South Carolina WBB vs. UConn in national championship: How to watch, top storylines

The long, winding road that is March Madness is finally coming to an end and just two teams remain.

A national title will be on the line when South Carolina and UConn take the floor of Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, on Sunday.

The matchup epitomizes the last decade of women’s college hoops: UConn vs South Carolina. Geno Auriemma vs Dawn Staley. The old guard versus a new dynasty.

Women’s March Madness finals: South Carolina vs UConn

Who: No. 1 South Carolina (35-3) vs. No. 2 UConn (36-3)

Where: Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida

When: 3 p.m. ET Sunday

TV: ABC

Radio: 107.5 FM locally (see full list of affiliates here)

Stream: Via watchespn.com or the ESPN app

Betting line: UConn by 6.5 points

What’s at stake

South Carolina is looking to become the first program to win back-to-back national titles since 2016?

The team that did that? UConn. And it wasn’t just back-to-back, it was four consecutive national championships between 2013 and 2016.

A win on Sunday would give South Carolina’s it’s fourth championship in program history would be the Gamecocks third in the last four years. All of South Carolina’s championship appearances have been under Dawn Staley.

“So to be where she is right now and to have done it in the way that she’s done it, I have a lot of respect for her,” UConn’s Geno Auriemma said of Staley. “I have tremendous respect for her knowing how she grew up and how hard she fought to get to where she is today...And you don’t get here by accident. You get here by being committed and true to who you are. And she doesn’t try to be anything she’s not. She’s all in on who she is and what she wants to do. That’s why they keep coming back here.”

UConn is looking for its 12th national title in program history. The Huskies have not won a championship since 2016 but have made the Final Four every year since. UConn has made the championship game just once since 2016.

South Carolina-UConn rematch

The Gamecocks have lost just three games this year, the worst of those losses came to UConn by 29 points in February.

It’s been nearly two months since two two teams have played but Bree Hall said she feels like the Gamecocks are playing better defense and better as a team in general.

“That game was just not who we are,” Hall said of February’s loss. “It wasn’t our standard. So I think it’s just going to be important for us to play up to our standard. I feel we’re gelling together at the right time. A lot of people were saying that, you know, like, they don’t believe in us and these different type of things. But I feel yesterday we really showed that we can really gel together.”

Some Gamecocks have said the loss to UConn in February is fueling South Carolina on Sunday. Staley offered that the fuel doesn’t have much to do with their opponent.

“I think the fuel is to win another national championship,” Staley said. “That’s where the fuel comes in. The challenge is great. They’re playing great basketball. It’s beautiful to watch. It’s cringe-worthy to be their opponent, you know?So there are things that we need to do to play a lot better than we played a month and a half ago. But they’re competitors. They’re competitors. If they were any other way, they probably wouldn’t be on our team.”

Sunday’s matchup is also a rematch of the 2022 national championship game. That year South Carolina beat UConn 64-49 to secure the program’s second national title.

Hall was a freshman on that team three years ago and said her nerves going into this year’s title game are nothing compared to 2022.

“I had to take melatonin because I couldn’t sleep, my goodness,” Hall said. “But I don’t think I’m going to have to do that this year. I’m just confident.”

This story was originally published April 5, 2025 at 3:50 PM.