Who ya got? Our sportswriters in Dallas give their picks on the LSU-Iowa NCAA final

The Advocate’s writers predict the outcome of LSU’s matchup with Iowa in the NCAA championship game on Sunday in Dallas:

Jim Kleinpeter

Iowa 80, LSU 79

Offense sells tickets and defense wins championships — except when that ticket-selling offense is led by a generational talent like Caitlin Clark, who has captured the imagination, if not Angel Reese-like NIL dollars, of the nation. Even LSU coach Kim Mulkey suggested she’d never seen a player like Clark, who is like a female Pete Maravich.

Scott Rabalais

LSU 75, Iowa 72

No matter how good Caitlin Clark is — and she is exceptional — I find it hard to see one player beating LSU in this situation. Clark will score, but as long as the Tigers get production from Angel Reese, Alexis Morris and at least one other player, they win a thriller.

Reed Darcey

LSU 72, Iowa 68

The national title game will come down to how well LSU defends the Caitlin Clark-Monica Czinano pick-and-rolls. Clark will get hers. There’s no doubt about that. But LaDazhia Williams will take away Czinano, and Iowa will lose their only other source of offense. Clark puts on a show, but Tigers win a close one.