Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - INSTANT REACTION: Iowa Women's Basketball: Back to the Final 4, Redemption over LSU

Episode Date: April 2, 2024

Trent Condon is back with an Instant Reaction Podcast after the Iowa women go back to the Final Four after a win over LSU. Opening with thoughts on the goat, Iowa's Caitlin Clark. Some numbers from t...he performance and how she comes up big in the biggest moment of her career. Then a breakdown of the game and how the Hawkeyes overcame the Tigers to get the win. Huge performances from Addison O'Grady, Kate Martin, Sydney Affolter and on the defensive end Gabbie Marshall. Then a look forward as the Iowa women move on to the Final 4 and will get a match up against UConn.  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! RobinhoodRobinhood has the only IRA that gives you a 3% boost on every dollar you contribute when you subscribe to Robinhood Gold. Now through April 30th, Robinhood is even boosting every single dollar you transfer in from other retirement accounts with a 3% match. Available to U.S. customers in good standing. Robinhood Financial LLC (member SIPC), is a registered broker dealer.Amazon Fire TVFire TV recently created Fire TV Channels to deliver a constant supply of the latest videos from your favorite sports brands, all for free. That includes all of us at Locked On and most of the big pro leagues and college conferences as well. To Learn More, visit www.amazon.com/LockedOnFireTVLinkedInThese days every new potential hire can feel like a high stakes wager for your small business. That’s why LinkedIn Jobs helps find the right people for your team, faster and for free. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/lockedoncollege. Terms and conditions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGEfor $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelNew customers, join today and you’ll get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS if your first bet of FIVE DOLLARS or more wins. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started. eBay MotorsFrom brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

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Starting point is 00:00:00 redemption and another final four the iowa women march on to the final four where they will get yukon a win against lsu we break it down today locked on hawk you are locked on hawkeyes your daily podcast on the iowa hawkeyes part of the locked on podcast network your team every day. Hey, welcome in. I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're available wherever you find podcasts, and you can also watch us on YouTube.
Starting point is 00:00:49 While you're there, make sure you hit the subscribe button. Helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. Well, here we are as Iowa marches on. They get the win against LSU, and back to the Final Four for the second consecutive season. Third time in program history that Iowa makes it to the Final Four. This won a 94-87 win against LSU, and this won one of the sweetest. After, obviously, what happened a year ago in the National Championship game, LSU behind great shooting in the first half, runs away from the Hawkeyes,
Starting point is 00:01:18 and Iowa never could get back over the hump. Got it to eight in that one in the second half, but never could get closer than that. To have this and have this victory certainly feels incredibly good, sweet, and the redemption tour continues for this Iowa basketball team. Look, Iowa was handed the most difficult bracket this year. Though they earned a number one seed this season of what they accomplished throughout the course of the year, there is no doubt about it. They had the most difficult path to get their ticket and
Starting point is 00:01:45 move on to Cleveland in the final four what they had to face going up against a very certainly salty West Virginia team in the round of 32 and we've talked about Iowa struggles in that game over the last couple of seasons before finally punching through and getting the victory against West Virginia then a sweet 16 matchup against the Colorado team that they saw a year ago in the Sweet 16, returned four starters from last year. They easily dispatched them. And then the boss at the end of the level, right? You're playing video games and you got that boss
Starting point is 00:02:15 that you got to beat to get to the Final Four and there stands LSU, the defending national champion, the team that beat you a year ago in that national championship game, Angel Reese is back. They have retooled. They went to the transfer portal and they hit it incredibly hard. They brought in a prolific scorer in Haley Van Lith. They brought in a dynamic inside-outside player in Morrow. And what do they do? Iowa had a response and ready for them in this one. There's so many storylines and so many different angles that we're going to take throughout the course of the day. But first, we have to start with the GOAT.
