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NCAA Tournament bracket picks: CJ Moore picks UConn over Purdue for the title

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NCAA Tournament bracket picks: CJ Moore picks UConn over Purdue for the title

(Editor’s note: This is part of the Bracket Central Series, an inside look at the run-up to the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments.)

Since Florida repeated as national champs in 2007, no defending champion has advanced past the Sweet 16. That ends this year.

 

Connecticut is the most complete team in college basketball, and it’s going to end that streak and repeat as national champions. That was my pre-bracket prediction and I’m sticking with it, but the selection committee really has me uneasy about that prediction. The Huskies received no favors as the top overall seed. You could argue that UConn has the toughest path to Phoenix as any of the top seeds. Iowa State has the best defense in college basketball. Illinois has one of the best offenses and was a team pre-bracket that I was pretty sure I would push through to the Final Four, and Auburn is the candidate to be this season’s UConn.

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My other pre-bracket rule: Fade the Big 12. The league is the most physical in the country and its teams, outside of Iowa State, are entering the NCAA Tournament bruised and battered. And if you look through the all-conference teams in the Big 12, the talent is not comparable to past years. There aren’t a lot of pros, and the talent is down. There are still a lot of good teams, but for most of the year it felt like Houston was the only great one. And Houston is a shell of itself right now.

Sometimes it’s a curse to watch a lot of college basketball because it leads to going too chalky. Last season, that would have gotten you in real trouble. This year the top is stronger. It’s not just the eye test. Adjusted efficiency margins at KenPom.com suggest this as well. For instance, last season’s No. 1 entering the tournament (Houston) would be this season’s No. 3. Last season’s No. 2 (UCLA) would fall to No. 6 this year. The numbers a year ago were hinting at possible chaos. This year we could get a more chalky Final Four.

Now, maybe you’ve come here for help with your bracket. My advice: If you’re convinced that UConn is the best team, then pick the Huskies. But if you’re not, there’s a lot of value in picking Purdue. The Boilermakers have been one of the best two teams in the country all season, but a lot of people are going to pick an early upset because Matt Painter’s team has lost in the first round in two of the last three tournaments — including No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson last year. This is not the same Purdue team. That one featured freshmen guards who were wearing down. Now Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer are sophomores, and Smith, in particular, has made a big leap and is one of the best point guards in the country. He also has playmaking help in Southern Illinois transfer guard Lance Jones.

I’m sticking with UConn, but I’ve got Purdue in the championship game.

Let’s get to the nitty gritty now. Here is a region-by-region breakdown.

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East Region

• The second round is the first possible pothole for UConn. Northwestern took Purdue to overtime twice this season and has one of the best-scoring guards in America in Boo Buie. His ability to punish drop coverage is why I’m hesitant to take Florida Atlantic in the first round. FAU’s defense is designed to give up jump shots in the mid-range. Buie doesn’t take a lot of mid-range jumpers, but he’s one of the best pick-and-roll scorers in the country and has an effective field-goal percentage of 58.6 on shots off the dribble, per Synergy.

The Owls have performed their best coming off their lowest points, and losing to Temple in the AAC tournament was a low. Dusty May’s team will be motivated and also potentially a scary matchup for UConn, as the Owls also play their best against top competition — they knocked off Arizona in Las Vegas just before Christmas.

• Auburn is way underseeded if you’re a believer in metrics. The Tigers rank No. 4 at KenPom.com, and as stated earlier, they’re a good candidate to be the UConn of this tournament. UConn was also No. 4 at KenPom going into last year’s bracket and also was a No. 4 seed with the defending national champs (Kansas) as its No. 1 seed in its region.

The Tigers have double-digit wins in 26 of their 27 wins. Last season, UConn had double-digit wins in 19 of its 25 victories heading into the NCAA Tournament and then won all of its tourney games by double digits. This is potential pothole No. 2 for the Huskies, assuming Auburn can get past Yale (Ivy League was one of the best mid-major leagues this year) and San Diego State, which has one of college basketball’s best scoring bigs in Jaedon LeDee.

