Women's Final Four power rankings: Who's winning? UCLA, South Carolina, UConn or Texas?
The women's Final Four is a culmination of the season, careers and collegiate legacies. It provides the ultimate platform to elevate and highlight how each team was built to achieve this elite final stage of the year.
South Carolina and UConn are both in consecutive Final Fours. The Gamecocks won it all last season and seek to take home the national championship trophy for the third time in four seasons. They won the first championship in 2022, a dominant performance against the Huskies, and UConn looks to get back to the title game for the first time since then. UConn is aiming to win the crown for the first time since 2016, sending program icon Paige Bueckers out on a high note.
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Texas reached the final weekend for the first time under coach Vic Schaefer after knocking on the door in past seasons. The Longhorns haven't been to the Final Four since 2003 and won their lone national championship in 1986.
UCLA brings new blood to the table, reaching their first Final Four in the NCAA era, although winners of a championship in the AIAW.
Who will win it all in Tampa? Who looks most primed to do so?
UCLA Bruins
The Bruins have the strongest foundation in the Final Four, resting on the shoulders of Lauren Betts' two-way dominance. She's a constant scoring threat, demanding attention at all times and punishing defenders in the paint. She alters opponents' approach to the game before the ball is tipped. What's stood out for UCLA throughout the tournament and the season has been the roster adaptability, always finding ways to tweak and adjust in games to solve problems presented by opponents. Gabriela Jaquez and Timea Gardiner played crucial roles against LSU after quieter performances against Ole Miss in the Sweet 16, combining to hit nine of UCLA's 10 3-pointers. Coach Cori Close's team just has the feel of the program best built to handle whatever is thrown at it in Tampa, and the Bruins have shown up throughout the Big Dance against tough competition.
Connecticut Huskies
Paige Bueckers has dominated the NCAA Tournament, scoring 30-plus points in the last three games, including a 40-point outing against Oklahoma in the Sweet 16. Kaitlyn Chen showed her March experience in one of her finest games against USC as she shouldered the load in a matchup where Azzi Fudd struggled to find her offense. Sarah Strong adapts and morphs to each game and has a strong case as the most versatile player in the tournament — and really, in college basketball as a whole. UConn executes on defense with just enough role players alongside its stars to mix and match depending on the game plan. The Huskies have two of the best shot-making guards in Bueckers and Fudd. While UConn is talented, it will be significantly undersized against UCLA. That isn't everything, but opponents with length that can switch and make things difficult in the halfcourt (Tennessee, USC during nonconference play and Notre Dame) have taken UConn into deep waters. The Huskies will likely need another sensational performance from Bueckers to advance to the final.
South Carolina Gamecocks
Similar to UCLA, the Gamecocks have thrived with multiple players stepping up in different moments. The Elite Eight hero for South Carolina was Sania Feagin, as she turned into a go-to player against Duke's smothering defense. The Gamecocks have veterans who have been in these situations before, and they have a strong baseline on both sides of the ball. Freshman Joyce Edwards can be the separator for the Gamecocks to earn another trip to the championship. Edwards has been understandably quiet in the Big Dance, stifled by some top-notch defenses and not shooting as well as she typically has. A strong game from her against Texas, which she played well against in SEC competition, seems like a necessity given the challenges the Longhorns present with their size.
Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns played inspired defense to smother TCU in the Elite Eight, holding the Horned Frogs to their lowest scoring total and least efficient game this season, shooting just 26.7 percent. That's not an easy feat considering that TCU had the second-most potent offense in the country, per Basketball Reference. Having two true centers (Taylor Jones and Kyla Oldacre) who can block shots and hold it down as post scorers is a cheat code for Texas as they enact constant interior pressure. Can the Longhorns hit enough shots along with that defensive edge and impact on the glass? Texas didn't lose a regulation game this season if it scored more than 50 points. The two games they didn't … both came against South Carolina.
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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
UCLA Bruins, South Carolina Gamecocks, Connecticut Huskies, Texas Longhorns, Women's College Basketball, Bracket Central, Women's NCAA Tournament
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