No one will wear the number 22 in Iowa or South Carolina again. Both the Carver-Hawkeye Arena and Colonial Life Arena were filled to the brim on Sunday, as their hometown heroes had their special day! Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson are both collegiate legends, having brought unrivaled fame and success to their programs. Clark earned unmatched personal accolades, while Wilson led her team to a national championship.

No doubt, both of them deserve to have their jerseys up in the rafters. Their resumes speak for themselves. However, analysts believe that one of the ceremonies held more importance than the other, and the reason might catch you by surprise.

On The Elle Duncan Show, show hosts Elle Duncan and Gary Striewski discussed the special day for the two athletes. According to Duncan, however, Iowa understood the assignment! “South Carolina ended up winning by like 50 points. You probably expected that.” She said, before highlighting the importance of Sunday’s matchup for Iowa. “If you’re Iowa, you’re facing number four USC. This is a huge game. The retirement part aside, this is a really, really big game. I’ll be damned if they didn’t come out swinging.”

Jan Jensen’s Hawkeyes have been going through a rough patch recently, but they banded together really well for CC’s big day. Coming off 5 consecutive losses just two games prior, Iowa had continued to remain unranked for the season. USC Trojans, on the other hand, were on a 15-game win streak. Add JuJu Watkins, averaging 24.7 points and 6.7 rebounds and contending for national player of the year honor, into the mix and you know who the underdogs were.

But Lucy Olsen led with 28 points, the Hawkeyes shot 25 from the field, 5 from beyond the arc, forced 18 turnovers, and in the most electric atmosphere, Caitlin Calrk cheered from the sidelines. “I wanted to have Caitlin’s day be good, top to bottom,” coach Jan Jensen said, who had prepared her team for the overwhelming crowd, to soak it up but yet, focus on the game. The 69-79 win couldn’t have been any better for Clark on the day as special.

“They pull one of the biggest upsets of the year in beating USC on their home court in front of Caitlin Clark as her jersey was retired. It was a really cool moment for Carver-Hawkeye Arena,” Duncan emphasizes. 

On the other end, the Gamecocks had picked an 83-66 victory over Auburn. But coming off an 8-game win streak, undefeated in the conference, and atop the charts, a win was only expected of South Carolin against 13th ranked (in SEC) Tigers. So while that may not have added to the surprise element, it was a heartwarming ceremony nonetheless.

Freshman Joyce Edwards led the team in scoring, Carolina improved 21-1, and A’ja Wilson moved the crowd to tears with her speech. What the Hawkeyes did on Sunday, however, is something that will be noted down in the pages of history.

Iowa missing Caitlin Clark?

With how Jan Jensen’s team is struggling this season, it’s obvious that Caitlin Clark’s presence will be missed. It is not all bad however. The upset win against USC meant that the Hawkeyes have won their last three games.

It was a good recovery from Lucy Olsen and company, capping off a dominant win, but there’s still a Caitlin Clark-shaped hole in the Iowa squad.

On The Elle Duncan Show, show host Gary Striewski pointed out a very interesting fact about the Iowa Hawkeyes. “That was the first time Iowa as an unranked team ever beat a top 10 ranked team.” The analyst said. “You’re like woah, that’s crazy, that never happened?”

Striewski continued, pointing out the difference in rosters. “No, because when Caitlin Clark was there, they were always ranked.They were always a top five team. So this is an unranked Iowa team beating one of the best teams in the country.” The Hawkeyes have a lot of potential to become an underdog story this March.

With the way that they’re playing, and how they performed before Clark’s big moment, Jan Jensen can do some good things with the current squad! What do you think? Can Iowa get to the Final Four again? Will they make a comeback? Only time will tell.