← No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
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- [00:01]
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Zena Kaeda
The Athletic I'm Zena Kaeda and this is the Athletic Women's Basketball Show. Welcome back to the Athletic Women's Basketball show where we are here to talk all things women's hoops. Whether you're a die hard fan that eats, sleeps and breathes the game or you're a casual fan of Find out a little bit more about what March might be looking like for your favorite team. Don't worry, you're in the right place. Make sure you subscribe to this pod wherever you get your pods to stay up to date. Also, subscribe to the athletes. There's some really cool content on the site that you don't want to miss out on, including our Bracketology series. Now if you've been following the show and subscribe to the Athletic for a while, you've probably seen and heard this series before. But now we got Mark Schindler back at the Athletic to break down what's going on in March. And I am so excited because the lead up is what gets us going, what gets us excited. It gets us to know which games to watch, what teams to watch out for, who are the dark horses, who are the definite ends at large automatic qualifiers, all the above. We're here to break it down for you. So, Mark, welcome back to the show.
- [05:58]
Mark Schindler
Yeah, thanks for having me, Zena. I'm excited to be back. Um, Somehow it's already February 3rd today, which just doesn't feel right. But March is getting here fast.
- [06:07]
Zena Kaeda
Man, it's crazy. It is already February 3rd, and it feels as if this season has moved by faster than before. And I don't know if that's because there were so many great matchups in non conference play, and now conference play is here that everything seems like it's moving faster or if it's because there's less big conferences. And it feels as if, like all the games, there's less games between big teams, right, because they're now in these big power fours. And it just feels like the season's moving faster. Like, why do you think that is?
- [06:41]
Mark Schindler
No, I think you hit the nail on the head with just. With everything going on in non con. I think you like, hyper focus and prioritize what that's going to look like. I almost think of it like Christmas. Like, it's like you get so excited for Christmas happening And then it's January 10th, you know, before you know it. And that's how it feels with Don Con. You're waiting for all these games. You're thinking about them in the late summer, early fall, and projecting them out. And then you just bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. It all like hits because of the way the game schedule happens. And then, yeah, we're. I mean, we're halfway through conference play, which is crazy. So, yeah, I mean, it happens really fast. And especially for some teams that are going to be closer to the bubble, they're going to wish that some things were. That they still had some opportunities in non conference play.
- [07:25]
Zena Kaeda
All right, well, now, we've already set some, some terminology out here. We've talked about bracketology. We said. You just mentioned the bubble. I talked about automatic bids at large. I want you to break it down really quickly. Let's peel it back. And for those that are new to the show, maybe joined us this past WNBA season, not during the tournament, when you first joined last year to kind of explain bracketology. What is that you do with Bracketology to get us to understand what to expect in March.
- [07:55]
Mark Schindler
Yeah, so a lot of my job is. Has nothing to do with having an opinion or maybe, I mean, I guess you're still technically analyzing things. But my job, what I'm doing every week is I am trying to put out what I think is most accurate and in line with what the selection committee would put out if the bracket was being made that week. Know, trying to keep up with that, follow that, stay on top of that as things ebb and flow. So, I mean, I like, stay in touch with people who are. Who advise a selection committee, do things like that to just like, better understand, you know, what are you guys doing? How are you kind of seeing things? What are you prioritizing? So, obviously last year is, my first year was a big learning experience. You know, kind of had to adjust some things on the fly throughout the year. I don't necessarily always agree with everything the selection committee is going to do and how they kind of put some things out, but I think that helps with better understanding what they're looking for and how things are actually going to play out. So again, like, when I put your team as a seven seed, it's not because I think they should be a seven seed. It's because I think that's what the selection committee is going to do. You could have the best team in the world, by all means, but if that's what your resume is, man, that's where you're going to be on the Athletic bracket.
- [09:07]
Zena Kaeda
There you go. There you go. And I love that, you know, that was one of the things that you mentioned in your first article. And again, guys, bracketology series is live, supported by e trade on the Athletic right now. So go check it out. But in your very first series earlier this January, you mentioned that you learned a lot from last year. What were some of the things that you learned in terms of putting this together that you're excited to implement this year?
