A lot is riding on a particular NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game. One where former rivals have gone out to either pack their bags with a heavy heart or reach the peak of basketball immortality. An insanely deep LSU Tigers squad will once again face Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes. However, a player who has been a huge help to Coach Lisa Bluder's squad has their status up in the air. Will Molly Davis play to keep her team's March Madness hopes alive?

Coach Lisa Bluder is not expecting Molly Davis to be ready for Iowa's Elite Eight clash with LSU, per Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic. The last time she saw action was when the Hawkeyes snapped Ohio State's winning streak to cap off an insane Big Ten regular season. Since then, a right knee injury has been bothering her and disallowing her to see action on the court.

Molly Davis might not have seen any action in the NCAA Tournament so far but a return is not being ruled out. The Iowa basketball head honcho revealed her optimism in her latest statement, via Grant Grubbs of On 3 Sports.

“While we feel for Molly that she got injured during Senior Day, we are so thankful that the injury she sustained is not season-ending. Our program has appreciated everyone’s support and prayers. We look forward to her return at some point during the postseason,” Lisa Bluder said before the NCAA Tournament started.

As of now, it sounds like Iowa is still banking on her to recover and sit out against LSU.

“I’m really disappointed. I really thought she’d be back for the tournament, so that’s too bad. But, I don’t expect her tomorrow,” she concluded.

There are still a lot of players that the Hawkeyes can field in this Elite Eight game but Davis presents a unique threat.

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Will Iowa miss their sharpshooter?

Iowa guard Molly Davis (1) walks onto the stage for the trophy presentation after the Big Ten Tournament championship game at the Target Center on Sunday, March 10, 2024, in Minneapolis, Minn.
© Lily Smith/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

Caitlin Clark is still the star of the show whenever Iowa plays. However, the opponents' defense gets stretched out quite a lot when Molly Davis is on the floor. Coach Lisa Bluder can assign her to the weak side corner to avoid double teams on her star player who is carrying the ball. More than this, her elite ability to get into position for open shots and knock them down is insane. Davis may only average 6.1 points but she sinks 40.7% of her shots from three-point range. Furthermore, she has an insane gravity that spans the whole halfcourt. Davis notched an impressive 53.9% field goal percentage.

All of this allows Iowa to have a better running offense down the stretch. So, Davis is a big loss for the Hawkeyes especially if they want to draw out Angel Reese or Flau'Jae Johnson to the perimeter.

So, who steps up to be Iowa's second scoring option now? Well, they have a wealth of talent they continue to tap. Sydney Affolter just scored 15 points against Colorado and is not showing signs of stopping.  Gabbie Marshall also fills the schematic void left by Davis on offense. Her 14 points are a big testament to that.