UCLA, UConn, Texas, and South Carolina have touched down in Tampa, each team laser-focused on tonight’s NCAA Final Four with a trip to Sunday’s national championship game on the line.
SEC titans Texas and South Carolina will square off for the fourth time this season, with the Longhorns looking to upset the reigning champs in their first Final Four appearance since 2003.
UCLA and UConn will later link up for the first time since 2023, with the Bruins fighting for a ticket to their first-ever championship game against a tournament-tested — but title-less — Huskies class.
Top-ranked teams square off in tonight's Final Four
Three of tonight’s teams entered the tournament as No. 1 seeds — Texas, South Carolina, and UCLA — while all four ranked among the AP’s Top 10 throughout the regular season.
“Not only is every team different in terms of their talent base and strengths and weaknesses, but their makeup internally is different,” UCLA head coach Cori Close said on Thursday.
“Whoever gets through this semifinal and final will have done it against the best of the best,” said Texas head coach Vic Schaefer. “We all understand it. It’s hard to do.”
"It’s going to come down to heart, effort, and controlling the things that we can control, which is attitude and effort,” echoed South Carolina senior Te-Hina PaoPao.
After a year of unparalleled parity at the top, there can still only be one winner — and whoever cuts the nets down on Sunday will surely be worthy.
How to watch the Women's Final Four and NCAA Championship this weekend
The Final Four tips off tonight at 7 PM ET on ESPN, with Sunday’s NCAA championship game starting at 3 PM ET on ABC.
When Texas takes on South Carolina this Friday, they’ll be playing for more than a shot at the NCAA tournament championship title.
That's because this year's Final Four is a rematch, marking the fourth meeting between the Longhorns and the reigning national champion Gamecocks this season. Now, Texas is looking for a little revenge against their top-ranked SEC rivals.
Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer knows South Carolina well. It’s a competitive relationship that dates back to his time coaching Mississippi State, where he led the Bulldogs to the 2017 title game. And the story is strikingly similar.
“I think in '17, we played them three times also, before we played them in the Final Four,” Schaefer said after Monday’s Elite Eight win over TCU. “I think that was our fourth time when we played them in the national championship game.”
Staley got the best of Schaefer back then, with South Carolina defeating the Longhorns 67-55 on the way to their first-ever national championship. On Friday, Texas will attempt to flip the script against the 2024 champs, in hopes of securing the team’s first NCAA title in over 30 years.
“That's the thing about Dawn's teams, is that you know you're going to get the same from them that you try to impart on others, too,” Schaefer continued. “They're going to be tough.”
While this Texas squad has showcased their own toughness all season long, South Carolina has once again proven to be a formidable foe. The Gamecocks downed the Longhorns 67-50 in their first clash back in January. Subsequently, the loss served as a valuable lesson, lighting a fire under Texas that they’ve carried with them ever since.
“If you’re going to be a top team you have to beat a top team,” star sophomore Madison Booker told Just Women’s Sports ahead of the 2025 SEC tournament. “Reality hits you right there.”
“After that [game], we kind of figured we weren’t preparing right,” she continued. “We weren’t preparing like we want to win championships. We weren’t preparing like we want to beat top teams, or be a top team. So we had to change.”
That late January defeat launched Texas into a 16-game winning streak. They went on to finish out the regular season without dropping a single additional game.
Moving to the SEC puts Texas in a whole new league
Joining the SEC in 2024 after 28 years in the Big 12, the Longhorns have adapted smoothly. They’ve shown that they know what it takes to become a true title contender, building on two straight appearances in the Elite Eight to punch their ticket to the program’s first Final Four in two decades.
The conference move didn’t hurt, said Schaefer. The coach credited what he calls “a different league" for challenging his players to grow this season.
“I say it all the time, we jumped out of the frying pan and into the grease,” he said of the leap to the SEC. “It’s a different style, it’s certainly more physical. It’s a league that challenges you every night. You win on the road in this league, it’s like a win and a half.”
“This whole conference [season], I feel like people have been throwing some different stuff at me,” Booker emphasized on JWS podcast Sports are Fun! with Kelley O’Hara. “Box-and-one, face guarding, double- or triple-team. I think I’ve seen it all.”
Despite the competition, the Longhorns played to a 17-0 home record this year. Additionally, they gave up just one non-conference game to Notre Dame last December. Booker saw another excellent season, leading Texas in scoring on her way to winning SEC Player of the Year. And senior Rori Harmon’s return from injury gave Texas yet another boost, with the trusted point guard guiding Texas’s offense through difficult defensive sets with steady composure.
In early February, Texas settled the regular-season score with South Carolina, defeating the Gamecocks 66-62. And the win was bigger than the rivalry. It shot the Longhorns to the top of the AP Poll rankings. That boost saw Texas enter the SEC tournament as the country's No. 1 team.
And after ousting Ole Miss and LSU in the conference tournament’s first two rounds, there was only one team left to beat.
Texas basketball's bumpy road to the NCAA tournament
Texas reveled in wins as they came, whether it was going undefeated at home, winning a regular-season conference title, or progressing through the SEC tournament. But after each game, the same common refrain would emanate from the huddle: “What did Kobe say? JOB’S NOT FINISHED.”
“I think everyone understands what’s at stake here,” said Harmon ahead of Texas’s SEC conference final against South Carolina. “There’s definitely a chip on our shoulder. We need to get stuff done.”
Playing on their biggest stage yet, however, the Longhorns once again couldn’t hold off South Carolina. Eventually, they fell to the Gamecocks 64-45 in March's SEC championship. Rings aside, South Carolina had become Texas’s Achilles heel, with the SEC’s gold standard responsible for two-thirds of their losses going into March Madness.
Despite their late stumble, Texas still entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed. The Longhorns then became more interested in defining their season from that point on, rather than wallowing in opportunities lost.
“You’re talking about a six-game winning streak. To win a national championship, you gotta win six in a row,” Schaefer said, sizing up the road ahead.
Taking March Madness by storm
So far, Texas has held up their side of the bargain. They’ve battled through four NCAA tournament rounds, downing March Madness debutant William & Mary, No. 8 seed Illinois, and tricky Tennessee side. Finally, they toppled a determined TCU team to set up a fourth date with their SEC rival.
And they know full well that they’ll have to tackle this next game as if it was their last.
“It probably means a little bit more [this year], there’s seniors on the team, including me,” Harmon noted. “But this is the team that can do it.”
After turning a solid regular season into a breakout year, everyone in the Texas locker room is firmly on the same page. Intensity and poise got them to the Final Four. Now they’ll have to trust that process to get over the same hurdle that has haunted them throughout the season.
“There is so much on the line, but you've gotta just go play,” Schaefer said on Saturday. “That game is very difficult, and you gotta have kids that can just kinda block out all the distractions, and everything around 'em, and just go play the game.”
The message in the huddle remains the same, because despite all their accomplishments, the job is far from finished. And no one’s lost sight of the bigger picture.
“We're here for a reason,” Harmon said earlier this week. “We worked hard for a reason. Everything happens for a reason. And we put our faith into that.”
Watch more: 'Can Texas Make a Tourney Run?' on Just Women's Sports
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.
Welcome to another episode of Sports Are Fun! presented by TurboTax.
Every week on Sports Are Fun!, co-hosts soccer legend Kelley O'Hara, sports journalist and basketball expert Greydy Diaz, retired NWSL great Merritt Mathias, and JWS intern BJ serve up their hottest takes all things women's sports. And in today's episode, the crew is taking the NCAA selection committee to task as they hash out this year's March Madness bracket and everything that went down on Selection Sunday.
"We had selection Sunday yesterday, that was very exciting," O'Hara said, introducing the topic to the group. "So the overall number one seed was UCLA, correct? Is anyone surprised about that?"
"Yes," Mathias answered immediately. "I just think it's interesting that USC drops to like the fourth number one seed when they gave UCLA both their losses. The math's not adding up."
"Did you see coach Dawn Staley's reaction?" asked Diaz. "She didn't agree. There were many coaches who didn't agree with their own standing."
"Honestly — and I've said this before," said BJ. "I don't understand how they do this. I looked into it too last night and I was like, This is still not making sense to me. Let's just play basketball.'"
The one thing they can agree on? UConn potentially meeting USC in the Elite Eight would be an electric matchup.
"I think USC-UConn in the Elite Eight is going to be absolutely electric," said O'Hara. "
"Oh yeah," agreed Mathias. "That's like a semifinal. That's like a Final Four moment."
"And UConn being a No. 2 seed, they're like, 'Yeah give it to us. Let's freaking go,'" O'Hara continued. "You know they're probably ready to absolutely demolish people along the way. And USC only beat UConn by two points earlier this season."
