LIVE: Sweet 16 reactions & Elite 8 preview

Summary

No Offseason: The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show

LIVE: Sweet 16 Reactions & Elite 8 Preview

Date: March 29, 2026
Hosts: Zena Keda & Sabrina Merchant

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Episode Overview

This live episode offers an in-depth wrap-up of the thrilling Sweet 16 matchups and a lively preview of the impending Elite Eight in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. Zena Keda and Sabrina Merchant break down the weekend’s wildest games, remarkable individual performances, and the narratives shaping the tournament. With on-the-ground insights and playful banter, the hosts capture not just the analysis but the excitement and unpredictability of March Madness.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. ACC Surprises & Hannah Hidalgo’s Heroics

[02:22 – 07:00]

• The hosts reflect on early-season uncertainty about ACC teams, highlighting how programs like Notre Dame emerged as tournament powerhouses.
• Hannah Hidalgo’s jaw-dropping performance (31 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 10 steals) propelled Notre Dame past Vanderbilt.
  • Sabrina Merchant: “That is what Vanderbilt learned, that it is really, really hard to play against Hannah Hidalgo... she just thrives in that chaos in a way that nobody else does.” [05:03]
  • Hidalgo generated nearly half of Vandy’s 23 turnovers.
• Her performance is compared to Caitlin Clark’s historic triple-doubles, except Hidalgo does it with steals.
  • Zena Keda: “Only player outside Caitlin Clark with 30-point triple doubles, and she does hers with steals. This is insane.” [05:26]

2. Duke vs. LSU: The Wild Finish

[07:00 – 11:56]

• The Duke/LSU contest featured major swings, dramatic runs, and a storybook finish.
  • Ashlon Jackson’s buzzer-beating three after a rollercoaster sequence dumped LSU from the tourney.
  • Sabrina Merchant: “You know, 2.6 seconds, a lot of time. It’s not a lot of time, but, like, you can do a couple of things… She did both.” [09:23]
  • Emotionally, even as journalists, both hosts admit impartiality went out the window during this finish.
• Duke’s physical play, resilience, and unsung heroes like Taina Mayor (hot 3-point shooting) stood out.
  • Zena Keda: “Taina Mayor…she was the reason Duke was starting. She did four threes before that.” [11:17]

3. UConn’s Dominance & UCLA’s Balance

[11:56 – 16:17]

• UConn comfortably advanced, dominating UNC 63–42—Sarah Strong starred with a double-double.
  • Zena Keda: “Sarah Strong was every bit of great you can imagine her to be. Ends up with 21 points, ten rebounds, five steals.” [12:44]
  • The hosts joke about UConn’s ability to “win ugly.”
• UCLA overpowered Minnesota 80–56, Lauren Betts sparkled in the paint, and the Bruins showed defensive flexibility.
  • Sabrina Merchant: “It was the footwork she has defensively I thought was so impressive…Minnesota guards trying to get into the paint and they’re just like running in circles.” [14:46]
  • Kiki Rice’s transition and full-court defense were highlighted as critical to UCLA’s success.

4. Saturday’s (Less Intense) Sweet 16 Games

[18:30 – 24:47]

• Saturday’s contests lacked Friday’s drama but provided insights:
  • Michigan’s sophomore trio ("Powerpuff Girls": Siders Swords, Olivia Olsen, Mila Holloway) turned a tight game into a blowout over Louisville.
    • Zena Keda: “Mila Holloway is Blossom…organizes everyone…Buttercup? That’s Olivia Olsen.” [22:09]
  • Texas destroyed Kentucky from the outset; South Carolina ran over Oklahoma, emphasizing their consistent, almost clinical, dominance.
  • Sabrina Merchant: “South Carolina, I mean, they’re just—they’re on a mission and you gotta do a lot to disrupt that mission.” [25:02]

5. Individual Defensive Performances

[26:04 – 27:23]

• Reagan Beers (Oklahoma) gave South Carolina’s bigs trouble, but the depth and standards of SC were unmatchable.
  • Zena Keda: “Medina Okot…could not get her footwork right. She couldn’t bring the ball…all of a sudden she’s kicking it out to the guard.” [26:04]
• Raven Johnson’s leadership and fierce adherence to standards underscored SC’s mentality.

6. Virginia-TCU: Olivia Miles’ Showmanship

[27:23 – 33:00]

• TCU triumphed over Virginia, with Olivia Miles and Marta Suarez scoring or assisting every single point.
  • Sabrina Merchant: “I just can’t recommend the experience of watching Olivia Miles play live enough…She’s jawing with the crowd, with the team, just a lot to experience in person.” [29:39]
  • The duel between Miles and Paris Clark delivered tournament entertainment gold, with Miles putting on a show with both play and personality.

7. Elite Eight Preview and Matchups

[36:43 – 51:47]

• Duke vs. UCLA: High intrigue due to both teams’ surging momentum.
  • Sabrina Merchant: “That is the game that has the most potential for intrigue. Duke is big, Duke is physical.” [37:20]
  • Key will be which team can stretch the defense and hit threes.
• Notre Dame vs. UConn: Rematch, but UConn’s depth and pedigree may be too much.
  • Sabrina Merchant: “You’re not just playing UConn, you’re playing the history of UConn.” [42:11]
• Michigan vs. Texas: Texas’ perimeter advantage vs. Michigan’s resilient, never-say-die sophomores.
  • Sabrina Merchant: “Michigan has the best kind of inexperience…they just seem to go, like, 'oh, eff it.'” [48:28]
• TCU vs. South Carolina: TCU’s volatile potential vs. South Carolina’s relentless consistency.
  • Sabrina Merchant: “When there’s a lull, South Carolina is going to pounce. And that’s what I worry about. How early does that lull come?” [51:47]

8. Portal Era Uncertainty & The Future for Eliminated Teams

[53:12 – End]

• Both hosts discuss the volatility of rosters due to transfers—especially with LSU, Vandy, Notre Dame—a challenge for predicting future contenders.
  • Sabrina Merchant: “With the Portal, it’s so hard to know what any team will look like. LSU has done well keeping their best players, but it’s so challenging to know.” [54:57]

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Hannah Hidalgo’s Statement Game

  • “Everything is turning up Hannah Hidalgo. And, like, that’s why I think I started the season with them 21st in the country, which, admittedly not top eight, but higher than a lot of people.” – Sabrina Merchant [03:27]

• On Ashlon Jackson’s Buzzer-beater

  • “As it’s rolling, I feel like I had a full conversation with Grace while that ball was rolling.” – Sabrina Merchant [10:22]
  • “You would have thought Ashlyn was my little sister…The way that I was screaming for that ball to go in.” – Zena Keda [10:48]

• On Lauren Betts’ Defensive Dominance

  • “Minnesota guards…are just like running in circles and Lauren is just like chasing them…and they can’t find an angle.” – Sabrina Merchant [14:46]

• On Michigan’s Sophomore “Powerpuff Girls”

