For the second consecutive year, the Uconn path to the Final Four will demand it to pass the USC. A match between two of the best players in the country, Paige Bueckers from Uconn and Juju Watkins of the USC, is looming in the elite eight of Spokane 4. But it will take a lot before a revenge match of last year’s elite materialized.
The Huskies aim to reach their second consecutive Final and their 16th in the last NCAA tournaments. The seeded n ° 2, Uconn’s Road will start with the seeded n ° 15 Arkansas State, which won the Sun Belt tournament and participated in its first NCAA tournament. The Red Wolves finished second in the conference and obtained an automatic offer after eliminating James Madison at the top of a series as an extension in the final of the tournament.
From there, the Huskies draw will become more difficult. Oklahoma State, seventh seeded, is back in the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years after finishing third in the Big 12 ranking. The program of coach Jaccie Hoyt is in the top 20 of the net rating and is directed offensively by Stumomore Staiee Heard, one of the best players of the conference. Heard is a dangerous 3 -point shooter, converting 40.9% of his attempts. But there is no guarantee that Uconn would face the cowgirls, because the state of southern Dakota n ° 10 has a serious potential of Cinderella.
Jackrabbits were a must in the NCAA tournament, appearing in 13 of the last 16 games. They beat the USC in the first round of the 2023 tournament and qualified for the Sweet Sixteen in 2019. Their three defeats this season have been their least since 2008-2009, and they beat the other teams of the NCAA Creighton, Oregon and Ball State tournament. They enter March Madness on a sequence of 19 consecutive victories.
The seeded n ° 3 Oklahoma could wait for Uconn in the Sweet 16. The Sooners are both the size and the shooting and could present a difficult match. The Oklahoma added the star center Raegan Beers in the transfer portal during the offseason, and it succeeded in the NCAA tournament. Last season, she led Oregon State to Elite Eight by making an average of 15.8 points and nine rebounds out of 69.2% in four tournament games. Beyond the beers, the Sooners led the nation in rhythm and are 11th in 3 points of attempts per match. Although they do not derive it from only a clip of 32.3%, Payton Verhulst, Sahara Williams and Sylar Vann can exploit the attention that beers attract painting. If it is not the Sooners, it is possible that the Huskies can face Iowa in the Sweet 16. The Hawkeyes, of course, are no longer led by Caitlin Clark, but a UCONN-IOWA meeting would be an exciting revenge match of the final thriller of last year.
Kentucky, the fourth seeded, could also challenge Uconn if the teams meet in the elite eight. During the first season of coach Kenny Brooks, the Wildcats climbed to n ° 8 in the top 25 of the AP. Georgia star Georgia Amoore took a team in the Final Four before, guiding Virginia Tech in the 2023 NCAA tournament. Amoore and her Hokies colleagues transfer Clara Strack are at the heart of the success of Kentucky, with Amoore a dynamic scorer on the perimeter and strack with an interior force. Strack led the dry in blocks (2.4) per game and has an average of almost a double-double.
But it is possible that this region is just a development for another edition of USC-UCONN. The programs met in December in Hartford, Connecticut, the Trojan horses winning 72-70. After scoring a 25 -point team record, Watkins said: “It struck a little by knowing the history of last year and how they sent us home.”
She referred to their Elite Eight 2024 match in Portland, which Uconn won 80-73. The two programs have made changes to the list since then, but the familiarity between the two star guards – in what is likely to be the last NCAA tournament in Bueckers – could make one of the tournament games.
Uconn can survive in Spokane 4. But there is no easy way here. Huskies have not won a championship since 2016. It is worth seeing if they can break this sequence.
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This article originally appeared in Athletics.
Connecticut Huskies, Women’s College Basketball, NCAA women’s tournament
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