Gophers’ WBB Postseason Preview + Must-see 1st round games

In this episode, Steve Hartman is joined by Andrew Dukowitz from Zone Coverage to discuss a historic weekend at Williams Arena as the Gopher Women host the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament for the first time in 20 years. We break down their opening matchup against Green Bay, the health of key players like Sophie Hart and Mara Braun, and why their "impeccable" defense makes them a threat to anyone in the bracket.

The conversation then shifts to the professional ranks with an inside look at the WNBA CBA negotiations. Andrew shares updates on the 12-hour daily meetings between the league and the Players Association and the massive $200M+ TV deals hanging in the balance. We also take the temperature of the Timberwolves, discussing the "nauseating" roller coaster of their recent West Coast trip and the urgent need for a shift in energy before the playoffs.

Steve has bracket fever! He talks about why Santa Clara is the trendy upset pick over Kentucky and the high-scoring potential of Wisconsin vs. High Point, Steve identifies the "fireworks" to watch for in every region.

Key Highlights:

• Gophers at The Barn: Why hosting as a top-four seed is a "monumental" shift for the program.
• Labor Talk: Breaking down the "bad faith" leaks and housing subsidies in the latest WNBA negotiations.
• Wolves’ Identity Crisis: Why fans are "ticked off" by the team's inconsistent effort and "Olay defense".
• Bracket Picks: Steve’s games to watch in every region.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Bag in there, back in there, back again. Whoa, whoa, yeah, yeah. Welcome everyone to the Splas City Basketball Podcast. I'm your host, Steve Hartman, and this is the official March Madness kickoff show. Right now I'm recording Tuesday, March 17th. I got my green on. It's St. Patty's Day and joining a Guinness tonight. And UMBC and Hollard have officially kicked off the NCAA men's basketball tournament. So I'll talk a little bit about that and games to watch. I'm going to break down in game in each region that I am excited to talk about and I'm excited to watch this weekend. My guest on today's show is Andrew Dukowitz from Zone Coverage, covers the Lynx, Wolves, and Gopher Women's Basketball. And we'll talk about the Gopher Women posting first two rounds at Williams Arena this weekend, Friday and Sunday. They open with Green Bay on Friday night at 5 p.m. In the other matchup on Friday, you have Ole Miss and Gonzaga. So the winners will play Sunday at Williams Arena. So exciting times, big progress for that program. Um, they haven't been to a tournament in about eight years. So this is a good step in the right direction for Don Plitzerwhite and her team, and led by Minnesotans Mala Braun, uh Amaya Battle, Tori McKinney, and Sophie Hart. So exciting weekend over at Williams Arena in Dinky Town for the University of Minnesota Gopher Women's Basketball team. I also wanted to let everyone know, and you if you hadn't heard, St. Thomas made the NIT tournament. They opened tonight, Tuesday night at 9 p.m. in Seattle against Seattle University, members of the West Coast Conference, and Gopher Men are invited to the Crown Invitational Out in Las Vegas starting in April, where they will take on Baylor in their first matchup. So local teams still getting to play some basketball. Got State Boys tournament next weekend as well. And I did want to quickly plug uh if you're in the area, if you're in the metro and the West Metro specifically, Thursday, opening day of March Madness, the official kind of opening day, around 64. I will be at Back Channel Brewing in Spring Park, Minnesota, um with a live stream podcast. Come on out, enjoy beverage. There's a food truck, they got a giant big screen TV. They do a lot of uh Vikings watch parties, they've done Wolves playoff watch parties out there. So it's a great place to watch a game. Um hopefully the weather warms up and we can get outside a little bit as well. Um, and you know, I have some new Splas City merch. If you want to check that out, stop by. Uh, we'll talk anything and everything related to March Madness and the opening weekend. So come on out Thursday, it'll be great. Uh, the other one I wanted to plug, Thursday, NDSU takes on Michigan State for a lot of fans in the region, NDSU making the dance uh for the sixth time in their history. And I had an interview with head coach Dave Richman recently. So check that podcast out too. Uh Dave's a great guy, a lot of great stuff, um, and has built his program the right way with a lot of great young men. So uh easy to root for the bison Thursday against Michigan State and Tom Izzo. Uh, but with that, let's get into it. All right, I'm gonna pick a game to watch in every region of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, and I'm gonna start with the East region. Duke is the one seed, and I don't see a ton of really, you know, things that stand out to me. I think St. John's is gonna take care of business against Northern Iowa. I think Kansas is talented enough to get by Cal Baptist as well. I love Flory Badunga uh and inside defensive presence, him and Bryson Tiller, I think, are just too much for Cal Baptist. And Kansas, I don't know what to expect from them from their guards, but I do know that Badunga is going to show up. So um, and you know, UCLA, UCF could be an interesting game, but I'm going with South Florida Louisville. I think a lot of people are kind of on this one. Um, Louisville's been up and down, they're four and four in their last eight. Um, South Florida plays a very frenetic pace. And I think their coach going home to he's from the western New York. This is being played in Buffalo, and he talked about what it meant for his dad. I think his team is gonna be pretty, pretty amped for that one. And um, so I got South Florida beating Louisville. That's that's kind of the one in the East region in the first round. Now, second round, things get real fun. Um, Duke is gonna play either Ohio State or TCU. Now, TCU, they have played, uh, they lost to Michigan in a close game. They've beaten uh Iowa State, they've got some really good wins. TCU is capable of beating anyone. And Ohio State obviously has played in the Big Ten. They they're tested, they played Michigan and Purdue and Illinois. So um that the winner of that game against Duke will be interesting, especially because Caleb Foster's out for Duke. Um, Patrick Gungba, I'm sure Duke would love to get another, you know, full week of rest for him. He didn't play in the ACC tournament. And if they can get through two games without having to play Gungba and have him healthy for Sweet 16 weekend, I think they'd feel great. But