  • “I just feel like this trio of Powerpuff Girls just completely demoralized what Louisville was trying to do.” – Zena Keda [22:26]

• On South Carolina’s Mentality

  • “It doesn’t matter…that was just a clinical, clinical performance. From South Carolina.” – Sabrina Merchant [24:58]

• On Olivia Miles’ Crowd Work

  • “She’s jawing with the crowd…having a good time…an ultimate showman. She delivers.” – Sabrina Merchant [29:39, 32:57]

• On the Unpredictability of the Portal Era

  • “It’s so hard to build a program. LSU has done very well to keep their best players…but it is so hard to know.” – Sabrina Merchant [54:56]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Sweet 16 Recap Intro: [02:14 – 02:22]
• ACC & Hannah Hidalgo: [02:22 – 07:00]
• Duke vs. LSU Breakdown: [07:00 – 11:56]
• UConn & UCLA Wins: [11:56 – 16:17]
• Michigan’s Sophomores & Saturday Recap: [19:20 – 24:47]
• South Carolina’s Standard & Defensive Masterclass: [24:47 – 27:23]
• Virginia-TCU & Olivia Miles Discussion: [27:23 – 33:00]
• Elite 8 Preview & Matchup Breakdowns: [36:43 – 51:47]
• Roster Changes & Portal Talk: [53:12 – End]

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Closing Thoughts

The hosts wrap up with excitement for the unpredictability and individual stardom lighting up the women’s tournament, while contextualizing the new, transfer-rich era of college basketball. Listeners are encouraged to tune in for Elite Eight recaps, follow the show, and join the ongoing bracket chatter.

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“For entertainment, Olivia Miles—stay in the tournament as long as you can.”
– Zena Keda [32:57]

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For those who missed the episode, this summary covers the excitement, analysis, and emerging storylines as the NCAA Women’s Tournament heads into the Elite Eight.

Transcript

[Zena Keda]

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[Zena Keda]

Hello everyone, and welcome to no Off Season Live presented by Sam's Club. I'm Zena Keda.

[Sabrina Merchant]

And I'm Sabrina Merchant.

[Zena Keda]

And we are here because the Sweet 16 is officially in the books. The books are closed, folks. We're moving on to the elite eight. But we got to talk about these games because this round, particularly Friday night, was wild. Sabrina, you were there for Sacramento's games. Of course, there's a Fort Worth region breakdown as well. But let's. Let's bring it back to Friday because you know what's so funny? When we started this season, we were like, you know what's going on with the ACC? We don't know what's going on in the ACC. You know, UNC was cool. Duke started 3 and 6. Notre Dame only had Hannah. Like, it just felt as if the ACC and, you know, Louisville was doing their thing, but it was cute. Like, we didn't know what was really going to happen. And now we look at these games in the sweet 16, and what a performance it was. Immediately the first thing that pops to mind is probably one of the best performances we've seen in a while in a tournament game. And that is Hannah Hidalgo's final stat line. What'd you make of that game?

[Sabrina Merchant]

I mean, just first thing on the ACC. Like, if you looked at my picks for this week 16, I still don't know what's going on. My apologies. Picked all of the wrong teams in the ACC to win, other than Carolina. I think we all knew Carolina was kind of done for going into uh, but they still covered, you know. Yeah, Anadalgo. I mean, when I was making my preseason top 25, like, you looked at who Notre Dame was returning, and it was just Cass Prosperity and KK Bransford, and it was an entirely new roster. And, you know, our colleague Cameron wrote about this, how Notre Dame, it's really hard to bring in transfers because a lot of their credits don't work. And, like, you pretty much can only get graduate transfers in because otherwise you're losing so much time academically and really limits their pool. And it was like, well, who are they going to have? And like, what's this roster? Everybody's graduated. They're in the WNBA or they're at tcu and it's a mess. And like, I couldn't leave Notre Dame out of my top 25, even though I could literally only name three people on the roster, because Hannah Hidalgo is Hannah Hidalgo. Right? She can do so many things, right? She wants to take the ball away from you. She can. She wants to just, you know, have a weird launch angle, layup in the paint. She can do that. Her jumper's been working, you know, like, everything is turning up Hannah Hidalgo. And, like, that's why I think I started the season with them, like, 21st in the country, which, admittedly not top eight, but, like, I think higher than a lot of people.

[Zena Keda]

Right?

[Sabrina Merchant]

We didn't know what this team had, but we knew what they had. Hannah. And, like, that is what Vanderbilt learned, that it is really, really hard to play against Hannah Hidalgo when you have a freshman point guard and Aubrey Galvan, who had a great season, tremendous season. You get your pocket picked a couple times. It really gets in your head, spiraling from there. And credit to Vanderbilt, they made a really nice comeback in the second half. Michaela Blake's going to the basket with A chance, you know, tie the game, extend the game at the end, just sort of dribbles it out of bounds, but really just that's what Notre Dame does. When you have that head of the snake at the top of your defense, it gets you uncomfortable, it gets you out of rhythm. And Hannah just thrives in that chaos in a way that nobody else does. And it was so impressive to watch,

[Zena Keda]

so gritty, such a dog in the way that she plays. And it's important. Let's actually list out this stat line. 31 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 10 steals. Wild, insane numbers. Only player outside of Caitlin Clark with 30 point triple doubles and she does hers with steals. This is insane. And this is the thing though, we talk about Hannah on the other side of the ball. You mentioned Michaela Blakes, who she had two opportunities in crunch time that, you know, essentially didn't go her way. She goes 7 of 26 from the field. Not ideal for the best scorer in the country, but it was the, it was basically Hannah Hidalgo at the head of the Snake disrupting everything that was comfortable for the Commodores. 23 turnovers. And think about this. Hannah had 10 steals almost half of the time that that Vanderbilt could not get the ball in where it needed to be on their side of the floor. Hannah was responsible for it single handedly. That in itself. I don't know if it's going to be enough to get to the Elite Eight and get through to the Final Four, but this is a monstrous performance by Hannah Hidalgo. Best part of all of it, I mean in as she finishes, runs, does the like. I mean almost it feels like a movie jump in the air and jumps into the arms of Neil Ivey and it's just like a storybook moment for them to get to the Elite Eight. No one thought it was possible, especially with Olivia Miles.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I mean they could be Elite 8 with Sony Citron and Olivia Miles and Maddie Westfield.

[Zena Keda]

Maddie Westfield, exactly. It's like if you have all of those tools available to you, you would think, yeah, you ain't got nothing this year, but apparently you have just enough to beat the Commodores. Sending Vanderbilt home and moving on to Billy dates. Okay, let's keep it moving because. Oh, oh, that wasn't the only thing that happened on Friday night. Duke played LSU and. Holy. I don't know if you guys hear I have a little rasp in my voice just like it hasn't been that. I've just been talking incessantly all weekend long. It really was. It came down to one play and it came from a senior. I feel like this is. Talk about storybook moments. Ashlin Jackson being defended by Fl J Johnson, who turned it up in the second half for lsu, goes out and hits the most unreal three you can imagine to put her team up against lsu, win the game, move on to the Elite Eight. It rolled and rolled and rolled around the rim. Sabrina, you saw it live. What was that like?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Oh, my God. You know, I try very hard to be a neutral, objective journalist, but, like, I put it out there. I went to Duke, right? There are teams that I like, there are teams that I don't like. We've been through this. I've copped my biases against Maryland and North Carolina. Like, it's all part of the package. I don't know that. Like, there could have been a better place for me to be sitting somebody who went to Duke, like, literally Duke fan section right behind me, Chelsea Gray walks in, she daps me up. You know, wow. During the game before that, you know, the Duke assistant coaches are sitting next to me and Grace Rayner because they're scouting the game. We're all watching the men's game, you know, having a grand old time while the first game is happening.

[Zena Keda]

Right? Right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

There's just a lot of Duke Blue Devil energy happening for me all night. And then to have that moment where, you know, Duke is in control of this game, right? Three straight and ones in the fourth quarter. It looks like things are getting out of hand. Just like this image of Flaje Johnson and Kim Mulkey standing on the bench watching their season slip away. And then they just keep crawling back, crawling back, crawling back. You know, Ashland Jackson misses those two free throws on the possession before Michaela Williams makes two free throws. You know, after Flaggy misses a layup, she points it. Michaela points at Page. And she goes, I got you. And then she goes to make the two free throws, right? And they're up one. Tyena Mayer misses the three pointer, and you're in the situation where there's only 2.6 seconds left. You've only got one chance, really, to get a shot up to win this game because it's only going to be a game winner, right? There's one point differential, right? It's like we're probably going to go into overtime because I can't imagine they were going to call foul in that situation unless, like, somebody like, bled out onto the court. But, you know, the way Carol Lawson talked about it, Ashlyn Jackson committed to this program when she hadn't even really coached a season at Duke, right? They bowed out of the COVID season. Four games into it. Carol Lawson only coached four games that year. That's all the tape that she had to go off of Carol Lawson being a head coach to want to commit to this program. She came. You know, she is like, Carol Lawson's pride and joy on this team, right? She draws up the play for Ashland, gives her exactly what reads. You know, she's like 2.6 seconds. A lot of time. It's not a lot of time, but, like, you can do a couple of things. You can take a dribble, you can do a shotg. She did both of those things, right? Like, and if you're a Duke fan, 2.6 seconds, you're thinking, like, think about all the time, you know, Christian Laner had in the elite back in 24 years ago, what he was able to do with that kind of time. So for her, you know, Blaje Johnson sort of like, gets past her. You know, she has a hand up in her face, but the ball still gets up as it's rolling. I don't know how to explain, like, it just felt like it was rolling for a very long time. Like, I feel like I had a full conversation with Grace while the ball was rolling. Like, he's going, this is not going same.

[Zena Keda]

I felt like I was screaming for 10 seconds as it just rolled. I was like, I. Y', all, you would have thought that Ashlyn was my little sister. You would have thought, I am directly related to that woman. The way that I was screaming for that ball to go in. It was the most unreal play. And it was a factor of just how much this game had been back and forth and back and forth. And you saw amazing performances. I don't want to discount Tana Mayor. You talk about her missing the three. She was the reason Duke was starting.

[Sabrina Merchant]

She did four threes before that.

[Zena Keda]

Thank you. Like, she was insane. Malaysia full Wiley. If you had any questions about her ability to play defense and ball out on the offense. Yeah, she put on a show for lsu. It was such a good back and forth. This game ended 87, 85. Lot of offense. A lot of offense, lots of scoring.

[Sabrina Merchant]

You have some complaints about, like, the balls and the rims and Fort Worth. Carol Lawson's like, can we. Can we have these balls every game? Like, please. Every game we scored 87 points. What was the last time we did that?

[Zena Keda]

Duke. We still talk about that Duke UNC game where it was like, 36 points.

[Sabrina Merchant]

As many points as this one correct.

[Zena Keda]

Exactly. Yeah. It was an unbelievable game. Now, don't get me wrong. There were two other games that night. They weren't as competitive. UConn did beat North Carolina, 63 to 42. It was a rough go for North Carolina. In the second quarter, they scored eight points. In the third quarter, they scored five points. Sarah Strong was every bit of great that you can imagine her to be. Ends up with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals. Unreal performance out of her. Did. Did we learn anything from that UConn UNC game? Especially considering early in the first. You know, technically, North Carolina ended with the lead 12, 11 after the first quarter, and you're like, whoa, hold up. Something about to happen. And then the second quarter happened, and we were like, oh, yeah, UConn is UConn. But was there anything that you could have learned from this game between UNC and UConn?

[Sabrina Merchant]

You know, we've. We've seen UConn win a lot of games where they just look perfect and pristine and, like, everything, like, looks like they're running layup drills, you know, against opposing teams. And this one was a little grittier. This one was a little uglier. And we. I don't know that we necessarily needed to learn that UConn can win ugly, but it was an example of, hey, even when things are perfect, they're just fine, you know?

[Zena Keda]

They're just fine. And it felt the same watching Minnesota, ucla. I ain't gonna lie to y'. All. Lauren Betts looks stupidly good. Like, she's looked great all season long, but it was almost like Minnesota couldn't do nothing. Like, they. They couldn't do anything to stop her on the low block. They couldn't do anything to stop her on the rebounds. They couldn't do anything to stop her or to get past her. It was. It was insane. And I want to call this out because I don't want us to take for granted what Lauren Betts is doing. There's a lot of folks that can be like, well, duh, she's six seven. Like, she's going to be. Or she's six' six, or whatever you want to say of how tall she is. There's a ton of people who are six' six, six' seven that cannot do what she is doing in terms of the footwork, in terms of the touch around the basket, just the passing, the inside out game and her ability to pass out, like, it. It was phenomenal just to watch her. And you're seeing, like, the. The amount of times you can see the Lee. I'm going to just like, name Dallas Wings bigs like Lee yaru and Tierra McGowan and like, you know, whatever. Like, there's a ton of bigs that don't quite have that ability to move defenders without fouling and be able to get the ball and keep it high on. On high, low passes and things of that nature. What stood out to you in that UCLA win beyond just Lauren Betts, but also the balance attack for UCLA, who won 80 to 56 against Minnesota?

[Sabrina Merchant]

I mean, just one more thing for Lauren Betts. I thought it was almost funny. Like, you know, you saw these Minnesota guards trying to get into the paint and they're just like running in circles and Lauren is just like chasing them around in a circle and they can't find an angle to like get the ball up. It was the footwork that she has defensively I thought was so impressive, like 1000%. Again, like we were joking about the rims like all game and it was like, well, how would Minnesota know if, like the rims were not how they were supposed to be? Because they could get the ball out

[Zena Keda]

there, they couldn't get a ball up. It's crazy.

[Sabrina Merchant]

So I just thought defensively that was phenomenal. And then, you know, ucla, I think we've talked about them, like with respect to UConn, how UConn is a full court pressure team, whereas UCLA sits back in the half court and they funnel things, you know, to Lauren or sometimes they use Lauren as a switcher. You know, they. But they're mostly half court defense. They had a lot more full court pressure against Minnesota and I think it was like Corey Close seeing, you know, we're not defending at the intensity that I want. And it's not necessarily that I think we need to be defending full court. It's just I need to like get them into that energy level. And that full court was just like, oh, it's going to make them more active. It's going to make them just get into the zone that we need. Zone is a bad word because it's a different kind of defense, but, like get into the mindset that we need defensively. So I thought that was interesting, that that was just like a little wrinkle that they threw out that they don't usually do. But Kiki Rice I thought was very good pressuring full court. So was Angela Dugalic. Kiki Rice, just in General, like her 94ft game was excellent because she was so good finishing in transition. She was so good pressuring in transition. And just for all of the Lauren Betts plotted, which are very well deserved, like 21 points for Kiki Rice on 12 shot attempts. Like.

[Zena Keda]

Oh, right, right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Offensively.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, yeah. We got to give her her credit too, as well. It's finally March, and you know what that means. Bracket season, baby. Picture it. You're hosting the big tourney game. You've got your jersey, you're looking good, and now all you need is, well, everything else to host. No sweat though, because you're a Sam's Club member. In one trip, you say yes to grabbing everything you need and to getting it all for unbelievably low prices. Plates, cups, tables, chairs, pizza, wings, snacks, sweets, and the ultimate three pointer. A big screen tv. Heck, you could even get it delivered. Delivered. That's because the play that Sam's Club runs is called yes. And it means getting just what you need and enjoying the perks that come with membership like express delivery, bonus points. So even if you don't win your bracket, you'll win best host. Join Sam's Club, the club of yes. And on eligible items, terms and fees apply. See samclub.com yes and for details.

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[Zena Keda]

Friday was crazy for two of those games. And then, you know, UConn, UCLA did as what they've done all all year long. Then Saturday came and, you know, I had a chance to raise my voice. Had a chance to just, you know, calm down a little bit. Because the games were less intense, less tense. Exactly. They were not what you'd expect. Cause, you know, when we talk about the sweet 16, especially on the women's side, that is historically more chalky. It is typically like, you just wait till we get dancing in the Sweet 16, okay? The games are gonna be intense. It's gonna be a back and forth. And you felt that particularly in those last two games on. On Friday night. But then you go into Saturday and Texas starts the day. Excuse me, Take that back. Was that the first game?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Michigan was the first.

[Zena Keda]

It was Louisville. Michigan, yes. Thank you. So that one, I ain't gonna lie. That was a good game. Until the second half.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Until it wasn't. Until.

[Zena Keda]

It wasn't exactly. Until. I think the way it was, the message in the huddle, or maybe at halftime was calm down, take a breath. You know, you settle in basically. And that. Who, Sabrina? That's exactly what Michigan did, particularly their sophomores.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I mean, Michigan is their sophomores.

[Zena Keda]

Right?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Like.

[Zena Keda]

Right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I mean, no, all due respect to Quarles Daniels and like the veterans who have come on this roster, but like, it is Olivia Olsen, it is Silas or it is Mila Holloway. And you know, admittedly, couldn't watch this full game because we're doing media for UCLA and Duke. And you know, I started watching the game kind of touch and go there, get downstairs to the locker rooms. It's a tie game. Get out of the Duke locker room. All of a sudden it's like a 15 point game. I was like, I don't really know what happened here. The word Delfoss is being thrown around a lot. Apparently she was very important. So, you know, I got to defer to you here. I'm not entirely sure how Michigan turned the game here, but you, I think, have a better understanding of how this

[Zena Keda]

one played out 1,000%. Number one, Olivia Olsen. Silas Swords started going to the basket more. And also I want to say this about Gianna Eekins and Silas Swartz. I would love to see a compilation of their catch and shoot, like, shot profiles because I don't know who's faster. It is crazy how those two get their feet set to put the ball up. But essentially Silasaurus put up some threes. Olivia Olsasar gets in the basket. There was several and one plays and Mila Holloway was just an amazing floor general. And I literally said this in the chat as I was sitting there watching the game. I was like, do not let me talk about Michigan without mentioning my Powerpuff Girl reference. Now, it is important to note that Delphouse has the puffs and they're. And they do the little celebration. If you're listening to this podcast, but I know we are also live, so people can see me do this, but they've got the little celebration. And they kind of call it, I guess, the way they described it, like, activating. They are activating themselves. Okay. I. Even though. Shout out to Delphos. She was on the offensive board. She was playing the high low. She was very. She was great on both sides. Had two blocks that were great. Rebound the ball really well. Yes. She is not part of this Powerpuff Girl analogy. She. You know, if anything, she is a symbol of it. But to me, Mila Holloway, actually, I'm gonna start with Silosaurs. I think solid source is Bubbles, where she's just the cutest in the world. And she will kill you with that sonic screen like that is. That's how I see we're getting coated here. Oh, I'm very, very. Then I'm. I had this all. Then there's Blossom, right? And Blossom is kind of like the leader of the pack. Like, organizes everyone, makes sure everyone knows what the mission is. Can you guess who that is?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Point card?

[Zena Keda]

Exactly. Mila Holloway. 1,000%. And then there's Buttercup, and Buttercup is known for her strength. She. Don't play around. She is gonna. She. She's gonna make you feel it. Okay. And that is 1,000% Olivia Olsen. And I just feel like this. This little trio of the Powerpuff Girls just. Just completely demoralized what Louisville was trying to do in the second half. They. They chased around screens incredibly well. You're gonna have to help me with this. Istom Bululu.

[Sabrina Merchant]

That's about right.

[Zena Keda]

Is that. Is that about right? I. Every time. Rebecca Lobo, I believe it was, who was calling the game today said her name, I was like, I'm gonna get this right eventually. But now, you know, Michigan kind of took care of that for me, so I kind of appreciate that. But she had amazing.

[Sabrina Merchant]

We will still learn how to say her name.

[Zena Keda]

We will say her name correctly. I will. I will practice that. But she was phenomenal. I really love learning the story that, you know, her playing for the Turkish national team at Fenerbahce really helped her game. She was really, really strong. But ultimately, you can't do anything with those Michigan sophomores, so they were really good. Let's keep it moving.