Starting point is 00:02:49 We have to start with Kaitlyn Clark and this performance that we saw out of her. Early on in the game, she scores the first five points of the game for Iowa. Keeps LSU at bay early in that one. Iowa races out to an early lead. The huge third quarter that she had, and we'll get into that as well. But I left you with a final thought as we were breaking things down in yesterday's podcast.
Starting point is 00:03:14 And one thing, the matchup concerned me. The rebound and the size advantage for LSU. Just how good Kim Mulkey is at motivating her team. I really was concerned about it, but I came back to one thing, and I came back to one idea, and that one idea is Kaitlyn Clark. We got 22. And sometimes the simplest answer is the best one.
Starting point is 00:03:40 Iowa had 22, and LSU didn't. And that is what you go back to time in and time out. That third quarter performance, four three-pointers, and each one deeper than the last, from 24 to 25 to 26 to 30 feet on her final three-pointer of the quarter. Those three-pointers gives Iowa the lead that they would never relinquish.
Starting point is 00:04:03 We're watching history. We're watching a transcendent star. And though I think every Hawkeye fan knows it and understands it, and just watching the greatness that we see and how lucky we are that she's an Iowa Hawkeye and how lucky we are that we get to watch her at least one more time and hopefully two more,
Starting point is 00:04:23 we get to see something that won't be seen again. Not women's college basketball. They will never be another transcendent star that leads to the television ratings and the boom in increase in popularity. The likelihood that we're going to see season after season, sellouts, wherever you go in a sport of women's college basketball that is
Starting point is 00:04:46 still growing. When it happens again, I don't know how far down the line we're going to be, but it's not going to be like it is right now. This is different. We're not seeing it by somebody from the coast. We're not seeing it from somebody playing in a power program like a UConn or a Tennessee or South Carolina. We're seeing it here in Iowa. We're seeing it with an Iowa kid, a young woman that has absolutely captivated not just the state of Iowa, not just the Midwest or Big Ten territory, the country. That's what we get to see with Kaitlyn Clark. She is one of one. She is her. The numbers that have come out are absolutely astonishing of what she was able to accomplish in this game
Starting point is 00:05:31 and obviously throughout the course of her career. Just a few of them for you. Kaitlyn Clark created, assisted, or scored 73 points in Iowa's win. They scored 94. 73 of the 94 she was responsible for. She also set another record in this game. Kaitlyn Clark now with the most three-pointers in NCAA women's basketball history.
Starting point is 00:05:54 There's another one to add to a file that looks like Bart Simpson's permanent record. I mean, this thing is absolutely nuts. A little bit more from what we saw. NCAA tournament games, all time. Well, since assists became an official stat, this is from OptiStats. NCAA tournament games with a player having 40 plus points and 10 plus assists. Caitlin Clark has two of those. It's pretty good. 40 points, 10 assists. All other men's and women's basketball players since 1985, since the mid-80s, when assists became an official statistic,
Starting point is 00:06:33 zero. Goose egg. Nobody's done it. She's done it twice. She did it against the defending national champion. She did it against what many people felt a year ago was the unbeatable team in South Carolina. She did it against what many people felt a year ago was the unbeatable team in South Carolina. She is amazing. There's just so many of these. Final stats tonight. Another one from
Starting point is 00:06:54 Optus Stats for Kaitlyn Clark. 41 points, 12 assists, nine three-pointers, seven rebounds, two steals. No other NBA, WNBA, or Division I men's or women's basketball player in the last 25 years has got to those numbers in a single game. We are seeing greatness. We'll see greatness that will never be duplicated. Could there be another player that comes along and becomes a better player and breaks the records? Possibly. But they're not going to be transcend possibly but they're not going to be
