Iowa-South Carolina, UConn-Purdue will play for national titles. Here are our picks
CHICAGO, Ill. - The national championship games are set.
Purdue and UConn will face off Monday night for the men's title; Iowa and South Carolina square off Sunday for the women's title.
Here's a look at both games, and our picks to win.
South Carolina looks for revenge on Iowa
CLEVELAND (AP) — Dawn Staley knows Sunday's national championship game is a big moment for women's basketball.
South Carolina is looking to finish a perfect season with the program's third NCAA title. Standing in the way of Staley and the Gamecocks is a generational player in Caitlin Clark and an Iowa team looking for the school's first women's national championship.
"It’s a monumental game for our game. We’re very fortunate to be a part of it," said Staley, the AP coach of the year. "We get to witness firsthand the legacy of Caitlin Clark. You watch her. You prep for her. You can’t help but to really love how she dissects the game. You love how she executes."
Clark has done nearly everything she can at Iowa — except win a national championship. She's the NCAA Division I career scoring leader, holds numerous other records and has powered Iowa into the title game in two straight years.
All that's left is one more victory over the team that Iowa eliminated in the national semifinals last season.
DALLAS, TEXAS - MARCH 31: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes handles the ball against Brea Beal #12 of the South Carolina Gamecocks during the second half during the 2023 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game at American Ai
"I think to bring back a national title to the University of Iowa would be super special," Clark said. "Obviously it’s special in its own regard, making back-to-back national title games. I know everybody would come up to me before the season started and was, like, only one thing left to do. I don’t think people realize how hard it is to get to this point. So I’m just proud of our group."
Clark said her legacy won't be defined by what happens Sunday afternoon. To her, it's more about the lives she has affected.
"I’ve played basketball at this university for four years, and for it to come down to two games and that be whether or not I’m proud of myself and proud of the way I’ve carried myself and proud of the way I’ve impacted people in their lives, I don’t think that’s a fair assessment," she said.
Clark is coming off one of her toughest games of the season. She had to work for all 21 of her points in a 71-69 victory over UConn on Friday night.
"Iowa’s a challenge. They’re playing their best basketball," Staley said. "They’re playing inspired. They’re playing like they want to win a national championship. So are we. I think it’s a crash course of who’s going to have the better run, who’s going to be able to execute when it’s time to execute."
South Carolina is looking to become the 10th team to complete a perfect season in NCAA Division I women's basketball history.
It would be the first since UConn in 2016 and just might be the most surprising of the group. Staley lost all five starters from last season’s team. South Carolina had a couple scares throughout the season, but always found a way to win.
The Gamecocks have a dominant front line led by Kamilla Cardoso. Unlike last year's game when the Hawkeyes played a zone and dared the Gamecocks to shoot from outside, South Carolina has been fantastic from behind the 3-point line. Raven Johnson and Te-Hina PaoPao have provided a solid outside shooting presence for the Gamecocks.
"I think this matchup, you can’t ask for anything better. I think it speaks to the way women’s basketball has been tremendous on all levels all throughout the year," Clark said. "We know we have our hands full. Everybody around the country knows South Carolina has been the team all year. They’ve observed that. They’ve earned it. They’ve just been incredible."
- Doug Feinberg, Associated Press
Our pick: South Carolina 82, Iowa 80
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - APRIL 06: Head coach Dan Hurley and Donovan Clingan #32 of the Connecticut Huskies look on in the first half against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game at State Farm Stadium
UConn looks for a repeat, Purdue looks to complete a turnaround
Connecticut is all but inevitable.
Alabama's hot shooting offense could not weather the Huskies storm. Now, UConn will play for its second national title in a row.
Purdue, on the other hand, is looking for the ultimate redemption.
The Boilermakers, which lost as a No. 1 seed to No. 16-seeded Farleigh Dickinson in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, have a chance to do what Virginia did in 2019. They got there by just focusing on improving, instead of redemption.
"We got the best player in the country. It's a hell of a place to start, right?" Purdue head coach Matt Painter said. "A lot of times people are congratulating. It's like, He's pretty damn good, but you've got to have the right pieces with him from a skill standpoint and then still be able to guard elite players. I think we're just better in those areas."
After three consecutive seasons of losing to double-digit seeds, Purdue has shaken that perception and has broken through.
"Everybody wants to talk about winning it," Painter said. "I said, Man, you got to get yourself in position before you can win one. It's like winning a national championship. You can talk all you want, but if you're not going to play on Monday, you don't have a chance."
For its efforts, Purdue gets to play UConn, the juggernaut that took arguably its best shot of the tournament against Alabama.
The Crimson Tide's offense blitzed UConn with hot shooting. UConn did not blink.
Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle combined for 29 points against Alabama. It clinched a spot in the national title game, which will be the 10th national title game since 1979 to feature two No. 1 seeds.
Purdue's experience is what brought the Boilermakers to the peak. That same experience will have its hands full against perhaps one of the best two-year runs in college basketball history.