The Elite Eight field is set, and it’s certainly living up to the adjective in the regional finals’ moniker.
All four No. 1 seeds (UCLA, South Carolina, USC and Texas) are alive, as are all but one of the No. 2 seeds (UConn, Duke and TCU). LSU is the lone No. 3 seed, but the Tigers could hardly be described as an underdog with a Hall of Fame coach and a star-studded roster.
Of course, The Showdown That Could Have Been is central in the minds of basketball fans. The lack of a rematch between Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins is a disappointment to ESPN’s ratings tracker after Watkins exited the tournament with a season-ending knee injury. But UConn’s quest for a championship and USC’s win-one-for-JuJu mantra will still make for a compelling matchup Monday night.
Our experts are here to break down every Elite Eight game, the round that is widely considered the toughest in the NCAA Tournament. A trip to the Final Four is on the line. Who you got?
No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 3 LSU
3 p.m. Sunday, ABC, Spokane 1 Region
UCLA is the overall top-seeded team, but all that guarantees the Bruins is the opportunity to wear white jerseys against LSU. As UCLA seeks its first Final Four appearance in program history, it faces a more experienced Tigers team with a Hall of Fame coach who ended the Bruins’ season last year.
These are two top-10 offenses that attack the offensive glass and don’t turn over the ball frequently. LSU gets to the foul line more often, and UCLA is more prolific from long range, but both teams find a way to put up points in bunches.
The Tigers have arguably the best big three in college basketball with Aneesah Morrow, Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams, who combined to average 54.6 points per game. They didn’t need all three of them at their peaks in the Sweet 16 thanks to the uptick in production from redshirt sophomore Sa’Myah Smith. She has improved throughout the season as she regains her athleticism following a torn ACL in November 2023 and now confronts the biggest challenge of her season against Lauren Betts, though she’ll have plenty of help from the guards digging in and Morrow on the boards.
ANEESAH MORROW TONIGHT 🔥
• 30 POINTS
• 19 REBOUNDS
• 3 STEALS
• 2 BLOCKS
• 12/25 FG— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) March 29, 2025
The Bruins need Betts to be the best player in the matchup to win. That means she has to get deep seals and no-move finishes before LSU’s defense crowds her. She’ll also have to protect the rim and box out on the defensive glass to prevent Morrow and the rest of the Tigers from getting second efforts.
Betts has played at a superstar level over the last two rounds, and she’ll have to do so again to exorcise the demons of last season’s Sweet 16 loss.
UCLA has supplemented Betts’ paint dominance with timely outside shooting. LSU concedes a high volume of 3-point attempts, but the Tigers’ opponents make only 26.8 percent of those looks. Whether Londynn Jones, Gabriela Jaquez and Timea Gardiner can make LSU pay for crowding the paint will be critical.
The battle could come down to who can execute in crunch time, where the Tigers have many more reps than UCLA. Nevertheless, though LSU has more options to turn to, the Bruins have the most unguardable one. In an evenly matched contest, take ...
