3 things to watch as Iowa women's basketball faces Tennessee in Women's Champions Classic

3 things to watch as Iowa women’s basketball faces Tennessee in Women’s Champions Classic

Posted by Admin December 6, 2024 Basketball

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IOWA CITY — Given all the unprecedented women’s basketball growth Iowa has facilitated recently, it seems appropriate the Hawkeyes are right in the middle of an inaugural non-conference event in a prime window.

Sure, the first Women’s Champions Classic hoped Caitlin Clark would be included when it announced Iowa as one of the four participating teams in mid-February — a few weeks prior to Clark’s eventual WNBA declaration. But the No. 20 Hawkeyes (8-0) who are coming to Brooklyn for Saturday’s showdown versus Tennessee (6-0) have more than enough appeal to shine in the spotlight.

Two first-year head coaches in Iowa’s Jan Jensen and Tennessee’s Kim Caldwell will start the Barclays Center doubleheader at 6 p.m. on FOX, followed by No. 22 Louisville (5-3) vs. No. 2 UConn (7-0) in the 8 p.m. nightcap. Both Iowa and Tennessee are staring at their toughest foe to date.

With that, here are three things to watch ahead of Iowa’s New York visit.

Lucy Olsen, Aaliyah Guyton recap Iowa women’s basketball in Cancun, look ahead to Tennessee matchup

After missing two games, how does Iowa women’s basketball guard Lucy Olsen rebound in a familiar part of the country?

For all the clarity Olsen returning to practice this week was going to provide after missing both Cancun Challenge games with a gashed knee, her Saturday status might be most influenced by who’ll be in the stands.

Olsen’s hometown of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, sits about 100 miles away from Barclays Center, meaning her contingent will be large and loud Saturday night. That’s the closest Iowa will play to Olsen’s area this season, even closer than the Hawkeyes’ New Year’s Day trip to Penn State (roughly 180 miles from Collegeville).

“Hopefully I play. That would be kind of embarrassing if everyone shows up (and I sit),” Olsen joked Tuesday. “A lot of people are going to try to go to this game. I’m excited to see my family and some friends I haven’t seen in a while.”

The early-week vibes provided plenty of promise that Olsen’s freak fall in Cancun will cost her only two games. Against Tennessee’s high-octane press and pace, Iowa will need its veteran point guard operating like usual.

Tennessee passed its first big test this week, but in frantic fashion. Can the Hawkeyes’ spotlight experience pay off yet again?

For all the momentum Caldwell generated with five blowout home wins and plenty of points to start her Tennessee tenure, the Lady Vols’ first real test didn’t arrive until Florida State came to Thompson-Boling Arena on Wednesday night. Tennessee pulled out a 79-77 win, but not before needing a defensive stand on the game’s final possession after blowing a 20-point lead.

For the third time in four weeks, the Hawkeyes will be facing a team playing away from its home court for the first time this season. Already, this will be Iowa’s fifth neutral-site game, second in an NBA venue and sixth overall outside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Pile on what several current Hawkeyes acquired in reaching back-to-back national title games, and that’s a vast difference in experience with spotlight showdowns entering this one.

How and why does that matter? There’s no guarantee it will in the end, but it at least feels less likely Iowa will lay an uncharacteristic egg than Tennessee given the circumstances. You see that sometimes in big one-off non-conference matchups, where one team is just inexplicably off with a performance that resembles little of what it does the rest of the year. Although both programs are adjusting to new leaders, Iowa should feel the experience intangible is firmly in its favor.

In a current contrast of styles, which team can get the game at its preferable pace?

In a matchup where one squad feels most comfortable running wild in transition with ample buckets while sometimes sacrificing defensive consistency, it feels weird saying that team isn’t Iowa. But that’s where these Hawkeyes currently stand, leaning on their defense while waiting for the program’s more conventional route to success.

Even with Iowa holding five of its first eight foes under 60 points, Tennessee will easily offer the Hawkeyes their toughest defensive test. Nationally, the Lady Vols rank first in points per game (95), first in 3-pointers per game (38.2) third in turnovers forced (28) and 27th in assists per game (17.7). Five double-digit scorers make for a lengthy scout.

On the flipside, shutting down this Tennessee unit would add more legitimacy to Iowa’s newfound defensive success than anything else so far. With Cy-Hawk and their Big Ten opener at No. 25 Michigan State looming next, the Hawkeyes can charge forward with more confidence in their versatility.

Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.