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- [00:00]
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- [00:22]
Zena Kada
There to watch them.
- [00:23]
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- [01:30]
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- [03:09]
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- [05:14]
Zena Kada
For the athletic I'm Zena Kada and this is the Athletic Women's Basketball Show Selection Sunday Edition.
- [05:21]
Sabrina Merchant
Oh.
- [05:35]
Zena Kada
Welcome to a new version of the Athletic Women's Basketball show, but a much needed version. And first and foremost, yes, I must Apologize for this voice. It's been a crazy week talking basketball and screaming at games and watching the last few games entering March madness. And let's just say I got a little excited. But this is the athletic women's basketball show where we are here to talk all things women's basketball. Tonight, we are going to be reacting in lifetime to this selection Sunday results. It just happened a few hours ago and we're going to see one, where did we land? Two, what are our thoughts? Three, any big predictions? And then four, make sure you all know what to keep an eye out on for on our site and in the podcast as we get ready for the big dance. So this is a safe space. We're hoping that we're going to help you learn some stuff. We'll help you see some stuff. We'll help you pay attention to some stuff. But let me stop talking and introduce my guests because, God, my voice. I've got our writers, Sabrina Merchant, Ben Pickman, and Mark Schindler, our bracketology expert. By the way, Mark, that is me hand clapping. Just want to give you some props throughout this whole lead up to the bracket. It's been so much fun watching your bracket watch your bubble watch. And now it has come to an end. And I have to ask, number one, how do you feel?
- [07:00]
Mark Schindler
It's kind of weird, man. Like, honestly, I feel like so often I'm just like, so excited for bracket reveals because obviously I've been watching games, but, like, you know, you're like, I want to see everything slots out now. It's just kind of like, well, now that I'm, like, done, it just kind of feels like an empty void a little bit, to be honest. Like, I don't know, like, I haven't been able. I've been. I've just had a running spreadsheet that I've been opening up every day since, like, I first started interviewing for the job in early January. So it's like, you know, it's kind of wild. It's like not have it anymore. So. But I'm excited to just, like, watch everything play out. You know, I've had my eyes on as many teams as possible for as much as I can the whole season. So I'm excited for it.
- [07:39]
Zena Kada
Yeah. I don't know if anyone was watching as many games, particularly simultaneously as you were in this lead up, but I have to ask you, like, how'd you do? What was that? What was the outcome?
- [07:52]
Mark Schindler
Yeah, surprisingly well, other than I turned my last bracket in before Drexel won, so technically I get an automatic L just for that. But I. I was really excited about how it went. We got. I think we got just about 60, 68 at large bids were correct. And then if you did everything by like one seed, I was a little bit higher. So I was really happy with how it turned out, especially too with. I. I mean, there were a bunch of surprises which we'll get into, but overall, like, Ivan had a couple matchups that were like dead on what they ended up going with. So I was happy with how it turned out.
- [08:23]
Zena Kada
Well, Mark, you set me up with quite the lob there in terms of saying surprises, because that's going to be my very first question to all of you. Sabrina, we'll start with you. Ladies first. You know, it is selection Sunday for the women's tournament. So what surprised you most about the selection Sunday result?
- [08:41]
Sabrina Merchant
I was surprised that Gonzaga still got to host after losing to Portland in the West Coast Conference final. I thought that was a pretty big defeat. And considering the strength of Colorado's overall resume, Kansas State jumped up. We knew Notre Dame was going to jump up. I expected them to be on the five line or below, and for them to be in the four spot with Colorado finishing as a five was pretty surprising to me. I also think that, like Arizona making the field is a signal of the PAC12 strength, but for them to do that and Colorado not be higher was just like a weird collection of events for me.
- [09:16]
Zena Kada
Okay. And yeah, I think it was interesting, especially with Lisa Peterson saying we're looking at the entire collection of the season and particularly how you've been lately playing. Right. And that was a loss recently. And so, yeah, that's a good one. What about you, Ben?
- [09:31]
Ben Pickman
I mean, Sabrina is just very on brand highlighting Gonzaga in Arizona right off the top. I'm going to go with much more obvious selection of what struck me and that is Albany 2 as a whole. And we will get into it and we will talk a lot about it, but I think it was hard not to react when those names started to be revealed on espn. And you saw Iowa. I think Princeton and West Virginia is a great game. Colorado obviously had beat LSU earlier in the year. Kansas State has defeated Iowa this year. Louisville, a team that has success in the NCAA tournament every single year. The reigning champs, lsu, ucla. And that's just some of the teams like, sure, Gonzaga, Arizona. That's a great place to start, Sabrina. But I think the first thing that is hitting everyone over the head that everyone is talking about is Albany 2 and just how strong it is. And just all the legitimate Final Four contenders in that region. It's just eye popping. You look at some of the other parts of the bracket and you're like, it just feels a little bit empty. Just a little bit empty because of how much talent is in Albany. 2. That's the first thing that stuck out to me is I'm looking at.
- [10:32]
Zena Kada
Okay, that was the most surprising. We definitely, definitely will get into. I think that was the one that everyone had some eyebrows raised when they saw it announced. Mark, for you, biggest surprise from the results.
- [10:46]
Mark Schindler
Yeah. Honestly, to kind of hit on what Sabrina said a little bit. It seemed like they really prioritized and they said they really prioritized playing well in the conference tournament. But that didn't play out in some ways, which I thought was interesting. But my biggest is Auburn. Like, I know that's a very random shot, but Auburn played really well down the end of the season. They beat Texas A m by like 15 the last two weeks of the season. They played LSU extremely competitively. Obviously they lost pretty poorly in the SEC tournament, third time playing lsu, but that team played really well this year. I was shocked that they like number one, that they were a playing team, but also that they were in that spot behind Texas A and M was really surprising to me. I'd love to hear an explanation from them on that because I don't have one to give you, to be honest.
- [11:33]
Zena Kada
No, I feel you on that. I don't have an explanation either. I just think that it's so interesting the way that it was described, you know, having watched the men's tournament right before the selection for the men's tournament and then the Sunday selection for the women's tournament. It's true that both. It felt like the men's tournament kept explaining their decisions based off of. We looked at game one through the last game and that's how they made the decision. Whereas I felt like Lisa Peterson was saying that they looked more towards the. Like you said, the conference tournament. But there were cases in which that didn't seem as if that was the case. I think my biggest surprise. I think I'm with you, Ben. That road for Iowa was insane. But let's go ahead and jump into it because I don't want to. I know that that's what people want to hear about all three of you. I want to ask you all what you think is going to be the toughest road to the Final Four. Ben, I know you've already kind of made your case, but I want to. I want you to explain a little bit more like, why you think Albany 2 is the hardest region.
