"They wanted Clark to win that bad": Nick Young blasts referee for controversial call during Caitlin Clark’s Iowa’s win over UConn
Caitlin Clark and the No. 1 Iowa Hawkeyes triumphed 71-69 over the No. 3 Connecticut Huskies on Friday in a Final Four matchup of the NCAA Tournament. While the result was not surprising, it was the final few moments that drew the ire of many, including former NBA guard Nick Young.
In the dying moments of the game, Iowa led 70-69 with under five seconds left on the clock. As UConn ran a play, Aaliyah Edwards was called for an illegal moving screen on Gabbie Marshall. Young didn’t like the call and called out the refs for allegedly wanting Caitlin Clark to win. He said, via X:
“They wanted Clark to win that bad they called that … lol"
While it is up to debate if the right call was made, most people were annoyed that a game of this magnitude came down to the referees’ whistle.
Caitlin Clark was not her usual self but she still had 21 points, seven assists and nine rebounds. Her shooting efficiency wasn’t great, as she shot 7 of 18, including 3-of-11 from the 3-point line. While the Huskies made it difficult for Clark, Hannah Stuelke stood out for the Hawkeyes with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
The game saw a lot of swings before coming down to the wire. UConn led by as many as 12 points in the second quarter. The Huskies led 28-16 with 5 minutes and 24 seconds left in the second quarter. Iowa outscored UConn 10-4 for the rest of the quarter.
Talking of runs, the Huskies had one of their own after being down 66-57 in the final quarter. They got as close as 70-69, when the controversial call all but sealed the game in the Hawkeyes’ favor.
LeBron James voiced frustration with controversial call after Caitlin Clark and Iowa’s win
LeBron James and the LA Lakers had a rest day on Friday. As expected, James was watching Caitlin Clark and Iowa take on UConn. He was clearly frustrated with the call, as he wrote on X:
“NAAAAAHHHHHH!!! I ain’t rolling with that call.”
While most people criticized the referees for the call, UConn’s Paige Bueckers had a mature response. She said in her post-game interview:
"Everybody can make a big deal about that one single play but not one single play wins a basketball game or loses a basketball game. I feel like I made a lot of mistakes that could've prevented that play."
Bueckers had 17 points in the loss. As she has already announced that she is returning to college for one more year, she will be more motivated than ever to lead UConn to the national title in her final year with the Huskies.