Women's Sweet 16 bold predictions for Saturday games: Iowa hero won't be Caitlin Clark
March is synonymous with madness — so is a major upset coming in the second half of the Sweet 16? And is it only an upset if it sends Caitlin Clark packing?
The answer to the second question is, absolutely not. There’s plenty of pandemonium that could still play out. With that in mind, we offer a handful of bold predictions for the second half of the Sweet 16.
Read on and enjoy. And remember that if you use any of this information to win bets with your friends, you heard (or read) it here first.
1. LSU will beat UCLA handily
(3) LSU vs. (2) UCLA | 1 p.m. | ABC | Albany, New York
Yes, the Bruins are seeded higher. But the defending champion Tigers haven’t played a great postseason game yet, and they’re due. Big time.
Not so long ago, UCLA was a trendy Final Four pick. The Bruins are loaded with talent, and have one of the top sophomores in the country in center Lauren Betts, whose polished footwork is even more impressive when you consider her 6-foot-7 frame. But the Bruins have a bad habit of not getting her the ball as much as they should, Betts has been dealing with nagging injuries (she didn’t play in UCLA’s first-round win over Cal Baptist) and LSU’s Angel Reese plays a tough, physical brand of ball that Betts hasn’t seen much of. Reese also has a habit of intimidating opponents.
Meanwhile, LSU’s perimeter, led by Flau’jae Johnson, will be able to match up athletically with UCLA’s guard play. If Tigers freshman Mikaylah Williams plays like a veteran, which she’s done most of the season, it will pose lots of problems for the Bruins, who have struggled recently late in close games.
2. The MVP of Iowa-Colorado will be Hannah Stuelke
(1) Iowa vs. (5) Colorado | 3:30 p.m. | ABC | Albany, New York
Yes, Clark gets the attention (and the calls). But to beat the Buffs you’ve got to bring physicality, especially in the post. Stuelke, the sophomore who earlier this season scored 47 points vs. Penn State, will do that, and because of it, Iowa will advance.
Clark will still score in double-digits, of course. But Stuelke, who’s improved majorly throughout the season, will need to be the go-to, especially because Iowa will focus on getting Colorado in foul trouble; one way to do that is to put the ball in the paint. The sophomore averages 14.1 points and 6.7 rebounds. We expect her to double those numbers against the Buffs.
MORE: What makes Caitlin Clark so special? Steph Curry, Maya Moore other hoops legends weigh in
3. JuJu Watkins will make defensive play to win game for Southern Cal
(1) Southern California vs. (5) Baylor | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | Portland, Oregon
The best freshman in the country has turned heads this year with her scoring — she’s second in the nation at 26.9 points per game — but Watkins' elite basketball IQ is why she’s also a fantastic defensive player. It’s an under appreciated part of her game, though the numbers prove how good she is: Coming into the tournament, Watkins was the only player in the country averaging multiple steals and 1.5 blocks per game and the only player in the women’s game to rank in the top 75 for both those categories, coming in at 45th in steals (2.38 per game) and 64th in blocks (1.56).
Given that, don’t be surprised when Watkins makes some sort of spectacular defensive play to send the Trojans past Baylor and into the Elite Eight for the first time since 1994.
4. Paige Bueckers will have a triple-double
(3) UConn vs. (7) Duke | 8 p.m. | ESPN | Portland, Oregon
Geno Auriemma knew exactly what he was doing after UConn’s second-round win over Syracuse when he called Paige Bueckers “the best player in America” — challenging people to look at Bueckers’ numbers compared to Caitlin Clark’s, and infusing his junior guard with confidence.
Just two years ago, Bueckers got all the attention in women’s basketball. But as Bueckers rehabbed injuries, Clark and Reese emerged as the faces of college hoops. Now all three are playing in the Sweet 16 — along with All-American freshmen JuJu Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo — and there’s no question Bueckers is eager to remind people that she used to run the show.
One way to send that message is to tally a triple-double, a feat achieved only 18 times in the history of the women’s NCAA Tournament (two players did it twice in the postseason: Stanford’s Nicole Powell and Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu).
The last player to do it? Clark, of course. That happened last year in Iowa’s Elite Eight game vs. Louisville.
Email Lindsay Schnell at lschnell@usatoday.com and follow her on social media @Lindsay_Schnell
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Women's Sweet 16 bold predictions for Saturday games