CULTURE

Footer Column 2

Footer Legal

Footer Main

Nav Bar

OTHER

SPORTS

Subscribe, at any level, to play

Thanks for your interest in Defector Crosswords!

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Plans start at $8/month.

Subscribers enjoy unlimited, ad-free browsing.

Register to continue

Or click here to subscribe for unlimited, ad-free access!

Our gift to you: This year's post is unlocked. Register your email to get even more free articles.

Welcome to the 2025 Hater's Guide!

Just register your email:

This blog is free to read.

This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Lauren Theisen

Fans of the Michigan Wolverines celebrate

College Basketball

You Can’t Go Home Again, But You Can Visit

Ray Ratto

Elliot Cadeau #3 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates after defeating the UConn Huskies 69-63 in the National Championship of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on April 6, 2026.

Michigan Met Connecticut In The Muck And Won

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Lauren Betts #51 hugs Head coach Cori Close of the UCLA Bruins during the second half of the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Mortgage Matchup Center on April 5, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Cori Close And UCLA Won At Their Own Speed

David Roth

Elliot Cadeau #3 of the Michigan Wolverines reacts after a play during the first half of a NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Final Four game against the Arizona Wildcats on April 4, 2026.

Michigan Is Nasty

Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks argues with Geno Auriemma of the UConn Huskies during the second half of a NCAA Women's Final Four semifinal game on April 3, 2026.

South Carolina Upset Connecticut, But Not As Much As Dawn Staley Upset Geno Auriemma

Head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks reacts with Joyce Edwards #8 in the game against the TCU Horned Frogs during the fourth quarter in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Golden 1 Center on March 30, 2026 in Sacramento, California.

South Carolina Forgets But Doesn’t Forgive

Braylon Mullins #24 celebrates with Malachi Smith #0 of the UConn Huskies after shooting the game-winning three point basket

The UConn Buzzer-Beater Was A Flawless Short Film

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Braylon Mullins of the UConn Huskies celebrates after hitting the game-winner against Duke.

Two Dazed Freshmen Authored The Tournament’s Immortal Moment

Olivia Miles #5 of the TCU Horned Frogs reacts against the Virginia Cavaliers during the fourth quarter in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Golden 1 Center on March 28, 2026 in Sacramento, California.

Olivia Miles Was Made For March Highlight Reels

Dave McKenna

Fred Hoiberg Really Fucked Up

Syracuse Coach After 53-Point Loss: Please Don’t Make Us Play UConn Again

Amaya Battle #3 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers celebrates with her team after making a go-ahead shot against the Ole Miss Rebels in the fourth quarter during a second round game of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held at Williams Arena on March 22, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Minnesota’s Buzzer-Beater Sounded Like Home

Commissioner Roger Goodell of the NFL announces the New York Jets pick during round one of the 2022 NFL Draft on April 28, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada

Crosswords

The Crossword, March 23: March Madness

Tom Ley

St. John’s Won Funny

Rob Martin Will Always Be A Short King Of March

Mikayla Blakes #1 and head coach Shea Ralph of the Vanderbilt Commodores react on the sideline against the Furman Paladins in the first half at Vanderbilt University Memorial Gymnasium on November 10, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Tournament’s Best Subplot Is Shea Ralph Vs. Her Old Coach

High Point Is A Deeply Weird School

Oscar Cluff #45 of the Purdue Boilermakers looks for a shot against Morez Johnson Jr. #21 of the Michigan Wolverines during the first half of the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament Championship game on March 15, 2026.

Podcasts

Let’s Get Upset, With Ken Pomeroy

Columnist. Author of many <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drew-Magary/e/B001JS8R52/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1">fine works of literature</a>, including Point B. Handsomest man in the world.

Drew Magary

Dan Hurley holding a little jar of almond butter

This Is So Stupid

The Hottest Snack Of The NCAA Tournament Is Almond Butter

Arizona Wildcats players pour confetti on the head coach Tommy Lloyd after winning the Big 12 Tournament championship game between the Houston Cougars and the Arizona Wildcats on March 14, 2026.

There Is No Resting State Of March Madness

<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

Braden Smith of the Purdue Boilermakers celebrates with his teammates after being named outstanding player of the tournament after winning the championship game of the Big Ten Men's Basketball Championships on March 15, 2026.

March Madness’s Phony Rules Were Made To Be Broken

Howard players celebrate their victory in the locker room

Howard’s First NCAA Tournament Win Was A Long Time Coming

Can I Interest You In A Billiken?

Erin Somers is the author of the novel The Ten Year Affair.

Erin Somers

Interviews

Talking To A. Natasha Joukovsky About Men, Myths, And March Madness

Will Richard of the Florida Gators celebrates after second half in the National Championship of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Houston Cougars at the Alamodome on April 7, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas.