LeBron James thinks the meteoric rise of women's college basketball is due in large part to "icons" building a legacy in the game.

That star power, he says, is the differentiator between the women's and men's college game.

"I don't think there's much difference between the men's and women's game when it comes to college basketball," James said on Wednesday. "I think the popularity comes in with the icons that they have in the women's game.”

James pointed to JuJu Watkins, Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink and Paige Bueckers in particular, before also highlighting Iowa State’s Audi Crooks and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, who are both freshmen alongside Watkins.

The reason the star power is so much bigger than in the men’s game, James says, is due in part because the players aren’t departing for the WNBA after their freshman year.

In a typical year, most of the biggest stars in men's college basketball will leave after only playing a season.

"You're able to build a real iconic legacy at a program," James said of the women's game. "And that's what we all love about it. That's what we all love. We love the girl's game because of that moment you actually get to see those girls [build to]. That's what makes the girl's Final Four and the Elite Eight so great. Yeah, Iowa was a great team; Caitlin Clark is the reason we tuned in.

"Players, depending on who they are, will drive the attention when it comes to viewership. … It's just a different time between the men's and women's."

Geno Auriemma doesn’t want Caitlin Clark to have a personal agenda against his team. 

After Clark dropped 41 points in Iowa’s win over LSU, Auriemma joked with the media about her upcoming performance against his UConn Huskies in the Final Four.

UConn and Iowa are set to match up for the third time in four seasons. The Huskies have won their previous two meetings against a Caitlin Clark-led Iowa team.

"I hope Caitlin Clark had a personal agenda against LSU, and I know there's nothing personal between me and her," Auriemma said. 

“I know there's nothing personal between me and her. I don't need to be seeing her drop 50 on us next weekend,” Auriemma continued. “I love her. I think she's the best player. Forget I ever said Paige [Bueckers] is the best player in the country. I think [Caitlin's] the best player of all time. I don't know whoever said Paige is the best player.” 

Even with Geno's jokes, it might already be personal for Clark, who revealed last month that Auriemma didn’t recruit her to UConn when she was a star in high school.

The Iowa star was heavily recruited by Iowa, Notre Dame, Texas and Oregon before initially committing to Notre Dame. But Clark, a massive fan of Maya Moore – who starred at UConn – called UConn her “dream school.”

"Honestly, it was more I wanted them to recruit me to say I got recruited," Clark told ESPN in a feature published ahead of the NCAA Tournament. "I loved UConn. I think they're the coolest place on Earth, and I wanted to say I got recruited by them. They called my AAU coach a few times, but they never talked to my family and never talked to me."

As for UConn’s plan regarding Clark, Auriemma said that the team doesn’t have any plans to stop her. 

"We don't. We don't plan on stopping her,” he said. “Because I tried calling all the other coaches that have stopped her, and none of them answer the phone. So we're going to have to find a different way to win than stopping Caitlin Clark."

Iowa and LSU blew out the women’s college basketball ratings on Monday with an average of 12.3 million viewers tuning in to watch Iowa's 94-87 win. 

It’s yet another record that Clark can claim in what has been a record-breaking season. 

The 12.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen, make it one of the most-viewed games in any sport other than NFL football in the last year. It outdrew all but one of five games of last year’s NBA Finals, as well as every single World Series game. It also surpassed last year’s national championship between LSU and Iowa, which drew 9.9 million viewers on ABC.

UConn's win over USC, which immediately followed Iowa-LSU, drew an likewise impressive 6.7 million viewers — beating the viewership of UConn's men's team in their Elite Eight matchup.

Only one men’s tournament game this year has drawn larger viewership: NC State’s win over Duke in the men’s Elite Eight, which averaged 15.1 million. 

Monday's game also surpassed the previous most-watched women’s college basketball game in history, when 11.84 million viewers tuned in to the 1983 NCAA championship game between Southern California and Louisiana Tech.

LSU coach Kim Mulkey, playing for Louisiana Tech, matched up against USC great Cheryl Miller in that game. The Trojans won 64-58. 

Monday’s game was also the most watched men’s or women’s college basketball game ever on ESPN.

It comes after Iowa and Colorado’s regional semifinal on Saturday averaged 6.9 million viewers on ABC. 

Through the Elite Eight, the women’s tournament is averaging 1.5 million – a 127% increase over last year. Iowa’s last five games have surpassed 3 million viewers, with the last three having drawn at least 4.9 million. 

"I think it's just great for the sport, just being able to be a part of history," Reese said Monday night. "Like I said, no matter which way it went tonight, I know this was going to be a night for the ages. And just being able to be a part of history is great."

Angel Reese's teammates came to her defense on Monday as she opened up about the hardships she’s faced over the last year. 

Following LSU’s Elite Eight loss, Reese openly discussed the difficulty of dealing with the scrutiny she's had to face since leading LSU to a championship.

"I don't really get to stand up for myself. I have great teammates, I have a great support system," she said. "I don't really get to speak out on things because I just try to ignore and I just try to stand strong.”

