NCAA Women's Basketball Bracket 2018: Predicting Championship Game

Welcome to the Connecticut Invitational.

Perhaps that's a bit cheeky, but when the top women's teams in the country get together for the NCAA women's basketball tournament Final Four every year, Geno Auriemma's UConn Huskies are always involved.

The Huskies are participating in their 11th consecutive Final Four, and they are clearly the top program in women's college basketball.

UConn (36-0) found itself on the losing end in the national semifinal a year ago against Mississippi State, so the team has extra motivation this year. However, the Huskies will need every bit of that motivation and their talent to get the best of a strong Notre Dame team.

Notre Dame (33-3) has every reason to feel confident as it prepares for Connecticut in Friday's matchup. Head coach Muffet McGraw has installed a smooth and highly functioning offense, and the team has managed to overachieve this year after suffering several key injuries.

Young Kwak/Associated Press

The most notable of those took place when point guard Lili Thompson went down with an ACL tear. While the Irish suffered some difficult moments after Thompson's injury, Marina Mabrey took over at point guard and did an excellent job.

She had been a scorer for the Irish in her previous two seasons, but she adapted to her role and has gotten the ball regularly to Arike Ogunbowale (20.7 points per game), Jessica Shepard (15.6 ppg) and Jackie Young (14.7 ppg).

If Notre Dame is going to have any chance, it is going to have to play its best game of the year, because UConn comes into the game playing sensational basketball on both ends of the court. The Huskies held Duke to 59 points and 38 percent shooting and then scored 94 points in their Elite Eight win over South Carolina. 

Katie Lou Samuelson leads the Huskies with an average of 17.5 points per game, and she is one of five Huskies who are scoring in double figures. Crystal Dangerfield is not in that group, but she deserves full respect after scoring 21 points and making five of seven three-point attempts against South Carolina.

UConn and Notre Dame met in early December, and the Huskies came away with an 80-71 victory. A similar result seems likely since UConn is the more talented team.

No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 1 Mississippi State

Date: Friday, March 30

Time: 7 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN2

Live Stream: WatchESPN

No. 1 UConn vs. No. 1 Notre Dame

Date: Friday, March 30

Time: 9 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN2

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Ben McKeown/Associated Press

Louisville (36-2) has proved to be a strong and consistent defensive team, holding three of its tournament opponents to 43 points or less. Louisville may not have the offensive firepower of UConn, Notre Dame and Mississippi State, so the Cardinals will have to be at their best defensively.

The Bulldogs (36-1) suffered their only loss of the season to South Carolina in the SEC tournament final. Outside of that blemish, their record has been perfect.

Teaira McCowan is a remarkable player who has had four 20-point, 20-rebound games this season. At 6'7", she is capable of taking over games with her size and skill.

Arica Carter is Louisville's best shooting weapon, as she is hitting 40.2 percent of her three-point shots. Blair Schaefer has been even better for Mississippi State, connecting on 41.7 percent of her shots from beyond the arc.

Asia Durr was the ACC player of the year for Louisville, and she averages 18.7 points per game. However, she seems to be an all-or-nothing type of player, because she can dominate for stretches and then almost disappear from view. She needs a consistent effort here.

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

Victoria Vivians has improved dramatically this season for the Bulldogs. She is averaging 19.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

Mississippi State is the more explosive offensive team and should find a way to beat the Cardinals.

If that happens, it would set up a rematch between the Huskies and the Bulldogs. Mississippi State ended UConn's long winning streak in last year's national semifinals, and the Huskies have been waiting to get back to the Final Four to have an opportunity to win the title.

If they also get a chance for revenge over the Bulldogs, it might be even sweeter for Auriemma and his team.

While the Final Four field is quite impressive, it's difficult to see anyone but UConn coming away with the national championship.