UConn v. UCLA Likely Women’s Final

UConn and UCLA look like the two clear heavyweight programs in women’s college basketball. The sport has plenty of depth, plenty of quality, and plenty of contenders, but when it comes to the very top, these two teams stand above the rest. They are the teams everyone is circling, and they are the teams that feel destined to collide on the biggest stage.

UConn has the best top-end talent in the country. Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd are the best two players in college basketball, and that alone gives the Huskies a ceiling nobody else can match. Strong is a complete force who impacts every possession, while Fudd brings the kind of scoring skill and poise that changes everything in a championship setting. But what makes UConn especially dangerous is that the Huskies are not just star-driven. They also have tremendous role players, the kind of smart, disciplined, reliable pieces that always seem to thrive in big moments under Geno Auriemma.

UCLA is right there with them. The Bruins may start five future WNBA players, which tells you everything about the talent level on that roster. Lauren Betts is a dominant anchor and Kiki Rice gives UCLA a dynamic leader in the backcourt. Around them is a roster loaded with size, skill, versatility, and experience. UCLA has the look of a team built for six straight high-pressure wins in March and April.

Sorry, SEC. It is the deepest conference in the country and it absolutely has four legitimate top-10 teams. That part is real. But depth is not the same as having the best two teams. The best two teams in women’s college basketball do not come from the SEC. They are UConn and UCLA.

And if the championship game everyone is already penciling in does happen, we would make UConn an 8.5-point favorite. The Huskies have the best two players, the stronger championship DNA, and just a little more trust at the top. It is going to be UConn and UCLA in the final.