NCAA tournament: How and what to watch for in South Carolina-UConn in the Elite Eight
Who: No. 2 seed South Carolina (29-6, 12-4 SEC) vs. No. 1 seed Connecticut (35-0, 16-0 American)
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: Times Union Center, Albany, New York
TV: ESPN
Radio: 107.5 FM in Columbia, South Carolina, Gamecock IMG Radio Network everywhere else
Last meeting: South Carolina and Connecticut have met six times, with the Huskies taking all six contests. Most recently, UConn came to Colonial Life Arena and routed the Gamecocks, 83-58.
How they got here: USC defeated No. 15 seed North Carolina A&T 63-52 in the first round, No. 10 seed Virginia 66-56 in the second and No. 11 seed Buffalo 79-63 in the Sweet 16. Connectict topped 16-seed St. Francis 140-52 in the opening round, No. 9 seed Quinnipiac 71-46 in the round of 32 and No. 5 seed Duke 72-59 in the Sweet 16.
What's at stake: South Carolina's third Final Four in four years, Connecticut's 11th straight Final Four. The winner will play the winner of Notre Dame-Oregon this upcoming Friday in Columbus, Ohio.
Odds: FiveThirtyEight puts the likelihood of South Carolina winning at 4 percent.
South Carolina starters: F A'ja Wilson, F Alexis Jennings, G Donyiah Cliney, G Bianca Jackson, G Tyasha Harris
Connecticut starters: F Napheesa Collier, F Gabby Williams, G/F Katie Lou Samuelson, G Kia Nurse, G Crystal Dangerfield
Key stats: The Huskies feature the NCAA's top scoring offense, have the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country and commit fewer personal fouls per game than anybody.
According to Her Hoop Stats, UConn also entered the Sweet 16 leading the nation in both offensive and defensive efficiency, in terms of points per 100 possessions.
Led by A'ja Wilson, South Carolina ranks third in the country in blocked shots per game. The senior is tied for fourth in the country in blocked shots. Mikiah Herbert Harrigan and Alexis Jennings both also average more than a block per game.
Freshman Bianca Jackson set a career high in points in the Gamecocks' first matchup against Connecticut, scoring 20 points. In the two games Jackson has led the team in scoring, South Carolina has lost.
Sophomore guard Tyasha Harris is two assists away from USC's season record, while Wilson continues to shatter school record after school record.
Quotable: "The last time we played them, we kind of got out to a really early run. I don't think any of us are expecting it to be that easy. We know they're going to put up a fight. They don't — A'ja doesn't want her career to be over, college career to be over on Monday. We know they're going to put up a fight, and it's going to be a battle," UConn senior forward Gabby Williams said.
"It's not as easy as we make it looks sometimes. This is not easy stuff. This idea that, well, they have all the best players, of course they should win every game by 40, I don't know," Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said after defeating Duke.
"We know more about the team, and working hard, our bond got closer. We're working together extremely well now. ... As the season's gone on and on, we got closer and closer," South Carolina freshman forward Lele Grissett said of what's changed since the team's first meeting with Connecticut.
This story was originally published March 25, 2018 at 12:36 PM with the headline "NCAA tournament: How and what to watch for in South Carolina-UConn in the Elite Eight."