- [09:29]
Mark Schindler
Yeah, I think the most important thing probably that I was just, I don't want to say at odds with, but the selection committee hit home multiple times last year how important your entire resume was. But then they really boosted the importance of, at least in my opinion, when the actual rankings came out, the actual seeding came out. It's very clear how much they prioritize the end of season. So if you didn't finish the season strong, that hurts you badly. So to me, I think what you're doing right now, or not even just right now, but what you do over the last Week, two weeks, that matters a lot. You know, if you are a team that's on a four or five game skid or you're in the midst of a really difficult schedule, like what Maryland's in right now. Obviously injuries play a part in that, but I think particularly, yeah, what you're doing most recently, how you finish play, I think that is most key. And then also like, don't lose bad games and yeah, like don't. If you're going to lose a game, lose it to a good team, lose it close. Picking up a really difficult loss that's by more than single digits, that's going to hurt you a lot.
- [10:38]
Zena Kaeda
Now, Mark, I'm a bit of a nerd, so I actually went back and looked up some of my notes from our conversation last year.
- [10:43]
Mark Schindler
And that's the Yale showing out, right?
- [10:45]
Zena Kaeda
There you go. There you go. But I remember some of the things that you taught me that I thought were really like important. And you just mentioned team resumes and that was one of the things that I didn't really have a grasp on. Like what does a team resume really mean? And you mentioned that it's your overall record, it's your strength of schedule, your quality wins and advanced metrics. You know, basically net rankings, um, and I didn't realize how much, you know, net rankings was even a part of it. But thinking about like the quality wins, as you mentioned, like don't lose bad games, I learned what a Quad 1 win is basically a win based off of like the opponent's ranking of the things of the resumes. You know, you just mentioned the end of season performance is really important. What would you, if you were in this committee, really prioritize in terms of how to seed a team?
- [11:35]
Mark Schindler
Yeah, I think first and foremost I do just want to hit on the net really quick because to me I understand it's really difficult because I understand fan perspective. Like, My team is 12th in the net. Why aren't they ranked higher? You know, why aren't they seated higher and things like that. And I would love to see the committee be more open about how they use the net because I think again watching last year, to me, I mean what your actual resume is matter a lot more than that. I mean it's helpful because to me the net is just a way of organization really than, than a metric in my opinion. Like, so the best way to look at it net is heavily, heavily influenced by margin of victory. So if you're a team that blows everybody out, that's going to impact your Net greatly to you rising higher. If you're a team that plays every game close, then that's. Even if you have a great resume, that's going to put you lower. So again, like a team like Maryland, I think it's less applicable now as they've a couple games, but even a couple weeks ago they were around 20 in the net, but they put together a much better resume than teams ranked quite a bit higher than them in the net. And you point that out for a couple teams, but that's the one that comes to mind right away. But I think for me, what I'd be looking at, I mean, dominance is maybe the wrong way to put it, but like, how well are you playing against the best competition, but also are you elevated against regular competition? So like, again, looking at teams that are high up in the net, I think you can point to Kansas State as a team that has, obviously they're figuring out life with, without Aoka Lee right now, which is, you know, you struggle with that a little bit. They took that loss to Colorado, understandably, their first game without her, but outside that, like, they haven't played a great schedule this year, but they have just beaten up everybody in their path. I think you can say the same thing about UCLA. I think UCLA's strength of schedule is a lot better than people make it out to be. But again, I think they've had one game go single digits this season outside, you know, after they beat South Carolina, they've had one game be decided by single digits.
- [13:32]
Zena Kaeda
Right?
- [13:33]
Mark Schindler
So like, again, are you dominating the field? Is it consistent? Do you let off the gas? Like, are you a team that is able to continue to put together 40 minutes of play? So to me, that matters most is the consistency aspect. Like, I don't care about your highest high. I care about what you're doing consistently for a full game and how that kind of plays out each week.
- [13:55]
Zena Kaeda
I'm happy you mentioned that because it definitely can help fans that don't understand why a team might keep their starters in in the third even though they're up 20, even though they're up a lot. You know, it's not only a matter of wanting to ensure that your players get the minutes that they need to continue their conditioning, get the opportunity to continue to, you know, improve on anything that they need to be improving upon. It's also a matter of like, we need to be beating teams the way that we need to be beating teams to put ourselves in a good position later on in this year, not only from a team perspective of how we perform, but quite literally positioning in the tournament. All right, let's actually turn and talk to us about some of these teams and the bracketology, the work of it all. And I want to ask you, as you've been looking at bracketology this season, what has been particularly hard or easy for you as you put things together? Your last article talked about the fact that your top four players are your top four teams. UCLA, UConn, USC, Notre Dame, like they're, they're pretty much shoe ins in that top seed position. Like I figure that's an easy one. But has there anything been particularly easy or hard as you put together bracketology this year?
- [15:06]
Mark Schindler
Yeah, I think the hard part has been weighing head to head wins and losses a little bit because for reference, over the last week, so Michigan State, who's been really good this year, has been flirting with being a number four seed. They beat Michigan in a, in a rivalry game, I believe it was at Chrysler center in Michigan in ann arbor by 30 and then lost their next game to Oregon, who. Oregon's tough, but I, I would have, I think that's a game that I would have liked to see Michigan State pick up in terms of like just building out their resume. And then obviously Michigan has that loss to them. Their next game is against Oregon. They beat them by 30. So it's like, you know, when you kind of are trying to weigh out some of those things, right? Like I would say that Michigan State has a just comfortably better resume than Michigan right now based on some of the ones that they have. But like, those things are difficult when you're trying to, you know, put together in your head what team is quote unquote playing better right now, what team has shown they are better? So even if, you know, if, if you lost this game, like one of the things that's been really difficult for me is just the Big 12 as a whole.
- [16:08]
Zena Kaeda
I was going to say when you mentioned Kansas State, I was thinking about the Big 12 just being a very interesting conference in terms of being able to evaluate are they as strong on the larger scale in the larger field as some of the top teams in the Big 12 look in their particular conference.
- [16:25]
Mark Schindler
Yeah, no, I think they're the, out of the four power conferences, they're by far the weakest. And I think a lot of it is just what they did in non con. I mean, Baylor, who you could argue between them and Oklahoma State, who's the third best team or I guess maybe West Virginia. Now that West Virginia took that game against Against Oklahoma State after losing them earlier in the year. Point being like there are not marquee wins in this conference outside of what TCU did to Notre Dame. Because then you add up, well, TCU lost to South Carolina by 30 and granted South Carolina is really good. I don't want to take away from that, but okay, well, I can point to tcu.
- [17:00]
Zena Kaeda
Also beat NC State though.
- [17:02]
Mark Schindler
Yeah, TCU did also beat NC State, but then you can point and be like, well, NC State is more like they're more of a four seed. It's not when you're looking top of the top. Right. I think it's just hard because. And that's what I'm going to be really fascinated to see how the selection committee views this because I think it's just very clear that the Big 12 is not on par relatively with the top three conferences alongside them. Which is why even though again, Kansas State last week they were 19 and 1 and I think fifth in the net and I had them on the three line and I just think it's tough when they lost to Duke, they don't have a signature win outside that, outside of Creighton, who is a solid team. Creighton's good. They're going to be in the NCAA tournament whether they win the Big east or not. They're not going to be east, but that's like the 30th ranked team in the country. And when that's your best win, that's tough to overcome. And again with TCU, I think NC State is more of like being 15th best team in the country. Could they be better? Absolutely. They might rise to the occasion and become even better. I think they have a real good chance to do that. Wrote about that last week too. But like, I think it's just tough because when you don't have those head to head wins over the top teams, it's a little bit harder. And in some ways too, like yes, TCU has the Notre Dame win, but there's obviously some funkiness there too. With Notre Dame lost to them and lost to Utah, it just was. I mean they've looked like a completely different team since that. Obviously you don't want to discount that, but the more losses a team accrues then like, okay, well not that your win doesn't mean anything, but it kind of, it drags it down a little bit. Sure. So it's just, I don't know, figuring that out with them has been really difficult.
- [18:42]
Zena Kaeda
Okay, I can imagine. I'm curious. I'm going to ask you an easier question than that. Of all the conferences, which conference of the power four you think will have the most top seated teams?
- [18:55]
Mark Schindler
Yeah, that one I've been wrestling with. I've pretty much ruled out the ACC having two number one seeds. I just don't think it's going to happen because the hard part is going to be again because it's going to come down to who plays well to close out the year. I think like, like we talked about, I think South Carolina and UCLA right now look like they're going to be locks. Obviously a lot of season left, anything can happen. But especially considering, well, I would say UCLA is probably, it's harder to figure out with them just because they haven't. They're about to get into the really difficult portion of their schedule in the Big Ten play, I should say. But like sc, they've already beat lsu, they've already beat Texas, they've already beat Oklahoma. They've had all those wins convincingly. Like even if they take on another loss in SEC play, I think it's going to be really difficult for them to not be a number one seed unless they lose like multiple games, which I just wouldn't expect with how this team has played so far. Obviously anything can happen, but they're in a position where it's like, okay, a team really has to come and take it from them.