The co-hosts additionally tackle the NWSL's opening weekend, Natasha Cloud's trade to the Liberty, Just Women's Sports' NWSL x WNBA jersey mashups, Unrivaled's championship match, and so much more!
Texas star Madison Booker talks March Madness on 'Sports Are Fun!'
Who better to shed light on the upcoming NCAA tournament than Texas women's college basketball star Madison Booker? The Longhorns' leading scorer and SEC Player of the Year later joins the crew to talk all things March Madness, including how she's gearing up to enter the tournament as a No. 1 seed.
"We figured the best way to go over selection Sunday — because we have some people here who literally know nothing about it, um BJ, not to throw you under the bus — is having you, a No. 1 seed come on and talk to us about it," O'Hara said, introducing this week's Sports Are Fun! guest. "So how were you feeling yesterday going to selection Sunday? Were you confident you guys were getting that No. 1 seed?"
"Not that I didn't care, but you know, if we got the No. 1 seed, we got it. But you know, if we were a two seed, then hey, it's it's ball time," Booker responded nonchalantly. "I felt like we deserved a one seed — We protected home court, I think that's really what secured that one seed."
"And also our away season was was kind of hectic this year," she continued. "We went to some Big Time places and came out with a dub, so I feel like we deserved it."
"Is there anything that you do specific specifically to set yourself up going into a game, especially in a playoff situation?" asked Mathias.
"Not really, honestly," Booker said with a smile. "I really go cool, calm, and collected. Honestly, just going in thinking that we're gonna win the game, that's my mindset always. Having that mindset of we're going to win this game, we have the edge, and just go play basketball."
About 'Sports Are Fun!' with Kelley O'Hara
'Sports Are Fun!' is a show that’ll remind you why you fell in love with women's sports in the first place.
Join World Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, and aspiring barista Kelley O'Hara as she sits down with sports journalist Greydy Diaz and a revolving cast of co-hosts and friends. Together, they're talking the biggest, funnest, and most need-to-know stories in the world of women’s sports.
From on-court drama to off-field shenanigans, to candid (and silly) chats with the most important personalities in the space, this show screams "Sports Are Fun!"
Subscribe to Just Women's Sports on YouTube to never miss an episode.
Welcome to another episode of Sports Are Fun! presented by TurboTax.
Every week on Sports Are Fun!, soccer legend Kelley O'Hara, sports journalist and basketball expert Greydy Diaz, and JWS intern BJ serve up their hottest takes all things women's sports. And in today's episode, the crew is joined in the studio by two-time Olympic diver — and Stanford Cardinal alum — Kassidy Cook.
Of course, the co-hosts waste no time in getting down to the biggest conversations in women's sports. And this time of year, that can only mean one thing: March Madness.
"Some would say this is the most exciting Sunday in women's sports," says O'Hara, kicking off a deep dive in the college basketball's fast-approaching Selection Sunday. "Based on this weekend and season overall, who are your number one seeds? Up for discussion we've got Texas, USC, UConn, UCLA, South Carolina, Notre Dame. What are we saying?"
"I'm a little worried about Notre Dame. Going into the season, I was expecting them to have an elite season," Diaz admits. "But losing to Duke? Bro. They do have a great coach, but Notre Dame on paper should have won that game."
"I think UT is still going to get a number one seed," says Cook. "Throughout the year they've had the number one seed. And even though they lost, I'm going to say South Carolina because they just won. And I'm going to say USC because they're a powerhouse. Then UCLA because their only two losses were to USC."
"I want to say UConn as well, because out of the top teams, they are the underdog of that list. I would love to see them walk away with it," Cook adds. "And like you guys said last week, Paige Bueckers doesn't have a championship yet, right?
The co-hosts additionally tackle the NWSL Challenge Cup, the likelihood of a WNBA lockout, Trinity Rodman and Ben Shelton soft launch, and so much more!
'Sports Are Fun!' announces Final Four live show in Tampa
In between hot takes, the Sports Are Fun! team also shared some big news.
JWS is heading to Tampa! Get ready for a live recording of Sports Are Fun! with Kelley O'Hara on Thursday, April 3rd ahead of the NCAA Women’s Final Four.
This exclusive event only adds to the madness of March Madness. There, O'Hara, Greydy Diaz, Merritt Mathias, and JWS intern BJ bring interactive moments, surprise guests, and behind-the-scenes access to the biggest weekend in college basketball.