- [12:31]
Ben Pickman
Well, there's a lot of familiarity, and that's, I think, one of the things that jumped out to me about Albany, too. It's not just the star power, and a lot of people will gravitate towards some of the big names in the region, but it is teams and potential matchups that, you know, we have seen before, or individual matchups we've seen before. Right. Haley Van Lith, who went to Louisville for her first three years in college, now could play LSU in the NCAA tournament. That's an unbelievable matchup. Right. Kansas State and Iowa, they've played twice this year because they both scheduled each other with Kansas State playing at Iowa and then took part in a Thanksgiving weekend tournament. Colorado, if they get that far, they've played lsu. They opened up the season with lsu. Like, you could go up and down this bracket and find some familiarity. Drake in Iowa, I mean, you know, we probably won't see that, but here are two schools in the state of Iowa.
- [13:16]
Zena Kada
Right.
- [13:17]
Ben Pickman
That know each other very, very well. So there's just a.
- [13:20]
Sabrina Merchant
There, too.
- [13:21]
Ben Pickman
Exactly. And, like, there's just a lot of familiarity in this region. And that, I think is, you know, in addition to the star power, what makes it so hard, it's really good coaches and programs that know each other really, really well.
- [13:32]
Zena Kada
All right, Mark, which one do you think is the hardest region?
- [13:34]
Mark Schindler
I mean, going off that. Because I agree. I think Region 2 is, like, by far. There's no question for me, that's the hardest one. But expanding off what Ben said, you can take familiarity, the whole bracket, and it's kind of wild. Like, I think South Carolina potentially having to play North Carolina in the second round is crazy to me. Like, when you talk about sheer, especially after the game, that is the number one seed overall. Yeah. To have the number one seed overall play an opponent in the second round that they have already played this year was. I was surprised to see that off, Rip. But again, like, I mean, you look at the eight, nine matchups. I think every eight, nine matchups, entertaining and interesting, but like West Virginia and Princeton, both showcases. To be like a seven seed, like, West Virginia is tough. They are like one of the. They're a crazy press team. Princeton's incredibly good defensively. Like, I think I will. Having to face either of those teams coming out is the hardest eight, nine anybody's going to see.
- [14:26]
Zena Kada
Okay, Sabrina. Hardest region.
- [14:28]
Sabrina Merchant
I mean, it's. It's not even close against all of an E2 with a bullet. I mean, I realize that we didn't lead with that, but it absolutely is the major takeaway from this bracket. Just a couple numbers for you. Five of the teams in this region were ranked in the top three at some point this season in the AP poll. So we're talking about just an insane level of talent already. And that's not even including Louisville, which has made the Elite Eight at least the last five NCAA tournamen granted, very different roster at Louisville this year. There's still Jeff Waltz. He still knows what he's doing in the answer league tournament. So just an obscene level of talent and obscene level of success that these teams have achieved over the course of this regular season. I mean, we haven't even talked about UCLA yet. And I know a lot of UCLA fans were hoping to get Iowa as their number one seed because, you know, they knew they weren't going to be going out west, you know, because of the committee procedurals. But, you know, you'd rather have Iowa as your 1 seed than South Carolina. But I'm looking at this bracket thinking, would I rather have Iowa as the 1 seed instead of South Carolina if it means all of this other nonsense in my region? Like, there's so much to deal with that we haven't even brought up the Bruins, who I know are a lot of people's dark horse title pick. And it's just crazy to think that, like, we've talked about all these other teams and hello, the Bruins were number two for like a good chunk of the season. They have maybe the deepest roster outside of Columbia, South Carolina. And it's wild to me that, like, there are maybe an afterthought in terms of this bracket just because there are so many good teams in Albany, too.
- [15:55]
Ben Pickman
It's.
- [15:56]
Sabrina Merchant
It's ridiculous.
- [15:56]
Zena Kada
Yeah, no, I completely forgot that. That was probably my biggest surprise because as I was sitting here watching this, I was like, oh, yeah, UCLA is probably gonna get the fourth. It's good to go. Like Stanford, ucla, one of the two, I will say that. Texas one, a little bit of a shocker for me, but okay, so I think we're all in consensus that all we need to do is wild. My jaw dropped. He talked about the fact that five of those teams were in the top three at one point in the season. That is insane. All right, we've already established there's some really good teams that are going to go through some very hard path. Are there any notable snubs or sleeper teams? Let's go with snubs. First. I Think we've already mentioned some in terms of ranking within the tournament, but any teams that were left out of the tournament that you were kind of surprised by, Mark?
- [16:45]
Mark Schindler
I mean, point blank, like, I don't think that there were any teams. I was too surprised to be left out. I was generally like pretty low on Miami's chances to get in. I had them as the last playing team and I'm not too surprised that they, they didn't get in. Their non con didn't go super well. They had a lot of pretty rough losses inside the acc and their best win on the season was against an NC State team that was missing River Baldwin, which was their worst rush of the season. So I think this team is solid, but I think when you look top to bottom, I think I was more surprised that Columbia got in rather than Miami not getting in. So to me it's not really a snub, but I think that's automatically the one.
- [17:21]
Zena Kada
Okay. All right. Now this is my favorite part in terms of sleeper teams because basically this is me asking you, like, who has the best chance of making a Cinderella story out of the tournament. Those middle tier matchups that you're most excited of outside of the top four in any region, I could tell you.
- [17:37]
Sabrina Merchant
Which middle tier matchup I'm least excited for, if that helps.
- [17:41]
Zena Kada
Okay, which one is that?
- [17:42]
Sabrina Merchant
I think Ole Miss is a little underseated as a seven and I think they're absolutely going to crush marquette in that 7:10. So as far as like surprises, I was kind of surprised that Mississippi State didn't make the field. I realized they didn't end the season super well, but I think they have the best win of any team that didn't make the field of 68 in terms of beating LSU. So to see a team like Marquette, who again has like a more consistent, I think, stretch of play than Mississippi State, make it when I don't know that they beat anybody that good over the course of the season. Like, I think, I think Ole Miss is going to look pretty impressive in round one. And I do wonder if we're gonna be wondering like why they were even like below Tennessee or like why they're.
- [18:18]
Mark Schindler
Out of seven just to expand off that from Sabrina too. I think that was one of my other bigger surprises. Like I thought Ole Miss had done enough, especially when you talk about conference tournament play, to get into a number six spot. That's where I had them finish up. It seemed like they really weighed what Nebraska did and I think Nebraska was, was really solid this season. But I thought number six was a little bit of a stretch, especially when you consider where Ole Miss was at and how they played and what they're like. Nebraska just has some head scratching losses this year and granted they played very well towards the end of the year but to me I think when you look at total body of work, I was a little bit surprised that they got in overall Miss, especially in the same region too. So I mean that could end up playing itself out by the end for sure. But I totally agree with Sabrina on that one.