- [19:51]
Zena Kaeda
Right.
- [19:52]
Mark Schindler
I think in a way they've like kind of locked up that aspect. I think it's a little bit tougher with the ACC because again Notre Dame and Duke haven't played. Notre Dame and Florida State haven't played. Like there's a lot of opportunities for things to happen in the acc. I think again Notre Dame having head to head wins over USC and Connecticut should matter in the grand scheme of things. But again, like how you close the season always comes out. And also having a win over Texas. But to me I think it'll probably be the SEC gets a second number number seed. But I mean, yeah, that would be my guess right now. And I honestly think we're in a spot too where I mean obviously a lot can happen with usc, but I just think Notre Dame having that, that head to head is going to make it tougher for a second Big Ten team to own it up. And I don't want to say that like the Iowa win is going to totally take USC out of this. I mean last year we had USC lost to Washington in a really unexpected game. I will say that Washington is a really tough opponent last year. Yeah. But then they found themselves after that, and they wound up becoming a one seed and knocking Stanford off the one line, who had been phenomenal throughout the year.
- [21:03]
Zena Kaeda
Yep.
- [21:04]
Mark Schindler
So, you know, it's just a lot of, like, how do you kind of weigh some of this stuff? How does it come back? So I'm going to be. Yeah, there's a lot that can play out still.
- [21:12]
Zena Kaeda
What has surprised you the most as you've. As you've been putting these teams together and, you know, trying to anticipate what the selection committee would think, et cetera. What are some of the teams or players or anyone that have been impacting where their teams end up seating that have surprised you the most? And you're like, wow, like, that's a big jump from what you saw last year, or perhaps maybe a big drop from last year. But what's been most surprising as you put the field together?
- [21:37]
Mark Schindler
Most surprising? That's a good question. I think some of the stuff that's been hardest, again, is like, the margin of victory stuff, because we've had a lot of teams who played really strong schedules. But, like, okay, let's take Iowa State, who's played currently the 21st strongest schedule in the country. They're 15 and 9, but they've lost every single quad one game they've played, and they've lost most of them pretty badly. Like, yep, yes, they played South Carolina, but they lost by 40. Like, that's bad. Like, you can. You can say they, oh, is the number one, number two team in the country. I don't care. Like, losing by 40. To me, like, that's almost like, I wrote about it. Again with talking about the number one seed stuff. Like, we've had two teams in the last four years that have lost the game by more than single digits that have ended up as a one seed. It just doesn't happen super often. It's not something I anticipate happening. Obviously, Iowa State's not in that mix. But again, like, when you're losing all these games that badly, it just really throws a wrench into stuff.
- [22:37]
Zena Kaeda
I would agree with you on that. And Chantel, Chantelle, I think this whole podcast group would actually agree with you that Iowa State's been the most surprising in their positioning this year. Definitely. I mean, I think even last show, Chantelle mentioned that she anticipated them being in the Final Four this year. But I think the youth has played more of a factor in that in that group than we anticipated. For sure.
