Iowa vs. LSU predictions and live updates: Game time, channel, Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese stats, odds, bracket of women’s March Madness Elite 8

ALBANY, NY — On Monday night, there will be trash talk.

Not because this is LSU and Iowa, a rematch of the most-watched women’s basketball game ever, and not just because this is Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, two of the best and most prolific talkers in the game.

There will be trash-talk because this is sports and they are athletes. And these are 40 minutes that can define — and end — college careers. There will be trash-talk because this game matters, deeply and completely, and because the emotions and passions of the players can’t, won’t and shouldn’t be confined to blank faces and empty stares.

There will be trash-talk because, as Reese explained, “Between those lines, we’re not friends, we’re not buddies.” And it would be best if you didn’t want them to be. On the court, they’re athletes, not robots. Competitors, not colleagues.

“Both of us want to win more than anything, and that’s how it should be when you’re a competitor and you get into a situation like this,” Clark said about her similarities between herself and Reese. “That goes for LSU’s entire roster. That goes for Iowa’s entire roster. Every single one of us wants this so bad. We want to advance to the Final Four so badly. … We both grew up loving this game, and we’re going to do anything we can to help our teams win.”

Reese taunted Clark in the final seconds of the 2023 national title game when it was clear the Tigers would be hoisting the trophy. Reese stared at Clark, pointed to her ring finger and did the John Cena “you can’t see me” wave. Clark, who like Reese had done her fair share of trash-talking through the entire tournament, seemed unfazed.

Still, heated conversations ensued among fans, sports shows debated the topic for days, and corners of social media devolved into even more of a hateful space.

Everyone, it seemed, thought it was a big deal… except Reese and Clark.

“I don’t think people realize it’s not personal,” Reese said Sunday. “Once we get out (from) between those lines, if I see you walking down the street, it’s like, hey, girl, what’s up? Let’s hang out. I think people just take it like we hate each other. Me and Caitlin Clark don’t hate each other. I want everybody to understand that.”

“I don’t think Angel should be criticized at all,” Clark said a few days after the national title game on ESPN’s Outside The Lines. “I’m just one that competes and she competes. … I think everybody knew there was gonna be a little trash-talk in the entire tournament. It’s not just me and Angel.”

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