NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY
NO. 3 SEED UCONN VS NO. 1 IOWA
When: Friday at 9:30 p.m.
Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio
Records: UConn (33-5, 18-0 Big East) Iowa (33-4, 15-3 Big 10)
TV: ESPN
Radio: UConn Sports Network, WAVZ-New Haven (1300 AM), WGCH- Greenwich (1490 AM), WATR-Waterbury (1320 AM), WICH-Norwich (1310 AM, 94.5 FM), WILI-Willimantic (1400 AM, 95.3 FM), Fox Sports 97.9 FM Hartford, SiriusXM-983, SXM App 973
KEEP AN EYE ON
Final-ly: UConn women’s basketball is back in the Final Four.
It’s the Huskies’ 15th appearance in the national semifinals within the last 16 years. However, because of all its injuries and hurdles the past three years, this trip may be the most impressive.
UConn faces Iowa for the chance to play in Sunday’s national championship game. The winner will face the winner of No. 1 overall seed South Carolina-No. 3 NC State in Friday’s earlier Final Four game.
The Huskies are looking to return to the title game for the first time since 2022 when the Gamecocks defeated them for the championship. That was UConn’s first-ever loss in the national championship game, holding a perfect 11-0 record before that meeting.
While it’s not yet a title, getting to this year’s Final Four is a stunning accomplishment for UConn, which had six players go down with season-ending injuries and is playing on a six, sometimes seven, player rotation.
The Huskies outlasted No. 1 USC in Monday’s Elite Eight 80-73 in Portland, Oregon after surviving a late comeback from No. 7 Duke in Saturday’s Sweet 16 and advancing with a 53-45 win. UConn beat No. 14 Jackson State 86-44 in the first round and No. 6 Syracuse 72-64 in the second round back in Storrs.
Star power: Friday will pin two of the game’s biggest stars against each other with Paige Bueckers leading UConn and AP Player of the Year Caitlin Clark leading Iowa.
Bueckers won National Player of the Year in 2021 while the two point guards shared co-Freshman of the Year honors that season. Since then, Bueckers has been sidelined due to two separate knee injuries while Clark’s fame has risen to monumental levels.
Clark became the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer in basketball (men and women) this season. Her fame and talent have pushed women’s basketball to new and unprecedented heights. Over 50,000 people attended Iowa’s preseason exhibition game against DePaul at Kinnick Stadium. And on Monday, over 12 million watched the Hawkeye’s defeat reigning national champion LSU in the Elite Eight — setting the record for the most watched college basketball game on ESPN (men or women).
However, Bueckers is back and playing better than ever. Her matchup against Clark should be fun to watch as the Husky star is now playing more in a power forward role instead of her more traditional true point guard role.
About the Hawkeyes: Iowa is making is second-straight appearance in the Final Four and third total in program history. Last season, the Hawkeyes lost in the national championship game to LSU (Iowa’s first ever trip to the title game).
The Hawkeyes got revenge by knocking out the Tigers with a 94-87 win on Monday. Clark had 41 points and shot 6-of-7 from deep.
Iowa beat Colorado, 89-68, in the Sweet 16 after beating West Virginia, 64-54, in the second round. The Hawkeyes opened the tournament by routing Holy Cross, 91-65.
History lesson: UConn leads the all-time series with Iowa 6-3, including winning the teams’ last six meetings.
The teams last met in November 2021 in the championship game of the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament with the Huskies winning 86-79. Iowa’s last win over UConn was on Nov. 29, 1990, winning 58-41 in Storrs.
This is the teams’ fourth meeting in the NCAA Tournament. UConn has won all three previous meetings in the Big Dance, including defeating Iowa in the 2021 Sweet 16, 92-72.