← No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
Loading summary
Transcript178 lines
- [00:00]
Farnoosh Tarabi
Hi, this is Farnoosh Tarabi from so Money with Farnoosh Tarabi and today I want to talk to you about Boost Mobile Quick Money Tip Stop paying a carrier tax if your phone bill feels trapped in a pricey plan, this is your sign to unlock savings. Boost Mobile helps you reset your spending. With the $25 Unlimited Forever plan, you can bring your own phone, pay $25 and get unlimited wireless forever. And that simple switch can unlock up to $600 in savings a year. That's money you could put towards debt investing or something that actually brings you joy. Those savings are based on average annual single line payment of AT&T Verizon and T Mobile customers, compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited plan as of January 2026. For full offer details, visit boostmobile.com with
- [00:50]
Ndomic and Su
no fees or minimums on checking accounts, it's no wonder the Capital One bank guy is so passionate about banking with Capital One. If he were here, he wouldn't just tell you about no fees or minimums. He'd also talk about how most Capital One cafes are open seven days a week to assist with your banking needs. Yep, even on weekends, it's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. What's in your wallet terms apply. See capitalone.com bank capital1NA member FDIC running a business means juggling a lot of moving parts. And when your communication tools can't keep up, things start to slip. Missed calls, slow replies, scattered conversations. They're not just frustrating, they're lost opportunities and revenue left on the table. That's where quo comes in. Spelled Q U O. Quo is the one rated business phone system on G2, trusted by over 90,000 businesses. One shared business number for calls and texts so every conversation stays visible, organized and accountable. It works from an app or computer. You can keep your existing number, add teammates and sync your CRM, letting you scale without adding complexity. And with built in AI, Quo logs calls, summarizes conversations and flags next steps. Even after hours. Stop missing customers. Stop leaving revenue on the table. Try Quo free and get 20% off your first six months@quo.com tech. That's quo.com tech. No missed calls, no missed customers.
- [02:45]
Zena Kada
Hello everyone and welcome to no Off Season. I'm Zena Kada.
- [02:48]
Chantelle Jennings
I'm Shantelle Jennings.
- [02:49]
Sabrina Merchant
Sabrina and I'm Sabrina Merchant.
- [02:51]
Zena Kada
And today on the show, most conference tournaments are in the books, while some are still rolling into this week and the winners have punched their tickets all the way to the big Dance. We're going to Be breaking down the big wins and the crazy upsets, the bubble teams who fought for their lives and what it all might mean come tournament time. But first, we got a little housekeeping. Number one, a little reminder. If you haven't already subscribed to the show, please do so to tell your friends. Drop us a rating. Do your job, please, and thank you. Number two, we've got a big announcement coming on Thursday, so make sure you keep an eye out wherever you're listening to the show. Some very exciting news. If you're from the Bay, you might be even more excited than others, I'll tell you that, and I'm gonna leave it at that for now. And finally, if you didn't see our special feed drop this weekend, over on the audio side, go check it out. We shared an exclusive interview with Napisa Collier from the Athletic Show. So cool to do. And we've got some social clips running around as well, so definitely go check that out.
- [03:50]
Sabrina Merchant
Do you know what was that like to head down to Unrivaled and talk to Fee for that interview?
- [03:54]
Zena Kada
Oh, my God, it was amazing. It was so cool. I was only sad that I couldn't go on a day that there was a game because I feel like I've heard so much about the game atmosphere just being on a different level. But just being on that soundstage, which felt like a compound was wonderful and cool and amazing and inspiring. And trust me, like, when I was coming up playing basketball, like, we could never have imagined that something like this could have been created without the help of an NBA, without the help of a massive league behind it. Like, it is still surreal that they were able to build something like that. And the colors are fire. Fire. I think the branding more than anything is, like, one of the most impressive things to see in person.
- [04:35]
Chantelle Jennings
Did you get any shots up?
- [04:36]
Sabrina Merchant
Just having listened to the interview.
- [04:38]
Zena Kada
Oh, what'd you say?
- [04:39]
Chantelle Jennings
I asked if you got any shots up.
- [04:41]
Zena Kada
I did not get a ton of shots up. I got some free throws up. And for those of you that have watched or seen my free throw routine on the Athletic show, which we post, we put the video in the show and automatically picked up on the fact that my dribble routine before my free throw is a volleyball routine. You are 1,000% correct. That is exactly what happened. My volleyball serve dribble routine is the exact same as my free throw routine. So just good old carryover for the volleyball, basketball, like crossover athletes. I love that. Yes.
- [05:15]
Sabrina Merchant
It's a really good interview, by the way, if you haven't watched it yet. Listening to Fee talk about just the making of the business. Obviously we experienced arrival more as a basketball product, but having to build this from the ground up was very interesting.
- [05:26]
Zena Kada
Oh yeah, And Fee is also like the coolest and incredible. I just don't know how basketball players in general just do it all. Basketball players that are also moms who do it all. Like, I don't know how they balance all of these things that they do, but shout out to them. I'm just trying to balance podcasts and wedding planning right now, and I'm not even coming close to creating something like unrivaled. But we'll see. We'll see what happens with my wedding. Maybe we'll get some competition there. Okay, let's keep it moving and talk about some of these players that are no longer unrivaled because unrivaled is over. But they are playing in the pro stage and Team usa, Team USA is heating up. There is obviously a World cup coming up and there's a qualifying tournament that's going on very soon. So the squad, Team USA was in Miami this past weekend for training camp ahead of a five game World cup qualifying state in Puerto Rico that starts this Wednesday with a game against Senegal. Team USA has already qualified for the World cup in Berlin. Um, it's going to take place in September, but they are required to play in these tournaments anyway, pretty much. I think this is an opportunity for coach Carol Lawson to just evaluate talent and figure out what they want to do when they get to Berlin. So, Chantelle, what are you hearing coming out of training camp?
- [06:43]
Chantelle Jennings
Yeah, I mean, I think this is, you know, an opportunity for them to get together. Team USA has such a large pool of players and we see this happening throughout, you know, any sort of Olympic cycle. Everything is building towards the next Olympics. It's why the coaching staff or the head coach is named, you know, shortly after one Olympics ahead of the next, so that they have a, you know, three and a half, four year Runway to do they need to do to build toward the next Olympics. And there's a really large pool in the US it's much larger than other countries. And so with other countries you maybe have 14 players, 15 players that they're looking at. And it's basically the same 12 players that are shuffling through every time. And when they get together, it's like, okay, you know, same group. Not so for the US Obviously, there were six players who are making their national team debuts with the senior team this week, including Angel Reese, Paige Beckers Caitlin Clark, among others. And Carol Lawson is obviously making her coaching debut with this team in a game. They had a training camp that Sabrina was at at Duke in December. And then obviously, the chemistry with the coaching staff. She has three assistants who are WNBA coaches, and then Tia Jackson, who is her assistant coach at Duke that she knows well. And so it's just like figuring out the pieces, figuring out what works, what doesn't work. And for the players themselves, like, this is their first chance in a game setting Febra rules to show, you know, I should be on that Olympic roster in la.
