BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Sold out signs at the windows . . . long lines outside the arena hours before tipoff . . . yep, Caitlin Clark was in town. And if you’re wondering why Indiana fans so badly needed an exciting night’s diversion such as this one, with the face of college basketball on the premises? Have you noticed what’s been happening with their men’s team? Train wreck.
But this is not about the tidal wave Clark has triggered at box offices hither and yon, nor her newly minted career scoring record. Those are in the books. And unless she forgets how to shoot or pass, she’ll soon add more individual tonnage to her legacy, finishing the season leading the nation in both scoring and assists for the second time. No other woman in NCAA Division I history has done it even once, and only one man — Oklahoma’s Trae Young, circa 2018 — since assists became an official stat in the 1980s.
But as Iowa stumbled over Indiana in Bloomington — thumped, actually, 86-69 — the subject is what lies ahead for Clark and her team. Thursday night was a reminder of how challenging it will be.
This was no Caitlin Clark love-in. Most of the customers…
