Iowa star Caitlin Clark had the most frustrating half of her iconic college basketball career during the Big Ten Championship Game against Nebraska on Sunday.
Clark finished the first half of Sunday's game with just 4 points, including her going 0-of-9 on 3-pointers — which marked the most misses without a make from 3-point range in any half of her Iowa career.
After missing a seemingly routine layup against Nebraska — who defeated Iowa last month 82-79 — Clark's frustration got the best of her, and she exorcised her anger by punching a chair on Iowa's sideline.
A frustrating first half for Caitlin Clark vs. Nebraska ? pic.twitter.com/vP2Bb9jiYV
— The Spun (@TheSpun) March 10, 2024
Considering that Clark usually keeps a calm, confident demeanor on the court, it was shocking to see her emotion boil over in this way.
Yet, the brief sideline meltdown seemed to have helped Clark return to form. After Iowa finished the first half down by 11 points, Clark emerged from the locker room and immediately started scoring at will.
After drilling the first 3-pointer she took in the second half, Clark went on to produce 30 points — including going 5-of-8 on threes — throughout the rest of the game. They included a few extremely clutch baskets that allowed Iowa to come back from behind and win the Big Ten championship in overtime, 94-89.
During Clark's postgame press conference, she said the game's first 20 minutes were "probably my worst first half" of her career. She also explained what went into her team's second-half comeback.
"I think the biggest thing was we just started running our offense in the second half," Clark said. "It was a lot better. It was a lot cleaner. We got good looks. We made a few more shots."
Now that Clark's last Big Ten game is in the rearview, Iowa must wait and see where it's seeded for the NCAA Tournament. Given that the Hawkeyes just secured their third consecutive Big Ten title, it will be tough to deny Iowa a No. 1 seed.
Yet, even if the Hawkeyes somehow don't secure their first No. 1 seed since 1992, reaching the NCAA championship game last season as a No. 2 seed proves that they don't need to be a top seed to succeed.
That being said, Iowa will nonetheless keep a close eye on Selection Sunday.