- [08:08]
Zena Kada
It's cool you list out all these players that are making their debuts. And it is worth noting that we've had some changes a little bit to the roster. We know with Leah Boston having been out with that right leg injury, which we saw in unrivaled, she's no longer on this Team USA team. Sonia Citron is also out, and Monique Billings and Ray Burrell have slotted in. But Sabrina, I alluded to this a little bit of, like, the fact that they are already qualified for Berlin. This World cup is an opportunity to figure out what works, as Chantel just laid out. But what else is at stake here? Like, what could they. What could they learn? What could they discover about themselves in the midst of these games or maybe discover about the competition?
- [08:49]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, I. I don't want to put, like, a. A damper on what's happening at the World cup qualifier, but I'm kind of disappointed at, like, how many of the biggest names in the USA are not at this qualifying tournament because the World cup is in September, and this is one of maybe two camps that they're gonna have before the competition. And you think about some players who might be in consideration for the World cup roster, like a Sabrina Escu. Like, an Asia Wilson, like Brianna Stewart and FISA Collier, all players who have been part of Team USA throughout previous cycles, and they're not playing. And, yeah, maybe there are reasons for some of them, right? Like, Fee obviously has been dealing with this injury, but Stewie, like, went to training camp, could be playing. Asia Wilson could be playing, right? Even spring Escu. Like, even if she's hurt, could be at training camp. So I'm just a little, like, I don't know.
- [09:36]
Zena Kada
I'm.
- [09:36]
Sabrina Merchant
I'm worried about the. The progress of how Team USA is proceeding, because for so long, Team USA has been, like, the number one thing that American basketball players want to do, right? Like, everything was building towards. I want to play for the Olympics. I want to play for the national team. And I still think that's the case. Like, they still show up for the biggest events, but the competition around the world is getting better and better. It's getting closer and closer, you know, these games between the USA and international teams. And I think that the USA really should just be maximizing more of these windows. And I look at this roster and, like, it's a very talented roster, don't get me wrong. But it's also not nearly like, what I think the roster is going to look like in September. And I'm just, you know, putting out a little bit of, like, preeminent, like, preemptive concern, I guess. Like, you know, I want to make sure that people continue to take this system seriously and, like, the process seriously. Because, like Chantel said, there's so much talent, you know, like, people. The USA will have people to fill out the roster no matter if the biggest teams come through. But, like, if the biggest names just decide not to go to training camp and then show up at the end, I just don't think it serves the product as well as it could.
- [10:41]
Chantelle Jennings
Sabrina? I think that's a really important point because I think back to, you know, the lead up to the 2024 Olympic Games, and there was a lot of people who were frustrated that Diana Taurasi was on that roster. And I think if you ask people within the Team USA system, it was like, every time there was a camp or a training session or anything, like, Diana was there, she showed up. And I think you think back to how this, you know, legacy has been created with Team usa, and it is through that. It was that players, when there was a camp, they showed up. It was. It was a lot of attendance. And, you know, same thing with, like, the coaching staff. Like, you see these coaching staffs, and it's like people who have been in the system for a really, really long time. Like, this is not Carol Lawson's first experience with USA Basketball as a coach. She worked through the 3 on 3 with the youth teams. She was an assistant on the 24 Olympic roster. And so, you know, it's sort of like an investment of time. And then you think about the limited amount of time these groups have together and sort of how close that game against France was, and knowing that that core is going to return and, you know, maybe the core of Team USA will be the same in 2028, but every rep really, really matters. And, you know, I think for a long time, the women's program, the hallmark of it has been that consistency in showing up and you sort of put that in contrast to the men's side, where it was like people just showed up for the Olympics and that's it. And, you know, I wonder if sort of the women's program is going to start mirroring that a little bit more. And then you think about the results of the men versus the women over the last 20 years, and you wonder if there's any sort of catch up there. And so, yeah, I think it'll be. I'm really excited to see this group on the floor, though, like, anytime, you know, having covered the Olympics, like, there is something kind of emotional about watching players put on, like, Team USA jerseys in that setting. And Caitlin had said, you know, when she spoke to the media, she's been off for a long time, and Paige had said, like, you know, this is going to be an emotional moment for me to, like, have that senior Team national jersey on. And I think it's gonna be really cool just to sort of see all of these players who. This has been such a. A goal of theirs for a long time, to actually do it.
- [12:49]
Zena Kada
You mentioned Caitlin, and you immediately think about the fact that this. The last time we saw her was at that camp at Duke that Sabrina attended last December. Was it December? Yes. Goodness, that feels like so long ago. But having played 13 games last WNBA season, we didn't get to see much of her. And then that little spark in December and now getting to see some of the clips of her and Kelsey Plum joking around at camp and just her being in the midst of things, being back on the court. She did say she was a little bit nervous about wearing USA on her jersey, which we don't typically hear of. Caitlyn. So how. How she. How has she been prepping really for this moment? Um, and what are some challenges you think that she might face as she gets back accustomed to playing?
- [13:35]
Chantelle Jennings
Yeah, she said she thought it would be, you know, she would need, like, a minute to get back to herself, but she actually said she's feeling better than she did at the start of the 2025 WNBA season. So I'm really curious to see what she looks like, you know, based off of, like, the limited amount that we've seen her, you know, the fever. And she have put out videos and photos throughout the off season. Like, she's looking kind of bulked up. Sabrina obviously got to see her in that December training camp. You know, I think seeing her and Feba is a more physical game. The refs let a little more physicality happen. And so I'm really curious to see her in that environment. And yeah, I'm just like all of these players, I think seeing them together on the floor like Paige, Caitlin, Angel, I'm excited for the first time, sort of like that young intern or the young intern class gets out there on the floor together playing. I like when Kara is going to, like, run them out at some point. I'm sure we'll see sort of that next generation on the floor together. And that should be. You know, obviously that won't be necessarily what we see at the Olympics. This is just sort of like a testing grounds and a training grounds for that for the next 10 years. But it's like seeing those three on the floor together specifically is going to be really fun.
- [14:46]
Zena Kada
Yeah. This was so crazy about this particular World Cup. That's interesting to me is it's the passing of the baton in real time. And as we start to see some of these new names be in the mix of things, and we know that particularly on the men's side, they are holding on to that baton with the older class. And we already saw a bit of a passing of the baton on the women's side, and now it's even more so just because the talent pool is just flooded with so many capable players. And so it's going to be really interesting who actually does win out a roster spot going into this World cup. And what does that mean for the future of Team USA Women's basketball? Very exciting times, regardless. And wishing the best of luck to Team USA as they go into this qualifying tournament, even though they don't really need it. All right, before we get to our conference tournament takeaways, one more time, we gotta get into. It's time for Deal or no Deal. It's not one more time. It's gonna be a lot of times, actually, because they. We are recording this.
- [15:45]
Sabrina Merchant
Spoiler alert.
- [15:47]
Zena Kada
Spoiler alert.
- [15:47]
Sabrina Merchant
Right.
