Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were the biggest names in college basketball a year ago, and new faces have taken their place in this year’s Final Four.
The NCAA women’s tournament is underway, with the Final Four pairings set for this weekend. This year’s tournament has shown that the sport is doing better than ever, even though star USC sophomore guard JuJu Watkins went down.
The college basketball world was rocked when Watkins suffered an ACL injury against Mississippi State in the second round. In the span of a few seconds, college basketball lost its biggest star for the remainder of March Madness and potentially next season as well.
“I mean, I’d be lying if I told you that I wasn’t rattled seeing JuJu on the floor and crying,” USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said after the game. “I mean, this is a human game. And so tried obviously my best to be what I needed to be for the team, but internally it’s a lot.”
Watkins was putting together a historic season, averaging 23.9 points per game while also contributing 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.2 steals per game on average. She’s already scored 1,709 points in her collegiate career, ranking second in Division I history through two seasons, and was on track to break Clark’s record. That dream seems lofty now, but others around the NCAA are cheering her on.
“For them, it’s another challenge, it’s another game to win, it’s another opponent that they have to beat,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said before the Huskies’ Elite Eight matchup against USC. “And if you’re a competitor, if you’re somebody like Paige, somebody like JuJu, or some of the other kids that have gone through this, they come back better, they come back stronger, they come back more determined, more resilient, more understanding that they can fight through things and overcome just about anything.”
Every team left standing in the women’s tournament has a bonafied superstar under the national spotlight. UCLA has junior center Lauren Betts, South Carolina has junior forward Chloe Kitts, UConn has senior guard Paige Bueckers and Texas has sophomore forward Madison Booker.
It’s true to say the Elite Eight or Sweet 16 weren’t the same without Watkins leading USC. Her absence was even more noticeable given that she’s featured in a State Farm advertisement every commercial break, but she wasn’t on the court when ESPN cut back to the action.
Still, there’s so much star talent left in the Final Four. South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley and her team are amazing reasons to tune into the games. The Gamecocks are the most dominant team in college basketball and on one of the most historic dynasty runs ever after clinching their fifth straight Final Four.
“ I didn’t think it would be this good, I’m not going to lie, this is like something a person would dream of,” South Carolina senior guard Bree Hall said after the Gamecocks’ Elite Eight win.
On the other hand, UCLA clinched its first-ever Final Four appearance after head coach Cori Close led the Bruins to their first 30-win season. At 35-2 this season, the Bruins are nothing short of dominant and have a chance to make history for their program.
“It feels great,” UCLA junior guard Gabriela Jaquez said after the Bruins’ Elite Eight win. “Everyone came to UCLA for this reason, to do something we haven’t done in a really long time or in the NCAA era, and so just really proud, proud of my teammates, the staff, the coaches of just continuing to get better every day and grow from each season prior and — yeah, I just don’t even have words, just so proud.”
Last season broke records for college women’s basketball with the starpower of Clark, Bueckers and the stacked South Carolina Gamecocks. The women’s final between South Carolina and Iowa averaged 18.7 million viewers, far more than the men’s final between UConn and Purdue at 14.82 million.
This year’s rendition of March Madness looks like more of the same. The men’s side is a boring group of one-seeds with no great stories. Meanwhile, the women’s side features a first-ever appearance for UCLA, a dynasty moment for South Carolina and so many more storylines to follow.
The women’s Final Four will be an amazing set of games with some of the most star-studded teams in the country facing off. Amalie Arena, the arena for the Final Four, will surely be rocking, and we’ll get more memorable moments from some of the game’s biggest stars.
If there was ever a time to tune into women’s basketball, it’s this year’s exciting Final Four. I can guarantee you that following Staley and Kitts or Auriemma and Bueckers won’t disappoint. You don’t want to miss the Final Four.
