If Caitlin Clark leaves Iowa with a national title, she’ll have earned every bit of it.
The NCAA Tournament selection committee did Clark and the Hawkeyes no favors in the bracket that was released Sunday night. Sure, they’re a No. 1 seed, as expected. They’ll host the first and second rounds at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where they’ve lost all of two games in the past two seasons. They’re in the Albany regional, which is an easier trip for their diehard fans than the other regional in Portland, Oregon.
But the actual games? Woof.
There’s a potential Sweet 16 matchup with Kansas State, which Iowa has already played twice this season, losing at home and winning on a neutral court. A rematch of last year’s national title game against LSU looms in the regional final. If it’s not Angel Reese and the Tigers, then it will likely be second-seeded UCLA, which is battle tested after the bruising Pac-12 season.
And that’s all even before the Final Four! If Clark and the Hawkeyes make it to Cleveland, Southern Cal and freshman phenom JuJu Watkins would likely await. Earn a spot in the title game, and there’s a good chance their opponent would be overall No. 1 seed South Carolina, which would be itching for some payback after Clark steamrolled the Gamecocks in the Final Four last year.
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So yeah, have fun with that.
“They’ve got the hardest road in my opinion. This is the…
