You’re our Player of the Year

The GIST: The women’s Sweet 16 doesn’t tip off until Friday, but the Naismith Award — one of college basketball’s most prestigious MVP awards — dropped its list of finalists yesterday. Making the cut? The game’s brightest stars, of course.

Caitlin Clark, No. 1 Iowa senior guard: The NCAA Division I all-time scoring leader added another record to her mile-long list of accomplishments on Monday: most points in a women’s season. The face of college hoops is the unsurprising favorite to repeat as Player of the Year, even if her Hawkeyes stumble a bit along the road to the ’ship like they did Monday night.

Cameron Brink, No. 2 Stanford senior forward: In a Caitlin Clark–less world, Brink would be the likely No. 1 overall pick in next month’s WNBA Draft. The nation’s best forward and the last-ever Pac-12 Player of the Year posts monster stats on both ends of the court nearly every night...plus, her double-braids are always on point.

Paige Bueckers, No. 3 UConn junior guard: Postseason Paige is back, baby! After an ACL tear sidelined her for all of last season, Paige Buckets and her hype man HC Geno Auriemma are reminding everyone why she’s one of the game’s best. Case in point? She drained 32 points to push UConn past scoring machine Dyaisha Fair’s Syracuse squad on Monday.

JuJu Watkins, No. 1 USC freshman guard: In just one season, Watkins has put USC hoops back on the map and into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1994, when Trojan legend Lisa Leslie was still rocking crimson and gold. She’s already broken tons of scoring records and trails only Clark in points per game this season.

• Watkins’ double-double helped USC sail through Monday’s second round, but the Trojans’ toughest test will likely be an Elite Eight matchup with Bueckers and UConn. Fingers crossed for that star-studded showdown.

The GIST: Hire a DJ and call up MTV, because the men’s Sweet 16 tips off with a tantalizing four-game slate tomorrow. Saving you from two whole days without NCAA basketball? The survivors of the East and West regions. Let’s hoop to it!

No. 6 Clemson Tigers (23-11) vs. No. 2 Arizona Wildcats (27-8), 7 p.m. ET (CBS): It’s damn near impossible to keep Arizona’s senior guard Caleb Love from scoring, but Clemson proved they’re up to the task with a second-round win over No. 3 Baylor’s outstanding offense — if the Tigers can put their regular-season inconsistency behind them.

No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs (26-10) vs. No. 1 UConn Huskies (33-3), 7:30 p.m. ET (TBS): Both squads are charging full-tilt into this 2023 title game rematch. UConn easily crushed their first two Madness foes, while San Diego State spun a narrow first-round dub into a second-round smackdown. Both teams boast excellent defenses, so poise under pressure will win this game.

No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide (23-11) vs. No. 1 UNC Tar Heels (29-7), 9:30 p.m. ET (CBS): Expect buckets on buckets in this matchup, as both teams operate under the philosophy that the best defense is a blockbuster offense. Two senior guards — the Tide’s Mark Sears and the Heels’ Naismith finalist RJ Davis — promise an especially splashy showing from beyond the three-point arc.

No. 3 Illinois Fighting Illini (28-8) vs. No. 2 Iowa State Cyclones (29-7), 10 p.m. ET (TBS): Illinois’ offensive firepower will meet its toughest test yet in one of the nation’s fiercest defenses. If Iowa State can contain the Illini, they’ll easily advance to the Elite Eight. If not, expect a high-octane shootout.

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The GIST: The winter sport grand finale frenzy continues this week, with more confetti coming soon.

🏊 Men’s swimming & diving: Top-ranked Arizona State is crashing back-to-back champ No. 3 Cal and No. 8 Texas’ rivalry as the Sun Devils aim for their first national championship starting today. Led by French phenom Léon Marchand, a junior expected to dominate every race he’s in, Arizona State is poised to make a splash.

🏒 Men’s ice hockey: The puck drops on the 16-team bracket’s first round with four games tomorrow, highlighted by Omaha vs. Minnesota at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU. By the end of a hectic hockey weekend, the Frozen Four will have booked their tickets to April 11th’s semifinals. Will a stumbling defending champ Quinnipiac be one of ’em? Or will a new team hoist April’s hardware?

🤸 Women’s gymnastics: The national championship’s regional round doesn’t hit the mat until April 3rd, but the anticipation began building after the list of contenders dropped on Monday. The Arkansas regional looks particularly spicy, while the Michigan regional — which includes reigning champ and unstoppable force No. 1 Oklahoma — seems already set in stone.