- [15:48]
Zena Kada
We're recording this on movie Monday, March 9th. Okay. That is one day until what the league has called the drop dead date for not missing games in the 2026 WNBA season. This is one day before. If you're a millennial listening to this, think back to Y2K. Remember, they told us the clock was going to strike midnight and 2000. The year 2000 was going to come, and you didn't know what was on the other end. Was it going to be aliens? Was the world gonna collapse and just turn into a black hole? Were the Backstreet Boys gonna break up? We didn't know what was coming on the other end of Y2K. Now, we still don't know what's gonna come when March 10th hits, because that is the important date. But as of right now, while we're recording this, unless we record some quite an emergency pod later today, there is still no deal. So, Sabrina, what is the latest? Have the players in the league come any closer to an agreement?
- [16:40]
Sabrina Merchant
So over the last week, the sides have exchanged multiple proposals. Actually, I think three total since over the last eight days.
- [16:49]
Zena Kada
Look at the emergency.
- [16:51]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, that would suggest emergency. I also don't think that they've collectively got into a room and discussed the content of these proposals together. So it's still less urgency. One side basically negotiating against itself.
- [17:06]
Zena Kada
Urgency, kind of temper, just a little bit. Cool.
- [17:09]
Sabrina Merchant
Tamper it down. So technically, March 10th is the date that the league has posited as operations will be condensed after this, meaning the schedule will be condensed from 44 games. And yet again, we haven't had both union reps and league reps coming together to hash out a deal. They have obviously continued to negotiate proposals. Still, some of the same issues remain over what benefits should be codified into the cba, how revenue share should be structured. All of these things we've been talking about for the last, you know, not necessarily 17 months, but it feels like it. Right? And like you said, Xena, unless we end up recording an emergency show, it does not appear that a deal is going to get done by March 10. But at the very least, there is a faster pace of negotiating that is occurring now compared to, you know, one month ago when there was sort of more of a standoff as to, like, who is going to blink first in making a move.
- [18:06]
Zena Kada
Okay, Chantel, Serena, let's really quickly. What do we think? Will there be an agreement on March 10th? I say no. What do y' all say? Thumbs down. Sabrina? Chantel. No. Okay. No. Offseason is predicting there probably won't be an agreement come March 10th.
- [18:25]
Sabrina Merchant
Happy to be wrong.
- [18:26]
Zena Kada
Happy to be wrong. Exactly. Prove us wrong.
- [18:28]
Sabrina Merchant
There's a lot of things I say on the show. Happy to be wrong.
- [18:30]
Zena Kada
We and the players are saying, how dare. No off season. Let's fix this tonight. Okay, maybe. Maybe that will happen, but we'll see. The question now is, if there is no agreement, what can happen next? They just keep negotiating until they get an agreement, but then the season gets truncated. And what else gets truncated? There's so many other things that still have to happen, Sabrina.
- [18:56]
Sabrina Merchant
My guess is the first thing that gets, you know, its timeline collapsed is training camp. It's currently scheduled for about two and a half weeks, which is kind of the default for how WNBA training camp goes. Maybe a little bit longer. I could see that, you know, getting pressed down to a week and a half. So that's where, you know, your first week comes. If this lasts until March 17th as the next drop dead date, I would imagine the league would do whatever it can to avoid canceling games. But if this goes on, they really
- [19:25]
Chantelle Jennings
don't want to cut Dallas Indiana, week one. They really don't want to. NBA season, you've got four number four number one picks. They're not going to cancel that. Yeah, they'll cut training.
- [19:36]
Sabrina Merchant
I think if something doesn't happen within the next 10 days, then, yeah, the top of that schedule starts to get chopped off.
- [19:41]
Zena Kada
Oh, man. Okay. I ain't a lot. I'm getting that Y2K stress again. It's. It's coming up. It's coming up. All right, y', all, let's get to these conference tournament takeaways on the other side of this break.
- [19:58]
Ndomic and Su
With no fees or minimums on checking accounts, it's no wonder the capital one bank guy is so passionate about banking with capital one. If he were here, he wouldn't just tell you about no fees or minimums. He'd also talk about how most capital one cafes are open seven days a week to assist with your banking needs. Yep, even on weekends, it's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com bank capital1na member FDIC.
- [20:29]
Zena Kada
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 has been tucked away in an Arizona barn for over 40 years. Only 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.
- [21:12]
Ndomic and Su
When people talk about energy, recovery and performance, they usually jump straight to training, protein or supplements. But one of the most overlooked pieces is gut health. If your gut is not dialed, everything else struggles to work the way it should. That is where momentous Fiber plus comes in. When gut health is not dialed in, other supplements and training habits don't work as well. You can be doing everything else right, but without a strong foundation, results fall short. Fiber is often the missing link. That's why Momentous believes in a relentless commitment to fundamentals and doing them differently than they have ever been done. Fiber plus is built to support the entire gut health process, not just one piece of it. And if a product doesn't meet their standard, it never hits the shelves. Right now, Momentous is offering our listeners up to 35% off your first order with promo code Acast. Head to livemomentous.com and use promo code Acast for up to 35% off your first Order. That's livemomentous.com, promo code Acast.
- [22:20]
Zena Kada
So, over the past few days, all across the country, college teams battled for conference championships. And these wins are very crucial. We have been breaking it down for you. Why? On no offseason, but especially for these smaller conferences, because if you win your conference tournament, you automatically get a bid to March Madness. So this is do or die for some of these schools, but some of these programs, it was business as usual. They know they're making it to the tournament, but more so now it's about, let's get better seating, let's get that home court advantage. And so powerhouses like UCLA, UConn, they were just flashing their dominance. But as always in March, the real excitement comes from the unexpected. The teams that caught fire at exactly the right time and earned their place in the tournament. So, Chantelle, I turn to you, which teams caught your attention this weekend?
- [23:08]
Chantelle Jennings
Yeah, I think Texas comes to mind. First of all, this is a team that last week when we were talking about the Longhorns, it was like, you know, can they beat Vanderbilt and maybe get that last number one seed spot over the Commodores? And then they obviously go into the title game against South Carolina. Carolina and kick some butt and win by 17 in a huge statement win. And it's like, oh, just kidding. They weren't playing for the number four overall seed. They were playing for the number three overall seed. And that really matters because, you know, getting into that number four, getting into that one line spot was like, okay, maybe they can, they can get to Fort Worth. But now they're in Fort Worth as a 1 seed, as a third overall, which means that South Carolina, presumably the number four overall seed, will be sent out to Sacramento. And that means, you know, easy one hour flights. They could stay in Austin, first weekend, Fort Worth, second weekend if they make it, no time zone change. Like, meanwhile, South Carolina has to make a cross country flight from Columbia to Sacramento. Three time zones. I think it's three. Is it more now with daylight savings time? I don't know. Arizona and mountain time is confusing to me. Yeah, they can stop that.
- [24:16]
Zena Kada
Agreed.
- [24:17]
Chantelle Jennings
Yes.
- [24:17]
Sabrina Merchant
You also avoid Yukon until the championship game.
