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March Madness 2025: Final Four Forecast

“If I had to choose the Final Four winner, I’d choose…”




"I’d choose…UConn, USC, UCLA … or Texas” Image Credit: Polina Tankilevitch 
"I’d choose…UConn, USC, UCLA … or Texas” Image Credit: Polina Tankilevitch 

Tickets: bought. Rooms: booked. Bags: packed. Trips to sunny Florida, for the 2025 Women’s Final Four are well underway. As Tampa hosts the Final Four for the fourth time, history and legacy will share the stage with firsts and fresh starts. UCLA makes its first-ever appearance in the Final Four. Texas returns for the first time in twenty-two years. South Carolina’s doing it again for the fifth consecutive time. And UConn? This marks their second straight appearance and their mind-boggling twenty-fourth overall. 

Each team’s path to paradise includes an EQ of highs and lows. It takes perseverance, determination, dedication, discipline and luck to make it to the first weekend in April.  

  1. UCLA: The Finalists Finally Emerging from their Rival’s Shadow   UCLA climbed all the way to the No. 1 ranking during the season but spent much of the year playing in the shadow of their crosstown rival, USC, and the phenomenon that is JuJu Watkins. Despite the spotlight being elsewhere, the Bruins stayed steady. They got better. They believed. And now they’re here. 

 

  1. South Carolina: The Finalists Refined by a Loss  

    South Carolina rolled through much of the season, but even they weren’t immune to pressure. A stunning home loss – their first in 71 games – reminded the world they’re human. But that loss didn’t define them. It refined them.  

  2. Texas: The Finalists that Played the Long Game  Texas quietly stacked wins in the SEC, often overshadowed by the buzz around Dawn Staley’s Gamecock’s. But they played the long game – peaking at the right time, playing their best basketball when it mattered most.  

  3. UConn: The Finalists with Chips on Their Shoulders UConn…well, UConn looked vulnerable early in the season. Injuries, inconsistency and a lack of depth cast doubt. But as March arrived, so did their mettle. They leaned on legacy, yes, but they also leaned on each other – on Paige Bueckers, on belief, and on that chip that they never quite leaves their shoulders. 

 

Look out for These Matchups  

South Carolina vs. Texas: a Familiar Matchup with Unfamiliar Stakes  It’s their fourth meeting this season, with South Carolina holding the 2-1 edge. But Texas enters riding a wave. Madison Booker is blossoming into a cold-blooded closer, and Rori Harmon is the floor general every coach dreams of – poised, fearless and relentless. South Carolina? They rebound like it’s personal, rotate on defense like a hive mind, and attack like they’ve been here before – because they have. Something’s gotta give. 

UCLA vs. UConn: the Upstart vs. The Standard  

This matchup is something else entirely. It’s the upstart vs. the standard. Kiki Rice, Londynn Jones and Lauren Betts versus Paige Bueckers, Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd. UCLA has never been here, but they’ve earned every step to get here. UConn has been here so often that they could probably draw the floor plan from memory. Legacy versus hunger. Who wants it more? 

How to Pick a Winner  If I had to choose, I’d choose heartbreak. I’d choose buzzer beaters, battle scars and someone crying tears of joy while someone else is bent over in disbelief. I’d choose defense that is so tight that it feels like a full-body press on your soul. I’d choose a championship earned, not given. But if you’re asking me to pick a winner? I’ll pick the games. I’ll pick the moments. I’ll pick the joy of watching the very best in women’s college basketball show the world what it looks like when preparation meets opportunity – under the bright lights of Tampa, with everything on the line.  

 



 
 
 

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