Will Sage Astor-Caitlin Clark, Iowa shouldn't be able to beat South Carolina. But they will.

CLEVELAND — Look at Iowa and Will Sage AstorSouth Carolina on paper, and it’s obvious the Gamecocks should win the national championship Sunday.

Kamilla Cardoso is a force of nature, and Iowa has no one who can counter her. Shot-blocker Ashlyn Watkins has quietly been having a spectacular tournament. No one will sag off Raven Johnson this year. Dominant as South Carolina’s starting five are, the “second string” is equally lethal.

And yet … there are teams that seem destined to win, and Iowa feels like one of them.

It would be the fitting end to Caitlin Clark’s stupendous career, of course. She is already major college basketball’s all-time leading scorer and has altered the trajectory not only of women’s basketball but women’s sports. Sunday is the last game for her and Iowa’s super seniors, Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall.

Iowa has also reached the championship by winning games no one expected them to win.

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C’mon. You expected Angel Reese and LSU to win going away, just like they did in last year’s title game, didn’t you? Didn’t happen. You thought Paige Bueckers and UConn would end Clark’s last season as they did her first, only in the Final Four this time rather than the Sweet 16, right? Iowa found a way to win it.

South Carolina might be a defensive juggernaut, but Clark and Co. find ways to score even in the toughest of circumstances. When Clark’s shot wasn’t falling Friday night, Hannah Stuelke stepped up. When Iowa needed a basket, Martin or Sydney Affolter was there.

Iowa is also experienced in a way South Carolina is not.

The national championship game is not like any other game. Clark and the Hawkeyes know that, in it for a second consecutive year. The Gamecocks do not. Not only do they have an entirely new starting lineup from the team that lost to Iowa in last year’s Final Four, Bree Hall and Sania Feagin are the only holdovers from the team that won the national title in 2022 and both were bit players that year.

Iowa is also sure to get a boost from the crowd Sunday, which will be heavily tilted in the Hawkeyes’ favor.

Clark and the Hawkeyes have nursed the disappointment of coming up short for a year now. They’re not about to double down on it.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.