Starting point is 00:07:25 transcendent they're not going to be what caitlyn clark has become and as i said in yesterday's podcast every day as you know this every time that it feels like there's a big moment or a moment too big or that things just aren't going well 22 has the answer she had it again, and Iowa moves on to the Final Four. How did Iowa get here? Let's break down the game. We'll get into that as we continue here on Lockdown Hawkeyes. So much more. We'll, of course, preview a little bit of the Final Four
Starting point is 00:07:55 and give you a sneak peek at the matchup against UConn on the other side of the bracket. The early game on Friday evening, it will be NC State, the number three seed. After their win against Texas, they get South Carolina. Undefeated a year ago until Iowa faced them in the Final Four. Should be a great environment in Cleveland and really looking forward to that. But we've got to break down this game. We've got to look at it, all the angles in that week,
Starting point is 00:08:20 which we have for you here today as we have you covered. Stay right there. We continue. Locked on, Hawkeyes. When you're hiring for your small business, you want to find quality, qualified professionals that are right for the role. That's why you want to check out LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs has the tools to help find the right professionals for your team
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Starting point is 00:09:55 Trent Conant back with you once again here on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We are with you every day. That's what we do here across the Locked On network. And we got more Hawkeyes, your first listen every day. We are with you every day. That's what we do here across the Lockdown Network. And we got more Hawkeye hoops to talk about as the Iowa women march on with the victory. So let's take a look back at the game. And this is a fun one to revisit. Fun one to go back on the DVR after watching the game with the kids and the wife tonight. That was so much fun.
Starting point is 00:10:22 You know, just being able to share this. I've relayed this story before about my daughter and myself making our trip down to Dallas last year and being able to be there in person for the win against South Carolina. If you have the opportunity and if you have the funds to do it, make it happen in Cleveland. It is absolutely an incredible experience. The NCAA, many things that we can derive the NCAA about,
Starting point is 00:10:46 the way they put on an event, and certainly this event, through the roof, and just incredible what they did, not just in the game and obviously the arena and everything, the lead-up, but just what they did with the other aspects to it. Absolutely amazing. So Iowa jumps out early. I mentioned Caitlin Clark has the first five points for the Hawkeyes. They jump out to a 5-2 lead.
Starting point is 00:11:03 It's 12-4. And a couple of other big plays. 17-9. Kim Mulkey's out on the floor. Nearly a steal. I think it was Gabby Marshall, if memory serves, that nearly had the steal on the inbound pass. She was trying to call a timeout.
Starting point is 00:11:16 Ball was deflected out of bounds. And then finally, Mulkey got that one. I said, oh, boy, here we go again. After last year's just embarrassing performance out of Kim Mulkey on the sideline and being on the sideline and being on the floor throughout the course of the game. She was, for her standards, subdued. She was still fired up.
Starting point is 00:11:32 She still does the Kim Mulkey things, but at least she wasn't on the floor. And that was the thing that drove me nuts. You know, the motivational aspects that she used, all right. Coaches, great coaches use them, and she does that. It just, it bothered me, and I know I'm not alone to the nth degree of what she was able to do. But that first quarter, after Iowa jumped out to that 17-9 lead, it was really a whole bunch of LSU doing really whatever they wanted throughout the course of the back half of the opening quarter.
