After rolling through the first four rounds with an average margin of victory of 35 points, the Longhorns (35-3) face fellow No. 1 seed UCLA in the Final Four at PHX Arena in Phoenix. 

It’s a rematch of an early-season contest that Texas won 76-65 on Nov. 27 in the semifinals of the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas. Rori Harmon poured in 26 points in that contest, when Texas held on after nearly blowing a 23-point lead it built in the third quarter. 

Here are three things to know about the Bruins (35-1), plus a prediction of Texas vs. UCLA: 

UCLA has one of the better, if not the best, posts in the country in 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts. The senior averages 17.2 points per game, 8.6 rebounds per game and 2.0 blocks per game and is coming off an Elite Eight performance against Duke; she led the Bruins with 23 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. 

Last month, she was named both the Big Ten player of the year and the conference’s defensive player of the year. Texas limited her to just eight shots in the first matchup and will need a similar defensive effort Friday to force the rest of the UCLA roster to bear the scoring burden.

Though Betts is the Bruins’ top option, UCLA has a balanced offense that moves the ball well. The Bruins average an impressive 22.2 assists per game. First-team All-Big Ten selection Kiki Rice, second-team All-Big Ten Gabriela Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker are each talented guards with high basketball IQs. 

If UCLA can consistently get into its halfcourt offense, that’s a recipe that could cause Texas trouble.

UCLA is in the Final Four for the second straight year and arguably in the midst of its best season in program history. In her 15th year leading the program, Cori Close led the Bruins to their first conference title since 1999 and has the team on a 28-game winning streak entering Friday. 

The Big Ten had 12 teams make the tournament and the Bruins didn’t lose to any conference foes all season. Of its 35 wins this season, only two came by less than 10 points. 

Texas 78, UCLA 72: The Longhorns are rolling right now. Though this won’t be as easy as their previous tournament games, their defensive pressure should be the difference and spur them to an appearance in the national championship game.Â