Tampa, Florida, they come. A trio of seeds n ° 1 and a seeded head hit their tickets for the Final Four Féminin 2025.
Reigning champion of the NCAA South Carolina will play Texas Friday (7 p.m. he), followed by Uconn against. UCLA (9 p.m. he). The two games are on ESPN.
What teams will go to the national championship match on Sunday? Our experts weigh, as well as unanimously on a favorite for one of the semi-finals, but have separated on the other Final Four force test.
Jump to: Uconn-UCLA | South Texas-Carolina
What to know about Uconn
Factor n ° 1 which helped Uconn reach the last four: Paige Bueckers. After relatively bad performances in the three defeats of the Huskies, including 9 shots out of 22 in the first match with USC In December, Bueckers had three consecutive games with more than 25 points this March mad. This has given him eight in the NCAA tournament at his four four -end points – tied to the second plus by any player in the past 25 years, according to ESPN Research.
And it’s not just the bueckers score that makes her the best player in the nation. She added six assists on Monday and an emphatic block of the Trojan Horse Guard Talia von oelhoffen. At least a big game is waiting for Bueckers during her last try for an elusive NCAA championship, but she could not have done anything more en route to Tampa.
UCLA’s UCLA key: match with plots of deep physical fronts. Huskies are relatively inexperienced in the position, where they start two first -year students Sarah Strong And Jana El AlfyThe latter of his third year on the list but first on the field. This duo will be tested by a 7 -inch 6 -inch UCLA star Lauren Betts In the semi-finals on Friday, with the South Carolina or Texas which is looming if Uconn is advancing.
None of the three other Tampa teams can match the perimeter firepower of the Huskies with Bueckers, Fort and Azzi Fudd. If Uconn can play relatively even in painting, Geno Auriemma & Co. will cut the nets for the first time since 2016. – Kevin Pelton
1:58
UCLA eliminates LSU to go to the first four final
Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez combine to mark 35 points while the UCLA beats LSU in the elite eight.
What to know of the UCLA
Factor n ° 1 which helped the UCLA reach the last four: The presence of 6 feet 7 inches of Lauren BettsIncluding the statistical line on Sunday (17 points, 7 rebounds and 6 blocks) qualified – remarkably – like a night out of the night. After all, Betts had recorded consecutive matches of 30 to 10 in a 32 -year -old circle and Sweet 16, drawing one 29 out of 33 combined on the field.
The emergence of Betts as an unstoppable force in painting helped Bruins progress after having hit the door several times. The UCLA had reached the Sweet 16 six times in the last decade under Cori Close, including the Elite Eight in 2018, but this is the first time that the Bruins have passed in the Final Four since 1979 – before the NCAA female basketball. Directed by the renowned temple Ann Meyers, the UCLA won the AIAW national title in 1978 and returned in 1979.
Bruins also used last year’s loss against tigers As a significant measurement stick And changed the result this time.
The key to the UCLA against Uconn: continuing to focus on “go 1-0”. This was the subject of closed discussion to avoid looking towards the future or highlighting the magnitude of the moment for a program that has not been so far in the lives of its players. Against Uconn, the UCLA will be a significant deficit in experience against Geno Auriemma, Paige Bueckers and Huskies. But the Bruins will surely treat the national semi-final on Friday like any other match for the team which obtained the seeded n ° 1 in the NCAA tournament. – Pelton
2:13
Geno on Bueckers: “She has a flair for the moment”
Uconn coach Geno Auriemma joins Scott Van Pelt to react to the achievement of the 24th Final Four of the program and his time with Paige Bueckers.
UCLA predictions
Charlie CREME: UCONN 82, UCLA 78
Alexa Philippou: UCONN 72, UCLA 70
Geno Auriemma already pointed out that his UCONN teams in the early 2000s were the best in the country because he had Diana Taurasi And the others did not do it. Although it is probably not as impetuous today, a similar refrain could be true with Paige Bueckers.
As good as Lauren Betts was, Bueckers was better. Bueckers was historically good with its 25 games and more in the Uconn race at its 16th Final Four in 17 years (and its fourth). His three previous trips have produced no national championship. The big game of drums combined with a feeling of emergency in its last season will be enough for the Huskies to win a loved one. – Cream
Michael Voepel: UCLA 75, UCONN 73
Uconn as a program has all the final oven experience that is missing at the UCLA. But the Bruins do not have to beat the story of Uconn. They must defeat this team this year. A key to doing so is to move the ball as well as all season: the Bruins on average 20.4 assists per game, which is fourth in division I.
Of course, Uconn ranks in front of them in third.
So defense is the other key. Bueckers has come to his way so far in four NCAA tournament games, firing 58.7% of the field. UCLA coach Cori Close has to challenge his team to be the one who can at least slow down a little bitckers. – Voepel
0:54
N ° 1 Texas vs n ° 1 Overview of the Southern Caroline Game
Take a look at the important figures before the final match four between Texas and South Carolina.
What to know of Texas
Factor n ° 1 which helped Texas reach the last four: The longhorns composure won the Elite Eight match on Monday. Texas was a seeded team for a reason, and the Longhorns played like that to hit their ticket for Tampa. The horns in horns entered the momentum on the excitement of beating Notre Dame in the regional semi-final. Texas could have played hard because the pressure was there to win. Longhorns were 7.5 points favorites. Instead, the Longhorns did what they had to do when they had to do it.
Texas key against southern Carolina: marking enough points. The Monday competition with TCU was a ugly offensive game. Faced with the South Carolina for the fourth time this season, the biggest question is not whether the Longhorns can stop the gamecocks, but if Texas can score enough points to beat them. During their three previous outings (two in regular season, then in the match for the title of the SEC tournament), Texas collected on average 53.7 points and broke only 60 in one of them. It was the meeting that Longhorns won.
The teams were able to search him with the South Carolina, but disturbing the Gamecocks offensive and beat them are two different things. To succeed, the Texas offensive is likely to come from Madison BookerHis top scorer. When these two teams met in the inclination of the SEC championship, Booker had a hard time, scoring 10 points on a 4 shot for 13. Texas will need more than the second year to win a place in the national championship match. – Katie Barnes
2:19
Staley de Caroline du Sud: “We fought our way in” In the Final Four
Dawn Staley says that the Gamecocks “were really not supposed to be here” but never abandoned to defend their national championship in the Final Four.
What to know about South Carolina
The n ° 1 factor which helped the South Carolina to reach the last four: This comes to the program that Staples Staley established to lead the Gamecocks to three national championships. It instills a mentality that the South Carolina will play buzzer and make fewer errors when the issues are highest. And for the most part, the Gamecocks have done this this season, especially at the end of their victories on Maryland (Sweet 16) and Duke (Elite Eight).
Staley has also adapted to different mentalities of its last four teams in the last decade. She knows that a lot of warmth and shooting of her do not work as well with the group of this year as with certain past teams. Staley’s ability to contain high standards, but it is always flexible, it is a large part of the reason why we will see the South Carolina again in the Final Four.
The key to South Carolina against Texas: get more of her young players. The Gamecocks were able to survive Duke despite scoring only 54 points and not get much from their young stars. Second -year student Milaysia Fulwiley And Tessa Johnson and recruit Joyce Edwards Combined to score only nine points on 4 shots out of 14 with seven reversals.
As reliable as the starting veterinarians of South Carolina – Kitts, Feagin, Bree Hall,, Te-Hina Paopao And Raven Johnson – are, it seems that the Gamecocks will need their young players to contribute much more to obtain two victories in Tampa. – Voepel
1:49
Texas eliminates TCU in Elite Eight to head to Final Four
Discover the best games in Texas while the Longhorns beat the TCU 58-47 to get to the Final Four for the first time since 2003.
Texas vs predictions of South Carolina
Charlie CREME: South Carolina 62, Texas 59
Alexa Philippou: South Carolina 63, Texas 52
Michael Voepel: South Carolina 65, Texas 60
When Texas and South Carolina compete on Friday, there will be no surprise. The fourth meeting between the two best SEC teams will decide the conference representative in the national match. Like their first three games, two of which were won by Southern Carolina, expect it to be dictated by the defense. These are the two best defensive teams in the country. A single opponent of each of the NCAA tournament scored more than 60 points in a match. And during the previous meetings between the Gamecocks and Longhorns, the 67 points of the South Carolina on January 12 were the score.
When these teams gathered to decide the title of the SEC tournament the first week of March, the Gamecocks completely closed Texas 64-45. This should be closer, but give the South Carolina the advantage to go to the match for the title on Sunday. – Cream
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