Starting point is 00:11:59 Iowa led it 20-14. And then after that, LSU comes roaring back. LSU, in fact, from that point forward, they outscore Iowa going forward from that point in the game in the first quarter. It was 17-6 towards the end of the quarter, and Angel Reese was dominating inside, doing whatever she wanted. The physicality that she plays with, much bigger than Hannah Stulke. Stulke started to get in foul trouble, but you started to see towards the end, Addison O'Grady came in. And right when Addison came in, she was ready to go. We've talked about this throughout the course of the season. And
Starting point is 00:12:33 I don't think I was alone in thinking that Addison O'Grady was going to be the starting center. You're going to see Stolke starting at the power forward position, and then you would go from there. And you'd see Molly Davis coming off the bench and Sidney Fulter and on down from there. After a couple of games, that wasn't the case. It was not O'Grady being there. But I maintain that there was going to be a moment that they needed Addison O'Grady to get to the heights that they wanted this year, to get back to the pinnacle, to have another opportunity to play for a national championship,
Starting point is 00:13:03 to get back to a Final Four, And we got it tonight in this one. Addison O'Grady came in, brought physicality, brought size, brought strength, was able to beat the bigs down the floor a couple of different times. O'Grady was exactly what I thought we were going to see a lot more throughout the course of the year. But how about being ready to go? Credit to Lisa Bluter and the post coach, Jan Jensen, of what they were able to do. That's difficult for a player that probably thought
Starting point is 00:13:31 herself she was going to be a starter this year, and she was going to be a huge part. And we see all the t-shirts out there. We see, of course, all the Caitlin Clark 22 jerseys and everything else. But you see, happy like Hannah. You see Sidney Fulcher with her t-shirts and Gabby Marshall and Kate Martin and on and on and on. And baby O'Grady thought she was going to be one of those. And it didn't play out that way. However, she was ready to go after seeing her role diminished throughout the course of the year. Huge credit to her because without her tonight, I don't know if Iowa wins this basketball game. Iowa in the second quarter starts to chip away, gets it back, gets tied up.
Starting point is 00:14:12 Some big moments in that second quarter as well from this Iowa team. It was 34-26 LSU in the beginning of the second quarter. After they race out to the lead, they add a three-pointer in there, and you felt like Iowa was on the ropes. O'Grady, though, her physicality changed things. The injury to Angel Reese as she turned her ankle again, that was certainly an impact you saw. She was not the same bountiful energy that we saw on the course of the game. Here's another thing, though.
Starting point is 00:14:37 A lot of people will point to Angel Reese and the injury and how the game really started to change at that point in time. But also LSU changed. LSU had nine assists in the first quarter of the game. Nine assists. They had two total during the second and third quarters of the game. Did not have an assist in the second quarter and just two in the third quarter. That says a lot. Absolutely right there.
Starting point is 00:15:02 What Iowa was able to do on the defensive end and the way that they were able to change what they were doing defensively. And that's, again, a credit to the staff and what they're able to do and get this team going. Another thing, Iowa's cruising offensively. And as we get into the third quarter and the, as I mentioned, the virtuoso performance from Kaitlyn Clark in that third quarter, that's going to be a huge part of the highlight reel. The three-pointers getting deeper and deeper and deeper every single time was absolutely amazing. Her ability to put
Starting point is 00:15:29 this team on her back, make the plays, make the throw ahead passes. Every time there was that loud steal and it looked like it was going to be a fast break. In fact, it looked like it was going to be one-on-one. It was going to be Kaitlyn Clark going up against Angel Reese, trying to race down the floor. Instead, Kaitlyn slowed it up a little bit, looked like she was going to pull up from the right wing, instead dropped a beautiful pass to Sidney Fulter, who laid it in, and Iowa is continuing to roll. How about this one, too, from Angel Reese? Started the game 6 of 8 from the floor,
Starting point is 00:15:58 won a 12 after that, and it was just a whole lot of the Iowa defense and O'Grady that made it very difficult. We go to the fourth quarter and LSU is still hanging around, right? This was not a coast into the wind like it was in the Sweet 16 victory against Colorado. It was not that kind of performance in this one. It proved to be much more difficult. You knew LSU was going to have a run and they did a couple of different times. But a monster three-pointer by Sita Fulter from the top of the key.
