On Saturday afternoon, the Caitlin Clark-led Iowa Hawkeyes will be taking on the Holy Cross Crusaders to begin their 2024 March Madness journey. With Iowa being the number-one seed, the odds are heavily in their favor to book a trip to the Round of 32 where they'll be facing the winner of the 8 vs. 9 matchup between West Virginia and Princeton.
Alas, even though nothing is guaranteed yet for WVU, head coach Mark Kellogg already appeared to talk some smack towards Clark and Iowa. The Mountaineers head coach, after finding out that they were on Iowa's side of the bracket, said that their goal was to win one so they could “send Caitlin Clark packing”.
Now, trash talk is always an entertaining part of sports; it's the narratives, after all, that drive viewership and up the stakes of a matchup. Nonetheless, the WVU head coach is walking back his previous statement, saying that he wasn't calling Clark out directly. Kellogg said that it was more of a rally cry for the Mountaineers as they received a lower seed than expected.
“I'm not a [trash-talker] … I wasn't out to get Caitlin Clark. It's not Mark Kellogg versus Caitlin Clark,” the WVU coach clarified, per Michael Voepel of ESPN. “With our seed is honestly where it started. That wasn't really the seed maybe that some people in the room were expecting. […] So it turned into, ‘OK, well, let's get past that. Now let's talk about Princeton.' Then, of course, everybody in the room knows Caitlin Clark.”
Still, intention doesn't always match reception; despite Mark Kellogg's clarification, Clark will have more bulletin board material to motivate herself with as Iowa aims to get off to a strong start to March Madness. Only time will tell if Kellogg's WVU make it past Princeton to book likely trip to the Round of 32 against the Hawkeyes.
Caitlin Clark's last stand
It has been quite the historic season for Caitlin Clark; she has set plenty of records along the way, including surpassing Pete Maravich as the all-time NCAA Division I leading scorer. Clark has become a household name; even fans who don't follow women's sports regularly know her as the next big thing in the sport.
This will be Clark's last chance to win a national championship for Iowa; she is set to make the jump to the WNBA next season, a guarantee to go first overall to the Indiana Fever, so she isn't exactly in need of much more motivation to be at her best during her final March Madness.
The Hawkeyes came close last season to winning it all, only for them to be stopped at their tracks by the LSU Tigers in the national championship game. Anything can happen in March, although a rematch between LSU and Iowa for the national title won't be possible this year since they're on the same side of the bracket.
Can WVU overcome Princeton to set up a must-see March Madness clash vs. Iowa?
Mark Kellogg and WVU might be justified in feeling hard done by the selection committee in being given an eight-seed; the Mountaineers put up a 24-7 record this past season, which might have been enough to net them a higher seed.
Nonetheless, Princeton is no slouch; the Tigers went 25-4 to claim Ivy League supremacy, and they're capable of turning up in big games after pushing UCLA to the brink earlier in the season. Thus, Kellogg may want to focus on the task at hand instead of bringing Caitlin Clark's name up at every opportunity.
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