The women's basketball Final Four is set as this year's champion will be crowned by the end of the week. Who will be this year's champion?
Before we find out who this year's champion will be, the last four teams remaining will compete to reach the title game. This year, South Carolina, UCLA, Texas and UConn will face each other on Friday, April 4 to earn a chance to play for the trophy.
Here's everything you need to know about this year's Final Four, including key dates, location and how to buy tickets.
NCAA Women's Final Four Schedule & Key Dates
Game 1: No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 1 Texas
The first game will start at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Game 2: No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 2 UConn
The second game will start around 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
NCAA Women's Final Four Location & Venue
The NCAA women's Final Four will take place in Tampa at Amalie Arena, where the NHL team Tampa Bay Lightning plays. The Final Four has been hosted in Tampa three times previously.
Amalie Arena and the surrounding area will host multiple pre-game events on Thursday through Sunday, when the national championship game will be played. Fans can come early to play interactive games, meet special guests and even hear from some of the biggest names in women's sports. There will also be a "Party on the Plaza" event Friday through Saturday. Saturday also features a free concert from hip-hop star GloRilla at Curtis Hixon Park in Tampa. You can access the full schedule of events here.
Teams in the NCAA Women's Final Four
South Carolina: The three-time national championship Gamecocks will appear in their seventh Final Four since the 2015 season. They are the reigning champions after winning last year's NCAA tournament. The Gamecocks completed a 34–3 regular season record. After beating Tennessee State 108–48 in the first round, South Carolina had some tougher battles in later rounds, including their 54–50 Elite Eight victory over Duke on Sunday.
UCLA: This will be the UCLA women's basketball team's first Final Four appearance in program history. The Bruins shined in their Big Ten debut this season, going 34–2 ahead of the Final Four. UCLA has been tested some during the NCAA tournament thus far, but most recently beat fan-favorite LSU in the Elite Eight, 72–65.
Texas: The Longhorns haven't competed in the Final Four since 2003. Texas is led by star Madison Booker, who was named SEC Player of the Year this season—she is averaging 16.4 points and 6.8 rebounds in her sophomore season. The Longhorns beat TCU 58–47 in Monday night's Elite Eight matchup. Texas did fall to South Carolina in the SEC tournament title game a few weeks prior. This season was Texas's first in the SEC, in which they shared the regular season SEC title with the Gamecocks.
UConn: The 11-time national champions will return to the Final Four for the 24th time in program history. The Huskies are definitely itching to win another national title, especially for star Paige Bueckers whose college career will be over once the Huskies' season ends. She is the projected No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft. UConn took down a JuJu Watkins-less USC team in the Elite Eight 78–64 on Monday night to reach the Final Four.
Final Four Matchups & Game Previews
South Carolina vs. Texas: The two SEC teams have battled a few times this season already. During the regular season, the teams split the victories, with the Gamecocks winning 67–50 in their first matchup back in January and the Longhorns winning 66–62 in February. The two teams shared the SEC regular season title with 15–1 conference records. They faced each other in the SEC tournament title game, which South Carolina won 64–45. South Carolina opened as the betting favorite with 4.5 odds, according to DraftKings.
UCLA vs. UConn: These two teams haven't faced each other since last season. It'll be a battle between UConn, which has the most Final Four appearances in women's basketball history, against UCLA, which is making its first Final Four appearance. There will surely be a lot of pressure on the Bruins to show out in that first big game, but there will also be a lot of eyes on the Huskies as they look to win Paige Bueckers's first national title of her college career. UConn opened as a big 10.5-favorite for the game, according to DraftKings.
How to Watch the NCAA Women's Final Four
The two Final Four games will be broadcasted on ESPN on Friday, April 4. The first game between South Carolina and Texas will begin at 7 p.m. ET, while the second game between UCLA and UConn will follow at around 9:30 p.m. ET.
The games will also be streamed on ESPN+, along with other streaming services like Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV, Fubo and Sling all showing the game for fans who have paid accounts.
How to Get Final Four Tickets
Tickets are still being sold for the two Final Four women's basketball games. The NCAA website takes you directly to Ticketmaster to purchase tickets. As of Monday, the lowest tickets listed range around $200 a seat while the most expensive tickets (which are courtside) are selling for $6,500.
There are reselling providers that are also still offering tickets. VividSeats has tickets priced as low as $379 and as high as $2,930. SeatGeek then has tickets priced from $167 to $2,928.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NCAA Women's Final Four Schedule, Location, Teams & How to Watch.