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• One smart upset pick in this region could be Duquesne over BYU. The Dukes hold their opponents to 31.7 percent 3-point shooting, and BYU lives and dies by the 3. Dayton is probably the closest equivalent to BYU on Duquesne’s schedule; Duquesne got swept by Dayton in the regular season but just upset the Flyers in the A-10 tournament.

• Drake will be a popular 10-7 upset pick because it’ll have the best player on the floor in Tucker DeVries, who will be looking for tourney redemption. Last season, Drake led Miami by eight with under five minutes to go and ended up blowing the late lead, and DeVries scored three points on 1-of-13 shooting in that game. Washington State relies a lot on scoring inside the arc and was the second-best offensive-rebounding team in the Pac-12. Drake’s 2-point defense — allowing 51.9 percent — is not great, but it is the best defensive-rebounding team in the country.

Iowa State will have the best homecourt advantage the opening weekend. Iowa State fans love to travel to see their Cyclones, and it’s a short drive to Omaha. They just took over the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

• Illinois has won seven of eight games entering the tournament, with that one loss coming to Purdue. The Illini have the positional size to match up with UConn. Their defense — 91st at KenPom — is suspect, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense when you look at the roster. Terrence Shannon Jr. can be a lockdown defender on the perimeter when he wants to be, and Coleman Hawkins is one of the most versatile defenders in the country. Shannon is averaging 31.8 points over his last four games, and he might be the toughest wing in college basketball to defend. (It’s him or Dalton Knecht.)

I’m not sure Illinois has the defensive discipline to handle all of the movement and off-ball screening action from UConn, but I was tempted to make this upset pick. If UConn ends up repeating, the Final Four could end up an easier two games than the second weekend. UConn doesn’t play through Donovan Clingan in the post a lot, but this could be a game to give him the ball a lot, as he has a size and strength advantage on Hawkins. (The Illini do have behemoth Dain Dainja off the bench.) Clingan’s rim protection will also be important, as Shannon and Marcus Domask both live in the paint.

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If Tyler Kolek is healthy, Marquette can make the Final Four. (Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)

South Region

• Nebraska has never won a NCAA Tournament game, but this is the year! The key will be trying to keep Texas A&M off the offensive glass. The Aggies are the best offensive-rebounding team in the country. Nebraska ranks 223rd in defensive rebounding rate. Whoever wins this game is a good candidate to upset Houston.

• Houston is the most vulnerable No. 1 seed with J’Wan Roberts getting injured in the Big 12 tournament. Roberts, who hurt his shin in the semis, did play in the final but lasted only 13 minutes. The Cougars are also missing their two best bench players, and Kelvin Sampson doesn’t have a lot of confidence in his reserves right now.

One of the best weapons to have against Houston’s ball-screen defense is a pick-and-pop, playmaking five and Nebraska has that in Rienk Mast. If it’s Texas A&M advancing in the first round, the Aggies can match Houston’s physicality. And while Houston’s a great offensive-rebounding team, it’s not great right now on the defensive glass, especially since losing backup center Joseph Tugler. The Aggies struggled shooting the ball most of the season, but they’re averaging 83 points and are 5-1 since inserting Manny Obaseki into the starting lineup.

I’ve gone back and forth on who will win Nebraska-A&M. My initial gut pick was Nebraska, but I’m wavering and would probably change my pick if I hadn’t already submitted my bracket! But forgot the wavering. The Huskers are not only going to win their first tourney game in school history; they’re making the Sweet 16.

• Wisconsin and Duke have tricky first-round matchups, and Vermont or James Madison would be worthwhile upset picks. I was hesitant because I’ve got Houston losing and feel like this is a strong 4-5 region. My logic for picking Wisconsin is that Duke’s interior defense is soft. Wisconsin’s Steven Crowl is playing well and will be a matchup problem for Duke in the post. Wisconsin is 15-6 when he scores in double figures.

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• Texas Tech is another Big 12 team hurt by injuries. Starting center Warren Washington has missed eight of the last nine games, and he went scoreless in 13 minutes in his one appearance during that stretch. Starting wing Darrion Williams, one of Texas Tech’s most important pieces, also sat out the Houston game with an ankle injury. I’d expect both to play, but NC State is already a tricky matchup with the red-hot DJ Burns. I was going to pick against the Wolfpack in the opening round because I figured they’d be a tired team, but the health of the Red Raiders worries me more.

