This year’s NCAAW March Madness tournament is the gift that keeps on giving. The Elite Eight treated us to last year’s Championship rematch, LSU vs Iowa, in which Caitlin Clark scored 41 points and looked utterly unstoppable. It seems that Clark is locked in on winning a championship before she heads to the WNBA. Standing in her way is Paige Bueckers, another one of the biggest names in women’s college basketball. Here’s what’s at stake for both teams:
UConn
Back in 2020, before the rise of Caitlin Clark, the biggest prospect in women’s college basketball was Paige Bueckers. She was the top-ranked player in her class and chose to play at the most dominant school in the country: UConn. UConn had won 10 National Championships since the year 2000, but had not won since 2016. Paige was the princess that was promised to re-establish their dynasty.
Paige’s college career started off hot. She averaged 20 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 2.3 steals per game. She was quickly recognized as one of the best players at the collegiate level. However, things quickly took a turn for the worse. After her freshman year, Paige suffered a series of injuries including tearing her ACL twice. She spent multiple years off the court trying to get healthy enough to play with the same dominance she showed her freshman year. Finally, after years of rehab Paige has finally returned to the elite player that she truly is. In this year’s tournament, she is averaging 28 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 3.25 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game. This is clearly the best form of Paige Bueckers that the world has seen.
The other big factor for UConn in this year’s tournament is that the men’s team is destroying everything in its path. Much like last year, they are not just winning, but they are blowing every team out. This has caused many UConn fans to shift their attention away from the women’s team, even though they’ve made it all the way to the Final Four. For Paige Bueckers and UConn, a win over Iowa would put them back in the national spotlight. Beyond that, a National Championship would put UConn back on top of the NCAAW after eight years, and would solidify Paige Bueckers as one of the best Huskies of all time. It’s safe to say that this Final Four matchup is the biggest game of Paige’s career so far.
Iowa
Let’s be clear, Caitlin Clark is one of the biggest names in sports right now, and win or lose she will be relevant for years to come. However, the way the rest of this tournament plays out will be extremely relevant to Clark’s legacy as a winner.
We have seen countless athletes dominate their sport and yet fail to win a championship. That’s because being a great individual player and a player that does whatever it takes to win are two very different things. It’s the reason Bill Russell was better than Wilt Chamberlain, and why players like Carmelo Anthony and James Harden don’t have rings.
Caitlin Clark will get double- or even triple-teamed over the next 1 or 2 games. The opposing team’s game plan will be to prevent her from scoring and make someone else on the Iowa team beat them. If Clark makes the right reads and passes up contested shots for the rest of the tournament, the Hawkeyes will win.
The good news for Iowa is that this is nothing new for Clark. She has been double-teamed all season. And yet,she averages 9 assists per game. She IS a team player who also just happens to be able to shoot the lights out. This is why I believe Iowa will win the Championship and Caitlin Clark can go down as perhaps the best college athlete of all time.
Then again, let’s not forget that the winner of this Final Four matchup will likely face off against the powerhouse that is the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks. South Carolina beat UConn by 18 in the regular season. However, the regular season appears to be completely irrelevant when it comes to March Madness. Either Paige or Caitlin will get the opportunity to go to the finals with a chance to win and cement their legacy in women’s basketball.
