3/3/2024 basketball Edit

Caitlin Clark Breaks Pete Maravich's NCAA Scoring Record

Ross Binder • Go Iowa Awesome

Managing Editor

There are no more mountains to climb. Caitlin Clark has ascended them all.

On Sunday, in her final regular season game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, with #6 Iowa facing #2 Ohio State, Caitlin Clark passed "Pistol" Pete Maravich to become the all-time leading scorer in men's and women's basketball in NCAA history. Clark entered the game needing 18 points to break Maravich's NCAA scoring record.

The record-breaking basket came with 00.3 remaining in the second quarter, as Clark drained a pair of free throws after an Ohio State technical foul:

Clark's career has felt like a non-stop succession of broken records, but that's been especially true of her senior season and this last month in particular.

Clark scored her 2,804th point to become Iowa's career scoring leader against UNI, in just the third game of this season. She surpassed Ohio State great Kelsey Mitchell as the Big Ten's leading scorer (3,402 points) just over a month ago.

Clark broke Washington great Kelsey Plum's NCAA women's career scoring record (3,527 points) against Michigan last month in impeccable fashion, with one of her signature logo 3s:

Earlier this week, Clark claimed the "real" women's basketball career scoring mark as she surpassed Kansas legend Lynette Woodard's total of 3,649 points in a breathtaking display against Minnesota. In that same game, Clark also broke the Big Ten's career record for 3-pointers (497), formerly held by Ohio State's Mitchell, and the NCAA's single-season record for made 3-pointers (154), previously held by Idaho's Taylor Pierce.

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Maravich set the NCAA's career scoring record for men's basketball with 3,677 points during his career at LSU from 1967-70. Maravich actually set the record in just three seasons, as the NCAA's rule against freshman competing in varsity sports prevented him from playing in 1966-67. He averaged 44.2 ppg in his 83-game career from 1967-68 through 1969-70.

Of course, Maravich also set the record in an era before college basketball had a shot clock or the 3--point line. It also came at a time when the SEC was almost entirely segregated. Regardless, his record will forever remain one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of college basketball.

While some would like to debate the merits of Clark's accomplishments versus Maravich's achievements, that largely seems to miss the point. It seems more fruitful to celebrate their commonalities. Both Clark and Maravich are remarkably gifted basketball players with an uncanny ability to put the basket in the net -- and to find open teammates with dazzling passes.

Clark and Maravich's ability to score the ball gets the most attention, but both are (or were) incredible passers as well, capable of making seeing-eye passes no one else can and threading the ball between defenders to open teammates. Jaeson Maravich, Pete Maravich's son thinks his father would have appreciated Clark's game. “I think he would have been a big fan of hers,” he told The Athletic recently.

Comparing scoring records is a fraught and ultimately futile endeavor, given the differences in rules, gender, and competition involved. Players like Pete Marvich and Caitlin Clark are simply a gift to the sport of basketball. They broaden the scope of what's possible on a basketball court and ignite the imagination in a way few can.