The Iowa Hawkeyes led by star guard Caitlin Clark appear to be destined for a deep run in the upcoming Women’s NCAA Tournament. However, one college coach who could find his team facing Clark in the tournament has decided to offer up some trash talk ahead of their looming matchup.
Iowa should be able to easily get past their upcoming Round of 64 matchup against the winner of the play-in game between Holy Cross and UT Martin. If they are able to do so, they will face the winner of No. 8 seed West Virginia and No. 9 seed Princeton in the opening round.
This led West Virginia head coach Mark Kellogg to offer up some added motivation to his team for the upcoming against Iowa, in part by trash-talking Clark a bit.
In a message to his team, Kellogg was found telling his team the following message.
“Win one and let’s send Caitlin Clark packing.”
@CoachKellogg12 with a message for the crowd after @WVUWBB’s seeding announcement:
“I told them, win one and let’s send Caitlin Clark packing.”
👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/VbqL5WlZOs
— Luke Blain (@LukeDBlain) March 18, 2024
Calling out Clark by name is certainly a bold move by Kellogg. And many fans believe that this is all the motivation that Clark needs to have a sensational game if West Virginia does indeed get past Princeton to face Iowa.
https://twitter.com/Detroit_Got_Now/status/1769783323717464116
Why…why would you do this https://t.co/DwWe6pi2d3 pic.twitter.com/8mPi0GJ6gM
— meredith minkow (@murrminks) March 18, 2024
This will most likely go down as the worst statement ever made public https://t.co/ssfipRQLTe
— Tanner Russ/Slim Reaper (@TannerRuss2) March 18, 2024
easy to talk when you’re not the one that has to deal with her on the court. https://t.co/lVMNObxkL7
— The Last Black Man in Virginia (@MVPnuby) March 18, 2024
Oh this isn’t going age well https://t.co/YKp2ABWcQ3
— JM (@freeagentjm) March 18, 2024
First of all, it sure seems like Kellogg is underselling the team’s first-round matchup against a solid Princeton team, which could be a very costly mistake.
Secondly, if they do end up facing Iowa, West Virginia players will surely have their hands full with Clark, who isn’t someone who needs any added motivation to play exceptionally, but now has some.
Only time will tell whether Kellogg and his team live up to this trash talk. But it seems quite foolish to poke the bear when it comes to Iowa and Caitlin Clark.
