The Great NCAA Women's Final Four Debate of 2025

Summary

Podcast Summary: No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
Episode: The Great NCAA Women's Final Four Debate of 2025
Release Date: April 4, 2025

---

Introduction

In the April 4, 2025 episode of No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show, hosts Zena Keda, Chantel Jennings, Sabrina Merchant, and Ben Pickman delve into the highly anticipated NCAA Women's Final Four. The episode, titled "The Great NCAA Women's Final Four Debate of 2025," features an engaging and analytical debate on the matchups, strategies, and potential outcomes of the Final Four games. Skipping over the initial advertisements, the hosts jump straight into the heart of the discussion, setting the stage for an insightful exploration of women's collegiate basketball.

---

Setting the Scene in Tampa

The episode kicks off with the hosts arriving in Tampa for the Final Four, highlighting the vibrant atmosphere and the presence of numerous tall athletes. Zena Keda humorously remarks on the tall stature of both men and women in the vicinity, creating a light-hearted introduction to the intense competition ahead.

Zena Keda [04:58]: "And we have descended upon Tampa for basketball. How are you guys feeling? Excited for the weekend?"

---

Debate Format and Matchup Assignments

Zena introduces the primary segment of the episode: initiating "The Great Final Four Debate of 2025." Each host is assigned a different team to advocate for, with Ben Pickman representing South Carolina and Sabrina Merchant supporting Texas. The format involves each host presenting their case, followed by rebuttals, with listeners ultimately deciding the winners of each debate.

Debate Structure:

• Main Arguments: Each host presents a 3-4 minute case for their assigned team.
• Rebuttals: Hosts engage in back-and-forth discussions to challenge opposing viewpoints.
• Listener Engagement: Audience members are encouraged to vote on the outcomes via comments, tweets, or social media interactions.

---

Matchup Analysis: South Carolina vs. Texas

Sabrina Merchant Advocates for Texas (10:38):

Sabrina presents a compelling case for the Texas Longhorns, emphasizing their strong defensive performance and balanced team dynamics. She highlights:

• Defensive Prowess: Texas boasts the second-best net rating in the NCAA, with a stifling defense that can counter South Carolina's transition game.

  Sabrina [10:38]: "They have a defense that can strangle you at the point of attack and in the paint, that's a pretty good recipe to shutting down opposing offenses."

• Experienced Leadership: Veterans like Rory Harmon and Taylor Jones bring stability, while emerging talents like Jordan Lee provide depth.

• Strategic Consistency: Texas's low reliance on three-pointers offers offensive stability, crucial in high-pressure Final Four scenarios.

• Underdog Edge: Without the pressure of defending a title and historical challenges against coach Don Staley, Sabrina argues Texas is primed to overcome previous losses to South Carolina.

Ben Pickman Counters for South Carolina (14:24):

Ben rebuts Sabrina's points by drawing parallels between South Carolina’s historical performance and tactical advantages:

• Historical Dominance: South Carolina has convincingly beaten Texas twice this season, including a 64-45 victory in the SEC tournament final.

  Ben [14:24]: "They have played a lot of teams that pack the paint and have shut down Texas effectively."

• Consistent Execution: Despite not playing their best throughout the tournament, South Carolina has demonstrated the ability to win without relying on peak performance.

• Depth and Versatility: South Carolina’s bench strength, featuring players like Joyce Edwards and Tessa Johnson, offers strategic flexibility that Texas might find hard to counter.

• Defensive Mastery: South Carolina’s transition defense limits Texas’s ability to capitalize on turnovers, as evidenced by their minimal points off turnovers in previous matchups.

Sabrina's Rebuttal and Additional Discussion (19:12 - 24:02):

Sabrina addresses Ben's points by focusing on Texas's interior advantage and strengthening their center presence, arguing that:

• Center Dominance: Texas's Taylor Jones and Kyla Oldacre provide a robust interior that can counter South Carolina's paint strategies.

  Sabrina [19:12]: "Being able to establish that center presence is going to be crucial against a team that tries to beat you inside."

• Preparation Time: Texas had a shorter turnaround between games but believes their coaching staff can exploit South Carolina's strategies effectively.

• Key Player Impact: Emphasizes Madison Booker’s all-American performance and Rory Harmon’s resilience post-ACL injury as game-changers for Texas.

Ben counters by highlighting South Carolina’s tactical preparedness and the psychological edge of having consistently outperformed Texas in prior encounters.

---

UConn vs. UCLA Debate

Zena Keda Introduces the Debate (08:18):

Shifting focus, Zena introduces the UConn vs. UCLA matchup, with respondents advocating for either side based on player performance, team dynamics, and historical data.

Sabrina Merchant Takes on UCLA:

Sabrina argues for UCLA’s strength, focusing on:

• Versatile Lineups: UCLA’s ability to switch between different player configurations offers strategic advantages against UConn’s defensive schemes.

• Three-Point Shooting Depth: UCLA's depth allows them to compensate for potential weaknesses in UConn's perimeter defense.

• Defensive Strategies: Emphasizes UCLA’s preparedness to exploit UConn’s potential lapse in guarding the paint.

Zena Keda Advocates for UConn:

Zena counters by highlighting UConn's:

• Star Power: Paige Beckers’ exceptional performance, averaging nearly 30 points per game, serves as a pivotal factor in UConn’s favor.

  Zena [30:03]: "Paige Beckers, she's on another level right now... she's making history as she goes through."

• Team Chemistry and Depth: UConn's balanced roster, featuring breakout performances from freshmen like Sarah Strong, provides a multi-faceted offensive and defensive strategy.

• Defensive Excellence: Holding opponents to an average of 52 points per game showcases UConn’s defensive rigor.

Chantel Jennings and Sabrina's Further Rebuttals (33:50 - 40:17):

Chantel supports UCLA by questioning UConn’s interior defense against players like Lauren Betts, while Sabrina underscores the strategic versatility UCLA brings to the table, emphasizing their ability to adapt and perform even when key players face foul trouble.

---

Predictions and Final Thoughts

Ben Pickman Predicts UConn Championship (43:43):

Ben confidently forecasts UConn’s championship win, drawing parallels to their resilient playstyle observed in previous finals.

Chantel Jennings Reflects (44:17):

Chantel remains slightly undecided but leans towards UConn, recognizing Paige Beckers’ impact while acknowledging UCLA’s formidable presence.

Sabrina Merchant Advocates for UCLA’s Upset Potential (45:07):

Sabrina remains steadfast in her support for UCLA, citing their strategic depth and recent performances as indicators of their capability to secure the title.

