Soft Michigan Players Wrote Caitlin Clark Notes Before She Scored 49 Points, Broke Scoring Record Against Them

Caitlin Clark breaking the NCAA Division I women's scoring record against Michigan was inevitable on Thursday night, given she needed just eight points to surpass Kelsey Plum on the all-time scoring list. 

The outcome of the actual game, however, could have gone either way. Sure, Iowa is one of the top-ranked teams in the country and Michigan entered the game at 16-9 on the year, but this is college basketball, upsets happen.

Michigan didn't appear to want to spoil the Clark party, however.  Every single member of its team wrote Clark a personal note before the game.

The gesture is some top-tier sportsmanship from the Wolverines, but at the same time, it portrays a loser and uber-soft mentality. You can't sit around as a team before trying to knock off one of the best teams in the country, and an in-conference foe, writing heartfelt messages to their best player and then expect to be competitive in the game itself.

Writing some version of ‘Caitlin, you are the GOAT and we appreciate everything you’ve done for this game' and then trying to shut her down on the floor doesn't mix.

Michigan lost the game by 17 and gave up 106 points, 49 of which came courtesy of Clark.

Lisa Bluder, Iowa's head coach, was the one to share the news about each Michigan player. It's reasonable to wonder if the Wolverines wanted that bit of news to get out to the public or keep it under wraps, but here we are.

While some appreciated Michigan's gesture and saw nothing wrong with it, not everyone was on that same page.

Lexie Brown, a former WNBA champion, was among the many who called out the Wolverines' note-writing.

Clark has scored 3,569 points in 126 games played at Iowa.