Clark isn’t the only star on the court tonight. Watch out for UConn’s Paige Bueckers.
Powerhouse guard Paige Bueckers with the UConn Huskies has already racked up 112 points and 20 assists during the NCAA tournament, and she shows no signs of stopping.
The 22-year-old guard announced in February that she will return to UConn for another year on the court, deferring her decision to enter the WNBA draft, a move that was likely expected of her.
Iowa on the board first
No surprise that Caitlin Clark scored the first points of the game for her Iowa Hawkeyes.
Will this be Caitlin Clark’s final college game?
All eyes have been on NCAA all-time scorer Caitlin Clark since she announced in February that she would be taking her talents to the WNBA after her senior season with the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Still to be determined is whether tonight’s matchup against UConn will be the last game of her college hoops career.
Already this year, she became Iowa’s leading scorer, the NCAA women’s leading scorer and even took the title as the highest scorer in the history of NCAA Division I basketball.
Will she add a championship trophy to her list of college basketball achievements this year, too?
Pregame player props
Ahead of the Iowa-UConn matchup, 69% of the handle (total money) and 69% of the bets (total transactions) are on Iowa to win; 77% of the handle (total money) and 69% of the bets (total transactions) are on Iowa to cover the spread (-3.5).
The Caitlin Clark points over/under total sits at 34.5 (-102) and 5.5 made threes. Big-time moment for a big-time player.
The Paige Bueckers points over/under total sits at 26.5 (-122) and 2.5 threes.
Up next
We know South Carolina is heading to the championship, now we'll find out who they'll face.
No. 1 Iowa and No. 3 UConn are about to face off for the final spot in the championship game at 9:30 p.m. ET.
The championship game is set for 3 p.m. Sunday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
Cardoso finishes the night with double-double
Kamilla Cardoso leads all scorers and rebounders, finishing with a double-double, 22 points and 11 rebounds.
The South Carolina Gamecocks are headed to the championship
South Carolina snagged their spot in the championship game, beating NC State 78-59. They'll face the winner of UConn-Iowa, which starts next.
Their championship appearance isn't exactly unexpected — they are undefeated on the season, after all.
Can they keep their winning streak alive for one more game and claim the trophy Sunday?
Ted Lasso is a women's basketball fan
Spotted in the crowd: Jason Sudeikis. His Ted Lasso character may be big on soccer, but Sudeikis has been seen taking in several women's basketball games this season.
He was cheering on Iowa and Caitlin Clark in their win over LSU earlier this week.
South Carolina dominates in the third quarter
At the end of the third quarter South Carolina leads 61-37, and the spread has grown to SC -23.5.
NC State will need to start the final quarter fast to stay in the game. South Carolina is 10 minutes from the Championship game.
The Gamecocks built their lead thanks to a monster quarter, outscoring NC State 29-6 in the period. Seven players scored for South Carolina.
Gamecocks' D in a class all its own
Defensively, the Gamecocks are in a class by themselves. With the 6-foot-7 Cardoso protecting the basket, South Carolina is holding opponents to an effective field goal percentage of 36.4, the top defensive mark in the nation. The Gamecocks aren’t quite as dominant on the offensive glass as last year, but they’re playing at a faster tempo and have become more efficient overall on offense. An inability to shoot 3-pointers cost them in the Final Four last year, but that’s no longer a weakness with South Carolina making them at a 39% clip in 2023-24.
But they shoot just 69% from the free throw line and don’t do a particularly good job getting there.
In This Tournament: That improvement from beyond the arc came in handy for the Gamecocks in their one close game in this tournament. They shot 8 of 16 in a 79-75 win over Indiana in the Sweet 16.