[Sabrina Merchant]

You know who else you can't do anything with? Cena, Texas and South Carolina.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was just gonna say, let's keep it moving. To the teams that, like, just completely destroyed their opponents and that was Texas from the jump. Texas against Kentucky, first quarter, 29 to 11. It was painful. Kentucky tried to fight back in that second quarter, but by that point you had, you had such a deficit and it was so. It was very demoralizing, I think. And by the, by the end of the game, you're kind of like, okay, Texas is having fun. They're having their standards and it's fine. But Rory Harmon, Maddie Booker, getting to our spots with ease. It was kind of like what we've seen all year. So I don't know if we have to go too, too much in depth on those, on that game. South Carolina, Oklahoma. I love that this storyline came out around the fact that South Carolina did not see this game as a revenge game. Sabrina, what did you think about that, that statement and how they. It played out? It's.

[Sabrina Merchant]

It's a thing that you say, right? It's obviously a thing that you say. It's a thing that I've heard a lot in this region because there have been so many rematches in Sacramento. You know, you have ucla, Minnesota was a rematch, Duke, LSU was a rematch. Duke, UCLA is going.

[Zena Keda]

Yes, that's right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

There's a lot of them. It is absolutely a thing that you say. I 100% believe it when South Carolina says it because all they care about is getting back to the Final Four. And if that means they have to play Oklahoma, so be it. If that means they have to play any other team that they beat during the regular season, so be it. That is the standard. That is what they do. And I mean, could have been anybody's jerseys stepping up against them on Saturday. I don't think it would have mattered. That was just a clinical, clinical performance. From South Carolina to Nye Ladson doing whatever she wanted, getting downhill, Raven Johnson setting things up, making her buckets. Medina okot was, I mean, the only thing Oklahoma really had going for them was Reagan gears. I got played, excellent interior defense, super strong inside. Her physicality gave Joyce Edwards some difficulty, gave Medina some difficulty, but that was it. She was on island, I think, again with the rest against South Carolina and, you know, credit to her. I think she's had a phenomenal college career. I've really enjoyed watching her in the tournament these last three years with Oregon State and Oklahoma. But South Carolina, I mean, they're just, they're on a mission and you got to do a lot to disrupt that mission. We're going to talk about if TCU can make that happen, but Oklahoma could not.

[Zena Keda]

I'm so happy you brought Up Reagan Beers defense on Medina. Okay. And Joyce Edwards, because that was particularly Medina Okot. She could not get her footwork right. She couldn't bring the ball. She couldn't move her. There was nothing else that when she got down low, you saw her immediately, especially after the first few times she tried to go up and got gobbled up. She was like, let me get this ball right back out to my guard. I am not going to. I'm not going to play around in here in the paint. And I thought that was something that I was like, ooh, noted for whoever plays them next, be physical as hell and you're going to really struggle. My favorite part about this game, particularly in the first half, Raven Johnson had her pick of trailers. I don't know if you noticed that, but, like, she would literally just come down the floor and be like, who's behind me? And just flick it to a teammate. She did this one, the first three that Tanay Latson puts up, she kind of like brushed flips it back to her and then brush screens for. And then a few plays later, later in the first quarter, I believe it was Medina Okot is in the back of her, like, right behind her. And I was like, how unfair. Like, how unfamiliar you've got.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Reese and I are sitting next to the coaches who are scouting the next game, so we're next to the TCU coaches during this sequence. And Medina takes the three, two of them to shake their head. Mark Hamill goes, well, that's impressive.

[Zena Keda]

That's impressive.

[Sabrina Merchant]

It was.

[Zena Keda]

It was unfair. I was like, that is. You don't see that often that your trailers can be your guards or your bigs at any. At any given point. And so your point about standards, you were obviously in the arena, so you couldn't quite. You couldn't hear this on the broadcast, but that was the quote that Raven Johnson said that after they lost to Oklahoma, it reminded them of their standard, basically that they were not playing up to their standard. And that was evident in last night's game or tonight's game. It is live. I can say that I don't have to act like it was last night, but it was evident in tonight's game in that they were up by at least maybe 15, 16, I can't remember, but there was a free throw situation happening, and Raven Johnson is like, yelling at her teammate to get in position. They have this game in hand and she is still saying, you need to get in place. And I just thought that that's such evidence. The extension of Don Saley out on the floor. But also this is how we play. Um, okay, let's keep it moving. Virginia, tcu. That was the last game that we watched. Holy crap. I don't want to keep perpetuating this because it's messy. It's messy. But I am curious. I don't know. We haven't asked these questions. Did Olivia see what Hannah did and say I gotta do, I gotta do. Big one. Because. Wow. Between. It is important to note. I didn't even say these scores, by the way. South Carolina beat Oklahoma 94, 68. Okay. Michigan ends up being Louisville 71, 52. It was a little bit closer with that TCU Virginia game. Virginia just would not go away. But things got a little bit closer towards the end with the free throws, et cetera. 7969 TCU wins of that 79 points. The stat to walk away with Olivia Miles and Marta Suarez.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Friends of the podcast.

[Zena Keda]

We should say friends of the podcast. That's right. That's right. Scored or assisted on every single point. Those two were directly involved in every single point. Wild performances. What do you think about them?

[Sabrina Merchant]

I just can't recommend the experience of watching Olivia Miles play live enough. You know, if you have an opportunity at the WBA gym this summer to go see live play in person, the passes just pop live in a way that they don't on television. And she's talking with the crowd. She's John with them. She's, you know, having a good time with everyone. John with the opposing team too. Like, she is just a lot to experience in person. And I think not every, not every player is like that. Some of the players, you can, you know, appreciate all what they have on television. I think, I think she's one that really demands to be seen live. And I'm very grateful that I had this opportunity to see just all of the no looks and the one handed and the skips and some of the turnovers. And you know, she had this little thing with the Virginia fans who were like, you can't go left, you can't go left. And she doesn't actually end up finishing left, but she does throw a couple passes with her left and then just like does like a little single ladies next to them. Yes, it's really fun to watch Olivia Miles in her element. Just like an ultimate showman. Understands the moment elevates to it. And like you said, she hadn't gone past sweet 16 with Notre Dame. She was very aware of that fact. Did not bring up Notre Dame, but did say like thank goodness I finally got past the Sweet 16 ceiling. Matters a lot to her because they lost TCU last year. So I think credit to Virginia, it, like, this is going to sound super easy, but it was just like, for whatever reason, like, midnight struck during halftime and there goes Cinderella, right? Like, they just didn't have the gas after that. You know, Romy Levy couldn't hit shots like they. TCU was just basically like, okay, Paris, you're not going to get to shoot. Kamora, you're not going to get to shoot, and we're going to let somebody else beat us. Unfortunately, nobody else could beat tcu. I thought it was a smart defensive game plan. I thought Virginia was taking those shots confidently. It just wasn't happening for their non, you know, perimeter players. And they really made TCU work that first half. But once things just started spiraling, like, I wish they would have gone to that full court pressure a little bit earlier. They are a little bit thin, so, like, you know, sustain that type of intensity, but just credit to them for not backing down the entire time. Like, they really made TCU work. But I think tcu, South Carolina will be more interesting than Virginia. South Carolina would have. Other than, like, the historical storylines of Don Staley.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, absolutely. Oh, yeah. I mean, there's still so many good storylines available here, even if teams are not playing against each other. Here. I am bringing up Olivia Miles and Hidalgo, but in Notre Dame in general.

