TAMPA, Fla. — The best two players left in March Madness are competing in Friday’s second game of the Final Four: UCLA has 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts, and UConn has sensation Paige Bueckers. Through the first four rounds of the NCAA Tournament, neither has faced a one-on-one matchup that has truly stopped them.
Led by UCLA’s Cori Close, coaching in her first Final Four, and UConn’s Geno Auriemma, coaching in his 24th, these teams are very different. Which is why The Athletic enlisted the help of coaches who saw them firsthand.
As the Bruins and Huskies gear up for a game that could go either way, multiple coaches who coached against them this season weighed in. They were granted anonymity so they could speak with candor.
Scouting UCLA
Strengths: Betts, depth in scoring options, physicality
It all starts with Betts, who averages 20 points and 9.6 rebounds per game and has gone for at least 30 points in two of her last three games. Even on an “off” night when she got into foul trouble and sat out for much of the second quarter against LSU in the Elite Eight, she still finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and six blocks, including two in the first 10 seconds of the game. Just this week, she was named the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
“Obviously, Lauren…
