GOOD FOLLOW: Can South Carolina Beat UConn? Breaking Down the Final Four & More!

Summary

GOOD FOLLOW: Can South Carolina Beat UConn? Breaking Down the Final Four & More!

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz – April 2, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this Final Four preview special of "GOOD FOLLOW," Trista Crick and producer Jess analyze the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament’s much-hyped matchups, especially focusing on whether South Carolina has what it takes to break UConn’s winning streak. They dig deep into team strengths, key players to watch, and strategic factors, all while keeping the chat lively and irreverent in true Le Batard fashion. The episode also highlights Texas vs. UCLA, includes insider tournament tidbits, and shares memorable culture moments.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. South Carolina vs. UConn: What the Gamecocks Need To Do

• Scoring Consistency is Everything
  • Trista: "They just have to score every time down. That’s pretty much what they need to do." (01:27)
  • UConn's strength lies in their ability to avoid the scoring droughts that doom other teams.
• UConn’s Depth Dilemma for Opponents
  • Trista details UConn’s deep roster—Kaylee Heckle, Ashlyn Shade, K.K. Arnold, and Blanca Quinones—contrasting it with South Carolina’s more limited bench (02:11-03:22).
• Game-Changing Moments and Injuries
  • Reference to the TCU game, where South Carolina came back from a deficit but benefitted from opponent injuries—a situation unlikely against UConn due to their depth.

2. UConn’s Key to Victory

• Just Be UConn—And Get Some Rest
  • "Sleep. They just need to get sleep and be themselves." (03:29)
  • Trista highlights UConn’s slight fatigue in earlier rounds but insists, “They still beat the hell out of everybody.”
• Tournament Fatigue and Elite 8 Hurdle
  • "The Elite Eight is the hardest game you’ll play in the tournament. Everybody wants to go to the Final Four. You’re exhausted, the turnaround time is crazy." (05:56)
  • Noted by a former UConn player in Trista’s interview, reinforcing the importance of rest and mental resilience.

3. Tournament Format & Final Four Parity

• Recurring Final Four Teams
  • Jess: "What do you think about these Final Four being the same as they were last year, identical?" (07:03)
  • Trista: “The best four teams. Right. The end of the day, as much as we want to see upsets, what we don’t want is a Mollywop in the Final Four.” (07:08)
  • Preference for competitive matchups over upsets that lead to blowouts.

4. Players to Watch (DraftKings Pick of the Week)

• UConn: Blanca Quinones
  • Trista praises Quinones as a “freshman who can do a little bit of everything,” highlighting her as the team’s X-factor. (08:07)
• South Carolina: Joyce Edwards
  • "Had her best game of the year against TCU...20 something points, double digit rebounds, multiple blocks." (08:19)
  • The matchup between Edwards and UConn’s stars could be decisive.

5. Texas vs. UCLA: Matchup Breakdown

• Texas Needs to Stop Lauren Betts
  • "You gotta stop Lauren Betts. She’s 6 foot 7...If she has like 25 [points] and 15 [rebounds], that’s a bad day for Texas.” (09:30-10:38)
• UCLA’s Mission: Limit Madison Booker
  • “Madison Booker is their KD... If you can swarm Madison Booker and make somebody else beat you...that becomes the story.” (10:51-11:28)
  • Emphasis on UCLA’s depth and experience as keys to overcoming Texas.

6. Fun Moments, Culture, and Hospitality

• Basketball Culture in Fort Worth
  • Trista describes being warmly received at TCU: “We became horn frogs for the day...hung out in the hangar...” (12:22-13:54)
• The Horned Frog Mascot and Local Flavor
  • Learning about TCU’s unique tradition: “Why is it red, Jess? Because they...put blood out of their eyeballs, these horn frogs.” (13:17)
  • Shout outs to Olivia Miles and local favorite, Joe T. Garcia’s: “Probably the best Mexican restaurant in the Fort Worth area...three hour wait. Not for your girl, because I had the plug again.” (13:31-13:54)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On UConn’s Unflappable Composure:
  • “You can’t hope for UConn to stumble and you to dig out of a hole when you’re as good as UConn is.” – Trista (03:15)
• On the Challenge of the Elite Eight:
  • “The Elite Eight is the hardest game you’ll play in the tournament...You’re exhausted, the turnaround time is crazy.” – Trista, quoting a former UConn player (05:56)
• On the Prospect of Upsets:
  • “As much as we want to see upsets, what we don’t want is a Mollywop in the Final Four.” – Trista (07:08)
• On Texas vs. UCLA’s Stars:
  • “If she [Lauren Betts] has like 25 and 15, that’s a bad day for Texas.” – Trista (10:36)
• On TCU’s Mascot:
  • “This is the hand signal of the horn frog...they put blood out of their eyeballs, these horn frogs.” – Trista (13:17)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• South Carolina-UConn Preview: 01:09–04:07
• What UConn Needs to Do: 03:22–04:07
• Tournament Structure & Final Four Commentary: 06:28–07:40
• Player Picks and Matchup Predictions: 08:07–09:16
• Texas vs. UCLA Breakdown: 09:16–12:09
• TCU Team & Local Color: 12:22–13:54

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Tone & Style

The conversation is high-energy, knowing, and laced with humor and sports-insider swagger. Trista and Jess toggle between sharp analysis and playful banter, making complex basketball concepts accessible and fun for diehard fans and newcomers alike.

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Takeaway

This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to understand the tactical dynamics and behind-the-scenes reality of the Women’s Final Four, from the pressure cooker of high-stakes games to local basketball culture. If you want sharp picks, strong opinions, and plenty of personality—plus reasons why UConn still looks unstoppable—look no further.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Hey everybody. Welcome to good follow presented by DraftKings. I'm Trista Crick. We got a special guest.

[C]

Ooh, it's me, producer Jess. What's going on, Trista?

[B]

What up, girl? We had to put, put juju in timeout. You filled in like a champ that you are.

[C]

It's March Madness. Things are getting mad here and sad

[B]

here because the season's coming to a close. We're gonna have to talk about this Final four.

[C]

Yeah, we're gonna get right into it. The final four is set and it's the battle of the one seeds yet again. Today we're gonna be picking up our coaching clipboards to break down what each team needs to do to be victorious in the weekend. So first up, Trista, we what do you think South Carolina needs to do to take down an undefeated Yukon?

[B]

They just have to score every time down. That's pretty much what they need to do. Like that's really the issue with Yukon is that you'll be in a game, you'll be competing with Yukon and then you'll go through a three minute scoring drought, which almost every team always does.

[C]

Right.

[B]

The problem is Yukon doesn't do that. And so you're like, oh, this game's super competitive. It feels like Notre Dame is competing. It feels like North Carolina is competing. And you look up the score and it's a 17 point lead for Yukon. And so that's, that's really kind of the issue is that UConn defensively is nasty, but offensively they're very crisp. Sarah Strong, doesn't miss a lot, easy doesn't miss a lot, and they've got a lot of depth. What do you think?

[C]

I think the same. But do you think that, like, even if they have a scoring drought just in the very, very beginning, you know, they're, they're a little slow to get into the start of that game. You think that they can't come back? You think that'll be it?

[B]

It depends on how early they have that drought and how much Yukon's able to capitalize on it. We saw what happened in the TCU game where South Carolina went down eight points to start the game. They're down two at halftime. But the problem that's different is Olivia Miles went down with a calf cramp. You had Marta Suarez get a knee tweak. Olivia Miles was in foul trouble as well. And those were situations that I just don't see happening for Yukon because TCU was not nearly as deep.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Right. So who is going to come in and take. Take over for Olivia Miles when she's. And to be able to give you some of that same scoring punch, playmaking punch. UConn has Kaylee Heckle. UConn has Ashlyn Shade. UConn has K.K. arnold. Blanca Quinones can play a little bit of point guard as well, depending on they're very deep. So you. You can't hope for Yukon to stumble and you to dig out of a hole when. When you're as good as UConn is.

