College basketball teams are looking for a lot of luck this St. Patrick’s Day. The March Madness Selection Sunday happens on March 17, when teams figure out who they will have to beat to become the National Champions.
The women’s bracket will be filled with excitement this year, as energy surrounds Iowa’s Caitlin Cark.
She recently broke the NCAA record for the most three-pointers made in a single season, beating Steph Curry’s previous 162 buckets. She also became the NCAA women’s all-time leading scorer last month with over 3,527 points.
While Clark had an off-game in the Big 10 conference championship (still scoring over 30 points and recording 12 assists), the Hawkeyes managed to win in an overtime game against Nebraska.
LSU is the defending national champion; they defeated Iowa last year, 102-85.
Despite winning last season, LSU will likely be replaced by South Carolina as the top seed. Similar to last year, the Gamecocks are the only undefeated team after beating LSU 79-72 to win the SEC conference.
With two minutes left in the game, a fight broke out, a fan jumped over the scorer’s table onto the court and six players were ejected. South Carolina’s star player, Kamilla Cardoso, will not be able to participate in the first round of March Madness, but the Gamecocks should still have no problem defeating a 16-seed.
“We’re not scared of South Carolina,” said LSU star player Angel Reese. “Anybody who sees us should be scared.”
The Gamecocks have been the statistical favorites for the past couple of years, but Iowa is growing to be the crowd’s favorite.
Iowa’s game against Maryland drew almost 1.6 million views, the most-watched women’s college basketball game on FOX.
“I came to Iowa with huge aspirations and now I’m getting to play in front of 15,000-plus people every single night,” said Clark. “Those are moments you really can only dream of and now I’m living it every single day of my life.”
Other teams to watch include Stanford, Ohio State and Virginia Tech. While none of their records are as perfect as South Carolina’s, each team has unique characteristics that could help them get a high seed.
The Women’s March Madness selection show will occur on March 17, at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Annabelle Aquino, Copy Editor