PHOENIX — The matchup is set, and it could not be more loaded with history.
South Carolina and UConn will meet again — this time in the national semifinals on Friday, April 3, at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. For anyone who watched last year’s national championship game, the rematch carries an unmistakable edge.
Settling Last Year’s Score
This is not just another Final Four game. When these two programs take the floor in Phoenix, they will be doing so with the memory of Tampa still fresh. UConn defeated South Carolina 82-59 in last year’s national title game — a margin that stung — and the Gamecocks have spent the months since with that result as motivation.
South Carolina arrives at 35-3, having dismantled TCU 78-52 in the Elite Eight in Sacramento on March 30. UConn arrives undefeated at 38-0, chasing history with every game. The defending champions versus the team that wants nothing more than to take the crown back. The stage does not get bigger than this.
What’s at Stake
For South Carolina, this is their sixth consecutive Final Four appearance — a remarkable run of sustained excellence under Dawn Staley that places the program among the most dominant in the sport’s history. A win over UConn would send the Gamecocks to the national championship game for the third consecutive year, where they would face either No. 1 UCLA or No. 1 Texas on April 5.
For UConn, the stakes are even more singular. The Huskies are attempting to complete an undefeated season — a feat only ten programs have ever accomplished in women’s college basketball. South Carolina, fittingly, is the most recent program to do it. Now the Gamecocks stand as the primary obstacle between UConn and that same immortality.
The Numbers
| South Carolina | UConn | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 35-3 | 38-0 |
| Seed | #1 | #1 |
| Tournament path | Southern, USC, Oklahoma, TCU | UTSA, Syracuse, N. Carolina, Notre Dame |
| All-time series | UConn leads 11-5 | — |
The history between these programs cuts in one direction. UConn holds an 11-5 all-time advantage over South Carolina, and the Huskies have won the last several meetings decisively. But tournament basketball has a way of compressing history into irrelevance. South Carolina’s current roster is hungry, battle-tested, and playing with a chip on its shoulder.
How to Watch
- Date: Friday, April 3
- Time: 7:00 PM ET
- Where: Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix
- TV: ESPN
- Streaming: Fubo (free trial available)
The winner advances to Sunday’s national championship game. The loser goes home carrying the weight of what could have been. Between South Carolina’s burning desire for redemption and UConn’s pursuit of perfection, Friday night in Phoenix promises to be the defining game of the women’s college basketball season.
