UConn's Paige Bueckers, Iowa's Caitlin Clark set to share national spotlight
What do UConn‘s Paige Bueckers and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark have in common?
Outside of being two of the most accomplished college basketball players in the history of their respective schools, they are also two of the most popular athletes in college athletics today, regardless of sport.
Clark, the reigning national player of the year and a unanimous preseason All-American, made history this past weekend when she became Iowa's all-time career scoring leader. She is just three games into her fourth season as a member of the Hawkeyes' women's basketball team and has already etched her name in both the Iowa and Big Ten Conference record books.
Bueckers, who exploded onto the women's college basketball scene back in 2020 with one of the most dominant freshman seasons in the sport's history, is now two games into her redshirt junior campaign after missing all of last season with a torn ACL and only appearing in 17 games as a sophomore after having surgery to repair a meniscus tear and tibial plateau fracture in December 2021.
With Bueckers back healthy, and Clark picking up right where she left off following a dominant run to the national championship game in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, all eyes are on the pair of dynamic point guards as the 2023-24 women's college basketball season kicks into full gear.
Both Bueckers and Clark will be in the national spotlight Thursday as Bueckers and the No. 8-ranked Huskies take on No. 20 Maryland at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by Clark and the second-ranked Hawkeyes going up against Kansas State at 8:30 p.m. ET. Both games can be seen on FS1.
Here are some numbers that help paint a picture of just how incredible Clark and Bueckers have been throughout their respective collegiate careers.
PAIGE BUECKERS
20-5-50: Bueckers is the only player in Division I college basketball history (male or female) in the last 20 seasons to average 20 points, five assists and shoot 50% from the field in their first 35 games.
3: In 2021, Bueckers became the first player in UConn women's basketball history to score 30-plus points in three straight games.
14: Number of assists Bueckers had in UConn's 97-68 win over Butler on Feb. 27, 2021, which set the UConn single-game record.
168: Number of assists Bueckers had during the 2020-21 season, which was a UConn freshman record.
581: Total points Bueckers scored during the 2020-21 season, which was the second-highest point total ever in a single season by a freshman (Maya Moore - 678).
1: In 2021, Bueckers became the first freshman in women's college basketball history to be named the AP Women's Basketball Player of the Year.
CAITLIN CLARK
103: Clark became Iowa's all-time leading scorer in her 103rd career game.
5: Number of games that Clark has totaled 40 points, five rebounds and five assists in.
30: Clark is the only Division I player in the last 25 years to have a career scoring average over 30.0 PPG against AP top-10 opponents.
40: Last season, Clark became the first player in men's or women's NCAA Tournament history to have a 40-point triple-double.
900-300: Clark became the first player in Division I history to tally 900-plus points and 300-plus assists in a single season.
43: Number of times Clark has registered 20-plus points, five-plus rebounds and five-plus assists in a game, which is the most in NCAA women's basketball history.
25-15-10: Clark is the only player in men's or women's college basketball to record 25 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in a game over the last 20 seasons.
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