- [23:02]
Mark Schindler
Yeah, no, absolutely. I think one of the harder aspects, too, just kind of looking up and down like I'll be really interested to see what happens with some of the like I think there's a real chance that we get some more multi bid leagues out of smaller conferences just because of looking at how some things have played out. Number one, like we had some, some of the really good mid major teams gave great games to power teams but also took some games and then you look at how some of these teams like I mean the bottom of the Big Ten is really bad from a resume perspective. Like there's not a lot like I think the bottom three or four teams in the Big Ten are just pretty poor this year. The acc, I think the ACC is like pretty strong top to bottom. Like even though wake Forest is 1 in 10 in their play right now, they were okay out of conference, same thing with Pitt. But again I think you even talk about like the very bottom of the SEC and the very bottom of the Big 12 I think is that's where the biggest issue is because the depth of the conference is just really poor. When you get outside like the top six or seven, you're talking about teams in like the one hundreds in the net ranking and stuff like that. Again the net is not everything. But when you're talking comparatively and trying to like measure some of these things out, just the way things have stacked up so far, I mean teams in the mid majors have more significant wins than some of these teams in the bottom of the Big 12. Like a team like Ball State in the Mac, let's take them like they, they beat Texas A and M. They beat Texas A and M on a, on a neutral court, gave a really tight game to North Carolina and they've just been awesome. Like they're a team that honestly if they win out Mac play and lose in the Mac championship game, I think they'd have a really good shot at being in the tournament field. Okay, obviously a lot, a lot can still happen. A lot depends on that. But like I think when again like a team like Texas A and M who unfortunately with a Shakula Bali out, I think their season's probably going to hit a cliff. Terrible injury which just sucked. Yeah but like I think that's a team where like okay, you're kind of looking for those things. A team like Belmont who again didn't necessarily take a massive win in non con like they beat Middle Tennessee which was a really good pickup for them. They gave Kentucky a great game, gave Mississippi State a great game, gave Michigan a great game, gave Ohio State like an absolute heartbreaker to end for Them that's a team again, where like, I think if they have a similar path of like, say that, that you win the regular season, go deep in the conference tournament and lose, like, I think that they would still have a good shot at being. Because again, Washington lost to Montana and Noncon and like, you can point out, you know, they were implementing a new offense, figuring things out, but a loss is still a loss. At the end of the day, a.
- [25:39]
Zena Kaeda
Loss is still a loss.
- [25:40]
Mark Schindler
That's an L. And like, and to me, like, I think you could make a really compelling case that Belmont has a stronger tournament resume than Washington right now. Obviously Washington having their, I'm trying to remember who their Quad One win is, I believe, yeah, they have a win over Illinois, which was strong, but they're one in five in their last six games. So again, like, so much of it's just going to depend on those other things happening and depends on, you know, do some of these teams in the ACC, in the Big 12, in the Big 10, do they pick up more significant wins towards the end of the year, which we're seeing already, like a team like Arizona, who I thought they had a. Just a pretty dreadful start to the year compared to what I was expecting or what it could have been. And then, okay, they beat West Virginia last week and you pull off some of that stuff, like, obviously you need to keep doing more, but like, you know, how does that stuff continue to balance out?
- [26:29]
Zena Kaeda
So now my question is, because you've listed a few teams, you actually didn't list Richmond, which, you know, I learned from you that, you know, could be a team that gets some big wins and upset some folks. And that leads me into my next question of as you look at the field and you're talking about these different teams, Belmont, Ball State, these teams that may be mid major or teams that are close to the bottom of the Power 4 conferences. What are the chances for upsets this year, especially with parody on the rise? Of course, the transfer portal has been hot this year in comparison to past years. Any dark horses that you have an eye on?
- [27:04]
Mark Schindler
Yeah, I mean, absolutely. I think a lot of it. And I don't mean this is like a shot at fans, but I think part of what gets undersold is just how much style plays an aspect in some of these wins and losses. Like, some of these teams are just not built to beat some of the teams they come against. And I mean this like Ole Miss is incredibly, incredibly good, but they're such a tough matchup for Vanderbilt. And again, I want to say, like, because Ole Miss, they have two wins over Vanderbilt this year. Those are arguably their two best wins on the season. I would just say point blank, Ole Miss is a better basketball team. They've showed that they played a stronger schedule. And that's not saying Vanderbilt is bad, but it's like Ole Miss is really long. They switch everything. They're very aggressive. They can beat you one on one. And that is everything that Vanderbilt struggles with. And to me, Ole Miss is like really the only team in the SEC that plays that kind of style that Vanderbilt can struggle with. So, no, Shay Ralph isn't a bad coach. No, Vanderbilt is not a bad program. Sometimes you just have those games and that's what happens stylistically. So to me, it's like, okay, you look at a team like Duke last year when they beat Ohio State, I don't want to say that was like, quote unquote unexpected, but it definitely surprised people. But I think going into that game, it surprised me.
- [28:11]
Zena Kaeda
I chose Ohio State to go to the Final Four.
