Big-name alums of Final Four teams describe 'great anxiety' ahead of March Madness finale
- The NCAA women's Final Four is set to tip off Friday at Minneapolis' Target Center.
- WNBA stars — some of whom are alums of Final Four teams — are at USA Basketball camp across the street.
MINNEAPOLIS — The 2022 women's Final Four is on the horizon.
And the big-name alums of the four teams competing in Minneapolis this weekend are very stressed out.
With WNBA superstars in town for USA Basketball camp, players who trace their legacies to South Carolina, UConn, and Louisville are trading jabs at practice and feeling serious angst about their alma maters' big moments.
"I mean, it gives me great anxiety to be on the sidelines watching these games," Breanna Stewart, a four-time national champion with the Huskies, told Insider. "That's for sure."
Though UConn has made it to the Final Four a whopping 14 years running, Geno Auriemma's squad will play the underdog to a red-hot Stanford Cardinal squad that hasn't lost since December. The Huskies — who have struggled with the injury bug all winter — finally have the majority of their roster available, aside from big Dorka Juhasz.
But even the alums of Final Four frontrunners are sweating it out. A'ja Wilson — the WNBA superstar who won a national championship and Player of the Year award with the Gamecocks — expressed nerves a few days ahead of top-seeded South Carolina's date with the Louisville Cardinals.
"I'm nervous. I'm really nervous," Wilson told Insider. "I remember this time in the Final Four — anything can happen, so I'm very nervous for them."
"But at the same time when you got nervous, that means you care," she added.
The Gamecocks have been the top-ranked team in the nation throughout the year, and they're the favorites to win it all. But they also have a bit of a chip on their shoulders after missing a last-second game-winner in last year's Final Four.
Despite the nerves and the high stakes, Wilson believes South Carolina has the chops to rise to the occasion.
"I'm excited for them to have this opportunity to just to go out there and redeem themselves," Wilson said. "That's key... I'm happy for 'em."
UConn, meanwhile, is still a young team, but Stewart also said she's "completely confident in what they can do," as the Huskies prepare to take on the reigning champion Cardinal. Plus, the adversity they faced throughout the season and their legacy of Final Four appearances will help them grind it out under the bright lights, she noted.
"They've been in these situations before," Stewart said. "They know what to do, they've learned from these situations, and now the only thing left to do is win."
The Gamecocks kick off Final Four weekend against Louisville on Friday at 7 p.m. ET, while UConn faces Stanford at 9:30 p.m. ET. Fans can catch both games on ESPN.