- [19:01]
Zena Kada
Okay, so now I want to talk about those middle matchups that you guys are excited about in terms of non top four seeds matchups, right? So that's the 5, 6, 7, 8 who they're going up against in the 10, 11, 12, 13. So mine, UNC, Michigan State, very excited for that. I also think West Virginia Princeton is going to be a lot of fun. What are your thoughts?
- [19:25]
Mark Schindler
I love West Virginia Princeton. I could go on for days about both those teams but I think the one that I'm probably going to be most curious to see just for like this year, like we talked about familiarity but Duke and Richmond is like I was vexed that that was one because like Duke they didn't just play and win. Like they beat the heck out of Richmond and I believe it was the first game of the season. And Richmond is very good. They've been extremely consistent. They were the best in the A10 after that. But on top of that like Duke was a team where they never quite had the quote unquote marquee win that would put them over the top. But they play like they're a five seed more often than not. That is a team like I think to me Ohio State got the hardest potential 710 out of any of the two seeds. Like Duke is not a team that I would want to see at all. Ask Colorado last year. Ask anybody who had to play Duke at any time. Ask anybody who knows Carol Lawson, you don't want to play against Duke. So I think that's the game I'm most excited to see just to see like can Richmond respond from that and how does Duke come out looking?
- [20:25]
Zena Kada
Ben?
- [20:25]
Ben Pickman
Yeah, for me, I mean one of the teams that I have circled that I'm just intrigued to see how they play is Iowa State. Right. They're going to play Maryland in the first round in the Portland 4 region. And you know just what Audi Crooks can do, you know, 19 points per game, seven and a half rebounds, eight rebounds per game. Iowa State doesn't necessarily fit the profile of a team that could go on a deep run because of just how many freshmen they rely on. Though, of course, like Emily Ryan is a senior that they rely on among other players, their senior backcourt. But, you know, Iowa State could profile too as a team to go on a, like a big run because of crooks in the middle. Like if she's able to perform well and match up well against, you know, both Maryland, but also in a potential round of 32 game against Stanford. Like, there's a little bit of upset potential there that I think is kind of appealing. It would be in Palo Alto again. But, you know, she is the kind of player who. Could she get Cameron Brink in foul trouble? Absolutely. And if she can get Cameron Brink in foul trouble and you know, suddenly Stanford is playing without their best player, then you could foresee an upset. Possibly. I see Sabrina kind of nodding her head because I know how much she loves this Iowa State team as well. But it's one of those things that, you know, I'm not saying it's going to happen, but it is one of the most appealing prospects. And if it does happen, that region could really open up because Portland four, I think is, you know, maybe the most open region. Obviously Texas is at the top and that was a surprise for a lot of people as a one seed. But, you know, if Stanford does go down early, there could be a little bit of madness. We could see a surprise team come out of that quadrant.
- [21:51]
Sabrina Merchant
Okay, Sabrina, I mean, Ben is just clearly stepping into my Audi Cooks lane. But that's, that's quite all right. It's fine. I'm glad we're getting, we're getting lots of Cyclone love and this podcast. I'm just disappointed that the committee didn't adhere to Mark's specifications and send Iowa State to la, because that would have been just delightful. Alas, and they didn't send Princeton to LA either. We didn't get the Princeton, USC second round matchup that, you know, Mackenzie Forbes, Caleb Padilla and Caitlin Davis were dying to see.
- [22:16]
Mark Schindler
I wanted it so bad.
- [22:18]
Sabrina Merchant
I do wish I were at the USC selection party to know if Caitlin Davis is more excited for USC to get the one seater for Columbia to make the tournament altogether. But we'll have to ask her later this week. But as far as those middle matchups that I'm excited for, I really, really want to see what Utah, South Dakota State looks like because they're both just such strong system teams, right? Like, they, they run what they run. They're a little bit different from everybody else, but they're so specific, you know, like unique in and of themselves. And a lot of Pac12 coaches were saying how Utah is going to present a challenge to whoever they face in the tournament because of how different they are than most offenses around the country. But I feel very similarly about South Dakota State. So it's one of those matchups where I really have no idea what could happen because, like, both of these teams are so excellent at what they do and it's so hard to scout for. So that's the 5:12 that I have my eye on.
- [23:03]
Zena Kada
Okay. I think this question also sets up the perfect, you know, who are those sleeper teams? I know. You know, Ben, you made a great case for Iowa State being one of those sleeper teams. I didn't know if there was any other team that you were thinking of that could make the deep run based on their play this year.
- [23:19]
Ben Pickman
I mean, for me, one of the sleeper. And we're talking big picture sleeper here. And they're not, you know, they're hosting a game the team, I'm about to say, so they're not a true sleeper. But I do think Kansas State has real Final Four potential and I think they're a team that, again, people aren't going to talk a ton about because of the other teams in their region. And again, I'm not making the case that I think they're going to get out and win the region because I will get saved that for the end of the podcast who I think is getting out of Albany, too. But Kansas State is a team that ranked as high as number two earlier this year. Aoka Lee in the middle, you know, she's just a matchup problem for pretty much everyone she goes up against. And so just having her on the inside makes them such a threat. We saw them defend and knock off Iowa play, you know, whole Caitlin Clark to one of her worst games of the season on Iowa's home court. And so we could certainly see that again, you know, in this NCAA Tournament. And so I look at them as one of these teams that they're not going to get the attention, the love as some others in the region, but they have a good chance to make the Final Four, especially if we see some madness in the region and Albany 2 opens up a little bit.
- [24:20]
Zena Kada
Okay, well, let's keep moving on to the actual play and this is going to tap into your coaching mind. Sabrina, get excited because I love hearing some of your X and O play. But when you get to this point of the season and you're playing all out and you're preparing for your opponent. You officially now get your first game. What is the first move that you make in terms of you get your film, you start trying to game plan for, you know how you're going to play this team. They're usually supposed to be a team that's out of your conference, obviously, and they're a team that you haven't matched up against. Typically, not every single team has got that, but their team you typically haven't matched up against, you haven't scouted yet. You know, what does that process look like? Does your game plan really change or get any more unique at this point of the year? Sabrina?