Starting point is 00:16:27 That one was huge. Kaitlyn Clark, after it got cut to 72-65, LSU was getting a little bit of momentum. She hits a three that made it 10 again. It was just time after time. How about the fadeaway? Side kind of fade from Kate Martin on the baseline. Just a beautiful-looking shot as she was able to knock that one in as Iowa built the lead back to double digits. It was a team effort and that's what you need. Now when you have Kaitlyn Clark, that helps, but she needs teammates and the teammates were
Starting point is 00:16:55 ready to go. Talked about O'Grady. Again, without her, I don't know if Iowa wins this game. Cynthia Fulter. Talked about her being the X factor yesterday. This team is built different. And with the Fulter in the starting lineup. And this isn't a knock on Molly Davis, but there are some deficiencies. She's a small guard. She's little. And though she's a good ball handler,
Starting point is 00:17:19 Cynthia Fulter has a more well-rounded game. She can play inside. She can play outside. She rebounds incredibly well at her size. I mean, you saw her playing tonight. Her and Kate Martin had the assignment on Morrow, which is a difficult, difficult one. And they did a pretty good job.
Starting point is 00:17:35 And Morrow still finishes with a double-double with 14-14. But she was just 7-18 from the floor. Angel Reese, 7-21. Flagey Johnson, boy, think of that backcourt. Herb Williams next year, whoo, for LSU. Even if Angel Reese moves on, you got Morrow coming back. That was absolutely incredible. Speaking of kind of scheme and game plan, a lot of credit to the Iowa staff and what they were able to do
Starting point is 00:17:57 in the game plan that they came up with here. Kim Mulkey, not a great one. Haley Van Lint prolific score good shooter, had to change her role this season what was she doing guarding Kaitlyn Clark
Starting point is 00:18:14 you talk about a bad idea you talk about a game plan and a scheme that just doesn't make a whole lot of sense we saw it right away early in the game mentioned the first 5 points for Iowa. It came from Kaitlin Clark. Right away in the second half to start things off.
Starting point is 00:18:28 What is the first 10 seconds? It's Kaitlin hitting a three. Those four three-pointers, and we saw at times, it was Haley Van Lith just throwing up her arms. What can you do? Saw Angel Reese after she hit one over the top of her doing the same kind of thing. That game plan, that scheme, we talked about it in Colorado,
Starting point is 00:18:44 and I thought the same thing here. Schematically, Kim Mulkey, ooh, that was not your best performance. And though she could do the motivation, X's and O's wise, I'm not sure exactly what the thought process is in that one. A little bit more. Kate Martin talked about that fadeaway J that she hit. They call her the glue with reason. 21 points, 6 rebounds, couple of steals.
Starting point is 00:19:08 Gabby Marshall hit a 3-pointer. That was great to see early in the game. Those were her only points of the game. But would she need to handle it? She did. Had a blocked shot, couple assists. She is just defensively. I mean, she had the most difficult assignment.
Starting point is 00:19:24 You can talk about inside with Stolke and O'Grady had to do. Ender even came in there and absolutely got drilled on the block shot, quote unquote block shot on that one. But I'll tell you, going up against Flagey Johnson and you saw Gabby Marshall,
Starting point is 00:19:39 just how much she had to put into that one. She was great on that end of the floor. I mentioned we saw a little bit of Ender, saw Feuerbach out there a little bit. Didn't add a whole lot overall. It was more than anything, maybe a little bit too big of a moment. It was the starters, and they relied on them a ton, as you should. You get to this point, you're going to rely on your studs, and that's exactly what Iowa did.
Starting point is 00:20:00 They went that route. We're going to ride the starters, and you look at the final numbers. Kaitlyn Clark didn't go out. Gabby Marshall didn't go out. Kate Martin, 38 minutes, 37 seconds. Sidney Affolter, 37 minutes, 2 seconds. Stolke with 21 minutes, and Addison O'Grady with 15, and that's what you had. Iowa is back to the Final Four. Kaitlin Clark in big games is amazing. This team is amazing. There were long stretches before the season, after the season. I was like a lot of you fans as we saw people like Murrell
Starting point is 00:20:38 enter the transfer portal. We saw Ware, the big post player. We saw so many of these players and we wondered why isn't iowa going to them what why isn't iowa even if they can't offer the same kind of nil package and though i was is okay we know it's not at the highest level of sport but why isn't iowa being more active and we were told they tried they. But you got to have a little reciprocation, right? Try to date somebody. You try to bring them in. If they're not interested, it's not going to work. But there was another thing that Lisa Bluter said, and something I think we all need to remind
Starting point is 00:21:16 ourselves. There just weren't that many players out there that we thought could have helped us. And when you're not getting those top-level players, they believe in their crew. The idea instead of going with the traditional post. Now we're just going to be faster than everybody. We're going to beat everybody down the floor and we're going to play that way with Stolke at the five. And it's worked. And Iowa has just found a way. They just put 94 points up on the number three defense in America. And it wasn't all Kaitlyn Clark. There was a lot of Kaitlyn Clark, but it wasn't all her. The game plan, the scheme, it was a beautiful one a year ago against South Carolina, and the same thing here.
