Dan Hurley’s UConn and Dawn Staley’s South Carolina – 2 NCAA Finalists on Top of Their Game, Can They Become the Champions?

“UConn is a machine. The Huskies will play for the National Championship again,” revealed NCAA broadcaster Ian Eagle after the Connecticut men eliminated the Alabama Crimson Tide in the National Semis. After thrilling Final Four battles on both the men’s and women’s sides, the brackets for the National Championship are set, with four 1st seed teams filling all the spots. The men’s defending champs, the Huskies, are back in a familiar place, but the South Carolina women had a gap year after the LSU Tigers took their throne last season. So the ultimate question now is, which first-seed team will win the national championship title?

Both men’s UConn and women’s South Carolina have been quite unstoppable when it comes to closing out games. For starters, the Alabama Crimson Tide were in a tight battle with the Huskies today until the last four minutes. However, the Huskies, under Dan Hurley’s guidance, stuck to scoring inside the paint, with Donovan Clingan as the anchor. Alabama, who played with a small ball lineup, struggled inside the paint and were forced to take 3-point shots that were unsuccessful, thus losing 72-86. 

On the other hand, the South Carolina Gamecocks women are pretty much like the prime-time Golden State Warriors. Their ‘Plan A’ is to give an aggressive start to the game and enter the half-time with the maximum possible lead they can get. If that doesn’t work out, ‘Plan B’ is to demolish their opponents in the 3rd quarter. For example, they destroyed the NC State Wolfpack 29-6 in the third quarter of the Final Four yesterday.

Much credit should go to coach Dawn Staley, who has come up with notable strategies to find gaps in the defense of their opponents. The Gamecocks are 109-3 in their last 112 games and are also on a 38-0 winning streak, which shows how flawless they are. However, this prowess will only be worth it if they can stop Caitlin Clark outside the three-point line. The same goes for the Huskies, whose threat for their final game is 7’4 monster Zach Edey.

Can Dawn Staley come up with a plan to stop Caitlin Clark? 

The Iowa Hawkeyes are averaging 92.8 points per game, and Caitlin Clark averages one-third of it, i.e. 31.9. She also has an average of 5.2 successful attempts outside the three-point line, which could be a concern for the Gamecocks. Dawn Staley’s South Carolina is 17th in the defensive ranking. When it comes to 3-point defense, they are in the 14th place, which is appreciable. But their opponents have averaged a minimum of 20.5 attempts outside the line. That could be a treat for Clark in the upcoming game, who is attempting 13.5 shots from the three-point line! The threatening part is that she completes her three-point plays almost 40% of the time. 

Staley can use the defensive strategy that women’s UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma used. Most of Clark’s threes have been a step back, off a screen. That’s literally a lay-up for her at the moment. However, against the Huskies in the Final Four, Clark had a tough time finding open looks as the screen-switching was quick. If the Gamecocks stick to this, then their final battle against the Iowa Hawkeyes can be a cakewalk. 

An interesting fact about the Women’s Final is that Iowa was the last team to beat the Gamecocks. This happened during last season’s Final Four. Coming off a perfect season, South Carolina met the Hawkeyes where they were overpowered by Clark. It has been a similar case this time around as well with the Gamecocks coming into the game against Iowa unbeaten. Can Clark & Co. ruin their perfect season again? Only time will tell.

Battle of the Bigs to determine the Men’s Champion

Coming to the men’s UConn Huskies, their center Donovan Clingan has used his clean sky hooks to dominate the paint all season. But against the Purdue Boilermakers, he might have a tough time scoring over Zach Edey in the post. Edey, who won his second Men’s Player of the Year this season, is averaging 25 points, and 2.2 blocks per game. The 7-foot giant eliminated the NC State Wolfpack today with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

It is going to be frustrating for Dan Hurley and his men to come up with a plan to stop Edey. However, they can always take advantage of the offense. As mentioned above, if they stick to their efficient scoring inside the paint, the UConn Huskies can defend their championship this year. 

The women’s South Carolina won their last title in 2022, while the men’s UConn Huskies are the defending champions. Let’s see if Dawn Staley and Dan Hurley can bring fame to their teams once again in the Finals!

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