[Sabrina Merchant]

But I cannot tell you how much money I would pay to watch that Final Four matchups. You know, I don't think I have a number, but I'm with you.

[Zena Keda]

I'm with you. We're messy. Oh, my gosh, we are so messy. But, yes, I would love that. That would be such good basketball. Holy. But on the note of being a showman, my favorite, which is a new one, and Olivia Miles was asked about this, I think post game. Paris Clark doing her damnedest trying to stop Olivia Miles, who has the ball on a yo yo, operating in tight spaces. And she gets by her, gets the easy lay. And as she is running back, she does this like. Like she's falling motion.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Who do you think ask that? Xena? I.

[Zena Keda]

Okay, Okay. I just. I didn't. I didn't know. I don't know. I didn't know. Thank you for asking that question. That was amazing. That was so. Yeah, I. For. For the purpose of entertainment, Olivia Miles stay in the tournament as long as you can.

[Sabrina Merchant]

She delivers.

[Zena Keda]

She does deliver. Okay, before we go to what these teams await next, we gotta go to a break. We'll be right back. It's finally March, and you know what that means. Bracket season, baby. Picture it. You're hosting the big tourney game, you've got your jersey, you're looking good, and now all you need is, well, everything else to host. No sweat though, because you're a Sam's Club member. In one trip, you say yes to grabbing everything you need and to getting it all for unbelievably low prices. Plates, cups, tables, chairs, pizza, wings, snacks, sweets, and the ultimate three pointer. A big screen tv. Heck, you could even get it delivered. That's because the play that Sam's Club runs is called yes. And it means getting just what you need and enjoying the perks that come with membership, like express delivery bonus points. So even if you don't win your bracket, you'll win best host. Join Sam's Club, the club of yes and on eligible items terms and fees apply. See samsclub.com yes and for details.

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[Zena Keda]

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[Sabrina Merchant]

We have five more years of this. I would rather just talk about the basketball and let Gino pontificate, you know.

[Zena Keda]

Okay, all right, all right, that's fair. That's fair. I like it. All right, so here's the action. Here's how it breaks down. Notre Dame at UConn will play tomorrow at 1pm Eastern. Then it's Duke and UCLA at 3pm and then on Monday, we get Michigan versus Texas at 7pm Eastern, followed by TCU in South Carolina. Okay. This is where things get to be a little bit slowed down. We get to simmer in the sauce of these games a little bit more because there's less of them looking at these for games. Sabrina, what are you looking forward to the most in these matchups?

[Sabrina Merchant]

I think I'm most excited for Duke, ucla. I just think that it's the only rematch, which ordinarily I think would be a detriment, because I kind of like when we get to see new. But Duke has just been playing so well coming up. Like, they're coming off just an insane amount of momentum.

[Zena Keda]

Right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Like, none of these girls were able to sleep after the game. Right. Ashlyn Jackson's like, I don't think I got to bed until 2 o'. Clock. Mind you, I'm talking. When she's saying this, she's like, my phone is still buzzing right now. Kevin Durant hit me up in a dm. Like, Just to have that energy coming in, I think is so different than anybody else, you know, who's trying to spring an upset in the Elite Eight. And because they have the experience of, I think, having gone up against ucla, a very different UCLA team, no bets to search in that game. It's just another opportunity for them to, like, prove how they've improved. They. They beat Baylor, they beat LSU after losing to Them, you know, during the regular season. So it's, it's kind of what their path has been. So obviously I'm very excited for that. I'm going to be live for that one, so that makes it a little bit more exciting. But I just think that is the game that has the most potential for intrigue. Just because Duke is big, Duke is physical, and they can do some things that UCLA's other opponents haven't been able to thus far this tournament 1000%.

[Zena Keda]

And speaking of the momentum, it is important. Let's lay this out. We talk about the Duke, LSU game that happened during the SEC ACC challenge. They lost that game. Since they lost that game, Duke went on to win 24 of its next

[Sabrina Merchant]

26, including 17 in a row.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, that is the momentum we're talking about, people. Okay, that is an insane.

[Sabrina Merchant]

To be fair, UCLA has won 28 in a row, so a lot of momentum on their side.

[Zena Keda]

Fair, fair, fair, fair, fair. I'm just going to say UCLA has had this standard all year long. Okay. Duke was coming off of some ugly losses and a weird energy overall in the way that they were showing up on the basketball court. UCLA was like, hair flip, hair flip. This is who we are, okay? So I just want to put that in terms of like, that. That's interesting momentum. Especially when you're like a team that has been at this level. Right. For a long time and you, you worry about, oh, is UCLA going to have enough of that to go up against a team that is in their minds, you know, kind of exceeding expectations from how they started? You never know how that energy will meet up. But either way, this is going to be an interesting matchup for me. I look at the game that Duke had against LSU and how hard they went on the boards. Now they were throwing some stuff up that I was like, hold on now you got the offensive rebound. Ok, take your time. Take your time, Roberson. Take your time, Fournier. But the relentlessness, that energy was so key and palpable against lsu. I'm wondering what that interior game is going to look like up against ucla. Who has the size advantage? They have. They. They have the size advantage all around in terms of height, but also just like strength. It feels like as well. How do you see those two matching up in terms of. Or where. What is each team's X factor against each other?

[Sabrina Merchant]

I really think it's going to come down to who can make more threes. Like, yeah, Duke has been shooting the ball, I think, I don't know, like Ashland Jackson Obviously didn't shoot the ball very well against LSU up until the final moment, but Tiny Mayor shot the ball while, you know, Jordan Wood can come and hit some threes, Riley Nelson can come and hit some threes. So, like, you just have to make UCLA stretch its defense, like, extended Stevens a little bit. And I think, you know, if Duke can hit some jumpers, like, Minnesota was able to do that, but, like, their interior game was so anemic that, like, nothing really balanced itself out.

[Zena Keda]

Right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Whereas Duke, I think can. If they can balance that. Right. If you say hits threes, like, I just think they're unbeatable.

[Zena Keda]

So 1000% agreed with that. And I just wonder. This is a team where I'm like, okay, the size on the perimeter gets a little bit more even than what typically ucla.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Very big on the perimeter.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, they're very big on the perimeter. So I feel like this is going to be a good opportunity to see what UCLA will look like when their guards aren't so, like, a head taller than everyone else that they're facing on the other side of the ball. Okay. All right. Sounds good. Let's keep it moving to another matchup.

[Sabrina Merchant]

No, the other rematch you can. Notre Dame.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, I was gonna say, yeah, Notre Dame. A Yukon getting another rematch as well. Okay, let's.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I think we feel about UConn Cena. It's. I think it's good for Notre Dame. Like, obviously, like Duke, they had to play this team earlier in the season when they were not at their best. They got smoked. But I think that helps take some of the, oh, my God, we're playing UConn out of it.