- [24:20]
Chantelle Jennings
Right. So that's like all of this sort of sets up where, you know, I think of teams that, you know, had a better weekend than expected. It's certainly that because that 17.1 was huge. Vic Schaefer versus Don Staley is a match that has typically gone staley's way. A 17 point win, I believe, is the best win that he has had as a coach over a South Carolina team, even dating back to his Mississippi State days. So, like, this was a huge win at the right time. And I think how they did it in terms of like, Justice Carlton having a huge first quarter. Jordan Lee playing great. Madison Booker, you saw how Rory Harmon just sort of like operated with surgical precision, like time and score through the second half for that team. Like, they just looked really, really good. So I think Texas, for me is, is the first team that jumps out of that win.
- [25:10]
Zena Kada
I mean, Madison Booker was incredible, but who, who else did would you attribute that win to in terms of maybe things that were not on the box score?
- [25:23]
Chantelle Jennings
Yeah, I think just Rory Harmon, like, it's. You're not going to see, like, I think she only had four assists in the game, but it's like, you're not going to see there's not a stat for, you know, the leadership and operating the offense and the patience. Like there were times when she could have gone in for a layup with, you know, five seconds off the shot clock and she didn't. And like to, as a basketball player who is as competitive as she is in that environment, you know, you're basically playing in Colonial Life Arena, Greenville. Like, to do that and like shut down an opposing team's fan base, like that feels really good as a player and sort of restrain yourself and say, no, I'm actually going to run another 15 seconds off the shot clock here because that matters more than two points in this exact moment. Like, that's a veteran point guard doing exactly what you expect them to do. And in their last year of college
- [26:10]
Zena Kada
basketball, definitely a level of discipline displayed by Rory Harmon. And discipline actually makes me think of another team that just was so dominant because of the discipline they had offensively and defensively. I'm wondering if this is the team that stood out to you, Sabrina, who was it that made a statement this weekend? Maybe the biggest one.
- [26:29]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, I think, I think you're talking about UCLA, 51 point win.
- [26:33]
Chantelle Jennings
Maybe that 51 point win.
- [26:34]
Sabrina Merchant
Big Ten title game over Iowa. A lot of points. A lot of points. When you more than double up your opponent in a championship game, it is definitely going to raise some eyebrows. Another team that looking to avoid UConn until the championship game. But maybe now they're going to end up on the Texas side of the bracket as opposed to the South Carolina side of the bracket when you think about a potential final Four. But yeah, ucla, it's, it's kind of like gotten a little just like, like what more do we say about the Bruins, right? We talk about them and like they're really good. They're really veteran, they play good defense. Lauren Bets is very hard to navigate in the middle. Like they shoot the ball, ball so well. And then you add in Big Ten tournament MVP Kiki Rice having a phenomenal three games in Indianapolis. Just her downhill attacking the ball pressure she was able to apply. Whether that was on like Saviour Sellers or Chit Chat Wright just, I think defensively had a really impactful tournament for ucla. Everything's kind of clicking, just as you would hope it would for the Bruins. And I, you know, I think about like where they were last year at this point and they like needed to win the Big Ten final, right? They lost to USC twice and like, it's like, are we ever going to get over this hump? You know, and they finally did. And this year was just, yeah, like we won 25 games in a row. Like it's pretty, pretty commonplace, right? Like things are just rolling in the right direction and it has to. Right, because as we've mentioned so many times, very senior heavy roster. Most of the players on this team will not be coming back next season. They have to do it this year. And it doesn't seem like the pressure is overwhelming them. It seems like it's just more motivating them. Like they want to keep enjoying and celebrating the success that they have with this particular group because the time is so precious. And yeah, I think I was been a very good team over the last month, basically since the last time they lost to ucla. And you couldn't tell from watching that game like it was, what does Iowa do well and UCLA basically just doing everything well.
- [28:21]
Zena Kada
Basically doing everything well. I'll say this, and I was saying this to y' all before we started the show. If somebody beats me by 51 points. And I am on the bus on my way to my hotel to be upset for a little bit, because I get to be upset. We just lost in the Big Ten title game like that. But I got to prepare for the tournament. And I see a clip of Lauren Betts, Charlize Ledger Walker, and Gabriela Jacques doing that damn dance and doing it well at that in the Big Ten title hats and T shirts. Oh, I'm livid. Okay. And I am sure I was feeling a type of way after that. And I hope that, you know, that gives them a little bit of juju going into the tournament because, man, that. To win like that and then. And the dancing. Oh, my gosh, that. That was. That was painful. But, yes, just one more thing about ucla.
- [29:16]
Sabrina Merchant
We talked about how Texas improved its seeding, you know, going up from potentially 5th overall to 3rd overall. Hard to say that UCLA can do anything more to improve its seating because it is already number one seed, probably the second overall number one seed. You could make an argument for them being the overall number one seed right ahead of UConn because of just.
- [29:34]
Zena Kada
Hey, that was going to be a question I had.
- [29:36]
Sabrina Merchant
Is best strength of schedule in the country, 18 quad one wins compared to eight for UConn. Like, yes, they have the one loss, but it is to Texas, a team that is probably third on the S curve at this point. It's not exactly a bad loss.
- [29:51]
Zena Kada
And it was back in November, and we know the committee back in November.
- [29:54]
Sabrina Merchant
They, like, recency matters. You look at UConn, they have not lost, Right? We've mentioned that a couple times. And you can't dispute any of their performances in big games. But, you know, like, I just think about their common opponents, right? Like, UConn beat Michigan by three points. UCLA beat Michigan by three points. Like, they both beat Ohio State. I don't know that you can, like, convincingly look at what UConn's done against the same caliber of opposition and say that, like, they've been definitively better than ucla. I guess maybe, like, they beat Tennessee by more points, but, like, Tennessee's kind of fallen off of cliffs since the first time UCLA played them. It is an interesting discussion to have because I do think UConn's historical success in the tournament, what Gino does at this time of year, the fact that they are undefeated, makes a very compelling argument for number one. But UCLA's had to go through a lot of very tough teams on the way, and they've made some of them look silly.
- [30:42]
Zena Kada
They've had to be more consistently dominant, I would say, than UConn has had to be based on not UConn standard, but the standard of the teams they've had to face. Right. The biggies is just not the Big Ten. And that's no shade to the biggies. That's just objective fact. Chantel, any thoughts on. I know we talked about Texas also shout out to Texas for getting their big, their first title in the sec. That was awesome. Since joining. That's great. But thinking about UCLA, UConn and this conversation about who should be a true number one, this was something I wanted to ask both of you. So Chantel, what are your thoughts?
- [31:19]
Chantelle Jennings
Yeah, I mean, I think I look at this and I just realized that, you know, when we're looking at the committee and we're saying, okay, recency matters, head to head matters when it comes to UConn, I think the most important thing for them is the quote unquote observable component, which is a factor that the committee can take into account when they're, you know, looking at a team. And that just means like, what is, what does the committee see when they look at UConn? What are they, you know, looking at the opponents, looking at all the other stats. But like, what is the observable component of this team that makes them who they are? And so I think it's ultimately a lot of this is going to come down to who does the committee think is better? Like, and, you know, is that going to be used as sort of like, you know, whiteboard material for one of these teams going into the tournament? Like, you know, if I'm UCLA right now, I'm saying we, what more could we have done? You know, I guess he could have beaten Texas. Okay. But like, yeah, you beat another quad one teams, that's like the one thing you could have done. And it's like you won the Big Ten title, regular season tournament championship, the tournament championship, this huge win, like 18 quad one wins on the road at home. Like, you could have beat Texas.
