West Virginia coach fires off trash talk at Iowa, Caitlin Clark before tournament

The West Virginia Mountaineers women’s basketball team was selected as the No. 8 seed in the Albany Region 2 of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday and may be on a collision course with No. 1 Iowa in the second round.

At least that’s what head coach Mark Kellogg suggested in his speech to rally his fans at a Selection Sunday party.

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West Virginia head coach Mark Kellogg answers questions at the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tipoff at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, on Oct. 17. (Kylie Graham-USA Today Sports)

"I already told them let’s win one and send Caitlin Clark packing," he said.

The Mountaineers will have to get past No. 9 Princeton before potentially taking on Iowa in the Round of 32. The Tigers defeated Columbia to win the Ivy League Tournament on Saturday. The Tigers have made it to the second round of the tournament in each of the last two seasons.

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Clark and Iowa will have a target on their back entering the tournament given the media spotlight that has shined on the team all season long. Clark started the season in pursuit of Kelsey Plum’s all-time scoring record in NCAA Division 1 women’s basketball and ended up surpassing not only Plum but Lynette Woodard and Pete Maravich in the history books.

Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes reacts while playing the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Championship at Target Center on March 10, 2024, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)

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The Hawkeyes’ road back to the national championship won’t be smooth. Should they get past either Holy Cross or UT-Martin, and then either West Virginia or Princeton, teams like Colorado, LSU and UCLA all have the potential to spoil their run.

But West Virginia hopes to be that team before anyone else gets to Iowa.

Iowa guard Caitlin Clark cuts the basket netting down after the overtime win over Nebraska in the final of the Big Ten women's tournament on Sunday, March 10, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

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"Let’s go dancing!! Proud of our team… they’ve earned the opportunity to represent in the NCAA Tournament! Let’s do this Mountaineers!!" Kellogg wrote on X.

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