[Zena Keda]

Right?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Because played UConn before, but, you know, the rest of the team collectively, they had not been in that situation. Going into stores like that is. You know, Jenny Branch said this yesterday. You're not just playing South Carolina. You're playing the history of South Carolina, right? You're not just playing UConn, you're playing the history of UConn. So that you can sort of take that out of the equation. Still doesn't make it any easier, right? Az fud still exists, right? Hannah Hidalgo only guard so many people at a time, right? Like, how is Cass Prosper going to fare against strong. Like, that is a significantly different matchup than having to guard Michaela Blakes in the previous round. So obviously, I still think UConn is a favorite, just like I still think UCLA is a favorite. There are certain things that Yukon does that makes them unbeatable, but just like, you know, get that bad pancake out of the way. I think it's really important. And so, you know, you can just fluster them a little bit at the start like Notre Dame's been doing. Just get a little pressure in there, make them call an early timeout, maybe just keep things close early and see what happens after.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah. You know, Lisa A. Stanfeld, 7930 makes a really good point that I think not only applies to UCLA but also applies to UConn regarding the bigs, and that is get Lauren Betts in foul trouble and run UCLA like UConn did last year. Now, Lisa, I didn't ask you to add all that at the end there, running UCLA like you call you. You don't have to bring up bad memories like that for ucla. But there is something to be said about one running a team so much that Lauren Betts or Sarah Strong, you know, needs a break, even though they are really well conditioned at this point of the year especially. But getting them in foul trouble where you can get them off the floor for even a sliver of time that you can capitalize on. They're both of them are pretty disciplined. But when I think about how Toby Fournier and Roberson were on the glass so intensely for Duke and then from Notre Dame perspective, even like, you know, Cassandra prosper, like how can they get take advantage of trying to get Sarah Strong out of the game, like that feels rare and hard to do.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I haven't really seen it happen.

[Zena Keda]

So, yeah, it really feels, it feels tough to do, but it does feel like getting her in actions where she's got a switch, which I mean at this point, if you are, if it's easy. But coming off the screen, I don't know what it's a lot for Yukon. Okay, let's keep it moving. Notre Dame is going to have to have another Hannah Hidalgo insane game and everyone else is going to have to try and step up. But I do feel like UConn might have this pretty early in and maybe this is why they're the early game tomorrow. Let's keep it moving to Michigan, Texas, because this one, this one, I owe

[Sabrina Merchant]

some people an apology for picking Louisville over Michigan. I see it in the chat. My bad. Oh, I was proacc up until I wasn't pro ac. Real world problem predictions.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, I never, I'm not gonna say I never saw it with Louisville ever. It just wasn't enough for me. I didn't get enough out of Taj Roberts and Barry and Amari Berry. Like, it just. Yeah, it just didn't get, I just didn't get enough out of those two as their main scores. But we got a lot out of the sophomores in Michigan, which we've already discussed slightly. There's another sophomore that has been surreal and that is Maddie Booker. Oh, no, Junior.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Excuse me, Junior.

[Zena Keda]

Another junior that has been phenomenal alongside senior Rory Harmon. Rory Harmon going up against Mila Holloway. What. What are we.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Quarles Daniels probably going to guard her, right?

[Zena Keda]

Or. But yeah, yeah, that's true, that's true, that's true. That's a good point. What do we think about this matchup, Sabrina?

[Sabrina Merchant]

I mean, Michigan, other than when they played Iowa this year, has not been blown out. They have been in every one of their losses. 3 point loss to UCLA. 3 point loss to UConn. 3 point loss to Vanderbilt. Right. They, I think struggled with that big Ava Haydn presence and everything running through the post because center depth I think is their major weakness. Texas, I don't think runs everything through Brad Cunningham and Kylie Oldacre. Like, that's just not the way things work. Right.

[Zena Keda]

If anything, they get the residuals.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Exactly.

[Zena Keda]

Whatever ran, they get.

[Sabrina Merchant]

The fact that stylistically Texas does not resemble Iowa, I think bodes well for Michigan, you know, like that they're not going to be flummoxed in that sense. But I do think Texas obviously playing phenomenally well. You know, they can hit everything. They're shooting the ball real well. I mean, Matty Booker, Jordan Lee, like in great rhythm again, all of these things. Like the number one seed is a favorite for a reason. But I do think because they are more of a perimeter based offense and like, yeah, they get their stuff in the paint, but like they, they work in the mid range too. It's not just like right at the rim.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I am intrigued by what Michigan can do because like they don't have to worry about that specific weakness. Right. Like it's the one Iowa sized hole in their resume. That's not how Texas plays. So, you know, you just, you just need like a couple runs. Like, just like they had against Louisville. Like, I think that what's, what's so impressive about Michigan is like they have fallen behind so many times by big numbers and they just keep coming back.

[Zena Keda]

Right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

They came back against Ohio State, they came back against Vanderbilt. Even if they came out short, they came back against UConn. Even if it came up short.

[Zena Keda]

They're, they're never out of it. Yeah, it is actually. It is. It's crazy how they keep finding second wins. And you can't think that you've taken them out of it mentally, like, oh, just because so and so is not hitting their shots. Or maybe they're turning the ball over a little bit, like it's. They're going to settle in as they always do. And the second half might be even more. That might be the start of the game for them.

[Sabrina Merchant]

And that seem to be like the best kind of inexperience where, like, they just don't care that they don't know what's going on, you know. But is it not like, unfazed by the moment? Yeah.

[Zena Keda]

Correct. And I remember us saying that exact same thing when they opened up this sophomore group as Brush Carolina last year. Yeah, last year in Paris. We're like, it was Chantel that said this. They don't know any better. Yeah, they don't know that they're not.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Michigan has the best kind of inexperience where like, I feel like Vanderbilt had like the opposite kind where like they tend stop when they got into a tough situation, whereas Michigan, they just seem to like go like, oh, eff it. You know, like I was gonna say, like, it's okay.