• Marquette will have a challenging second-round game, whether it’s Florida, Colorado or Boise State. Both the Gators and Buffaloes are talented, and the Broncos went 13-5 in a challenging Mountain West and had the league’s best offense in conference play. Also, there’s the concern of Tyler Kolek and his oblique injury.

But I’ve been high on the Golden Eagles all season, and they’ve felt like a team that will peak in March after getting upset in the second round last season by Michigan State. Usually, when a veteran team has a loss like that and returns most of its core, it’s a safe bet that the team goes on a run. (See 2019 Virginia for the most extreme example.)

• Kentucky and Illini are the two teams in this bracket that give off the most 2023 Miami vibes. Both are electric on offense and suspect on defense. I trust the Illini more because they’re older. If Marquette-Kentucky happens in the Sweet 16, it’ll be super watchable and likely fast-paced. Wish we knew exactly how healthy Kolek will be, but Marquette is a nightmare matchup for Kentucky’s defense. Kentucky’s ball-screen defense has been brutal for much of the season, and Kolek and Oso Ighodaro are one of the best pick-and-roll tandems in the country. Marquette also can guard.

• Shaka Smart is 0-3 against Wisconsin as the coach at Marquette, including a 75-64 loss in Madison this year. That was one of the worst games of the season for Kolek and Ighodaro. The Badgers dared Kolek to shoot and took away Ighodaro on the roll. Ighodaro finished with just five points on five shots, and Kolek went 1-of-5 from distance.

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Since Jan. 15, the only two teams to beat Marquette are Creighton and Connecticut. Marquette was not quite in the right headspace early in the season when it lost that game but it’s quietly been one of the best teams in the country the last two months and still played pretty well with Kolek sidelined. Smart is finally going to get a win in this rivalry game, sending Marquette to its first Final Four since 2003.

West Region

This is the region best set up for chaos, so let’s get weird.

• Mississippi State just upset Tennessee in the SEC tournament and has the bodies to throw at North Carolina’s Armando Bacot. Chris Jans is one of the best defensive coaches in the country, and his team is holding opponents to 29.4 percent shooting from deep. He’ll be sure to limit the looks for RJ Davis and Cormac Ryan.

The Bulldogs will tempt Elliot Cadeau into shooting. He’s seen the dork defense before — when teams sag off him on the perimeter — sometimes he’s baited into shooting. He’s made just 8-of-44 3s all season. Jans has one of the hottest scorers in the country too, with freshman guard Josh Hubbard averaging 25.4 points over his last eight. A smart game plan and a hot Hubbard are the difference in the second round. And if it’s Sparty playing the Heels, that’s a core that went on a surprise run last year.

• Grand Canyon has one of the best talents in this region in Tyon Grant-Foster, the former Kansas/DePaul wing who sat out the last two years with a heart problem and returned to the floor this season to average 19.8 points per game. I went to see Grant-Foster play for the first time when he was the top-rated juco recruit at Indian Hills Community College in Iowa. He’s always had the talent, and Bryce Drew has brought out the best of him. This is one of the most heartwarming stories in college basketball. Grand Canyon has a talented roster around him too, but I’m picking this upset with my heart. It’d be cool to see Grant-Foster have his moment on this stage.

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• New Mexico was the most talented team in the Mountain West but battled injuries and inconsistent play and finished sixth in the conference standings. But the Lobos got hot this weekend, winning the MWC tournament, and they’re healthy now and metric darlings. They rank No. 23 at KenPom, so that’d suggest they’re underseeded. They have a potential second-round matchup with Baylor, which has an elite offense but has been mediocre defensively the last two seasons.

The Lobos aren’t a great matchup for Arizona in the Sweet 16. When the Wildcats have struggled this year, it’s been against teams that can take advantage of Oumar Ballo in the pick-and-roll. The Lobos P&R handlers finish the second-most possessions of anyone in college hoops, per Synergy. They have one of the best guard trios in the country in Donovan Dent, Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn Jr. They also have Nelly Junior Joseph, who is big and strong enough to deal with Ballo on the blocks.