Zena Keda’s Conclusion (46:29 - 48:11):

Zena wraps up the debate by inviting listeners to participate in determining the debate winners and share their predictions. She humorously interjects with a dad joke, maintaining the show’s engaging and personable tone.

Zena [48:11]: "It's a mushroom."

---

Closing Remarks

The episode concludes with information about upcoming episodes, including an audio-only show analyzing the Final Four games and reactions to the title game. The hosts encourage listeners to engage through social media and check out The Athletic’s partner platforms for more content.

Hosts:

• Zena Keda: Host
• Chantel Jennings: Co-host
• Sabrina Merchant: Co-host
• Ben Pickman: Co-host

Production Team:

• Produced by Tanika Perot
• Executive Producers: Andrea B. Scott and Cassius Fleming
• Theme Music by Marcus Begala
• Video Editor: Brenna Haupt
• Managing Editor of Women's Basketball at The Athletic: Shannon Ryan
• Head of Audio: Jesse Burton
• Director of Audio Operations: Tim McMaster

---

Notable Quotes:

• Zena Keda [04:58]: "We're in Tampa, baby. It's the Final Four."
• Sabrina Merchant [10:38]: "Anytime you have a defense that can strangle you at the point of attack and in the paint, that's a pretty good recipe to shutting down opposing offenses."
• Ben Pickman [14:24]: "South Carolina has even more experience."
• Zena Keda [30:03]: "Paige Beckers, she's on another level right now."
• Chantel Jennings [44:17]: "Paige Beckers is on this mission this season."

---

Conclusion

This episode of No Offseason offers a thorough and spirited debate on the NCAA Women's Final Four, providing listeners with in-depth analysis, strategic insights, and passionate arguments from each host. Whether you're a die-hard fan or new to women's basketball, this episode delivers an engaging discussion that highlights the excitement and complexity of March Madness.

Transcript

[Salesperson]

As a salesperson, the search for the right buyer or buying groups can feel like you're endlessly sifting through leads and hoping they're ready to buy. Thankfully, LinkedIn Sales Navigator is more than just a tool, it's your strategic sales partner. LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a sales intelligence platform that helps professionals effectively prospect and engage high value customers, drive higher revenue and increase sales performance. Sales Navigator helps you target the right buyers, surface key signals such as job changes or which accounts you should prioritize, and shows you hidden allies so you can find those buyers that are most likely to convert. Fueled by LinkedIn's 1 billion-member platform, Sales Navigator gives you the most up to date first party data, enabling you to unlock conversations with the people that matter. Ready to get right to the right conversations? Try LinkedIn Sales Navigator now with a 60 day free trial at LinkedIn.com rates 23 that's LinkedIn.com rates 23 for a 60 day free trial. Terms and conditions apply.

[Wayfair Representative]

Summer is almost here and there's no better place to go for outside furniture than Wayfair. Wayfair's huge selection of outdoor essentials will help you make your outdoor space more comfortable, functional, and most importantly, more you. Get your outdoor space rated today so you can enjoy it all season long. When you have kids, they love to be outside, so you gotta be out.

[Zena Keda]

There to watch them.

[Wayfair Representative]

From Wayfair, you can have outdoor sofas, maybe a set of chairs, a gazebo, some umbrellas because it's really hot down here in the South. No matter the need, Wayfair's huge selection of home items makes it easy to find exactly what's right for you. There's something for every style and every home, no matter your space or budget. Wayfair makes it easy to tackle your summer home goals with endless inspiration for every space and budget, including the outdoors. Free and easy delivery even on the big stu. No more huge delivery fees for patio furniture. Get big stuff like patio sets, gazebos, hot tubs, outdoor dining sets and more shipped free. Find all your outdoor must haves from seating to pool lounges to trampolines all in one convenient place. Shop a huge selection of outdoor furniture online this summer. Get outside with wayfair. Head to wayfair.com right now. That's W A Y F A I R.com Wayfair Every style, every home.

[Liquid IV Representative]

Love looks different for everyone, especially when it comes to all the ways you treat and celebrate yourself. I'm a big hammock head. Sunshine A hammock, A paperback western that's my kind of everyday indulgence. And you can gift yourself the everyday indulgence of extraordinary hydration with Liquid IV powered by Liv Hydro Science. Visit LiquidIV.com to fall in love with flavors like the zesty new hydration multiplier, sugar free Raspberry Lemonade and use code no dunks to save 20% off your first order. Liquid IV is easy and convenient. You just tear, pour and enjoy. It's my go to when I'm getting a pump in or handing out buckets, but it's great for staying hydrated during long days, enjoying the outdoors or any other time you need some hydration in your body. Liquid IV offers so many true to fruit flavors. Whether they be hydration multipliers like acai berry, lemon, lime and pina colada or sugar free like raspberry lemonade, white peach and rainbow sherbet. The flavors are always true to fruit, break the mold and your own ritual. Just one stick and 16 ounces of water hydrates better than water alone because Liquid IB is is powered by Liv Hydro Science. An optimized ratio of electrolytes, essential vitamins and clinically tested nutrients that turn ordinary water into extraordinary hydration. You're getting three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink plus eight essential vitamins and nutrients. And Liquid IV is always non gmo, vegan, gluten free, dairy free and soy free. So treat yourself to extraordinary hydration from Liquid IV. Get 20% off your first order at Liquid IV when you go to LiquidIB.com and use code no Dunks at checkout. That's 20% off your first order with code no [e-mail].

[Zena Keda]

Hello everyone and welcome to no off season presented by MassMutual. I'm Zena Keda.

[Chantel Jennings]

I'm Chantel Jennings.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I'm Sabrina Merchant.

[Ben Pickman]

And I'm Ben Pickman.

[Zena Keda]

And today on the show, I mean, what else is there to talk about? We're in Tampa, baby. It's the final four. And we're not just going to go through game by game what you can expect for the final four. Of course we're going to tell you what to look for, who's going to show up. We're going to give you that info but we're going to do it a little bit bit more fun because you know, we're in Florida. Why not? All right, so if you're new here, hit that follow button wherever you're listening. You make you want to make sure you are staying up to date with us. And of course, if you want, come find us on YouTube and please reach out to us. Leave us a comment wherever you're listening or a rating. Okay, Ben, Sabrina, Chantelle, I don't know if you guys will identify with this, but first thing that the person that checked me in at my hotel goes, there's so many of you. And I go, what do you mean? She goes, tall people. She, like, whispered it across the desk. And I was like, oh. And I looked around and it was just tall women everywhere. And she's like, it's not just the women, though. It's the men. There was a seven foot man here, and I was like, I wonder if that's Lauren Betz's father. But either way, we're here in Tampa. We have descended upon Tampa for basketball. How are you guys feeling? You guys excited for the weekend?

[Chantel Jennings]

I feel like I'm not a tall media member, so I feel kind of left out of this grouping. Like, I mean, if we showed up with Yuzina, I don't think we would be considered tall media folks or tall folks. So we're not those. The former D1 basketball players. Like, like you.

[Sabrina Merchant]

So fair.

[Zena Keda]

Fair. But have you guys spotted anyone? Have you guys seen anyone that you're like, you know, not out outside of the media. Anyone from the college space that you're like, oh, saw this person today. Saw this person today.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Well, we did do media today, so we did see a lot of them. But there you go. At the airport, I did see Angel McCaughtry, so that was.

[Zena Keda]

Oh, wait, that is super cool. I love Angel. That was like my number one doppelganger in high school. I was like, anytime somebody told me I looked like her, I was like, yes, Louisville. Thank you, Ben. Anyone for you?

[Ben Pickman]

No tall people. I did see some people hurtling on the University of Tampa track this morning on Thursday morning and thought about, there you go. I did not run on the track. As a result, when I saw collegiate hurdles practice going on, I went somewhere else instead.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Good call.

[Zena Keda]

I do want to say exactly, on.

[Chantel Jennings]

My flight from Minneapolis, there were a bunch of, like, older, pretty fit dudes. And I was like, what? What's going on in Tampa? And then I sat next to a guy on the flight who's a former Notre Dame men's ice hockey player. And he's like, oh, well, the largest over 50 ice hockey tournament in the country is happening this weekend in Tampa. And I was like, way to go, ncaa. Just picking these cities where there's plenty of hotel rooms.

[Zena Keda]

Obviously over 50. Ice hockey. Like, is there A schedule, a calendar. But these sports teams and sports leagues got to get it together. What's going on?

[Chantel Jennings]

Some of those people were tall. I mean, I don't think they were, like, 7 foot tall. So I don't think that's who was in your hotel. Xena. But there you go. You know, they're like six, four, six three hockey dudes.

[Zena Keda]

That counts. That counts. Okay, well, I'm gonna wrap that up because clearly I'm staying with all the tall people.

[Sabrina Merchant]

We can get going about the over 50 hockey tournament, if you want.

[Zena Keda]

I got a lot of.

[Chantel Jennings]

I mean, if we want to do a podcast episode on that. We had a very lengthy convers about how they put together their roster this season so they wouldn't lose by adding more men who were 51. But that. I digress. That's a conversation for another day.

[Zena Keda]

Just at the cutoff. Just at the cutoff. Okay, I respect it. All right, well, let me get into what we're gonna be doing today, because it's gonna be fun. And I'm curious. All of you are very smart. Every time you come on this show, you give great insight and stats to support an argument. And I'm wondering, did any of you do debate club in high school or college?

[Chantel Jennings]

No.

[Ben Pickman]

No.

[Zena Keda]

All right, well, you're just smart and you just know how to, you know, make an argument for things. I did not do debate club either. I was a student body kind of person. Student body club president. That's why I'm, like, you know, hosting this. Oh, right now with you guys. But I'm gonna try and get my debate skills going because that's what we're gonna be doing today. Here's how it's going to work. We are initiating the great Final Four debate of 2025. Here's how it's gonna work. Each host, including me. I know they're including me in this, too. Has been assigned a different team, and we're gonna square off against each other to debate or at least try to convince one another which team is going to win their Final Four matchup tonight and make it to the title game. And how about picking winners for each debate? You, dear listener, you will be the one to decide. You leave a comment or tweet us, hit us up on Insta, you name it. Let us know who wins. The Great Final four debate of 2025. That's official. That's copyrighted. It's in the works. Okay, first up, South Carolina versus Texas. Ben will be presenting for South Carolina and Sabrina for Texas. And we Flipped a coin before we started recording. Ben, you are going first.

[Ben Pickman]

No, no, no. I won the coin toss and elected to defer to go second.

[Zena Keda]

Oh, my bad, my bad. Okay, so Sabrina's going first. Okay, got it. All right, so this debate, each person's gonna get about three to four minutes each to make their main argument, but then you can rebut against each other, go freely back and forth. And then myself, Chantelle, we'll throw out some questions if we have, you know, to get them going a little bit more. You guys ready? Ben? Sabrina?

[Sabrina Merchant]

I mean, I have to be ready, not Ben.

[Zena Keda]

Well, fair. Exactly. All right, well, Sabrina, I'm going to start the timer. Go.

[Sabrina Merchant]

All right, I have the Texas Longhorns, who are back in the Final Four for the first time since 2003. They have the second best net rating in the NCAA this season behind only UConn, but they are not playing UConn in this final Four games, so that's good news. They have played South Carolina three times this season, responded from the first loss with a win, and are going to respond from the second loss also with a win. This is a team that has been playing tremendously good defense over the course of the tournament. They have led wire to wire in two of their. They led after the first quarter for the entirety of the rest of the Illinois game and just put an absolute beat down on tcu, a team that a lot of people had as a trendy upset pick heading into that Elite Eight game. And the Longhorns absolutely shut down what was the second best offense in the country, just with a stifling defensive performance. We're talking about the linchpins, Rory Harmon at point guard and the combination of Taylor Jones and Kyla Oldacre at center. Anytime you have a defense that can strangle you at the point of attack and in the paint, that's a pretty good recipe to shutting down opposing offenses. This is a team that doesn't have a ton of variance in the way they play because as my colleague Ben Pickman articulated so well before the start of the tournament, they don't take a lot of threes, so you know what you're going to get from them. Offensively, don't go through a lot of ruts, and that means that they're not dependent on jump shot variance, which is a good thing when you're in a new stage in the Final Four where emotions can get pretty high and you don't want to be subject to whether three pointers are going in or not. This is a team that takes care of the ball exceptionally well, doesn't turn it over all that often. And that's an excellent recipe against a South Carolina team that thrives in transition. So ideally not going to give them a lot of opportunities to get going on the fast break. It is a team that has a lot of veterans. Rory Harmon is a senior, Taylor Jones is a sixth year senior, Kyla Oldaker is an upperclassman and they also have a good blend of youth that has injected a lot of life into them as of late. Jordan Lee is Probably the best 3 point shooter on the team, has been an excellent defender. Brianna Preston, another excellent point of attack defender that really helped bust Tennessee's offense and TCU's during that Birmingham regional. And then they have Jacqueline Munitando who's done a great job of stepping in for Liam Moore at that starting small forward position. Great burst of athleticism. This is the type of team that has the athletes that can contend with anybody in the country, including South Carolina, which is also one of the most athletic teams in the ncaa. I like an underdog. Texas has lost to South Carolina twice, but they did come back from the first one and I project that they're going to come back from the second one. They don't have the burden of the pressure of being the defending champion and no team has repeated as champions since 2016, which puts a lot of extra, you know, burden on South Carolina to carry the weight of having won last season. Vic Schaefer also has a little bit of an underdog edge against Don Staley because maybe not so good for my argument, but he hasn't done very well in championship games against Don Staley, whether that's at Mississippi State or at Texas. I think it's time to break through, frankly. You know, this is just a wonderful, magical year for Texas. They won the SEC in their first season joining the conference, put together some of the most wins in program history. Madison Booker put together an All American season. Rory Harmon was able to come back from her ACL tear within 10 months and get back and has been playing marvelously over the course of the last couple months. Sometimes you just got to believe in a little bit of magic from the great state of Texas. And I think you look at a team that has again third best defense in the country, ninth best offense, second best overall net rating, all of those numbers collectively exceeds South Carolina. And I think beating a team three times in one season is exceptionally challenging. And I don't think that the Gamecocks are going to be able to get it done.

