River Walk Region top seed UCONN takes on fifth-seed Iowa in a Sweet 16 matchup in San Antonio. The teams aren't really the story. The matchup features two of the most celebrated and accomplished freshmen in the game's history.
Iowa's Caitlin Clark led the nation in scoring. And assists. She shot 47% from the field and averaged 26.7 points and 7.2 assists/game. The 6' guard has range unlike most women, routinely scoring from 25 feet, which extends opposing defenses and allows the explosive Hawkeyes to take advantage of the space created as a result. In Iowa's second-round win over Kentucky, Clark outscored the entire Wildcat team in the first half, 24-22, before slowing down to finish with 35.
Don't blink @CaitlinClark22 behind the back#ncaaW pic.twitter.com/wprtVR5O2F
— NCAA Women’s Basketball (@ncaawbb) March 21, 2021
Bueckers, meanwhile, is the front-runner for NCAAW Player of the Year. She averages a couple fewer points (19.9) and a dime less (6.0) than Clark, but she's as dominant a court presence as the country's seen in a while. No less an expert than Diana Taurasi said that Bueckers, "...has got way more confidence than I did", calling the 5'11" guard "the best player in basketball already". To steal Peter Gammons' description of Pedro Martinez, Bueckers has duende - a stylish athletic arrogance that makes it hard to take your eyes off her when she's on the court.
The game tips at 1:00, a tasty appetizer for a day full of delicious hoops. Iowa probably doesn't have the ammunition to stay with the Huskies, but it's got the hallmarks of a blast. And we may get three more years of Iowa/UCONN with Clark and Bueckers.
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