Its the final games of the regular season with the most important month in college basketball looming, and tonight brings another dynamic doubleheader of women’s CBB action on Peacock. Coverage begins at 6:30pm ET with B1G College Countdown, before Michigan and No. 2 Ohio State get the action started on the court at 7pm ET. Then at 9pm ET it’s Caitlin Clark and No. 6 Iowa visiting Minnesota for Iowa’s penultimate game of the regular season. You can watch all of this evening’s action on Peacock.
Clark and the Hawkeyes suffered a disappointing 86-69 loss to No. 14 Indiana last Thursday, but rebounded with a 101-85 win over Illinois their last time out. In that win, Clark posted her fifth triple-double of the season and is now 51 points away from passing Pete Maravich for the all-time NCAA scoring record, men or women. Her career-high is 49 points, so it’s a long shot but far from impossible that she could surpass Maravich on Wednesday night.
In comparison of two transcendent stars, lessons abound on the evolution of the game and its fans.
Meanwhile it’s been a tough run for the Golden Gophers, who started of 14-4 but have lost eight of their last nine. Minnesota has been particulary hard hit by the absence of sophomore guard and leading scorer Maura Braun, who’s been out with a foot injury since January.
In addition to record-watch, Iowa has their eyes on their positioning for the Big Ten Tournament. No. 2 Ohio State has already clinched the top seed in the conference, and both Iowa and Indiana are guaranteed top-three seeds and a double bye into the quarterfinals.
“We felt like we were really sped up on offense at Indiana,” Clark said after the team’s bounceback win against Illinois Sunday. “We also just didn’t make shots. We took a lot of good shots, but there were also a lot of things we could have done a lot better on the offensive end. Coming back here, you want to have a really good performance and feel really great about yourself going into the last week of regular season play. I thought that’s exactly what we did.”
Iowa’s star is chasing one of the most legendary college basketball players – and records – of all time.
How to watch Caitlin Clark, Iowa vs Minnesota College Basketball
How many points does Caitlin Clark need to break NCAA scoring record?
Entering Wednesday night’s game, Clark has 3,617 career points, making her the all-time NCAA women’s scoring leader. She is 50 points away from equaling Pete Maravich’s NCAA record across men’s and women’s basketball, and 51 points from breaking that record. Maravich scored 3,667 points in his time at LSU in the late 60s and early 1970s.
Behind the Scenes: The ‘Caitlin Clark effect’
Hit the floor for a unique glimpse of the Caitlin Clark experience and her big performance in Iowa’s victory over Purdue at Mackey Arena.
When do Caitlin Clark and Iowa play next?
After Wednesday’s game against Minnesota, Iowa has just one game remaining in the regular season: a marquee matchup against the number two-rated team in the nation, the Ohio State Buckeyes. After that, they’ll be headed to the Big Ten tournament, which kicks off Monday, March 6th.