Possible Aliyah Boston vs Caitlin Clark NCAA matchup has ESPN’s Rebecca Lobo excited
The possibility of an Aliyah Boston vs. Caitlin Clark matchup in the NCAA women’s tournament has one ESPN analyst excited.
ESPN women’s basketball analyst Rebecca Lobo discussed the possible showdown between national player of the year front-runners during Sunday night’s 2022 selection show. Boston’s South Carolina team and Clark’s Iowa squad could meet in the Greensboro Regional final of the NCAA tournament.
The Gamecocks are the No. 1 overall seed, while the Big Ten champ Hawkeyes are the No. 2 seed in the region. Both teams would have to win three games to face off in the Elite Eight.
“You have the two favorites for national player of the year in Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark,” Lobo said. “Very different players — one is a post and one is a guard. But that potential matchup is very exciting for women’s college basketball.”
The Boston versus Clark player-of-the-year debate has been a hot topic among analysts and both teams’ fan bases all year. Both are finalists for the Naismith and Wooden awards that are given to the top players in women’s college basketball.
Boston is averaging 16.8 points, 12.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. The Southeastern Conference Player of the Year broke Sylvia Fowles’ conference record for double-doubles and has 24 straight going into the NCAA Tournament.
While Boston gets it done in the post, Clark is known for her outside shooting. She led the country in scoring and assists.
The Iowa guard has scored 30 points or more 11 times and 40 points four times this season. She is the only Division I men’s or women’s player to top the 650-point, 200-assist, 175-rebound mark in her first 25 games this season.
South Carolina enters the NCAA tournament coming off their second loss of the season — 64-62 to Kentucky in the SEC tournament finals. That loss could help refocus the Gamecocks going into the NCAAs, Lobo said.
“No better way to focus your team than coming off a loss,” Lobo said. “You know they are going to be a good offensive rebounding team. What they struggled with in the SEC championship game was field goal percentage, in particular from their guards.
“But this is a team that when everyone is playing well, they are going to be really hard to beat.”
This story was originally published March 13, 2022 at 9:15 PM.