I think they might need him in that second round matchup. Um, then you get St. John's and Rick Patino against Kansas and Bill South, two outstanding coaches. That one would be amazing. And if you go down further in that bracket, you get Michigan State. I think they'll sneak by North Dakota State against South Florida and UCLA and Yukon, tons of big brands, tons of big names. The East Region starting in that second round and on should be fantastic. Let's keep on going down that bracket. I got Florida's region. They are in the south. And the game to watch there, I this one to me is loaded with games to watch. The Iowa Clemson should be great. Um, Bennett Sturts and Iowa, I think, can get by Clemson on that one. And then you get McNeese and Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt may be a little bit slighted, feeling like they should have been a higher seed. They make it to the SEC championship game. But McNeese is interesting. They got a kid named Javon Garcia, and um he was a he had 31 points in the Southland Conference Championship game, uh, making all kinds of tough shots. So that one's interesting. And Troy against Nebraska. Troy is really good. Um, if you haven't heard of Troy, they played a uh triple overtime game against USC back when USC was was legit. They've beaten San Diego State in double overtime. So they've they played two pretty good teams in the non-con. They beat Furman, who's an NCAA tournament team. Um, so I think Troy is an interesting matchup for Nebraska for a team and a program uh that's never won an NCAA tournament game. That one's interesting. I think Nebraska's good enough to win that. But those three games right there are all fun, I think. And then a little further down, you get VCU North Carolina. I'd picking VCU to win that one. Uh no Caleb Foster from North Carolina. VCU, um, they get it up in your space. They got athletes to play with North Carolina. Um, Penn in Illinois is fun. Illinois, the three seed Penn 14, but Penn is coached by former Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey, and he has a 6'6 shooter named TJ Pollard, and he had a phenomenal game in the Ivy League Championship game, and he can shoot it, shoots it over 40% from three. So uh St. Mary's, Texas and AM also going to be a pretty good game. Uh, Bucky Ball versus uh the grinded out defense of Randy Bennett at St. Mary's. So I think that that South region is has got tons of great matchups in the first round. Uh again, I'm taking the 11 over the six and VCU over North Carolina in the South region. Let's move up and to the right into the Midwest region, Arizona top seed there. Um Villanova, Utah State. A Utah State, another team that feels a little bit slighted, like they probably should have been seated a little higher. Um, I like the Aegis a lot. This one also, the 512 and the 413 are interesting. Five Wisconsin against 12 high point should be a shootout. I expect that to be a high-scoring game. Wisconsin, I think, gets it done. And then Arkansas, Hawaii, again, I loved Hawaii going in, but Arkansas is playing fantastic. Darius Acuff looks like maybe the best, second best player in the tournament right now. Um, so that Wisconsin-Arkansas game in round two should be awesome. Um, and then you get BYU playing um, you know, the first four, 11. So that was gonna be NC State and Texas. I think BYU has a chance to make it a few rounds here, maybe even the Elite Eight. I think they're better than Gonzaga. So if BYU and Gonzaga uh both win their first round matchup, they'll get each other. I like BYU in that one. And then Miami, Missouri, Purdue, and Queens. So in that region, I mean, I don't know about great games, but Villanova, Utah State is intriguing. Utah State is very good, and I think they're gonna win that in that game. Not much of an upset there. Otherwise, I want chalk in this region because I want that Arkansas, Wisconsin second round matchup. Lastly, let's go down to the Midwest. Michigan is the top seed there. Um, couple interesting games here. Georgia St. Louis, St. Louis looked really good for most of the year, kind of stumbled, stumbled a little bit late in the season. Um, they weren't as effective. Even the VCU game they won at home, they kind of stumbled in that one out of the gates and had to make a big comeback. And granted, they they did make the big comeback, but they're also four and four in their last eight. So um a little curious about St. Louis. I was super high on them, probably about uh beginning mid of February, and then since then they've lost four. So we'll see how how they uh shake out against Georgia. I I like Georgia in that one. Uh SEC, Texas Tech Akron. Now, Texas Tech, no JT Toppin. The zips are dangerous. If you were gonna pick a 12 over a five, I think this is the one to go. I love Texas Tech normally. Uh Christian Anderson, Lewan Watts, um Atwell can shoot it, but Akron, very good team as well. Um, totally capable of winning that game. And then Alabama Hofstra. Alabama's losing their starting guard, Aiden Holloway's out. Hofstra, uh they they present some unique challenges as well. So I that one I think is really interesting. So those two games there, the four and the five, would love to see uh some shockers in that Midwest region. I think the four and the five both are in some trouble. Um, and then you get down in the other end of the bracket, Kentucky Santa Clara. That's another one I'm excited to watch. I've loved Santa Clara all year. Uh Christian Hammond, outstanding guard, Alan Graves, uh 6'9 big man, getting starting to get some NBA talk. Um a lot of people picking Santa Clara over Kentucky. I think it's gonna be a good game either way. And uh, you know, I could I could see that going either way. Kentucky's Kentucky's loaded with talent, but Santa Clara's um just feels like a team that's really, really good and really solid and not gonna beat themselves, coached by Herb Sendek, longtime college basketball coach. So that's a quick look around the different regions and the games that I'm looking out for. Um, I think this year is going to be absolutely phenomenal. There's five seeds that people are picking in the final four. Four seeds are great, three seeds are good. Like this just up and down. There are some great games. So I'm hoping for some fireworks in the first round, but second round, we should definitely get some excellent, excellent games, high caliber teams going head to head. All right, gopher women get to host a first and second round matchup at Williams Arena this weekend. They play Friday against Green Bay. And to break that down, break down the bracket and how the Gophers are going to look this weekend. Andrew Dukowitz from zone coverage. Andrew, how you doing, man?

SPEAKER_00 12:05

Good, man. Uh nice to have postseason basketball to talk about again. Been a minute since the Lynx were in the playoffs, but uh here we are. Gophers women kind of surprised a lot of people, I think, this year.

SPEAKER_01 12:17

Yeah, absolutely. Uh getting that top four seed was huge. It seems like it's been a while since they played. I mean, they got ousted their first game in the Big Ten tournament. Um, I mean, that's a little bit longer layoff than I feel like most coaches would want. You think how do you how do you think that the team is uh preparing, I guess, for this game on Friday?

SPEAKER_00 12:38

Yeah, it's it's kind of weird. They had their last buy before the regular season finale against Illinois, too. So they have a week off, they play Illinois, five days later, they get knocked out of the Big Ten tournament, and then they have another week and a half off. So I think in a sense, that's been a little bit of like a blessing for them. Like Tori McKinney got banged up in that Big Ten tournament game. Sophie Hart has been kind of dealing with on and off stuff, you know. Mara Braun, any rest you can give to her in Amaya Battle when they're playing 38 minutes a night is probably a good thing. But I I mean, I think they're feeling really good about the green, the Green Bay matchup. I mean, comes out this morning that they're 22 and a half point favorites. They're playing at 5 p.m. So it's not like a weird tip time for them. And I I saw earlier today that the only seating available left in the barn is behind the opponent's bench and the upper level. So they're probably gonna have that thing, maybe an attendance record for the women this for this season. Um, yeah, they're they're stoked. I I do think Dawn as a coach kind of performs best when she can have a lot of time to prepare, just because you know, they are a very deep oriented team. So when she can give time to kind of really pick apart tape and really kind of put things out there for the players to see, I think it'll help them quite a bit. The weird thing is though, you know, you they take care of Green Bay and then they play again, what, two days later on Sunday, and it's off to the races. So I think the preparation helps them in the first round, but after that, it's I mean, you you watch a lot of March Madness in college, it's kind of anyone's guest after that first that first slate of games.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

Yeah, and even you know, Green Bay, I was looking into them a little bit. I mean, they've they've played some teams and could have been competitive. So, like, even that game, um, you know, preparing for them, uh, you know, they lost and they played NC State, they beat Kansas State, they played Wisconsin this year, lost by four, which the gophers kind of smoke, but uh they kept it close with Washington too. So, I mean, that's what's great, I guess, about March Madness versus a professional league is it's this complete urgency and a one and done. Um you brought up the crowd though, and I was curious because you got Ole Miss long way to travel, Gonzaga a long way to travel. This seems like uh the Minnesota crowd will probably fill in early and be rooting for Gonzaga to upset Ole Miss in that first game on on Friday as well. Uh, if it's that full for sure, huh?

SPEAKER_00 15:13

Yeah, I I mean again, it's it's it's gonna be rocking. Uh I was kind of surprised tickets opened up at 10 a.m. today, and I was kind of surprised when I went and looked at like three that most of the lower level was sold out and upper level was already selling, but I mean they haven't hosted in 20 years. Like this is a a kind of monumental thing for this program. I mean, you look at the team they have, it's a lot of kids that are from Minnesota. I mean, Sophie Hart obviously didn't start her college career here, but transferred back home. Mara and Amaya both kind of came to the gophers with hopes of revitalizing this program. Tori McKinney, obviously local. I I think there is just a lot of interest in this team in the in the city, and then also the you know, you you buy a ticket and you get to go to a March Madness game. Like, that's pretty cool as well. Uh, the sense I kind of get from the gophers, though, is I don't think they really care who they match up with in the second game. Like, I I think they feel pretty good against Ole Miss. You know, the Gophers have really kind of led with their defense all season. They're I mean, they've been just an impeccable defense. Uh, I can't, I don't have the numbers directly offhand because we planned this a little shorthand, a little short notice, peek behind the curtain. But I mean, there were multiple quarters this year where they had more turnovers forced than baskets allowed, and not just against bad teams. They did it against UCLA, they did it against Ohio State. I mean, this team is exceptionally disciplined on defense, and then offensively, it's a different person every night. I mean, they have six people in double figures scoring. Mara Braun has really kind of turned it on as of late in the season, started getting her shot to fall again. Sophie Hart has had some of her best games towards the end of the season. They can kind of go inside or out. They play a lot of like three guard lineups with like two bigs that I think is interesting. We haven't even mentioned like Grace Gryshelski who's already being mocked as a WNBA player next season. Uh I think they like their chances in these first two rounds, regardless if it's Gonzaga or Ole Miss. Green Bay, interesting though. They have uh, I I think it was uh Chris Chris Long that tweeted out, but Gonzaga or not Gonzaga, Green Bay has six Minnesotans on their team as well. So they might get a pretty good showing uh at the barn.

SPEAKER_01 17:43

Yeah, I'm sure it'll be a very uh, you know, 10% green, 90% maroon in that in that building Friday.

SPEAKER_00 17:50

Um quick correction five scores in double figures. Uh Briley Glenn didn't make it.

SPEAKER_01 17:56

Got it. Still, still, I mean you get double figures from five players, that's gonna add up pretty quickly to a decent amount. Like you said, their defense has been so good all year. Um, one thing I noticed in that Ohio State game is it seemed like Ohio State's quickness on the perimeter really bothered them. Um, they weren't letting them kind of swing the ball, get multiple you know, rotations, and they just kind of guarded the ball and forced them to kind of try to beat them one-on-one. And McGophers seemed to struggle with that. Um, I'm guessing Green Bay doesn't have the athletes that Ohio State does. Um, and Ole Miss and Gonzago, from what I've seen, don't force a ton of turnovers. Um, but looking ahead, the next matchup would be UCLA. So uh, you know, number two team in the country, one last on the year. Gophers hung tight for a while, but eventually kind of got blown out. What is uh UCLA, you know, obviously they're a tough matchup for everybody, but what's the what's the game plan if you see UCLA in the Sweet 16?

SPEAKER_00 19:00

I mean, that's that's the tough one, right? Like UCLA, I think, has seven people mocked to be drafted into the WNBA this season. That's their entire starting lineup and two bench players. Lauren Betts is like a 6'5 inside dominant rebounding score. Uh, I think that's where the gophers probably their Cinderella story, if there is one of this season, that's probably where it where it gets tripped up, just because that team on a talent standpoint is just vastly superior to the gophers. And I don't feel bad saying that. I think most of the gophers would feel okay saying that as well. I mean, the fun thing with March Madness, though, is if Mar Braun goes seven or eight from three, kind of anything can happen. But that UCLA team, I mean, the length they have, the scores they have, the talent they have, they're well coached. It was close for three quarters when the Bruins came to the barn earlier this year. A lot of that was due to Lauren Betts getting into foul trouble pretty early. But even then, Rice was able to just kind of decimate the gophers off of pick and rolls and getting into the mid-range. You know, the gophers are gonna have a chance against anyone because the defense is so good, but the offense this entire year has just gone through these patches where they almost kind of look like they freak themselves out, like they get a couple open looks and they don't fall, and then the ball just starts to get a little bit more hectic. People start looking to pass a little bit too much, in my opinion, and it ends up beating like a lot of Sophie Hart when that starts to happen, which nothing against Sophie Hart, but you know, you they have legitimate, really good guard and wing players around her. You know, it it'll it'll kind of be a test to see how they match up against UCLA. Unfortunately, if they draw them and that's the next lineup, it it probably doesn't go much further than sweet 16. But again, someone goes seven for eight from three, and that's why March Madness is always fun, because you never really know. It's it's especially the way the game is played now, where the shooting variance across all of college basketball is so drastic, where like if one team just shoots 60 from three, they can kind of upset anyone, regardless of who it is. But we'll see. I I think uh a sweet 16 would be a heck of an accomplishment for this program, though.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