[C]

Yeah. So if you're as good as UConn is, though, what is UConn's key to the game to take down these Gamecocks?

[B]

Sleep. They just need to get sleep and be themselves.

[C]

That's right.

[B]

Right. Like you saw what happened in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, they did look a little bit lethargic. They still beat the hell out of everybody. But Izzy Flood looked tired. She looked like she wasn't really in the game for stretches. Sarah's strong in that elite eight game. Had 20 something points, 21 points I think she had. And she didn't even look like herself. She was missing layups for the first time.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I've ever really seen in her career. So they just need to get back to business and be the Yukon that went undefeated in the PO in the regular season and in the postseason and hasn't lost a game since their Tennessee loss.

[D]

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[E]

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[C]

Last year, what do we expect to see from them? You know, from that start, from that jump? Like we expect to see full on, full out right away. Immediate.

[B]

Yeah, I think we saw the same thing last year with, with az, where it was like, oh, what's wrong with Daisy?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And then all of a sudden she came out in the Final Four and looked absolutely spectacular.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And I think that rest. I talked to a former UConn player and they said, Listen, the Elite Eight is the hardest game you'll play in the tournament. Everybody wants to go to the Final Four. You're exhausted, the turnaround time is crazy. You've already played all these games. There hasn't been rest. And you're dealing with these long days because you're starting at five, six in the morning for shoot around and media availability. And then you have to wait for everybody else to get their game done. And then after that game is when you can practice.

[C]

Yeah. And we saw Geno call all that out too, which was great. He really took to the media and told everyone he's like that. This, these times are, they're not beneficial to these players.

[B]

No, it's probably better for those who really are basketball junkies and want to go to one region and see eight teams and you get a sense of who all these teams are. But that's, you know, 100 people that are in the media that get to talk to everybody, that's 9,000 people maybe that are going to go to the game. And it's sad because there was four regions just four or five years ago and it feels like maybe there's some momentum to get back to that again.

[C]

Yeah. And what do you think about these Final Four being the same as they were last year, identical.

[B]

The best four teams. Right. the end of the day, as much as we want to see upsets, what we don't want is a Mollywop in the Final Four. And that's probably what would have happened if TC would have beaten South Carolina. UConn would have given him hell. I mean, you're talking about a South Carolina team that's very competitive. They've won titles before with this team with Raven and Medina coming over in a transfer, Don obviously in her bag. This is a team that's been very well coached throughout time. They're very resilient and they're starting to find their swagger.

[C]

Yeah, that's true. All right, we gotta go to break, but when we come back, we'll discuss the next Final Four game.

[B]

Welcome back to good follow. Today's episode, as always, is presented by DraftKings. We got to talk about the DraftKings pick of the week, presented of course by Cha Boy DraftKings. We got to talk about this Yukon South Carolina game in terms of giving our pick. Like I said, I don't think anyone's beating UConn. The players though, to watch for me. Number one, Blanca Quinones, who's the freshman who can do a little bit of everything. She was my most outstanding player vote when I was at Fort Worth. Sarah Strong won the award, but I thought Blanca was fantastic. She's starting to find herself as a freshman. And on the other side of things, Joyce Edwards had her best game of the year against TCU. Had 20 something points, had multiple a double digit rebounds, multiple blocks. So how is she going to look against these, this Yukon team? Can she be defensive monster? Who is she playing and defending? Is it going to be Sarah Strong or is she going to be playing somebody who allows her on the other side of things to score the basketball? Fascinating matchup, Lots of players to watch, but those are my top two and of course I've got, like I said, UConn winning that game. This segment is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings. The crown is yours.

[C]

The crown is yours, Trista. All right, let's take a second and break down this matchup of Texas and UCLA a little bit more. It could really go either way. So what do we think Texas needs to do to beat down on ucla?

