play1:00Duke wins at the buzzer as Ashlon Jackson’s 3 spins around and goes inAshlon Jackson fires a shot at the buzzer that goes down as Duke stuns LSU to move on to the Elite Eight.
Hannah Hidalgo finishes with near quadruple-double in Notre Dame’s win (1:09)Hannah Hidalgo does it all with 31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals and 7 assists in Notre Dame’s win over Vanderbilt. (1:09)
Duke wins at the buzzer as Ashlon Jackson’s 3 spins around and goes inAshlon Jackson fires a shot at the buzzer that goes down as Duke stuns LSU to move on to the Elite Eight.
Ashlon Jackson fires a shot at the buzzer that goes down as Duke stuns LSU to move on to the Elite Eight.
ESPN has you covered for all of the action, with Kendra Andrews, Charlotte Gibson, Alexa Philippou and Michael Voepel on site at both regionals, providing keys to the game for each team in action.
Voepel’s prediction: UConn, 82-75 Charlie Creme’s prediction: UConn, 78-52 Andrews’ prediction: UConn, 80-60 Gibson’s prediction: UConn, 86-63
How the Huskies can advance to the Final Four: The Huskies faced Notre Dame in January, beating the Irish by 38 points — the most lopsided game in the rivalry’s history. But regular-season success doesn’t always translate to the NCAA tournament. And Notre Dame is effectively playing with house money as a No. 6 seed; very few thought the Irish would make it to the Elite Eight. The Huskies, meanwhile, carry the burden of being undefeated and the defending national champions.
Chief among Geno Auriemma’s priorities will be for his team to get off to a better start than it did in the first quarter against North Carolina, and to help his offense find more success against another stingy defensive team. That wasn’t an issue in their first meeting — UConn scored 85 points on 56% shooting — but the Irish are a different team now. — Alexa Philippou
Voepel’s prediction: UCLA, 79-71 Charlie Creme’s prediction: UCLA, 65-62 Andrews’ prediction: UCLA, 70-58 Gibson’s prediction: UCLA, 74-71
How the Blue Devils can advance to the Final Four: If the Blue Devils can maintain pressure on defense, especially in transition, they have a chance at another upset. Sophomore Toby Fournier, who had 22 points, nine rebounds and three steals against LSU, needs to continue to dominate.
Like most teams, Duke doesn’t have the size to challenge UCLA’s 6-foot-7 senior center Lauren Betts, who had 16 points, five rebounds and five blocks in the Bruins’ 80-56 win over Minnesota in the Sweet 16. But Duke 6-3 junior forward Delaney Thomas has played well this postseason. That inside battle is a matchup to watch, as is how well Duke counters UCLA’s more experienced, veteran backcourt.
LSU coach Kim Mulkey and her players lamented not getting the key rebounds against Duke, saying that, as much as anything, cost the Tigers the game. So, UCLA will need to be wary of that. The Bruins had a 37-31 rebounding edge over Minnesota in their Sweet 16 victory, but they didn’t rebound well during stretches of that game. They can’t afford to do that against a Duke team that tied LSU with 41 rebounds each Friday.
The Blue Devils allowed LSU 52 points in the paint, but a lot of those were from guard penetrations. We will see how Duke guards UCLA because the Bruins have a better low-post offense than the Tigers. — Michael Voepel
Duke wins at the buzzer as Ashlon Jackson’s 3 spins around and goes in
How the Bruins can advance to the Final Four: The Bruins are making slow starts a bit of a habit. Against the Gophers, the Bruins’ defensive errors allowed too many scoring opportunities for their opponent. UCLA knows how to dominate: Lauren Betts surpassed 1,000 rebounds, and Angela Dugalic hit the 1,000-career point mark. Kiki Rice showed off her skills in creating opportunities for her team. With 52 points in the paint, the Bruins continue to demonstrate that once they get going inside, they are unstoppable. Eliminate the slow starts and increase opportunities in the paint, and UCLA will be on its way to a second straight Final Four. — Charlotte Gibson
Hannah Hidalgo finishes with near quadruple-double in Notre Dame’s win (1:09)Hannah Hidalgo does it all with 31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals and 7 assists in Notre Dame’s win over Vanderbilt. (1:09)
Hannah Hidalgo does it all with 31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals and 7 assists in Notre Dame’s win over Vanderbilt. (1:09)
Be sure to come back after tipoff for live updates from both games!