UCLA is the top seed in the NCAA women's basketball tournament, but the underdog against Connecticut in the Women's Final Four Friday evening in Tampa, Florida.
Oddsmakers have made the Huskies a 7 1/2-point favorite while ESPN Analytics' Matchup Predictor gives the Bruins a 28.3% chance of winning and Connecticut a 71.7% chance.
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To coach Cori Close, UCLA (34-2) is in a familiar position.
"We've spent more time as number one in the country all year long and we were the most non-talked-about No. 1 team in history," Close said at a news conference Thursday. "But I can't complain about that because I think it allowed our team to stay focused on the right things."
The Huskies have "been playing their best basketball in the last six weeks of the season," Close said.
Connecticut (35-3) has won 14 consecutive games since its latest loss, 80-76, at Tennessee Feb. 6, including an 87-58 victory over fellow Final Four participant and defending national champion South Carolina Feb. 16.
The Huskies advanced to their record 24th Final Four and second in a row with a 78-64 victory over USC in the Regional 4 final Monday night in Spokane, Washington.
Connecticut is the only team in this year's women's and men's Final Fours that was not a No. 1 seed in its region. The Huskies were seeded second in their region and fifth overall.
The top-seeded Trojans played without JuJu Watkins, the Naismith Trophy winner who suffered what the university only described as "a season- ending injury" in the Trojans' 96-59 second-round victory over Mississippi State March 24.
Connecticut All-American guard Paige Bueckers enters Friday's game having scored more than 30 points in each of its last three games, including a game-high 31 against USC and a career-high 40 in a 82-59 Sweet 16 victory over Oklahoma Saturday.
The Huskies' starting lineup includes a Southern Californian, guard Kaitlyn Chen from San Marino, a Flintridge Prep graduate.
The 5-foot-9-inch graduate student is in the midst of her lone season with Connecticut, averaging 7.1 points per game, fifth on the team, and is third in assists with 126 assists.
"In what we needed for this particular team, I think she's been the perfect addition," coach Geno Auriemma said. "I've had a blast coaching her. Contrary to Ivy League students, they do have a sense of humor."
Chen began her college career at Princeton. Her 359 assists in three seasons are third in program history and 1,276 points are 12th. She was selected as the Ivy League Player of the Year for the 2022-23 season.
The Huskies' top newcomer is forward Sarah Strong, selected by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association as the NCAA Division I Freshman of the Year. She is averaging 16.1 points per game, second behind Bueckers' 20.1, and a team-high 8.8 rebounds.
Strong is the daughter of Allison Feaster, who played for the Sparks from 1998-2000 and scored a game-high 35 points for Harvard in its 71-67 victory over Stanford on March 14, 1998, the first time a No. 16 seed had defeated a No. 1 seed in either the men's or women's tournament.
Feaster is now the Boston Celtics' vice president of team operations & organizational growth.
While Connecticut is making its 24th Final Four appearance, the Bruins are making their first since the NCAA began conducting a women's basketball tournament in 1982.
(UCLA twice made the Final Four when the tournament was conducted by the defunct Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, winning the national championship in 1978 and finishing fourth in 1979.)
The Bruins advanced to the Final Four with a 72-65 victory over LSU in the Regional 1 Final Sunday in Spokane, Washington.
When Bueckers was asked what challenges UCLA presents for the Huskies, she first mentioned its 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts, selected the Naismith Women's Defense Player of the Year and its leading scorer, averaging 20 points per game.
Bueckers initially referred to Betts' "size, what she does offensively, defensively, protecting the paint and being a force on offense, really carving space for herself," then said. "But also what she does to get her teammates open looks with all the attention she draws."
"It's not just her," Bueckers said. "There's shooters sprayed around the outside, so you can't focus too much on one thing. They're really versatile in what they do offensively and defensively. Got good size, good length. So they've got great pieces."
The Bruins are 1-7 against Connecticut, with the lone victory coming in the most recent meeting, 78-67, Nov. 24, 2023 in the Cayman Islands Classic.
The 6:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time game will be televised by ESPN. An alternate broadcast, "The Bird & Taurasi Show," featuring former Connecticut and WNBA stars Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi will be carried by ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN+.
A free watch party will be held at Pauley Pavilion beginning at 6 p.m. Food, beer and wine will be available for purchase inside the arena. Pauley Pavilion's clear bag policy will be in effect.
There will be games and giveaways, including a Liquid IV giveaway for all fans, T-shirt tosses, a Coca-Cola bucket hat for all UCLA students, and a trading card pack giveaway for the first 250 fans. Raffles for exclusive team- signed merchandise will also take place.
Tickets can be requested HERE.
The winner will face the winner of Friday's South Carolina-Texas semifinal Sunday for the national championship.
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