← No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
The Biggest Conference Tournament Matchups To Watch For
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- [00:00]
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- [01:30]
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- [02:17]
Zena Kaeda
Hello everyone and welcome to no offseason. I'm Zena Kaeda.
- [02:20]
Chantelle Jennings
I'm Shantelle Jennings.
- [02:22]
Sabrina Merchant
And I'm Sabrina Merchant.
- [02:24]
Zena Kaeda
And today on the show, with the NCAA Tournament on the horizon, momentum is heating up across every conference. We're going to take a full conference tournament look, breaking down what to expect from the powerhouse conferences as March Madness approaches and highlighting the mid majors where teams are battling to punch their tickets to the tournament. But first, we have to announce that the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Women's basketball team has announced that they are parting ways with their head coach, Coquese Washington. Ladies, this was the first unexpected coach firing of the season. And I'm curious what you guys thoughts are on not only what does this say about the state of needing to win in women's basketball right now, but also the state of the current opportunities of jobs that might open up this year.
- [03:09]
Chantelle Jennings
Yeah, I think the idea of we've gone back to this on the show before a hot seat. Rutgers finished 1 in 17 in the Big Ten. They finished in 18th place in the Big Ten. They didn't win enough basketball games. And the name of the game in this career path is you have to win. Winner stays. But I think what makes this job specifically unexpected that they fired Coquese Washington is that they're going to owe her about 1.7 million in a buyout. And so that's what makes it a little more surprising. It's that if you say someone lost their job after going 1 in 17 in conference play, it's like, okay, yeah, in women's basketball, okay, they're going to pay her a lot of money to leave. Obviously, if she gets a job elsewhere, it gets broken up differently because of how the contract works and all of that. But they're paying her a lot of money to go away. And so I think what that tells me is that Rutgers was not willing to do two more years of losing. Potentially, they want to do better than 1 in 17. So we'll see what happens with that. What can make Rutgers a better job, at least when I'm talking to agents who work with these contracts, is getting Rev Share. Like, obviously salary really really matters. There are benefits and bonuses that really, really matter. But right now, one of the things that coaches are really hoping to secure in their contracts is Rev Share, which will make it really interesting from a reporter perspective. Because if coaches and agents are successful writing this into contracts, that becomes public data, which currently it's really hard to get those Rev Share numbers. And I think universities are a little bit hesitant to put it in something like a contract. But coaches are saying, like, you know, if you're going to have a commitment to my team, to this, this basketball team that I'm coaching, I want Rev share and I want it contractually obligated from the university to me. And so the question is, can can Rutgers get to a place where they're having 4, 5, 6% of Rev share from a Big Ten university? So you've got amount of money there so that they're able to share in this for the players. I think that could make the Rutgers job and the Rutgers roster a lot more interesting for players and transfers.
- [05:17]
Zena Kaeda
It does feel like schools and colleges are going to become more competitive in the things that they place in contracts and the way they set up contracts to be able to get the best coaches, especially when there is so much revenue to be had, when people are supporting your program and you're being able to find success and you're winning. More and more media attention, more and more visibility means more and more sponsorship dollars, which means more and more dollars if you get to the tournament and you're able to produce and get some wins. So this is gonna be very interesting. Okay, well, that job is open in case anybody's listening and they want one. But we think that there could be more to come, especially as we get to the end of this season and some teams are shaping up to see, what are we doing? How are we performing? How are we doing with the transfer portal? Are we winning games? All the above. There's a lot of work that some. I was going to say front offices, but schools, they. They start to operate like front office.
- [06:14]
Sabrina Merchant
I think you're correct.
- [06:14]
Zena Kaeda
I was just gonna say they're starting to operate like that, but they're gonna have some decisions to make. But let's. On that note, speaking of winning and where people are at and assessing performances. Okay, y', all, it's finally time for the Sabrina scale. Yes. Okay, Sabrina, you had your eye on a few big matchups, so let's start in the sec. South Carolina almost got taken down by Kentucky. They won 60 to 56. South Carolina remains at number three in your rankings this week. Looking at them, what's the biggest thing that's catching your eye?
- [06:52]
Sabrina Merchant
The biggest thing that's catching my eye is that Medina okot just, like, takes threes regularly now. And they not just takes. Not just takes three pointers.
- [07:02]
Chantelle Jennings
Not just taking them.
- [07:04]
Zena Kaeda
She's making them, stepping back into them. This is crazy. This is crazy.
- [07:10]
Sabrina Merchant
I mean, there was, like. There's, like in one set, you know, that I had in the power rankings this week where, like, she's, you know, coming off a flare screen, and you'd expect her to sort of like, roll to the basketball to the top of the key. There's another one where she's just sort of like, has Teoneki on her, and instead of, like, you know, driving to the basket, she again, just steps back. It didn't end up being a three pointer, but it was a long two And I'm sure, like it's the kind of thing that could eventually be a corner three pointer. But yeah, just to recap, took zero three pointers at Mississippi State, took about five three pointers for the first 25 games of this season. And now every game it's at least two. Just casually, you know, Raven Johnson, Medina Ocott, pick and pop. And again they just keep going in, right. Like she's got a good looking stroke and it just feels like a little unfair when you're playing South Carolina when you're like, you've done everything right in this possession. You know, you have Clara Strack, preeminent shot blocker who can protect the paint and is doing a good job against Okot, you know, you've got your defensive principles. And then their six six center just steps out and is like, nope, nevermind, don't worry.
- [08:11]
Zena Kaeda
And it is. We do have to give credit to the footwork because that was what I was paying attention to. Like, yes, the shot alone is, is great, but footwork around a flare, being able to step back, y', all, six, six is not an easy height to be doing that stuff as a woman. I'm clumsy. I'm clumsy and I'm not even close to that. So that is incredibly impressive. And it's, it's awesome to see the development that's happening at South Carolina with Ocott, but absolutely. Okay, let's keep it going. There was a really fun game. So there's tons of fun games this weekend. But if you were looking at the acc, specifically Duke, Carolina fed families. Okay, fed families. Unbelievable. Tight game. But you all, they kept saying this throughout the broadcast. This would not change where Duke and Carolina would end up in terms of their ranking. But it could change depending on who won. Whether Duke got the win for or got the title for the ACC outright versus possibly having to share it with Louisville. So it kind of was like the perfect setup to watch Louisville and Notre Dame later on that day. And whoo. I think Hannah Hidalgo was listening to that game the whole time because she was revved up for this game.
- [09:24]
Sabrina Merchant
Does she have like a personal interest in getting Duke an outright title? Like, I don't see why.
- [09:27]
Zena Kaeda
I don't know. Or just keeping Louisville from doing right. I feel like she was just like, I am going to make sure that y' all don't get any piece of this pie and giving it to Duke at the same time. Who knows? But you know what this might be? Is she trying to play for Team usa? Carol Lawson? That's what it is. She's trying to help out Cara.
- [09:44]
Chantelle Jennings
That's what it is.
- [09:44]
Zena Kaeda
Okay, just joking. Just joking. But Notre Dame edged out Louisville 65, 62. They moved up in your rankings, going from number 25 last week to number 22 this week. What was the reason to you behind their rise?
- [09:58]
Sabrina Merchant
You know who might have had a vested interest in getting Duke an outright title is Vanessa DeJesus, who spent her first five seasons at Duke before transferring to Notre Dame and had quite a nice game for the Irish against Louisville. I think she had. Was it four three pointers? Yeah, four three pointers in that matchup, which frankly, like, I've been really struggling with how to gauge Notre Dame this season because I love what Hannah is doing. And then everything else is just like, where is any other contribution going to come from on this team beyond what Hannah Hidalgo is doing? And it kind of felt like that against Lu, where in the second quarter, she scores her assists on 23 points. And in the fourth quarter, you know, it's like she steals, scores. She steals. She's a three pointer.
- [10:40]
Zena Kaeda
Like, yep.
- [10:41]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, it's a lot of. We rely on this one person to make everything happen. And it's why I've struggled to put Notre Dame any higher in the rankings, because if you manage to have a good defender on Hannah Hidalgo and she has an off night, like, things can look very, very ugly for Notre Dame. But then again, she is one of the five best players maybe in the country. All American ballots are going to be quite a pain to put together, but when she can do that, it's like, oh, yeah, well, it doesn't really matter who you have around her because Hannah Hidalgo is the best player on the court by a significant margin and she can make very special things happen. And it was just kind of fun that after all of the talent exodus out of Notre Dame and all of the drama and interpersonal things that have sort of besought this program over the last year, just to watch them like, and watch Hidalgo have just a really good time taking that outright title away from Louisville and I should say taking a share of the title away from Louisville and sort of putting her stamp on the ACC Player of the Year race and taking care of this matchup. And Notre Dame and Louisville always seemed to have very pivotal matchups at the end of the season. I remember vividly a couple years ago with Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron having to clinch their Sarah the ACC against Louisville. But it's just very fun to watch a great player do great things. And Hannah Hidalgo Doing like literally everything that makes her special with the ball disruption, with the fun little teardrops, with the mid range jumper, with all of just the chaotic frenzy. Hannah Hidalgo ness. Yeah, exactly. It was a good encapsulation of what makes her her. And just a reminder that, like, if Notre Dame can add just a smidge more of talent next season, that's another team that you have to keep on your, you know, on your radar.
- [12:20]
Chantelle Jennings
I'm glad you said that because I feel like this is kind of, you know, I think throughout the whole season I'm always in the back of my head thinking, like, what are these teams going to look like next year? Obviously there's a whole season to enjoy these teams, but like, all right, what do we have coming eight months from now? But this is kind of the time of the year where I really start thinking about it because there are some of these teams that might only play two more games at this point, right. And so, you know, hopefully more for a lot of them, but some of these teams, we're not going to get to see them that many more times in this iteration. And I'm looking at this Notre Dame team, which had such high hopes for this season, and they came crashing down. They're on this great sort of run late in the season. But you watch Hannah in that game and you're like, God, she is so fun. And you wonder if other players around the country are sort of seeing the highlights and thinking, you know, seeing like, oh, seven assists a game, I could be on the receiving end of that. Like, there seem to be some minutes open up at Notre Dame. Looks like Neil Ivey might be looking for ways and players to put around Hannah Hidalgo. And so I think games like this really sort of like, pique my interest. Not only for what it might mean. Looking at the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament, and we think about, you know, if they go on a run here and it's very like, Hannah Hidalgo specific. You look at these last three games where she totaled 88 points and like 17 assists or something like that, or 20 assists, whatever it was, and like, you're like, okay, that was sort of moving into the, the postseason. That's what she was doing. But you also wonder, like, are other players watching this going maybe Notre Dame, like, let's see what, let's see if I could maybe be a fit there. Because this is obviously a team that it's. They're just going to be relevant forever in my mind, when it comes to women's basketball. They're not going to be in a relevant team. And so it's like, who can Neil Ivey bring in next year to put around Hannah Hidalgo to bring this team back to where it wants to be to hopefully get over that sweet 16 hump that is sort of kept them back the last few seasons?
- [14:11]
Zena Kaeda
Remind me, y', all, when does the transfer portal open again?
- [14:14]
Sabrina Merchant
After the national title?
- [14:15]
Chantelle Jennings
The day after the national title game.
- [14:16]
Zena Kaeda
The day after.
- [14:17]
Chantelle Jennings
Okay.
- [14:18]
Zena Kaeda
Okay. All right. I feel like there's some teams that are probably knowing that they're not going and are already looking at those highlights and clips, as you mentioned, Chantel.
- [14:26]
Chantelle Jennings
And I mean, let's be clear, too. It's, it's, it legally opens, players can legally put their name in the day after the title game. They're like, tampering is happening all the time.
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Zena Kaeda
Like, yeah, listen, listen to us franchises tampering. Are we talking talking college again?
- [14:44]
Sabrina Merchant
Are we still talking amateurs, amateur for the love?
- [14:46]
Zena Kaeda
Next up, next up, we're going to talk about all the action in conference play across the association, especially as these tournaments heat up.
- [15:01]
TurboTax Announcer
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- [16:01]
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- [16:31]
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- [16:47]
Sabrina Merchant
Yep.