Starting point is 00:21:55 This team, they know what they're doing. And now they'll get an opportunity against the behemoth. For the last three decades, UConn women's basketball has dominated the sport. And though for their standards, they've taken a little bit of a step back, this is still a team with seven McDonald's All-Americans on it. This is a team with a senior in Paige Beckerts that many people considered a better player than Kaitlyn Clark coming out of high school. And after their freshman campaign and after UConn beat Iowa, that continued. She's had injuries, but she's still an incredible player.
Starting point is 00:22:32 Gina Auriemma will have a game plan. Gina will be ready. And they will frustrate. And they will do everything in their power to slow Kaitlyn Clark down. We know Iowa's going to be ready. We know 22's going to be ready. We'll get into that a little bit more. Celebration here as Iowa's going to be ready. We know 22's going to be ready. We'll get into that a little bit more. Celebration here as Iowa moves on to the Final Four. We talk about this team
Starting point is 00:22:51 a little bit more. We just don't want to go to bed. We just want to relive it. All the highlights, watching through, re-watching the game again. It's amazing. My son's four. He doesn't exactly know what's going on. I was really proud of him when I was at 88. He said, hey, an 88, that's good, right? Yeah, 88 points is good, buddy. And we went a little bit higher than that. My daughter, who I went to the Final Four with last year, just seeing the smile on her face, the joy that this team brings, brings us together. And talking about this team and just going to the coffee shop, right? Picking up your coffee in the morning and talking to people, maybe stopping after work
Starting point is 00:23:28 and having a beer and talking about this team. It's a wonderful, wonderful team. They're so easy to root for. They have personality. They have style. They have flash. They have everything. And they have a transcendent star.
Starting point is 00:23:41 It's a good place to be. A little bit more as we continue here. Locked on Hawkeyes. Today's episode is brought to you by Amazon Fire TV. Fire TV is your destination for sports from live games to highlights to in-depth analysis. Fire TV offers amazing viewing experiences with smart TVs as well as the Fire TV Stick that you can plug into your existing TV.
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Starting point is 00:25:02 That's Amazon.com slash Conant back with you one final time On the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast While you're here, hit that subscribe button If you're on the podcast side and just listening Give us a five star review Helps us as always get in front of more Hawkeye fans We just want to keep celebrating this team. Enjoy it.
Starting point is 00:25:27 Now, the one disappointing aspect of playing in the second window, if you will, playing on Monday night, is the turnaround is just so quick. Getting to Cleveland, you're talking about a flight, or you can make the drive. For me here in Des Moines, it's like a 10-hour drive to get there. All right, doable. Did it last year, about the same distance down to Dallas. You're also going to go through Chicago, so you got to time that thing out right. But still, speaking of that, we know there's a ton of Hawkeye fans in the Chicagoland area. I know a lot of them are going to be making their
Starting point is 00:25:57 way to Cleveland. Tickets are expensive. Make sure to check out the GameTime app for that. Make sure to check out the GameTime app or that. But it's worth it. If you can swing it, if you're there financially, it's just so good. It's so fun. It's so entertaining. Seeing the Sea of Hawkeye fans a year ago down in Dallas was amazing. And I've been going to bowl games for decades.
