Kamilla Cardoso and Caitlin Clark

Controversial basketball analyst Skip Bayless recently went on X/Twitter to reveal who he`s rooting for to take on South Carolina in the NCAAW national championship. As one might expect, it is Iowa and Caitlin Clark – with Bayless saying a potential Hawkeyes-Gamecocks title game would have ratings go through the roof.

Here`s Bayless` tweet:

“Rooting for Caitlin to edge Paige, because Caitlin vs 37-0 South Carolina would be ratings-record EPIC. If that happens, I`m going with SCar to get revenge for last year because they`re just too dominant inside for Iowa. But that`s what I said about LSU.”

Bayless` take has been viewed almost 100k times now.

Right now, the game between Iowa and UConn is still going on. However, Skip Bayless’ hope to see a South Carolina versus Iowa matchup might be in jeopardy as the Hawkeyes are struggling offensively against the Huskies.

Caitlin Clark has not been her usual self in the game thus far, going 0-6 from rainbow country at the half. She`s been mostly passing the ball and keeping the game relatively close for now. At halftime, Uconn held a 32-26 lead.

In Clark`s stead, Hannah Stuelke has been taking the slack on the offensive load. The sophomore forward out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa contributed eight points in the first half to shoulder a good chunk of her team`s offense with their superstar struggling.

South Carolina vs Iowa head-to-head

If Iowa does overcome their offensive struggles and win over UConn, then they`ll be facing a South Carolina team in the national championship game that has looked every bit unstoppable all year.

Now at 37-0 for the entire season, Dawn Staley`s Gamecocks handily beat every single opponent they`ve met in this year`s tournament. None of their games in March Madness were within single digits – not even within 10 points.

They`ve never met the Hawkeyes all year, so one could argue that they haven`t had much practice guarding someone like Caitlin Clark.

But thus far, the first half of Iowa versus UConn was telling. The Huskies are blitzing Clark on defense every single play and forcing her to pass. This was good on the Hawkeyes` side as it let them have a balanced offensive attack.

But the thing about a player like Clark`s caliber is that it only takes a few shots for her to get her rhythm going. And once she gets it, it`s almost always over for opponents.