- [16:48]
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- [17:08]
Zena Kaeda
All right, everyone. Conference tournaments are tipping off this week across much of the ncaa. Automatic bids are up for grabs, bubble teams are battling to survive and the top seeds are battling to maintain their dominance. So we want to take a look at some these conferences and get you ready for the madness that is inevitably coming. All right, so Chantel, Sabrina, let's go ahead and first dive into the powerhouse conferences. These are the ones that are typically at the top of the America's minds because they're typically playing in the big games. They've been battling these, these double ranked matchups that we've been seeing recently have been a lot of fun. What are we expecting to see out of these conferences? And Chantel, I'll not only start with you, you get to choose which power conference we start with.
- [17:55]
Chantelle Jennings
I love that. Well, I think the reason why it's good that we're starting here is that, you know, the, the second top 16 reveal just came out this past weekend on March 1st. And you know, as writers, as fans, for everyone listening, like what we're doing at this point is we're taking a list of 16 teams and imagining what do 12 people on the Division 1 basketball committee care about based off of this list of 16 teams. Which is a hilarious task but like, let's read into it as much as we can. And I think the thing that has stood out to me is that winning recently matters and head to head matters. I think in the first iteration of this that came out on February 14, we saw Vanderbilt over Texas. Vandy had just beat Texas. That made a lot of sense. Then Vanderbilt obviously goes to Georgia, loses. Things start getting a little bit murky there. This most recent iteration, Michigan goes to Iowa City, gets their butts kicked. Iowa leapfrogs Michigan in this most recent top 16. And so what I think this means for teams specifically looking at these conference tournaments is that these games matter. Like, the committee has a long memory, but what they're looking at is most recently, what have you done for me? And so I'm looking at, let's start with the Big Ten. You've got three potential games on Friday that I think could really shake things up. And the Big Ten has seven teams in this top 16 reveal. But a lot of those teams are sort of in the bottom third. UCLA is obviously way up to the top at number two. But then you have Maryland at 13, Michigan State at 14, Minnesota at 15, and Ohio State at 16. If Ohio State, Maryland and Michigan State all win on Thursday, they face another team that's sort of in that bubbly area of hosting. So you have Ohio State, if they win Thursday, they would play number 15, Minnesota. Maryland, if they win Thursday, they would face Michigan, which is number eight in the pool. And Michigan State, which is at 14, would face Iowa, which is number six if they went on Thursday. And so you sort of have these huge games for teams that want to host very badly that are sort of must win or must solidify games. And I think that sort of intensity and that sort of pressure could bring out the best in teams. And so I'm really fascinated to watch the Big Ten tournament.
- [20:08]
Zena Kaeda
Yeah, that's probably why I was a little bit surprised by how much Ohio State beat down Michigan State. Cause I'm thinking recency bias, that ain't gonna look good because it's not only what have you done for me lately, but it's how have you done those things for me lately. Have you been competitive in these games? I'm so curious as to whip that with a lot of these teams, teams being in the middle part of this top 16 in terms of hosting or towards the bottom part of this, this hosting list, how the tournament could help them. And as I think about how the tournament could help them, the only way you can really be helped in the tournament is if you beat ucla. So any predictions, Sabrina Chantel, who could actually maybe upset some folks in the tournament, particularly UCLA in the Big Ten?
- [20:58]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, I don't see UCLA getting beaten. I realize this is foreign territory for them. Everybody else is going to have a much bigger fan base in Indianapolis than UCLA will, who doesn't exactly come from normal Big Ten country. And their championship last year came against usc, which didn't exactly have the local advantage that a Michigan or an Iowa might in this situation. But UCLA has just been head and shoulders above the rest of the Big Ten this season. And admittedly they only beat Michigan by three in that game at Ann Arbor. But there's some weird things that happened at the end of that game that I don't think are necessarily replicable, especially when you're outside of that home court. So, yeah, maybe this is boring, maybe I sound like a homer. But like, we watched UCLA over these last few weeks, like, they've just been consistently excellent over and over again. And they have specific advantages, whether that's in the paint, whether that's what they're shooting, that make them very difficult for these other teams to contend with. So, yeah, I mean, is it lame to say that a team that went 18. 0 in conference is going to win another three games this weekend? Sure, but that's what I think is going to happen.
- [21:59]
Zena Kaeda
I don't think it's a fair assessment. Chantelle, who do you think? Who's the team? We're not expecting to battle UCLA in the final for their conference tournament.
- [22:09]
Chantelle Jennings
I mean, the hard part about that though is like, UCLA is just better than everyone else in this conference right now. And that's not an insult to any other teams in this conference because I think there's a lot of quality teams in the Big Ten. Like, there's a reason why there are seven in this top 16 reveal. I think the has shown how much respect they have for the depth of the Big Ten. But ucla, it's just like weapon after weapon after weapon after weapon. And if you can, you know, how many times can we talk about, like, get the ball to Lauren game on this podcast? But it's like, even if you shut down Lauren Betts, it's like, okay, Kiki Rice is going to have a big game. Gabriella Hawk is going to have a big game. Gianna Neepkins is going to have a big game. It's like every highlight you watch of ucla, it's just another player and you sort of feel like, you know, Corey Close is just like pulling him off the bench and like, here, go have a big play. Go have a big play. Go have a big play. But, like, that's what UCLA is right now. I think the team that I am, you know, if we're talking about homers, like, here I go. I guess. I guess Michigan is one team that I'm really curious to watch again. I. They had a three point loss at home in Ann Arbor. But like, man, Olivia Olson is playing some incredible basketball as of late. Like, even since that game, just like the tear that she is on right now. Minnesota native, like, I just feel like if we can get some big Olivia, right, if we can get some big Olivia Olson games here, that would be really, really exciting. And could that be enough to tilt the scales for Michigan? I suppose I just don't think, like it would have to be really quite a bit. And UCLA would also have to have some self inflicted wounds, which they did at the end of that game in Ann Arbor. And so I don't see that happening. I think this UCLA team is too good, too talented and too disciplined this point in the season. Like, they have their eyes set on a Final Four national title. And I don't think they're going to get tripped up in the Big Ten tournament.
