ESPN’s Andraya Carter tabs Iowa as South Carolina’s biggest threat

ESPN analyst Andraya Carter shared why Iowa is South Carolina’s biggest Final Four threat.

ESPN’s coverage of women’s college basketball and of the NCAA Tournament has drawn praise.

In particular, the in-studio trio of host Elle Duncan alongside analysts Andraya Carter and Chiney Ogwumike has been well received. Front Office Sports just profiled the trio as stars in the making.

As a studio analyst and a member of College GameDay, Carter has shared plenty of opinions over the course of the season. After voicing concerns about Iowa earlier this season following its loss 86-69 loss at Indiana, Carter now had nothing but nice things to say about the Hawks as they ready for the Final Four.

Asked on ESPN’s “First Take” which team poses the biggest challenge to undefeated South Carolina in the Final Four, Carter responded that it’s the Iowa Hawkeyes.

“Iowa’s the biggest threat to South Carolina. There are multiple reasons why. You have to give NC State credit. NC State has Aziaha James, they’ve got shooters, they’ve got electric guards. Iowa, one, has Caitlin Clark, two, has more depth than Connecticut and, three, they’ve beaten South Carolina before. Now, this is a completely different South Carolina team, but in the same idea of having to go up against elite length and skill and athleticism and depth, Iowa is the only team out of the three remaining that can at least have in the back of their mind we’ve done this before.

“Not only have we done it before, we did it just last season when no one thought we could do it. So, I think Iowa given their experience, given Caitlin Clark and her three-point shooting ability, that’s the biggest difference in keeping games close with South Carolina. You need about a 12 to 15-point difference from the three-point line. Caitlin Clark can give you that herself. Once Gabbie Marshall and Kate Martin start hitting threes, it’s problematic on all fronts. So, with the way Caitlin’s teammates are playing, the way she’s playing and their experience from last season of doing exactly that, Iowa would have the best chance of taking down South Carolina,” Carter said.

It’s fun to think about. That scenario would have Caitlin Clark guiding Iowa to its first-ever national championship and doing so over the Goliath that is South Carolina.

But, first things first, Iowa will have to work its way through an incredibly talented No. 3 seed in tradition-rich UConn. The Huskies are making their 23rd all-time Final Four appearance and seeking their 12th national championship in program history.

The Huskies are led by guard Paige Bueckers who is averaging 22.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.

Tipoff for the Hawkeyes against UConn is slated for 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN on Friday from Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.