• I’m not sure there’s a team I feel comfortable picking in the Final Four in this region. This is the region where it feels like the selection committee messed up. UNC and Arizona have the easier paths to the Elite Eight, and I’m probably dumb not picking either to get there. But, again, this feels like the spot for chaos. And the team that could benefit is Alabama, which had the hottest offense in college basketball for about the first seven weeks of the calendar year.

The Crimson Tide shoot a ton of 3s, and with that can come some variance. They also have a crummy defense. And they’re in that Kentucky/Illini category of electric offense and suspect defense. Put Illinois in this region and I’d feel great putting the Illini in the Final Four. I’m not so comfortable going with the Crimson Tide, but it’s a team that is probably better than its record. Most will see 11 losses and get scared. Most will see losers of four of their final six and get scared. But the tournament is often a reset, and teams that play unique styles are often good candidates to go on runs. Think some of Jim Boeheim’s mediocre Syracuse teams of the past.


Caleb Furst and Purdue beat Tennessee in November in Hawaii. Could they meet again in the Elite Eight. (Steven Erler / USA Today)
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Midwest Region

• Gonzaga and Kansas are both going to be popular Round 1 upset picks. McNeese State is 30-3 and coached by former LSU coach Will Wade. I was tempted. The Cowboys dominated the Southland, but that’s one of the worst leagues in college basketball. Mark Few hasn’t lost in the first round since 2008 and his team has a major size advantage.

Kansas has a confidence problem and has been the second-worst 3-point shooting team in college basketball the last six weeks. But Samford is actually a good matchup for the Jayhawks in their vulnerable state. Because the Bulldogs press, it’ll allow Kansas to get out in the open floor. That’s where Dajuan Harris Jr., Kevin McCullar Jr., KJ Adams and Johnny Furphy thrive. A fast-paced game will be a welcome change from the sometimes slog of the Big 12.

• Oregon coach Dana Altman is one of the best postseason coaches. The Ducks have made the Sweet 16 as a No. 7 and a No. 12 in their last two tourney appearances. Altman is known for mixing defenses and confusing opponents in the postseason, and center N’Faly Dante, who missed the first half of the season, is playing his best ball of the year. South Carolina coach Lamont Paris will be coaching in only his second NCAA Tournament game. The Gamecocks are also No. 49 at KenPom, so this will likely be close to a coin flip in Vegas. Feels like a good spot to pick an upset.

• Tennessee has one of the easiest second-round matchups no matter if it’s Virginia, Colorado State or Texas. That first weekend should help the Vols get their swagger back after losing two straight coming into the tournament. The key for Tennessee will be getting some offense from someone in addition to Dalton Knecht and Zakai Zeigler. Both Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi are in major slumps.

Creighton-Tennessee could be a great Sweet 16 game, but here’s betting the Vols look like themselves again the first weekend and ride that confidence to the Elite Eight. That’s where it gets tricky if they play Purdue, who beat them 71-67 in the opening round of the Maui Invitational in a game where neither team played that great. That was before Zeigler, coming off offseason knee surgery, looked like himself, but Zach Edey dominated. Not sure the Vols have an answer for slowing Edey, and the Vols couldn’t beat Purdue with Braden Smith having one of his worst games (six points, one assist, three turnovers). Purdue could end up reliving Honolulu, beating Tennessee and Marquette on its way to the national title game.

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• Purdue has the easiest path to the Elite Eight of all the No. 1 seeds, and for that reason it might be a smart champion pick. In my bracket, we get the national championship between the two teams who have been at the top of the rankings for most of the year and a game I’ve wanted to see. If it happens, UConn has the big in Clingan to slow Edey, and UConn has better talent around its star big man. I don’t love UConn’s path, but if we get this game, the Huskies are the more complete team. Purdue relies a ton on Smith and Edey, but all five of UConn’s starters could go for 20-plus any given night.

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The Bracket Central series is part of a partnership with E*TRADE.