“There’s never been a better time to be a women’s sports fan, and I couldn’t be more excited to bring Sports Are Fun! to Tampa during the Final Four,” says O’Hara. “The energy around this weekend is going to be electric, and we’re giving fans a front-row seat to be part of it.”
Tickets are $20 and include a complimentary drink and JWS party favor. Get yours now.
About 'Sports Are Fun!' with Kelley O'Hara
'Sports Are Fun!' is a show that’ll remind you why you fell in love with women's sports in the first place.
Join World Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, and aspiring barista Kelley O'Hara as she sits down with sports journalist Greydy Diaz and a revolving cast of co-hosts and friends. Together, they're talking the biggest, funnest, and most need-to-know stories in the world of women’s sports.
From on-court drama to off-field shenanigans, to candid (and silly) chats with the most important personalities in the space, this show screams "Sports Are Fun!"
Subscribe to Just Women's Sports on YouTube to never miss an episode.
Texas guard Rori Harmon was absent Wednesday night from the Longhorns’ 97-52 win over Jackson State.
Head coach Vic Schaefer provided no comment on Harmon’s injury after the game, only telling reporters that it happened during the team shootaround earlier in the day. Harmon, who spent the game on the bench for the Longhorns, appeared to be wearing a brace on her right knee, and she also was walking with a limp.
The junior guard is set to undergo testing Thursday, after which the school will issue a news release on the severity of the injury.
“We’ll know more [Thursday],” Schaefer said. “I don’t really have anything for you right now.”
The coach added that he didn’t say much to the team about Harmon before the game.
“My heart hurts for the kids that are out,” Schaefer said. “These (other) kids deserve my best. I’m proud of my team. They really rose to the occasion.”
Harmon is one of the best two-way guards in the country, with UConn head coach Geno Auriemma even saying that she’s “the best player we’ve played against this year, by far,” after UConn’s 80-68 loss to Texas in early December.
She had 27 points, 13 assists in that game and helped her team hold UConn’s Paige Bueckers to 13 points.
This is not the first time Harmon has been sidelined with an injury. She missed the first five games of the 2022-23 season with a foot injury. But she has established herself as a skilled defender, and she is averaging a team-high 7.8 assists (second in the country) and 3.1 steals per game. She also is averaging 14.1 points and 5.6 rebounds, both good for second on the Texas roster.
“Ain’t nobody on our team play harder than Rori Harmon,” Schaefer told ESPN early in December. “She brings that to the table every day, every practice, every game, and that’s what impacts your team in such a positive way.”
The Pro Volleyball Federation has signed its first media deal, bringing televised professional volleyball games to CBS Sports.
CBS Sports is the first media organization to partner with the PVF, and the deal likely includes domestic and international rights. According to Sportico, the deal includes a minimum of 10 matches to be aired in 2024 along with the league semifinals and championship games.
“This is another groundbreaking day in the history of Pro Volleyball Federation,” PVF co-founder Dave Whinham told Sportico. “We have a great partner that believes in the growth of women’s professional volleyball in North America. We are very proud of this relationship and excited about the dynamic new ways we will be able to present our matches within the CBS Sports platform.”
The PVF started in 2022 and includes seven teams with plans to expand next season. The existing teams are the Atlanta Vibe, Columbus Fury, Vegas Thrill, Grand Rapids Rise, Omaha Supernovas, Orlando Valkryies and San Diego Mojo, and the league will introduce teams in Kansas City, Dallas and Indianapolis in 2025.
“[Volleyball] is the only team sport in the world where the women’s version doesn’t take a backseat to the men’s version,” said Stephen Evans, one of the founders of the PVF. “And most people will tell you that the women’s version is more fun to watch and attend. It’s not a thing taking away from the men’s game. It’s just a different game.”
The matches will be aired primarily on CBS Sports Network, with the possibility that some may be aired on CBS throughout the partnership term. The PVF’s national broadcast schedule, which will include other media partnerships, will be released at a later date.
Texas took home the NCAA women’s volleyball title Sunday, sweeping No. 1 overall seed Nebraska to win its second straight championship.
The win came in front of a record-breaking crowd of 19,727 – breaking the indoor volleyball attendance record set just days before during the NCAA semifinals. And it caps off a record-breaking year for attendance in women’s volleyball, centered around Nebraska.
