The No. 2-seed UConn Huskies are atop college basketball once again, winning a record-extending 12th NCAA championship in a 82-59 blowout victory over No. 1-seed South Carolina on Sunday.
The title ends a nine-year drought for the dynasty program — the longest stretch without hoisting the trophy since the Huskies' first-ever national championship in 1995.
Trio of Huskies fuel UConn's championship grab
After dominating overall No. 1-seed UCLA 85-51 on Final Four Friday, UConn earned a season finale face-off against the defending champion Gamecocks, who punched their spot in Sunday's championship showdown by taking down No. 1-seed Texas 74-57 — South Carolina's third win over their SEC rival this season.
The big day, however, belonged to the Huskies, as UConn’s "Big Three" of star senior Paige Bueckers, standout guard Azzi Fudd, and freshman phenom Sarah Strong posted a combined 65 points to outscore South Carolina.
Fudd and Strong led the game's stat sheet by scoring 24 points each, helping Fudd snag the tournament's Most Outstanding Player honor — and earning Strong a new NCAA record.
After finishing March Madness with 114 total points across UConn's six-game run, the newly crowned 2024/25 Freshman of the Year broke the NCAA tournament's freshman scoring record, as Strong surpassed 2011 WNBA MVP Tamika Catchings, who posted 111 points in Tennessee's 1998 championship run.
As for graduating superstar Bueckers, her 17 points made her the Huskies' all-time NCAA tournament scoring leader, while Sunday's title cements her legacy, capping her college career by adding her name to the litany of UConn greats in the Storrs rafters.
"It's been a story of resilience, of gratitude, of overcoming adversity and just responding to life's challenges," said Bueckers after her last game as a Husky.
"This is one of the most emotional Final Fours and emotional national championships I've been a part of since that very first one," echoed head coach Geno Auriemma.
All in all, UConn overcame years of close calls, injury woes, and buzzer-beating heartbreak to restore their March Madness dynasty. With Fudd returning next season alongside Strong, the Huskies' future looks brighter than ever.
Final Four teams eye 2026 return
On the other side of the championship coin, the Gamecocks never quite hit their stride on Sunday, falling one game short of a back-to-back title after snagging a spot in their third championship game in four years.
"We lost to a very, very good basketball team," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said after the defeat. "They beat our ass, but they didn't make us like it. There's a difference."
Though Sunday’s loss stings, South Carolina's youthful core means the Gamecocks — like the young squads from Final Four teams UCLA and Texas — will be back, packing both March Madness experience and a hefty dose of vengeance next year.
"I hope they're crying," Staley said of her returning players. "I hope they're boo-hoo-ing because from crying they have emotion about losing, makes you work hard in the offseason."
It's a sentiment echoed by the 2024/25 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, UCLA star Lauren Betts.
"We have the same team coming next year," Betts said of the Bruins' underclass core after Friday's Final Four loss. "I hope this fuels us, and I hope that we come out angry after this."
After faltering in their own Final Four matchup on Friday, Texas head coach Vic Schaefer offered a similar silver lining.
"It won't be easier tonight or tomorrow, but it will be easier knowing them three are around," Schaefer said of Longhorn underclassmen Madison Booker, Bree Hall, and Jordan Lee. "They are competitors. And again, they’re kids that invest in their craft."
The Final Four squads unable to seal the deal this season will rue an opportunity lost, but with another year of development, expect the same names to dominate the news cycle next March.
UConn might be the lowest seed left standing, but their championship pedigree looms largest of all, as the Huskies gear up to face No. 1 seed UCLA tonight in their quest to end a nine-year NCAA title drought.
“Before you even get here, you kind of know the pressures that exist by committing to UConn,” star guard Paige Bueckers said ahead of the Huskies’ 24th Final Four appearance. “It’s a decision you have to make even before you step on campus.”