Uh 100% agree. I think every fan would be pretty satisfied with that. Um, you know, expectations weren't super high. I think you know they had a lot of returners this year, but um getting to the sweet 16 is a great accomplishment, and I think a great um example of what Don brings to the gophers, just like some stability, uh uh you know, definitely a an image or a you know, a style that you can say, like I know exactly what they're trying to do. And I think that's one. That you know, as as you look at teams like that have a personality, um, a lot of times they take that on from their coach, and the gophers have done that this year for sure. Um, I wanted to ask you about something because I think the last time we were on, or maybe we were talking about it off air some some other time, but um the Gophers are ninth in the net and they're eighth in Bart Torbik. And so like those are you know, those are like two seed, three seed ranges typically for like a if you're grading teams out. Um what and you know, I mean, four seed is fine. I think they were happy to get that four. They they could host that that uh uh grouping there. But like what is it you think about like some of these metrics? I don't know how much of a metrics guy you are, but like it seems like they grade out super high, uh, even higher than even like the perceived uh you know expectations of them are.

SPEAKER_00 22:55

I mean, that's a testament to how good this team is. Like, I I do think that 22-point favorite over Green Bay is like that should be the expectation that they blow them out. I I honestly the expectation for them should be to beat Old Miss. I mean, it it just should be. They are a team of that caliber. I've been kind of struggling with it all season, the net rating stuff, because the net rating seems to meet the eye test. Like this team has a double overtime loss against Maryland. They beat Ohio State, they beat Iowa, they beat uh forgetting the other team that they had USC they beat. Like they've had a good like body of work beating ranked teams, and they've also kind of handled business against the unranked teams as well. Like Wisconsin didn't necessarily put up much of a fight at all, like Illinois, the game was close, didn't really feel close. The non-conference games, any of them that weren't kind of a blue blood school, like Kansas, got pretty much blown out of the water by this gophers team. I I do think there is a little bit of, you know, when it comes to like the the top 25 polls and stuff like that. Like, if if you're an LA writer for the AP, you're probably not watching a lot of gophers basketball. Like, same if you're on the east coast, you're probably watching a lot of Connecticut, Big East. If you're down in the SEC area, you're probably watching a lot of that. And like the Big Ten writers, you have UCLA, you have Washington, you have Ohio State, you have Michigan, like you have other teams that are kind of above the gophers. So I think the gophers kind of get disrespected just from like where they are geographically, and then also the Big Ten is just obnoxious at this point with talent. I think they should have been closer to that 11, 10, 10, 11, 12 rating by the end of the season. I think that's what the resume led up to. I think they have the talent and the eye test met that, but you know, it's just not how it shook out. And then you look at the tournament, I also kind of think they should have been a three seed, but I don't think, like you said, I don't think they're complaining about it. I do think that what they've shown this year is that this is going to be something that continues on, though. Like, I don't think, you know, you look at this team where Mara Braun has another year of eligibility, Torre's already an all Big Ten player, Grace makes all Big Ten honors and also is kind of being looked at as a WNBA potential player. Like, they're returning really good players for next year. I mean, they also, if the Minnesota Miss Basketball falls right, they will have the Miss Wisconsin, Miss Nebraska, and Miss Minnesota basketball players on their recruiting class for next year. Like, I do think it's a credit to Don of just being able to build an identity and build a program. But I am with you. Like the the advanced ratings. If you're looking at the teams around the gophers in that top 25 poll, it it was a little stark by the end of the year where it's like, I don't know, the gophers seem to have built a much better team than Tennessee, who is currently imploding.

SPEAKER_01 26:16

Yeah. Yeah, it's interesting. Like I go through this every year, and like there's some predictive metrics that kind of, you know, you feel like they're overvaluing teams and undervaluing others. So it's always a, you know, it's always kind of a crapshoot to figure that all these rankings out and which ones matter. Some of them matter to get in, some of them matter for seeding, but yeah, you know, like in the in the Bart Torbik one that I I kind of follow, Duke's a three seed, they're ahead of them. Iowa's behind them, they're a two-seed, Vanderbilt's the next one, they're a two-seed, then it's Louisville and they're a three. Yeah. And so, you know, yeah, I I guess whatever, go out and win the games, and none of it really matters at that point. But um, just kind of interesting how some of these teams can look good in certain areas, but not in others. But essentially what you're telling me is we're still flyover country and nobody cares about Minnesota.

SPEAKER_00 27:07

I do think that I'm like, I am a native-born Minnesotan that roots for a lot of Minnesota sports teams. So, like, that is part of my bias. I do think in college it's it is just the reality of it, though. Like a lot of the AP voters are on the coasts, and they're probably not watching a lot of gophers basketball game if they can only catch one Big Ten game a week. They're watching UCLA, they're watching Michigan, they're they're catching more of the even Iowa, I think. Since Caitlin Clark has kind of more like TV draw, and then you just see that, oh, Minnesota won again, and you file that back into your mind. Meanwhile, you know, the people in the state who have been watching the team are just kind of like the hipsters of like, have you not heard this new band yet? Like, it's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 27:58

Yeah. Andrew, you knew about the Gopher Women before anybody knew about how good they were gonna be. So you you're you're the cool kid in town with uh with the tips. Uh no, they've been awesome, man. I've I've watched more Gopher Women's this year than I have in a while, and um, I gotta I gotta be honest, it's it's pretty enjoyable. So um they open Friday. You said 5 p.m. is the tip for their game. Uh the old Miss Gonzaga's before that, correct? They're earlier. Yep. Okay. All right. And um, if you had to pick a winner, I'm gonna put you on the spot here, just for some fun. Women's uh champion this year, UConn, UCLA, Don Staley get back in the mix at South Carolina. Who's it gonna be?

SPEAKER_00 28:45

I got to watch that UCLA game against the Gophers and just the amount of just sheer talent and size they have. I don't know how they don't win it. Like I know you know, South Carolina kind of has the pedigree and the history of it, winning it recently. They have a cult following AZ over in Yukon. Obviously, it's hard to ever count Yukon out, but just seeing that team in person and how I mean they have like four legit six footers that can all play together, they can score inside, outside, they have defense. I just I don't know how you handle them. Uh, I mean, other than just kind of hoping they go off, have an off-night shooting. So I I'm picking UCLA. That's what my bracket is is shaking out to, which pains me as a gophers reporter to have them knock get the gophers out. But yeah, they are just such a talented team that I it's hard for me to see another team being able to even just like size-wise match up with them, let alone kind of match up with their physicality and just skill.

SPEAKER_01 29:57

I do think uh the 04 Lindsey Whalen Janelle McCarville team was also a four-seed, if I remember right. And I'm pretty sure they knocked off Duke in the Sweet 16, who was the one. If my rem I was younger than I was in college, things might have got fuzzy. But just you know, maybe throwing that out there for some good vibes for this year's squad.

SPEAKER_00 30:15

I mean, there are that is the again, the best thing about March Madness is it just takes one person to go off. I mean, yeah, UCLA can play a perfect game, but if someone goes seven for eight from three and has 40 points, it's just you can't overcome that in college sports. So there's a chance. I just uh I I think a sweet 16 bid for this program, even if it does end, you know, without a championship, I think this they're gonna be looking back on this for a while.

SPEAKER_01 30:47

Yeah, absolutely. It's been a great year. Uh, they'll keep it going this weekend over at the barn. Um, let's quickly pivot over. I got two quick things I want to ask you about because I know you do a lot, a lot of coverage for a lot of different things. Um WNBA, CBA, uh, any update on where things stand between the league and the players?

SPEAKER_00 31:09

Yeah, it's been a wild week. Um, ever since last week, Tuesday. So I guess this is day seven now. They have locked themselves in a hotel lobby or a hotel meeting room and have met for literally 12 hours every day. Uh, the league officials, the players' association, Brianna Stewart, Fee's been there a few days, kind of the the head uh players on the Players Association board and their kind of collective agents and stuff like that. I mean, everything that I've been hearing is it's gonna be in the next day or two, which we're recording this Monday at 8 p.m. Might break by the time this episode is out, even. I think, you know, the frustration from like a media aspect and a fan aspect is why didn't this happen back in January? Which I think is a completely fair kind of criticism, especially given like Fee didn't play in Unrivaled. Unrivaled did go up to New York, uh uh Anyekka, I think didn't play every game in Unrivaled. Like it doesn't seem like that was the issue with it, but now that they're actually having face-to-face meetings, it sounds like they've gotten literally everything hammered out from you know, non-compete clauses, if that is or is not going to happen, housing subsidies. Kind of the last thing they're still stuck on is the basketball-related revenue share, which the players kind of started off at around 40%. That was what they were asking for. They have dipped down quite a bit, down to about 26%. The most recent kind of reporting has been. And the league started out at 8%, uh, 1.2% lower than the players got paid last year based off of revenue sharing. They leaked a bunch of kind of whole numbers of what the cap would look like in millions of dollars. That has kind of stopped. I think the players kind of requested that. I would assume, just because it's kind of a bad faith, you know, apples to oranges type of thing. But the league, it now it sounds like it's closer to like 15-18% revenue sharing, which now it's just how do you bridge that last eight to 10% gap so that the players are, you know, happy with it this year and moving forward. And the league is able to still kind of not save face, but I do think the league at this point does need to have kind of a you know, we won on this issue type of thing, especially given where Kathy's kind of employment has their employment speculation has been since the end of the WNBA season. But yeah, it's it's getting there. I I do think we will see women's professional basketball this summer.