“You think you’re invincible. You think it’s destiny. ‘It’s ours.’ And I think Texas experienced that,” Nebraska coach John Cook said.
The Cornhuskers set the record for the largest crowd at a women’s sporting event, hosting 92,003 fans at an outdoor match at Memorial Stadium. They also had the largest home season total with 255,953 people turning out. And now, they are part-owners of the largest NCAA volleyball game.
Yet despite Nebraska’s historic season, there weren’t any doubts Sunday about Texas being national champion once again. Libero Asjia O’Neal served 10 consecutive points in the second set, which proved pivotal in the 3-0 sweep.
“Volleyball is a huge game of momentum,” O’Neal said. “During that run, I could totally feel the momentum shift to our side. We were playing with so much confidence and joy and I just knew that we had the game in the bag. … I was smiling because I was so happy with how we were feeling. You just feel it. I felt we were going to win the match.”
And the serving really became the key to the game.
“They had a level of serving we haven’t seen all year and that really impacted us in our momentum and our confidence and then everything started going their way and they got all the momentum and we just couldn’t ever get it back,” Cook said.
Texas took home the title in the first NCAA volleyball championship match to be televised on ABC.
“We had all the confidence in the world,” Texas star outside hitter Madisen Skinner told ESPN after the match. “I’ll say it until I die — this team was peaking right now and we just had so much trust and belief in one another. I mean our service pressure was insane. It gave us so many options in transition.”
O’Neal called it “the most joyous season I’ve ever had in my life.”
“We were just able to play free — we love each other and support one another and throughout the whole year, it was just so fun,” O’Neal said. “It was definitely challenging at times, but just today as an example, everyone played free, everyone had confidence in one another, and we were able to go out and take down some really incredible teams.”
Nebraska volleyball dominated throughout the season, but in the national championship match, Texas flipped the script.
The second-seeded Longhorns defeated the Huskers, who entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 overall seed, in a three-set sweep (25-22, 25-14, 25-11) to win the title for the second year in a row.
Before Sunday’s final at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, Nebraska (33-2) had lost just one set during its tournament run. The Huskers had lost just one match all season, to Big Ten rival Wisconsin in November.
Before Sunday’s final, Texas (28-4) had just one clean sweep during the tournament, a 3-0 win against SMU in the second round. The Longhorns needed to save a match point against Tennessee in the round of 16.
After that, though, battle-tested Texas bested the top three ranked teams in the country, defeating Stanford, 3-1, in the quarterfinals, Wisconsin, 3-1, in the national semifinals, and then a young but powerful Nebraska squad in the title match.
Texas outside hitter Madisen Skinner won Most Outstanding Player for the national semifinals. She posted match highs of 16 kills and five digs in the championship match.
🏆🤘 𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐄𝐗𝐀𝐒 🤘🏆
— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 17, 2023
(2) @TexasVolleyball repeats as National Champions after sweeping (1) Nebraska 🧹#NCAAWVB pic.twitter.com/bLWkbUYK9m
HOW ABOUT THAT FOR A TEXAS TWO-STEP?! 🏆🏆#NCAAWVB x @TexasVolleyball pic.twitter.com/sbkCa0C2lz
— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 17, 2023
The NCAA volleyball final is set, with Nebraska and Texas set to face off at 3 p.m. ET Sunday. Sunday’s match at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, will be the first volleyball national championship televised on ABC.
This marks Nebraska’s 11th trip to the NCAA final, with the Huskers having won five national titles to this point. They defeated fellow No. 1 seed Pitt in a 3-0 sweep, 25-20, 25-23, 25-17. Nebraska will face defending national champion Texas, a No. 2 seed, after the Longhorns upset No. 1 seed Wisconsin in four sets in the other semifinal.
For the Longhorns, Sunday will be their 10th NCAA final appearance. They have won three titles and will be going for their fourth. This will be the two teams’ third matchup in the national championship, with Nebraska beating Texas in 2015 and in 1995.
From 1996 to 2010, the two were conference rivals when Nebraska was still a part of the Big 12. Nebraska currently holds the series’ edge, 33-24. It’s a storied rivalry, with the first match between the programs coming in 1981. The latest match was the 2021 NCAA regional finals, which was won by the Huskers.
“There’s such a rich tradition of alumni, All-Americans, people that have won national championships on both sides,” Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said. “It’s Celtics vs. Lakers.”
