Caitlin Clark's chase for Kelsey Plum's NCAA women's basketball all-time scoring record will come to a close soon, as she scored 31 points in Iowa's 82-79 upset loss to Nebraska in Lincoln to bring her within eight points of the record.
But attention was taken away from that chase after Sunday's game when Iowa coach Lisa Bluder voiced her displeasure with Nebraska for a multitude of reasons.
Late in the game, a sad-trombone sound was played inside Pinnacle Bank Arena after Clark missed a free throw. She then missed the next one. You can hear the sound below:
I believe Clark didn?t score again after this. Give the trombone player a game ball #Nebrasketball pic.twitter.com/ACIp0UWJmP
— BFBQBGURUMEAT (@bfbqbgurumeat) February 11, 2024
Clark didn't score the entire fourth quarter, and Nebraska walked away with a huge win over a top 5 team.
After the game, audio of Bluder caught her unleashing on a Nebraska official for the music being played during Clark's free throws. It came awkwardly while Nebraska players were speaking to media — something Bluder was also not happy about, as the visiting team usually speaks to the media first.
"You've gotta be kidding. We got a flight to catch. This is bulls**t. This is not Big Ten protocol!" she shouted. "They play music while you shoot free throws."
Our @KETV cameras captured this exchange between Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder and a Nebraska official after the #Huskers upset the No. 2 Hawkeyes.
The Big Ten protocol in question? The visiting coach typically speaks with the media first after the game. pic.twitter.com/Wrmh7ppHut
— Matt Sottile (@MSottileTV) February 12, 2024
Amie Just of the Lincoln Journal Star provided a different perspective, though. She said Iowa was told they could have the media room when they showed up, but Bluder "lost her mind" when they arrived.
Since we?re doing this? Iowa didn?t show up to postgame until after the Nebraska?s court celebration was over. Nebraska?s SID told the entire room that ?this could be disjointed? and that Iowa would be given the room when they showed up.
Then Lisa Bluder lost her mind. https://t.co/5DloefhEHJ
— Amie Just (@Amie_Just) February 11, 2024
As for Clark, she responded to the free throw music by saying she didn't notice.
Here was Caitlin Clark's response when she was asked if she heard music playing during her free throws:@KETV | #Huskers https://t.co/PRsy60n9AQ pic.twitter.com/Ll0vmx3xzJ
— Matt Sottile (@MSottileTV) February 12, 2024
What do you think? Was the music played a simple case of home-court advantage, or did Bluder have a point?
