Caitlin Clark registered a 30-point, 10-rebound, 17-assist triple-double, and her No. 7 Iowa Hawkeyes made a statement by winning the Big Ten championship game 105-72 over the No. 14 Ohio State Buckeyes Sunday afternoon at Target Center in Minneapolis.
We’ve seen the Hawkeyes (26-6, 15-3 Big Ten) play 32 games this season. One was a Nov. 17 loss to Kansas State, a team that is part of the “next four out” in ESPN’s bracketology. That one had people questioning if this year’s Hawkeyes would carry over the disappointment of last year’s second-round exit. Another was a 28-point loss to No. 5 Maryland and another that is relevant because it was so recent was an 11-point win (not too impressive) over Purdue (last four in) in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
Based on those three games, you could make a case that Iowa is far from invincible. But Sunday was one of the four games this season where they looked like a national championship contender. The other three were their two wins against Maryland (most recently in the Big Ten semis) and their thrilling last-second win over No. 2 Indiana in their regular-season finale.
Sunday has a case to be considered the best Iowa performance of them all. I still believe Ohio State (25-7, 12-6 Big Ten) is closer to the team…
