Angel Reese vs Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers vs JuJu Watkins in Elite 8 – Fans Gear Up for Historic March Madness Day

As the crazy month of March is coming to an end, we are now down to our final eight teams in the women’s division. After Cameron Brink’s heartbreaking exit from the March Madness, the fans don’t seem to be in for any more surprises. Moreover, four of the top contenders for this year’s NPOY will go against one another in the next stage.

Consequently, no one can keep their calm to witness Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers raising the stakes in their respective Elite Eight clashes. While the Albany 2 regional finals will have the recap of last year’s national championship game, the two final teams remaining in Portland 3 are the Big East and the Pac12 champions.

Caitlin and Iowa get a chance at redemption

Who doesn’t remember what happened the last time LSU and Iowa came face-to-face with each other? In an intense NCAA Finals game, Angel Reese led the Lady Tigers to triumph over Caitlin Clark and Co. and became national champions for the very first time. Since then, a lot has changed. The Hawkeyes capped off an amazing regular season by securing the second spot in their conference campaign. Additionally, the icing on the cake was them lifting the championships by taking down Nebraska in the Finals. Following this, they continued their tremendous run in the March Madness. They had no trouble decimating Holy Cross in their opening round. However, the Mountaineers did trouble them a little in their next fixture. Still, Iowa restored their might against the Lady Buffs handing them a crushing 89-68 defeat in the regional semi-finals.

At the same time, the Bayou Barbie too has contributed handsomely to the Lady Tiger’s overall success. Similar to the Hawkeyes, LSU too finished second in the SEC by the end of their regular season. Unfortunately, despite a valiant effort, they couldn’t get past South Carolina. Eventually, LSU ended up being runners-up in the SEC finals. Nonetheless, they have shown that they are not to be trifled with their phenomenal display post-season. Apparently, they had no issues brushing aside the Rice Owls and Middle Tennessee in their opening rounds. Anyhow, it was their tremendous character against the Bruins that was worth applauding. Despite trailing marginally halfway through the fourth quarter, Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson made the most of the opportunities and led them to an impressive victory.

If anyone isn’t satisfied with this enticing battle, there is another clash of the titans lined up for them.

The Trojans face UConn in their first Elite Eight in 30 years

Both these conference champions are worthy title contenders for this year’s national championships. Eleven-time NCAA title holders Huskies were in a spot of bother by the start of this season following their injury-stricken roster. Nonetheless, in the absence of key players like Azzi Fudd and Aubrey Griffin, their star point guard Paige Bueckers took the responsibility to make sure they stayed in contention. Their regular season ended with them finishing at the top of the table keeping their conference record clean. After this, they conquered the conference championships with ease. Soon after, UConn defeated Jackson State and Syracuse in their opening two rounds in the March Madness. A 28th appearance in the Elite Eight meant they had to go through Duke in the regional semi-finals which they did with a 53-45 win.

In the meantime, USC is staring at a historic comeback in women’s college basketball after 30 years. This is the first time Trojans have passed their initial knockout hurdles and will participate in the regional finals. Regardless of losing the regular season title to Stanford, JuJu Watkins made the way for USC to clinch the Pac-12 championships. The highlight of the tournament is an injured Watkins fighting it out in the semi-finals against UCLA to secure a victory. Heading into the March Madness, they overcome Texas A&M and Kansas without much trouble. Though, their regional semi-finals weren’t that easy with their margin of victory being only 4 points against the Lady Bears.

All these four teams have done a great job collectively in the March Madness so far. Still, the individual brilliance of their respective superstars has given them a slight edge.

How have the four superstars turned up in the March Madness?

Starting with the NCAA’s All-Time Scorer, Caitlin Clark has picked up from where she left in the regular season. In an average of 35.6 minutes spent on the hardwood, she has scored 29.3 points and grabbed 7.3 rebounds in the 3 knockouts. In addition to this, the no.1 distributor in the country has dished out 7.3 assists per contest. Her adversary Reese on the other hand is scoring at a pace of 15.3 points in the March Madness. Anyhow, she holds an upper hand over the 6ft guard defensively. The second-best rebounder in the country is boarding 13.6 in the initial 3 games of the tournament.

Read More- With Caitlin Clark Breaking All NCAA Scoring Records, JuJu Watkins Eyes 1 Freshman Record to Break in Elite 8

The numbers battle is more neck-to-neck in the Portland 3 region. Star freshman JuJu Watkins who also happens to be the second-best scorer in the country after Clark is maintaining her overall season average in the knockouts as well (27 P.P.G). Her opponent in the Elite Eight–Paige Bueckers–however has upgraded her game to the next level. Seemingly, the 2021 NPOY is scoring an average of 28 points at the business end of the competition. On top of this, she has come out a better player than JuJu defensively as well. While Watkins has 7.3 rebounds in her three games, UConn’s No.5 contributes 8.6 boards for her team in the March Madness.

As it turns out, social media is now flooded with ecstatic reactions before these star-studded games take place.

What impact do these fixtures have on Social media?

Fans of college basketball are now explicitly showcasing their excitement for these games. One basketball enthusiast user described what a monumental day it will be on Monday when we’ll get to see all these four players in action.

Meanwhile, one X user who described himself as not a UConn fan later expressed his jubilation to see a ‘Paige Bueckers vs. JuJu matchup.’

One reaction described the upcoming Monday night to be a blockbuster because of the inclusion of these stars.

Another noteworthy reaction was the apt description of these matchups. While he termed Iowa vs LSU a ‘National Championship redemption story’ for the Hawkeyes, the other game was described as the battle between Watkins and Bueckers.

Another X user was eager for these games to commence quickly and stated that April 1st is going to be epic.

A witty GIF then illustrates the enormity of the event when these four teams are going after one another.

The hype is unprecedented this coming Monday. We all are in for an exceptional day of women’s college basketball because of the inclusion of these four gifted athletes. Which two players will get to the Final Four? We’ll find out soon enough.

Read More- Caitlin Clark Addresses Rivalry With Angel Reese Before Elite 8: “Have Watched a Lot of LSU Games This Season”

Who are you rooting for?