[Zena Keda]

Boom. Okay.

[Chantel Jennings]

I'd say you did pretty well, except for the part where you argued against yourself in terms of the coaching lineups.

[Sabrina Merchant]

But, you know, sometimes you just gotta acknowledge that there are factors working against him.

[Zena Keda]

Fair?

[Chantel Jennings]

Yeah, fair.

[Zena Keda]

Okay. So, Ben, rebuttals.

[Ben Pickman]

Yeah. For me, this matchup is a lot like that Spider man meme where you have two teams, Spider man staring at Spider Man. Except for, I think the objective observer would agree that one Spider man is a little bit better and a little bit stronger and a little bit more skilled than the other Spider Man. And that is the South Carolina Gamecocks in this analogy, compared to the Texas Longhorns. And how do we know that, you ask? It is because history is a great teacher in this example. Because as Sabrina said, these two teams have played three times this season, most recently just a few weeks ago, less than a month ago. And we saw the result of that game that was a convincing win by South Carolina 64, 45 in the SEC tournament final. A lot of the things Sabrina maps out also apply to South Carolina. She used words like physicality, physical defense, pack the paint. She talked about, you know, young players that are highly skilled and also experienced veterans. Those are, again, also things that apply to this Gamecocks team. Just that South Carolina has even more experience. They have young players who, you know, sure, someone like Matty Booker is an All American, but I would argue that South Carolina's young players, on the whole, are more productive and more important to the Gamecock success as well than the Texas Longhorns. South Carolina, admittedly, is not playing its best basketball right now. They have kind of, I would say, limped in to the Final Four by their standards. And they recognize that they are going to have to play an ugly game. And I do think that, you know, what they were able to overcome against Maryland, Duke, and winning by not playing their best is still a confidence booster. Knowing that they don't need to play their best to win. And now that they're going to play a familiar opponent in the Final Four, who doesn't, who, you know, will muck it up. Similarly, they still believe that, you know, they don't need to play a prolific offensive game to beat Texas. And they have done that this year. Again, they've scored 60 points, 60 plus points and beat them. Vic Schaefer has always said that the hardest game to win is that Elite 8 game. And I do think, you know, Sabrina throws out the pressure argument. I do think, you know, South Carolina, the pressure. I don't think it's like heaped on them right now. I don't think they really feel it as the defending champions. I don't think they felt it from the beginning of the season, from the beginning of the year. They never talked about trying to go undefeated. They just talked about kind of focusing on the next game. And I do think there is some weight that is even off of them that they're back at the Final Four and they're playing a familiar opponent. I think that actually frees them up because they know what they're getting themselves into. They know they could beat this team even if they don't play their A game. And we have seen that throughout this season. Again, I don't know, I mean, I think we're due for a Mylasia full Wiley game. You know, usually she ebbs and flows and we saw a subpar game by her standard against Duke in the Elite Eight. I think we're due for an explosion again in the Final Four here against Texas. I also think just from a strategic standpoint, we know what South Carolina is going to do. We know that they're going to sag off Texas shooters. That's exactly how they kind of beat them in the SEC tournament in that final. They basically just dared Texas to shoot. And while South Carolina isn't a great shooting team alone, like, I have a hard time believing that South Carolina isn't just going to do the exact same thing at its core. And while Texas knows that's coming, I'm not sure that they're a good enough three point shooting team to overcome kind of the strategy that South Carolina is going to map out. You know, I think you also run the risk if you're Texas by playing a different style than you've played all year. If you're suddenly in the Final Four on Friday night going to rely on the three point shot in a way that you haven't before. So, you know, I think there's a little bit of kind of mind game potential there. Just by baiting three point shooters, baiting players into taking three point shots, I think that's at play too. And then Sabrina mentioned it. Don Staley versus Vic Schaefer. We've seen the success that Don Staley has had. I think, you know, again, you have multiple days to prepare and more importantly, you have more days than Texas to prepare as well. Like they've been in the lab since Sunday evening preparing for this game. Whereas Texas really had a quick turnaround after their win on Monday night, flying in on Tuesday. You know, they're just had shorter prep time. So I think all that is why the South Carolina Gamecocks, who maybe I should make the case, should have been the number one overall seed.

[Sabrina Merchant]

You don't believe that they should be.

[Ben Pickman]

The favorite here against the Texas Longhorn?

[Zena Keda]

Okay, thank you debaters for giving us your takes on both. Chantelle, I'm just gonna go ahead and jump in here on my first question. My question is gonna be to Sabrina. Ben brings up a really great point about the game plan that South Carolina is going to utilize against Texas. And we saw South Carolina have to adjust their game plan against Duke's defense and they did a great job of slowing the game down playing in the half court, setting up sets. I'm curious what you think Texas is going to be able to do to counter the defensive strategy that Dawn Staley and her Gamecocks are going to be able to set up for Texas.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Well, Texas has played against teams that pack the paint essentially all season. You know, that's what you're going to do against the team that shoots a lower three point rate than any other team in the country. Right? 362nd out of 362 teams. So a team that sucks in their defense is not unlike what Texas has seen over the course of the entire season. And I think Taylor Jones and Kyler Oldacre are playing better now than they have at any point during the season. So being able to establish that center presence is going to be crucial to, you know, dealing with a team that is going to try to beat you inside. Because the fact that Taylor Jones and Kyle, I think are bigger than any of the South Carolina posts is going to be really important and they have to be stronger and assert that matchup. To me, that's where this is going to be one.

