UNDATED (AP) — The women’s Final Four is on repeat. No. 1 seeds UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina are in the Final Four for the second straight season, just the second time the same teams have reached the sport’s final weekend in consecutive seasons. Only the matchups and location will be different this time. Reigning national champion UConn will face South Carolina after playing UCLA last season and the Bruins will take on the Longhorns. The Huskies won last year’s title and are the favorites to do it again, arriving in Phoenix on a 54-game winning streak over two seasons.
UNDATED (AP) — An NCAA women's basketball tournament marked by blowouts is down to the Final Four. The teams in Phoenix are the ones everybody expected to be there back in November. This year marks the first time since 1996 that the Final Four is made up of the same teams as the previous year and first time since 2018 that all four No. 1 seeds made it this far. The first national semifinal Friday pits South Carolina against UConn in a 2025 championship game rematch. Texas meets UCLA in the second semifinal. The championship game is Sunday.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas women's basketball coach Vic Schaefer has come agonizingly close to winning a national championship. Close as in three previous trips to the Final Four. And two title game appearances, including one lost on a last-second 3-pointer. The 65-year-old Schaefer is close again. Only he’s over being close in March Madness. He wants to win one. And the Longhorns just may have the team to do it this year. Texas returns to the Final Four for the second consecutive year behind dominant three-time All-American forward Madison Booker and dynamic fifth-year point guard Rori Harmon. The Longhorns play UCLA on Friday night.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The world’s tallest college basketball player is on the move. Florida’s Olivier Rioux, a 7-foot-9 center from Canada and the most popular athlete on campus, says he is entering the transfer portal. The portal officially opens April 7. Rioux played sparingly in two years with the Gators. He played 15 total minutes, finishing with seven, six rebounds and an assist. He set a Guinness World Record as the world’s tallest teen before he stepped foot on campus. Now 20, he’s looking for a chance to play more as a sophomore.
UNDATED (AP) — Arizona, Michigan, UConn and Illinois have reached the Final Four. The Wildcats and Wolverines got there as No. 1 seeds. The Huskies are a No. 2 seed. The Fighting Illini are a No. 3 seed. This is Arizona's first Final Four in a quarter-century since the days of late coach Lute Olson. Michigan has been humming on offense in four tournament games. UConn is in the Final Four for the third time in four seasons dating to the 2023 and 2024 title runs. Illinois is leading the remaining teams in rebounding margin and defensive shooting percentage.
CHICAGO (AP) — Wrigley Field will host a women’s college volleyball doubleheader to highlight the Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge Week in September. Nebraska plays Missouri and Penn State meets Kentucky at the home of the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 6. Matchups between Big Ten and SEC programs will be played at home sites beginning Sept. 1. The matches will mark the first time volleyball has been played at Wrigley Field. Both matches will be broadcast live on FOX. Nebraska hosted a volleyball doubleheader at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln in 2023 and attendance of 92,003 was a world record for a women's sporting event.