- [28:14]
Mark Schindler
Yeah, for me, like watching that game, I think there was obviously the difficulty of Ohio State lost right at the end of the year. They lost early in the Big Ten Conference tournament. And so when they drew Duke, I was like, oh, like Duke played two, six, six bigs that were super mobile, smart and they're super set, heavy. So like, they're really good at picking on things. And so as soon as that draw happened, I was like, oh, man, that is like the absolute worst thing Ohio State could get in this. In this thing. So like a team like Richmond, Richmond plays a Princeton style offense. Everybody shoots. They're not necessarily going to beat you one on one. So like a team like Ole Miss I actually think would play really well against Richmond because they can switch everything. They stay in front well and then they can beat you that way on the other end. But like Richmond, I think if they played a team that maybe they're not as strong at switching they're not great at, you know, if they get taken out of their base principles on defense, then you could really struggle. So let's say if Richmond plays like Richmond gave Texas probably the closest game Texas had in a win this season. Like, obviously Texas lost to South Carolina and Notre Dame, but Richmond, like, I think it was single digits the entire way, just about. And they played a really strong game in that. So again, like a team like that, that is like more reliant on some of those things like that, I'd be very fascinating to see, like again, matchups like that, you know, what if Richmond takes on, like, I'm trying to think in my head, Richmond against TCU is like, fascinating to me. Not that I think that's going to happen, but like, because tcu, they want to play in their drop, they play some smaller guards. It's not the, you know, so it's like there's a lot there that's really interesting.
- [29:46]
Zena Kaeda
I think that's really important for fans and listeners to know. It's not just looking at, you know, who's on the roster that can score the most points or what have they done, stats wise, in terms of being a really great rebounding team or being a team that caused a lot of turnovers. It is an aspect of how do these teams match up? Because even if their stats were exactly equivalent or one, you know, blew the other team out of the water with their particular stats in particular categories, if a team is really heavy in transition and the team they match up against is really long and really fast and plays well, you know, transition defense, well, they're not going to be able to get that advantage. So I really like the way that you, you know, you mentioned that that style matters a lot in who you come up against in terms of figuring out who could upset a bigger team or who could be upset by a team that isn't necessarily expected to do so. Okay. That means that's why you guys have to watch these games. And I don't know if you guys are listening. Clearly, that's what I love about Mark. Like, you watch so much college women's basketball and I don't know how you have space to compartmentalize all of these wins and this information and this data and these stats. It's amazing. I'm always so impressed. But it makes a lot of sense as to why you're so perfectly built for this, because of how much you. You're watching, et cetera. Now put on your coach's hat for our fans and our listeners. You've already mentioned a lot of different aspects of things that can impact how a team is seated. Their head to head wins, their, you know, obviously their net rankings, their dominance. I think that's a great word for it. How are they beating the teams that they're supposed to be and how are they playing against the teams that are supposed to present a challenge? What do you think will have the most impact on where teams land? Is it what you mentioned earlier with the end of season outcomes last year? People say, you know, conference tournament isn't huge in where people end up getting Seeded, but maybe it might have a little bit more of an impact than we think. What do you think will have the most impact on where someone's team may land?
- [31:55]
Mark Schindler
It sounds like a cop out, but honestly, it's the February stretch of games that we're about to get. Like, we have some teams, particularly the ACC goes into a total rock fight. So like this is Notre Dame schedule. Like they play a Stanford team that is, they're 11 and 10, but they can be a tough matchup. But then they play Cal, they play Duke, they play North Carolina State and they play Florida State all over in the course of like two and a half weeks. So that's like four of the top six teams in the league. That's really difficult. Like, that's where you find out a lot about teams. That's where you know, some of these teams like, like a North Carolina State that does have room to move up. Same thing with Florida State. Two teams that really haven't played the top of the conference yet outside. Like, I mean, both have played a couple games, but when you're talking about like, have you gone through that gauntlet stretch yet?
- [32:40]
Zena Kaeda
Right, right.
- [32:41]
Mark Schindler
I think that's where we're going to learn a lot. I think in the Big Ten, particularly like UCLA takes on Ohio State this Wednesday, they play Oregon, they play at USC the following Thursday they play Michigan State, they play Illinois, they play Iowa, they play USC to close the season. And their one game against a non tournament team right now is Wisconsin. And Wisconsin has Sarah Williams, who's one of the best, most dynamic bigs in the country. Like, they've been a much more improved team this year and they're, they're not giving anybody an easy game. They just beat Michigan last week. I think again, the February games are, we're going to learn a lot. Like, I can project everything out that I want to right now, but I think again the big separators and differentiators are going to be these games that happen and how teams take advantage of them. Like, do you pick up a big win? Does the Big 12 fall apart? TCU and K State are about to play each other and I think that they're both in a position where they can, they can beat up on one another in some way. But like, what happens if Arizona comes in and just snags a win? As Adia Barnes teams tend to do, what happens if West Virginia throws their hat into the mix? Like, I think those things are going to have really big impacts on just how everything ends up getting seeded out.