[B]

The thing that happened the last time out and they basically need to do this again now. Lauren Betts left the game in the third quarter, but you got to stop Lauren Betts. She's 6 foot 7 when she's getting it rolling and getting you into foul trouble and they're able to kick out the shooters, that's the best version of ucla. If you can keep Lauren Betts under double digits under 10, 12 points and play her physical and get her rattled like you saw Duke did did in the first half of the Elite 8, and you can have that sort of fingerprint, that's how you beat ucla. And for Texas, that's something that they know well. They've got Kyla Oldaker who, who's an absolute stud. She's been awesome. Their starting center as well has been elite and electric. I like Kyla a lot more just based on her girth and her physicality. And she's a fan favorite, but both are, are great. So this is just one of those matchups that you need to focus on because when Lauren Bets is rolling, if she has like 25.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And 15, that's a bad day for Texas.

[C]

That's dangerous. That's dangerous for sure. All right, so we know Lauren Bets has got to put up the points tonight if we're the Bruins. But for real, what is the Bruins key to taking down the Longhorns?

[B]

Yeah, you gotta key in on Madison Booker.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Madison Booker is their kd. Madison Booker against Michigan was walking wherever she wanted to go on the court and just pulling up, just making easy shots from the corner, making easy shots from the elbow. Literally nobody was anywhere near her and I could not figure out what was going on. Madison is the key to everything that Texas wants to do. Make Rory Harmon put the ball in somebody else's hands, make Jordan Lee shoot a bajillion threes. This is not a great three point shooting team in Texas if you can swarm Madison Booker and make somebody else beat you. Then on the other hand, those chucks from Jordan Lee turn into easy transition buckets the other way. Kiki Rice gets going, Gabriella Hawkez gets going, Gianna Neepkin starts shooting threes. You start finding your way down to Angela Dugalich down low as well. She's doing the damn thing. Ledger Walker. I mean, you start to anticipate how much depth and that becomes the story. UCLA's experience, UCLA's depth should get them over the hump, but they need to limit Madison Booker and they need to limit those dead quarters that they had against Duke and that they had against Minnesota.

[C]

You're putting Madison Booker and Lauren bets one on one. Who's winning?

[B]

I think Lauren just simply because she's gonna back her down over and over and over again. Those tall people, they always like to use their size.

[C]

Yeah, that's true.

[B]

Six, seven. Up, up, up. I think Madison Booker depends on whether it's winners ball or losers ball. If it's losers ball, I think Madison Booker can get that very easily. But if it's winners ball, you're just going to get Lauren bets pulling the baraka. Leg sweep, uppercut. Leg sweep, uppercut. And getting that dub. Also, let's plug the the city of Fort Worth and Tex Texas Christian University. They sh showed out. They showed us a good time. We became horn frogs for the day, for the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight, which was in Sacramento, but we were there in Fort Worth. We went to Rex's dive bar, hung out in the hangar. Learn this. This is the. This is the sound. Well, this is the hand signal of the horn frog. This right here is red. Why is it red, Jess? Because they. They put blood out of their eyeballs, these horn frogs.

[C]

Violence.

[B]

I've added this. I know that's what their defense mechanism is. That is something that I have learned. But I have added the.

[C]

You've added this?

[B]

Yeah. So we now have the. I've gotten the horn frogs into it.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Shout out to Olivia Miles. She'll probably go top three in the draft. You got to see her ball out. And tcu, as she said, is a very special place. Shout out to Joe T. Garcia's. Probably the best Mexican restaurant in the Fort Worth area. 1600 seats lying around the block. Three hour wait. Not for your girl, because I had the plug again.

[C]

1600 seats for a Mexican restaurant in Fort Worth. You heard it here.

[B]

Cash. Cash only.

[D]

Wow.

[C]

All right, that's going to do it. For our episode of good Follow this

[B]

week, make sure to subscribe to Good follows YouTube page and all the socials at Good Follow show. You can catch new episodes of good Follow every Thursday on YouTube, of course, and wherever you get your podcast, Good Follow is brought to you, of course, as always, by DraftKings. And we'll see you next week.