ALBANY — Caitlin Clark is in the building, so the dozens of cameras and scribes at their first women’s NCAA Tournament follow.
Top-ranked and undefeated South Carolina is also at MVP Arena, making one more pit stop before its seemingly inevitable coronation in Cleveland next week.
The champs are here, too.
Before Clark and Iowa take the stage in Saturday’s spotlight matchup, No. 3 LSU (30-5) will attempt to keep its back-to-back title hopes alive in its undercard Sweet 16 battle versus No. 2 UCLA (27-6).
The Tigers are one of the most talented teams in the country, but not the best from their own conference.
They have one of the biggest stars in the nation (Angel Reese), but not the most recognizable player in Albany.
They have the third-highest scoring offense in the nation (86.1 points per game), which ranks third at this regional site.
They are exactly where they want to be.
“Look, [UCLA is] supposed to win the game,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said. “They’re the 2-seed. We’re the 3-seed. But we’re not going to go away. We’re going to fight hard.
“If everybody looked at the [South] Carolina tape, we’d all be scared because they’re that good. [But] everybody is good. At this stage, this is the most wonderful thing … I don’t know, going all the way back to when I was a player if we ever thought there were more than one or two or three teams that were going to win it all. Now you really don’t know. We’re a classic example of that.
“Last year nobody thought we would win a national championship, but we did. I like that. I like the fact that we all have to stay on our toes and recognize that there are more than two or three teams anymore that just dominate the women’s game.”
Last year, LSU made its first Final Four in 15 years, before capturing its first-ever national championship.
As a 3-seed, the Tigers became the first team in a dozen years to win the title without holding a No. 1 seed.
Now, LSU — despite double-digit title odds — is four wins from becoming the first repeat champion in seven years.
“The expectations are higher, [but] we have two [starters] on the team that’s never played in the NCAA Tournament,” Reese said. “Experience matters and last year we had much more experience.
“Now it’s like y’all know we win or we’re going home … Of course, anybody can beat you, and understanding everybody wants to beat LSU and understanding those three letters on your chest mean something.”