- [25:07]
Sabrina Merchant
Well, just having talked to coaches over the past week, like, I know a lot of them really love having this break where they don't have to game plan for anyone. Because, you know, you go through 30 some games during the regular season, and it's just constantly like, okay, focus in on, like, adjustments, encounters, and all sorts of, like, matchup specific things. And it's. This is kind of like going back to the summer, right, where it's just, let's figure out what we do best, what we can execute best in terms of focusing in on ourselves. And it's kind of a luxury that the women's side gets at, the men's side doesn't. Right. Because of that extra week in between the conference tournament and selection Sunday. So, you know, I'm sure that coaches are gonna be, like, feverishly honing in on what's to come, you know, in terms of their matchups. Like, I know Coachio already tweeted a picture of, like, 17 coaches watching film after the reveal that they were going to play Marquette. But I really do believe that this is a time where, like, you just want to excel at what you do. Right. Like, coaches are so focused on, like, okay, we've gone through this rigorous conference schedule, we've gone through these conference tournaments. Like, let's just get back to basics, figure out how we can be the best version of ourselves. And I think that's where a lot of them are starting at this point.
- [26:08]
Zena Kada
Mark and Ben, I want to ask you all about when you're planning for trying to do what you do best. As Sabrina just said, the region that kind of gets me excited from a defensive perspective. Albany 2 and Portland 3. I feel like there's some solid defensive teams in the mix, and I just wanted to hear your opinion on those because I feel like that's something that you guys have both talked about on the pod all season long about just the impact that good defense can have against, you know, scoring phenoms like USC or an Iowa or even in South Carolina.
- [26:41]
Ben Pickman
I mean, we are 20 some odd minutes into the podcast and I don't think we've talked about UConn yet. And so I'm going to talk about UConn because, you know, they were a team that just heading into last year's tournament, they had made 14 straight Final Fours. And on the defensive end, Zena, as you mentioned it, you know, despite all the injuries that they have had this year, they remain top five defensive rating. They're one of the best defensive teams in the nation. And you know, Gino Oriema, we talk about coaching, obviously a coach who has seen almost anything that the NCAA tournament can throw at someone, right? In terms of in game adjustments, in terms of knowing the rhythms of how to prepare, of using the week off of in between games. Like, this is a team and a staff that, you know, while certainly injured and very injured. I think we learned on Sunday night that Amari Diberi, a reserve center, she's going to miss the NCAA tournament, though Aaliyah Edwards status, it seems like she is on track to play and resume play as normal, per Gino on his post NCAA tournament bracket reveal. But UConn is a team that, you know, certainly has the ability to put the clamps on anyone that they play. They play Jackson State in the first round and then could have a really interesting matchup against Syracuse in the second round or Auburn or Arizona, depending on how that game turns out. And so they are a team to me, they're short on depth and so that might hurt them in terms of making as long of a run as people come to expect. But. But, you know, I think they're also well positioned to get out of Portland 3 or make a deep run. And a lot of that is because of the defense that they play in, their ability to stifle the opponents. And they did that certainly in the Big east championship against Marquette. We saw that, you know, better than my, one of the best, if not the best defensive performance we've seen from a team all year. What they put out to, to win their conference tournament.
- [28:20]
Zena Kada
UConn is definitely one of those teams. I was thinking about UConn, Ohio State, Kansas State. Like, these are some big defensive teams, Mark.
- [28:27]
Mark Schindler
Yeah, I think part of what has me so excited about Portland 3 is like, there's a lot of good defensive teams, but they're all really good at defense for different reasons. Like when you think that through, I think for Syracuse, like if Auburn gets out of that matchup, I mean both Auburn and Arizona have been two of the probably 15 best defensive teams in the country this season. Like Auburn will full court, press you all day long, switch everything, be extremely physical and you get a lot of the same from Arizona. Like Helena Pueo is like she doesn't get talked about it, but she is one of the best defenders in the country. She's insane. I know that she has a lot of fans in WNBA front offices for what she can do. That team has just hit such a different verve over the last month and a half since they cut down to seven players in their rotation. Whoever Syracuse ends up having to face, that's going to be a tough assignment. But then I even think about that like Syracuse for UConn, like as good as UConn has been with their perimeter, like Jackson State's front court angel, Jackson is one of the best mid major posts in the country. Really tough on the interior and then okay, if you win that game and you have to face Syracuse, their interior and like I think their top five in the country in offensive rebound rate or close the year at that, they're really difficult. You look up ahead like we still don't know Liz Kitley status. If she doesn't play that Marshall game. We're going to learn a lot about Georgia Amore and how she handles ball pressure because Marshall will full court press off misses like all the way, all five players across half court, which is just like there are not a lot of teams that do that. They haven't faced anyone that does that. That's really difficult. Like you look at Kansas and Michigan, Michigan is like they play a lot of life size players and we'll try and keep the ball in front. But then Kansas has one of the best shot blockers in the country in Teona Jackson. You just have so many different kinds of defenses, which is what makes it like it becomes so much more about matchups rather than who's good or who's best at what. So I think that's what I'm most excited about because again, you just, if you get put in the wrong kind of situation, it doesn't really matter what seat you have.
- [30:26]
Zena Kada
What's amazing is that all of that fits exactly to what Sabrina was saying. Like lean into what you do best, focus on your ability. And a lot of these teams, but you know, they don't have a deja fair on their team or Caitlin Clark on their team. And they do have guards that can put some ball pressure, that can run presses that can make things very interesting in the back court and also change up the paces of these games. Speaking of pace and space and just thinking about players, that can make a game very exciting, I want to ask all three of you, which player throughout this entire bracket do you think will have the most impact on their ability to get their team to the Final Four? Sabrina.
- [31:04]
Sabrina Merchant
Well, I guess I can play Captain Obvious this time. I think this is going to be a really big month for Juju Watkins. We haven't really talked talked about USC's path in their region thus far, but I think things are shaping up pretty comfortably for usc. I mean, not to say that, like, they have an easy region by any means, because, like, you know, Mark was just saying, like, Kansas and Michigan, Kansas has a lot going on with Tiana Jackson. I mean, I'm curious to see how USC would defend that. But, like, when you get a four seed like Virginia Tech, who may or may not have Liz Kelly is a little less steep than, you know, other teams in that spot might be. I mean, Ohio State, they've already beaten, like, that's the two seed in their region, and they beat them, I think, pretty handily in Vegas. So I like the path for usc, and I think there's just gonna be a lot of eyes on juju Watkins over this next couple weeks. And you and I have talked about this, like, as big of a name as she is, like, she plays on a television network that nobody can watch.
- [32:00]
Zena Kada
Yeah.
- [32:00]
Sabrina Merchant
So few chances for people to actually get to watch her play basketball. So she's just going to have, I think, like, a phenomenal opportunity to let people see what exactly she's all about, you know, before heading into the Big Ten next year when presumably people will be able to watch her play. But I think just the way things have shaken out for usc, the fact that they're number one seed, all of this excitement going into the tournament after winning the Pac12 tournament, like, they're positioned to do really well. And with them doing well, it's just going to be, like, great chances to expose everyone to juju.