[Chantel Jennings]

I think that's a fair point. I feel like there's sort of a seeding of, you know, Texas has the interior advantage in this game as good as South Carolina has done since Ashlyn Watkins season ending injury at the beginning of the year. You know, I think Texas has the advantage there. Ben, you had said like we're due for a Myelasia full wily game. And you also said that history is a good teacher. I'm curious what historical markers you will point to in terms of, you know, we've seen Malaysia sort of have these really big moments and then have lapses. And there are times even I think against duke, she played 11 minutes like Dawn Staley definitely doesn't have a ton of patience for some of the mistakes. For Malaysia to Play through. And so I'm just curious, what makes you think that we're due for this specifically with my leisure.

[Ben Pickman]

I just think they know how dynamic she is and how important she is to their success offensively. And she is the kind of player that, if they are going to win, breaks them out of some of the, I don't know, bad habits or ruts that they fall into. And so she has that potential in a way that, frankly, no other player on the floor really does. You know, the other thing, I think, I would say Texas relies a lot on points off turnovers. They average almost 24 points per game, points off turnovers. But South Carolina, not exactly a high turnover team. And we have seen, I guess, Texas not convert in the same way on giveaways when they play South Carolina. They had just four points off turnovers when these two teams met in the SEC Championship. Right. That's indicative of South Carolina's transition defense and that even if they're going to commit turnovers, South Carolina is good enough on Trans D to get back and slow them down. I also think, you know, bench scoring is another variable here, right? We have seen certainly over this tournament, Texas's bench, Bree Preston, Kyla Oldacre, they've played really well. But if you're going to look to one team with a superior bench, it's South Carolina. It's not just Full Wiley, it's Joyce Edwards, it's Tessa Johnson. There's such an advantage in not knowing who you can key in on on a given night. I think that's a huge boost in terms of preparation because Texas, again, sure, they're familiar with South Carolina. They're not going to be surprised with their, you know, depth of options. But. But there is not one player on the Gamecocks you can kind of key in on. Whereas again, if you've had five days to prepare, you can key in on Madison Booker and Rory Harmon. And if you are successful at slowing them down, you put yourself in a really good position. You can't say the same thing on the other end if you're Texas looking at South Carolina.

[Sabrina Merchant]

You know, I think that extra day of preparation that South Carolina has that you alluded to, Ben, matters a lot less when you've already played a team three times. And both of those wins that South Carolina had were essentially home court wins. One of them was in Columbia, one of them was in Greenville. This is a neutral site. I think that's going to matter a lot less. You know, just that home court advantage factored heavily into South Carolina.

[Ben Pickman]

When do you agree with that? I mean, I just think, like, you know, people talk about the familiarity of playing a team for the fourth time that, like, game plan doesn't matter. I would argue that coaches, you know, the games are one on the margins, that if you can find one little advantage or two little advantages like, that could be the difference. They're not rewriting game plans here, but if you can use your extra 24 hours, 36 hours to find a little nugget that you think you can exploit, like, that very well could be the difference here. I do think that that does make a difference.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Well, it's not like they knew they were playing Texas for those full 24 to 36 hours. They could also have been preparing for TCU.

[Ben Pickman]

Yeah, that's true. But I think you, as a coaching staff, you start to prepare both scouts, and we know that that's going on for, you know, that experienced staff.

[Sabrina Merchant]

And then as far as, like, his history, being our, you know, greatest instructor. I would like to point you to the last time that South Carolina was defending a title they lost in the Final Four.

[Ben Pickman]

Yeah. Who did they play in that game?

[Salesperson]

Who?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Does it matter? They lost in the Final Four.

[Ben Pickman]

Who is the best player on that team that they played in?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Madison Booker could be the best player in this game. And as long as the best player's on the opposing team, I think that's a good recipe for an upset.

[Ben Pickman]

You don't believe that?

[Sabrina Merchant]

I think Madison Booker could easily be the best player in this game.

[Ben Pickman]

No, she could be, but. But you don't believe the opposite's gonna happen here, Sabrina. And you know how I know that? You know how I know this at the end of the day? Because you have made a prediction.

[Chantel Jennings]

Well, we don't need to. You know, we're all playing a part here.

[Sabrina Merchant]

We're all playing a part that has also written for the last three days about how South Carolina is not playing their best basketball right now.

[Ben Pickman]

I open my argument with that. I mean, I really do think that to be the case, but I will pick them nevertheless.

[Zena Keda]