Facing the Final Four with a healthy UConn roster
Reaching four of the last five tournament semifinals despite battling years of injury and availability concerns, UConn’s senior class is hell-bent on proving themselves once and for all on college basketball’s biggest stage.
This year’s run has benefitted greatly from backcourt duo Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, reunited in the postseason for the first time in over two years.
Freshman All-American Sarah Strong and key transfer Kaitlyn Chen round out the team's backbone.
"Sarah impacts the game in so many ways, that you just have so much confidence in her, so much belief in her," UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said of Strong. "I don't know. Can't explain it."
Paige Bueckers powers the Huskies offense
Already UConn’s third all-time leading scorer, Bueckers has been on a scoring tear en route to the Final Four, dropping 30 points in her last three outings as she gears up to enter the 2025 WNBA Draft.
“When I say unique, I think she’s closer to one or two or three of most unique players I’ve ever coached,” Auriemma said. “And I’m really going to miss her.”
This Huskies squad has navigated both long-term adversity and recent hurdles with skill and confidence. But will they be the team that gets UConn back on the trophy-winning track?
No. 1 seed Texas and No. 2 seed UConn punched their tickets to Tampa last night, joining No. 1 seeds UCLA and South Carolina in the Final Four after two tight matchups closed out the NCAA tournament’s fourth round.
Texas got the best of in-state foe TCU 58-47, behind a game-high 18-point performance from SEC Player of the Year Madison Booker.
UConn then handled USC 78-64, holding off the JuJu Watkins-less Trojans as superstar guard Paige Bueckers followed up her career-high 40-point Sweet 16 performance by dropping 31 points on the night.
"We're just so grateful, but we know like the journey isn't done," Bueckers said after the game. "We want our story to continue as long as possible, and we have business to finish."
Texas books first Final Four appearance since 2003
After four Elite Eight appearances in five years, the Longhorns finally punched their ticket to the Final Four — their first time back since 2003 — behind a tenacious defense that forced 21 TCU turnovers.
“Anybody that watched that game today, when they turned the TV off, they had to go, ‘Wow, that freaking team plays their ass off,’” Texas head coach Vic Schaefer said after the game.
"I'm having fun with it now," Booker told reporters. "March Madness — you’re supposed to have fun."
"I’m so proud of myself and proud of my team to get to this moment," Harmon said after registering 13 points against TCU.
"Rori Harmon is still that girl," echoed Booker.
Bueckers leads UConn to the NCAA Final Four
The Huskies are headed to their fourth Final Four in the last five years. They advanced on a balanced scoring strategy that saw three different players put double-digit points on the board.
In addition to Bueckers’s 30-piece, freshman phenom Sarah Strong ran the frontcourt. Strong paired 22 points with 17 rebounds and four assists for her fifth postseason double-double. Additionally, Princeton transfer Kaitlyn Chen bolstered the backcourt with 15 points of her own.
"There's Disneyland, there's Disney World and then there's UConn World," Auriemma said. "These are fantasy numbers that make no sense. You couldn't predict this and you couldn't script this at all."
All four remaining teams have the potential to win a national championship. Now it’s a matter of who can deliver when the going gets tough.
Monday night's NCAA Big East basketball final saw No. 3 UConn lift their fifth straight trophy, winning the conference tournament title with a 70-50 defeat of No. 22 Creighton.
Star senior Paige Bueckers led the Huskies' charge, finishing with 24 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and a pair each of blocks and steals.
Freshman Sarah Strong also showed out with her third straight double-double, registering 13 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, six steals, and three blocks.
Notably, Bueckers made UConn history with the win, exiting her college career with a perfect 66-0 conference record and becoming the first-ever Husky to win three Most Outstanding Player awards at the Big East tournament in the process.
"For her to be able to constantly come up with these kind of performances, time and time again, she just has that thing that those kinds of players have," said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma after the game.
UConn now holds a record 30 conference tournament titles — eight more than any other Division I program.