- [24:00]
Zena Kaeda
All right, well, let's turn to a conference where there's a lot of possibility for getting tripped up, mainly because the depth is there. It's not quite showing up in the top 16 in the same way that the Big Ten is. But the SEC obviously has some really big powerhouses battling. South Carolina, leading the pack, Texas, Vanderbilt. Where do we see their conference tournament play impacting them the most? Like who stands to gain the most from their appearance and their wins in the conference tournament? Sabrina, I'll start with you.
- [24:37]
Sabrina Merchant
I think Texas has a ton to gain here because one, they can solidify a one seed by beating Vanderbilt, which is potential semifinal matchup. And then two, they can get a higher one seed by beating South Carolina in the final, which a higher one seed means you play in Fort Worth, as opposed to Sacramento, which is kind of a big deal if you're Texas. Yeah, huge deal. So, yeah, I think the Longhorns have the most to gain here. The problem is SEC tournament, Greenville, South Carolina. South Carolina doesn't lose in South Carolina. So as much as the upside exists, to me, I would be shocked if we ended Sunday and the Gamecocks weren't once again cutting down the nets as SEC champs.
- [25:16]
Zena Kaeda
Okay, okay, Chantel, got to turn my attention to Oklahoma. They're one of those teams that's kind of just like floating around in the SEC because South Carolina, Texas and Vanderbilt are getting so much attention. Where do they fit and what could we see them do in the conference tournament there?
- [25:35]
Chantelle Jennings
So if Oklahoma beats the winner of Mississippi State Florida, we could have a bit of a rehash of what we had in late January, which was first a game against LSU and then a game against South Carolina. Oklahoma got their butts kicked by lsu. Not a great game for Aliyah Chavez. She came back, obviously in that South Carolina game, had that crazy overtime, the I took it personal overtime game, which we can call it. And South Carolina is not going to forget that game. And I think Oklahoma is not going to forget The LSU game. I think Oklahoma has an interesting position here in terms of winning a few games. They're also sort of in that bottom quadrant of the hosting. They're at number 12 right now,
- [26:18]
Zena Kaeda
so
- [26:18]
Chantelle Jennings
they have an opportunity to solidify their hosting abilities, which, you know, with a game, with a win or two, which would be huge for Jenny Baranchic and her group.
- [26:28]
Zena Kaeda
I'm happy you mentioned LSU because that is the last thing I want to talk about when it comes to conference tournament predictions. They have a tendency to rise for the big moments. We saw them beat Texas. We know that you just mentioned that they beat Oklahoma, but they're kind of like the. I don't wanna call it the ugly stepchild, but like, of the top four, they're often not the top. They're just not talked about in the same degree as South Carolina, Texas and Vandy. What do we make of what LSU could potentially do in the conference tournament? Especially because this is a big stage and we know they are capable of rising to the big stages.
- [27:09]
Sabrina Merchant
Well, I mean, the reason that they're sort of the forgotten stepchild is because they haven't beaten South Carolina in, what, 17, 18 tries. They did not beat Vanderbilt this year. You think about how close they got to beating South Carolina two years ago in the SEC tournament. And then Camila Cardoso hits that. Sorry, that was Tennessee. But LSU just, they don't win SEC tournaments. Right? Like, they kind of show up for the big dance. But, like, the SEC tournament has never been a Kim Mulchy special. Right? Like, this is not where they excel. So I think there's a reason why they are sort of on that second tier. And like, they obviously have nothing to worry about in this tournament because they're solidified of being in that top 16. They're going to be a three seed or a two seed, no problem. And the only way they can really gain is if they beat South Carolina. And spoiler alert, I don't think they're going to beat South Carolina, even though this is their chance here. So I'm happy to be surprised. They obviously got very close in that game against the Gamecocks at lsu. But again, it's so much harder when you're in Greenville and you're basically on South Carolina's home court. And it's a distinct advantage that the Gamecocks get to have. They put on a great tournament. So no shade to the sec, but it's really hard for other teams to go in there and beat South Carolina. And no one's proven capable of doing it. And so that doesn't necessarily preclude LSU or Texas's or Vanderbilt's chances in the NCAA tournament. But as long as these games are being held in South Carolina, I just find it really hard that anyone's going to pull some sort of massive upset.
- [28:37]
Chantelle Jennings
I just feel like if anyone can get to Greenville on Saturday, like there is a possibility for two really good games though, because do I think LSU can upset South Carolina? No, I don't, because it's basically like you said, a home game for them. So. But if you can get to Greenville, it is a lovely city. The weather's probably going to be great. I bet the sun is going to be out. But you should go sit in an arena and watch these two basketball games because if what we have on Saturday is lsu, South Carolina and a chance for LSU to avenge that loss that I know Flage took so hard, and if we have Texas, Vanderbilt as the other game, like, what a damn good day of hoops in Greenville, like your eyes should be. I mean, our eyes are going to be everywhere, but if you can get to green and you know, I'm guessing that South Carolina fans will have bought up all the tickets at that point, but like great energy, great arena, great city, and the basketball is going to be so, so good if we have those two games.
- [29:33]
Zena Kaeda
Sublime. Agreed. Agreed. Agreed. Agreed.
- [29:36]
Sabrina Merchant
Agreed.
- [29:36]
Zena Kaeda
Okay. I love all of this. All right, let's keep it going. The acc, Duke officially gets the title, the regular season title, but there is a conference tournament to be had. And of course, I'm sure Louisville wants to be able to fix what they lost against Notre Dame. I'm sure Notre Dame wants to try and upset some of these folks feeling like they were slept on all year. But there's a few teams in the ACC that might want to use this as an opportunity to get a few wins for the committee to look at. So what are some of our predictions around the acc? Who might win and also so who are we not expecting to be in that final game that might show up? Sabrina, I'll start with you.
- [30:21]
Sabrina Merchant
So, yeah, Duke and Louisville have basically been at the top of this conference for the entire regular season, but they both had two slip ups in their last three games and I don't think they're at their best at this moment. Whereas North Carolina has been playing awesome basketball. Old favorite Elena Ardesalo just crushing it for Carolina right now.
- [30:38]
Zena Kaeda
Oh my gosh, every time I watch her, Chantel, I think of you because I still vividly remember her first game playing for ucla and I can't remember, I think it was Kiki that was like, hurt or something and she had to play extended minutes and you were like, I'm obsessed with this Arnisallo girl. And I've just been, like, paying attention to her. For me, she seems taller, she seems bigger this year, but it's because she's just playing bigger and getting.
