The Women's Basketball NCAA March Madness tournament is winding down and some of the biggest moments happened in New York State.

Women's Basketball Sweet 16/Elite 8 Comes to NY

The women's NCAA basketball tournament has been absolutely electric this year. With talents like Caitlin Clark, JuJu Watkins, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers dropping major points, all eyes are on the ladies this year.

New York basketball fans were excited when they learned that the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games would be played at the MVP Arena in Albany, New York from March 30th through April 1st.

The games brought out thousands to the MVP Arena throughout the weekend.

While New Yorkers were excited to see some of the biggest names in Women's basketball play up close, the players and personalities seemed to be less than impressed with Upstate, New York.

Rebecca Lobo Roasts Upstate NY During Elite 8 Game

Last night, LSU and Iowa met up for the rematch of the century. That may be a bit dramatic, but the buzz about the game was insane. Last year Angel Reese and the LSU Tigers knocked out Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the NCAA Championship game.

This year, Clark has been unstoppable. Needless to say, all eyes were on The MVP Arena. Thousands filled the venue and I can imagine millions of eyes, including mine. I watched as Iowa defeated LSU to head to the Final Four in Ohio.

LSU v Iowa
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The game was called by Ryan Ruocco and WBNA Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo, who is now catching some heat for her comments about the Capital Region. During the broadcast, Ruocco mentioned that Caitlin Clark had said something along the lines of "my family keeps reaching out to me and I said I'm staying in my room, go find something fun to do in Albany" to which Lobo replied:

“And, by the way, good luck finding something to do in Albany.”

When I heard those words leave her lips I knew the internet would go nuts. New York State tweeters had a field day on X.

However, shortly after her comments started to go viral Lobo issued an apology of sorts:

Is There Anything to Do in Albany, New York?

In her defense, I went to a comedy show at The Egg a few months ago and thought I was in an abandoned city. It was dead.

Lobo isn't the only one who is feeling underwhelmed by Albany. UCLA's Charisma Osborne took a shot at Upstate, New York on Tiktok:

@charismaosborne20 helllooooo New York 😭😭 #fyp#d1#athlete#ucla#marchmadness♬ original sound - movie&series clips
However, on the other end, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley is on board with Albany being the venue for future basketball games telling CBS 6 in Albany "I definitely would recommend [Albany] even if we did not win because of the amount of people that have come out to see the games." Staley added:
"They're excited. You create an environment which you know you're playing in a tough situation, whether they're cheering for you or if you're on the other side of it. 
South Carolina takes on NC State on Friday, April 5th at 7:00 pm then Iowa will play UConn at 9:00 pm. The winners of each match-up will then go head-to-head on Sunday, April 7th. 

Check Out the First Photos of Caitlin Clark Practicing in NY's Capital Region

Friday morning, Capital Region basketball fans got their first look at Caitlin Clark, the NCAA's all-time leading scorer, on the floor at MVP Arena in Albany.

Gallery Credit: Dan Bahl

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Gallery Credit: Karolyi

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This New York Concert Calendar is updated regularly so keep checking back for the latest on Saratoga Performing Arts Center, MVP Arena, The Egg, the Palace Theatre and much more!

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