WHO: 3-seed LSU Tigers (31-5 overall, 13-3 SEC)
WHEN: 6:00 PM CT (Monday, April 1)
WHERE: MVP Arena (Albany, New York)
TV: ESPN
RADIO: Hawkeye Radio Network
ONLINE: https://www.espn.com/watch/
MOBILE: https://www.espn.com/watch/
FOLLOW: @IowaAwesome | @IowaWBB | @IowaonBTN
One nugget from Wright Thompson's excellent deep dive into Caitlin Clark was that LSU's strategy in last year's national championship game was to let Clark get her shots and limit her supporting cast. The Tigers realized that when Monika Czinano or Iowa's other starters got rolling, so did the Hawkeyes. In Iowa's losses, Clark had to carry too much of the scoring load.
The strategy worked last year, and it's largely been true this year, too. When Clark can facilitate and the other starters are hitting, Iowa rolls like it did over Colorado on Saturday. When Clark has to do too much, Iowa struggles, just like it did against West Virginia.
There's one notable exception to that trend. In the Final Four last year, South Carolina also tried to limit Clark's supporting cast. The Gamecocks were largely successful in doing so; Czinano scored 18 points, but no other Hawkeye player scored more than seven. The difference in the game was that Clark went supernova, scoring 41 points and having the answer every time South Carolina tried to seize momentum back.
This LSU team is significantly different than last year's title-winning team. Only three rotation players return from that team, and only two -- Angel Reese and Flau'jae Johnson -- played significant roles last year. LSU head coach Kim Mulkey is also back, and it's unlikely that her strategy will change much. Expect LSU to do all it can to limit Clark's ability to facilitate and make her outscore them.
How Clark manages that, and how Iowa handles LSU's rebounding and driving when the Hawks are on defense, will make or break this game.
More here: https://iowa.rivals.com/news/preview-iowa-wbb-vs-3-seed-lsu
WHEN: 6:00 PM CT (Monday, April 1)
WHERE: MVP Arena (Albany, New York)
TV: ESPN
RADIO: Hawkeye Radio Network
ONLINE: https://www.espn.com/watch/
MOBILE: https://www.espn.com/watch/
FOLLOW: @IowaAwesome | @IowaWBB | @IowaonBTN
One nugget from Wright Thompson's excellent deep dive into Caitlin Clark was that LSU's strategy in last year's national championship game was to let Clark get her shots and limit her supporting cast. The Tigers realized that when Monika Czinano or Iowa's other starters got rolling, so did the Hawkeyes. In Iowa's losses, Clark had to carry too much of the scoring load.
The strategy worked last year, and it's largely been true this year, too. When Clark can facilitate and the other starters are hitting, Iowa rolls like it did over Colorado on Saturday. When Clark has to do too much, Iowa struggles, just like it did against West Virginia.
There's one notable exception to that trend. In the Final Four last year, South Carolina also tried to limit Clark's supporting cast. The Gamecocks were largely successful in doing so; Czinano scored 18 points, but no other Hawkeye player scored more than seven. The difference in the game was that Clark went supernova, scoring 41 points and having the answer every time South Carolina tried to seize momentum back.
This LSU team is significantly different than last year's title-winning team. Only three rotation players return from that team, and only two -- Angel Reese and Flau'jae Johnson -- played significant roles last year. LSU head coach Kim Mulkey is also back, and it's unlikely that her strategy will change much. Expect LSU to do all it can to limit Clark's ability to facilitate and make her outscore them.
How Clark manages that, and how Iowa handles LSU's rebounding and driving when the Hawks are on defense, will make or break this game.
More here: https://iowa.rivals.com/news/preview-iowa-wbb-vs-3-seed-lsu
