2024 Women’s Basketball ELITE 8 Preview: Caitlin Clark, Iowa FACE LSU I March Madness I CBS Sports

2024 Women’s Basketball ELITE 8 Preview: Caitlin Clark, Iowa FACE LSU I March Madness I CBS Sports

Welcome back to CBS Sports HQ the Elite 8 on the women’s side continuing tonight and oh what a match up remember this Tommy re last year giving Caitlyn Clark the championship ring s took a lot of heat for that but Clark never had a problem with it both women say they have

The utmost competitive respect for each other as they get set to face off tonight LSU Iowa National Championship rematch from last year is the opening game on the schedule today today 7:15 p.m. eastern time the winner off to the final four LSU head coach Kim Maly expressing her disappointment that the

Two are meeting now versus perhaps the final four or even a rematch in the title game the winner plays the winner of USC Yukon which goes in Portland at 95 p.m. eastern time let’s talk about these games with college basketball analyst tariqa Foster brasby uh Tara tickets for this game I

Was looking on StubHub a little earlier up to $700 each I didn’t see a ticket below 140 bucks could be the most watched game in history let’s start with Clark and Iowa here for this match up she’s acknowledged look that the three-point shooting is not what it has

Been and she said she needs to get a little bit more into the paint how is her game now different from when these two met a year ago yeah well I think she’s evolved her game but I think every shooter has a moment where they don’t feel like

They’re up to their best well Caitlyn to that I would say today is the day to find assist because this is the Moment of Truth um for Iowa I think in many ways we knew that this moment was going to be inevitable but now that you’re

Back here you can’t stray away from what helped to get you here and that is shooting the ball effectively and efficiently I think at the end of the day we know that Caitlyn Clark is going to essentially do what she does Best But what we need to see from Iowa tonight is

The consistency from the other sharp shooting guards Gabby Marshall she’s looked to have found her confidence against um Colorado Kate Martin She’s going to have to execute from the perimeter as well um but they’re just going to have to bring that defensive energy that we saw against West Virginia

Too um that’s going to be crucial because this LSU team is a balanced team they know how to defend they also know how to shoot the ball incredibly well so you can’t let them beat you defensively either I think all in all this is one of the top offensive teams in the country

And I was going to have to play like it tonight well the good thing for Caitlin Clark I mean her twoo percentage is up and we saw on the weekend that she can be an absolute standup facilitator 15 assists uh in that Saturday Victory all right LSU don’t have their three top

Scores from that Natty win last year and head coach Kim mky has said yeah we’re not the same team we were last year now here they are a slight underdogs I’m not going to say villains but it’s something that they have mentioned they really are relishing this role aren’t they tarica

They are but here’s the thing seating doesn’t even matter at this point because at the end of the day you are still the defending Champions whether your roster reflects that or not so they’re going to have to continue to play to their strengths think about this

One of the things that help them to dominate is their post playay Angel Reese is 6’3 Iowa’s Hannah stalky who will most likely have that assignment is 6’2 now you think one inch not a big deal but Angel owns the paint she’s physical and that’s why she owns the

Paint she’s one of the best rebounders in the country that is why she owns the paint and so s is going to have to play the best game of her life to keep Andel Reese at check but reys has to also remember that she needs to play discipline she gets in file trouble

Sometimes and she can’t afford to do that today so I was going to have to answer for that but they’re also going to have to find an answer for fla J Johnson she’s been playing so incredibly well throughout this tournament she’s shooting 60% from the field she looks

Explosive in crunch time moments she’s really playing her best basketball right now and so you’re going to need some physicality you’re going to need some defensive energy from Iowa’s Core Group because despite this not being the same team that LSU was last year they are looking just as good and they are

Rolling and they want to move on to the final four yeah you want to be playing your basketball best basketball at the right time okay let’s get a prediction from you LSU mentioned slight underdogs what kind of game are you expecting and who wins it well remember this in a

National championship last year Caitlyn Clark dropped 30 plus points and they still fell short 102 to 85 so it can’t just be Caitlyn tonight somebody else is going to have to step up for Iowa but I think LSU I think they’re paint game is just so strong that even if Iowa plays

Their best it may not be enough to contain them inside so I’m going to say LSU moves on to the final four all right that game coming up 7:15 p.m. eastern time tonight should be a good one the final Elite a game also has a great head-to-head match up Paige Beckers and

JuJu Watkins square off as Yukon face USC The Freshman Watkins is looking to lead the Trojans to their first final four since 1986 if you talk about an erir parent to Caitlyn Clark she might be it how has she helped level up this program oh my God Juju Watkins I don’t

Even know where to begin as it relates to describing her at least I don’t have enough time because what she’s done and continues to do is so amazing um to be an 18-year-old freshman when I look at this matchup between Yukon and USC there are so many similarities from both of

These teams first it kind of feels like a comeback story for both of these programs Yukon had 14 straight final four appearances before they were knocked out last year by Ohio State and as you mentioned USC is trying to get back to this spot since since 1986 and

Cheryl Miller was the one that was running this squad okay and all season long it kind of felt like both these teams have had a chip on their shoulder I think that’s the energy that you’re going to see tonight Juju Watkins who will most likely be the Freshman of the

Year she’s second in the nation in scoring she’s an elite Defender as well has 77 steals this year it is no doubt that we’re going to see a battle but between her and Paige Beckers who is also one of the most prolific scorers in college basketball right now yeah

Watkins is a finalist for the Nay Smith award so is Paige Beckers for Yukon I mean her resume is is well established and given the injuries that yukon’s been dealing with Beckers has really put this team on her back hasn’t she tarica yeah she absolutely has I think the one thing

That they want everyone to remember is that Yukon is still Yukon the Huskies are still the Huskies and really paig Beck has offensively LED this team she’s averaging 22 points per game again as you mentioned in the National player of the gear conversation but one thing when I talk about similarities between these

Two teams is that neither one of these players have to worry about doing it alone Paige Beckers yes she’s leading Yukon but KK Arnold Nico mule they’re the anchors of this Yukon defense I look at Aaliyah Edwards she’s the one that’s crashing the boards Ashley shade he’s been heavily relied on they’re playing

On a seven man rotation but they’re playing together and shows and I feel we can say that same thing about USC because as great as Juju Watkins is it’s not just her all five starters are shooting 58% or better Ray Marshall averaging a double double McKenzie Forbes compliments Juju Watkins in a way

That makes these two teams make sense so these supporting casts have really allowed Their Stars to shine and that’s what makes this matchup so tough all right let’s get a prediction from a Yukon favored by three and a half here how do you see this one playing out oh

Well I think they cover the spread however I am going to say that USC to me is who I believe will be moving forward although Connecticut has the experience USC has the size and they have the death and death is so important this far into the tournament so I’m going to give the

Edge to the Trojans all right LSU USC that’s what we got from d foster brasby thanks for hopping on with us here to join us and set up these final two women’s Elite eight games tonight should be absolutely fantastic and speaking of fantastic hey don’t forget about the CBS

Sports app you can follow the madness all tournament long and of course there’s tons of other stuff available for you on the app scan that QR code to download now or head over to the App Store

Terrika Foster-Brasby joins CBS Sports HQ to preview the Women’s Elite 8 matchup between Iowa-LSU.

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