- [32:29]
Zena Kada
I'm excited for that. And if you didn't see juju yesterday on the selection show, he had her hair in a low bunch. Switch up, different look for her. I was like, oh, snap, there's something about to happen in the tournament. I don't know if she's gonna switch it up. I don't know. We'll see. We'll see. But yes, juju Watkins, a Very, very fart plug of a player for usc holds everyone accountable on the court, which is like really fun to see, like her ability to play, but then also just play so hard that everyone else around her also wants to play that level. All right, Ben, who's your person that you think is going to have the most impact on their ability to get to the Final Four?
- [33:05]
Ben Pickman
The player I have my eye on, I'm sticking with. Sabrina's theme of the PAC 12 is Lauren Betts, the UCLA Center. And I think she's going to have to play a really big role for the Bruins if they're going to go on a deep run. You look at it, UCLA lost just three times with her on the floor this year. Once to Utah, once to Oregon State, and once to USC in double overtime in the Pac12 tournament. She was someone who didn't play really at all or sign a significant role her freshman year with Stanford. So she transfers to use ucla and Corey Close really has brought the best out of her. And you know, UCLA has a really, really deep roster, but they don't have someone who can easily, you know, swap in and be replaced with the 6 foot 7 center in the middle. And so you look at that region, you know, lsu, Anissa Moore or Angel Reese in the middle, two front court stars and people that bets is going to have to fare really, really well with if they meet in the Sweet sixteen. You have, you know, I wish Lauren Betts could potentially have a big impact in that game. That's a pretty favorable matchup. She could potentially play Ayuka Lee, as I mentioned, in Kansas State. So there's a number of bigs in that region who, you know, I think could pose a threat. But if she fares very, very well, it provides a really good opportunity for UCLA to advance. And so for me, all eyes come on her again. A former number one recruit in the class of 2022. I think she's poised for a really big tournament, especially if UCLA wants to go far.
- [34:22]
Zena Kada
It sounds like we're sticking to the PAC12 here in terms of impactful players. Mark, will you break the mold?
- [34:28]
Mark Schindler
Yeah. No. Well, I'll rapid fire a couple. So I do. Number one, I think Cody McMahon is so for Ohio State, getting to the final Four, especially against like her against Duke, is a really big test because I think when she's able to see the floor like she did the second half of this year, make decisions that's crucial, they need that version of her to keep it in the pack. I would say to Leavon Olhoffen from Oregon State. I think when you talk about what that group does, like going back through Albany one, like, it's not the same level of difficulty as Albany 2, but it's a lot of just really difficult teams to play against. And I think when you look top to bottom, what that could be like. Oregon State having to play against Ole Miss would be so tough if that happened. Obviously, Notre Dame is right there as well. So I think her, when you think about, like, what she's meant to this program and how much they've had to kind of, you know, figure out from last year with what they dealt with, all of those close losses to how they've handled it this year, that team just has a feel to it where I think they're going to go deep this year. And then lastly, Raven Johnson from South Carolina, because I think you, you know, Camilla is going to get most of the headlines because of what she brings as. As such an impactful center and rightfully. But I think Raven Johnson is their most important player. Like, she is the player who dissects defenses. She's arguably the best passer in the country, right behind Caitlin Clark. Like, when you look at what she does for them and setting things up and setting the tone defensively, like, I think that's a player who I want to see continue to have that kind of impact, and I expect her to as South Carolina goes for Final Four.
- [35:57]
Zena Kada
And it's true, like, Raven Johnson's going to have to step up, especially in that first game. They won't have Camila Cardoso available to them. So that's going to be a really great test for her. I mean, the competition might necessarily be the test for her, but it'll be an opportunity for her to showcase, like, just how important she is to be able to get that first win. I am surprised, after all that we've talked about with this, Albany 2, Iowa having this tough road, that Caitlin Clark was not one of your answers. I mean, for them to be able to go through that region, Caitlin Clark's gonna have to break new records. Like, it's gonna be unreal. Okay, that's perfectly fine. I'm putting my vote out there for Caitlin. Ben, you want to say something to that?
- [36:38]
Ben Pickman
You know, I think you're noticing a theme in this podcast that we're definitely getting into the weeds about a lot of other teams. And I think I was appreciative that most Mark brought up Raven Johnson because again, we're 30 some odd minutes in and South Carolina, all roads lead through them. Right. They're 32, and now they're the number one overall seed. I mean, I'd be curious to hear from you guys. Like, I certainly think they have a pretty favorable jaw draw. And I know there was a lot of discussion, you know, they could potentially meet Notre Dame if both teams get to the Elite Eight. And certainly both of those teams, you know, are significantly better than they were when they opened the season and played each other in Paris. But. But, you know, in that game, what South Carolina won by, I think it was around 30 points. I don't have the exact number in front of me, but it was around 30, give or take a point or two. And so, yes, Notre Dame is significantly better, but so, too, is South Carolina. Like, that rematch doesn't scare me as much as some other rematches on the board. I just think they have a favorable draw. And we should remember as we talk about all these sleepers and all these other teams that, you know, they're going for an undefeated season, which would be only the 10th time that has happened in women's college basketball and NCAA Division 1 college basketball. So. So just keep that in mind as you're filling out your brackets, folks. And a lot of these other teams are great, but don't forget about the Gamecocks on the top left of your bracket.
- [37:49]
Zena Kada
Rita, do you want to add.
- [37:50]
Sabrina Merchant
I did just write an article on South Carolina's path into Final Four that we'll be publishing at some point. I don't know while this is recording or simultaneously, who knows? But basically the tenor of it was just, if you're looking for an upset region, this is not the one. This is South Carolina's to lose.
- [38:05]
Zena Kada
Well, let's go. Let's dive into that in terms of being able to fill out your brackets. I know in our last show, we talked about some really good points with Chantelle and Ben of things to look for, especially if there's a team that you've never seen play this season or haven't had a lot of exposure to. And I love some of the things that they talked about was, you know, look at their guards. How many of their guards have had experience in these type of big. On this big stage, look at their defense, you know, these types of things to be able to look for. And I wanted to see if you guys wanted to add to that conversation about when you're looking for upsets, when you're looking for those sleeper teams, when you're looking for those non sleeper teams that are like, no, no, they're wide awake. AKA the Gamecocks. You know, how would you advise our listeners to start looking at their brackets? Mark, I'll start with you.
- [38:49]
Mark Schindler
Oh, wow. I was least prepared to answer this one. I think I would say my biggest thing is, like, you don't want to take too much away from what happened in conference tournament, but I do think in general, like, part of the difficulty in, like, that. I think I've understood a lot more now through, like, doing bracketology. It is really hard to be a 5 seed because you are generally the team that was closest to hosting but had the most trouble making it happen. So I think, like, Colorado gets one of the toughest roads, in my opinion, because Drake is really good and they're one of the teams that can. I mean, they can spread the ball and play legitimately. Five out. And they have some questions defensively against a team that can really put it in the post. Like. Like, Colorado can, but Colorado has defensive questions as well, which I think was a problem down the stretch. So I think that one automatically is really tough. So, like, again, when you talk about where teams are seated, I think that ends up being really important because I didn't used to necessarily understand why it's harder to be a 5C, but I kind of get it now because, like, same thing with, like. All right, if you pull out Baylor, like, Baylor has been really inconsistent this season. We saw them reach up. I think they were at number three at one point. Granted, they had played not as strong out of conference schedule, but really strong start, started really well in the Big 12, and they just haven't found the offense that made them a top five team again. They could do it again, but like, Vanderbilt, they have struggled a lot. I mean, Baylor struggled a lot playing in zone this year. And Vanderbilt plays one of the most consistent and difficult matchup zones in the country if they end up making it. So it's like, there's just so much that goes into it that, like, makes me have a lot more questions and understanding why it's very difficult to be a five or to be a six.
- [40:25]
Zena Kada
Okay, Ben, go ahead.
- [40:27]
Ben Pickman
Can we just also talk about Columbia? This feels like the right time to bring up the 512 and the fact that Columbia made their first NCAA tournament appearance. And I think, you know, Mark kind of alluded to it at the top of biggest surprises. Like, to me, that was the single team that was the biggest surprise that they made the field. I was at the Ivy League final on Saturday night. You know, Princeton defensively was so, so, so, so good throughout the Entirety of the game. Columbia had a turnover on their first possession of the game and, and they struggled really to get stops, but also just create any rhythm. They missed a number of layups that were a little bit uncharacteristic. But Princeton just was so, so smart, so, so smart and physical, was just on top of what they wanted to do and so well prepared and played with such calm that they were so impressive. And Lisa Peterson, you know, the chair of the NCAA committee who put the tournament bracket together, you know, she told reporters that. But the takeaway from that game was more a reflection of Princeton and just how good they were and less a reflection of what she thought Columbia, what she thought their output could be. She looked at it more as a high mark for the Tigers. And so Columbia makes their first NCAA tournament appearance. And Megan Griffith, their coach, right after the game. It took her about 35 minutes for her to sit down at the post game press conference. You know, they were despondent. They played in their home gym. They had high expectations. She immediately sat down. She thanked the administration for creating such a warm environment. And then she started to sell the committee and just make the pitch for committee for Columbia to make the tournament. And she was really impassioned and really emotional and fired up and said, we're basically in the same spot we were last year because Columbia, as you remember, was one of the first, if not the first team out of the field. And so their reaction when they got in was one of the highlights of the night. But they also, you know, they're just going to be exciting. And she called out the sec, like middle of the pack SEC teams. And so it was so fitting that the committee put her and Columbia against Vanderbilt in that first four game. I think it's one of the most appealing 1212 games we've had in a long time. And it sets up a really interesting 512 as Mark was alluding to as well.
- [42:28]
Zena Kada
Sabrina, I love that, by the way. I did love Columbia's reaction. I think it was two opposite ends of Columbia's reaction was amazing. And then the Stanford, Texas, side by side was, oh, espn. You knew what you were doing with that comparison. It was a good one. Sabrina, want to ask you about looking at the, at the bracket, how you're looking at the bracket, how you would encourage our listeners to think about the bracket as you're evaluating teams that you may have not seen play before.
- [42:59]
Sabrina Merchant
I like teams that are good at one particular thing. Like, it's, it's nice to be balanced and be able to you know, score well and defend well. And like, it's just. It's unreasonable to expect, like a team that's an 11 or below to be that good at so many different things. So I'd like them to have one predominant strength that they can really lean on. So if you're looking at, like, I don't know, like Princeton, they just play. I mean, that's just a little bit higher than I would stress. But like a team that has, you know, that significant of a pace advantage, right, and they just don't turn the ball over. And, you know, if you can think of a team that has like one really big post or like one dominant guard that is really good at getting through pressure, you know, just one thing that you can lean on is what I like to look at when I'm trying to pick a lower seated upset because, like, let's face it, like, there's a reason why they're in a lower seed. It's because the team above them has more total strengths than they do. So you can just tone in on one specific advantage. I think that's what I like to, you know, look for in terms of, you know, having some fun at this time.
- [43:54]
Zena Kada
I like it. And last but not least, Ben, I.
- [43:57]
Ben Pickman
Mean, I think I talked about it with Chantel earlier this week. Free throw shooting, I think is really important. And veteran guard, player, two things that, that, that really jump out to me. And one of the things that's really interesting about this year's field is that ucla, obviously Lauren Bets I mentioned is a sophomore, but rather, I was going to say USC and Texas, two of our number one seeds, they're led by freshmen. And so usually we don't see, you know, freshmen or there's kind of a, maybe a bias against freshmen leading their teams on these deep runs because we lean on experience and we lean on veterans who have been in these moments before. But, you know, we have two 1 seeds in this draw, USC and Texas, who are led by Juju Watkins and Madison Booker. So it's going to be really interesting to see how those two players in particular perform in this moment because, you know, they've had great years. They've been, you know, some of the best players in the country, not only their conferences, but they haven't been in the NCAA tournament before. And so that, I think is a fair question to just wonder and track as this goes on because again, single elimination, like, you know, Juju kind of plays the way she did in the PAC12 final. And, you know, who knows, like, they Certainly, they won that game, but that could be it for usc, and they could be, you know, ending their run sooner than they want.
- [45:00]
Zena Kada
It's a really great point because the nerds have to step up in that last game. We say that lovingly and endearingly, by the way, because they're literally called Juju and the Nerds. But of course, we know that juju will have to step up in order for USC to be able to make a deep run. Sabrina, I think you wanted to add.
- [45:16]
Sabrina Merchant
Oh, no, I just. I. I just crack up every time we say the nerds, because it's just fun.
- [45:20]
Zena Kada
Okay.
- [45:20]
Sabrina Merchant
And you also are a nerd, so, like, that's a perfect person to say.
- [45:23]
Zena Kada
I'm part of that. That's why I can say it. I can. I could definitely feel comfortable enough to say it. All right, well, now let's talk a little bit about what you guys are preparing for this tournament. Also, things that are going to be out now before we make our final predictions, because it doesn't just stop with this podcast. There's so much more that our readers, our listeners will be able to read. And so everyone's gonna have to tell me a little bit of something, and then someone's gonna have to fill me in on what Chantelle is doing as well. Mark, where are you at?