SPEAKER_01 33:57

Well, that's good. I mean, coming off uh, you know, exciting couple years. They got star power, they got kind of everything going in the right direction from a uh gameplay standpoint, and playoffs have been entertaining. Uh, so it'd be really too bad if something didn't get done and get accomplished before the start of the season. Because they tip off, is it April or May?

SPEAKER_00 34:19

Usually when the first game's I believe April 28th was going to be the official like preseason game one tip-off, which is usually a couple days into training camp. So, like mid-May is probably the official start. The one thing I will add, like this season is so important for the WNBA. Like, not only are they getting just a massive amount of money, like television rights on the old CBA between Ion and local TV rights was at 40 million dollars. The Amazon Disney ESPN deal alone is worth 210 million dollars just for next season. They also have a hundred plus million deal with USA Network and ABC. They also have the Ion deal and locals still, I mean, on television rights alone, it's supposed to go from about 40 million to maybe up to four to five hundred million this next year. Like to throw away that much money over eight percent of basketball-related revenue sharing seems ludicrous. And then, kind of looking further into the future, baseball is kind of hurling towards a lockout in 2027. So, this summer, if they're able to continue growing off of that momentum, they're gonna be on more TVs. USA Network is gonna have women's sports Wednesdays, where it's gonna be literally like a TNT broadcast where it's three games one after another. ESBN is doing women's sports Sundays during the summer to replacing their baseball slot that they had. I mean, if they can get enough momentum and baseball locks out in two years, I mean, there's a world where the WNBA can kind of pass baseball in that summer viewership slot, which I mean, when I'm looking at it, that's kind of where this whole lockout thing to me has been really nerve-wracking. Is like there is a golden opportunity if if they just kind of continue on their current path. Because you're right, they have the star power, the play is entertaining, they have really likable talents, they have kind of a array of talent, whether you're like a Caitlin Clark, an Asia Wilson, uh Paige Becker's a Nafisa Collier fan, they have teams that are like universally despised, like the Aces. Uh, it's it's they kind of have everything in there to kind of explode this. But first they have to sign it, which that's what we're all still waiting on.

SPEAKER_01 36:52

Yeah. Well, uh if you if this comes out uh before the news breaks, make sure you follow Andrew to break that news. But uh hopefully it gets done uh before we get published here with this episode of the podcast. Um, last thing I wanted to ask you about. Spent some late nights covering the wolves, doing your post-game pods when they were out west. Uh they they get home, they got three in a row, I think, at home clippers this week. Um maybe, maybe just a general question. What are the vibes like right now, both on your post-game podcast and with the fans and with the team?

SPEAKER_00 37:29

Yeah, fans are a little ticked off. I I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. It's I think you look at this Wolves team and they have just so much talent that the way they lose is so frustrating for fans because you're looking at a team that openly states they don't follow the game plan all the time, that they don't bring in the right energy and effort. And when you're looking at these supreme athletes that should be able to just take care of the Lakers, and then after the game, it's yeah, we didn't really follow the game plan, our energy and effort wasn't there. I think part of that it's you know, it's charming that they're being honest, I guess, but also like it's kind of just like a thumb to the fans of like, you know, we're not putting in the effort, which I always hesitate to call out opposing players' effort or you know, anyone's effort, because like I don't know, like some days I don't put in the best effort at my day job. Like, I think it's just the reality of having a job is there's some days that are better than others. Sure. But like when the players are calling it out themselves, I think it kind of opens it up to fair game. I mean, vibes around the team, I haven't seen them since they left for that West Coast trip. They're gonna have shoot around tomorrow, so I'll be in Mail Clinic Square and poking around bugging people tomorrow and have a better answer. But I mean, the one thing with this team is they they are like a vibes-based team. So I think based off of them losing four out of five, I would wager a guess that they're feeling kind of down and and feeling that sense of urgency. But the other thing with this team, I mean, they play three games in four nights. I could easily see them ripping off three wins in a row, going to Boston and beating Boston, and then the vibes are immaculate again. I think ultimately, I think they're just ready for the playoffs to start. I think this group just needs to finish the season however it's gonna finish and kind of go from there, whether it's a roster change, whether it's, you know, as fans have been voicing a coaching change, I I'm kind of doubtful on the coaching side, but I do think the the end finale of this season does kind of just need to happen for this group of guys, whether it's good or bad. Uh I I think the the just sitting here week after week riding this roller coaster, even for the players, is nauseating at times.

