If you had told most fans within the NCAA Women’s basketball scene at the beginning of the season that the #1 seeds would be the last teams standing in the Final Four in Phoenix, most would agree. This year’s edition of March Madness gives support to those who claim that the “Cinderella story” is no longer alive in college basketball, as the Elite Eight only saw one team ranked at 6 or lower in the mix. While it does give credibility to the women’s basketball selection committee for ranking the correct teams in the top spots for every region, this shows how the landscape has continued to change in collegiate basketball, challenging the usefulness of the 68-team field that used to have more chances at deep runs made by programs that only dream of being a #1 seed. Regardless, we are here for Phoenix to shine its April sunshine (and hopefully not April showers) upon the biggest weekend in collegiate women’s basketball. Here’s how the matches break down:
UCONN versus South Carolina
Geno Auriemma has a way to connect with his players in a manner that most other coaches his age cannot do with the youthful roster that colleges contain, which helps piece together the puzzle of why the Huskies have sustained a dynasty and Geno remains the winningest coach in college basketball history. You would be hard pressed to find another active (or inactive, for that matter) head coach that has not missed the NCAA tournament since 1989, and this season has the making of the 7th time that the West Chester graduate has coached a perfect season in his career.
18 points is the smallest gap that UCONN has had in their final scores of the NCAA tournament, and the rest being 20+ decisive victories tells you that this squad of Huskies has no signs of slowing down. Although Dawn Staley knows how to win championships at the biggest stage, the Gamecocks’ defense has allowed a minimum of 52 points in the last three games of the tournament, which is going to be a problem against this UCONN attack. The road ends for South Carolina in the Semi-Final, by at least a double-digit victory.
UCLA versus Texas
It is interesting to think that the Longhorns were a First Four team in the Men’s March Madness bracket this year and made a decent run as an 11-seed, only to fall short to Purdue in the Sweet 16. Meanwhile, the Longhorns find themselves as champions of the SEC Tournament and in the opposite side of the bracket of the team they beat in that title game, getting a #1 seed as a result. This will be the best of the weekend, as the Bruins of UCLA will seek vengeance for their lone loss of the year against Texas that occurred last November in Las Vegas. It is incredibly hard to beat a team twice, especially considering that the Bruins have not lost a game in 2026, including their Big Ten Championship title. While there were moments of struggle against Oklahoma State and Duke, the road for UCLA will not end in the Semi-Finals, as they will win by single digits and split the 25-26 matchups with the Longhorns in Arizona.
Championship Sunday: UCONN versus UCLA
While it would be nice to see a New England Patriots mirror of a perfect season’s hopes crushed in the National Championship game, it simply will not happen this year. No matter the team that was set to escape from the opposite side of the bracket, a collision course with UCONN for the worse was inevitable. This will not be a buzzer-beater moment, there will not be a weakness displayed, and the UCONN Huskies will, once again, win by double-digits as win another national championship this Sunday in Phoenix. The road ends here, and while all four teams will hang up a banner in some capacity, perfection in Connecticut will raise the Champion banner this fall.
