It's a real shame for women's college basketball that this year's Final Four may be more noteworthy for the matchups we won't see than the ones we will.
There won't be any long-awaited Geno vs. Pat showdown because Tennessee fell one win shy of setting up that delicious national semifinal matchup. And there won't be a Baylor-Connecticut rematch in the title game because Brittney Griner and company couldn't handle Texas A&M's stingy defense in Tuesday's regional finals.
What we're left with is the familiar storyline of a UConn team seeking another title and three teams looking to dethrone the two-time defending champs. Up first for the Huskies will be a Notre Dame team they've already beaten three times this season, followed by either a Texas A&M team making its first-ever appearance in the women's Final Four or a Stanford team that handed UConn its lone loss this season.
While UConn isn't the near-invincible juggernaut of year's past this season, the Huskies still have national player of the year Maya Moore and a youthful supporting cast that has improved considerably during the season. They survived a scare against Georgetown in the regional semifinals and then throttled No. 2 seed Duke 75-40 on Tuesday to advance to a fourth straight Final Four.
Can any of the other three remaining teams topple the Huskies? History suggests Stanford has the best chance, but let's take a closer look starting with Notre Dame:
Notre Dame (30-7)
When the second-seeded Irish landed in the same region as top-seeded Tennessee, a Final Four bid appeared pretty unlikely. Nevertheless, Notre Dame snapped an 0-for-20 streak against the Vols with a 73-59 victory on Monday night, setting up a fourth meeting of the season against Big East nemesis UConn.
Two of Notre Dame's previous three losses against the Huskies were by single digits, including a narrow 79-76 setback in South Bend. The Irish have not shot better than 36 percent in any of their three matchups with the Huskies, offensive futility highlighted by star guard Skylar Diggins' combined 18-of-52 shooting against UConn.
Odds of a championship: 8 to 1
Texas A&M (31-5)
If Notre Dame needs inspiration to avoid a fourth straight loss to UConn, it can look no further than fellow Final Four team Texas A&M. The surging Aggies blitzed McNeese State, Rutgers and Georgia before overpowering top-seeded Baylor in Dallas on Tuesday night despite losing three previous meetings to the Big 12 champion Bears.
That Texas A&M's frontline was able to keep 6-foot-8 Brittney Griner from getting good low-post position or from dominating the glass, which�bodes well against Stanford's formidable array of posts. The experienced Aggies got big nights from guards Sydney Carter and Sydney Colson, but they'll need more against Stanford from center Danielle Adams, who led the Big 12 in scoring but managed just six points on Tuesday.
Odds of a championship: 6:1
Stanford (33-2)
For a Stanford team that is making its fourth straight Final Four appearance but has yet to cut down the nets, anything short of a championship next week in Indianapolis is going to be a major disappointment. Aside from back-to-back early season losses to Tennessee and DePaul, the Cardinal have been nearly flawless, snapping UConn's 90-game win streak, going undefeated in Pac-10 play and then rolling through the West Region with ease.
What makes Stanford so formidable this season is the Cardinal are big, skilled and can beat teams a variety of ways. All-American guard Jeanette Pohlen can hit from 3-point range or get to the rim, the Ogwumike sisters are formidable rebounders, and senior Kayla Pedersen may be the nation's most versatile defender.
Odds of a championship: 3:1
Kelly Hu Michelle Rodriguez Mena Suvari Georgina Grenville Michelle Trachtenberg
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