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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

Justin Ellis

J'Wan Roberts of the Houston Cougars defends the shot attempt of Cooper Flagg of the Duke Blue Devils in the final minutes of the 2025 Mens College Basketball semi final

College Basketball

Houston Showed Why You Play To The Final Buzzer

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Sarah Strong #21 and Paige Bueckers #5 of the UConn Huskies react on the bench against the UCLA Bruins during the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game at Amalie Arena on April 4, 2025 in Tampa, Florida.

Sarah Strong Doesn’t Act Her Age

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

TCU Horned Frogs forward Sedona Prince (#13) dribbles up court during the Big 12 college basketball game between the TCU Horned Frogs and Baylor Bears on January 26, 2025 at Ed &amp; Rae Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Silence Surrounding Sedona Prince Is A Look Into Sports’ Future

David Roth

Paige Bueckers exults in a basket under the basket against the USC Trojans during the Elite Eight round of the 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held at Spokane Arena on March 31, 2025.

Podcasts

Where’d She Go To College? With Maitreyi Anantharaman

Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda #32 of the Texas Longhorns reacts in front of Hailey Van Lith #10 of the TCU Horned Frogs during the second half in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Legacy Arena at the BJCC on March 31, 2025 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Texas Cut TCU To Pieces

Bree Hall #23 of the South Carolina Gamecocks reacts against the Duke Blue Devils during the second half in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Legacy Arena at the BJCC on March 30, 2025 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks Are Escape Artists

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

Dan McQuade

NEWARK, NJ - MARCH 29: Jon Scheyer head coach of the Duke Blue Devils has a laugh with Cooper Flagg #2 of the Duke Blue Devils after winning the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament game against the Alabama Crimson Tide on March 29, 2025 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Cooper Flagg, wearing a hat and a blue Duke East Regional championship shirt has his hands over his face while Duke coach Scheyer has him in a half-hug with. a huge grin on his face. Scheyer is wearing the same shirt as Flagg, and the same hat too—only his is backwards.

Oh, No! They Made A Likable Duke Basketball Team

Ray Ratto

UCLA Bruins gathers against the LSU Lady Tigers during the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Spokane Arena on March 30, 2025 in Spokane, Washington.

UCLA Finally Finds Its Place

Dave McKenna

Darrion Williams #5 and Kevin Overton #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders react after Williams scored a three point basket to tie the game during the second half in the West Regional Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Chase Center on March 27, 2025 in San Francisco, California.

Texas Tech Made It Feel Like Destiny

JuJu Watkins #12 of the USC Trojans is attended to by team staff after being injured against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the Second Round of the 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held at Galen Center on March 24, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

JuJu Watkins’s Season Ends With A Torn ACL

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

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

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

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

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

The Connecticut Huskies celebrate with the trophy after beating the Purdue Boilermakers 75-60 to win the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament National Championship game at State Farm Stadium on April 08, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona.

Nobody’s In UConn’s League

DJ Burns Jr. #30 of the NC State Wolfpack cuts the net following their 76-64 victory against the Duke Blue Devils in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 31, 2024 in Dallas, Texas.

Everybody Loves DJ Burns

Luis Paez-Pumar

Chase Hunter #1 of the Clemson Tigers lays up against Keshad Johnson #16 of the Arizona Wildcats during the first half in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Crypto.com Arena on March 28, 2024 in Los Angeles, California

Clemson Had An Answer For All Of Arizona’s Questions

Lauren Theisen

DJ Burns celebrates with Casey Morsell after a basket

It’s NC State And Everybody Else

PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 24: Kiki Iriafen #44 and Nunu Agara #3 of the Stanford Cardinal celebrates after they defeated the Iowa State Cyclones 87-81 in overtime in the second round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Stanford Maples Pavilion on March 24, 2024 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

After The Binge, The Basketball

DAYTON, OHIO - MARCH 19: Patrick Cartier #12 of the Colorado State Rams battles against Jacob Groves #34 and Dante Harris #1 of the Virginia Cavaliers during the first half in the First Four game during the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at University of Dayton Arena on March 19, 2024 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

Please Get Virginia All The Way Out Of My Face

HOUSTON, TEXAS - APRIL 03: Head coach Dan Hurley of the Connecticut Huskies reacts as he cuts down the net after defeating the San Diego State Aztecs 76-59 during the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament National Championship game at NRG Stadium on April 03, 2023 in Houston, Texas.