"We have a belief system in our program that this is the expectation," explained Auriemma. "I truly believe that the higher you set expectations, the closer you get to achieving those. And we have tremendously high expectations every year, those never go away. And some years you fall short, but most times we don't."
NCAA conference tournaments impact AP Poll rankings
Thanks to their command of the Big East, UConn became to the only Top 15 team to hold steady in Monday afternoon's AP Poll update, as the Top 25 list saw significant shifts in the lead-up to Selection Sunday.
After defeating USC for the Big Ten tournament title on Sunday, UCLA earned a three-spot rise to reclaim the No. 1 ranking, while their rival Trojans fell from No. 2 to No. 4 with the loss.
Meanwhile, South Carolina rose from No. 5 to No. 2 after downing former No. 1 Texas in Sunday's SEC finale, putting the defending NCAA champs in a neck-and-neck race with the Bruins for the No. 1 overall seed in this year's national tournament.
The Longhorns now clock in at No. 5, despite still being a likely candidate for one of Sunday's four No. 1 seeds.
Making history just behind Texas are Big 12 champions TCU, whose two-spot leap to No. 6 gave the Horned Frogs their highest-ever ranking.
The Top 10's biggest climber, however, was Duke, who jumped four spots to No. 7 after their title-winning upset run through the ACC tournament.
At the same time, once-No. 1 Notre Dame's slide continued, with the Irish dropping two more spots to No. 8 after exiting their conference tournament in the semifinal round.
Rounding out the Top 10 are ACC tournament runners-up NC State, who fell two spots to No. 9, and SEC semifinalist No. 10 LSU, whose one spot drop comes after injuries to the team's two top scorers hindered the Tigers' conference tournament play.
AP NCAA Basketball Top 25: Week 19
1. UCLA (30-2, Big Ten)
2. South Carolina (30-3, SEC)
3. UConn (31-3, Big East)
4. USC (28-3, Big Ten)
5. Texas (31-3, SEC)
6. TCU (31-3, Big 12)
7. Duke (26-7, ACC)
8. Notre Dame (26-5, ACC)
9. NC State (26-6, ACC)
10. LSU (28-5, SEC)
11. Oklahoma (25-7, SEC)
12. North Carolina (27-7, ACC)
13. Kentucky (22-7, SEC)
14. Baylor (27-7, Big 12)
15. Ohio State (25-6, Big Ten)
16. West Virginia (24-7, Big 12)
17. Oklahoma State (25-6, Big 12)
18. Maryland (23-7, Big Ten)
19. Kansas State (26-7, Big 12)
20. Tennessee (22-9, SEC)
21. Alabama (23-8, SEC)
22. Creighton (26-6, Big East)
23. Florida State (23-8, ACC)
24. South Dakota State (26-3, Summit League)
25. Ole Miss (20-10, SEC)
UConn women’s basketball is set to host the No. 1-ranked player in the class of 2024 over the weekend.
Sarah Strong, who has yet to decide on a school, is one of four recruits in the Class of 2024 to attend UConn’s First Night celebration on Friday. The event is meant to celebrate UConn’s upcoming season and the return of star guard Paige Bueckers, who sat out all of last season while recovering from an ACL injury. It is considered one of the program’s biggest recruiting events of the year.
Allie Ziebel and Morgan Cheli, who have already committed to the Huskies and are both ranked among the top 20 players in the country, will also be in attendance.
CT Insider confirmed that Strong will be in attendance after previously visiting Oregon and LSU. She’s the daughter of former Harvard basketball standout and WNBA player Allie Feaster.
A rising senior at Grace Christian High School, Strong averaged 22.6 points, 4.4 assists, 13.9 rebounds, 3.4 steals and 2.2 blocks per game as a junior. She also won back-to-back gold medals with Team USA at the 3×3 U18 World Cup. And in March, she was named Gatorade’s North Carolina Player of the Year for basketball. She was also named MVP of Eurocamp over the summer circuit, averaging 17.3 points and 6.3 rebounds.