- [33:51]
Zena Kaeda
Okay. Folks, that's your, your alarm. Go watch these February games. I think this is even when I was playing. February was the gauntlet in general. Right. You've already, you're gone through your non con. You came back in January, getting back into the mix from the very short holiday break. But then February is where you turn it up. That's where you're, you're trying to really lock in on all the things that you worked all season to learn.
- [34:17]
Mark Schindler
Can I add one thing?
- [34:18]
Zena Kaeda
Oh yeah, yeah, go ahead.
- [34:19]
Mark Schindler
Well, speaking on that because like I wrote on this too in that article but like UConn I think has kind of slid under the radar. Like obviously they lost to Notre Dame. I think Notre Dame won that pretty convincingly in my opinion. Obviously won by double digits. It was a tight game but they kind of ran away with it in the fourth and then obviously lost really tight to USC and Hartford as a 11 possession game.
- [34:40]
Zena Kaeda
Yep.
- [34:40]
Mark Schindler
All they've done is go through beat up on the Big East. They haven't had a single game decided by single digits in the Big East. And you can point out like the Big east is not great this year. They haven't been even close to a power conference in my opinion the last couple of years.
- [34:52]
Zena Kaeda
Yeah, I agree.
- [34:53]
Mark Schindler
They beat a really good Creighton team in Creighton at the Omaha Health center. Like it was a big time games. Their first time that the women's team had played there in a minute. They continue to just do what they need to do and now they have an opportunity to come snag a one seed. They play Tennessee this Thursday who has been obviously tough, very good and then they play South Carolina in Columbia on February 16th and that is the game that I think everyone should have circled. I would obviously pick South Carolina right now. I think South Carolina has been the second best team in the country the majority of the year, if not the best. I just think until UCLA loses, you get that title. Sorry, but like Yukon is very much in play for a number one seed. I think it's tough because some of these teams like again like we talked about with NC State, like NC State's play one of the hardest schedules in, in the country, particularly in non con and like they had to figure out a lot of new things. They lost all of their bigs from last year. They were trying to figure that out. Obviously they took some ugly losses early on to sc, close game to tcu, got blown out by LSU and kind of a runaway game. But then you start putting stuff together, you start figuring out, like, hey, look, we have this opportunity to kind of take something. UConn's in the same spot where like, you know, having these kind of unconventional non con games in the middle of February, like they have real opportunity to build themselves into being, you know, an actual number one seed this season. Let's put it like this too. If South Carolina comes out and beats UConn convincingly, which is absolutely on the table, then I think that they've locked up a number one seed. Because that's just from what we've seen throughout this season. I think that's definitely right there.
- [36:22]
Zena Kaeda
Okay, Yukon fans listening, you know what to watch. You know what's a circular calendar? All right, February 16th. Yeah, the non con games during conference period. Interesting. But I also think is a marker of the game growing. Right. Like people want to see these games and you can't get them all in before December hits or January hits. So it is really exciting to get those type of big time matchups this late in the year. Now, last thing before I let you go, if anyone follows Mark Schindler on Twitter, which you absolutely should, or X as I should say you absolutely should, he's constantly clipping teams, running plays, players doing really cool things, just evaluating how awesome certain players have been in either their growth in a particular scale or just their impact in the game. Because a lot of times people look at a box score, people look at stats and evaluate a player and say, ah, they're not that that big of an impact on their team or they're not that big of a player in the large scheme of things of the ncaa. But they're actually doing a lot of things that fly under the radar. And so I wanted to one commend you on that. I appreciate how much you teach us on that. And you often get excited about some of these players that don't get a lot of national shine. So I wanted to see, I, I put you on the spot. Are there like a few that you'd like to call out, particularly maybe in recent weeks? Or maybe they got some games coming up that maybe we can watch. Any that you'd like to call out?
- [37:40]
Mark Schindler
That's a good question. I think there are. Man, there are so many players that go under the radar because like you said, I think so much of it is, you know, box score. And I understand why, you know, people gravitate towards box score. I think it's hard to watch every single game. I don't want to like, make it seem like I'm just, you know, I should Be what everybody else does. It's my job, so it's, you know, that's why I'm able to do it. I would say for. Man, this is on the spot. This is tough. Like, okay, let's point out, too, a couple weeks ago or I guess last week, Kentucky, who is now 19 2. They have. I wrote about them last week. They have a real chance to, like, somehow wind up and do a one seed. I think it's a little bit more of a long shot, but they're playing incredible basketball. George amore just had 43 yesterday. She was nuts. But like I go back to, they lost the game to Texas A and M in College Station, and Lauren Ware was just unreal in that game. Game. She's Texas A and M starting center. She made it incredibly difficult for them to get anything going at the rim. I don't even think she had a double double in that game, but was like, far and away the best defensive player. Totally won that game for Texas. And it was a team effort, don't get me wrong. But, like, I think that's a player who, like, to me, I just. I'm always pretty wild by our impact. A and M's in a rough spot this year. They've dealt with a lot of injuries, but, like, that kind of game changes the course of the season for you and for the other team.
- [38:58]
Zena Kaeda
For sure. You're talking about a big. I'll throw you one that, you know, I recently just did the. The Stanford pit game. Pit. Being in the bottom of the ACC doesn't get a lot of love, doesn't get a lot of shine. But Hadija fy.
- [39:08]
Mark Schindler
Oh, dude, she's been nuts this year. I always liked her at Texas, and she's averaging like 20 and 10 this year.
- [39:13]
Zena Kaeda
Right.
- [39:14]
Mark Schindler
At Pitt.
- [39:14]
Zena Kaeda
It's crazy. Not only is she. What she's doing offensively, but defensively, she's a wall. Like, she has games where she's got five or four blocks. Several games like that. It's. She was unbelievably fun to watch and very impressive. Definitely someone to look for. You know, she's a graduate player at Pitt right now, so she's definitely looking to go to the pros. Keep your eye out for Hadija 5 for sure.
- [39:38]
Mark Schindler
Yeah. Another player I mentioned, too. So it's been interesting because I think there was an expectation that maybe UNLV would not take a step back. But there was. I think I was just fascinated to see what happened with Desi Ray Young, who has been their star player the last couple of years who kind of steps into that role. What does that look like? And I've loved, loved watching them this year, their star guard. Her name's Amarachi Kimpson. She's a sophomore. She was, I believe, sixth player of the year last year in the Mountain west. But she's took on that leading scorer role. She's really good defensively as well. Does a ton of things for them. And hey, this team has lost one game of Mountain west play. And that was to. I think it was. I want to say it was the Colorado State, who's no San Diego State. Mount west has been really fun hoops this year, but point being, like, that's a team that I wouldn't want to see because they play a fun style, they play a tough style, they're consistent, they're not easy to play against. Like, that's a player. I think about that. I look at them like, like, you know, watch out for her in, in March Madness.
- [40:29]
Zena Kaeda
Well, listen, you gave me a big. You gave me a guard. I like that. We'll keep it there. I know there's a lot more that you could go down the list, but that's why we're gonna have to have you back and give us some bracketology updates. But guys, go check out everything that Marc is writing at the Athletic. Just being able to keep us on, on par with everything that the selection committee might be thinking, things that we should be looking out for, things that we should. Games that we should be watching, players that we should be watching. We're really appreciative of the work that you do at the Athletic, especially when it comes to bracketology, because it's not easy. Folks got to watch a lot of games. You got to think like someone else, like a group of people and the way that they're evaluating these games and these outcomes. So appreciate the work that you're doing, Mark.
- [41:09]
Mark Schindler
Thanks, Ian. I appreciate it.
- [41:11]
Zena Kaeda
Of course. And we'll have Mark back to keep us posted throughout the rest of this college season. But thank you all for tuning in. We'll close it out there again. Hit that subscribe button on this show and also on the Athletic, you'll go read things like what Mark has as well as the rest of our crew in the women's basketball world. And also this show is on the Sports Yahoo Sports women's sports coverage hub. I don't know if you guys knew that we've partnered with Yahoo. Sports and we're providing that best in class coverage that we always do. So definitely check out sports.yahoo.com sports so you can see all of our good content there. On behalf of Mark, I'm Xena Keda thanking you for your ear and encouraging you to keep watching, keep listening, keep learning and keep loving the game because that's the only way we're going to keep growing it until next time.
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Mark Schindler
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Zena Kaeda
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Mark Schindler
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Zena Kaeda
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Zena Kaeda
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