Final Four Preview: Stanford and UConn meet up in classic matchup

Women’s college basketball fans are in for a treat Friday night. The defending national champion Stanford Cardinal and the storied UConn Huskies take each other on for the right to play for the national championship.

This is a continuation of a rivalry between two iconic programs as the two winningest women’s basketball coaches of all time in Tara VanDerveer and Geno Auriemma face off for the 13th time and the first time since 2017. UConn has won nine of those 12 matchups.

Both teams are battle-tested as the Huskies played a significant portion of the season without reigning national player of the year and Minnesota native, Paige Bueckers, and the Cardinal have made it back to the Final Four to defend their title after several tough games.

The stars will be out to play for both teams, as UConn trots out not only Bueckers (14.7 points per game, but also Azzi Fudd (12.7 points per game) and Christyn Williams (14.7 points per game). Coming out to play for Stanford will be Haley Jones (12.9 points per game), Cameron Brink (13.4 points per game) and Lexie Hull (12.7 points per game).

Game Information

No. 2 UConn (29-5, 16-1 Big East) vs. No. 1 Stanford (32-3, 16-0 Pac-12)

When: Friday, April 1 at 9:30 p.m. ET

Where: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

How to watch: ESPN

Key to the matchup: Cameron Brink vs. Aaliyah Edwards. While both of these teams have multiple elite guards each, what this game will come down to is the ability to dominate inside. Both Brink and Edwards will have to consistently score in the paint and grab rebounds in order to give their team a chance. They will also need to be able to defend inside, contesting shots and stopping the guards from getting into the paint.