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Caitlin Clark and the Iowa women in March Madness: What you need to know for opener
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- Caitlin Clark and the Iowa women in March Madness: What you need to know for opener
Editor's note: Follow all the women's March Madness scores, updates, highlights and upsets with USA TODAY Sports' live coverage .
Caitlin Clark and the No. 2 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes learned their path to a potential return to the Final Four as the women's NCAA tournament bracket was announced on Selection Sunday.
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Clark, who was named a semifinalist for the Naismith Player of the Year Award last week after winning it last season, has had a week to recharge after Iowa won the Big Ten Tournament, beating Nebraska 94-89 in overtime on March 10. She leads the nation in assists (8.6 per game) and in scoring (32 points per game) during a season in which she has rewritten the record books. Clark has 3,771 career points and passed Pete Maravich on March 3 to become the all-timing leading scorer in NCAA Division I.
When does Caitlin Clark, Iowa play in NCAA tournament?
Iowa was selected as a No. 1 seed in Albany Regional 2 after winning its third consecutive Big Ten Tournament championship and recording a 29-4 record. The Hawkeyes will play the winner of Holy Cross and the University of Tennessee-Martin in the first round on Saturday, March 23 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Tipoff is at 3 p.m. ET on ABC.
If the Hawkeyes advance, they play the winner of West Virginia and Princeton in the second round on Monday, March 25. The time of the game is TBD.
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To get back to the Final Four, the Iowa women have a treacherous road ahead , writes columnist Nancy Armour. There's a potential Sweet 16 matchup against Kansas State and possibly LSU in the regional final.
UT Martin vs. Holy Cross play-in game
UT Martin (16-16) and Holy Cross (20-12) face off in a play-in game on Thursday, March 21 at 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2) in Iowa City. The winner plays Iowa in the first round Saturday. The UT Martin Skyhawks earned the Ohio Valley Conference's automatic bid, winning six of their last eight games. Holy Cross won its 13th Patriot League Championship to make it to the First Four. The Crusaders are led by Bronagh Power-Cassidy (16.8 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game).
Albany Regional 2 schedule
Here's a look at the second regional in Albany:
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No. 1 Iowa (29-4) vs. No. 16 Holy Cross/UT Martin, Saturday, 3 p.m. ET (ABC)
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No. 8 West Virginia (24-7) vs. No. 9 Princeton (25-4), Saturday, 5:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
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No. 4 Kansas State (25-7) vs. No. 13 Portland (21-12), Friday, 4:30 p.m., (ESPNews)
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No. 6 Louisville (24-9) vs. No. 11 Middle Tennessee (29-4), Friday, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
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No. 2 UCLA (25-6) vs. No. 15 California Baptist (28-3), Saturday, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
SELECTION SUNDAY: Women's brackets, predictions, schedule, live updates
How to watch women's March Madness 2024
ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews and ABC carry games in the first and second rounds, the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. ESPN will air Final Four games. ABC will air the national championship game
Tickets for Iowa women in NCAA Tournament
The University of Iowa said Sunday night that tickets for the play-in game between Holy Cross and UT Martin will be made available to the public but tickets to Iowa's games are sold out.
When is March Madness women's basketball tournament?
All times Eastern
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Selection Sunday: March 17 (8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN)
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First Four: March 20-21
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First round: March 22-23
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Second round: March 24-25
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Sweet 16: March 29-30
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Elite Eight: March 31-April 1
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Final Four: April 5 (7:30 p.m. ET and 9 p.m. ET on ESPN)
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NCAA championship game: April 7 (3 p.m. ET on ABC)
Caitlin Clark in the NCAA tournament
Last season Clark led the Hawkeyes to their second Final Four appearance in school history, upsetting No. 1 South Carolina in the semifinals and losing to LSU in the championship game. Against South Carolina, Clark scored a Final Four record 41 points as Iowa snapped the 2022 national champions' then-42-game winning streak. In the final against LSU, Clark had 14 points in the first quarter before cooling off. She finished with 30 points on 9-of-22 shooting as LSU dominated on the boards and won the NCAA title with stellar three-point shooting.
In 2022 as a sophomore, Clark was held to 15 points on 4-of-19 shooting in a NCAA Tournament second-round loss at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa, a No. 2 seed, lost to Creighton 64-62 and finished the season 24-9.
As a freshman in 2021, Clark was Iowa's leading scorer with 21 points in a 92-72 loss to the UConn Huskies in the Sweet Sixteen. Iowa finished the season 20-10, and Clark averaged 26.6 points and 7.1 assist per game.
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Caitlin Clark scoring record
With a free throw late in the first half vs. Ohio State on March 3, Clark passed Pete Maravich of LSU with her 3,668th point to become the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I, regardless of gender.
She now has 3,771 points after scoring 34 against Nebraska on March 10.
Contributing: Nancy Armour, Lindsay Schnell
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When does Caitlin Clark play again: Iowa opens March Madness Saturday
