Pac-12 NCAA Tournament fortunes decline as Colorado loses to Caitlin Clark, Iowa
One College Wire site was going to win, one was going to lose. It turned out that the Pac-12 got the short end of this deal, while Caitlin Clark moved within one win of a Final Four appearance.
We have to admit that it would be an electric, wonderful story for college basketball if Clark — the most electric player in the sport today, women or men — reaches the Final Four, the final weekend of the whole season. However, Clark’s victory with the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday in the Sweet 16 meant that a Pac-12 team, the Colorado Buffaloes, has to go home without a Final Four ticket.
Hawkeyes Wire and Buffaloes Wire both covered Iowa’s 87-77 win over Colorado on Friday evening in Seattle. Iowa advances to play Louisville in the Elite Eight on Sunday in the Pacific Northwest.
Hawkeyes Wire’s Riley Donald wrote:
“Survive and advance! That’s the name of the game and that is exactly what the Iowa Hawkeyes found a way to do tonight in their Sweet 16 battle against the Colorado Buffaloes. The Hawkeyes are headed to the Elite 8 and it wasn’t without a little sweat but that is what makes it fun.
“The Buffaloes hung tough with the Hawkeyes for quite a while, even holding a 40-39 lead at halftime and never quite went away. They made Iowa work for this one and earn every single point.”
The Pac-12 is down to one team in the Women’s NCAA Tournament. UCLA faces No. 1 South Carolina on Saturday. The Bruins are a massive underdog against the unbeaten Gamecocks, the defending national champions.
