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Maitreyi Anantharaman

Kirsten Simms #27 of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrates after scoring a goal off a penalty shot during the third period of the Division I Women's Ice Hockey Championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes held at Ridder Arena on March 23, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Kirsten Simms Put Her Hand Up And Led Wisconsin To A Title

Ray Ratto

Dan Hurley making a skeptical face with his glasses pushed up onto his forehead during UConn's loss to Florida in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Dan Hurley Is The Last Angry Man

Tom Ley

Derik Queen #25 of the Maryland Terrapins makes a shot against Ethan Morton #25 of the Colorado State Rams to win the game 72-71 in the second round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Climate Pledge Arena on March 23, 2025 in Seattle, Washington.

One Good Shot Deserves A Great One

The McNeese Cowboys celebrate their win over the Clemson University Tigers during the first round of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament held at Amica Mutual Pavillion on March 20, 2025 in Providence, Rhode Island.

Defector Up All Night

Have A Ball In The March Madness Open Thread

Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.

Dan McQuade

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND - MARCH 20: The McNeese Cowboys celebrate their win over the Clemson University Tigers during the first round of the 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament held at Amica Mutual Pavillion on March 20, 2025 in Providence, Rhode Island. A player is sticking his tongue out while being mobbed by teammates.

All You Have To Do Is Hold On

David Roth

Bruce Pearl yelling with his hand cupped around his mouth, looking pretty insane, during a game against Texas A&M on March 4, 2025.

Podcasts

Through The Transfer Portal, With Ken Pomeroy

<a href="https://twitter.com/kenpomeroy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ken</a> has been cranking out college basketball statistics at <a href="http://kenpom.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">kenpom.com</a> since 2004. He’s written at The Athletic, Slate, the late ESPN The Magazine, and the late Basketball Prospectus. He hopes to live long enough to see the men&#8217;s game start using quarters, like every other basketball league in the world.

Ken Pomeroy

Head coach Rick Pitino of the St. John's Red Storm speaks with Deivon Smith #5 of the St. John's Red Storm during the first half of the game against the Connecticut Huskies on February 23, 2025.

Tom Izzo And Rick Pitino Are Up Against One Of March’s Weirdest Curses

JuJu Watkins #12 of the USC Trojans is defended by Paige Bueckers #5 of the Connecticut Huskies during the second half of an NCAA women's basketball game at the XL Center on December 21, 2024 in Hartford, Connecticut.

The Case For And Against Every Contender In The Women’s Tournament

Mitch Voit pretending to snort a line of cocaine

Michigan Baseball Player Sorry For Doing The Cocaine Thing

Hayden Gray #3, Justin Rochelin #5, and Yaqub Mir #22 of the UC San Diego Tritons celebrate after their team's 75-61 victory against the UC Irvine Anteaters to win the Big West Men's Basketball Tournament on March 15, 2025.

And Now It Is March

Lauren Theisen

Head coach Travis DeCuire of the Montana Grizzlies talks with the team during a time out against the Northern Colorado Bears the Big Sky Conference Championshi

You Should Only Get One Timeout In Basketball

Dave McKenna

John Feinstein Never Stopped Doing Everything

North Carolina Tar Heels football head coach Bill Belichick and his girlfriend Jordon Hudson look on during the first half of the game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils at Dean E. Smith Center on March 08, 2025 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Life's Rich Pageant

Bill Belichick: Please Email My Girlfriend

Diana Taurasi #3 of the Phoenix Mercury reacts during the first quarter against the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena on June 04, 2024 in Seattle, Washington

WNBA

Who Had Diana?

Patrick Redford

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 08: Cooper Flagg #2 of the Duke Blue Devils looks over the court during the first half of the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Dean E. Smith Center on March 08, 2025 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Where Should Cooper Flagg End Up?

Head coach Kara Lawson of the Duke Blue Devils celebrates with her team following their victory against the NC State Wolfpack in the championship game of the ACC women's basketball tournament at First Horizon Coliseum on March 9, 2025 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Kara Lawson And Duke Get Revenge With A Conference Title

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 03: Cooper Flagg #2 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts during the second half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 03, 2025 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Cooper Flagg Has Had A Season For The Ages

Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99

Diana Moskovitz

A photo of three women's basketball players. They all stand with their backs to the camera. On the back of their shirts are the 37 words that make up Title IX, the law that gave women equal access to school sports

Politics

Women’s Sports Happened By Accident, And Could Be Taken Apart On Purpose

Giri Nathan

Doug Gottlieb reacts while coaching the Green Bay Phoenix.

Doug Gottlieb Is Immersed In The Grim Men’s Lifestyle

JuJu Watkins #12 of the USC Trojans celebrates a 71-60 win against the UCLA Bruins in the second half at Galen Center on February 13, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

JuJu Watkins Is The Whole Story

Tennessee Lady Vols forward Zee Spearman (11) celebrates during the women's college basketball game between the Tennessee Lady Vols and the UConn Huskies on February 6, 2025, at Food City Center in Knoxville, TN.

Tennessee Tried Something New And Beat An Old Rival

President of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Charlie Baker testifies before the Senate Judicary Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on December 17, 2024 in Washington, DC. The Committee held a hearing to investigate sports gambling. (

Charlie Baker And The NCAA Roll Over For Donald Trump

Justin Ellis

Arizona State University basketball coach Bobby Hurley freaks out at a referee after one of his players is ejected from a game

You Can’t Be Headbutting Dudes On The Basketball Court

Entertaining VCU-Saint Louis Game Leads To—Fine, Let’s Talk About This Huge Fan Brawl

Florida coach Todd Golden standing in front of a basketball hoop.