Brawl Don't Lie

- NOTE: THIS EPISODE WAS RECORDED BEFORE ANEESAH MORROW COMMITTED TO LSU BUT WE KINDA ASSUMED IT WAS GONNA HAPPEN -

It's Kim Mulkey's world and we're all living in it. The 4-time national champion head coach (or 7-time if you count her rings as an assistant and player) is enrolling an elite recruiting class and now has the top 2 transfers in the nation. LSU is gonna be fun as hell next season so we talked about that for a while and speculated wildly about how horribly it can go wrong...if, in fact, that happens. 

LSU beat Iowa in the National Championship game a while back. We would have podded sooner but Russ was gallivanting around Houston celebrating the UConn men's title, then went into a week-long championship coma to recover. But hey! Better late than never. So let's talk about the Final Four -- the good, the bad, and Kenny Brooks' beard. If you rate and review the pod, Jill Biden will invite you to the White House.

Y'all, the Final Four is here. Russ is in Dallas and Meredith has COVID, so one could say we are fully prepared for a weekend of basketball. By now, you know the matchups. Virginia Tech will play LSU in the first semifinal before THE MATCHUP OF THE CENTURY in Iowa vs. South Carolina.

Prediction: Two of the above teams will win on Friday. One of those teams will win Sunday. More fearless predictions in the episode!

What a first weekend of the NCAA Tournament it was! With two 1 seeds going down and storylines abound, Russ and Meredith break down everything that happened over the course of the last week. Then, they preview what’s to come. Do they keep their Final Four picks? Or have the first two games of the tournament changed their minds? It’s time to find out.

Vibes and Spite. That's how Russ is filling out his bracket this year. The numbers and analysis have gotten him nowhere.

With that in mind, Russ and Meredith look at the entire bracket and pick every game. Who do they have going all the way (duh)? Who are the trendy upset picks? What would happen if Duke played Iowa????

All that and more as we get set for the best weekend in all of sports.

We're smack dab in the middle of conference tournament season, which means it's time to talk who's in, who's out, who's a 1 seed, and more!

We start by revisiting our 1 seed conversation from last week, updating who might be fighting for those final couple spots, before shifting to at-large resumes. There are some interesting ones this year! From power conference teams hovering around .500 to exciting mid-majors, the committee has some decisions to make.

The gang also touches on Angel Reese and her omission from the Wooden watchlist. WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?!

Lastly, THE...

This one is a little of the rails, so we apologize. But there's good reason! Meredith has a ghost in her apartment AND she's sick AND we have awful NYC apartment stories.

There's some basektball too, like Caitlin Clark's absurd buzzer-beater, Olivia Miles' injury, Miami landing in some hot water over the Cavinder twins, and some 1 seed banter.

MOST IMPORANTLY: NYU is in the NCAA Tournament and will face Greensboro Friday night. Winner likely gets Messiah.

With one top 16 reveal in the rearview mirror and another on the way, the gang (uh, two of us) takes a look at some of the key learnings the first time around and what might change next time. We also touch on the strength of the SEC vs. Big Ten and Pac-12, large players who are good at basketball, and the player of the year race.

Stay tuned for a monster D-III update, including rants and raves about the D-III selection process.

First thing's first, Russ has an infection and you'll never guess where! Stay tuned until the end to find out.

Less importantly, South Carolina escaped Hartford with an 81-77 win over UConn. We break down that game and where both teams go from here before talking LSU, Ohio State, Stanford, and more.

FIRST THING'S FIRST! If you missed our live Twitter space last week for the Duke-UNC game, you can go back and listen here: twitter.com/i/spaces/1gqxvyddZdQJB

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Now to this episode: We come to you the day after Caitlin Clark's historic triple-double. Meredith was all over the game, so she breaks down what she takes from Ohio State's first loss of the season. From there, we touch on Dara Mabrey, whose college career came to an end this week with a knee injury. 

Then, it's what you've all been waiting for: TW...

Two podcasts in the span of one week? What is this madness?!

Yes, we're back and (maybe) better than ever to talk all the happenings in women's college basketball. We start with the Dre Edwards controversy at Baylor/Kentucky before delving into the national player of the year discussion. Oh, and you know there's an NYU basketball update.

NOTE: We were recording this as the Stephanie Soares injury news was breaking so we didn't cover it here. If you're nice to us, we will discuss it next time.

We're back from the holiday break! While we were both injured in UConn's win over Xavier this week, we gutted out a podcast to talk about a couple teams that have been winning, but operating under-the-radar so far this year: Illinois and Duke (had to, Meredith would have quit if we didn't discuss the Blue Devils). 

There was also some interesting news from the NCAA this week, so we break down the Division I transformation report's sexiest news items, including the idea of adding women's basketball to the Basketball Performance Fund.

Oh, and NYU is s...

It's [insert preferred holiday here] time!

And to get in the holiday spirit, we decided to give some gifts to those in the college basketball world. Highlights include gifting another All-American to Maddy Siegrist, the use of Google to college basketball coaches, some recognition for under-appreciated players, and the end of some tired college basketball narratives.

We also have an NYU women's basketball update and...WE RECORDED IT AS THE NEW D3HOOPS POLL WAS COMING OUT AND I DIDN'T KNOW THE VIOLETS ASCENDED TO NO. 1! So that was outdated as we recorded it but...

Where else can you find a women's basketball podcast that starts with a prolonged rant about baseball?

Hey, if you want anything different, you shouldn't listen to a podcast that records the same day it becomes clear Aaron Judge will not be returning to the Yankees (side note: how hilarious would it be if we are wrong? You can all Old Takes Exposed Russ then). 

After Russ cries about Judge and Azzi Fudd's injury, we have some fun #banter about Notre Dame, the first NET ratings, and college basketball villains. And don't forget to stick a...

OK, we start a little goofy by getting our jokes off about the Las Vegas Invitational debacle, but there's a lot to actually unpack there and it is a discussion worth having. So we had it. 

On the court (ballroom or regular), Indiana and North Carolina both look outstanding, and we spend a few minutes on each of them before transitioning to some good old fashioned shit-talk from the Brawl Don't Lie Bowl.

As we mention, this was recorded during the UCLA-South Carolina game, so the only analysis you'll get from that one is where w...

No. 1 played No. 2 last week and some weird stuff happened. More importantly, it showed just how darn good South Carolina and Stanford actually are. But, on the eve of Thanksgiving, we need to do more than just talk about the happenings on the court. We need to spend some time talking about what it would be like if Tara VanDerveer came over for Thanksgiving. Sit back and enjoy.

Also included: Some mid-major love, a PK85 preview, Ava Jones rules, and your usual NYU update.

We have a little more than a week of games in the books, which means we can already tell you the teams that will go to the Final Four and the teams that are overrated trash. Maybe. In the pod, we share our thoughts on Tennessee, Iowa, and UConn so far, as well as give a quick look at the big games coming up this weekend.

Most importantly: The NYU women are off to a 3-0 start (they were 2-0 at the time of recording) and imo will win the whole damn thing.

After the Final Four, we told you we'd be back in a couple weeks with a new episode. As promised, here we are, a mere 4.5 months later! Now that the portal has died down, devastating injuries have happened, and Dawn Staley has played corn hole, we re-assess who the top teams in the country really are.

Also covered:
- Like 15 minutes of talking nonsense because we haven't done this in forever
- Kim Mulkey hasn't said a thing about Brittney Griner
- NEW SEGMENT: Russ's D-III update!

We made it! We're home from the Final Four and the 2021-22 season is officially in the books. We break down the Final Four, national championship, and all the VIBEZ in Minneapolis before looking ahead to next year and talking a little bit about the portal. More importantly, we go completely off the rails and answer the following questions:

- Who were the coolest players in the Final Four?
- What was it like to watch Duke vs. UNC with Courtney Banghart?
- What happens when we learn, in real time, that Angel Reese is...

