March Madness: How to watch the NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Tournament Final Four
It’s all chalk in the women’s Final Four.
No. 1-seeds UConn, Notre Dame, Mississippi State and Louisville all made it to Columbus, Ohio, and will battle for a shot at the national championship.
Here is everything you need to know regarding coverage, along with must-read stories as the NCAA women’s basketball tournament wraps up.
No. 1 Mississippi State vs. No. 1 Louisville
7 p.m., ET, ESPN2
Why Miss. State will win: Bulldogs coach Vic Schaefer insists him team has had a “bull’s-eye” on their backs since ending UConn’s 111-game win streak in the 2017 Final Four, but they dropped only one game in what has been Schaefer’s best season yet. Each player in the starting lineup shoots over 40% from the field, with Teaira McCowan hitting 61%. They held opponents to 56.1 points per game – winning games by an average of 25.9 points. Schaefer believes he faces a Louisville team that’s similar to his – but with the Bulldogs’ added Final Four experience and McCowan’s ability to dominate the glass on offense and defense – the Bulldogs could be dancing all the way to another championship game.
Why Louisville will win: Two words: Asia Durr. The ACC Player of the Year averages 18.7 points per game on 46% shooting from the floor and 41.8% from beyond the arc but has gone off for 47 points (against Ohio State), 38 points (Georgia Tech) and 36 points (Notre Dame). The Cardinals, who beat Notre Dame for the ACC tournament championship, outscored opponents by 20.5 points per game this season and force teams to pay dearly for mistakes – they scored more than 25% of their points off of turnovers this season.
No. 1 UConn vs. No. 1 Notre Dame
9 p.m., ET, ESPN2
Why UConn will win: UConn coach Geno Auriemma thinks this is the toughest Final Four he’s seen in recent years and noted that maintaining his level of success gets harder every year – but they’re still the favorite. UConn hasn’t dropped a game since losing to Mississippi State in the 2017 Final Four, outscoring opponents by an average of 37.1 points. In their only meeting this year, the Huskies overcame an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Fighting Irish 80-71. The Huskies are on a mission to avenge last season’s early exit and with a team shooting average of 53.4% and with five starters who have averaged double figures – often seem to be able to score at will.
Why Notre Dame will win: Muffet McGraw did a masterful job in coaching this season, weaving together a Final Four squad out of a shortened rotation after having four players sidelined with torn ACLs. The Fighting Irish also shoot over 50% from the floor as a team and have a balanced offense with four starters averaging more than 14 points per game. But this game will likely come down to defense, and Notre Dame’s has looked strong: It held two-seed Oregon to just 8 of 31 shooting in the Elite Eight – and Sabrina Ionescu to just seven points in the second half.
Source:-https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaw/finalfour/2018/03/29/ncaa-womens-basketball-tournament-final-four-how-watch/471505002/
