Get your popcorn ready for a rematch of the 2023 national championship game.
Angel Reese and No. 3 seed LSU will face Caitlin Clark and No. 1 seed Iowa in the Elite Eight at 7 p.m. ET Monday in a highly anticipated March Madness showdown.
The two college basketball superstars took center stage in last year's title game, in which LSU defeated Iowa to win its first championship in program history. Clark and Reese engaged in trash talk throughout the game, capped off by Reese hitting Clark with a "you can't see me" gesture and pointing to her ring finger once LSU's fate was sealed.
Her actions led to accusations of disrespect and showboating. But both Reese and Clark dismissed the social media furor.
"I don't think Angel should be criticized at all," Clark said in an ESPN interview two days after the game. "No matter which way it goes, she should never be criticized for what she did. I'm just one that competes, and she competed. I think everybody knew there was going to be a little trash talk. It's not just me and Angel."
Reese was on the same page, though she was willing to embrace the persona placed upon her.
"I love Caitlin. We’ve been competing since we were in AAU," she told ESPN ahead of the 2023-24 season. "The world is always going to have a good girl and a bad girl. I’ll take that I’m going to be the bad guy because I know I’ve grown women’s basketball and inspired people."
With the two stars set to face off on the NCAA Tournament stage for a second time, Reese cleared the air again Sunday on her "super-competitive" relationship with Clark.
MORE: The complete history of Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark's relationship
Angel Reese speaks on her relationship with Caitlin Clark
"I don't think people realize it's not personal," Reese said Sunday after LSU and Iowa secured an Elite Eight date.
"Once we get out between those lines, if I see you walking down the street, it's like, 'Hey, girl, what's up? Let's hang out.' I think people just take it like we hate each other. Me and Caitlin Clark don't hate each other. I want everybody to understand that."
Reese and Clark are both known for their fiery attitudes on the court, as the LSU star referenced.
"It's just a super-competitive game," Reese said. "Once I get between those lines, there's no friends. I'm going to talk trash to you. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get in your head the whole entire game, but after the game, we can kick it. I don't think people really realize that."
Still, Reese is willing to lean into the villain role for the growth of women's college basketball, reiterating her preseason comments.
"That's fine. I'll take the villain role. I'll take the hit for it, but I know we're growing women's basketball," she said. "If this is the way we're going to do it, then this is the way we're going to do it. You either like it or you don't."
MORE: LSU stars Hailey Van Lith, Angel Reese fire back at LA Times over 'racist' column
Clark backed Reese's assessment of their relationship ahead of the Elite Eight, too.
"There's definitely that competitive fire," Clark told ESPN. "Both of us want to win more than anything, and that's how it should be when you're a competitor and you get into a situation like this, whether it was the national championship, whether it's the Elite Eight.
"I think that's the main similarity is how competitive we are. We both grew up loving this game, and we're going to do anything we can to help our teams win."
Iowa and LSU are set to face off in the Elite Eight at 7 p.m. ET Monday, April 1.