- [45:51]
Ben Pickman
Where.
- [45:51]
Zena Kada
Now the bracketology is done. What's the final piece? What can we expect from you here and then also elsewhere?
- [45:58]
Mark Schindler
Well, I am not done with Google Sheets because now I'll be doing power rankings throughout, which I'm excited about. It'll be very fun. I'm still kind of figuring out what all of that's going to look like formulaically and how often it's going to come out, but that will be happening. And honestly, just kind of writing about any and everything that's going on because we've got a lot to. A lot to cover and be ready for.
- [46:19]
Zena Kada
Awesome. Awesome. Looking forward to that, Sabrina.
- [46:22]
Sabrina Merchant
Well, I assume I'll be headed to Portland next weekend, but we don't know. But at the very least, there will be games in Los Angeles that I will be attending this week. So expect more stuff about, you know, Juju the nerds. Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice. I'm hoping that, selfishly, Kiki Rice has a really nice tournament because I just love the idea of Kiki and Juju having a nice LA rivalry heading into the Big Ten next year. And this would be a nice springboard after their. I don't know what's. What's the word? I want to say, like, disdain for one another during the PAC12 tournament. So let's, let's keep building on that.
- [46:53]
Zena Kada
Awesome. I love that. And then you'll have. And you already said, you said you have a piece coming out probably at the time that people are listening to this, but that's about South Carolina's path.
- [47:02]
Sabrina Merchant
Right. And I also have one on Iowa and the region of death, which is how we are dubbing it.
- [47:09]
Zena Kada
I love this. The region of death. Okay, Ben, what's on your docket?
- [47:15]
Ben Pickman
There's a lot on my docket. I mean, we have breakdowns, as Sabrina mentioned of I'm writing on LSU and their path to the Final Four for later this week. I'll have a couple player profiles of some players who, you know, stories we haven't told this year. Some South Carolina stuff is in the works potentially. This week at the Athletic, our staff, we're putting out our coaches poll. We've surveyed, you know, more than 35 coaches about a number of different topics. So. So we'll have that out at the site. We'll do some daily briefings as the games get underway. Just as a team, we have a lot of stuff coming out, features, thematic pieces. You know, I can mention what Chantelle has a number of stories that you're going to want to check out that she's been working on for a while from different parts of the country that are going to be really interesting and are certainly worth a read. Times two and a reread. We'll be traveling to all these games. We'll do this podcast. It's just constant. It is constant, especially now. And it will be until April 7th when the NCAA Final in Cleveland comes to an end.
- [48:15]
Zena Kada
Okay.
- [48:15]
Sabrina Merchant
I can't decide if Ben is excited or just like literally counting days down until April 7th.
- [48:21]
Zena Kada
I was going to say the true word instead of constant. I think he wants to say it's madness that's about to happen. Obviously, it is March Madness. It's very fitting, but we appreciate you guys doing this for us so that we can, you know, partake in the tournament and get your insights all tournament long. All right, so now that we've reached the end of the show, it is time to ask you for your Final Four predictions. I'm going to let you all decide. Who wants to go first? Raise your hand. Anyone?
- [48:47]
Mark Schindler
I'll go.
- [48:48]
Zena Kada
Go. Mark, you got to step up.
- [48:50]
Mark Schindler
Yeah. Why not? Out of Albany One, I have South Carolina coming out. I feel very comfortable about that. I will go to Albany. Two last, because I'm still, still in my head. Portland 4. I don't feel amazing about it, but I'm gonna put NC State just what the potential path could be. Yeah. And then Portland. Portland 3. I will have Southern California out of Albany. 2. This one is so like, I just. I'm going to say Kansas State. I'm going to say Kansas State. I love Iowa. I think I was incredible. I think Caitlin Clark is amazing. I think West Virginia, Princeton is awful. Like that is the. Like I just can't fathom having to play one West Virginia or Princeton. And you'll say, well, you have to play Iowa. Okay. Have you watched West Virginia play defense? That team is a lot better than I think people realize and they give a lot of guards trouble. Obviously Caitlin Clark is a different brand of guard. West Virginia is a different brand of defense, man. And I don't think I was going to guard West Virginia the best. So if West Virginia gets there.
- [49:52]
Zena Kada
Okay, so Kansas City. Yeah.
- [49:54]
Mark Schindler
Yeah.
- [49:55]
Zena Kada
Mark opening up the floodgates. I love this. This is the way I like to get it going. All right, Ben, Sabrina, Mark just did the dirty work for you. He started open and he chose some teams that some people weren't thinking of. Who's going up next?
- [50:10]
Sabrina Merchant
I'll take South Carolina. I think that's the easiest one. I'm going to go Texas. Just what I saw out of Madison Booker in that Big 12 final. She's just a stone cold killer and I don't see a lot of those in that region, honestly. So that's, that's what I'm gonna go Texas. I'm gonna go Yukon. Texas out of. Out of Portland.
- [50:30]
Mark Schindler
I'd like to switch my answer to Texas. I didn't look at the one line well enough.
- [50:36]
Zena Kada
You know what, listen, everyone gets the first round and by the time everyone finishes, if you are still with your thoughts or not, you can blurt them out after.
- [50:44]
Sabrina Merchant
But first we had a lot of episodes coming out. Mark, don't worry about it. You can, you can update.
- [50:49]
Zena Kada
All right, go ahead.
- [50:50]
Sabrina Merchant
I'm going to go. I'm going to go Yukon and Portland. 3. Just speaking of stone cold killers, that's what I think of Paige Beckers and I mean the last time she was healthy they, she basically single handedly took that team to a national title game. So I feel good about that. And then Albany to Dear God. Let's go UCLA.
- [51:09]
Zena Kada
Okay. All right. So South Carolina. UCLA.
- [51:14]
Sabrina Merchant
Texas and UConn.
- [51:16]
Zena Kada
Texas and UConn for Sabrina. Ben Lego.
- [51:20]
Ben Pickman
I'm going to assume the role that Sabrina normally plays with my predictions. Again, I have South Carolina going on to the Final Four. I think, as Rina said, not a lot needs to be said there. I think that is we are unanimous there. I have Stanford making it out of Portland for. I think I certainly have a little bit of questions. We saw in the Pac12 tournament like they are vulnerable, especially if camera Brink gets into foul trouble. But she's the best player in the region. She's an experienced player in the region. Kikuri often. I think this could be a launch pad for her. Maybe the most approved player in the country. And, you know, someone who I think a lot of WNB executives are really interested to see how she performs in this tournament because she's had such a great year. So I like Stanford out of Portland 4. Portland 3, I think is really, really hard. I think the case Sabrina made for UConn is a really, really strong one. I just. Just worry about their depth and I worry about health and, you know, players just continue to go down. And Paige is great. Aaliyah Edwards is great. It's a team that is experienced. But Ohio State gives me some pause because Ohio State beat UConn last year in the NCAA tournament and so I struggled to just write UConn in. So I'm going to go with USC in the end. I don't love betting on freshman overall, but juju Watkins is that special of a player. And I actually, I'm going to combine some predictions that you both have made, Mark and Sabrina. I like Kansas State beating Iowa in the sweet 16, but I actually like UCLA advancing out of Albany 2 as well and getting to the Final Four. So I have three pack 12 teams and the South Carolina Gamecocks.
- [52:47]
Sabrina Merchant
No one has the defending national champions making it to the Final Four.
- [52:51]
Zena Kada
That's what I'm saying. I'm like, dang. And you know, that's another player that I was thinking is going to be unbelievably burdened, I think, to get her team to the. To the Final Four. And that's Angel Reese. She's gonna have to have some 20 and 20 nights, I think, and also stay out of style trouble. So, man. Interesting now with those three predictions out. Mark, did you want to update? Did you want to change?
- [53:14]
Mark Schindler
Yes, I do want to update. I'm going to go with Albany 1, South Carolina, Albany 2. I'm going with Kansas State, Portland 3, Southern Cal and Portland 4, Texas.
- [53:25]
Zena Kada
All right, time for me to make my predictions. I'm not going to be as eloquent and as beautifully put about that. I'm just gonna have the things I like watching and what I liked out of them. South Carolina for me. Regional one in Albany. And we're gonna leave Albany too, for last. Portland 4. I'm gonna switch it up. I'm gonna go NC State. I'm gonna go NC State over Texas. I just like James and Rivers. I love them in a bad court. Yeah. And then Albany 2. Actually, no, I can go Portland 3. Portland 3. I'm gonna go Ohio State. I'm gonna bet on defense and Portland three. And then in Albany two, I'm gonna go ucla. So overall, South Carolina, North Carolina State, Ohio State, UCLA was painful. I don't know why I have such anxiety just saying that out loud. We'll make sure to get Chantelle's predictions as well. But this is what's going on. This is what's going on, folks. Tune in. What's so fun right now is that the country, I think, is paying more attention to what's going on women's basketball than they are on men's side. There's so much more storylines here. There's. As you've heard throughout this hour long podcast, who knew you could talk about a 30 minute or 37 minute selection show for even longer than the actual selection show? All right, Ben, Mark, Sabrina, before we go, any final words?
- [54:51]
Ben Pickman
All right. Don't we have to make a title prediction?
- [54:53]
Zena Kada
Oh, yeah, that's true. I didn't know if we had to make it.
- [54:56]
Sabrina Merchant
I think we could stop there. This is fine. We got time before a title prediction. I mean, considering how good our title predictions were the day of the title game last year, let's give it the little grace.
- [55:07]
Zena Kada
That's true. No, you're right. We should make title predictions. I felt like we could wait, but you're right, we should make them. Go ahead. Out of your four, Mark, who's going to the championship game and who's winning? This is why I was like, I.
- [55:22]
Mark Schindler
Don'T know if I want to do this. I'll just say I can go first.
- [55:26]
Sabrina Merchant
If you'd like to keep thinking.
- [55:27]
Mark Schindler
South Carolina has been South Carolina the entire year.
- [55:30]
Zena Kada
Wait, South Carolina versus who?
- [55:31]
Mark Schindler
Oh, it has to be against somebody. Let's do South Carolina versus Southern Cal. Why not just make it just. Just be as annoying as possible with acronyms, but also like a legitimate national title game.
- [55:43]
Zena Kada
Okay, I like it. Sabrina.
- [55:46]
Sabrina Merchant
South Carolina over ucla.
- [55:48]
Zena Kada
I'm going to go ahead and say that. That's my prediction as well. South Carolina over ucla. Ben, go.
- [55:53]
Ben Pickman
I'm going to Take UCLA to beat South Carolina.
- [55:56]
Zena Kada
Oh, okay.
- [55:58]
Sabrina Merchant
I just want to say that Ben has been saying this all season long, so I'm very glad that he's sticking with it.
- [56:03]
Zena Kada
Stand on business. I love it. Here we go. All right. The funny part is that our other writer, Chantelle Jennings, is not here technically. And I put here in quotations because she's, she's working, she's writing right now. But I would love, love to have heard some of her thoughts on this podcast. We'll make sure that she joins. Alrighty. Let's actually close the show, guys. We are having way too much fun on this Sunday evening. Mind you, it's 11:26pm for Mark Schindler, so we're gonna let him go to sleep and for Ben as well on the East Coast. But we appreciate you guys tuning in. As you heard Ben, Sabrina and Mark say, we have so much content that's about to come out. Please subscribe to the Athletic. Make sure you don't miss out on any of it. And listening my voice will be better. You will not have to hear this all tournament long, I promise you. And I apologize that you have to just do that for an hour long session. But anyhow, appreciate you all tuning in for our Selection Sunday Reaction show. Hit that subscribe button on our show. Leave us comments if you have questions or topics or anything about what we've said or what you'd like us to cover for. Now, for Mark, for Ben, for Sabrina, and for Chantelle, who's somewhere working, I'm Zena Kada, thanking you for your ear for listening to my voice and encouraging you to keep listening, keep learning, and keep loving the game and to watch the tournament because that's the only way we're gonna keep throwing it. All right, until next time.
- [57:37]
Sabrina Merchant
As we.
- [57:38]
Zena Kada
Head into the playoffs, it's safe to.
- [57:39]
Ben Pickman
Assume there will be a few calls.
- [57:41]
Zena Kada
Made by the refs that will be hard to accept. But you know what isn't hard to accept? Discover. Believe it or not, Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide.
- [57:52]
Ben Pickman
You heard that right, 99%. So make a good call for your.
- [57:56]
Zena Kada
Wallet and get Discover. Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Learn more at discover.com creditcard this podcast.
- [58:03]
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- [58:56]
Mark Schindler
ACAST powers the world's best podcasts Here's a show that we recommend. Remember blowing into a video game cartridge.
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Or taping songs off the radio?
- [59:09]
Mark Schindler
How about Saturday morning cartoons?
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Hey, AOL chat rooms.
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Mark Schindler
Did we just age ourselves? Yep. We're Mike Fenoya and Charles McBee, two.
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Comedians getting nostalgic and asking that nagging.
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Mark Schindler
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Zena Kada
Are we old?
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Mark Schindler
Podcast right here on acast. ACAST helps creators launch, grow, and monetize their podcasts everywhere.
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Sabrina Merchant
Acast.com.