The growth of women’s college basketball over the last few years is undeniable, and that trend is visibly reflected in the viewing numbers.
Monday night’s Elite Eight game between LSU and Iowa was the most-watched women’s college basketball game of all time, averaging 12.3 million viewers and peaking at 16.1 million. That shattered the previous record, which was set in last season’s national championship game, which also featured the Tigers and Hawkeyes.
Those numbers aren’t just impressive by women’s basketball standards. The game was the second-most watched basketball game on ESPN, period, since 2012, trailing only Game 7 of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
This year’s Elite Eight was also the most-watched on record, overall.
While the game didn’t go the way LSU hoped as Caitlin Clark went off for 41 points in a 94-87 revenge win for Iowa, it’s clear that women’s basketball continues to grow its audience, and we’ll see if the Final Four is able to top these numbers.
Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno