behalf of the athletic, Eden Lossy, Sabrina Merchant. I'm Zena Kaeda thanking you for listening and we will see you soon. No off season is hosted by Zena Kada with Chantelle Jennings and Sabrina Merchant is produced by Tanika Burrell. Our executive producer is Andrea B. Scott. Our theme music is by Marcus Bagala. Monica Compton is our video editor Shannon Ryan is managing editor of women's basketball at the Athletic Jesse Burton is our head of audio and Tim McMaster is director of audio operations.

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