The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

(Photo of Donovan Clingan: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)

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UCLA vs. USC takeaways: Bruins aim for resilience after fumbling away a signature win

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UCLA vs. USC takeaways: Bruins aim for resilience after fumbling away a signature win

A heavy mist hung over the Rose Bowl late Saturday night, adding to the yuck factor of what just transpired for the home team.

A shanked punt at the worst possible time. A sturdy defense fooled by a trick play. An offense that couldn’t gain one yard given a chance to win the game.

It added up to the most crushing loss of the season.

“Sucks,” UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers said after the Bruins’ 19-13 setback against USC in his final cross-town rivalry game. “Really sucks.”

Garbers was involved in two critical sequences that ensured UCLA (4-7 overall, 3-6 Big Ten) will finish the season with a losing record.

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The first came on a failed fourth-down sneak. The second came when he suddenly couldn’t find a rhythm after completing every previous pass in the second half.

It left Bruins fans with a similarly sickening feeling from previous close losses to Minnesota and Washington.

Here are five takeaways from a defeat that will heavily frame UCLA coach DeShaun Foster’s first season:

Bad ending

USC defensive end Sam Greene hits UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers as he delivers an incomplete pass on Bruins’ last offensive play during a loss to Trojans Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

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It was the sort of moment that can forge a legacy.

With a chance to go 2-0 as a starter in the rivalry game while keeping the Victory Bell painted blue, Garbers stepped to the line of scrimmage at his own 25-yard line with 2:09 left and his team needing a touchdown to win.

He had already thrown for 156 yards and a touchdown in the second half while completing all 11 of his passes.

The next four plays: incompletion, incompletion, incompletion, incompletion. A few of the throws weren’t even close to connecting with their targets.

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“Just hard to find a rhythm,” Garbers said of his struggles on the final drive.

UCLA’s offense gained 376 yards but couldn’t make plays in crucial moments. The Bruins converted only three of 11 third downs and went 0 for 3 on fourth downs.

The game film should be cataloged in the horror section for anyone associated with UCLA.

The longest yard

Having long expressed his belief in his team’s ability to get a yard, Foster went for it on fourth and one at the UCLA 34-yard line with five minutes left and the Bruins trailing by three points.

It wasn’t the most imaginative play call, Foster saying it was his decision — and not offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s — to run a quarterback sneak.

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“I thought it was a good call and every call that’s made in certain situations — I am making those,” Foster said.

Garbers was stopped for no gain, but both Foster and his quarterback said the play was blown dead prematurely.

Said Foster: “That was the first time I’ve seen a quarterback sneak get called dead, you know? They usually let that play roll; they stopped it, they blew the whistle, so who knows where we would have ended up.”

Said Garbers: “I was looking at the marker and I thought I was past it. But I guess they blow the forward progress dead early. So, can’t control that.”

Here’s something indisputable: UCLA will need to fortify its offensive line through the transfer portal to ensure it can pick up one yard in similar situations next season.

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Same old story

UCLA coach DeShaun Foster argues with a referee during his team's loss USC at the Rose Bowl Saturday.

UCLA coach DeShaun Foster argues with a referee during his team’s loss USC at the Rose Bowl Saturday.

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

Nearly every week, Foster has said he’s going to fix his team’s discipline issues.

Then the next game comes and it’s more of the same slop on the field.

The low point Saturday came going into halftime, when UCLA wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer, safety Bryan Addison and an unspecified assistant coach were called for unsportsmanlike conduct penalties as both teams made their way toward the locker room while jawing at one another.

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Foster said he was told the brouhaha was precipitated by a USC player punching Gilmer, leading him to retaliate. As a result of the penalties, UCLA was forced to kick off from its own five-yard line to start the third quarter.

The Bruins also compounded giving up a 41-yard kickoff return with a late hit by Evan Thomas. It was just one of the eight penalties they committed for 70 yards.

“That’s why that’s my first pillar; I didn’t pull it out of nowhere, it was my first pillar for a reason,” Foster said of discipline. “I felt that that was something that we were lacking and missing and we’re still missing it, so we’re going to just continue to strive in the direction of discipline and eventually it’s going to get fixed.”