- [31:02]
Sabrina Merchant
I think it also helps when you're not standing next to, like, Lauren Betts
- [31:05]
Zena Kaeda
and Angela D. Maybe that's what it is.
- [31:06]
Sabrina Merchant
Tina Gardner all the time.
- [31:07]
Zena Kaeda
Yeah, right, right, right. But she just. She also just, like, plays bigger in terms of her presence. But yes, keep going.
- [31:13]
Sabrina Merchant
And North Carolina's playing as well as anybo, and they have a really good chance of making some noise here. I mean, you already mentioned Notre Dame. I don't really think this is the kind of conference where someone from the lower seeds is going to make a breakthrough. Like, I just don't have a ton of faith in the Virginia Techs, Virginia Syracuses of, you know, the likes to make an upset here. But there is a lot of obviously, bubble implications here. These are all teams that are kind of on the 1112 line that could really use at least one or two good wins in this tournament. So I expect it to be very competitive every day. But I do think it's probably going to be one of those top three seeds, Duke, Louisville, Carolina or Notre Dame taking home the title by the time this thing finishes.
- [31:54]
Zena Kaeda
Chantel, thoughts on the acc?
- [31:58]
Chantelle Jennings
Yeah, I think, you know, the first two conferences that we've talked about so far, it sort of feels like the top seed is the team that's going to win. This is one that I actually think you should keep your eyes on because like Sabrina said, North Carolina has been playing fantastic basketball the last six weeks. They have one loss since, you know, mid January, and it came by four points to Duke and then questionable reference
- [32:19]
Sabrina Merchant
against Duke in that loss.
- [32:23]
Chantelle Jennings
Well, let's.
- [32:24]
Zena Kaeda
Very interesting.
- [32:25]
Chantelle Jennings
You know, I'm always here for an officiating discussion, but, you know, you look at a team that's building momentum, playing well together, peaking at the right time, like, these are all of the pieces for a recipe for success in March and beyond. And so, you know, do I think that North Carolina is a team that has a Final Four run in them? Probably not. I don't think there's the talent on the roster for that right now. But I. I do think that for this stretch right now in the ACC tournament, they have a chance to win this thing. And I wouldn't have said pick a three seed out of the SEC or the Big Ten because I don't think that's possible. But when we're looking at the acc, I do think that's totally possible. I think if you want to look outside of the top seed, which is Duke, look no further than the team that just beat them, the Tar Heels.
- [33:08]
Zena Kaeda
There you go. There is a conference that is probably going to get us back on the boring side of things. The top seed's probably going to win. They did just win the title of this conference. The weird 12, the mid 12, the big 12, TCU. My goodness, they looked amazing. They look like they are clicking on all cylinders in their most recent game. I feel like this is. This could just be a straight up. It is what it is. TCU's taken home not only the regular season title, but also the conference tournament. Baylor didn't quite put up the competition. You would. You'd think you might see. We don't know. Is West Virginia someone that might be in the mix of that? Like, what are we thinking here for the Big 12 Conference tournament?
- [33:58]
Sabrina Merchant
I think you're right. This is TCU's to lose. I think it'll be pretty clean and straightforward. Honestly, the only thing that I really have my eye on is we haven't seen a ton of Iowa State with Audi Crooks and Adi Brown both available. And that makes them a little bit more dangerous than you would think for their. I think they're a seven seed or an eight seed in this particular tournament. I don't think that they should be that low. You know, had they been. They're the seventh seed. Sorry. Had they been healthy all season, I think they would have been much higher than that. So that's just a team that I have my eye on. Like, can they capture some of that magic they had at the start of the season before everything sort of fell apart? Because they are finally whole again. And it is obviously, we love watching Audi Crooks play. And when Eddie Brown is available, it just amplifies everything she's able to do.
- [34:42]
Zena Kaeda
I like it. Chantel. Iowa State was a team, you know, you always had your eye on for sure. Anyone else in the, in the Big 12 that you're like, who could creep up the ranks here? Because this is a, this is a conference tournament that I think there would be a lot more upsets. And that's only because outside of tcu, I think there's a lot more parity. But what are your thoughts?
- [35:03]
Chantelle Jennings
My thoughts mostly for the Big 12 tournament are that I'm excited to see the led court that is going to be played on
- [35:11]
Zena Kaeda
Chantel.
- [35:14]
Sabrina Merchant
I like the courts. They had one at the U19 World Cup a couple years ago. It was very cool.
- [35:19]
Chantelle Jennings
It's, it's gonna be a glass court. I mean like, this is also one where it's like we're talking about, you know, I think this is like Sabrina said, TCU's to lose. We don't have to like go back to that well too much here. I agree. Iowa State, interesting team. We all love Audi Crooks, but like this is TCU's to lose. They're an interesting team to me. Olivia Miles is phenomenal to watch. I'm excited to do that. But like, like I'm excited to see a glass basketball court. Why not?
- [35:43]
Zena Kaeda
Wow. All righty. Well, that's, that gives you an idea of what we're thinking about. The Big 12 Conference tournament, the glass court and TCU winning out outright. Let's turn our attention really quickly to the mid majors. You know, conferences like the Atlantic 10, the Ivy League, hey, that's for me. And Summit League. They might not always be in the national spotlight, you know, even though Princeton and Columbia have to tried and have taken the national spotlight sometimes. They are loaded though with intense matchups, historic matchups and a lot of March Madness potential. These are the teams that end up in that 8, 9, in that 11. You know those seeds that you're just like, you never know. You might want to bet on them. You never know. So thinking about some of these conferences, anything stand out to you all in terms of the mid majors? There's matchups that are gonna happen in these conference tournaments. People who stand to gain a lot from winning in or winning their conference tournaments outright. What's really piquing your attention in the mid majors?
- [36:46]
Sabrina Merchant
I'm gonna start here with the Summit League. I love watching South Dakota State play Brooklyn. Myers, had a great career there. Kind of think they need to win this conference tournament to ensure a bid into the NCAA tournament. The bracketology currently has them as the first four out, so you know, going to need another quad one win, so to speak. And the only way they're going to get that is if they make it to the final and beat North Dakota State and get the automatic qualifier anyway. So I think you could maybe even see a two bid Summit. If South Dakota State wins this, you get both North Dakota State and South Dakota State. So that's a team that historically like does pretty well in the first couple rounds of the NCAA tournament. You know, they, they play really hard. They have more talent than you'd expect coming out of that league. So yeah, the Jackrabbits, a team that I always have my eye on, see if they can punch their ticket.
- [37:30]
Zena Kaeda
Okay, South Dakota State. What about you, Chantel?
- [37:33]
Chantelle Jennings
I think I'm watching the A10. This is, you know, we've talked a lot about Maggie Dugan on this podcast. Obviously had such a phenomenal March a season ago and was someone that I think a lot of, frankly a lot of power conference coaches had really hoped she would jump into the portal and she probably could have made a lot of money if she had decided to go play for national title contender. And I think there's probably not a national title contending team that would not have taken her had she gone into the portal this year. But Richmond is in a different position. Last year they were the favorites out of the 8:10. Right now they're sitting in third. They are behind Rhode island and George Mason. They split games against those two teams this year and so they know how to beat them. But if we want to see Maggie Dugan in March Madness, Richmond is going to have to win this tournament and get the automatic bid out of the A10. I don't think they get an at large bid just because people really, really like Maggie Dugan. And so it'll be interesting to see that team backs against the wall, pressure just ramped all the way up. Can they go and do this the old school way where these mid major conferences only get one bid? So I'm really, really fascinated to see the 810 which I think that leaves us to talk about the Ivy, which Zena, I mean how perfect.
- [38:49]
Zena Kaeda
What do we think about the Ivy? This is a year removed from the conversation where it was like, like three Ivies might be able to go into the tournament right like this. There's, there was a lot of momentum picking up. Um, this year it's still pretty much between Columbia and Princeton. Like they've been dominating the conversation. But what's been standing out to you all in terms of players or potentially what this matchup could look like if they get to the end of the conference tournament?
- [39:13]
Sabrina Merchant
I mean, I think they'll both make it regardless of the outcome of this tournament. I think Princeton and Columbia are both in. Uh, if Harvard manages to beat one of them, then you could even see a three bid Ivy, uh, which I don't think is going to happen. Harvard hasn't really been able to solve that Princeton code over the last few games here.
- [39:28]
Zena Kaeda
Not many people Have. Yeah.
- [39:30]
Sabrina Merchant
Not many people have, other than Columbia, who has swept Princeton this season, so.
- [39:34]
Zena Kaeda
Right, Exactly. Exactly. Geez. I mean, this is very interesting in general for the Ivy League. Columbia, Princeton, Harvard have pretty much been dominant in that conference for a very long time. Even when I was playing Harvard and Princeton were. They were the dominant players in the mix. So we didn't have a conference tournament, though. And I do like that the Ivy League is good for an upset. They are good for a team popping out. So we'll see what happens here. But. All right, you guys gotta keep us honest on any of the other mid majors that you guys are keeping an eye out on. And I was watching a little bit of a Big east basketball. That's one conference that one time we
- [40:16]
Sabrina Merchant
called that a mid major. I get in trouble for that.
- [40:18]
Zena Kaeda
I know. That's what I'm saying. It's like, I was literally about to say at once, that was not a mid major, but I'm like, I'm watching Marquette, I'm watching Boakes, and I'm just like, wow, these were power conferences. But that just goes to show what the domination of what UConn does in terms of just engulfing all of the attention out of the Big east. I think UConn, that one.
- [40:40]
Chantelle Jennings
This is like a record now. It's like 35 minutes into the pod, and we're just talking about UConn, so way to go, guys.
- [40:46]
Zena Kaeda
Right. Well, that's. Cause, I mean, if there's one conference tournament that's gonna be super boring in terms of who's at the top at the out at the end. Yeah, it's probably the Big East. Okay.
- [40:56]
Chantelle Jennings
And they don't know conference.
- [40:58]
Sabrina Merchant
I want to mention real quick.
- [40:59]
Zena Kaeda
Yes, please.
- [41:01]
Sabrina Merchant
Just a real local homer pick here. The LMU Lions won the West Coast Conference for the first time ever, and they haven't made the tournament in 22 years. Their head coach, she played at USC. She coached at USC. There was some talk she might even get that job before Lindsey Gottlieb bought it. She went across town, took the Loyola job, and. And this is a good West Coast Conference, you know, like teams like Washington State, Oregon State, Gonzaga. Historical, you know, winning this. And they've got the number one seed, which is pretty cool. Again, 22 years of not making the tournament. So that's very. That's a tournament that I have my eye on. I love the West Coast Conference, and a good Vegas Conference tournament is always. Is always fun.
- [41:37]
Zena Kaeda
All right, West Coast Conference. We appreciate that, Sabrina. And anyone else that's listening right now and you're like, hey, my mid major's about to go crazy in the conference tournament. Let us know. We definitely want to find out about other teams that might be taking this spotlight across the country. But conference tournaments? This is where we get a nice little appetizer for the craziness of March Madness. And this is a lot of fun, so make sure you're tuning in this weekend. On the other side of this break, Sabrina has a game for us. Don't go anywhere.
- [42:11]
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- [43:41]
Zena Kaeda
a
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- [44:18]
Zena Kaeda
Okay. Sabrina, I love this that you have a game for us, because I'm already imagining it's gonna be incredibly difficult, and Chantelle and I are just gonna be like, yeah, girl, we don't know what's happening, but we're gonna have fun, and we can't wait. So, Sabrina, take it away.
- [44:35]
Sabrina Merchant
Okay, so this is a game of something in common.
- [44:38]
Zena Kaeda
Love. Something in common.
- [44:39]
Sabrina Merchant
Four names. You got to figure out what they have in common. I will preface this by saying, because it could go in many different directions, the. The first category is just related to what we saw in college basketball this regular season. Okay. Okay, so I'm going to start with Camille Pierre, Clara Strack, Reagan Beers, and Dariana. Little Paige Bugs.
- [45:05]
Zena Kaeda
Oh, whoa.
