Caitlin Clark’s outstanding resume has one notable omission.
Three weeks from now, the homegrown Iowa basketball phenom hopes she can change that by adding ‘NCAA champion’ to her file.
In a year in which she became the all-time leading scorer (women and men) in the U.S. college ranks, Clark will be looking to cap her NCAA career by going one step further than last year.
The Hawkeyes moved up to a No. 1 seed on women’s Selection Sunday after being a No. 2 last season. Iowa’s 2023 tourney ended with a loss to LSU in the championship game.
But despite being a No. 1, Iowa has an extremely difficult road to the Final Four in Cleveland.
A Sweet 16 showdown in Albany, N.Y. could loom against No. 4 Kansas State, which split a pair versus Iowa last year. If Iowa survives that potential scare, highly regarded No. 2 UCLA or No. 3 LSU, yes that LSU, could be next in the Elite 8.
As a top-four seed, Iowa hosts its first two rounds. The opener is against the winner of a play-in game between University of Tennessee at Martin and Holy Cross.
Clark said in February she’ll be departing Iowa after this season to enter the WNBA Draft, where she’s sure to be taken No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever.
The Des Moines native has been one of the biggest stories in U.S. sports this season, with her games generating huge crowds and elevated prices on the secondary ticket market. The cheapest ticket listed for the Fever’s home opener in May as of Sunday night was listed at $351 Cdn. on StubHub.
Before that, though, Clark hopes she has plenty more high-stakes basketball to play.
A Final Four appearance in Cleveland would be a whole lot of fun for everyone.
Quest for perfection
As expected, 32-0 South Carolina was given the No. 1 overall seed.
It’s the second straight unbeaten season for the Gamecocks, who didn’t miss a beat after Aliyah Boston went first overall in last year’s WNBA Draft to Indiana.
Coach Dawn Staley’s team has had two or fewer losses in four of the past five seasons, including a national title in 2022.
But last year ended in disappointment when South Carolina lost to Clark and Iowa in a national semifinal.
USC and Texas are the other No. 1 seeds this year.
Both squads have terrific rookie stars — JuJu Watkins of the Trojans and Madison Booker of the Longhorns.
While there have been more upsets in recent years, the women’s tournament tends to have more favourites than the men come the Final Four.
Only two seeds below No. 4 have been in the Final Four in the past decade — No. 5 Louisville in 2013 and No. 7 Washington in 2016.
Top Canadians at home
Two of the top Canadians in the NCAA ranks will open the tournament with home games.
Aaliyah Edwards and the UConn Huskies are a No. 3 seed in Regional 3 and face a Jackson State team on a 21-game win streak in the opener. A big challenge could await in the Round of 32 with No. 6 Syracuse, led by Orange star Dyaisha Fair, as a potential opponent.
Edwards, from Kingston, Ont., broke her nose in the Big East tournament and missed the last two games, but is expected to be ready for the bigger tourney.
Meanwhile, fellow power forward Yvonne Ejim and Gonzaga got a No. 4 seed and a home opener after some thought the Zags may have let that slip away when they were upset by Portland in the West Coast Conference final.
Gonzaga, the top-seeded WCC team in history, tangles with the University of California, Irvine in the round of 64 in Spokane, Wash.
Edwards and Ejim, from Calgary, both could play for Canada at the Paris Olympics. Ejim has said she’s returning to Gonzaga next season, while Edwards hasn’t announced a decision. The latter is projected as a first-round pick in the WNBA Draft.
Miami out
The Miami Hurricanes, featuring five Canadian players, were considered a bubble team — and ended up getting snubbed.
Miami, as a No. 9 seed, beat eighth-seeded North Carolina in its ACC tourney opener, but it’s the Tar Heels heading to March Madness as an at-large team. North Carolina is a No. 8 seed.
