Polling Place: Here are your men's and women's NCAA Tournament picks — and preferences

UConn had a chance to sweep the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament championships, which continued over the weekend. The same was true of NC State. Neither scenario is possible anymore after Friday night’s women’s semifinals, won by No. 1 seeds Iowa and South Carolina.

In this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on the site formerly known as Twitter, we wanted to know which teams you were picking to win it all. (The polls were posted on Thursday.)

On the women’s side: Did you go with South Carolina, NC State, Iowa or UConn?

“As good as [Iowa’s] Caitlin Clark is, South Carolina is just a better all-around team,” @JeffreyCanalia commented.

“As they say,” @Hobeewan wrote, “ ‘UConn’ do it.”

And on the men’s side: UConn, Alabama, Purdue or NC State? Those semis are Saturday.

“UConn kind of stacked the deck,” @weknowyourdata offered.

Last, we asked which Final Four you’ll be watching. The women’s? The men’s?

“I love college basketball almost as much as my great-nieces,” @mikewalsh4609 wrote. “I’ll watch both Final Fours.”

So will @PoliticsFan10, who added, “But if I had to choose one, it would be the women’s.”

On to the polls:

Poll No. 1: Which semifinalist are you picking to win the women’s NCAA Tournament?

Upshot: Wow, this vote was close! Clark and the Hawkeyes have the most buzz — yes, it’s because she’s awesome — but the Gamecocks have yet to lose a game all season. Of course, the same was true entering last year’s semifinals, but then Clark popped the Gamecocks for 41 points and, well, that was that.

Poll No. 2: Which semifinalist are you picking to win the men’s NCAA Tournament?

Upshot: The Huskies are looking to repeat and appear not to have much doubt standing in their way. Are they really all that special just because they have the best offense, the best defense, the best players, the best coaching, the best uniforms, the best pizza … OK, whatever.

Poll No. 3: Which Final Four will you watch?

Upshot: This vote is yet another indicator that the women’s game is surging in popularity. Will that change once Clark has moved on to the WNBA? The college game won’t be the same without her. Then again, it might soon be even better.