Tickets for WBB Final 4 higher than for MBB Final 4
Arena size for sure a factor but people are really hyped for this years WBB starting Friday Night
The women's tournament features several marquee attractions: reigning national champions South Carolina and Aliyah Boston, Iowa's Caitlin Clark, LSU's Angel Reese and Virginia Tech's Elizabeth Kitley, all of whom were ranked in ESPN's best players and top watches in the country during the preseason.
The men's tournament does not have any traditional powers in it this year. We all saw it; Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue, etc., getting knocked out in the early rounds or not making the tournament at all, and remaining No. 1 seeds Alabama and Houston bowing out in the Sweet 16.
There are no top-three seeds in the mix, and UConn is hanging on as the sole 4-seed, making this year's men's semifinals unforeseen and unpredictable.
21 highlight points the writer makes for this big MBB and WBB Final 4 weekend but the top 2 highlight points are for Women's Basketball!
The Iowa vs South Carolina Game Friday Night is crazy popular to watch.
2. Caitlin Clark. The Iowa women’s basketball star, whose triple-double of 41 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists helped send Louisville home Sunday night in the NCAA Tournament round of eight, was named AP National Player of the Year on Thursday.
1. Game of the Year. The NCAA Tournament Final Four matchup Friday at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN with Clark and Iowa vs. 2021-22 AP National Player of the Year Aliyah Boston and undefeated and defending national champion South Carolina might be the most-anticipated college hoops game, men’s or women’s, of the 2022-23 season.
Were I you, I would follow the advice of Terrell Owens and get your popcorn ready, because South Carolina-Iowa should be a show.
I know far too many people who say "it's women's basketball, and not worth watching". Too all of those, and others, I say - Your loss! These teams are amazingly talented. If it's dunks you want, don't bother. Buth everything else is there. Amazing finishes, crazy handles, and sniper shots from far away lands. Oh - and a few can, and sometimes do, dunk the ball.
Iowa upsets South Carolina who had won 42 straight games going back to last year. South Carolina won last years National Championship
Caitlin Clark lived up to her billing and more
41 points
6 rebounds
8 assists
Clark reminds so much of Larry Bird with her mental approach to the game, extremely high level of confidence, great passing. What a performance!!
Not possible to adequately describe Clark's game - it's a must see. She is amazing.
INSIDER
Caitlin Clark's dad joked, 'It's about time,' after his daughter was named college basketball's National Player of the Year
Meredith Cash
Fri, March 31, 2023 at 5:30 PM EDT
The 6-foot point guard called her parents with the news after she learned she'd won the honor.
Her dad, Brent Clark, responded, "Well, it's about time!" after his daughter relayed the message.
Caitlin Clark is women's college basketball's National Player of the Year.
The Iowa Hawkeyes superstar ranks third in the country with a whopping 27.3 points per game and adds a Division I-leading 8.6 assists each contest. She also leads all players, men or women, with five triple-doubles on the season — including a mammoth 41-point triple-double to power her program to its first Final Four in 30 years.
Despite all of her accomplishments and historic feats throughout her three years playing NCAA basketball — just last season, she led the country in both points and assists — the sport's top individual prize had eluded her.
Until now — and "it's about time," according to her dad.
Clark fittingly learned she'd earned the massive honor during a visit to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital. After several of the facility's patients congratulated her on her success and wished her luck in the Final Four via video, Hawkeyes head coach Lisa Bluder broke the news that Clark won Player of the Year.
"It wouldn't be possible without every single one of you, and I really mean that," Clark said to her coaches through tears. "I'm lucky that I'm here, because I know it probably wouldn't be possible at other places.
"Thanks for believing in me and having my back," she added.
One person who, apparently, had total faith in the 6-foot point guard was her father, Brent. Whereas Clark's mom was filled with emotion over the news of what her daughter had achieved, her dad expressed satisfaction that she'd finally gotten the recognition he felt she'd long deserved.
"Needless to say it's been a great journey so far," he said. "Let's just make it even greater."
He was, of course, referencing Iowa's trip to the Final Four. Clark and the Hawkeyes are set to face the reigning champion and top overall seed South Carolina Gamecocks — who are undefeated on the season — in Friday night's national semifinal. Fans can tune in to ESPN at 9 p.m. to catch all the action.
For as good as the run-up to the final was, the championship game was the drizzlin' shits, to quote Steve Austin. LSU and Mulkey are insufferable, and the refs were awful for this game. (The weak technical on Clark, Mulkey not getting a technical for constantly being on the court, Mulkey using a weak replay challenge to get an extra long timeout when her team was shitting itself, the flopping by LSU several times in the fourth, the especially bad flop to get Czinano her fifth.)
I thought the refs ruined the game. Not a game in which you call tic-tac fouls and non-fouls for that matter. Were these really the highest rated refs in the tourney? God help us.
Agree with both of you.
Mulkey was insufferable.
It went through my mind of wanting the Iowa HC to just take her team off the court and just end the game - it was that bad.
You have the Larry Bird of 2023 WBB in the Championship Game that you call a Technical on to get her 4th Person Foul because she in frustration tossed the ball to the sideline. Big deal. She didn't yell, show any facial emotion or anything that would warrant a technical except she helped the ball go out of bounds - because she was not happy with the foul called against her teammate.
Not the place for that kind of call against the best player in the college game.
And to show Mulkey after the game with her teams. Please. Her entire team was new. Welcome to the new age of College Basketball. Transfers, NIL, Coaches who change jobs for huge money like Mulkey. Disgusting.
