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LSU vs Iowa in Elite 8: Prediction for March Madness' 2024 NCAA Tournament

ALBANY, N.Y. — We got it.

It'll be No. 3 LSU women's basketball taking on No. 1 Iowa (32-4) in the Elite 8 inside MVP Arena on Monday night (6 p.m., ESPN) in Albany, New York, for a spot in the Final Four.

The teams famously met in last season's NCAA Championship game, when Kim Mulkey guided the Tigers to their first title with the 102-85 victory in Dallas.

Monday night's game isn't taking place on the grandest stage of the sport like last season, but it's likely that the Elite 8 matchup will come as close as possible to the 10 millions viewers the championship game had.

Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark take center stage for LSU women's basketball, Iowa in Elite 8 showdown

Since the bracket was released three weeks ago, it's been the matchup everyone has wanted to run back. LSU (31-5) and the Hawkeyes took care of business through the Sweet 16 round Saturday, when the Tigers knocked off No. 2 UCLA 78-69 and Iowa beat No. 5 Colorado 89-68 to set the tables for the national championship game rematch.

Reese's fame soared after she infamously pointed to her ring finger in the waning seconds in front of Clark.

They're the two most recognizable and biggest stars of women's basketball right now and another meeting between their teams will be must-see TV.

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Clark enters the Elite 8 coming off leading her team with 29 points and 15 assists. And Reese, despite battling foul trouble for the most of the second half against UCLA, finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, her 15th straight double-double.

LSU must guard perimeter as Caitlin Clark's supporting cast can also hit 3s

Gabbie Marshall hit four 3-pointers in the win over Colorado. Senior Kate Martin made a couple herself.

What has made Iowa so lethal from deep this season has been Clark's fellow shooters' ability to be efficient from the 3-point line. Their shooting keeps defenses honest and Mulkey's team will have to be as well.

LSU opened the game against UCLA will stingy perimeter defense but as the game rolled on, it was slow to fight off screens leading to open looks that the Bruins knocked down. UCLA mounted its comeback on the deep shot.

Hailey Van Lith, Flau'jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams will have to play solidly for all four quarters.

Kim Mulkey looking for sixth Final Four appearance

Since Mulkey has taken over in Baton Rouge, she's led the Tigers to 10 NCAA Tournament wins. Her first year, she won one tournament game before LSU went 6-0 en route to winning the national title.

A win over the Hawkeyes would mark the sixth career Final Four appearance for Mulkey. In five appearances, she's gone 4-1, with her lone loss in 2010. She's won three national championships since that loss.

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LSU 92, Iowa 85: The matchup will be another shootout between the two teams but LSU leans on Reese and Aneesah Morrow inside as Iowa has no answer and the Tigers advance to the Final Four.

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU vs Iowa in March Madness: 2024 NCAA Tournament Elite 8 prediction