Charles Barkley gives personal shoutout to Caitlin Clark, South Carolina after thrilling Final Four matchup

Before the Men’s Final Four tipped off on Saturday, NBA legend Charles Barkley took a moment to show some love to Iowa guard Caitlin Clark. Barkley interrupted the pre-game show briefly to give a thank you to all four teams in the Women’s Final Four for an amazing pair of games to set up a championship showdown between Iowa and LSU.

Barkley shared that he had watched the games instead of going out on Friday night, and thanked them for the amazing performances. He continued with a direct shoutout to South Carolina coach Dawn Staley and her team — and paid tribute to Clark for being the best player on the court all day.

Charles Barkley on Caitlin Clark, South Carolina

“I just want to say this, we didn’t talk about it earlier,” said Barkley on Saturday. “I want to thank those ladies last night for putting on a miraculous show. I watched the game last night… Dawn Staley and her amazing women. She is unbelievable. They got beat by a better team because Caitlin Clark was amazing. Good luck to them, good luck to LSU.”

The Hawkeyes stunned the undefeated Gamecocks on Friday, handing them their first loss in over a year and snapping a 42-game win streak that stretched to last year’s NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes were led by star guard and National Player of the Year, Caitlin Clark, who stuffed the stat sheet with another tremendous performance.

Clark finished the night with 41 points, eight assists and six rebounds — scoring or assisting on 23 of Iowa’s 28 field goals made during the win.

Before Iowa and South Carolina took the court, LSU took down Virginia Tech to reach Sunday’s championship game as well. The No. 3 seed Tigers eliminated the No. 1 seed Hokies 79-72, behind a 24-point, 12-rebound game from Angel Reese. Guard Alexis Morris added 27 points of her own, and forward LaDazhia Williams added 16 more points.

The upcoming title game between Iowa and LSU promises to showcase some of the best talent in the sport from Clark to LSU’s star forward and double-double machine Angel Reese who has had a stellar year of her own after transferring to Baton Rouge. But no matter who stars in the Women’s Basketball National Title game, one thing is certain based on Saturday’s banter — Charles Barkley is apparently one of the many fans who can’t wait to watch.