Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes take the court Monday in NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament action.
The star and her teammates will be looking to advance closer to a return to the NCAA title game. To do so, they must overcome the pressing, smothering defense of the West Virginia Mountaineers, who have an opportunity to score the biggest upset of this year’s tournament by far.
Will Clark’s dazzling play and leadership push her team past the opposition and into the Sweet 16 or will the college game’s greatest scorer ever see her title aspirations dashed?
Dive deeper into that game, and find out the odds for Monday’s slate, with this preview.
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2 Notre Dame (-550) vs. 7 Ole Miss (+410) (Pick: Notre Dame)
3 NC State (-205) vs. 6 Tennessee (+170) (Pick: NC State)
3 UConn (-6500) vs. 6 Syracuse (+2000) (Pick: UConn)
4 Indiana (-440) vs. 5 Oklahoma (+340) (Pick: Oklahoma)
1 Iowa (-1650) vs. 8 West Virginia (+950) (Pick: West Virginia)
2 UCLA (-520) vs. 7 Creighton (+390) (Pick: UCLA)
1 USC (-675) vs. 8 Kansas (+490) (Pick: USC)
4 Gonzaga (-125) vs. 5 Utah (+105) (Pick: Gonzaga)
Odds from DraftKings SportsBook
Schedule of games, including time and viewing info, available here.
Iowa may have the higher profile and the most prolific scorer in college basketball history on its team in Caitlin Clark, but there is reason to believe West Virginia can pull off a monumental upset Monday afternoon.
The Mountaineers possess an oppressive defense that is oppressive, with a knack for steals. Per The Athletic, “West Virginia leads the country with steals on a staggering 16.5 percent of opponent possessions.”
Add to that Clark’s 4.8 turnovers per game, which can be credited to the volume of her touches but should still not be dismissed, and you have a scenario in which the underdogs can disrupt the offensive machine that is Iowa and earn the biggest upset of the tournament to this point.
It will not be the time for Clark and Co. to show off and distribute difficult passes. They may be a fast-paced offense that can fly around the court and impose their will on opposing defenses, but if they attempt to do that and are anything but on point, West Virginia will utilize their pressing defense to create turnovers and turn them into points.
Clark has thrived on the big stage before and, as arguably the greatest player in the history of the women’s collegiate game, is expected to. It would be somewhat disappointing for her final game to be played outside of at least the Elite Eight, but West Virginia is absolutely capable of making that happen.
There are questions about the depth of this year’s UConn Huskies beyond stars Paige Bueckers and Aaliyah Edwards. The team has been injury-riddled throughout the season, leaving the more prominent stars to carry the load for the team.
And they have.
Bueckers has averaged 21.5 points per game this season, with 4.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.4 blocks. She is shooting 53.9 from the paint and 42.1 from beyond the arc.
Edwards averages 17.8 per game and 9.4 rebounds.
Together, they have been an effective one-two punch, and that will not change against Syracuse.
The Orange play at a slower pace than most and average just 71.9 possessions per 40 minutes. While that could limit some higher-powered offenses, it also limits the team’s ability to play catch-up if they find themselves down late.
Syracuse has a big win over Notre Dame to its name, and beat fifth-ranked North Carolina by seven in February, but the team has also been blown off the court by Wake Forest to the tune of 29 points.
Their inconsistency has been problematic and their inability to maximize the number of possessions they have per game due to the pace at which they play will be an issue against a UConn team looking to prove they are close to revitalizing the dynasty the school enjoyed a generation ago.