Starting point is 00:26:22 I've been following this team. I've been to every Big Ten stadium for a football game, except for the newbies. Sorry. Rutgers, Maryland, haven't been out to those yet. We'll change that in future years when the kids get a little bit older. But I've been all over the place, and there is something special. I don't know why every college fan base feels like they are special, and I get that. But I'm a lifelong Iowan.
Starting point is 00:26:45 As I approach my 44th birthday here in a little over a week, I love being a Hawkeye fan. I love being a Hawkeye. I love the pride that comes along with it. And though we can argue about what's happening inside of our state borders politically, one way or the other, whatever side you are on. Being an Iowan Inn is special. We're fly over country. We're looked down on.
Starting point is 00:27:14 People don't expect much, or they confuse us. They think we're the corn state. Well, yeah, we are. Oh, the potatoes? No. Oh, you're Ohio? No. We're Iowa. And to have this Iowa Hawkeye team, led by a native a native Iowan playing at this level, it's just amazing. It really is.
Starting point is 00:27:31 It's something that brings so much joy. And to be able to see this team, because without this victory, this season would have been hollow. If they would have lost tonight to LSU, and they drop this game again to LSU, Kim Mulkey and Angel Reese, if you would have lost again,
Starting point is 00:27:53 there would have been a pit, I think, for all of us thinking back of the season. The Big Ten Tournament Championship was great. A lot of great victories along the way, but it's about what you do in the NCAA tournament. Getting here now, I believe this Iowa team, they've accomplished. Getting here back-to-back years is special.
Starting point is 00:28:14 Teams can make a run. You can have a special team. You can have breaks, and Iowa did a year ago in the NCAA tournament. There were no breaks this season. The path that they had to go through to get here was as difficult as anybody. They did it. And now there's another difficult one. The power program of the last three decades in college, women's college basketball is UConn. And you got to face
Starting point is 00:28:38 them and Gina Auriemma. And if you get past that, you're likely going to be South Carolina that has revenge on their mind. We'll be undefeated if we get to that, you're likely going to see South Carolina that has revenge on their mind. We'll be undefeated if we get to that on Sunday afternoon. It's all there. We'll break it down. We'll talk about the UConn matchup. We will get into that. It's quick, a quick turnaround,
Starting point is 00:28:57 and they'll be making their way to Cleveland. If you can make it there, and congratulations to you. I hope you enjoy it. You definitely will. Hawkeye Huddles, so much fun wherever you go. Stop for a beer beforehand. Get a little liquid cheering power inside that belly. Yeah, it's good.
Starting point is 00:29:14 It's really good and enjoy it. We'll enjoy it here each and every day on lockdown. Hawkeye is a whole lot more. We don't just talk women's basketball, though. It does seem that way over the last couple of weeks. We talk about all Hawkeye sports. We mentioned Iowa getting a series win on the baseball field over the weekend, winning the final two games against Minnesota.
Starting point is 00:29:33 A no-hitter from the softball team on Friday night. We got you covered with spring football. Men's basketball, what's happening with them inside the transfer portal. Recruiting, big time right now for football recruiting. We got you covered. Your team every day here on the Lockdown Network. That's what we do for you each and every day. Hey, also want to mention you're watching FS1 ESPN all day. Have to turn down the volume with all that shouting that's going on. It's time for you to make the switch to Lockdown Sports Today.
Starting point is 00:30:00 It's a free 24-7 sports streaming channel programmed for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all that screaming. Locked On Sports Today brings you can't-miss analysis, opinions, and news streaming 24-7 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app. It's all part of the Locked On Podcast Network,
Starting point is 00:30:20 your team every day. We'll be back with you tomorrow with more Hawkeye talk and start to preview the matchup against UConn in the Final Four. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We'll talk to you again tomorrow. Go Hawks!

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