The excitement of this year’s women’s March Madness will soon come to a close. North Carolina State, South Carolina, UConn, and Iowa will soon compete for a chance to win the National Championship in Division 1 basketball.
Earlier this week, the Iowa Hawkeyes, led by phenom Caitlin Clark stunned the defending National Champions, the LSU Tigers. Clark led Iowa with 41 points to secure a 94-87 win.
In the Elite Eight, South Carolina beat 3-seed Oregon State 70-58, continuing their undefeated season with little difficulty.
This Friday at 6 p.m., viewers can expect the first Final Four matchup to be cutthroat. The two teams have a record of 20-12, with the NC State Wolfpack leading by 8. At their last meeting, the Gamecocks won 66-57.
Paige Bueckers, pictured below, led the UConn Huskies to a win over one-seed USC, scoring 28 points. Both Iowa and UConn have top-five rated offenses during the regular season, with the Huskies having a slightly more cohesive defense.
However, Clark’s electric presence on the court may pose a serious threat to the Huskies. Both teams are talented, but Clark’s talent and media presence might give Iowa the confidence to pull out a win.
According to ESPN’s Matchup Predictor, UConn has a 60.6% chance of beating the Hawkeyes and heading to the Championship in Cleveland.
South Carolina and Iowa are the only one-seeds left in the Final Four. With -225 odds compared to Iowa’s +300 and UConn’s +750, at this point, the Gamecocks are favored to win their second National Championship in three years.
According to the Walt Disney Company, the Elite Eight game between Iowa and LSU totaled a record 12.3 million viewers and was the most-watched NCAA tournament basketball game, men or women, so far. It is anticipated that the Iowa and UConn Final Four Matchup will reach even higher numbers.
As the tournament draws to a close, this year’s Final Four will be a thrilling one. It will definitely be worth it to tune in, as it may be the last time to watch a generational talent such as Caitlin Clark play on the NCAA stage.
