It's the game we've all been waiting for: a rematch of last year’s national championship game between Caitlin Clark and Iowa vs Angel Reese and LSU.
The Elite Eight match-up between the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds in the Albany region could be the most-watched non-Final Four game of all time. According to LSU coach Kim Mulkey, it'd be better if it was happening later in the tournament.
“We talk about growing the game,” Mulkey said. “Didn’t that national championship game have the highest ratings ever in women’s basketball? You’re probably going to anticipate this one will, too, but it needs to be at the Final Four.”
Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese is just one of the major storylines.
“You’ve got two very talented players that have brought a lot of attention to our sport,” Mulkey said. “They both trash talk. They both make their teammates better. They both have their teammates’ back. They have both elevated our game to where we have people watching that never watched women’s basketball before.”
Despite the fierce competition, there’s plenty of respect on both sides.
“I want to compete at the highest level, and right now Caitlin is the highest level,” LSU sophomore Flau’Jae Johnson said of the Iowa star. “So if I can defend her, try to contain her and get the win, we’ll be fine.”
During last year's championship game, much was made of a late-game gesture when Reese taunted Clark on the way to LSU's win. The on-court rivalry resumes tonight, even as both Clark and Reese have insisted that off the court, it's all respect between the two. They’ve known each other since AAU, when Clark played for Iowa Attack and Reese for Team Takeover. They also faced off in the Big Ten when Reese played at Maryland.
“I don't think people realize it's not personal,” Reese said. “Me and Caitlin Clark don't hate each other. I want everybody to understand that. It's just a super competitive game.”
“Me and Angel have always been great competitors,” Clark said for her part. “[But] It's not just us in women's basketball."
Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder called both “dynamic players.”
“They're both emotional. They're both passionate about the game,” Bluder said. “They're highly competitive. They're both excellent at their craft. I think it's just naturally going to happen that you talk about the two of them a lot.”
Of course, there’s others that will need to step up in order for one team to have an edge over the other. Players like Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke and LSU’s Aneesah Morrow will need to factor heavily.
“I really like Hannah’s game,” Reese said of Stuelke. “She’s a strong post player. She’s more versatile than [former Iowa player Monika] Czinano, so I know I’m going to have to guard her much higher than I had to guard Czinano last year.”
“I just think they shoot the 3-ball; they rebound so well,” Bluder said of LSU. “You’ve got five people averaging in double figures. That’s really hard to guard when you have that kind of balance.”
The two teams face off tonight at 7:15pm ET on ESPN.