- [32:31]
Zena Kada
It'll be Texas. They could have made some, some new. Oh, go ahead.
- [32:36]
Chantelle Jennings
Oh, no, I'm just saying. But it's, you know, it's, it's, you can't change the past. And so I think it's going to be, I do think at the end of the day, these are two very elite teams. I think these two teams are going to meet in the national championship game because I don't see either one slipping up before then. But I do think, you know, even without seeing the Bracket so far. I guess I can say that. But like, you know, I think when you. The difference between being number one and being number two is the difference potentially for a Final Four game between South Carolina and Texas. And if you're UCLA or UConn, which team would you rather see? And, you know, I don't. I don't know. Sabrina, do you have any thoughts? Like, if you're UCLA in the Final Four, would you rather see. If you know, seeds hold, would you rather see South Carolina or Texas? Well, you.
- [33:18]
Sabrina Merchant
You already know that you lost to Texas, so I imagine you want some sort of revenge on them. That could be fun.
- [33:24]
Zena Kada
Yeah, that would be fun. That's a good question. I think I'd have to relay it back to who's my common enemy, who's an enemy I know, and that I've also want revenge against. So I like that approach. Sabrina. All right. We've been talking about these big teams that clearly all they're doing to help themselves is get better seating, right. Or to get more dominant seating. I want to know who helped themselves most heading into the weekend in terms of getting more mental space in the minds of fans, in the minds of other teams, and just moving themselves up in the conversation. Who do you think stood out in terms of their wins, their performances, and helped themselves the most this weekend?
- [34:08]
Sabrina Merchant
Well, this is kind of another seeding argument, but I think West Virginia did a lot to help themselves this weekend.
- [34:12]
Zena Kada
That's the one I was thinking of.
- [34:13]
Sabrina Merchant
You know, first of all, you do win your first Big 12 title, which is a big deal.
- [34:18]
Zena Kada
Huge.
- [34:18]
Sabrina Merchant
And to do it against the defending Big 12 champion, the regular season, Big 12 champion, like, that's, you know, massive achievement. They were not favored in that game, and they, they just took it to tcu. And I thought it was very West Virginia style performance, right? Just making things uncomfortable, slowing the game. Not necessarily slowing the game down, but like turning it into a defensive game. And I thought they did a really good job of executing their game plan. Because West Virginia WINS the Big 12 title, I think they're in position to be a top 16 team, you know, which means that they get to host in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. You saw the people, the teams who were on that line sort of heading into championship week. A lot of those Big Ten teams lost a little bit earlier. Kentucky didn't exactly pick up any big wins. So I think West Virginia is going to slide into at least number 16. And that allows you to play in Morgantown, allows you to have your fan Base your home cooking, which for this, their style of play, I think matters a lot. So, yeah, Jordan Harrison, I thought, just had a lovely, lovely post game interview on that broadcast on espn. And to think it only took like three years for Mark Kellogg to come over and like instill this perfect identity for the Mountaineers and win a Big 12 title and do it with a lot of his players who actually came over from Stephen F. Austin. Just, just a fun story. And I think if any team was going to earn more home games, like that is the type of home atmosphere, I think that would really benefit West Virginia.
- [35:33]
Chantelle Jennings
I also just would really love to. And I make this statement hoping that it becomes a social clip so that our producer Tanika can put a photo in here specifically, like, what is Mark Kellogg's ve. I would like to know that because there are times when his team is going down the floor in transition and he's like jumping up and down on the sideline and I'm just curious what that man's vertical is. I have heard that, you know, I've. I've asked West Virginia players about what their practices look like. It is a lot of running and Mark Kellogg, I would think is right there with him doing lots of running. Not quite a. As much of a dancer as Jim Flannery is. Creighton at Creighton, which was another great video we saw over the weekend. But yeah, I would say Kellogg's vertical. That's the one remaining question about the Big 12 I have coming out of this weekend. And I think on the Big 12 note, you know, West Virginia definitely popped up in the rankings for me. I don't know if they'll make the top 16. Frankly, I don't know if the committee respects the Big 12 enough and their overall body of work. If I guess either way it goes, I wouldn't be super, super surprised because the committee has shown, especially with this Most recent top 16 where there were seven Big Ten teams, really, really respect the Big Ten. So I think if you have Maryland losing a little earlier than expected, Michigan State losing a little earlier than expected, they still respect the Big Ten more than the Big 12. So I think it's going to come down to the depth of the Big Ten and how much that is respected versus sort of that top echelon of the Big 12. And, and I just don't know the answer to that. But I think when it comes to tcu, that's a team that I think opened up a few more questions for me. Just, you know, Olivia Miles got into foul Trouble a little earlier for the second a row. And that team is different. When Olivia Miles can't sort of attack as. As she would when she's playing with no fouls or one foul. If she has three or four, it's a different team. And, you know, I think when she needs to be more conservative, you know, their ceiling to me is the sweet 16.
- [37:33]
Zena Kada
Yeah, they definitely play more timid when she's in those positions. Shout out to West Virginia. They had two heartbreaking losses to TCU during the regular season, and so being able to get the revenge on that team was awesome for them. Now, there were some teams that had little Cinderella moments within conference tournaments. Yeah, even looking at, you know, Kansas State taking down Texas Tech, beating Oklahoma State that one point and then falling ultimately to tcu, it just felt like there were some interesting fun runs for some of these teams. Any of those teams stand out to you guys?
- [38:08]
Sabrina Merchant
I think when you talk about just, like, mental makeup and, like, getting on a good run going into the NCAA tournament, Notre Dame kind of sticks out to me because they ended the regular season on a really nice stretch, I think, winning seven of their last eight, including that win against Louisville in the final game of the regular season. And then to have just, like, solid ACC performances. You know, they beat. They just beat the doors off of NC State, and we're very close to upsetting Duke in the semifinal. You just feel better about, like, the way those pieces are working together, whether that's, you know, Ayanna Moore giving a little bit of secondary offense. KK Bransford's come back nicely from that injury. Vanessa DeJesus is just, like, shooting tire off the ball, like, right now, it's, like, looking really good coming out of our hand. So I think, you know, I'm not necessarily expecting Irish to, like, go on, like, an elite eight run, but that's the kind of team where, like, they're not going to be hosting. So if you have to welcome Notre Dame to your gym and know that, like, Hannah Hidalgo is probably going to be the best player on the court, even though you're the home team, like, that's not a fun place to be. And I think Notre Dame is playing pretty well and should feel good about themselves, you know, know, potentially get back to the sweet 16 again.
- [39:07]
Chantelle Jennings
Yeah, ZNN on that ole Miss note, I think that's a team that, to me, stands out in the SEC tournament. Obviously, another conference the committee really respects. Ole Miss was in the first top 16 reveal, not the second one after they dropped a few games, but Just what they did to Vanderbilt was really impressive. Cody McMahon is someone we probably haven't talked about enough on this podcast this year. Like she just looked unstoppable. 27 points, points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds. Just like hard matchup. Like she's so strong, so fun to watch. You think about ole miss specifically 2023 when they went into Palo Alto as the eight seed took down top seed Stanford on their home court. Like this is a team that I don't think is going to jump into the top 16 just because of their SEC tournament performance but they have a history of being able to go onto another team's home court, another more high highly seeded teams home court and coming out with the win. And so I think Ole Miss is a team that sort of re centered how I how I am looking at them heading into the tournament as well.
