When the 2024 NCAA Women’s Final Four was awarded to Cleveland in 2018, few knew who stars Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers were. At the time, those two were in their junior years of high school in Iowa and Minnesota, respectively. Now, they’re part of the reason Cleveland has hit the lottery with this event.
Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes and Bueckers’ Connecticut Huskies will be joined by South Carolina and North Carolina State this weekend at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Proclaiming on the day the Final Four was announced to be in Cleveland that UConn and South Carolina would be participants would not have been some bold proclamation, as two of the most successful programs in recent memory. But the stories surrounding the women who will be in town, in addition to the popularity explosion women’s sports has seen in recent years, could not have been predicted.
Here’s what to know about each of the four teams for this weekend.
Iowa Hawkeyes
The Skinny: Iowa is one of two No. 1 seeds to reach Cleveland. The Hawkeyes come into the weekend with a 33-4 record following an Elite Eight win in a rematch of last season’s national championship game against Louisiana State. This is the third Final Four in the history of Iowa’s program, joining last year and 1993. Last year, the Hawkeyes lost to LSU in the national championship game, and in 1993, they lost in the national semifinals.
The Story: Clark is the biggest story in college basketball right now, and not just the women’s side. She is easily the sport's most recognizable figure with a game that resembles former NBA MVP Stephen Curry. Clark has limitless range, often attempting 3-pointers from far beyond the arc. In her NCAA Tournament career, she’s made 70 3-point field goals, surpassing the previous record of 61. Clark is also the NCAA All-Time leading scorer in basketball, counting both men and women. The totality of her career has already put her among the greatest to ever play college basketball, and two wins in Cleveland may make her the greatest women’s college player ever.
Connecticut Huskies
The Skinny: The most casual women’s basketball observers are at least aware of UConn as a program. Since 1995, the program has been the standard in the sport, winning 11 national championships and advancing to 22 Final Fours. This year, the Huskies have dealt with a number of injuries as several key players have been ruled out for the season. By regular season standards, this was a down year for UConn, losing five nonconference games before flying through the Big East with a perfect 18-0 mark. Despite that, the Huskies were just a No. 3 seed, having to defeat top-seeded Southern California in the Elite Eight.
The Story: There’s a case here for injuries to be the story of the season for the Huskies, and they might be if not for the play of Bueckers. While Clark is considered to be the best player in college basketball, Bueckers isn’t far behind. As a freshman in 2021, Bueckers was named the AP National Player of the Year and led UConn to the Final Four. Despite missing most of her sophomore season due to a knee injury, Bueckers led UConn to the national championship game in 2022. She then missed all of 2023 because of a torn ACL and has returned this season with a vengeance.
South Carolina Gamecocks
The Skinny: South Carolina comes into the Final Four as the closest thing to a dynasty in the sport right now. The Gamecocks won the national championship in 2022 and 2017, and have been to the Final Four in four consecutive seasons. Head coach Dawn Staley has consistently gotten the most out of her groups, with a record of 165-9 since the 2019-20 season. South Carolina is the overall top seed in the tournament and should be considered the odds-on favorite to lift the trophy Sunday afternoon at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
The Story: The answer to the question: “Did South Carolina win today?” has been yes every time they’ve stepped on the floor this year. The Gamecocks are 36-0 and are outscoring their opponents by an average of 29.6 points per game. They won more games by 30 or more points (14) than by 10 or less (six). If you’re looking for team dominance, look no further than South Carolina.
North Carolina State Wolfpack
The Skinny: N.C. State failed to meet expectations during the regular season but has rebounded nicely during this strong NCAA Tournament run. The Wolfpack certainly can be considered the most surprising entry of this group. Their trek to Cleveland included upset victories over higher-seeded Notre Dame and Texas in the regional rounds. After reaching as high as No. 3 in the country in the AP Poll, the Wolfpack entered the tournament as the 11th-ranked team in the country. While that may be just one spot back of UConn, the Huskies had much more momentum heading into the big dance.
The Story: N.C. State’s tournament run has been a bit surprising. The team lost in the ACC Championship to Notre Dame but avenged that loss in the Sweet Sixteen this past weekend. Now, the Wolfpack are making just their second Final Four. Guard Aziaha James is the player to watch, leading the team in scoring, and she isn’t shy to let it fly from beyond the 3-point arc, averaging more than five attempts from deep per game.
The Schedule
The Final Four begins on Friday night with South Carolina taking on N.C. State in the first game, beginning at 7 p.m. Following the completion of that, Iowa and UConn will square off for the second spot in the national championship game.
The championship game will be at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse at 3 p.m. Sunday. All three games as part of the Final Four can be seen on ESPN. Sunday’s national championship game is available on ABC, as well.
