Current:Home > MarketsCaitlin Clark, Iowa set conference tournament viewership record after beating Nebraska -FundGuru
Caitlin Clark, Iowa set conference tournament viewership record after beating Nebraska
View
Date:2025-04-23 12:12:52
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! (39186)
Related
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- New Federal Rules Target Methane Leaks, Flaring and Venting
- In Iowa, Candidates Are Talking About Farming’s Climate Change Connections Like No Previous Election
- Scripps Howard Awards Recognizes InsideClimate News for National Reporting on a Divided America
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- How Dannielynn Birkhead Honored Mom Anna Nicole Smith With 2023 Kentucky Derby Style
- Save $423 on an HP Laptop and Get 1 Year of Microsoft Office and Wireless Mouse for Free
- Villains Again? Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Nix Innovative Home Energy Programs
- Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
- Today’s Climate: July 3-4, 2010
Ranking
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- Leaking Well Temporarily Plugged as New Questions Arise About SoCal Gas’ Actions
- How Queen Charlotte’s Corey Mylchreest Prepared for Becoming the Next Bridgerton Heartthrob
- Millions of Americans are losing access to maternal care. Here's what can be done
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- 66 clinics stopped providing abortions in the 100 days since Roe fell
- Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story’s Arsema Thomas Teases Her Favorite “Graphic” Scene
- Medical debt ruined her credit. 'It's like you're being punished for being sick'
Recommendation
Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
Check Out the Most Surprising Celeb Transformations of the Week
MTV Movie & TV Awards 2023 Winners: See the Complete List
As drug deaths surge, one answer might be helping people get high more safely
Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
Personalities don't usually change quickly but they may have during the pandemic
Miami's Little Haiti joins global effort to end cervical cancer
Red Cross Turns to Climate Attribution Science to Prepare for Disasters Ahead