- [45:07]
Sabrina Merchant
Camille Pierre, Claire Strack, Reagan Beers, Clarice and little Paige Bugs.
- [45:18]
Zena Kaeda
Little Paige Bugs at Baylor. Trying to think, is it like, conference? No, she said. Said the first one is about what we've seen this season.
- [45:27]
Chantelle Jennings
Something this season must be something achievement.
- [45:31]
Zena Kaeda
Well, okay, it has probably to do with.
- [45:34]
Chantelle Jennings
Why are you laughing?
- [45:35]
Zena Kaeda
Thinking of. Thinking of Shrek. Camille, Little Page Bugs. Maybe double doubles. Maybe double doubles.
- [45:43]
Chantelle Jennings
Because.
- [45:44]
Zena Kaeda
Wait, what was the fourth one? It was Little Paige Bugs, Clara Strack, Camille Pierre, and.
- [45:49]
Sabrina Merchant
And Beers.
- [45:51]
Zena Kaeda
And Reagan Beers. Yeah, but all four of them are capable of some double doubles. They're definitely capable of scoring at high levels. H. Like, I would say something like they led their team in double doubles.
- [46:08]
Sabrina Merchant
I think I'll give it to. They all average double doubles.
- [46:10]
Zena Kaeda
Oh, look at us.
- [46:13]
Sabrina Merchant
Okay.
- [46:14]
Chantelle Jennings
I was gonna say not blocks, but. Yeah. Yeah.
- [46:16]
Sabrina Merchant
No, no, no. Yeah, yeah. As far as I can tell, there were only five power conference players who average a double double. Those four and previously mentioned, Medina. Okot.
- [46:25]
Zena Kaeda
Boom. Okay.
- [46:26]
Sabrina Merchant
Which is what inspired the conversation.
- [46:28]
Zena Kaeda
Those are double double machines. So. Great one. That's a good one.
- [46:31]
Sabrina Merchant
Next up, Keome McMiller, Samaya Nichols, Jada Williams and Olivia Miles.
- [46:39]
Zena Kaeda
Ooh, this has to do with G.
- [46:41]
Chantelle Jennings
Okay, so sorry, say the second one again. Samaya.
- [46:45]
Sabrina Merchant
Samaya Nichols, Jada Williams, and Olivia Miles.
- [46:50]
Zena Kaeda
Okay. All of them can distribute the ball well, but I feel like if this was something significant, Rory Harmon would be in this mix, too.
- [46:58]
Chantelle Jennings
So is it something they did this season?
- [47:02]
Zena Kaeda
Yeah.
- [47:03]
Chantelle Jennings
Are all of these something they did? This.
- [47:04]
Sabrina Merchant
Okay.
- [47:05]
Chantelle Jennings
Kiyomi McMiller.
- [47:06]
Zena Kaeda
Well, okay. Kiyomi McMiller.
- [47:09]
Sabrina Merchant
Hmm.
- [47:10]
Zena Kaeda
Samiya Nichols. It's like. Mm. This is interesting. Jada, you said Jada who?
- [47:18]
Sabrina Merchant
Jada Williams.
- [47:19]
Chantelle Jennings
Jad Williams and Olivia Miles.
- [47:20]
Zena Kaeda
Jada Williams and Olivia Miles. I feel like I just Every time I. Mm. I just feel like it has something to do with assists.
- [47:29]
Chantelle Jennings
It has something to do with assists. Maybe it's. Is it assist to turnover, reshape you? No.
- [47:37]
Zena Kaeda
K and mellow be putting up buckets, too, though.
- [47:42]
Chantelle Jennings
Is it?
- [47:43]
Zena Kaeda
Yeah, I think we're. I think you're going have to give us this one.
- [47:45]
Chantelle Jennings
Points. Assists.
- [47:47]
Sabrina Merchant
It's actually just points. They're the only power conference players to score 40 points in a conference game. Yeah.
- [47:52]
Zena Kaeda
Oh, oh, wait.
- [47:54]
Sabrina Merchant
But I didn't want to include Audi because we've talked a lot about Audi.
- [47:57]
Zena Kaeda
Right. You know what? You know, you know what? I think Jada was the last one to do it for Iowa State.
- [48:03]
Sabrina Merchant
Actually, Jada's was in January. Kiyomi McMiller the last one to add to this list. She just put up 40 on USC, right?
- [48:09]
Zena Kaeda
No, I'm saying for Iowa State, she was the last one to do. To put up 40 because remember, like, Audi crooks was putting them up like it was nothing in the beginning of the season. And then Jada Williams, I think, dropped like, 40, 44 or something. And we haven't heard.
- [48:21]
Sabrina Merchant
Audi just did it again this weekend, actually.
- [48:22]
Zena Kaeda
Oh, she did?
- [48:23]
Sabrina Merchant
That's what inspired the question.
- [48:24]
Zena Kaeda
Oh, shoot, I missed it. I haven't. I did not watch them this weekend, but. Okay. Yeah, okay, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. I did not.
- [48:31]
Sabrina Merchant
Okay, last one. You'll be able to. That. It is not related to this season because of the names. Maya Moore, Courtney Paris, Brianna Stewart, and juju Watkins.
- [48:43]
Zena Kaeda
Maya Moore. Something about their. Their freshman year.
- [48:48]
Chantelle Jennings
Something about the tournament. They were. Something about the NCAA tournament as freshmen.
- [48:55]
Zena Kaeda
What was she? What does she win? Like some sort of. She went MVP or. I know Courtney.
- [49:05]
Chantelle Jennings
Were they their conference MVPs as freshmen?
- [49:09]
Zena Kaeda
I feel like it's something like that. I think it is something like that.
- [49:13]
Sabrina Merchant
I don't think they all were. I feel like the Pac12 Player of the Year was not Juju Watkins, but it probably was, actually.
- [49:24]
Zena Kaeda
Let's look that up. But anyway. That's not what you're saying, though. That's what you're saying.
- [49:27]
Sabrina Merchant
That's not what I'm saying.
- [49:28]
Zena Kaeda
Okay, Stewie. Maya Moore, Courtney Paris, and juju. Correct. Their rookie years or their freshman years.
- [49:41]
Chantelle Jennings
It's something about them being not related
- [49:43]
Sabrina Merchant
to their freshman years.