[Zena Keda]

I wish you could have said that at the same time. Cause that's exactly what I said in my mind. I'm like, pick this out here. Just saying. Epic. And what I also think is important though, that Texas will have as an advantage, they have a more consistent bench. And if Olivia Olson gets tied up in foul trouble or if just, you know, whatever's going on. Miller Hallway ended up with four fouls. I believe against Louisville, there's more people they can go to on their bench for Texas than Michigan. And so I think that's going to be an advantage as well. Getting more minutes and getting more production. Like, thinking about looking at this box score for Texas versus Kentucky. Now, don't get me wrong, people got to play because they had a blowout as well. But over, we've seen over the year, Kyle Oldacre, Aaliyah Crump, Brianna Preston being able to step up and play great defensive minutes, get on the boards for them and clean up, essentially, you know, like I mentioned, getting the residuals of whatever they're doing on offense. So this is going to be an interesting one. For what it is worth, I did pick Texas to come out of this situation. I just. I just don't think there's any stopping and denying Matty Booker and Rory Harmon. The two of them are dangerous. Now we'll see what the sophomores can do. Maybe they could Prove me wrong. Maybe the next time we're talking, Sabrina, it will be me giving some apologies to the Michigan crowd. All right, let's keep it moving to our next matchup. Tcu, South Carolina. Now, I'm kind of in the same camp. You know, how we feel about UConn, Notre Dame. Like, you know, Notre Dame is going to put up a fight, but UConn is UConn. I kind of feel like this about South Carolina, TCU. I just trust South Carolina and how they show up so much in a way that I don't quite know what TCU will look like, mainly because their two biggest contributors have never been on this stage, let alone on the stage together. That being said, we just talked about how the two of them, Marta Suarez, we're talking about, and Olivia Miles are probably the biggest showman in the tournament right now. So they love, and they said this on the broadcast, they love the big stages, but I just don't know if those two are enough and I don't know if Clara Silva is enough to go up against the likes of Medina Scott and Turner, BZ and Joyce Edwards. Yeah, I just don't know if it's enough, particularly on the interior against South Carolina. But if I'm Mark Campbell, I'm telling Clara Silva, buck up, Bump. You better be bumping down there, because when you do that, you're going to force the ball to come out of the paint and you could, you know, tie some things up inside.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I mean, I think. I think you hit it, honestly, like, I watched TCU, like, love around against West Virginia in that Big 12 title game. Even in the semifinal before that, you know, when they had to make a comeback, they basically messed around for that first half against Washington and had to go win that game in overtime, even though it was at home. Right. They've had an easier path, relatively speaking, because they got to play a 10 seed in Virginia, as opposed to some of the other matchups that we saw. Like, they didn't have to play an LSU type team to come to the sweet 16, so. To come into the Elite Eight. I should say so. Yeah. I. When Olivia is on, when Martha is on, like, that team is as fun as anybody. They can do so many impressive things. I don't trust their consistency. Like, I trust South Carolina's consistency. And when there is a. When there's a lull, South Carolina is going to pounce. And that is what I worry about. Like, how early does that lull come, you know?

[Zena Keda]

Yep, that's exactly right. And you. You Just think about someone like a Raven Johnson taking that defensive assignment very seriously and what that. What that could actually look like. I mean, one thing I like about

[Sabrina Merchant]

watching the TCU Virginia game again, got to sit next to the team scouting. So this time it's Don Staley and the South Carolina coaches. All the South Carolina players are on the baseline, you know, watching the game. Don Staley looks over to see what they're doing as the game's going on. Everybody's on their phone. Raven Johnson notebook locked in. I knew it.

[Zena Keda]

I knew it. I bet she taking notes. Oh, man, I just. I love Raven Johnson and the way she takes her job seriously. I would make the joke like, you think she getting paid, but nowadays she's getting paid. She is. Okay, this is interesting. We're getting some comments in the chat as well. Like, can we talk about some of the teams, the reactions and features of the teams that have been eliminated? Specifically thinking of LSU and bandy from Elena Axon, 8036. And we'll close on that. Since we've gone through all these games for the Elite Eight, let's close on this question. LSU particularly. We've been on this ride of LSU since the Angel Reese, like, Iowa matchup. And then it was great because within that whole drama of great basketball, there was also this other star that has blossomed in it, and that was flauge and flage was this little sophomore that was so excited to be blocking shots and doing all these crazy moves, and

[Sabrina Merchant]

now she's a freshman on the championship team.

[Zena Keda]

A freshman. Excuse me. Yes, thank you. A freshman that was just, like, happy to be there. And then, you know, we've seen her kind of grow up and get into all these different ventures, et cetera, and now her career is done. But there is still Jada Richard, there's still Mikayla Williams, there's still Kate Covel that's coming up. There's still Grace Knox. There's a lot of great talent on this LSU team. Thoughts about what's next? And also, I feel like they're a great landing spot for a star that's looking to try and get further in the tournament.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, the thing with, like, I don't mean to just dodge the question. It's just with the Portal, it's so hard to know what this team is

[Zena Keda]

going to look like.

[Sabrina Merchant]

We'd had this conversation about Notre Dame and USC last year. Right. Like, think about how we were talking about those teams before Avery Howell and, you know, Kaylee Heckle left before, you know, Olivia Miles Decided to go to tcu. Right. Like I, Vanderbilt lost, you know, Iona, Mark, Milk, Pierre. We had a very different idea.

[Zena Keda]

Oh my gosh, that's right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I just think it's so challenging to know what a team's going to look like year to year. It's so hard to build a program. LSU has done very well to keep their best players. Like I would expect Michaela Williams to be back. Jada Richard, you know, Full Wiley, probably going to finish out her career.

[Zena Keda]

My Laser, Full Wiley had

[Sabrina Merchant]

like if they can keep, you know, the Grace Knox's and Bella Hines and just that core, I'm very excited for what it can look like. It's just, I know this sucks and I'm not really answering the question, but it is so early and I promise you I will address it.

[Zena Keda]

We will, we will. Very good point. It is hard to know, like even you think about the fact that TCU is now in the Elite Eight with two players that weren't there, not even thought of to be there last year.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Silva transfer, you know.

[Zena Keda]

Right, exactly, exactly. And so it's just. And Claire Silver. Yeah, exactly. Three players, but yes, the main two. It basically Olivia Miles signs and then March is like, oh, I have an opportunity here to play with an amazing point guard and boom, Claire Silver comes along and Mark Hamill continues to be the most amazing transfer recruiter, transfer portal recruiter there is. I'm sure a lot of other coaches are going to be in that same category of like finding ways to get their programs to be the destination spots of other players that didn't make it. And guess what? Those conversations are happening right now. Trust me, okay? People are talking right now of where can I land next year? The ones that are already out of the tournament. But there's more tournament to be had because those Elite 8 games are going to kick off tomorrow and Monday and we will be back to be able to break those games down for you next week. But for now, that is a wrap on our no off season live. Thank you all for joining us. We'll be back on your feeds on Tuesday to recap the Elite Eight as I mentioned, and I think it will be an amazing, another amazing round. Be sure to follow our show wherever you're listening or watching. Please subscribe. Tell your people that you love and that you know, love basketball where you can find us so that they can find us too. And give us a rating. Let us know we're doing a great job. If you have a low rating, you can keep that to yourself. All right, thanks everybody. On behalf of the Athletic and Sabrina Merchant, I'm Zena Keda. Thank you for listening and we'll see you next time. No Off Season is hosted by Zena Keda with Chantelle Jennings, Sabrina Merchant and Laja Clarendon. It's produced by Tanika Burrell. Our executive producer is Andrea B. Scott. Monica Compton is our video editor and Charles Childers is is our social video editor. Our theme music is by Marcus Bogala. Shannon Ryan is managing editor of Women's Basketball at the Athletic. Tim McMaster is our director of operations and Jesse Burton is global head of Ceres.

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