In the days leading up to Saturday’s match-up between No. 1 UConn and No. 5 Iowa, perhaps the most hyped contest in the history of the women’s Sweet 16, people from both programs said all the right things. It’s not about just two players. It’s about the whole team. There will be people on the floor besides freshmen phenoms Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark.
This, of course, is just what everyone is supposed to say in this situation. But in this case, these statements came true, and they were punctuated by the game that followed: No.