Tim Rohan is a sports editor and writer for NBC News.
The women’s Final Four is now set — it’s UConn and … everyone else. The Huskies are undefeated and the favorites to win their second consecutive national title. Can UCLA, Texas or South Carolina knock them off? We dive into that topic in today’s newsletter.
This weekend, we’ll be live-blogging all the Final Four games, men’s and women’s, Friday through Monday. We’ll have more coverage in the newsletter, too, and as always at NBC News. The Favorite After UConn beat Notre Dame by 18 points in the Elite Eight, Huskies coach Geno Auriemma allowed himself to let loose a little. His players poured confetti on him, and one of them placed a cowboy hat on his head, since the game had been played in Texas. Egged on by his players, Auriemma even did a little dance. “He’s usually all serious or like anxious, grumpy,” UConn’s Sarah Strong said. “When he breaks out a dance move, that’s how you know he’s proud you, he’s happy,” UConn’s Azzi Fudd added. Auriemma and the Huskies have reason to celebrate. They have steamrolled the competition this season, going 38-0 and winning by a margin of about 38 points per game. Auriemma has had some historic teams, historic players: Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Paige Bueckers. The list goes on. But this UConn team has Strong and Fudd, two names that might be remembered along with those others. Strong is a 6-foot-2, do-everything forward who, this season, has averaged 18.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. Auriemma said that Strong is so skilled, so confident that it elevates her teammates: “They play with confidence knowing they have her,” he said, “and that’s probably the best compliment that I can give her, give Sarah.” In the backcourt, Fudd is a 5-foot-11 sharpshooting guard. She has averaged 17.5 points per game, while shooting better than 45% from 3-point range and starring in a lot of March Madness TV commercials. This is the 25th time that Auriemma has taken UConn to the Final Four. In 12 of those trips, the Huskies won the title. Six of those teams finished undefeated, too. “Every day somebody is coming after you to break your streak. … You have to carry that we’re undefeated,” Auriemma said. “I’m really proud of the way they’ve handled all this and how they don’t let it bother them. They don’t get caught up in anything other than ‘What do we have to do today?’” The Challengers Last year in the Final Four, in the national semifinals, Strong, Fudd and the Huskies demolished UCLA by 34 points. In the year since then, star UCLA center Lauren Betts rewatched the game several times. “Because I was mad,” she said. “And I just didn’t understand how that could happen.” The same four teams are back from last year’s Final Four, when UConn emerged victorious. But these three challengers — UCLA, Texas and South Carolina — also represent the sport’s best chance to dethrone the Huskies. They won their Elite Eight matchups by about 25 points per game. UCLA has the talent and depth to match up with UConn and the added motivation of revenge. The Bruins also have a singular talent in Betts, who stands 6-foot-7 and averages 17.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. The team surrounds her with three skilled guards who all shoot the ball well and average more than 12 points per game: Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez and Gianna Kneepkens. To get to UConn, though, UCLA will have to go through Texas first. And the Longhorns beat the Bruins back in November, in UCLA’s only loss this season. Texas hit a low point in February, when the Longhorns lost to Vanderbilt and, after the game, Texas coach Vic Schaefer called out his team. “We have no heart,” he said. “We’re not tough. It’s probably the softest team I’ve had in years.” The next day at practice, Texas star forward Madison Booker was vocal, setting a tone. Since then, the Longhorns have gone undefeated and Booker has been a force, averaging 19.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists on the season. “These kids, they have been nothing but tough,” Schaefer said after Texas beat Michigan by 36 points in the Elite Eight. “They have been nothing but competitive since that day. They have answered the bell every night.” Meanwhile, South Carolina has pedigree on its side. This is the sixth consecutive year the Gamecocks have made the Final Four under coach Dawn Staley. This year, Staley’s team has a juggernaut offense and a blossoming forward in Joyce Edwards, who averages 19.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. The Gamecocks lost to UConn by 23 points in last year’s title game. When you’ve won as much as the Huskies have, almost any game can serve as a grudge match. What We're Reading Tiger Woods was looking at his phone at the time of last week’s car crash, according to a police report released this morning. The Chicago Bulls released Jaden Ivey after his anti-LGBTQ rant. Olivier Rioux, who is the world’s tallest basketball player at 7 feet, 9 inches, is leaving Florida and will enter the transfer portal. The Super Bowl will return to Las Vegas in 2029. Anthony Edwards returned to the Timberwolves last night. When asked why he didn’t start the game, coach Chris Finch responded, “Nature calls.” U.S. men’s national team and Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards cited “maybe the TSA lines” when asked what made America unique. The NFL announced plans to create a flag football league. What We're Watching On Saturday, the U.S. men’s national soccer team suffered an embarrassing 5-2 defeat against Belgium in an international friendly match. Tonight, Team USA plays Portugal in its last tuneup before this summer’s World Cup. We’re also following the Yankees-Mariners series, which pits the two front-runners for last year’s American League MVP award — the Yankees’ Aaron Judge and the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh — against each other. All times are Eastern: 7 p.m.: United States vs. Portugal, on Peacock, Telemundo, HBO Max, TNT8 p.m.: New York Knicks vs. Houston Rockets, on Peacock9:40 p.m.: New York Yankees vs. Seattle Mariners, on TBS11 p.m.: Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Clippers, on Peacock That’s it for now! We’ll be back tomorrow.
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