Okay, I think we're gonna wrap this up. This is really good back and forth here, but it's not up to us. It's not up to us. It's up to the listener, listeners. You've heard Sabrina's argument for Texas. You've heard Ben's argument for South Carolina. What is your belief? Have you been swayed? Have you been bought in by one of these two writers? Let us know. Leave a comment. Tweet at us. Let Us know who won the debate and we'll see. I mean, obviously we'll see what the outcome of the game is, but we'll see if one of these writers better predicted the game and also better debated which team should win. Okay, Chantel, it's you and I. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little nervous, particularly because of the rebuttals I try to figure out. I feel like I have an easy team to be able to argue for. But, yeah, we'll see what happens. Don't go hard on me, but don't go soft on me. I don't know, guys. Either way, I gotta make the argument for UConn, so I'm just gonna go ahead. I actually, like, kind of wrote down my notes because wanted to make sure I showed up properly in front of you guys. All right, so let's get into it. In my opinion, if you are making a case for who is going to win between UConn and UCLA, this showdown, I think you have to ride with the Huskies. You gotta go with the Huskies. And I think it's the obvious thing. Paige Beckers, she's on another level right now, okay? Sis is averaging 29 points per game in the tournament. Okay? She scored 40 points. She has had her third straight 30 point game coming into this one. I mean, she's making history as she goes through and she's also doing it super efficiently. For those of you that don't know what 50, 40, 90 is, everyone on this podcast does. But for those of you that don't know, that splits, right? You're shooting 50% from the floor, you're shooting 40% from three, and you're shooting 90% from free throws. It is not normal for people to be able to do this consistently, especially at this level of stage in the tournament. 50, 40, 90. And she's providing that. That's what Paige is providing to her team right now. And I think that that is what's going to be uplifting UConn. Because if you watch that game against USC and you watch the swagger with which she moves, the rest of the UConn team is picking up on that swagger, including the Youngins, the Bibbiz. And I'm specifically talking about Sarah Strong, okay? Sarah Strong is a freshman phenom. She doesn't look like she's a freshman. She doesn't even talk like she's a freshman. If you've heard her interviews, she sounds like she's been here before. Sounds mom. Allison Feaster, who's played in The W who upset Tara Vanderveer in the sweet 16 when her mom played for Harvard way back in the day. I think it was 1999. Sarah Strong is of this caliber. She knows how to play, she knows how to meet the moment. And I think that's huge when you pair that alongside a Paige Beckers, who last year, let's be real, had to kind of carry the team on her back. Yes, she had Nico Mule, yes, she had Aaliyah Edwards, but she didn't have much else this year. She's got a strong crew around her, including, pun intended, Sarah Strong, that's been strong in the paint. She's been mobile on the perimeter. She is an amazing defender and she doesn't shrink from the moment. And that is what really, really matters against a team like UCLA that has had all the fanfare around it all season. And they also need to make sure that they meet the moment. In the last eight games, UConn has won seven of them, but still UCLA has the number one seed overall. And they also have Aloran Betts. And the strong Betts matchup is going to be an interesting one because it's going to be a matter of who can contain inside right, who can contain Lauren Betts inside. And UCLA is vulnerable when Lauren Betts is not scoring to the ability that she can, and when she's in foul trouble. We've seen this throughout the tournament. When Lauren Betts goes and sits on the bench, UCLA looks a little suspect, look a little sus, okay? But the depth that UCLA wants, UConn has, and I'm thinking about the X factor. Caitlin Chen. Caitlin Chen showing Up Last game, 15.6 of 9 from outside the arc. I think that's a person that even if Az Fudd has another eight point game like she had against usc, you still have the depth across the bench. Include or, excuse me, across your roster, including Caitlin Chen being a distributor, being a scorer, and people coming off the bench and stepping up. Ashlyn Shade, KK Arnold, Ice Brady even coming in and making things a little bit more difficult. The only thing that UCLA, in my opinion, really has over UConn is size on the perimeter. But I think that that can work in UConn's benefit when it comes to the transition game. UConn likes to run and UCLA struggles to track in transition. We've seen this all season, so I really think there's an advantage there. Last but not least, team defense. UConn has been holding opponents to just 52 points per game in this tournament. That's clamps. That's cookies. That's, that's defense that you need, especially against a UCLA team that can get hot, especially if Lauren Betts is killing inside or getting the ball inside and seeing her perimeter threats. You want UConn to be forcing turnovers. You want them to swarm you. You want them to flip defense into offense. And this is what they've done. They did it against usc, they've done it all season. This is who they are. And I think that kind of toughness, it shows up in March and this is the moment for Paige Beckers and Geno to really team up and take down the Bruins. I feel like Corey close congratulations for coach of the year. But Gino holds the record most winning games, most amount of games won in college basketball. And I think this one is just going to be another one. That's my argument. Chantel.

[Chantel Jennings]

Well, I think we can start here and I'll cite the great Sabrina Merchant here. When she was asked for her bold prediction for this tournament, she said, it's going to be boring. It's going to be really chalky. There aren't gonna be a lot of upsets. And she was right. She was very right. And what is chalkier than the number one overall seed beating a number two seed? One beats two. Okay, so that's where we'll start. The other thing, just from your argument that I wanted to bring up, you said the only advantage that UConn has or that UCLA has a size on the perimeter. And I'll agree with you, they definitely have that. But I'm curious who on UConn's roster is 6 foot 7 on the interior? A quick perusal of their roster will show no one it they do have six foot five. Jana El Alfie, I will give you that her best game this year was against South Carolina. And after that I was like a Janna El Alfie believer. And to quote Gino or who was on our podcast shortly after he said, I forget who are they were playing Seton hall or someone. He said, yeah, but did you see her last night? She was horrible. Which has been a lot of her performances since then. She hasn't had nearly the kind of performance she had against South Carolina since then. She's six foot five. Past her they have six foot three ice Brady. We had some six foot one Aubrey Griffin minutes recently. She's played in 14 games this year. But I'm not sure who in that group can sort of match up with Lauren Betts one on one. And that's because the answer is no one. UConn cannot guard UCLA one on one in the paint because no one can guard UCLA one and one in the paint. And I think beyond that, even when they double team her, she's a really good passing big. I think this whole team is really unselfish. UCLA as a whole, they have a lot of players who sort of average in that 8 to 10 point range, but within that you have players who can sort of pop off and have a huge night even in the last few weeks. Kiki Rice averages 13 a game. She had 23 against Richmond. Gabriela Haquez averages 10. She had 18 against LSU. Tamia Gardner averages eight. She had 15 against LSU, including five three pointers. I think the strength here, and maybe why I believe in UCLA even more now than I did a week ago, was that I've talked to a lot of coaches about game planning for UCLA and they've said, you know, kind of your best hope is to get Lauren Betts in foul trouble. And that's exactly what LSU did. They had her pick up two fouls in the first quarter of that game. She went to the bench. And what did UCLA do? They beat LSU 22 to 12 in the second quarter. They had five three pointers or four. Tamia Gardner hit three. I know Gabriella Hawk has hit one. And they just sort of showed this other element of themselves that even with Lauren Betts on the bench, they weren't going to fold. And a good team like LSU dug themselves a hole in that quarter that they just couldn't come out of, no matter the heroics that Flage had in that game. And so I think that really impresses me. And the other thing that I think they definitely have over UConn is that they have a versatility of lineups here that UConn just simply does not have to have. A player like Tamia Gardner, who is a 6 foot 4 forward, who is also your best 3 point shooter on the team, percentage wise, is really impressive. They can go big by running out hurt for Janiyah Barker, Angela Dugalic, Lauren Betts, like they that length is sort of all over the floor, but you can sort of go with like a larger lineup. In football. They would call it a jumbo lineup. I don't know what they would call it in basketball. Maybe Corey has a name for it. They can go smaller with Gabriela Haquez, London Jones, Kiki Rice. And so they have a lot of different options that I'm just not sure about that matchup when it comes to the UCLA UConn matchups. And then when we're talking about three point shooting, you brought up Sarah Strong, you brought up Paige beckers. Their best three point shooter is Az Fudd. And in the last two games she shot 28% from three. She missed her first nine shots against USC in that Elite Eight game. I'm just not positive that she is sort of on it enough in this game to sort of go against the depth and the versatility of weapons that UCLA has. And so for all of those factors in this debate, I am choosing ucla.

[Sabrina Merchant]

All right, I have a first question for Chantel. As much as I love it.

[Chantel Jennings]

No, please stop.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I don't think you start any fight.

[Chantel Jennings]

You're not allowed to ask me follow ups if I cited you.

[Ben Pickman]

Ben, do you have anything you can go first, Sabrina. Damn it.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I completely agree with your point that the biggest challenge for UConn is going to be how to defend Lauren Betts. But how do you see UCLA guarding a team like UConn that can spread out five out?

