Current:Home > InvestCaitlin Clark, Iowa set conference tournament viewership record after beating Nebraska -Golden Horizon Investments
Caitlin Clark, Iowa set conference tournament viewership record after beating Nebraska
View
Date:2025-04-14 08:04:16
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! (7)
Related
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- 'Taxi' reunion: Tony Danza talks past romance with co-star Marilu Henner
- Harvard president remains leader of Ivy League school following backlash on antisemitism testimony
- Bernie Sanders: Israel is losing the war in public opinion
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Turkey suspends all league games after club president punches referee at a top-flight match
- Feel Like a Star With 58 Gift Ideas From Celebrity Brands- SKIMS, Goop, BEIS, Rhode & More
- US announces new sanctions on Russia’s weapons suppliers as Zelenskyy visits Washington
- Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
- FedEx issues safety warning to delivery drivers after rash of truck robberies, carjackings
Ranking
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- A Jordanian soldier is killed in a clash with drug smugglers along the border with Syria
- After UPenn president's resignation, Wesleyan University president says leaders should speak out against hate
- Baseball's first cheater? The story of James 'Pud' Galvin and testicular fluid
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Thousands rally in Slovakia to condemn the new government’s plan to close top prosecutors’ office
- Whitmer’s fight for abortion rights helped turn Michigan blue. She’s eyeing national impact now
- Brandon Aubrey, kicker for the Cowboys, hasn't missed a field goal. Maybe he should.
Recommendation
US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
Tommy DeVito's agent makes waves with outfit, kisses during Giants game
How Zach Edey, Purdue men's hoops star, is overcoming immigration law to benefit from NIL
Tricia Tuttle appointed as the next director of the annual Berlin film festival
North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
Clemson defeats Notre Dame for second NCAA men's soccer championship in three years
Investigators accessed Trump White House cellphone records and plan to use them at trial, special counsel says
CPR can be lifesaving for some, futile for others. Here's what makes the difference