Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies are one game away from doing something that Caitlin Clark never did during her time with the Iowa Hawkeyes: win a national championship.
While Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks stand in the way of UConn hoisting the trophy, the Huskies seem like the team to beat after they dismantled UCLA in the Final Four. Despite Lauren Betts's herculean effort, the Bruins were never even competitive in the game.
UConn coasted to victory despite a pedestrian performance from Bueckers, who had scored 30 or more points in the previous three games. That's because the Huskies have something that the Hawkeyes never did.
UConn gave Paige Bueckers something that Iowa never could provide Caitlin Clark
Geno Auriemma built an incredible supporting cast for Paige Bueckers, which Lisa Bluder was never able to do for Caitlin Clark.
On Friday, Bueckers' 16 points were the third most on her team behind Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd, yet the Huskies walked through the Final Four. This takes the pressure off of Bueckers' next game, as the players around her have proven that they are capable options who are deserving of attention.
While Clark had players like Kate Martin and Hannah Stuelke to help her out, these two do not hold a candle to what Fudd and Strong are capable of. When Iowa was facing loaded LSU or South Carolina teams in the National Championship Game, it became obvious that this was the case.
The Hawkeyes would have been blown out if Clark had an off game and finished as the team's third-leading scorer, so she never had the luxury that Bueckers has at UConn.
Bueckers is an incredible player in her own right, and the attention that she draws from opposing defenses is, in part, what allows players like Fudd and Strong to be so successful. She has the ability to put her cape on and lead the team to victory like almost nobody in the sport can do, but she can also afford to have an off night.
This is more of a knock on Coach Bluder and a praise of Coach Auriemma than it is a criticism or comparison between these two incredible players. It may be a moot point anyway if the Huskies fall short in the National Championship, but the point remains that UConn has built a far better supporting cast around Bueckers than Iowa ever did around Clark.