We're in Minneapolis! I mean both of us! In real life! Together for the first time since before the pandemic! 

As we sat in my (Russ's) hotel room and marveled at the odd placement of the TV, we decided to jump on Twitter spaces to preview the Final Four. To start, we broke down each national semifinal, talked the keys to the game for each team and gave our prediction. After that, we opened the floor to the listeners (UConn fans and....a Seton Hall fan?) to ask questions and go deeper into whatever they wanted.

We're just now catching our breath from the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament and EVERYTHING that came with it. We go region by region to discuss the following:
- The upsets! How 'bout Creighton and South Dakota?
- The favorites! South Carolina won ugly, Louisville looked good, UConn flirted with disaster
- The Sweet 16! Are we changing our picks based on what we saw this weekend? (spoiler: not really)
- Then a quick breakdown of the First Four and how the NCAA can fix it going forward

Folks, we have a bracket. We have picks. We have complaints. We have...a dog on Meredith's lap??? We break down the 2022 NCAA Tournament field, including:
- Why Princeton and FGCU's seedings are inexcusable
- Which 1 seeds are most vulnerable
- SURPRISE FINAL FOUR TEAMS???
and more!

It's conference tournament time! We go through each of the Power 5 conference tournaments to talk favorites, implications, and a few surprises that we've already seen. Which bubble teams can punch their tickets? Is there still a battle for 1 seeds? Which one of us is a hoarder? Find out!

Wayyyyy back in November we talked about how we thought each major conference race would shake out. Sure, the favorites were easy to peg, but what about our sleepers? We go back and see how we did before re-hashing the National Player of the Year debate, just for funsies.

At some point (probably the start), this podcast just goes off the rails. Apologies.

You know who we haven't talked enough about this year? The Florida Gators. After a lackluster start, they're beating ranked teams left and right, and have an actual shot at the 2 seed in the SEC Tournament. After that, Russ puts his Bracketology experience to good use and breaks down some resumes of bubble teams, going in-depth on what the committee looks for when fielding the tournament.

The NCAA Women's Basketball Committee revealed on Thursday night the top 16 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, if it began today. There were no major surprises, but we were happy to see Oklahoma break through. We talk about that for a bit before moving on to the real news...CAITLIN CLARK IS FREAKING INSANE. Discussion of The Clark Effect, what it means for college basketball, and who should join her on the first-team All-American list rounds out the pod.

Shoutout Honduras!

Kansas State's Ayoka Lee had herself a weekend. She went out and scored A DAMN NCAA RECORD 61 POINTS in the Wildcats' win over Oklahoma on Sunday. As you'd expect, it left us with a lot to talk about. How did she do it? What makes her so dominant? How will that translate to the WNBA? We talked all things Ayoka Lee before transitioning to Caitlin Clark (ever heard of her?) and why it's good for both sides that the UConn-South Carolina game was canceled.

Shoutout Honduras. 

One small, itty bitty note that came from the NCAA's meetings this week might have a BIG impact on women's college basketball. We break that down before diving into the games themselves....including the Oregon Ducks, Maryland Terrapins, Iowa State Cyclones and more.

BEEFATHON 2022 HAS ARRIVED!

Last week, former Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw took a jab at UConn and the other day, Geno Auriemma responded with a nuclear freaking bomb. We BREAK DOWN THE BEEF on Brawl Don't Lie before moving on the less exciting things, like basketball. Specifically: Nebrasketball, Louisvillesketball, Michigansketball, and Dukesketball.

We didn't expect anything wild to happen in College Basketball over the Christmas/New Year's week but then...No. 1 South Carolina went on the road to a Missouri team that dressed seven players and lost in overtime. We talk about that game and what it manes for the Gamecocks before some quick COVID talk and a look at the middle of the ACC. Then, as Meredith drank her gin, we transitioned to LSU's hot start and parity in the SEC.

