When UConn faces Iowa on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women's basketball Tournament, two of the most touted freshmen in the country will square off.

By Jeff Day

March 26, 2021 at 10:35PM

Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark, the two most hyped freshmen in recent memory, go head-to-head in the Sweet 16 on Saturday on national television. (AP/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

It's a matchup with so much hype that even Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma, who has seen a bit of it all, is calling it unique.

Saturday's battle between freshmen point guards Paige Bueckers of Connecticut and Caitlin Clark of Iowa is the biggest story on a busy weekend for college basketball.

The two teams play Saturday at noon on ABC.

Bueckers, the Hopkins standout who became the third freshman to be named an Associated Press first-team All-American in women's basketball, has had a stellar tournament so far, averaging 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists in two dominant wins.

Clark, the leading scorer in college basketball this year at 26.8 points per game, put on a scoring display when the No. 5 seed Hawkeyes defeated No. 4 Kentucky on Tuesday. She finished with 35 points on 13-for-21 shooting, including 6-for-12 from three, to go along with seven rebounds and six assists.

Minnesota hoops fans know all about these two players, with Bueckers' incomparable high school career at Hopkins and Clark's tremendous play against the Gophers in the Big Ten this season.

Now, the country is taking notice.

Under a headline that read: 'When Iowa Faces UConn All Eyes Will Be On Freshmen Stars,' the New York Times wrote that, "The next chapter in great athlete duels begins on Saturday."

ESPN reported that Auriemma, the Huskies coach with 11 national championships and 1,117 career wins, said he couldn't remember a game with more hype around two players.

"It's been a while since you have two kids that have had this kind of an impact, both on their teams and on the game itself nationally," said Auriemma, who joined the Huskies in San Antonio on Thursday after a 10-day COVID-19 quarantine. "To have one is kinda cool. But to have two. ... It's two really, really young kids, really good players that do a lot for their teams."

Dan Patrick said on his radio show this week, "If you haven't seen Caitlin Clark, do yourself a favor and watch her with her next game in the Sweet 16 as she goes up against another great freshman, Paige Bueckers at UConn. Lot of fun. Both of them. And up for player of the year as freshmen."

Patrick noted that while Bueckers and UConn have gotten a tremendous amount of coverage, Clark and Iowa have been a little under the radar.

But Clark had one of her biggest games on the season against the Gophers in Iowa City on January 6 during a 92-79 win where the Hawkeyes rallied from a double-digit deficit.

Clark scored 37 points on 12 of 19 shooting and added 11 rebounds and five assists.

When she came to the Barn on Jan. 31, she was just as effective, scoring 22 points with 11 assists in a 94-68 win.

On Saturday, Bueckers and Clark, two freshmen who have exceeded the hype all season, get another shot to wow the college basketball world. This time on the same court.