- [49:44]
Zena Kaeda
It's not related to their freshman year. Okay. I'm like, I'm going down this rabbit hole hard. Okay, okay. Nothing to do with their freshman year. Maybe it is that they.
- [49:59]
Sabrina Merchant
But you're on, like, the right idea.
- [50:01]
Chantelle Jennings
This one is even Harder than the one that you and I did the other day, Sabrina.
- [50:06]
Zena Kaeda
They all got some sort of an award.
- [50:09]
Sabrina Merchant
They did. They did all get some sort of award.
- [50:11]
Zena Kaeda
And the problem is that Maya and Stewie brought so many that I'm just
- [50:19]
Sabrina Merchant
like about this season because it can't be. They did not play this season. But it is related to something that will happen this season.
- [50:25]
Zena Kaeda
What?
- [50:27]
Chantelle Jennings
It's something that happened.
- [50:28]
Zena Kaeda
This is interesting. All right, come on. We gotta lock in. We gotta lock in. We have.
- [50:31]
Sabrina Merchant
Obviously these players did not play this season, but the thing that they have in common is something that will happen this season.
- [50:37]
Chantelle Jennings
Oh, now I'm even more confused. Oh, was that supposed to make it easier?
- [50:44]
TurboTax Announcer
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- [50:49]
Zena Kaeda
It was something that will happen this season.
- [50:52]
Sabrina Merchant
I didn't want to make it super random. You know, there's a reason why I picked these four players.
- [50:57]
Chantelle Jennings
Maya Moore, Stewie, Courtney, Paris, and juju.
- [51:03]
Zena Kaeda
They all led their teams to no. Yeah, we're struggling, girl. Go ahead, Sabrina.
- [51:12]
Sabrina Merchant
So not related to their freshman years. They all won Player of the year is sophomore, which is what's going to happen this year. Sarah stronger. And Caleb Blakes will be the player of the year as a sophomore.
- [51:20]
Zena Kaeda
Geez Louise. We were so close.
- [51:24]
Sabrina Merchant
I said you were on the right tracks.
- [51:25]
Zena Kaeda
I know. I was like, they were mvp, but like most players. Yeah, yeah, I know.
- [51:30]
Chantelle Jennings
Once you said it was something that was going to happen this year, I was like, did all of them play in a tournament in the same location that's happening this year? Like something in Phoenix? Like, okay.
- [51:42]
Zena Kaeda
And I was also thinking. I was like, did. But I was like, did a team not win their regular season conference or their regular season title but like won the conference tournament? But I was like, UConn definitely.
- [51:52]
Chantelle Jennings
No.
- [51:52]
Sabrina Merchant
UConn couldn't do that. So I don't know that that will happen. I know for certain that a sophomore wouldn't play with here. I can tell you that.
- [51:58]
Zena Kaeda
Absolutely. Absolutely.
- [51:59]
Sabrina Merchant
Okay. Number five on the list.
- [52:01]
Zena Kaeda
That's good. Okay. Oh, man. All right. We were close. I wonder how you all listening fared. Because we were struggling over here. Chantel's vigorously taking notes. I'm over here just rambling. Yeah.
- [52:11]
Sabrina Merchant
Um, I was.
- [52:13]
Zena Kaeda
We were struggling, but that was fun.
- [52:15]
Chantelle Jennings
I get so stressed.
- [52:16]
Zena Kaeda
We got the first one.
- [52:17]
Chantelle Jennings
That's why I was an English major and not a test taking major. Cuz I don't do well in these pressure situations.
- [52:24]
Zena Kaeda
Under pressure. Yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm similar. We're, we're, we're with you. This is why Sabrina competed on Jeopardy. And we did not.
- [52:30]
Chantelle Jennings
Yeah. No.
- [52:31]
Zena Kaeda
Um. Yeah. All right. Well, this was fun. Thank you, Sabrina. Appreciate you as always. Appreciate all of you listening to our conference tournament predictions pod. We'll be back for you on Friday as we've got more insight on things that are going on. Remember, unrivaled playoffs are happening. It's happening. We're gonna be talking about that a little bit and we've got more for you on Friday. So make sure you are subscribed wherever you're listening. Make sure you like and share this on YouTube and leave some comments, leave us some questions. We might do a mailbag very, very soon. All right, y'. All, on behalf of the athletic Chantelle Jennings, Sabrina Merchant, and myself, Zena Kada, thank you for listening and we'll see you guys next time. Next time.
- [53:11]
Podcast Credits Narrator
No off season is hosted by Zena Kaeda with Chantelle Jennings and Sabrina Merchant. It's produced by Tanika Burrell. Our executive producer is Andrea B. Scott. Our theme music is by Marcus Bugala. Monica Compton is our video editor. Shannon Ryan is managing editor of women's basketball at the Athletic. Jesse Burton is our head of audio, and Tim McMaster is director of audio operations.
- [53:49]
Fin AI Announcer
AI is transforming customer service. It's real and it works. And with fin, we've built the number one AI agent for customer service. We're seeing lots of cases where it's solving up to 90% of real queries for real, real businesses. This includes the real world, complex stuff like issuing a refund or canceling an order. And we also see it when FIN goes up against competitors. It's top of all the performance benchmarks, top of the G2 leaderboard. And if you're not happy, we'll refund you up to a million dollars, which I think says it all. Check it out for yourself at Fin AI.
- [54:19]
Capital One Announcer
When it comes to managing money, forget the hype and look at the results. Bill has a trillion dollars of secure payments powering our bill pay tools. Instead of just moving money, money Bill is powering the financial operations of nearly half a million customers. So stop the guesswork and start scaling with the proven choice. Ready to talk with an expert? Visit bill.comproven to get started and grab a $250 gift card as a thank you. Terms and conditions apply. See offer page for details.
- [54:49]
National Business Furniture Announcer
Buying furniture for your business can be full of compromises, confusing choices, and little support. National business Furniture is here to change all of that. We believe that every business deserves furniture that lasts, service that cares, and a partner who gets it at a budget that works at National Business Furniture. That's our commitment to you. Find the right furniture for you and your team at national business furniture. Visit nbf.com and use promo code PAW10 to save 10% now.