ALBANY — In a year filled with record TV ratings, Iowa’s first two NCAA Tournament games were the most-watched all time in their respective rounds.
Millions are tuning in for the first time.
They could be 5 or 95.
They have heard so much about Caitlin Clark, so much more than any female basketball player before.
From TV.
From headlines.
From friends.
She is like no one the sport has ever seen.
She is the greatest scorer in Division I history, the iconic shooter whose logo 3s are imitated across the country.
And perhaps, soon, the bandwagon will see what the hype is all about.
Unlike last March— when Clark set the NCAA Tournament scoring mark to send Iowa to its first national championship game — the Hawkeyes superstar hasn’t found her touch since breaking Pete Maravich’s all-time scoring record in the regular-season finale.
In the past five games, Clark is shooting 39.8 percent from the field and 29.2 percent on 3-pointers — compared with 46.3 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from 3 in four seasons at Iowa — while committing 6.2 turnovers per game.
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There is the pressure to perform in the final games of her collegiate career, to live up to her legacy, to carry a state she put on the map and will disappear back into the cornfields in a few weeks.
There is more asked of Clark than ever before — balancing media, endorsements, autographs, photographs and a less experienced supporting cast that elevates her usage rate above 40 percent.
It has become harder to get the ball where she wants, tougher to get the looks that she desires.
Help is hard to come by — none of Clark’s teammates hit a 3-pointer in the second round — making double teams, ball denials and face-guarding easier to implement.
And the hits keep coming.
Holy Cross, a 16-seed, utilized its physicality to bother Clark in the mismatch.
West Virginia took it to another level, repeatedly knocking her to the floor and nearly out of the tournament.
“That’s the mentality we’re going in with, and hopefully we’ll be able to control the physical aspect,” said Colorado’s Frida Formann, entering Saturday’s Sweet 16 game against Iowa. “With a good player like Caitlin Clark, you have to be some sort of physical with her … I think we have everything we need to go toe-to-toe with them.”
Clark’s final season has been about what comes nexts — the records, the decision to leave school, the last dance.
She makes it fun to look ahead, to wonder if Clark can take down undefeated South Carolina again, to imagine another duel with Angel Reese in the Elite Eight on Monday.
But Clark’s cut to black could come in jarring fashion, Sopranos-style, in the Sweet 16 against No. 5 Colorado (24-9), which led at halftime of last year’s NCAA Tournament game against undersized Iowa, and already beat defending champ LSU, 2-seed UCLA and 1-seed USC this season.
It has been weeks since No. 1 Iowa (31-4) looked the part of a championship contender.
The Hawkeyes needed a last-minute comeback, then overtime, to overcome fifth-seeded Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament title game.
Holy Cross — a 39-point underdog — trailed by two at the end of one quarter in Iowa City.
West Virginia held the ball in a tie game in the final minutes of Round 2, when Iowa — held to a season-low 64 points and seven assists — made just one fourth-quarter field goal.
“I think the biggest thing for us is I don’t feel like any of those three were complete games, but I feel like to me that’s a positive,” Clark said. “We found ways to win all three of those … I see that as ‘Iowa doesn’t have to rely on scoring 90 points a game to win every single game.’ We can find other ways to win. … Be gritty, be resilient and find ways to win, and that’s all that really matters when you’re playing an NCAA Tournament.”