SPEAKER_01 40:02

That's fair. Uh it's kind of been that way for at least for me, I'll speak for myself, but it's just i I find it hard to hard to get into because uh you know, though you lose a two in LA, you beat the Warriors, which was still ugly. And then I fully expected them to like come in and show up and play Oklahoma City tough, and they kind of did, but it was still a very uh, I would say uninspiring effort mentally and physically, like just the turnovers, like Rudy had that weird behind the back pass that what got stolen or through the legs thing that he does, and I was like, what is happening? I know he's made it before, but and had some defensive um I'll just say like uh Olay defense, right? Um, so it's just it's hard, you know, and I think that you're right, like fans, you know, maybe this is a Steve Kerr endorsement of the 72 game season or something, because it does seem like there's it's not just the wolves, it's the load management, it's a lot of things, and so it just uh this time of year feels kind of like last year it was different though. Last year you geared up. Now we're kind of it feels like we're gearing down a little. So who knows? It's it's a Mercurial team that you just can't I feel like you can never put a finger on it.

SPEAKER_00 41:14

Yeah, I mean the Oklahoma City game is kind of the the epitome of how talented this group is, right? Like they're down two going into the fourth quarter. Ants having an awful game, Rudy had maybe the worst game of the season. I mean, Dante wasn't hitting a ton of shots, Jaden only played like 10 minutes, Nas had a pretty terrible game, Bones didn't have a good game, and they're down two to the best team in the West. And then the wheels just kind of fall off, which you know that unfortunately I think is I mean, I said it on my post-game show, but like Ant goes one for eight in the third quarter and kind of evaporates a lead by himself, just kind of trying to get himself going. And then by the time they go back to Julius, Julius is cooled off from his great start, and then it's just you don't really have anything to throw at the wall anymore. But yeah, I feel for fans the most because uh I mean, for me, it's you know, I get to talk to these guys, I enjoy being around the team, like it's like a blessing to be able to cover the team. I mean, for fans, it's just when you have to stay up until one in the morning to watch a basketball game and work the next day, like that sucks. That sucks when they don't bring the energy because like now you're not gonna have energy for the next day. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:34

Well, you just got to listen to your post-game pods. You kind of feel, you know, you feel like uh I usually feel better after those, you know. You kind of get that cathartic, uh, you know, misery loves company at times. So hopefully they can turn it around. Um, Andrew, we covered a lot of ground. I love talking to you because we got wolves, lynx, gopher women. Uh, it's always a treat. So I appreciate you being here. Uh let you plug any coverage or other things you wanna you want to do, socials. You go through your socials, let everybody know where they can find you.

SPEAKER_00 43:05

Oh gosh. Uh, as quickly as possible, I'm a duke M N on all socials, A-D-U-K-E-M-N. Cover the gophers, wolves, and links with credentials. So a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that I put out, player interviews, dudes practicing, stuff that I as a fan wanted and no one really put out, so I do it now. Um, do have a post-game Wolves and Lynx podcast. Uh, airs right after games over on YouTube and X. It's the Missing Wolves for the Wolves, Missing Links for the Lynx. Uh, you can also catch me on Fox9 every once in a while on Amy Hockert's all day live show. So always appreciate it when people pay attention to that show and look for my name. And then I'm also uh I join the K fan worst case scenario show pretty often over on K Fan. So same thing. Uh call ins and text ins always help me get more spots and they welcome me back. So anytime people are paying attention to that, I appreciate it. And then the stuff. That I probably put the most time into is my written work. That's all over on zone coverage, usually comes out Wednesdays and Saturdays. Uh, try to I try to have a little bit of fun, really nerdy stat stuff, but then you get some office references and wrestling rest references. So yeah, appreciate you having me on, though, man. Anytime. I I love talking to oops.

SPEAKER_01 44:21

Absolutely. Uh, I think I'm on your podcast uh coming up in a few weeks. I think we got a Wolves postgame to discuss, so we'll dive in more then at that time. I think right around final four time. So I'll be winding down the March Madness coverage, which I'll be heavily invested in here for the next couple weeks. But appreciate you coming on, appreciate the insight, and we'll catch up later, man.

SPEAKER_00 44:42

Absolutely appreciate it, Steve.

SPEAKER_01 44:46

All right, that is the show today. I want to thank Andrew Dukowitz from Zone Coverage for joining me to talk about Gulper Women's Basketball. We a little bit of the links and the WNBA CBA situation as well as Timberwolves. Quick thoughts. Good news on the Timberwolves. They win on the 17th here, Tuesday. Uh, they beat the Suns tonight. Look pretty comfortable. So maybe we're right in the ship here uh just in time for a playoff push. We'll we'll see how next game goes. There's ebbs and flows with this team. So uh go for women tip off Friday at five o'clock against Green Bay. They are the fourth seed in their region. And the next time we talk, it'll be opening round of 64, March Madness officially kicking off. I'll be at Back Channel Brewing again, 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 19th. Thank you for being here. If you've enjoyed the show, please leave a review. Follow the podcast on Instagram, Blue Sky, Facebook, subscribe on YouTube. Anything you can do to help out would be great. Appreciate you listening. Appreciate you being here. Appreciate you enjoying the basketball conversations that I have. So thanks again, everyone. This has been the Splash City basketball podcast. Bag and then, back and back again.