[Chantel Jennings]

Well, I didn't talk about that in my argument because I don't think it's a great point for ucla. I think this is where they're going to have to rely on a UConn not not being super great from range. Like you're just gonna have to give something up. And I think here's where you're gonna have to trade a few twos for threes and hope that the two pointers are hitting at a higher rate than the three pointers and that's where it can even out a little bit and hope that Lauren bets who's the best post in the country can sort of be that difference maker for you. And on the outside, hope that the rotations especially, you know, whatever needs to be done if you're. If they're gonna double down on Sarah, whatever they're gonna do, if they're gonna run that sort of matchup zone that they run like whatever they're gonna do, they're just going to have to bank on the fact that Lauren is going to make up that difference with a high percentage of 2. She's averaging 20 and 10. I think she has to, she has to be better than her average in this game to beat Yukon.

[Ben Pickman]

I think it's a good point. Chantal, I will say I enjoyed your argument going one one is greater than two. That was my favorite point that you made.

[Chantel Jennings]

Thanks.

[Ben Pickman]

I appreciated that kind of analysis.

[Chantel Jennings]

I'm good at math.

[Ben Pickman]

You only get that kind of analysis on the show. I guess I'll Throw a question out at Xena. And look, I've been riding. I will admit I will. I am a biased party here in that I have been riding the Huskies all tournament long. So that is my current bias. Though last year I did pick the Bruins to win the title. So not wrong, just early. Potentially. I say all that to say.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I heard Ben say not wrong, just early. About 35 times over the last three days.

[Chantel Jennings]

We've talked a lot about. We've talked a lot about getting T shirts. And I feel like between Duke, you could have been better. Save it for Arkansas. And not wrong, but early. We have three really good taglines here.

[Ben Pickman]

I think no off season coming in. That'll be our merch. I guess my question for you, though, Zena, is, you know, you acknowledge that UConn is playing its best basketball of the season now. And actually Corey Close made that same point on Thursday in her press conference. But if you take away the South Carolina win in February, which I get, is an important win, you know, it's not exactly like UConn has been beating up on really good teams throughout the regular season. We saw them lose to Notre Dame. We saw them lose to usc. We saw them lose to Tennessee, their conference not as strong as some other conferences like, without a convincing win. That's partly why they were 2 seed. I guess what gives you confidence that this UConn team, you know, is. Is capable of winning big games, especially against a Big Ten opponent, because they've been more inconsistent in high leverage competition than I think people want to acknowledge.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, I think you, I mean, the use of big twice in that, that statement of big game, Big Ten. Interesting, because I think it is a big moment. I 1000% believe that if between these two teams, the player that has shown up in big moments and been capable of showing up in big moments is Paige Becker's. We've seen Lauren Betts, of course, play big and be a big factor for ucla, but has she really shown up in this sort of an environment yet? Have we seen Corey Close show up in this sort of environment yet? Yes, Sarah Strong is a freshman, but 22 and 17 in that last game showed me that this sort of stage is not something that she's scared of. And it really comes down to a swagger, a demeanor in which you come into this game and a confidence with which you play. And I'm looking at UConn right now, and I don't want to judge it too hard, but the way that their team is moving and the way that they're acting even off like of just their social media or just like the post game pressers and they're feeling really calm, cool and collected coming into this space and as if like, no, we're supposed to be here. We messed up last year, but we're supposed to be here. And I feel like that is gonna influence the way that they show up and lock in. And I also think that there's something to be said about the way that UConn is closing the season because sometimes that's when you hit momentum and that's when you hit your stride is towards the end of the season. Maybe they learned some lessons from those early losses in the, in the, in the year. But right now all that matters is the game that's in front of you. And if you've got Paige Beckers coming in, averaging almost 30 points a game, playing so well, locked in, and everyone else is kind of following in line behind that, I think that gives you an advantage and the composure you need to perform on this kind of stage. Tanto, come at me, sis.

[Chantel Jennings]

Okay, Xena, you took a cross country flight today. I'm just curious how you're feeling. You flew, you flew from LA to Tampa. How are you feeling? Your legs feel good?

[Zena Keda]

You know, I'm old. I'm old. Chantel, don't do that. I'm old, so I don't, you know, I don't circulate blood around my body as, as well as young college students do. But yeah, no, I mean, it's a, it's a fair point. UConn looked a little tired when the band was in front of him.

[Chantel Jennings]

Balls. They and Gino Auriemma has talked about this. They have the shortest turnaround of any team in the Final Four this week. They played a really late game Monday night in Spokane. So twice in one week. Now they will have done cross country flights with three hour time changes. First going east to west, now going west to east. They flew here on Tuesday. I went from Central to Pacific to Eastern time and my body still doesn't know what's going on. Granted, I'm in my mid-30s. I am not an elite college athlete. And I'm sure that they are doing things to counteract that. But I do feel like the body clocks and the time change and the jet lag and the six hour flights like that is something that is a factor. And like Ben said, these games are one on the margins. We're talking about two teams that are elite, that are prepared, that are coming for this moment. And when you look at the margins like two six hour flights in the span of a week. Those time changes like those could be some margins that might matter.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I think. History of the super regional. The teams that have won it Sunday versus Monday are undefeated in the final four.

[Chantel Jennings]

Oh, interesting. Thank you, Sabrina.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Sabrina just does not bode well for my Texas argument.

[Ben Pickman]

But I was just gonna say, Sabrina, is there a reason why you just.

[Zena Keda]

Threw your argument up?

[Sabrina Merchant]

It just occurred to me as Chantel was talking.

[Zena Keda]

Okay, that's fair. That's fair. Health is real. Health is real. I want to get back to a little bit of X's and O's though real quick, Shantel, because I think Ben, you might have been the one to ask about spreading the floor. My question is if the matchup is, you know, I don't know. Lauren Betts against Janelle Alfie. They find a way to do a cross screen, get Strong in front of Lauren Betts. They pull her out away from the basket and Sarah Strong is taking Betts one on one to the basket, getting her in foul trouble. What happens if Lauren Betts has to sit for a while with ucla? You talked about the dynamic lineups, like what, what do you anticipate happening for that?

[Chantel Jennings]

I mean at that point then Janiyah Barker is on the floor. I'd like to quote a coach if I can. I don't know if I'm allowed to curse this much on the pod, but we'll have a story running on the site this week. Actually on Friday when this runs. I spoke with five coaches who scouted every or played against every team. And this specific coach was talking to me about playing ucla. This is a coach who game planned for ucla and this coach was saying this specifically like, like if other players get in foul trouble, if other players are not able to be in the game, they said, okay, let's say those guys don't play good and you put Barker in. I mean, God damn, she's really good. Like really good. This is an all, all SEC player that Corey Close is bringing off the bench. Like what a luxury to have someone like that you're bringing off the bench. She might not have sort of the all around game of someone like Sarah Strong who is, you know, a total three level scorer. I love Sarah Strong's game so I will see that. But I think defensively with her athleticism, her length, her speed, her quickness, her lateral movement, like Janiyah Barker is someone that defensively can hold up to, you know, Jana L. Alfie doesn't have that kind of mobility in the post, Sarah Strong does, but I think what you can bring off the bench, whether it's Tamiya, whether it's Janaya, I think UCLA has the depth there and they do run nine deep. Corey Close is very active with her subbing. I was not going to bring that up as a part of my argument because it's not necessarily something I always love. But I think because of that heavy subbing this season, you have a lot of players who have played in big minutes that they can rely on to call on those players when they need them.

[Zena Keda]

Okay, well, it will be a battle of the depth of UConn versus the depth of.

[Chantel Jennings]

I'm very excited for the explicit warning on this pod now because I said the F word twice.

[Zena Keda]

Anyways. It'll be fine if you've heard the bleep. That's what we did anyways. This is good. This was fun. I need your help though, guys. All of you listening. You gotta help us figure out who won those debates and if the winners line up with who you think is actually gonna win tonight. We got all our social handles and our info in the episode description below. Or just Google us. That's cool. I've never said that before. Just Google us, share the episode and let us know who you think won the debate and who you think will win later. Speaking of winners, we're just gonna go ahead and head over into a little prediction corner. Without knowing the outcomes to the games tonight, I want some predictions from you all on who's going to win it all. Ben, I'm gonna go with you first. Who do you think is gonna win it all on Sunday?

[Ben Pickman]

The UConn Huskies will be winning the championship on Sunday, and I expect the game to look a lot like the 2020, I guess the 2022 national championship, the game in which South Carolina beat University of Connecticut, in which it becomes very apparent very early on that UConn is better than their opponent, who in this case is going to be South Carolina. I'm expecting a little flip of the script from that title game in Minneapolis.

[Zena Keda]

Boom. Okay, Chantel, up next.

[Chantel Jennings]

I'm a little torn here. I think whoever. I'll caveat this. Whoever wins UCLA, UConn wins the national championship is what I think. And I have gone back and forth on that game. When we had to make our picks last week, Even after watching UConn in Spokane, I picked UCLA. I had also seen UCLA and Spokane, but after sort of seeing how they played, I went with ucla. There is a part of me, though, that sort of Feels like Paige Beckers is on this mission this season. And I believe it's Ben who always says, pick the best player to win in these sort of situations. And I do think the best player left in the tournament right now is Paige Beckers. I think the second best is Lauren Betts, which makes this a hard decision. So I'll say right now Ucon. But I do think it's.

[Ben Pickman]

It's.

[Chantel Jennings]

Whoever wins between UConn and UCLA will be the team that wins the national title.

[Zena Keda]

Okay, Sabrina.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I mean, I'm. I'm Queen Chalk, so number one overall seed in ucla. The best player thing is nice, but Caitlin Clark did not win a title the last two years, so who's to say that always works?

[Zena Keda]

Ooh, that's a really good point. That's a good point. Oh, I'm. I'm struggling. Cause I'm. I'm telling you, I don't. I never want to bet against Don Staley. I never want to bet against her. However, that Duke game made me look a little differently at the Gamecocks of just how much they could control a game and also control their own destiny when defenses turned up. And I just feel like whoever is going to win that UConn UCLA game is going to give them a run for their money. So I think I might be going UConn. I'm also very much on the Paige Becker's train right now. She's playing some inspired basketball. And I used to hate that term, but it's real and I'm seeing it and I'm like, I really think she's gonna will her way to a championship.

[Chantel Jennings]

Xena, I was really hoping you were gonna go with a dad joke and say you don't bet against Dawn Staley, but you do bets against Dawn Staley.

[Zena Keda]

That have been good. That have been good. Oh, by the way, on that note, I got a really great dad joke in my Uber on the way to my hotel in Tampa. Guys, what type of room doesn't have walls?

[Ben Pickman]

This is really good radio.

[Zena Keda]

It's a mushroom. Okay, that's all we've got for you guys today. Thank you, Ben. Thank you, Sabrina and Shantel. Thank you all for listening. Couple programming notes as we head into this momentous weekend. We will be hitting your feeds with an audio only show sometime on Saturday afternoon or evening. I will prepare another dad joke for that. So just be mentally ready. Uh, we're gonna be breaking down the final four and looking ahead to the title game. Then we'll be back in your feed on Monday morning. With our reactions to the big game itself. There will be no POD on Tuesday next week, but we will be coming to you on Wednesday and Friday. And don't forget, as always, there is more to read and watch over at our partner, the Yahoo. Sports Hub. So check it out. Sports.yahoo.com women-sports on behalf of the Athletic, I'm Zena Keda. Thanks for listening. Thanks for listening to our dad jokes and we will see you next time. No Off Season is hosted by Zena Keda with Chantelle Jennings, Sabrina Merchant and Ben Pickman. It's produced by Tanika Perot. Our executive producers are Andrea B. Scott and Cassius Fleming. Our theme music is by Marcus Begala. Brenna Haupt 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 our director of Audio operations.

[Discover Representative]

As we head into the playoffs, it's safe to assume there will be a few calls 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. You heard that right, 99%. So make a good call for your wallet and get discovered. Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Learn more at discover.com creditcard this podcast.

[Aura Representative]

Is brought to you by Aura. By the time you hear about a data breach, your information has already been exposed for months. On average, companies take 277 days to report a breach. That's nine months where hackers have access to your personal data. That's why we're thrilled to partner with Aura. Aura is an all in one digital safety solution that monitors the dark web for your phone number, email and Social Security number, sending real time alerts if your info is includes a vpn, password manager and data broker removal. To help keep you safe for a limited time, Aura is offering a 14 day free trial plus a dark web scan to check if your personal information has been leaked. All for [e-mail] safety that's aura.com safety to sign up and protect your loved ones. That's a u r a.com safety terms apply. Check the site for details.

[Zena Keda]

ACAST Powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we.

[Giggly Squad Hosts]

Hey guys. Welcome to Giggly Squad, a place where we make fun of everything but most importantly ourselves. I'm Paige Desorbo. I'm Hannah Berner. Welcome to the Squad. Giggly Squad started on Summer House when we were giggling during an inappropriate time. But of course we can't be managed, so we decided to start this podcast to continue giggling. We will make fun of pop culture news. We're watching fashion trends pep talks where we give advice, mental health moments and games. And guests listen to Giggly Squad on ACAST or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ben Pickman]

ACAST helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Acast.com.