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Workers make final preparations around the Men's NCAA Final Four college basketball court at the Alamodome, Monday in San Antonio. The men tip-off on Saturday. The Women's Final Four tournament, played in Atlanta, begins on Friday. Eric Gay/AP hide caption
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Eric Gay/AP
It's a top-heavy Final Four weekend for the men's and women's NCAA college basketball tournaments. And there's plenty of star power to go around, from future top draft picks and National Player of the Year candidates.
For only the second time ever, all four No. 1 seeds have reached the Final Four in the men's tournament. And in the women's bracket, three of the original four top seeds will be joined by No. 2 UConn, a perennial contender led by star Paige Bueckers.
The women's Final Four begins Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern time with a matchup between Texas and the defending champions, South Carolina. Afterward, UCLA and UConn will face off. The two winners will play for the title on Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
On Saturday, the men's Final Four will have Florida and Auburn tip off shortly after 6 p.m. Eastern time, followed by Duke and Houston in the second game. The winners will advance to the national championship game on Monday night.
The women's games will be broadcast by ESPN, and the men's games will be carried on CBS.
Here are five big names to watch for:
Cooper Flagg, Duke forward
At this point, you only need an introduction to Flagg if you're just tuning in to college basketball for the first time this season. He's the true freshman phenom, a 6-foot-9 forward with endless energy who moves and shoots with rare agility and poise for a kid who started the season as a 17-year-old. He's the frontrunner for both National Player of the Year and top pick in the NBA draft.
Cooper Flagg, a true freshman phenom for the Duke Blue Devils, has endless energy and moves and shoots with rare agility and poise for a kid who started the season as a 17-year-old. He has Duke two wins away from another national championship. Patrick Smith/Getty Images hide caption
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Patrick Smith/Getty Images
A national title would be the only cherry left on top of Flagg's stellar season — and frankly, it's feeling more and more inevitable. This Duke squad is a powerhouse and has waltzed into the Final Four, including an impressive 20-point win over the high-flying Alabama Crimson Tide. Although they can't rest too easy just yet: Their next opponent, Houston, is the best defensive team in the country, according to the stats site Kenpom.com.
Also watch for fellow freshman Kon Knueppel, another top NBA prospect (and pride of Wisconsin) who is Duke's #2 scorer. He's stepped up big when Flagg has been out or playing poorly.
Paige Bueckers, UConn guard
Is it finally the moment for Paige Bueckers?
The hype around Bueckers was massive when she arrived in Storrs as a freshman in the fall of 2020, hot on the heels of UConn's streak of 12 consecutive Final Four appearances. That first year, she lived up to it, leading the Huskies back to the Final Four and earning herself AP and Naismith Player of the Year awards. But two knee injuries sidelined her for most or all of her sophomore and junior seasons. And then, last year, she and the Huskies were overshadowed by South Carolina and Iowa.
Paige Bueckers of the UConn Huskies in their Elite Eight against the USC Trojans on Monday. The presumptive No. 1 pick in next month's WNBA draft has done a lot in her amazing career — except win the NCAA title. This may be her year. Alika Jenner/Getty Images hide caption
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Alika Jenner/Getty Images
After all that, Bueckers could have left for the WNBA. Instead, she returned to UConn with the hopes of bringing the Huskies their first title since 2016, a drought that was once impossible to imagine. She has been spectacular this season, with threes, assists and blocks to spare. (And she spent March cooking breakfast for her Muslim teammate Jana El Alfy, who was fasting for Ramadan).
Also watch for freshman center Sarah Strong, who has come on, yes, strong over the course of her first year. She dominated during the Huskies' last game against No. 1 USC, in which she scored 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds against just one personal foul in 40 minutes of play. You will be seeing her name much more in the years to come.
Johni Broome, Auburn forward
The only competition for Flagg in the National Player of the Year discussion is Broome, the 6-foot-10 forward and SEC Player of the Year.
His career is the opposite of Flagg's. As a high schooler, Broome wasn't hyped as a prospect and only got scholarship offers from a handful of mid-major schools. He began his career at Morehead State before transferring to Auburn in 2022. Now, in his fifth and final year of eligibility, he has emerged as one of the country's finest players. Broome has posted 21 double-doubles this season.
A note of concern: Broome briefly left Auburn's Elite Eight victory over Michigan State with an elbow injury after he landed awkwardly from a defensive play. He returned to the game but has missed practices this week to recover.
Lauren Betts, UCLA center
The 6-foot-7 junior is a tough matchup for any team — that's why she has averaged 20 points and 9.6 rebounds per game this year. Now, Betts has guided the UCLA women's basketball team to the Bruins' first-ever NCAA Final Four appearance. And she has saved her best for the biggest stage, with two double-doubles so far in the tournament plus a six-block defense-first performance against No. 3 LSU in the Elite 8.
Lauren Betts (#51) reacts as her UCLA Bruins downed LSU to reach their first-ever Final Four. The 6-foot-7 junior is a tough matchup for any team and she's averaged 20 points and 9.6 rebounds per game this year. Steph Chambers/Getty Images hide caption
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Steph Chambers/Getty Images
LSU limited Betts' offensive contributions by luring her into foul trouble early in the game, forcing her to sit out for the entire second quarter. But UCLA runs deep, and "I don't have to be in the game at all times. I have a team full of players who are just amazing and talented in their own right," Betts said at a post-game press conference.)
Also watch for UCLA's playmaker guard Kiki Rice, who's averaging 13.5 points and 7.3 assists in the NCAA tournament so far.
Walter Clayton, Florida guard
Top-to-bottom, Florida might be the most talented team in the country besides Duke. And they were a popular pick to win the tournament after they convincingly won the SEC conference tournament. Yet, for a moment last week, it looked like the Gators' NCAA run was over, when they trailed by nine points with only three minutes left to play in their Elite Eight matchup against Texas Tech.
The Gators needed a hero, and it was Clayton who saved them. Twice he drew a double team then quickly passed the ball out to teammates for open three-pointers, then followed with two long balls of his own to put the Gators back on top with a minute to go. Clayton plays fearlessly, and no deficit is too big for him to stop pushing.
"There's not another player in America you would rather have right now than Walter Clayton with the ball in his hands in a big-time moment," said Florida coach Todd Golden after that game. "He's obviously a blessing to have in our program, to have on our team."
