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Iowa's Caitlin Clark powers Hawkeyes deep into March Madness, everything you need to know

Jon Hoefling, USA TODAY
·4 min read
2
Caitlin Clark (22) shoots against West Virginia in a NCAA Tournament round of 32 game Monday, March 25, 2024 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Caitlin Clark (22) shoots against West Virginia in a NCAA Tournament round of 32 game Monday, March 25, 2024 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

March Madness is known for the numerous buzzer-beaters, upsets, and wild moments. However, amid all the big games and highlights this year, one athlete stands above all -- Iowa women's basketball star Caitlin Clark.

Clark, a senior at Iowa, is wrapping up her final season in college before entering the WNBA draft, where she will almost certainly be drafted first overall.

The Hawkeyes advanced to the Sweet 16 Monday with a win over West Virginia. Clark led Iowa with 32 points. The star guard has not had a single game all season scoring fewer than 20 points. That said, there is still a chip on Clark's shoulder, last year's defeat in the NCAA championship a season ago. A win over Colorado in the Sweet 16 would set Iowa up for a potential rematch against the LSU Tigers, who will face the UCLA Bruins on Saturday, in the Sweet 16.

That championship game a year ago was the highest-rated women's college basketball game of all-time drawing 9.9 million viewers, nearly double the next closest game, the 2002 championship game (5.2 million viewers). With more time to build the rivalry between Clark and LSU star Angel Reese, a rematch in 2024 would almost certainly break the record again, and it wouldn't even be a Final Four game.

Clark is dominating television screens across America. Her incredible talent even has some people comparing her superstardom to that of Michael Jordan. Here's everything to know about her accolades, draw, and success in March Madness.

Women's March Madness: Sweet 16 schedule, picks feature usual suspects

Caitlin Clark's March Madness stats

2024: 2 G, 29.5 PPG, 6.5 APG, 8.0 RPG, 2.5 STL, 39.0 FG%, 34.8 3P%

2023: 6 G, 31.8 PPG, 10.0 APG, 5.2 RPG, 1.8 STL, 48.8 FG%, 42.7 3P%

2022: 2 G, 21 PPG, 10.5 APG, 7.0 RPG, 2.0 STL, 38.2 FG%, 31.3 3P%

2021: 3 G, 26.3 PPG, 6.3 APG, 5.7 RPG, 1.7 STL, 48.3 FG%, 40.6 3P%

Caitlin Clark NCAA records

  • All-time women's NCAA Division I scoring leader (3830)

  • Most career points in Division I history for men and women (3830)

  • Career points per game (28.4)

  • Most 30-point games by a Division I player in the last 25 years (57)

  • Most 40-point games by a Division I player in the last 25 years (12)

Clark is also second in several major categories as well including career triple-doubles, career three-point field goals made, and career field goals made.

Should Clark's Hawkeyes reach the NCAA championship game again. There is a good chance Clark breaks both the field goal (needs 10 to pass Joyce Walker) and three-point field goal (needs 10 to pass Taylor Robertson) records by the end of the season. Unfortunately, Clark (17 career triple-doubles) will not be able to pass Sabrina Ionescu (26 triple-doubles) for the all-time triple-double record.

Celebrity and fan shoutouts

Iowa championship odds

Per DraftKings, the Iowa Hawkeyes have the second-best odds to win the NCAA women's championship, behind the South Carolina Gamecocks.

  • South Carolina (-150)

  • Iowa (+750)

  • LSU (+850)

  • UConn (+1200)

  • Texas (+1400)

  • Stanford (+1500)

Women's March Madness: Caitlin Clark returns to action Saturday as Iowa meets Colorado in women's NCAA Tournament

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Iowa's Caitlin Clark is taking over March Madness. Everything to know