But even still, she says she’s been “attacked so many times.” And on Monday, Flau’jae Johnson defended Reese’s leadership.

"Everybody can have their opinion on Angel Reese, but y'all don't know her," Johnson said. "I know the real Angel Reese, and the person I see every day is a strong person, is a caring, loving person. But the crown she wears is heavy. She's the type of teammate that's going to make you believe in yourself."

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Hailey Van Lith, who transferred to LSU over the summer, also took to Reese’s defense.

“Angel is one of the toughest people I've been around," Van Lith said. "People speak hate into her life. I've never seen people wish bad things on someone as much as her and it does not affect her. ... Y'all do not get to her. Y'all do not get to Angel Reese, so you might want to give it up, throw the towel in. Because you're wasting your energy."

Paige Bueckers helped UConn do the improbable on Monday night: secure the team’s 23rd Final Four berth. 

The No. 3 seed Huskies – who have been injury-laden once again this season – took down No. 1 seed USC 80-73. It was due in large part to Bueckers, who had 28 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. 

In short, she was doing it all. 

"Paige always wants to be superhuman," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "She tries her damndest to be superhuman. … When you have players that think, there's nothing I can't do, there's nothing that escapes me, they're just on another level. They play the game on another level. They think on a different level. They inspire everybody around them. So, yeah, today was Paige doing Paige things.”

It was Bueckers’ third performance this tournament with at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists. That ties her with Caitlin Clark and Courtney Vandersloot for the most by any player in a single NCAA tournament since 2000.

"Last year I was praying to be back at this stage," Bueckers said on the ESPN broadcast. "So much joy and pride for this team, I'm so proud. We're not even supposed to be here and here we are."

She then expanded on it in the postgame press conference, calling the win “one of the most rewarding feelings I’ve ever felt in my life.” Fellow senior Nika Muhl agreed. 

"This has been probably the most rewarding one," Muhl said. "I would say this group is very special. We overcame so much and learned from it.

"Although a lot of people didn't believe we were ever gonna do this, we did. Don't get me wrong — we don't really care what other people think. But at the same time, it feels really, really good to prove those people wrong."

The Huskies lost six players on the year to injuries and lost five non-conference games. Among the stars absent are Azzi Fudd and Caroline Ducharme, who both suffered season-ending injuries early. 

Auriemma said earlier in the tournament it would take a “miracle” for the team to reach the Final Four. On Monday, he joked that this year was one of the greatest coaching jobs of his career. 

"I did think it would take a miracle," he said. "The greatest coaching job ever done in the history of women's basketball."

Caitlin Clark propelled Iowa to its second-straight Final Four on Monday behind yet another generational Elite Eight performance. 

The rematch between last year’s national championship matchup lived up to the hype, with Iowa getting the better of LSU this time, 94-87. In the win, Clark had 41 points – including nine 3-pointers – 12 assists and seven rebounds en route to being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Albany regional.

But if you ask Clark, revenge wasn’t on Iowa’s mind.

"It's not about last year,” she said postgame. “You worry too much about the past, you're going to get caught up in that. It's about being present, being where your feet are."

The two teams were tied at the half with 45 points apiece, but Clark hit four of her nine three pointers in the third quarter to help give Iowa an 11 point lead headed into the fourth that they never gave up. Now, Iowa will go to back-to-back Final Fours for the first time ever, even after they lost key players from last year’s tournament run.

“Everybody at the beginning of the year kept saying, 'Oh, Iowa lost so much. They lost all this offense and two starters,'" coach Lisa Bluder said. "Everybody kept focusing on that. And we kept focusing on what we had."

To put her performance in perspective, Clark broke a number of records – adding on to what has been a record-breaking season. The D-I career 3-point record is now also Clark's, as she passed Oklahoma's Taylor Robertson and now has 540 treys. Her nine threes versus LSU were the most in a game in NCAA tournament history, and she passed Diana Taurasi for the most career 3-pt FG in NCAA tournament history.

Also on Monday, Clark surpassed Francis Marion’s Pearl Moore in scoring, now with 3,900 career points and counting. She also broke the record for most points in a season, now with 1,183.

Clark is also the first player in NCAA tournament history with three career 40-point games. Postgame, the Iowa star shared a moment with both Angel Reese and LSU coach Kim Mulkey.

“What did I say to her? I said, ‘I sure am glad you’re leaving,’” Mulkey said. “I said, ‘Girl, you something else.’ Never seen anything like it.”

She also said there wasn’t much that her team – or anybody else, for that matter – could do to contain Clark. 

“There's not a lot of strategy. You've got to guard her. Nobody else seems to be able to guard her,” Mulkey said. “We didn't even guard her last year when we beat them. She's just a generational player, and she just makes everybody around her better. That's what the great ones do.”

Reese, meanwhile, said that she told Clark to “go win it.”

“[Clark] just told me, ‘Continue to be a great player,’” Reese said. “And I told her to continue to be a great player, as well, and keep elevating the game and go win it.”

