Tomorrow's women's championship game should be a good one, though it does not feature one team most expected to see.
Notre Dame and Mississippi State tip off Sunday on ESPN at 5:00 PM (CST) in a great matchup against two of the nation's best. Unlike the men's bracket, the lady's final four consisted of all 1-seed teams. Both games delivered even more entertainment than we could have hoped for.
Louisville steamrolled everyone en route to their final four match with MSU. They looked strong, but fell to Mississippi State in overtime. MSU moves to 37-1 on the season, casting asides the doubts anyone had as to their rightful spot in the championship game.
Mississipi State made it to this point last year by shocking UConn in the final four with Morgan Williams hitting an OT buzzer-beater. They went on to lose to Baylor. This year they hope to take it all the way against Notre Dame. Louisville and MSU was not the only overtime fans were treated to in the women's final four.
UConn's final four exit mirrors their loss from a year ago
Last year, fans were stunned when Mississippi State dropped the heavy favorites with a buzzer beater in overtime. This year, one day from the one year anniversary of that heartbreak, it happened again.
Notre Dame took the Huskies into overtime, already a little surprising considering how heavily favorited UConn was. UConn was fresh off of a beat down of last year's champs, South Carolina. Overtime ended with Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale sinking a deep two with one second remaining. To go one-on-one in that situation was an incredible task to take on, but Ogunbowale me the challenge like a champion.
To go out in identical fashion from last year's loss had to be crushing for the Huskies, but the focus needs to be primarily on the Notre Dame Irish and what they have just accomplished.
Anyone's game tomorrow
Mississippi State accomplished Notre Dame's feat last year, but were not able to capitalize in the championship. MSU will be hungry after being so close last year. Notre Dame is riding one of the biggest highs possible in women's NCAA basketball, but risks the same fate as MSU a season ago.
This will be a great game between two deserving teams. Even for those fans of the men's games, this should be an exciting game to watch sandwiched between the final four and championship matches.
Speaking of that, the men's final four games are tonight as the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers look to build on their already fantastic run. Let's see what the Missouri Valley Conference champs can do on the big stage. Check out our final four preview here.