Megan Rapinoe is "trying to start some drama" in this year'sNCAA women's tournament .- The USWNT star is all-in on the budding rivalry between Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark.
- Bueckers and Clark say they are close, but Rapinoe isn't buying it.
Megan Rapinoe is becoming a "super fan" of this year's NCAA women's college basketball tournament, and she's ready "to start some drama."
Despite having a live-in teacher in one of the best basketball players on the planet - her fiancée, WNBA icon Sue Bird - Rapinoe insists that she doesn't "know a ton about a ton." Still, the US Women's National Team megawatt star showed an impressive grasp of the field in this year's tourney while promoting her partnership with Smirnoff.
In fact, she knew enough to declare that she's all-in on the budding rivalry between two of the nation's best players -
"I really do want to see the 'Buckets' vs Clark clash," Rapinoe told Insider, referring to Bueckers by her nickname. "I want to see that go down. I want them to guard each other. I want the whole thing to happen. I want the storylines."
Rapinoe's wish is the NCAA's command; the superstar 19-year-old point guards will face of in the Sweet Sixteen of
Both Bueckers and Clark have continually insisted that they are friends off the court. Geno Auriemma's young superstar even went so far as to tell ESPN that she and her high-scoring Iowa opponent are "really big fans of each other," per the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.
But Rapinoe's buying absolutely none of it.
"Both of them keep saying how close they are, which, that's just fueling the drama in me," the pink-haired soccer star said. "They're just saying this in the media so they don't have to be rivals."
"I feel like they're keeping an eye on each other's stat lines," Rapinoe added. "So hopefully it's a fun rivalry."
It's hard not to keep an eye on their stat lines, as the duo has exploded for standout performance after standout performance throughout their freshmen seasons. Clark led the entire nation - players in both men's and women's Division I, that is - with 26.8 points per game this season. And despite suiting up for a program that's housed many a WNBA icon, Bueckers has accumulated more points per game than any other freshman in UConn women's basketball history.
March Madness has been no exception for the flashy, crafty point guard pair. Bueckers set the Huskies scoring record for a player's debut NCAA tournament game when she dropped 24 points, nine rebounds, and six assists against the No. 16 High Point Panthers March 21. Two days later, she helped top-seeded UConn take down former Big East rival Syracuse with a game-high 20 points.
Clark, meanwhile, has become an unsurprising breakout star by lighting up the scoreboard every time she takes the floor in San Antonio. She has 23 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists to lead her No. 5 Hawkeyes past Central Michigan in the opening round. But against Rhyne Howard and the No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday, Clark errupted for 35 points on 6-of-12 shooting from behind the arc and added seven rebounds and six assists to spearhead Iowa's 14-point upset.
"Sue said the other day that Caitlin was the most exciting player in the tournament," Rapinoe said. "And I think it's because she's going to have to do so much. She's going to have to drop 35 [points] to beat some of these better teams, whereas obviously Paige has maybe a more well-rounded team around her."
"But I feel like Paige is competitive too," she added. "So she's not going to want to give anything."
Basketball fans across the country will be tuning into ABC at 1 p.m. ET Saturday to watch it all unfold, and it's safe to say Rapinoe will be watching, too. Though her loyalties undoubtedly lie with UConn - where Bird led the Huskies to two national championship victories as point guard - the 2019 Ballon d'Or winner has made it her priority "to get involved and obviously support" the women's game.
"Especially considering what happened on their arrival to San Antonio," Rapinoe said, referring to blatant disparities between the facilities and resources at the men's and women's NCAA tournaments, "which was disappointing to say the absolute least."
"But ultimately I just want it to be exciting," she added. "We haven't had like the blitz of