Will stacked region thwart Caitlin Clark's national championship aspirations?

On Sunday, the Hawkeyes (29-4) earned the No. 1 seed in the Albany 2 region, arguably the deepest in the tournament.

"Man, Iowa's region is brutal," wrote The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach. "One of my friends who has spent her whole career covering women's college basketball said she's never seen a region this difficult. Partly, it's because of the sport's increased parity. But also … this is just a loaded region."

It features No. 3 seed LSU, who beat the Hawkeyes in the national championship last season, and No. 4 seed Kansas State. The Wildcats have won two of their last three matchups against Iowa, holding Clark to 33.8 percent from the field and 28.2 percent from three, per Cindy Boren of The Washington Post.  

Despite the tough path, Clark — NCAA Division I's all-time leading scorer (3,771) —  remains confident and noted how the team beat several opponents in the region earlier this season.

"It is what it is, and I think that's what makes it so fun," the three-time All-American told Boren. "We have a win vs. Kansas State, we have a win against Colorado, we have a win vs. Louisville, we beat Drake. You can use that to your advantage."

Clark recently declared for the WNBA Draft. Expect her to raise her game as she tries to capture that elusive title, which would further her legacy as one of the greatest players in college basketball history. As of Monday, FanDuel gives Iowa the second-best national title odds (+700) behind South Carolina.