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Breaking down the Women's Final Four as Texas seeks its second national title

by: Josh Florey04/01/26

With Texas’ rout of Michigan in the Elite 8, the Longhorns move on to the Final Four joining UConn, UCLA, and South Carolina. 

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All four remaining teams are one-seeds, and all four made it to the Final Four last year. UConn beat UCLA and South Carolina beat Texas. UConn then went on to win the national championship game. 

This season, the Huskies and Gamecocks play before the national title, and the winner will face the winner of the UCLA/Texas matchup.

UConn has been the clear favorite all season, dominating both the regular season and NCAA tournament. The Huskies played a weaker conference schedule, but played a decently strong non-conference slate with wins over teams like Louisville, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Tennessee. They stayed consistent, managing not to stumble all season long and have maintained their undefeated status. 

Two of the best players in the nation, Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd, lead UConn with 18.6 and 17.5 ppg respectively, with Strong adding 7.6 rpg. The Huskies are dominant on both ends of the ball, and have the depth to beat you in many different ways. 

UCLA has also been dominant, with a lone loss to Texas. Fighting through the Big Ten and a difficult non-conference schedule has proved the Bruins are battle-tested and ready for the biggest stage. 

The Bruins are led by 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts. Betts gives UCLA 17.2 ppg and 8.6 rpg. They have three other players who average double-digit points: Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, and Gianna Kneepkens.

Texas has probably faced the most difficult schedule of the teams left, having to play South Carolina three times, UCLA once, and then many other highly ranked teams like LSU and Vanderbilt. 

Since their loss to Vanderbilt on Feb 12, the Horns have been on a tear, dominating ranked team after ranked team especially early in games. Against South Carolina in the SEC Championship, and Kentucky and Michigan in the NCAA Tournament, Texas dominated the first quarter, giving them a huge cushion for the rest of the game. 

The Horns are led by one of the best distributors in the nation, Rori Harmon, who averages 6.3 apg. Madison Booker has also been especially elite lately, averaging 19.3 ppg on the season and 21.6 ppg in her last five games. 

Finally, South Carolina has also been great all season long. The Gamecocks only have three losses on the season, with two of them coming to the Longhorns, and the other to the Oklahoma Sooners. They won the SEC regular season title before falling to Texas in the championship game. 

South Carolina has a very balanced offensive attack, with five players averaging double-figure points, but Joyce Edwards leads them in scoring with 19.7 ppg. Madina Okot averages a double-double with 13.2 ppg and 10.8 rpg. 

Texas is a 1.5 point favorite over the Bruins, but ESPN gives UCLA about a 52% chance to win. 

UConn is a 6.5 point favorite with ESPN giving them about a 65% chance to win. 

All four teams are more than capable of winning a title, so Texas has to continue to play the same way they have recently. 

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