- [40:08]
Zena Kada
Definitely want to talk about that Vanderbilt loss in a second. A big upset. I don't think I was lost obviously was it was not an upset. They were not the top ranked team. It was just we are upset by how much they lost by but a tournament that hasn't happened yet. Ivy League tournament is coming up. I was watching Yale lose to Brunson. It wasn't great. Made me think of mid majors. Any mid majors staying stand out to you guys over the course of the weekend.
- [40:32]
Sabrina Merchant
How much time do we have? Because I could go on like 20 minutes about all the mid majors I enjoyed watching over.
- [40:37]
Chantelle Jennings
Sabrina, tell them about your favorite tournament.
- [40:43]
Sabrina Merchant
Sabrina I I love the Sun Belt tournament because they really reward regular season success. Like the good teams don't even start playing until day six out of a seven day tournament. So if you're like the 13th ranked team in this conference you just gotta work, work your way through. South Alabama won four games in a row, didn't even make the semifinals of the Sunbelt tournament. That is it's very stacked towards the higher ranked teams, the West Coast Conference, similar type of thing. They're not even done yet. They've got like another day of games to go before they crown a champion. But I love the mid major tournaments because you can just tell like how much energy is in these games because they only have one bid coming out of these conferences and it's not like when you know Clemson loses to Darth, I don't remember exactly who they played but like a random ACC game where both teams know like okay we're gonna make the tournament anyway like this is not the end of it and they didn't really come in expecting to win this Tournament, but like, God, these other games where it's. This is it, like. And you've got schools who are trying to make their first ever NCAA tournament, which is always the most fun and like, just the pain and like the agony, but also just like the elation on the other side. It's. It's great times. I think my favorite title league game was in the Ohio Valley, actually. Which game? I. About the first bid between Western Illinois and Lindenwood. Me and the Castro, who we haven't mentioned on this podcast before. Top 5 in the country in Windshares. Just a freaking awesome player and like, so much fun to watch against Lyndon Wood. She had an ankle injury at the start of the fourth quarter, sort of gutted it out, came back in the game, had a couple of really key plays down the stretch. Just so much fun to watch these games where, like, you know, like, everything is riding on these last 10 minutes. And it was. Yeah, I just love this time of year. So much. Good.
- [42:21]
Zena Kada
Okay, Chantel, what about you?
- [42:23]
Chantelle Jennings
I feel like we should give the Socon a shout out. Like Sabrina was saying, you have these conferences where you're only getting one bid and you get to see sort of that like, desperation and just like throwing everything you have on the floor. And Samford succeed, comes out and wins the SoCon. Congrats to them on getting a bid to the NCAA tournament. I am also, you know, the Summit League tournament is one that I think, especially up here in Minnesota, we always have our eyes on. Just because it's, you know, basically the Summit has run through South Dakota, the championship, like forever. Whether it's South Dakota or South Dakota State this year, I was thinking, okay, North Dakota State. The Bison won the regular season championship. Maybe something's going to happen here. Nope. Back to. Back to a school out of South Dakota, the Jackrabbits. South Dakota State.
- [43:09]
Sabrina Merchant
For South Dakota State.
- [43:10]
Zena Kada
Wow.
- [43:11]
Chantelle Jennings
So you know, the Summit. The Summit resides in South Dakota, the state. Yeah, I just.
- [43:19]
Zena Kada
Okay.
- [43:20]
Chantelle Jennings
And we still. A few more tournaments obviously on the horizon. There's 31 auto bids that have to be handed out and I think we still have quite a few to go and a few championships tonight on Monday night to watch. But yeah, this is.
- [43:35]
Sabrina Merchant
If you.
- [43:35]
Chantelle Jennings
If you like basketball, you spend a lot of time sitting on your butt this weekend. I think my favorite thing about the
- [43:41]
Sabrina Merchant
Summit League championship was the commissioner comes out at the end and it's like, you know, awarding the trophy to South Dakota State first. He says, like, these are both install tournament teams, which I love. A little grandstanding before everything happens, like, making sure the committee knows your case. But then they get Brooklyn Meyer, you know, tournament mvp, former Summit League player of the year. They ask her, like, you know, what do you want, like, the national audience to know about South Dakota State coming into the NCAA tournament? And she goes, we're coming for you.
- [44:07]
Zena Kada
Ooh, yes, Meyer. Okay. I like the confidence out of these players, man. It's just. This is the energy that you want, and this is the energy you can find at all levels, mid major or not, you can find it. And that's why this tournament is always so much and to your point. Chantel, get your walking pads out. Y' all be productive while you're watching these games, okay? Try to get something going on, because if you're going to watch these women play and compete and criticize them, you better be doing something yourself. That's how I feel sometimes. At least that's what I tell myself. All right, Upsets. We talked about Iowa. It's not an upset. Again, we are upset. They lost by that much. But just thinking about games that surprised us, that Bandy loss and how it happened, I ain't gonna lie, that was surprising. Like, how did you guys feel about that loss?
- [44:55]
Sabrina Merchant
You know, in hindsight, I looked back at the first game Ole Miss played against Bandy during the regular season, and they went up by 20 in that game, too. So there's something about this matchup that just works out very well for Ole Miss. Their perimeter group is pretty big, and that puts more stress on Aubrey Galvin and Mikayla Blakes than, you know, other teams can. And then their bigs are pretty mobile. So even if you, like, get behind that first line of defense, it's not like it's an automatic mismatch on, like, Christina Waller or like, Latasha Lattimore. So I think defensively, they match up really well with Vanderbilt, and then that allows them to get out and transition and, like, put up an ungodly number of points. The three ball was working fairly well for Ole Miss in that game, which I think just adds to the margin. But I'm not overly concerned about Vanderbilt because, again, like, this seems like a matchup that just hasn't worked out for them even in recent years. But, like, you never want to go in to the tournament with your last game being like. Like a 31 point loss. Obviously ended up, like, closer to 11, I think, but it was not. Not very close for the majority.
- [45:53]
Zena Kada
They played from behind pretty much all game, so that. That was tough for Vanny to watch. Any Other teams, Chantelle, that look vulnerable. We. We hit on TCU with the loss of West Virginia. I don't know if I. I would say that South Carolina looks vulnerable to Texas after that loss of Texas, but any. Any other games that we haven't mentioned or teams we haven't mentioned that look a little bit vulnerable.
- [46:14]
Ndomic and Su
Bowl.
- [46:15]
Chantelle Jennings
Well, I just had one more note on Vanderbilt. I thought Shea Ralph's objection was so soft. I don't know. I think it should have been a technical, like. But I will say my. My main thought after that was that, you know, you talk to coaches sometimes, and they're. I think a lot of people that are just like casual basketball fans think of a technical foul as, like, a mistake that a coach makes. But I think a lot of coaches really do use technicals in a strategic way sometimes to fire up their team.
- [46:45]
Ndomic and Su
Yes.
- [46:46]
Zena Kada
And smarter than you think, folks. Yes.
- [46:49]
Chantelle Jennings
This. This might have been the first time I've seen an ejection used to really fire up a team in such an obvious way. Like, it just sort of feels like Shea is, like, pulled off the court. She goes to the locker room. In my head, I'm thinking, like, oh, I hope she pulls a Diana Taurasi and, like, gets donuts or something. And, you know, like, that Yukon tradition is, like, alive and well there there in Greenville. But, you know, I. Those were my thoughts on Vanderbilt. I thought Sabrina held it up pretty well there. I think, you know, the one team that really surprised me when we're talking about familiar familiarity with, like, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt, for instance, South Carolina, you know, we sort of talked about the other side of this matchup, but, like, I was really surprised with how they came out. It's just like they're so familiar with this Texas team. They've beaten this Texas team four times in the last two seasons alone. And to sort of come out in the first five minutes of the SEC title game and look that flat and have those turnovers and sort of have some of those careless moments really surprised me. That is not what we think of in terms of the expectation with South Carolina teams being really disciplined, handling the ball well, especially with how well they played in the semifinals, how well we think of as their guard play, especially right now this season between Tenia Latson and Raven Johnson. So I think that game. Do I think it's like some sort of a indicator for anything in the NCAA tournament? No, because I think if we know anything about South Carolina teams, it's like, you. What you don't want to be is the Team that plays South Carolina after they lose. And so God bless whoever's going to be that 16 seed and that first round game. Yeah, but. And probably the second round and the third round game. Like, I think this is going to have a long tail effect for it for, for this team. But yeah, overall, I think watching that game, it was just sort of like, oh, like, yikes, yikes, yikes.
- [48:44]
Zena Kada
Yeah.
- [48:45]
Chantelle Jennings
Just not, not five minutes that I would expect to see South Carolina come out in the SEC title game with.
- [48:52]
Zena Kada
Yeah. I was in my mind thinking, like, is this a daylight savings time situation? Like, what's, what's going on? Because it's true. You don't, you don't see people put runs up on South Carolina without finding a way to like, wow, 14. Oh, was crazy. Yeah. So I feel you. I feel you on that one. All right, guys, before we go, give me one team that punches tickets this weekend that could shock the tournament. Rapid Fire. First team on your mind, Sabrina. Go.
- [49:20]
Sabrina Merchant
South Dakota State.
- [49:22]
Zena Kada
Genteel.
- [49:25]
Chantelle Jennings
What South Korea is.
- [49:27]
Sabrina Merchant
What happens with Rapid Fire.
- [49:30]
Chantelle Jennings
Ucla. Ucla.
- [49:32]
Sabrina Merchant
They're not gonna shock. What is shocking about ucla?
- [49:36]
Chantelle Jennings
If they get the number one overall seed, they get the number one overall seat. I think the committee might do it. I think the committee might do it. Can't wait to hear Gina complain about that one ticket.
- [49:45]
Zena Kada
I actually think.
- [49:46]
Chantelle Jennings
Well, that's a hard thing.
- [49:48]
Sabrina Merchant
Limited number of teams. Yeah.
- [49:52]
Zena Kada
Listen, I'm thinking Texas could shock some teams. I think Texas could shock some teams. And they, you know, they post their ticket. They, they, they're gonna be in a.
- [50:01]
Sabrina Merchant
And again, Texas, if they get to. Not a shock. It is according to their seed line.
- [50:05]
Zena Kada
It is according. But I'm saying.
- [50:07]
Chantelle Jennings
I take issue with the question. I take issue with the question. We're only talking about nine teams here.
- [50:13]
Zena Kada
Let's close this out on the other side. We got a fun game for you. Let's wrap things up.
- [50:23]
Chantelle Jennings
Mom, dad, I'm not throwing shade, but the whole New Year's resolution thing, kind of slippin.
- [50:28]
Sabrina Merchant
No offense.
- [50:29]
Chantelle Jennings
Anyway, my best friend Jenny's dad, crushed.
- [50:32]
Sabrina Merchant
He uses Blue Apron. He says he ordered one pan assemble and bake meals. And these things called meal kits. They're all super easy to make.
- [50:39]
Chantelle Jennings
He keeps yelling.
- [50:39]
Sabrina Merchant
Protein and fiber, baby. Also the food. We tried it.
- [50:43]
Chantelle Jennings
So good.
- [50:44]
Sabrina Merchant
So maybe check it out or whatever.
- [50:46]
Chantelle Jennings
Blue Apron.
- [50:46]
Sabrina Merchant
Get $50 off your first two orders,
- [50:48]
Chantelle Jennings
plus free shipping with code STIR50.
- [50:50]
Sabrina Merchant
Terms and conditions apply. Visit blueapron.com terms for more with no
- [50:54]
Ndomic and Su
fees or minimums on checking accounts. It's no wonder The Capital One bank guy is so passionate about banking with capital 1:1. If he were here, he wouldn't just tell you about no fees or minimums. He'd also talk about how most Capital One cafes are open seven days a week to assist with your banking needs.
- [51:10]
Sabrina Merchant
Yep.
- [51:11]
Ndomic and Su
Even on weekends, it's pretty much all he talks about. In a good way. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com bank capital1NA member FDIC. With almost half a million customers and over a trillion dollars of secure payments, Bill isn't new to intelligent finance. It's the proven way to simplify bill pay and maximize cash flow. Want to learn more? Visit bill.comproven for a special offer.
- [51:47]
Zena Kada
All right, before we go, we're going to play a very quick round of two takes and a fake Chantel and Sabrina to. Let's see if you can guess the fake take from me. Okay. All right. My first take on the Team USA roster. We will see someone that was on the summer. The last summer Olympics, the 2024 Olympic team, not make the roster for the World cup in Berlin. Okay, that's my first take, is that someone from the 2024 Olympic team will not make this World cup and it is not Diana Taurasi.
- [52:36]
Sabrina Merchant
So, like, when you say someone who was on the Olympic team, like someone who's still, like, trying to get onto the next World cup team.
- [52:42]
Chantelle Jennings
Correct.
- [52:43]
Sabrina Merchant
Okay, Correct. So not like, yeah, Brittany Griner potentially or.
- [52:49]
Zena Kada
Right, right. Not Brittany Griner, not Diana Chaussi. Someone that could still be and is still in the mix of it will not make.
- [52:56]
Chantelle Jennings
So, like, someone who's at camp right now. Okay.
- [52:59]
Sabrina Merchant
Okay.
- [53:00]
Zena Kada
Well, they don't have to necessarily be at camp. Right. Because there's a lot of folks that were on that team that aren't at camp.
- [53:04]
Sabrina Merchant
Okay, this is. I think we're digging too much into this one take. What are the next two.
- [53:08]
Zena Kada
Yep, There we go. There we go. My next take is that South Carolina losing the SEC title game is actually a blessing in disguise and it could propel them to wing it all.
- [53:26]
Chantelle Jennings
That's kind of two takes. I like it. Keep going.
