Kim Mulkey, Caitlin Clark, and Angel Reese
One of the most widely-anticipated matchups in college basketball is a few days away. The Elite Eight of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament will see the LSU Tigers face off against the Iowa Hawkeyes in a rematch of last year’s Finals.
The head coach for the LSU Tigers, Kim Mulkey, believes that the squad they’re facing this time around is a much better opponent than the team that made last year’s Finals.
“The biggest same is Caitlin Clark. The difference is the personnel. The difference is those that were role players last year are now big players, which is what all coaches hope, is that you respect the process, and when your time arrives, you take advantage of it.” (starting at 5:00)
However, even still, the biggest threat for the Tigers has to be the contender for the Naismith College Player of the Year.
“They’re still going to shoot a lot of threes. But Caitlin Clark is a generational player.”
The differences and similarities between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese
The biggest clash on the court that people are looking out for is between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark. Made famous last year, the two’s on-court aggression makes for must-watch TV, despite their vividly different playing styles.
Caitlin Clark has more finesse, relying on dribbles and shooting for her efficiency. On the other hand, Reese uses her larger frame to her advantage as a bruising force inside, scoring close to the paint and crashing the glass for double-digit rebounds.
But, for head coach Kim Mulkey, it is not their differences but their similarities that are the easiest to spot.
“You’ve got two very talented players that have brought a lot of attention to our sport. They both crash 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 have never watched women’s basketball before. Yeah, those are tough women.”
Both women are coming off incredible performances in the Sweet 16 round of the tournament. Tallying 29 points and 15 assists, Clark has a 59% efficiency from the field as Iowa beat Colorado relatively convincingly to the tune of 89-68.
On the other hand, LSU found itself in a closer battle against UCLA, where Angel Reese scored another double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
When is the 2023 NCAA Finals rematch between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the LSU Tigers?
The Elite Eight matchup between LSU and Iowa is set to take place at the MVP Arena in Albany, New York, on April 1st, 2024. The game tips off at 7:15 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Both are incredible offenses, with LSU averaging 86.7 points a night, whereas Iowa exceeds that number at 92.8. On the other hand, the Tigers have the decided advantage on the defensive end, where they give up nearly 10 fewer points on a nightly basis at 62.5 compared to 71.9 for the Hawkeyes.
Who do you think walks out the winner? Let us know in the comments below.
