UCLA Bruins vs Texas Longhorns Prediction & Picks - NCAA Division I, Championship Women

Prediction published on 4/3/26, 6:20 PM  by Travis Pulver | Modified on 4/17/26 at 5:43 AM in Basketball Picks

The Texas Longhorns (35-3) will take on the UCLA Bruins in the second game of the NCAA Women’s Final Four at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, AZ, Friday night, April 3, at 9:30 p.m. EST. Coverage will be provided by ESPN.

Like UConn vs. South Carolina, this game is a rematch, but not from last season’s tournament. No, the Longhorns and Bruins faced off in The Players Championship back in November (Nov. 26). UCLA couldn’t buy a bucket in the first half and were down 45-25 at the break. The Bruins won the second half but were unable to overcome the massive hole they dug in the first half, losing 76-65 in the end.

That game wound up being the lone loss for the Bruins while Texas went on to drop games to LSU, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt.

Texas will likely try to do just what it did in the earlier win over the Bruins: physically overwhelm them.  That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll win the paint; UCLA did in the earlier game, 34-24. UCLA won the rebound battle as well, 32-30. But Texas had more blocks (5 to 2), more steals (9 to 6), and forced more turnovers (20 to 10). While UCLA had a higher shooting percentage (47% to 44%), they took 11 fewer shots. Texas made three more.