- [53:29]
Zena Kada
Okay. And then my last take is that Lauren Betts is without a doubt the best big in the country.
- [53:46]
Sabrina Merchant
Sarah Strong, a big.
- [53:49]
Zena Kada
You. You'll have to ask that question to yourself. Oh,
- [53:55]
Sabrina Merchant
well, my last take is a fake because I think Sarah Strong is a big.
- [54:00]
Chantelle Jennings
I don't think she thinks. I mean, I said I don't like putting labels on it. I don't like. I mean, we were talking about positionless basketball. This field feels unfair. However, I don't know if. I don't know if Xena thinks that South Carolina can win the national championship. I think that's.
- [54:15]
Sabrina Merchant
I think more is like. It's a blessing in disguise where. I do believe that part of it.
- [54:20]
Chantelle Jennings
Oh, I agree. That's what I'm saying. It's two takes. And because I think about, like, the
- [54:23]
Sabrina Merchant
last time South Carolina lost the SEC title was in 2022, and then they won the Natty that year.
- [54:28]
Chantelle Jennings
Yeah, that's crazy.
- [54:30]
Sabrina Merchant
Like, carryover from that. Yeah.
- [54:32]
Chantelle Jennings
Right. No, I agree. I really think.
- [54:34]
Sabrina Merchant
I just don't think that. I think Sarah Strong is the best pick at the cash. I don't know.
- [54:42]
Chantelle Jennings
She. I don't know if you think Sarah's a big.
- [54:46]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, Xena's, like, very partial to, like, the big girls, you know, like the right.
- [54:52]
Chantelle Jennings
We saw her All American votes. We saw her All American votes. Do we remember who was at top? I think she put Sarah above Lauren.
- [55:03]
Zena Kada
For what it's worth, I absolutely turned in my All America votes out of order. I did not know there was supposed to be an order. So don't put too much into that. Sorry. I literally was like, let me just send this email off. This is my thoughts of people I like.
- [55:17]
Ndomic and Su
So.
- [55:17]
Zena Kada
Boom. So, yeah, got it. All right, are we good? We think we got. What are we choosing? Are we on the same page or are we doing different takes?
- [55:26]
Sabrina Merchant
Okay, I think if I have my opinion, I'll let Chantelle decide.
- [55:29]
Chantelle Jennings
Three is a fake. I'm gonna say number two is a fake just so we can have a little bit of disagree here, because that makes for good podcast fodder. Because I think. I think your second one is a half fake. I think you do think it's a blessing in disguise. And I don't think you believe the
- [55:45]
Sabrina Merchant
game is not two and a half takes and a half fake. It is two takes and a fake.
- [55:49]
Zena Kada
All right, I will reveal it. I will reveal it. And ding, ding, ding. Sabrina, you are right. I do believe that Sarah Strong is a Big. And I do believe she is outright the best Big in the country.
- [56:02]
Farnoosh Tarabi
And.
- [56:03]
Zena Kada
And for the exact reason that Sabrina laid out for South Carolina, I do believe that this could be a blessing in disguise and that they could. It could propel them to winning everything. Because the last time that they lost that tournament title, they did go on. South Carolina did go on to win a national title. And because of your article, Chantel, about Team USA and who was there and who was not there and Even you just saying this. I mean, kind of fortified it as we were doing this podcast of people being at camp and that being really important for Team usa. I feel like Carol Lawson is going to switch some things up and your position will not be locked in just because you have been amazing in the Team USA program before. You need to be there, you need to be present, you need to be playing. And I think that that is going to be a factor and it might actually end up hurting someone that was on 2024's Olympic roster's opportunity to be on this qualifying or, excuse me, the World cup roster when they go in September to Berlin. So that's my thought. Well done. I would say well done. Great job evaluating.
- [57:18]
Chantelle Jennings
I think it comes back to verb tense. I was. I misunderstood.
- [57:22]
Sabrina Merchant
Could.
- [57:23]
Chantelle Jennings
You said could, not will. I didn't listen well enough.
- [57:27]
Zena Kada
That's the thing.
- [57:27]
Chantelle Jennings
Could.
- [57:28]
Zena Kada
Could propel. Exactly.
- [57:30]
Ndomic and Su
Exactly.
- [57:30]
Zena Kada
There you go. Well done, ladies. I think you guys pretty. I think you were pretty much on the same page there, though. I mean, pretty close. If. If Chantelle doesn't want to play positionals basketball, you're right. I think Sarah Strong is the best player. Big, small, all in between. I think she's the best player in the country. All right, y', all, that is all we've got for you today. You know, we'll be back on Friday. Before then, keep your eye on our feeds this Thursday. We got a big announcement coming your way. You do not want to miss it. Also, check out the Athletic show. We've got that, that interview that I did with Nafisa Collier. It's all within the show. Check the show notes for where you can find that episode and learn a little bit more about unrivaled from the co founder herself. And if you haven't already, please follow our show. If you're watching on YouTube, like and subscribe, tell your friends to check us out. You know what to do. And while you're at it, give us a rating, drop a comment, send an email. We have way more mailbags coming up. So on behalf of the athletic Chantelle Jennings, Sabrina Merchant, and myself, Zena Kaeda, thank you for listening and we'll see you next time. No Off Season is hosted by Zena Keita with Chantelle Jennings and Sabrina Merchant. It's produced by Tanika Burrell. Our executive producer is Andrea B. Scott. Our theme music is by Marcus Bugalla. 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.
- [59:14]
Farnoosh Tarabi
Hi, this is Farnoosh Tarabi from Sew Money with Farnoosh Tarabi and today I want to talk to you about Boost Mobile Quick Money Stop paying a carrier tax if your phone bill feels trapped in a pricey plan, this is your sign to unlock savings. Boost Mobile helps you reset your spending with the $25 Unlimited Forever plan, you can bring your own phone, pay $25 and get unlimited wireless forever. And that simple switch can unlock up to $600 in savings a year. That's money you could put towards paying down debt, investing or something that actually brings you joy. Those savings are based on average annual single line payment of AT&T Verizon and T Mobile customers compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited plan as of January 2026. For full offer details, visit boostmobile.com this
- [60:04]
Ndomic and Su
is Ndomic and Su from the no Free Lunch Podcast. Ever feel like your workload is out of control? Like you're wearing every hat and expect it to be everywhere at once? Running a business means juggling books, payments, leads, payroll, basically everything. But with Intuit QuickBooks, your workload gets unloaded. QuickBooks gives you access to Intuit's powerful AI agents and trusted human experts who work together to handle the tedious stuff so you can get back to what actually grows your business. And because everything streamlined on one point platform, your customer management, accounting, expenses and payroll all work seamlessly in one place. So go ahead, outdo it with Intuit QuickBooks. Get 50% off QuickBooks online for three months. Terms and conditions apply. Feature availability may vary by product. Visit QuickBooks.com for details. With no fees or minimums on checking accounts, it's no wonder the Capital One bank guy is so passionate about banking with Capital One Capital One. If he were here, he wouldn't just tell you about no fees or minimums. He'd also talk about how most Capital One cafes are open seven days a week to assist with your banking needs. Yep, even on weekends it's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com bank capital1NA member FDIC.