Current:Home > MarketsCaitlin Clark, Iowa set conference tournament viewership record after beating Nebraska -FinanceMind
Caitlin Clark, Iowa set conference tournament viewership record after beating Nebraska
View
Date:2025-04-15 11:39:27
Fans can't get enough of Caitlin Clark.
Iowa's Big Ten championship win over Nebraska on Sunday was the most-watched conference tournament game on any network in women's college basketball history, CBS Sports reported on Tuesday.
The network said that the game, where the Hawkeyes won 94-89 for their third straight Big Ten title behind 34 points and 12 assists from Clark, had an average of 3.021 million viewers. The audience peaked when the game went into overtime and 4.450 million people tuned in.
The matchup was the most-watched game of the day, which also featured the SEC championship where South Carolina outlasted LSU after a scuffle in the fourth quarter to win their eighth conference title in 10 years.
The Athletic's Richard Deitsch compared the numbers between the women's Big Ten championship and the storied rivalry between Duke and North Carolina's men's basketball teams. The Blue Devils and Tar Heels faced off on Saturday in the regular season finale. North Carolina won at Cameron Indoor, clinching the regular season ACC crown. Deitsch said that game, which was aired on ESPN, had an average of 3.076 million viewers.
WOMEN'S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY's women's tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.
The Big Ten Network also reported that Iowa amassed more than 1 million viewers for both its semifinal and quarterfinal games in the conference tournament. It's the first time the network has seen two women's games pass the 1 million mark. The 1.075 million fans that tuned in for the semifinal against Michigan made the game the most-watched women's sports event and second overall in the network's history.
Clark − with other stars such as LSU's Angel Reese, former South Carolina star Aliyah Boston and Stanford's Cameron Brink − have helped elevate the profile of women's basketball. Last year's Final Four saw record viewership on ESPN with an average of 5.5 million and peak of 6.6 million people watching Iowa versus South Carolina. When Clark broke Pete Maravich's all-time scoring record earlier this month in a game against Ohio State, an average of 3.4 million fans tuned in, making it the most-watched women's college basketball game in FOX's history.
The Hawkeyes clinched a berth in the NCAA tournament with the championship win. They will learn their seeding for the competition on Selection Sunday.
veryGood! (35421)
Related
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Blake Lively Proudly Shows Off Her Interior Design Skills in Peek Inside Her Home
- Stopping, standing on Las Vegas Strip pedestrian bridges could be a misdemeanor under new ordinance
- EU targets world’s biggest diamond miner as part of Russia war sanctions
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Trump’s vows to deport millions are undercut by his White House record and one family’s story
- FBI investigating after gas canisters found at deadly New Year's crash in Rochester, New York
- Trump appeals Maine ruling barring him from ballot under the Constitution’s insurrection clause
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- Frank Ryan, Cleveland Browns' last championship quarterback, dies at 89
Ranking
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- Kentucky secretary of state calls for a ‘tolerant and welcoming society’ as he starts his 2nd term
- ESPN apologizes for showing video of woman flashing breast during Sugar Bowl broadcast
- Why did some Apple Watch models get banned in the US? The controversy explained
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- Cause still undetermined for house fire that left 5 children dead in Arizona, authorities say
- How common are earthquakes on the East Coast? Small explosions reported after NYC quake
- Ex-NBA G League player, former girlfriend to face charges together in woman’s killing in Vegas
Recommendation
Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
Gypsy Rose Blanchard is free, reflects on prison term for conspiring to kill her abusive mother
The First Teaser for Vanderpump Villa Is Chic—and Dramatic—as Hell
‘Bachelorette’ Rachel Lindsay’s husband, Bryan Abasolo, files for divorce after 4 years of marriage
Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
State tax cutting trend faces headwinds from declining revenues and tighter budgets
Voter challenges in Georgia before 2021 runoff didn’t violate Voting Rights Act, judge says
US women are stocking up on abortion pills, especially when there is news about restrictions