With only one NCAA women’s ‘Power 5’ conference basketball championship left to be played, four schools clinched their spot to go dancing this weekend. Duke, UCLA, Texas, and West Virginia officially secured their conference championships. Through the tournaments, we saw some expected top dogs dominate their way to victory, but we also saw some unexpected upsets.
March Madness is just around the corner. The bracket will be made official on Sunday, March 15. This gives these teams a little less than a week to bask in their victories and losses before turning their attention to their NCAA Tournament opponents. Here are a few things that could carry into the NCAA Tournament from these conference tournaments.
UCLA is the most dominant team in the nation
While UConn is ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25, UCLA has proven that it might be the best team in the NCAA. For the first time since week 9, UConn was not unanimously voted No. 1 in the AP Poll. The argument has been running all season — is UConn more impressive because they’re undefeated, or does UCLA’s tougher schedule make them the real deal? In my opinion, UCLA’s performances this weekend proved that they are top-top contenders.
On Sunday, the Bruins took on the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Championship. UCLA quickly took control of the game, ultimately securing a 96-45 victory. Iowa averages 76.8 points per game this season, shooting at 48.9 percent from the floor. In the championship, UCLA was able to shut down one of Iowa’s biggest stars. Hannah Stuelke was held to 0 points. The entire Hawkeyes squad only shot 28 percent from the field.
UCLA’s five starting seniors are some of the most commanding players heading into the rest of March. Through the Big Ten tournament, Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice each averaged 16.7 points per game. Gianna Kneepkens averaged 15 points per game.
So yes, UConn might still be undefeated, and no one is saying that was an easy feat — but UCLA’s dominance was on full display this weekend. The argument surrounding UCLA being No. 1 in the nation definitely gained a bit more traction. The key takeaway: If we’re lucky enough to get a UConn vs. UCLA matchup in March, it will be electric.
Texas took over when it mattered most
The SEC Championship came down to two AP Top 5 teams — South Carolina and Texas. They split their regular-season games, with Texas winning the first and South Carolina winning the second. Although these games came down to the wire, both winning teams won by less than four. This game was a bit of a different story, though.
Texas came out swinging. They went on a 14-0 run to open this matchup, ultimately sending South Carolina into the second quarter trailing 12-27. While we’ve seen some Da