SI:AM | UCLA Leaves No Doubt in National Title Blowout vs. South Carolina

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I hope tonight’s men’s championship game is more competitive than the women’s.

In today’s SI:AM:
💪 UCLA’s dominant win
😞 Why South Carolina fell short
⛳ Rory looks back on last year’s Masters

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Bruins cut down the nets

UCLA can finally add a women’s NCAA basketball championship to the school’s crowded trophy case.

The Bruins demolished South Carolina in the national title game on Sunday afternoon, 79–51, behind double-doubles from star players Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez.

“The confidence we came out with, we just knew we were going to win because of all the prep and work that we put in,” Betts told reporters after the game. “I think when we find a way to play together and play selflessly, do what we do, no one can stop us. You guys saw that.”

UCLA was much more efficient and organized on offense than it was in Friday’s slog of a semifinal against Texas, when it turned the ball over 22 times in a 51–44 win. UCLA was in control from the start in the final, but it was a one-sided third quarter that sealed South Carolina’s fate. The Gamecocks scored the first two points and the last two points of the quarter. In between, UCLA went on a 25–5 run, stretching the lead to as many as 31 points.

South Carolina was also a great team, so UCLA’s dominance in the title game should tell you something about how excellent a year it was for the Bruins. UCLA finished the season with a record of 37–1. The lone loss came against Texas on a neutral court in November. Other than that, UCLA was barely challenged this season. Only three of its 37 wins came by fewer than 10 points. The Bruins became the 13th team in NCAA women’s history (and just the fourth non-UConn team) to win at least 34 games by double digits.

“I think right from the beginning, right when we all got on campus, we knew that this group was going to be special,” UCLA guard Kiki Rice told reporters. “You could just feel the energy. We’ve been a part of a lot of basketball teams. I think you know when you have that competitive DNA in you. We get after it and compete at a high level, but we also love each other. That was the culture we created from day one, the culture that everyone was so willing to buy into.”

The win was a long time coming for the UCLA women’s program. Last year’s Final Four appearance was the first in program history. In fact, before last year, UCLA had only reached the Elite Eight twice before (1999 and 2018). Coach Cori Close had consistently brought the Bruins to the NCAA tournament, but they had been unable to make a deep run. Then Betts developed into one of the most dominant forces in college basketball.

The 6'7" center—an assertive low-post player on offense and an outstanding rim protector on defense—was a consensus All-American selection in each of the past two seasons. In the semifinal against Texas, her presence down low forced Longhorns star Madison Booker to have one of the worst shooting nights in NCAA tournament history. Booker went 3-for-23 from the floor, becoming the first player in a women’s NCAA tournament game to take at least 23 shots and fail to make more than three of them. (The only men’s player to do so is Jack Parkinson, who had a 1-for-23 outing for Kentucky in the 1945 Elite Eight.) Betts had a similar impact on Sunday, as South Carolina finished the game 18-for-62 on field goal attempts and 16-for-47 on two-pointers. The Gamecocks hit just 34% of their two-point attempts, a massive dropoff from the 54.2% average they posted this season (10th in the nation).

It was the perfect way for Betts’s college career to end before she becomes one of the top picks in next week’s WNBA draft. More troublingly for UCLA, Betts was one of seven seniors on this year’s roster. Close doesn’t sound too worried about reloading for next season, though.

“I did say to my mom, the transfer portal just got easier,” she said with a smile.

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Lauren Betts Digital Cover — Jordan Naholowaa Murph/Sports Illustrated

The Bruins had so much heart for each other that they played heartlessly against their opponents. Michael Rosenberg details how this tight-knit UCLA team won on its own terms.
Emma Baccellieri writes that South Carolina didn't just lose the national championship game, but fell in gut-wrenching, lopsided fashion for the second consecutive year.
The SI Staff reveals its women’s All-American team.
The men’s championship will be decided in a game between a Michigan team coached by an Indiana native and a UConn team with an Indiana Mr. Basketball who is making monster shots in big moments. Pat Forde says the Hoosiers’ self-inflicted basketball nadir will be on full display tonight.
Bryan Fischer examines the battle for the title as dynasty vs. destiny. The Huskies are playing for a third national title in four years, while the Wolverines have a roster full of dynamic players searching for the program’s first championship in decades.
Ahead of this week’s tournament at Augusta National, Bob Harig captures Rory McIlroy's reflections on last year’s all-time Masters Sunday.
Chris Mannix was in Denver to witness an MVP battle between Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama. The Nuggets star’s late-game magic, capped by his signature fadeaway, proved to be the difference in a showdown of Western Conference contenders.

The top five…

… things I saw yesterday:
5. Tim Stützle’s fantastic individual effort to score a breakaway goal.
4. The “gameplan” on a whiteboard near the Mariners’ clubhouse after Angels outfielder Jo Adell robbed three homers against Seattle the night before.
3. J.J. Spaun’s drive on the 306-yard par-4 17th at the Valero Open. He put it nine feet from the hole, then sank the eagle putt to take a one-stroke lead and eventually win the tournament.
2. Shohei Ohtani’s loud home run to dead center.
1. Colin Mitchell’s put-back at the buzzer to win the D-III men’s national championship for Mary Washington. SI’s Bryan Fischer was in the building in Indianapolis for the game and captured a great video of the Emory bench’s reaction to losing the game.