On Sunday and Monday, the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament competed for the four remaining spots in the tournament's penultimate round. As fans, viewers, and Caitlin Clark bandwagoners (no shame) prepare for the highly-anticipated Final 4, we want to provide a short recap of how we got here. Your Elite 8 recap, below:

Iowa 94, LSU 87

Before tip-off between newly-minted rivals Iowa and LSU on Monday night, fans knew this rematch of the 2023 National Championship game, featuring phenom Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, her media foil, and flamboyant and controversial LSU head coach Kim Mulkey, would blow viewership records out of the water. And they were correct – the game drew 12.3 million viewers, the most in college basketball history. However, while LSU emerged victorious in the last meeting 102-85, Iowa dethroned the Tigers on Monday to return to the Final Four for the second consecutive year.

Clark finished the night with 41 points, 12 assists, and seven rebounds. She also broke records that went unnoticed due to the speed and drama of the match. Those records included the NCAA tournament record for 3s made in a game with nine and the NCAA record for triples made in a career (540), among others. Iowa didn't dominate the entire game – LSU led after the first quarter, and the teams entered halftime tied 45-45. However, Reese's ankle twist in the second quarter, Clark's nine 3-pointers, and the speed of Iowa's play created obstacles too significant to overcome. Iowa will next play Paige Bueckers and the UConn squad in the final four on Friday at 9:30 pm on ESPN.

UConn 80, USC 73

The team that has historically been synonymous with women's college basketball as an entity, the UConn Huskies, are headed back to the Final Four for the 23rd time in program history, and for the 15th time in 16 seasons. But don't be fooled – the Huskies struggled to reach this point and are considered underdogs. Set back by injuries, head coach Geno Auriemma was "left with only eight healthy players" for the match, reported the Associated Press. But the skill and tenacity of UConn star Paige Bueckers fueled a victory for the squad, who had to contend with the talents of USC freshman marvel JuJu Watkins. And Watkins and the rest of her squad did not let UConn run away with the game – the match was tied 59-59 with 7:21 left. But Bueckers, who missed the 2022-23 season with an ACL tear, helped her team pull ahead. She led the Huskies on Monday with 28 points, ten assists, three steals, and two blocks. The Huskies will face off against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday at 9:30 pm on ESPN.

South Carolina 70, Oregon State 58

The undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks punched their ticket to a fourth straight final four after defeating the Oregon State Beavers on Sunday. However, like the games above, the losing team did not go down easily. Oregon State showed they had fighting spirit – they trailed by 14 points late in the third quarter but managed to bring the match within four points late in the fourth quarter. But ultimately, the Beavers' determination was no match for Dawn Staley's undefeated Gamecock squad. Fifteen points from Tessa Johnson, 12 points from Kamilla Cardoso, and the Beavers' inability to score on their last seven opportunities sealed the victory for the Gamecocks. South Carolina, who lost to Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in last year's Final Four, will try to fight all the way to the finals for an exceptional reason. If they can win the tournament, they will become the tenth school to finish a season undefeated and the first to do it since UConn in 2016. South Carolina's Final Four contest is against NC State on Friday at 7:00 pm on ESPN.

NC State 76, Texas 66

The Elite 8 match between NC State (who upset Stanford in the Sweet 16) and Texas appeared to be Texas's to win in the opening minutes. After the first quarter, however, the NC State Wolfpack took control of the game with a 6-0 run. That run, reinforced by a 3-point jumper from Aziaha James, was the match's turning point. The Wolfpack created a significant lead for the rest of the game, and the Texas Longhorns never made it closer than a two-possession game. James made a career-high seven 3s and scored 27 points. Texas, who battled through injuries and position switches, relied on Madison Booker, the Big 12 Player of the Year, to try to help them break through to their first Final Four in 21 years. Booker's skills weren't enough, however, and the NC State Wolfpack instead will make its second trip to the Final Four in program history, the first being in 1998. NC State will take on the undefeated South Carolina at 7:00 pm Friday on ESPN.