On Sunday afternoon, Caitlin Clark made history.
She carved her name into college basketball lore, becoming Division I’s all-time leading scorer. She passed the great Pete Maravich (3,667 points) on a free throw in the second quarter as part of another typically great performance. She scored 35 points and had nine assists in Carver’s win over No. 2 Ohio State in front of a sold-out crowd. Hawkeye Arena.
This record (3,685 points and still growing) is of course impressive, as are all of her accomplishments throughout her incredible four-year college career. She has had 56 30 point performances. She has 17 triple-doubles. She made at least one 3-point shot in 88 consecutive games. She became the first Division I female player to reach 3,000 points and 1,000 assists.
That is not, nor should it be, her university’s legacy.
No, Clark’s contributions will depend on how many points “Ponytail Pete” (a nickname once given to her) finishes this year with and how many assists she accumulates (Clark ranks 6th all-time among women in that category). , and even way beyond that. Deep Iowa will play through March.
Clark became an icon at the University of Iowa, a superstar who made his sport more important than ever before. The 6-foot smooth guard from West Des Moines, Iowa, developed it. She took it forward. Last April, Clark made it seem like the women’s Final Four was a bigger tentpole than the men’s. I certainly felt a little bad that I wasn’t in Dallas to watch Iowa and Clark play mighty LSU in the title game.
That game drew more than 9.9 million viewers on ABC. No other women’s college basketball game has had a better record. It was also the most streamed sporting event on ESPN+. Iowa’s ticket revenue increased from $767,069 in the 2021-22 season to $1.4 million in the 2022-23 season, according to Sportico. It’s largely because of Clark that sports talk show hosts who were supposed to ignore the women’s game started talking about it, and Clark said Thursday that his fifth season in 2020-21 will be canceled due to COVID-19. He announced that he will enter the WNBA in 2024 without using the exemption. Draft instead.
To find a men’s college basketball player with similar popularity, you have to go all the way back to Zion Williamson in 2018-19. Of course, many of the men’s team’s top players rarely spend more than a few months on a college campus, and many of them no longer attend college.
Timing is part of this, as Clark came out in the age of social media, where everything is amplified. Perhaps in another era, her influence might have been lessened. This is not the age of Twitter or Instagram. Girls want to be like her and stand in line for her autograph. Iowa State set attendance records everywhere it went.
What’s most impressive is how she handled all the attention. She handled pressure like a pro and followed up her memorable season last year with another great year, averaging 32.2 points, 8.7 assists and shooting an impressive 39.5 percent from 3-point range. . Iowa State, reaching the Final Four for the first time since 1993, is the No. 6 team in the country despite losing its second- and third-leading scorers. When Clark set the women’s Division I scoring record, passing Washington’s Kelsey Plumb’s 3,527 points on Feb. 15, she hit one 3-pointer with her trademark logo, her usual flair. achieved that with. That day, she set an Iowa single-game scoring record with 49 points with an exclamation point.
Next month, Clark will no doubt win National Player of the Year again, becoming the first female player to do so since Connecticut’s Brianna Stewart won three straight from 2014 to 2016. Stewart played on a fully loaded team and won four national championships.
There’s a theory, recently suggested by ESPN analyst Jay Williams, that Clark isn’t great because he hasn’t led the Hawkeyes to a national championship. He compared her to college legends like Stewart, who won her title. It was a silly take, but it was another example of her influence.
She was featured on ESPN’s men’s show “College Gameday.” Until her game at Iowa is over, she’ll be as much of a topic as she was in March. She is by far the biggest star in college basketball and is sure to break even more viewership records later this month.
On Sunday she set a scoring record. But the significance of that mark pales in comparison to what she meant to the world of women’s college basketball.
Caitlin Clark has brought new customers and fans to her sport. She has expanded her popularity and reach. Thanks to her, the game will benefit in the coming years.
this week’s game
No. 9 North Carolina vs. No. 10 Duke, Saturday, 6:30 p.m.
North Carolina won the first matchup in Chapel Hill by nine points. Since then, Duke has looked like the better team, going 7-1 with all of his wins by eight points or more. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels have lost to Clemson University and Syracuse University, and have struggled against the University of Miami, North Carolina State University, and the University of Virginia. This showdown will determine the ACC regular season champion, with North Carolina State holding a one-game lead and the winner potentially clinching the No. 2 seed in the East.
suite 16
Predictions for the top four seeds in the NCAA Tournament (listed in order):
1: Houston, Purdue, Connecticut, Tennessee
2: Arizona, North Carolina, Marquette, Iowa
3: Kansas, Alabama, Baylor, Creighton
4: Duke, Auburn, San Diego State, Illinois
stock watch
Up
gonzaga
I was adamantly against Gonzaga’s participation in the NCAA Tournament because of my lack of experience with Gonzaga. My opinion has changed over the past week. The Zags not only proved they belong in the dance world, but they also proved they shouldn’t be anywhere near the bubble with two Quad 1 wins over road San Francisco and No. 17 St. Mary’s by a combined 31 points. did. point. Forward Graham Icke averaged an overwhelming 25 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2 blocks in two wins, while Ryan Nembhard, who transferred to Creighton, has been struggling with his recent strengths after a shaky start. i got you. Gonzaga overcame the Gaels’ thorough defense and currently ranks 11th in adjusted offensive efficiency. This is a team no one wants to see in their bracket.
villanova
After the Wildcats suffered their sixth loss in seven games on Feb. 7, the NCAA Tournament seemed like a pipe dream. However, Villanova responded to the tough conditions and finished the regular season with a bang, winning five of six games and joining the team. Victories over bubble teams Seton Hall and Providence were important, and senior guard Justin Moore also returned after a frustrating season limited by injuries. If Villanova can split its final two games at home against Seton Hall and No. 12 Creighton, it will almost be guaranteed a spot in the Big East tournament despite three losses in Quad 3. Her 26th place in the NET rankings and her 10 wins in Quads 1 and 2 are better numbers than most of her bubble teams.
under
ACC
3 Bid ACC is very effective. Entering the final week of the regular season, Duke, North Carolina and Clemson are the only locks. Virginia and Wake Forest are both heading in the wrong direction. Virginia has dropped four of its last six games, hasn’t scored more than 63 points in a loss, and has dropped six of eight Quad 1 chances. Wake Forest is bouncing back from road losses to Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, two teams that have essentially played a string and are currently 1-6 in Quad 1 games. A Syracuse win against Clemson on Tuesday could make the Orange a realistic contender, but it’s still a distant goal given their No. 84 NET ranking and 6-9 record in Quad 1 and 2 games. It feels like. The league could feature a surprise team that makes a big splash in the conference tournament.
mike hopkins
Indeed, I felt Syracuse made a huge mistake by allowing Hopkins to escape. In retrospect, this move did not go as well as expected. After two 20-win seasons in Washington, the Huskies are now without a postseason tournament for the fifth straight year. Since the 2018-19 season, the team has won only 17 games and is three games below .500 in the pedestrian Pac-12, and Hopkins could soon be out of a job. A highly touted transfer class that included Paul Mulcahy (Rutgers) and Sarville Wheeler (Kentucky) has fallen far short of expectations.
