Brawl Don't Lie

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 still undefeated, ranked No. 1 in the country, and a certified wagon.

As for the title of the podcast...we're not gonna apologize.

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 So that was outdated as we recorded it but I thought you should know that.

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 around for the weekly NYU basketball update!

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 we accurately predicted the future.

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 transferring?

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.

Hope you like this. If so, maybe we'll do it again in the future. If not, maybe we'll do it again in the future.