Tennessee women’s basketball parted ways with coach Kellie Harper on Monday after five seasons. 

Athletic director Danny White announced that Harper wouldn’t return following a “thorough review” of the program. 

“Decisions like these are never easy to make, especially with someone who has done so much for the Lady Vols as a three-time national champion student-athlete,” White said in a statement. “Her love and passion for Tennessee and the Lady Vols is second to none. She has invested so much heart and soul into our program and truly has given her all for Tennessee.”

Harper coached Tennessee for five seasons and finishes her tenure with the Lady Vols with a 108-52 record. That includes a 53-24 record in SEC play.

She is one of just two coaches to take four separate programs to the NCAA tournament. But in Harper’s time at Tennessee, the Lady Vols had not made it past the Sweet 16, with their last Elite Eight appearance coming in 2016.

The team’s last Final Four appearance was in 2008 under Pat Summitt, when they won the national title. 

Tennessee remains the only program to make every single NCAA tournament. 

In a statement, Harper called it an “honor” to coach at her alma mater. 

“I am grateful for the opportunity my staff and I have had to lead an amazing group of young women and to mentor them on the court as well as provide them with life skills that will benefit them far beyond the game of basketball,” Harper said.

Following LSU’s Elite Eight loss, star Angel Reese opened up about the hardships and criticisms she’s faced since winning the national championship last year.

Ahead of LSU’s Sweet 16 matchup with UCLA, an LA Times article described the Tigers as “dirty debutantes” compared to UCLA’s “milk and cookies.” The writer of the article has since apologized, and the article itself has been edited and updated by the Times. But for Reese and LSU, it was just the latest in a year of continual scrutiny.

On Monday, Reese tearfully reflected on the treatment she’s received in the last year. 

"I don't really get to stand up for myself. I have great teammates, I have a great support system," she said. "I don't really get to speak out on things because I just try to ignore and I just try to stand strong.

"I've been attacked so many times, death threats, I've been sexualized, I've been threatened, I've been so many things, and I've stood strong every single time. I just try to stand strong for my teammates because I don't want them to see me down and not be there for them. I’m still a human. All this has happened since I won the national championship, and I said the other day, I haven’t been happy since then. But I wouldn’t change anything.”

In the locker room, Reese said she wasn’t going to let the loss “take away from anything.”

“I did a lot. We won a national championship with nine new players,” she said. “I left an amazing impact on so many different people. I've won at the highest level and I'm happy about that."

It’s unclear whether or not Reese’s college career is over. She has yet to declare for the WNBA draft, and on Monday said she hasn’t yet made a decision. But she’s hoping that her impact will be felt regardless. 

"The little girls that look up to me, hopefully I give them some type of inspiration,” she said. “Keep waking up every day, keep being motivated, staying who you are, stand 10 toes, don't back down, and just be confident."

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.

The NCAA has issued an apology after the 3-point lines in the Portland regional were found to be different distances at the top of the key. 

In a statement, the NCAA addressed the error, which had previously gone unnoticed in four regional semifinals on Friday and Saturday. 

"At the conclusion of tonight’s game and practice in Portland, the NCAA will be measuring all court lines and markings on the court at the Moda Center,” they said in a statement. “While the NCAA’s vendor has apologized for the error, we will investigate how this happened in the first place. The NCAA is working now to ensure the accuracy of all court markings for future games. 

“We are not aware of any other issues at any of the prior sites for men’s or women’s tournament games. The NCAA regrets the error was not discovered sooner."

Both NC State and Texas opted to play with the floor as is, as getting the floor re-taped would have taken more than an hour, according to the two head coaches. The game likely would have lost its window on ABC.

"At first, [Texas coach] Vic [Schaefer] was hesitant about it," NC State coach Wes Moore said. "And then he finally said, you know, 'I didn't want to wait an hour or something to play the game.' I was ready to get going. But Vic probably figured out, you know what? This line down here is what we're used to. That line down there isn't.

"And if you'll look, I think we shot the ball better on the other end both games, because that's the normal line. But I'm not going to blame it on that. I mean, these kids, like I said, they shoot so far behind it sometimes nowadays, who knows where the line is?"

Even still, Moore said he wished he “hadn’t known” about the discrepancy. 

According to tracking done by ESPN Stats & Information, teams during the five games in the Portland regionals shot 29% from the line that was too short as compared to 33% from the standard 3-point line.

Six of NC State’s nine 3-pointers on Sunday were from the standard line, including Aziaha James who went 5-of-5 and finished with a career-high seven 3’s. Players were not made aware of the discrepancy until postgame.

"At the end of the day, we had already played a game on it," Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. "We both won. So, we just decided to play."

But with the NCAA declining to comment on distance and measurement of the 3-point line, the coaches were left to explain the situation.

"Well, I hate to say this, but I have a lot of colleagues that would say, 'Only in women's basketball,'" Schaefer said. "I mean, it's a shame, really, that it even happened. But it is what it is."

The floor is set to be professionally measured on Monday ahead of No. 1 Southern California’s matchup with No. 3 UConn.