Women's Final Four Power Rankings: UConn Leads Star-Studded Field in Tampa

The Road to Tampa: Analyzing the 2025 NCAA Women's Final Four Contenders

The 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament has delivered four powerhouse programs to Tampa for what promises to be a historic Final Four weekend. With three No. 1 seeds and a dominant No. 2 seed, the championship picture remains wide open. Here's our breakdown of the contenders:

1. UConn Huskies: The March Dynasty Continues

Season Highlights:

• Dominant tournament run with an average margin of victory of 34.5 points
• Paige Bueckers rewriting program record books (105 points in last 3 games)
• Stifling defense holding opponents to 53.5 ppg in tournament

Key Matchup: Can Sarah Strong contain UCLA's Lauren Betts while continuing her offensive breakout? The freshman phenom averaged 20.5 points and 12.8 rebounds in the tournament.

2. UCLA Bruins: Westwood Arrives on National Stage

Breakthrough Performance:

• First Final Four appearance in program history
• Outstanding perimeter shooting (41.6% from three vs. LSU)
• Balanced scoring with five players averaging double-figures

Tournament MVP: Kiki Rice has elevated her game when it matters most, orchestrating the offense while increasing her scoring output to 18.3 ppg in March Madness.

3. South Carolina Gamecocks: Defense Wins Championships

Winning Formula:

• Holding opponents to 51.8 ppg in the tournament
• Champion pedigree with fifth straight Final Four appearance
• Adjusted to win close games (three single-digit victories)

X-Factor: Chloe Kitts emerged as the late-game hero against Duke with clutch post scoring that could prove vital against Texas' physical defense.

4. Texas Longhorns: Defensive Juggernaut

By the Numbers:

• Tournament-best 49.3 points allowed per game
• Forced 18.5 turnovers per contest
• Held all opponents under 35% shooting

Rematch Alert: Texas gets another shot at South Carolina after dropping two of three meetings this season, including a 64-59 loss in the SEC Championship.

Final Four Schedule (All Times ET):

• Semifinal #1: #1 South Carolina vs. #1 Texas (Friday, 7 p.m., ESPN)
• Semifinal #2: #2 UConn vs. #1 UCLA (Friday, 9 p.m., ESPN)
• National Championship: Sunday (Time TBD, ESPN)

Historical Note: This marks just the second time since 2018 that three No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four, setting up potential classic matchups reminiscent of the legendary 2018 tournament that featured two overtime semifinals.