South Carolina will try to become the first repeated national champion of university basketball since 2016 when the Final Four of the NCAA begins Friday in Tampa, Fla.
South Carolina best sown will face her opponent partner of the SEC and the Texas sown during the first semifinal of the night. UCLA, the best general seed of the Tournament and the number 2 of Connecticut will continue in another. The championship will be played on Sunday.
NBC News breakd down the stories to meet and players to see before the Final Four.
We have three seeds No. 1 and one seed No. 2 in the Final Four. Is that good or bad for the game?
GREIF: This is a question that has been asked about the female game more than men due to the concentrated domain of a small handful of programs since the 1980s. For me, the success of a long time, even predictable, of programs, including Tennessee, Connecticut and South Carolina, makes an innovative tournament extend from an external program such as notre Dame, Mississippi State, Arizona or Iowa even more memorable
Dynasties are not a bad thing; They create solid stories, especially when they are knocked down. This year, that new contender is UCLA, which despite being a seed No. 1 is not a traditional blue blood, it is making its first final Four.
Nadkarni: As a patient who does not support specifically to root for mass chaos, I am legitimately torn in this question. On the one hand, the beauty of the knockout tournament is to see a helpless fire and try to set up that wave until the Final Four. On the other hand, it is difficult to be upset when the majority of the best talent in sport stays to fight for a championship. So I will say that I am wrong on the side of being pro-top seeds. At the end of the day, when bets are at its highest point, I want to see the best sport fight each other in high pressure situations.
What star are you most excited to see?
Nadkarni: To the extent that there could even be a history of Cinderella in a final four female full of monsters, Paige Bueckers who try to win a ring while the old statesman in a relatively young connectic huskies squadr.
Bueckers has had a roller -mountain university career, essentially having two seasons (partially, one completely) ruined by an injury. In his senior with the Huskies, he has remained a talented and efficient scorer, and at the same time she is the player that her team needs desperately.
Bueckers and Uconn have been in the last four of each of the last two years (and four of the last five seasons), but the program has not won a championship since 2016. Bueckers that return to the Huskies to glory would be an incredibly satisfactory story.
Greif: Lauren Betts of UCLA. The 7 -inch center center is the national defensive player of the year not only because it can protect post -players, but also to quell the wings, averaging 3.5 blockages during the NCAA tournament. Ah, and she is presenting 23 points and almost 10 rebounds per night in the tournament as well. The way in which UCLA strategies to maximize his Betts Star, and Connecticut his own in Bueckers, will be the essential television.
Team that worries me more
Greif: Texas. The Lonhorns take 10 triples per game, and only two teams tried less this season throughout the country. That formula has worked well to this point, but against a superior team like South Carolina, that could be asking for a lot to score against the defense of the Gamecocks.
Much of that responsibility will fall to the player of the year of the SEC and the Wing Madison Booker of Texas. South Carolina has 2-1 against Texas this season, with its victories in an average of 18 points.
Nadkarni: To tell the truth, I am not exactly “worried” for any of these teams because they are all good. This question feels like a trap! I will not give anyone’s plank material! But as I am forcing to choose, I will nominate South Carolina here.
The Gamecocks have won their last two games for only eight combined points, which means that opponents have been hanging a little close. Do I feel silly saying this about a team trained by Dawn Staley who has won two of the last three national championships? Of course! Perhaps Texas, who lost to South Carolina by 19 when these teams met for the last time in the SEC championship, has something under the sleeve.
Prediction of the Final Four and the title game
Nadkarni: Connecticut defeats UCLA 75-70 and South Carolina defeats Texas 60-58 in the Final Four.
Connecticut wins the 71-67 National Championship against South Carolina.
Bueckers obtains the end of his storybook, Avenenges the loss of Uconn in the 2022 National Championship and is selected No. 1 in general in the WNBA Draft as a champion.
Greif: South Carolina defeats Texas 71-56 and Connecticut defeats UCLA 75-70 in the Final Four.
Connecticut wins the 67-60 National Championship against South Carolina.
I realize choosing against the Bueckers de Connecticut, who gives rich huskies in tradition their best opportunity to win a first national title since 2016. The Huskies won their meeting of mid -February in a 29 -point loss.
