PHOENIX — Welcome back to the women’s Final Four. Maybe you’ve heard this weekend should feel pretty familiar. But consider something here. Maybe that’s not so bad.
Yes, all four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four, and yes, they’re the same four programs from the last Final Four. There are valid debates to be had about parity. But some of those conversations seem to miss the forest for the trees. So much focus on the general state of the game has almost overshadowed this particular slate of games. When UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina take the floor on Friday, it should not feel anything like a rerun.
If this is still the same television show, it’s a new season with fresh storylines, a lot more depth and some key character development.
Start with the fact that South Carolina’s loss to UConn in the national championship last year framed just about everything the program did in the offseason. The Gamecocks did not have enough offensive firepower in the 82–59 drubbing at the hands of the Huskies. So they reached in the transfer portal for Division I leading scorer Ta’Niya Latson. They did not have enough size to win on the glass. So they brought in 6'6" transfer Madina Okot. They did not have a go-to player able to singlehandedly change the outcome of a close game. So they poured into the development of sophomore forward Joyce Edwards—who stepped into a starting role this year and finished the regular season as the highest scoring individual player in a South Carolina uniform since A’ja Wilson in 2018. Just one starter from the championship game last year will suit up for South Carolina in the Final Four on Friday.
“The way that game was played has no bearing on tomorrow,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said about the rematch. “They have added some really key pieces. I think they’re a much better team than they were last year—really hard to prepare for. They’ve shot the ball exceptionally well this year. They’ve added size that is hard to match up with. Defensively, we have our challenges with them.”
On the other side of the bracket, UCLA and Texas may be on repeat trips to the Final Four, but this one feels like a whole new ballgame for both of them. Members of both programs said they were overwhelmed by the experience last year: UCLA was making its first Final Four trip since the NCAA began overseeing women’s sports, Texas was making its first trip in decades, and both squads looked outclassed as a result. They know what they’re in for now. And that should make for a great matchup between them on Friday.
“It’s just so different when you can anticipate instead of react,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “Experience is such a powerful teacher in this particular context.”
These are the best teams playing the best version of their basketball at the best time of year. So there’s no David in any of these matchups. But four true Goliaths can make for a better, higher-quality, more tightly contested Final Four. Consider the last women’s Final Four with all four No. 1 seeds. That was 2018. Remember that one? Both semifinal games went into overtime. The championship was decided by a single possession. Arike Ogunbowale hit the shot of her life, and then, somehow, two days later, hit the shot of her life again. It made for one of the greatest collective weekend experiences in college basketball history. There’s no guarantee of that happening again. (Basketball has only one Arike.) But there’s a very high chance of thrilling action.
That should be a key piece in the conversation about parity. It’s true that any team outside the top 25 has a far lower chance of beating any team in the top 10 for the women than for the men. (Though it’s certainly not impossible: Go ask Kymora Johnson and No. 10 seed Virginia if the women’s game has any Cinderellas.) But this is no longer one team running roughshod over the field. It’s been a decade since women’s college basketball saw a champion go back-to-back.
The best teams are much better than the rest. But that says “teams,” plural, and that creates an entire competitive tier of top talent. The early weekends of the tournament may be a snooze in places. But the final weekend is as tightly matched as can be.
In his press conference on Thursday, Auriemma reflected on the last time that the women’s Final Four saw the same foursome making a joint return to the final weekend of the tournament. That was 1996. (It’s been a while.) That group had Auriemma and UConn, of course, along with Tennessee, Georgia and Stanford.
“How many Final Fours have those other three schools made in the last 15 years? The game has changed so much, because so many more schools now have an opportunity to get here,” Auriemma said. “That doesn’t mean they’re going to get here. But they have an opportunity to get here.”
Just ask UCLA, which had never been to an NCAA Final Four until last year, or Texas, which has had a drought that’s lasted two decades. Or any one of the teams that suddenly popped up in that top tier over the last several years. You may recall Iowa making back-to-back Final Fours with a certain transcendent player. A coaching change and some critically important transfers meant that LSU won a national championship just two years after being mired in mediocrity. The last three years have seen both NC State and Virginia Tech in the Final Four. The picture can shift quickly here.
“Winning is really hard,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. “People think it’s easy ’til it isn’t.”
Even a team that looks unbeatable will be beaten eventually. And when it is? It’s usually a pretty fun watch.
More March Madness from Sports Illustrated
- SI:AM | One Thing to Know About Each Final Four Game
- Paige Bueckers Hypes ‘Basketball Capital of the World’ UConn Ahead of Final Four
- March Madness: Three Bold Predictions for Men’s Final Four
- South Carolina vs. UConn Prediction, Odds, Key Player for Women’s NCAA Tournament Final Four
This article was originally published on www.si.com as This May Be a Familiar Women’s Final Four, but It’s Not a Rerun of Last Year.