It was a busy day of basketball at Mohegan Sun Arena, where Michigan beat Baylor in overtime and Louisville handed UConn its third loss of the season. We break down both of those games and what they mean for all involved before jumping to Stanford-Tennessee and some NEBRASKA TALK?

That's right, Brawl Don't Lie is back and bett- Brawl Don't Lie is back!

We were supposed to talk about the UConn vs. Notre Dame game on Sunday, but that all changed with 38 seconds left when reigning national player of the year Paige Bueckers left the game with an apparent knee injury. So, sadly, we must discuss an awful moment in Storrs, what Bueckers means to UConn and the game as a whole, and how UConn can try to move forward if it is without its point guard for an extended period. Later, Meredith finally gets to talk about her Duke Blue Devils and their statement win over Iowa, before we take a...

Yeah, ok this one is pretty late. Oopsie. Anyway, we recapped the Thanksgiving basketball bonanza, ranted about Flo Hoops and discussed an AP Poll that has already been released. The analysis is still relevant, though! Also, Meredith did the editing this time so if something got messed up please direct all the hate her way thanks!

You don't often get a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup, but when you do, you just HAVE to play it at noon on a Monday. Right? RIGHT? Well, that's what happened and South Carolina ran away from UConn in the fourth quarter to earn a convincing win and establish itself as the the best team in the country. We break down how it happened, where each team goes from here, and who else has impressed us over the last week. Then, Russ goes on a rant about the NCAA Tournament expanding to 68 teams in the wrong way and for the...

We've now seen one week of college basketball, which makes this the perfect time to jump to wild conclusions about the top-ranked teams in the country. South Carolina is awesome. UConn is really good but has some questions to answer. Stanford? STANFORD? WHAT HAPPENED? Oh, and we see you, Arizona. And Indiana. Holy crap do we see Indiana.

There's a lot to get to here, so just dive right in. We even have some dog mascot talk.

Folks, we made it. Regular season college basketball is here on Tuesday, and by far the biggest game of opening night is South Carolina vs. NC State. It's a top-five matchup, so naturally it's tough to pick, but we do our best. Will Aliyah Boston ink the first line on her 2022 National Player of the Year resume or will Elissa Cunane show why SHE should have been First Team All-American? We also look at a few big opportunities for mid-majors on the first two nights of the season, talk about Caitlin Clark maybe notching a triple-double and discuss The...

With less than a week to go before the start of college basketball season, we took a quick look at each power conference and talked through how the perceived favorite MIGHT be in some trouble. After that, there was allegedly some breakout player talk and a little bit about the landscape of women's basketball media, but that's only if you can get past Meredith's thrilling tale about her time at circus camp.

As always, we ask you to rate and review the pod and, if you can, please let us know if you think Nicki Collen could...

The AP announced its preseason All-American team this week and there weren't any surprises. We break down each player that made it then debate our theoretical second-team choices. After that, women's basketball and The Bachelorette expert Spencer Nusbaum joins to discuss how this season's bachelorette is a damn bucket and how we wish we got to see more of Diamond DeShields and Dearica Hamby in this week's episode.

Follow:
@mercash22
@spencernusbaum_
@russ_steinberg

The preseason AP poll is out, which means we have new STUFF to talk about! We break down the top three teams, the case for each to be No. 1, and go over a few overrated/underrated teams. From there, we turn to some irresponsible speculation about Big East expansion, talk Dawn Staley's new contract, and beg her dog Champ to come on the pod.

Welcome to Brawl Don't Lie, a new women's basketball podcast! Business Insider's Meredith Cash and Boardroom's Russell Steinberg have two things in common: they love the game and they have 0 filter. In this first episode, the two talk about exactly what brings them behind the mic and the void they are trying to fill in the greatest game on the planet.

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Want to yell at us? Feel free! Please direct all complaints to @mercash22 on Twitter and all praise to @Russ_Steinberg. 

Thanks,
Russ