Lost opportunity

UCLA receiver J.Michael Sturdivant catches a long pass between USC cornerback Jaylin Smith and safety Bryson Shaw

UCLA receiver J.Michael Sturdivant catches a long pass between USC cornerback Jaylin Smith (2) and safety Bryson Shaw (27) during the second half at the Rose Bowl Saturday.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

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With a win over the Trojans, Foster wouldn’t have had to do any convincing when it comes to the narrative of his first season.

He would have beaten USC counterpart Lincoln Riley, who has taken multiple teams to the College Football Playoff and makes more than three times his salary.

He would have significantly enhanced his team’s name, image and likeness fundraising efforts that will be critical to upgrading the talent on his roster.

He would have given the hundreds of high school recruits at the game another reason to give a commitment. (Kenneth Moore III, a wide receiver from St. Mary’s High in Stockton, actually did commit to the Bruins before the game.)

Now there’s going to be more spin needed to sell recruits. One possible pitch: Come help us finish these games.

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“All of these losses have come to pretty much us letting it slip through our hands,” Foster said. “You know, we gotta find a way to finish games and, you know, just keep coming after half and play better, finish the games. Just really put our stamp on the end of it.”

What now?

UCLA tight end Moliki Matavao beats USC safety Bryson Shaw to reach the end zone in the third quarter at the Rose Bowl

UCLA tight end Moliki Matavao beats USC safety Bryson Shaw to reach the end zone in the third quarter at the Rose Bowl Saturday.

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

Given what happened Saturday, there won’t be much at stake in UCLA’s final game of the season against Fresno State next weekend at the Rose Bowl.

The Bruins will try to send their seniors out as winners while continuing to show resolve. A win over the Bulldogs (6-5) would help UCLA finish the season with four victories in its final six games.

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“They kept rebounding this whole season,” Foster said of his players, “so they’re gonna continue to be resilient and continue to be the type of football players that I know that they are.”

A warning for the Bruins: The Bulldogs have won the last four games in the series.

A warning for Foster: Fresno State has been especially hard on new UCLA coaches, beating Chip Kelly, Rick Neuheisel and Karl Dorrell in each of their first years on the job in Westwood.

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Marta already has an illustrious legacy, but this year with the Pride was one of her best ever

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Marta already has an illustrious legacy, but this year with the Pride was one of her best ever

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Last week, Marta was mad.

Usually, when she’s on the field with her nose toward goal, the three-time Olympic silver medalist visualizes repeating what she’s done many times over her lengthy career. She allows the joy to flow through her, down to her left foot and into the ball.

But she got a little heated with the opposition during last weekend’s NWSL semifinal between her Orlando Pride and the Kansas City Current.

“I tried to be nice most of the time during the game,” Marta said Thursday, to a rapt audience of reporters around her table at the NWSL championship media day.

There was a player on the Current who she exchanged words nicely with, according to the Brazilian. But the player, Marta declined to name names, was being “a little bit diva”.

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“And I said, ‘Wow, all right. You made me mad. I’m going to go one-on-one against you’,” Marta said.

Marta picked up the ball in the center circle after forward Barbra Banda poked it away from Current defender Kayla Sharples. Marta faked out both Sharples and center back Alana Cook as they tried to challenge her, juked past goalkeeper Almuth Schult and got the shot off before outside back Hailie Mace could do anything, scoring the Pride’s crucial third goal in the 82nd minute of an eventual 3-2 win.

It was another reminder, as if it was needed, that Marta is truly one of the greatest to ever play.

She celebrated with mixed emotion, anger and joy battling for dominance. But for Marta, it felt the same as so many other goal celebrations before. At media day, she nearly reached for her phone to pull up a photo of her celebrating a goal with Brazil to compare with what proved to be the game-winning goal that sent her to her first NWSL final.

“Honestly, what I see is maybe we should try and make her mad. She turns on a whole other level,” Pride teammate Morgan Gautrat said with a laugh.

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Other Pride players talked about watching the goal on repeat, from different angles, but no one expressed surprise. They see it regularly.

“Nothing’s changed,” Marta said. “I have passion for this game, and that’s why I still play.”

Much like the potential of finally earning an Olympic gold medal back in the summer with Brazil at age 38, Marta doesn’t need an NWSL championship trophy to cement her legacy as a force in American women’s professional soccer. She has already won a title and a shield here in 2010 with FC Gold Pride during the previous professional league era of the WPS. And the Pride already captured a trophy this year, winning the NWSL Shield for most regular season points.

She reiterated Thursday that she’s planning to play for another two years, though she’s a free agent heading into the NWSL offseason. But when she does finally hang up her boots, Marta has one of the best chances of an international player making it into the National Soccer Hall of Fame based on a club career.


Marta warms up during training ahead of the NWSL championship. (Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

This season is special, though. Marta said it’s the best she’s ever had at the club level, even compared to her days in Sweden with one of the strongest sides in Europe at that time, Umeå IK.

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“If I achieve this big goal with this amazing team, good,” Marta said. “If not, this season was so special from the beginning to now, like not even close to the best dream I can imagine.”

When asked during the last press conference before the final where this NWSL championship ranks amid her illustrious career, Marta emphatically held up a finger: number one.

“I think because of the way we did during the season from the beginning to now, it is something very special that I have never had before in any other club that I’ve played for,” she said. “It’s hard to win the games in the first place (in NWSL), like almost all the games.”

Marta joined the Pride in 2017, a year after their inaugural season as an expansion team. The team had some big-name talent, from Alex Morgan to Ali Krieger. They had good results in Marta’s debut year and made the playoffs. However, the Pride never finished higher than seventh for the following five seasons (not including 2020, when no regular season was played due to the pandemic). In 2023, they achieved seventh place again, missing the playoffs by a two-goal difference in the standings on the last day.

“(Marta) remembers the hard times. She remembers when we were the laughingstock of the league,” head coach Seb Hines said Friday. “Now, she’s enjoying it. Now, everything’s coming together. We’ve got a great culture. We’ve got great players here. We’ve got structure within the top to the bottom now, and so she probably just reminds herself of, like, what it was like before, and just enjoying every single moment of what it’s like now.”

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As much as the external focus is on Marta this week, especially after that semifinal goal, she’s not feeling that external pressure at all. She’s not thrown off by the high demand for her from the media, or sitting down for a couple of video features during a championship week. She’s never experienced the madness of an NWSL championship as a finalist, but she’s been to plenty of World Cups and Olympics. She’s also not focused on herself as an individual.

“It’s not this player, (or) this player, it’s the team,” she said. “We do it together. This is exactly how it’s supposed to be. It’s not about the one or two players, it’s about the project. It’s about the work that everybody put in. If the trophy comes to us, amazing. If not, we’re going to keep working hard.”


Marta celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Current. (Mike Watters / Imagn Images)

From the outside, it is easy to assume that the team would love to win a championship title for Marta. And while that’s not inaccurate, said Pride general manager Haley Carter, it’s also not the only internal narrative driving them. From her front-row seat, Carter said Marta embodies the team culture every day and that this is a group of players that truly loves each other.

“This is actually what makes her great,” Carter said on media day. “This is what gives her legendary status: everything is about the team. It’s not about, ‘I’ve never won a NWSL title. I’ve never won the league’. It’s not about that. It’s about getting the team in the space to be successful. That’s her priority.”

Marta has been crucial on the field for the Pride as well. So much of her success this year, including her nine goals and an assist during the regular season, as well as her two playoff goals so far, comes not just from her return to form, but a slightly more advanced position on the field. She’s been closer to goal, and adding Banda to the mix only helped.

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When you look at her touches over the past three seasons, this year the Pride are essentially getting 12 percent more of Marta in the final third.

It has worked, to say the least.

There are still the intangibles, too. And for a player with Marta’s stature and legacy, those are impossible to overlook.

“She’s given so much to this club. She’s given absolutely everything. She hasn’t been at another team in this league, and so it’s part of her. She knows what it means to play for this team. She knows what it means to play for this badge,” Hines said Friday at his pregame press conference. “Take away all the individuality of the dribbling and shooting and stuff, her fundamentals of football when you see someone with stature doing it, there’s no questions for anyone else to do it, young, old, whatever.”

Tonight against the Washington Spirit at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Orlando’s captain will lead her team one final time in 2024. She’ll almost certainly be facing a hostile crowd, including locals who haven’t forgotten last week’s goal or Marta shushing them in the Pride’s 2-1 win over the Current there before the Olympic break.

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But there will be at least one person in the stands who has never seen her play before in America: her mother.

Marta told The Athletic Thursday that she had finally managed to help arrange a visa for her mom to attend a match in the United States and that a family member had managed to take two weeks off to travel with her and help her get around. For Marta, it was the perfect time for her mother to finally see her play a professional game in the States. Sure, they had to run around Thursday morning buying her mom more cold-weather gear so she was prepared for the chill of Kansas City in November, but it was all worth it.

“She told me this year, ‘If I don’t come to America, and then I pass away, I’m gonna pass away so sad’.” Marta couldn’t help mimicking her own incredulous face at the heightened levels of maternal guilt. “And I said, ‘Mom! Why do you have to be like that?’.”

All this week, Marta’s been nothing but smiles and jokes, soaking in a game that is the culmination of her eight years in Orlando. But despite the clear joy emanating from the Brazilian, maybe tonight she’ll get a little mad too, and provide one more moment of magic this season.

Jeff Rueter contributed to this story.

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(Top photo: Nathan Ray Seebeck / Imagn Images)

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Jason Kelce chugs beers during eventful visit to Appalachian State tailgate

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Jason Kelce chugs beers during eventful visit to Appalachian State tailgate

Former NFL star Jason Kelce got a first-hand look at the Appalachian State Mountaineers football team on Saturday.

Kelce made the trip to Boone, North Carolina for the Mountaineers’ matchup with James Madison. App State was ultimately able to pull off the 34-20 victory. Now, if the Mountaineers are able to pick up their sixth win of the season next week, App State would become bowl eligible.

But before Saturday’s Appalachian State-James Madison game, Kelce made his way to the tailgate area. At one point during his stop, Kelce was seen chugging beers. The retired Philadelphia Eagles center and seven-time Pro Bowler even took a few minutes to participate in karaoke. 

ESPN Monday Night Football broadcaster Jason Kelce on the set before game between Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field.  (Eric Hartline-Imagn Images)

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Kelce also posed for pictures with some fans before he entered Kidd Brewer Stadium.

JASON KELCE TO HOST NEW LATE-NIGHT SHOW ON ESPN

Kelce, who signed with ESPN in May and makes routine appearances on “Monday Night Countdown,” also addressed the crowd and made a brief appearance on the ESPN+ broadcast.

In April, Jason and his brother Travis received their college diplomas from the University of Cinncinati. Travis celebrated the moment in true Kelce style.

After shaking hands with the university’s president, Dr. Neville Pinto, onstage, Travis chugged a can of beer as the Beastie Boys’ hit song “Fight for Your Right” played in the arena. Travis would often recite the lyrics to the song following the Kansas City Chiefs’ games and during the team’s Super Bowl celebrations.

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While Travis and Jason previously graduated from Cincinnati, they both missed out on their actual commencement ceremonies, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

Travis and the Chiefs play the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte on Sunday. Bank of America Stadium, the Panthers’ home stadium, is located roughly 100 miles from Appalachian State’s Kidd Brewer Stadium.

Jason Kelce on television set

Nov 18, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; ESPN personality and former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce on set before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans at AT&T Stadium. (Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Image)

Earlier this week, a dispute over an autograph resulted in Kelce having a less than pleasant exchange with a fan.

After filming an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Thursday night, a man directed a profanity-laced tirade at Kelce over the former Eagles lineman’s decision not to sign autographs for a group of people behind a fence. The incident, first reported by TMZ Sports, was captured on video.

Jason Kelce on the football field

Jason Kelce says being a father is one of the highlights of his life. (Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Through the shouting, a calm Kelce attempted to explain his reasoning as he was about to get into a vehicle. “I have a habit of not signing for people that follow where I’m going,” Kelce said. 

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The incident with the fan on Thursday comes just weeks after Kelce smashed someone’s phone after the unidentified person shouted a homophobic slur about Travis Kelce while Jason was walking near the Nittany Lions’ home stadium.

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