The price of greatness? For Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, it’s a jaw-dropping $2,243 for resale tickets to witness her iconic No. 22 jersey ascend to the rafters of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. For UConn’s Paige Bueckers, a ticket to her upcoming clash with USC will set you back just $43. Yes, you read that right—less than the cost of a tank of gas for some SUVs.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Clark has carved out a legacy so monumental that it’s hard to imagine anyone emulating it, least of all Bueckers, whose performances—while stellar—are still under the shadow of Iowa’s basketball darling. After all, Clark didn’t just break the NCAA points record for men and women; she obliterated it, and Iowa fans are ready to sell their grandma’s heirlooms to be a part of her history.
Caitlin Clark: The $2,243 Question
With resale tickets for Clark’s February jersey retirement priced higher than courtside seats for some NBA games, the hype is undeniable. Her stats? Legendary. Her impact? Unparalleled. Her ability to get season tickets sold out for the second consecutive year? Priceless.
As Chad Withrow cheekily noted on HotMic with Hutton & Withrow: “Sold out. That means you got to increase that price.” Well, clearly, Iowa fans got the memo.
Paige Bueckers: The $43 Underdog
Meanwhile, Paige Bueckers is quietly putting up 20.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and four assists per game in her senior year. Impressive? Absolutely. But does it make her the NCAA’s next megastar? Not quite yet.
Her UConn Huskies are preparing to face USC, with tickets retailing for a mere $26 at the low end. If Clark is a Monet, Bueckers is currently a budding artist—a rising star trying to prove she can hold her own on the national stage.
Adding fuel to the fire, Bueckers’ Huskies are 10-1 and leading the Big East, while JuJu Watkins’ USC Trojans (also 10-1) sit atop the Big 10. Watkins, by the way, is averaging 24.7 points per game, making her a serious threat to the Huskies’ dominance.
The January 22 Showdown: A $43 Bargain
Circle January 22 on your calendar, folks—that’s when the Huskies will face the Hawkeyes in a battle that feels more David vs. Goliath than Bueckers vs. Clark. Ticket prices for this showdown are over 100 times cheaper than Clark’s jersey retirement, but let’s face it: Clark could sell out an arena just by announcing she’s eating breakfast there.
Final Thoughts: Legacy Wars
It’s not that Paige Bueckers isn’t great—she absolutely is. But in the cutthroat world of NCAA women’s basketball, “great” doesn’t always translate to “game-changer.” Caitlin Clark has set the bar so high that even the air up there feels thin.
Still, as the Huskies prepare to host the Trojans, Bueckers has one golden opportunity: to prove she’s more than just Clark’s understudy. Whether she can rise to the occasion—or be crushed under the weight of those $2,243 expectations—is anyone’s guess.
For now, one thing’s clear: Iowa has a queen, and her name is Caitlin Clark. The rest? They’re just trying to keep up.