Iowa vs. Iowa West Virginia preview: Spread, odds, picks for Caitlin Clark’s second-round game in NCAA Tournament

Caitlin Clark will play her final home game on Monday night when the 1-seed Iowa Hawkeyes take on the 8-seed West Virginia Mountaineers in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. The top-seeded Hawkeyes are heavy favorites to move on to the Sweet 16.

Clark’s record-setting career has featured plenty of memorable moments in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Still, Saturday’s first-round matchup against No. 16 seed Holy Cross didn’t get off to a great start. She turned the ball over five times within the first eight minutes and didn’t score her first field goal until 22 seconds left in the quarter. Her frustration was obvious and probably exacerbated by the Hawkeyes’ lead of just two points after the opening 10 minutes.

The second quarter was a different story, however, as Clark settled down and Iowa found its rhythm. The Hawkeyes outscored the Crusaders 25-9, turning what was a tight contest into an eventual 91-65 route. And even though Clark struggled with her shot (8-for-19 from the field), she still finished with a game-high 27 points and nearly posted a triple-double, adding 10 assists and eight rebounds. The turnovers (six total) aren’t ideal but the game was never really in doubt after the first quarter.

Despite a sluggish start, Iowa eventually did what No. 1 seeds are expected to do — dominate. The Hawkeyes shot 46.3% from the field, connected on 10 3-pointers (Clark and Gabbie Marshall each made three), and out-rebounded Holy Cross 50-37. They did all of this despite starting forward Hannah Stuelke only playing 10 minutes. The team’s second-leading scorer (14.1 points per game), Stuelke sat out the entire second half due to migraine symptoms.

Iowa should be back to full strength against West Virginia, who defeated No. 9 seed Princeton 63-53. The Tigers led virtually the entire first half, but the Mountaineers scored 13 straight points early in the third quarter to take control. JJ Quinerly put up a game-high 29 points, but it was WVU’s defense that turned the tide.

In fact, our Bracket Breakers model sees them as a potential upset threat against Iowa. For the season, WVU is allowing less than 58 points per game, is second in the country in steals (13.8 per game) and third in forced turnovers (23.8 per game). The Mountaineers also use their full-court press to create offense, averaging 26 points per game off of turnovers alone. And when teams don’t turn it over, they struggle to put the ball in the basket. Princeton, who committed 21 turnovers, made just a third of its field-goal attempts (17-for-51) overall and fared even worse (6-for-21) from long range.

But putting the defensive clamps on the Ivy League champions is one thing compared to facing a team that averages a nation’s-best 92.8 points per game and features the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer. And not that Clark needs any extra motivation, but West Virginia coach Mark Kellogg may have provided it with his “Let’s win one and let’s send Caitlin Clark packing” comment he made on Selection Sunday.

And did I mention it’s her final home game?

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How to watch Iowa vs. Iowa West Virginia

What: Albany 2 Region, Second Round

Typeoff time: 8:00 pm ET Monday

TV: ESPN

Location: Iowa City, IA

Iowa vs. Iowa West Virginia odds and best bet

Looking to bet on the game? Our team picks Iowa to win, which shouldn’t come as a shock. But if you’re looking for better odds than a -2000 moneyline (you should be), our Bracket Breakers experts say the spread seems high for this game. Bet WVU against the spread unless it drops below 12.5.

Odds are from BetMGM and update live. Find the best ticket deals on StubHub to see your favorite team.