A battle where the best get to play, and with every game played, they lose a champion, only to decide who is the ultimate boss. After weeks of contention, the March Madness competition between 68 teams has now been reduced to the Final Four. To the disappointment of a few, no ‘Cinderella’ or underdog teams have managed to progress to this stage. All the Final Four teams in the men’s tournament, the Auburn Tigers, the Florida Gators, the Duke Blue Devils, and the Houston Cougars, entered the tournament as No. 1 seeds. Same goes for the women’s tournament too, which will feature the top-seeded UCLA Bruins vs the No. 2 UConn Huskies.

As highlighted by USA Today, “This is a riveting Final Four for a multitude of reasons”. After all, all four teams commanded a good run in the college season, have players like Paige Bueckers and Lauren Betts, etc. In light of this, the final win would be a special one for the supreme team. The stage is set. The UCLA Bruins take on the UConn Huskies. Only one can reach that final stage. The next big question is: Which team will that be?

As reported by Jeremy Cluff of the Arizona Republic, the Huskies are reportedly an 8.5-point favorite in this Big East vs Big Ten game. The team is even the favorite to win the national title! However, the Bruins “will not go down without a fight.” After all, the UCLA Bruins have done well for themselves this year. The team has lost just two games all season long. UCLA’s only two losses this season both came against USC, and they also beat the Trojans and South Carolina this season. The matchup will be close, as Cuff predicts a UCLA 74, UConn 71 win. Despite this, his odds favor Lauren Betts and co. But where is your bet?

Meanwhile, Bookies.com’s Bill Speros reveals that UCLA holds an advantage that only eagle-eyed college basketball fans would have noticed: pressure defense. While the Bruins squad needs to reportedly work on its interior defense, applying some memorable pressure to the offensive team, either across the entire court or half of it, could force turnovers and disrupt the Huskies’ rhythm. The Bruins averaged 20.4 assists per game, which is the 4th highest in Division I during the recent season. UConn ranks ahead of them in these criteria, ranking 3rd due to having averaged 21 assists per game. Therefore, defense is the key to winning for the team. Cori Close knows this and would focus on slowing down Bueckers to give themselves an advantage.

The UConn Huskies starting five will most likely feature Paige Bueckers, Kaitlyn Chen, Sarah Strong, Jana El Alfy, and Azzi Fudd. Meanwhile, the UCLA Bruins will most likely start Lauren Betts, Angela Dugalic, Gabriela Jaquez, Londynn Jones, Kiki Rice. Going into the matchup, the Bruins reportedly have an advantage in the paint, with Lauren Betts being a tough guard due to her size and strength. UConn won’t be able to defend Betts one-on-one, so it’ll take a committee approach. It is something that Betts has seen time and time again this season. Therefore, the Huskies’ role of trying and slow the 6-foot-7 All-American center might not work so well. By scoring 30 points with 14 rebounds against Richmond and then putting up a 31-point, 10-rebound double-double against Ole Miss, she has proven herself to be the ultimate weapon for the Bruins against the Huskies.

While the Bruins have Betts, the Huskies have Paige Bueckers. Two major powerhouses, like Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, from last year. With two such players on opposite sides, the game will come down to which supporting cast performs better. Cori Close’s squad proved what they can do during the recent matchup against Kim Mulkey’s LSU Tigers. Lauren Betts was benched for the game after she got in foul trouble in the 2nd quarter. Despite this, UCLA was able to take control of the game by going on a 12-2 run. The squad went to the half with a 31-25 lead. Gabriela Jaquez and Timea Gardiner came out on top when Betts couldn’t, and scored 18 and 15 points, respectively.

The scores were higher than the points the duo had made in any of their other March Madness matchups this year. Jaquez recorded 5-7 (71.4%) field goals, 4-5 (80.0%) 3-pointers, and 4-4 (100.0%) free throws, while Gardiner made 5-11 (45.5%) field goals, 5-8 (62.5%) 3-pointers, and 0-0 (0.0%) free throws. Their level of efficiency and ability to score shows that Betts has a strong supporting cast on her side.

It is important to remember that back in November 2023, UCLA had defeated UConn 78-67. Outside of Bueckers’ 31 points, the Huskies struggled for production. Therefore, given this factor and the ones listed above, the UCLA Bruins will win against the Huskies, but by a very narrow margin.

All eyes will be on Lauren Betts to see what she does to get the better of Paige Bueckers and co. Having led the squad to the Final Four for the first time in program history, stepping over the UConn Huskies will add her name, and that of her squad, to the history books. Whatever she does, however, Betts should not do what she did during the UConn-LSU game.

Lauren Betts’ big push’ after LSU’s 72-65 loss

The LSU-UConn game was nothing short of eventful. However, it was made more interesting by allegations of Lauren Betts engaging in ‘dirty’ play. The same occurred after Aneesah Morrow reportedly broke her nose by colliding with her teammate, Sa’Myah Smith. Several fans argued that the collision was caused by Betts. Later, Betts threw an elbow at Aalyah Del Rosario to pick up her second foul in the first quarter. The fouls were caused as coach Kim Mulkey and the LSU squad used unique defensive strategies in frustrating Betts. All in an attempt to slow her down. This was seen when LSU junior guard Flau’jae Johnson came over to help in the paint and block one of Betts’ shots early in the game. The frustration eventually got to Betts, and she had to be absent from the game’s 2nd quarter.

Sure enough, basketball fans soon turned against the UCLA star. One individual wrote, “That was dirty Betts..intent or not,” wrote one X user. Another social media user followed the narrative by commenting, “Betts play so dirty. I just said she was going to hurt someone !!!” One individual highlighted her past by writing, “I always see people talk about how reagan beers is dirty. Why is NO ONE talking about how dirty lauren betts is. she’s constantly swinging elbows and CONSTANTLY pushing off.”

The LSU-UCLA game did not mark the first time Betts had been accused of unfair play. She is a center who scores the majority of her points from the post. Being also 6-foot-7, Betts also stands as one of the biggest players in college basketball. Therefore, she uses her body to create separation to score close to the basket. This has resulted in the player landing quite a few elbows on those guarding her. Even Angel Reese once faced the brunt of Betts’ competitiveness. The now Chicago Sky star once ended up with a bloodied nose after being caught by the Bruins’ talisman’s elbow. No foul was called!

The one thing that can hurt UCLA’s chances is if they don’t have Betts. They won’t have Betts if she is fouled out of the game. Therefore, along with carrying the offensive load in the upcoming game, it will be up to the 21-year-old to control her impulsive urges.