Does Caitlin Clark have a Fever for Indiana? She’ll tell us when she tells us

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Exiting I-74 and driving from Crawfordsville, Ind., to Indiana University here in Bloomington always feels like you’re leaving the rat race and retreating to a country home.

You go past or through Fincastle and Greencastle, Limedale and Cloverdale. There are signs for unincorporated towns called Raccoon and Carp, clearly founded by people who clearly thought of Shakespeare asking “What’s in a name?”

Finally, you arrive at Bloomington, a nice college city set amid rolling hills, with many university buildings made of limestone from nearby quarries.

And there’s basketball, too. I don’t know if I’d call basketball Indiana’s religion, but it certainly is the state’s passion. Something often said here: In 49 states, it’s just basketball.

Indiana University’s men’s basketball program once brought immeasurable pride and joy to the state, but hasn’t finished a season in the top 10 since 2013. It’s on its fifth head coach since Bob Knight ruled things with an iron fist here back in the 20th century, and none have satisfied the constituents.

Indiana lost 85-70 at home Wednesday night to Nebraska to drop to 6-9 in the Big Ten and 14-12 overall. State-rival Purdue is pounding its way to its fifth regular-season title under Matt Painter. Hoosier Nation isn’t loving any of that.

However, they really go for their women’s team. A capacity crowd of 17,222 fans stuffed their weirdly shaped Assembly Hall Thursday and roared all game as their 14th-ranked team thrashed the Hawkeyes, 86-69.

Yes, Iowa with Caitlin Clark is selling out everywhere. Yes, there were plenty of fans who came for the expressed purpose of seeing Clark. The predominant majority, though, came here to root hard for the Hoosiers. Because they are a very good basketball program, 69-17 in the Big Ten over the last five years.

Indiana’s average home attendance is 9,869. It grows every year.

Hundreds of adults with general admission tickets — many with their children with them — were in line at 4:30 p.m. for the 6 p.m. opening of the arena doors for the 8 p.m. game. The students’ line was allowed to form at 3 p.m.

There were plenty of people wearing Clark shirts and many kids holding signs supporting Clark, but Indiana crimson and cream were the primary colors.

The fans were as into the game as at any Iowa-Indiana men’s game I’ve seen here, and I’ve seen a few. They didn’t come to watch Clark carve up their team, they came to root against her and try to rattle her. They rode her when she airballed a 3-pointer, and when she did the shocking by missing both ends of a pair of free throws.

And you know what? The home fans treating the visiting Clark as a villainous threat rather than a cultural idol was just fine with Clark.

"Their crowd was incredible,“ she said. ”It’s fun to play basketball here.“

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The game was physical, and words that weren’t complimentary were exchanged by players, including Clark. Things often got testy.

“That’s exactly how it should be, exactly what women’s basketball should be,” Clark said. “It should be heated. It should be that way. It’s because people care so much, people are passionate about winning.”

Like Crawfordsville to Bloomington, this essay has been a long and winding road to reach the destination. Will Caitlin Clark leave Iowa after this season to play for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever?

The Fever have the No. 1 pick in April’s WNBA draft. At Thursday’s postgame press conference, someone from Indiana asked Clark “What do you like about that (Fever) team and what do you love about what (general manager) Lin Dunn and (coach) Christie Sides are doing here?”

Clark immediately shut that down, saying “I’m just focused on this team right now, playing my heart out for Iowa and getting to represent my state every single day.

“I’m not really too worried about the future. That is what it is, it comes when it comes.”

Clark can make another year of beaucoup bucks as a collegian. It’s more than money that drive the true greats, though. They want to play with the best and compete against the best.

So it comes when it comes. In the meantime, the Hawkeyes need a bounce-back Sunday against Illinois, and it’s not a wild guess to think the Illini will pay for what Indiana did to Iowa Thursday.

Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com