Current:Home > ScamsCaitlin Clark, Iowa set conference tournament viewership record after beating Nebraska -NextWave Wealth Hub
Caitlin Clark, Iowa set conference tournament viewership record after beating Nebraska
View
Date:2025-04-17 21:16:02
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
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
Ranking
- Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
- The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
- Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
Recommendation
Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills