Tag: iowa hawkeyes basketball

Iowa’s Final Four game drew record-breaking ratings, ESPN’s most-viewed game in 15 years

The ratings are in and Iowa’s Final Four game drew huge numbers. The Hawkeyes are part of ESPN’s most-viewed game in 15 years, men or women.

Friday night’s Final Four matchup was arguably the most anticipated women’s college basketball game in recent history. The game delivered on its lofty expectations and then some. The Iowa Hawkeyes took down previously undefeated South Carolina and will face LSU in their shot at the national championship.

The game had star power, Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston, to go with high-stakes. The game came down to the final minute and the ratings proved the sports world was tuned in.

The Iowa-South Carolina game was the catalyst that made this season’s women’s semifinals the most viewed in ESPN’s history. It is also the most-viewed semifinal game on record.

The Hawkeyes drew 5.5 million viewers on average with a peak rating of 6.6 million viewers. These ratings are the third most-viewed women’s college basketball game to date. The women’s Final Four games are also the most-viewed games in the history of ESPN+, ESPN’s subscription streaming service.

The most impressive tidbit may be that this game is now the most-viewed NCAA basketball game on ESPN since 2008 when the Duke and North Carolina men squared off.

For some context to how massive these numbers are, the two Duke versus North Carolina men’s matchups this season, college basketball’s premier rivalry, drew an average of 2.74 million viewers. Iowa’s Final Four game practically doubled the ratings of the Duke versus North Carolina rivalry.

Sunday afternoon has the Iowa Hawkeyes and LSU Tigers tipping off for the national championship and it should see another big number when the ratings come out.

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National Championship Tidbits: Get to know the Hawkeyes’ opponent, the LSU Tigers

The stage is set. The Iowa Hawkeyes take on the LSU Tigers for a national championship. Get to know who the Tigers are and what they do.

There is new blood in the women’s NCAA Tournament national championship game, and it has infused a fresh wave of storylines, entertainment value, stars and anticipation.

The Iowa Hawkeyes take on the LSU Tigers on Sunday, April 2 at 2:30 p.m. CT in Dallas, Texas. The matchup features the No. 2 seed Hawkeyes and the No. 3 seed Tigers, who have reached this point with stellar performances.

Iowa dethroned the previously unbeaten South Carolina Gamecocks, 77-73, in an historic Final Four stunner. LSU took down No. 1 Virginia Tech, 79-72, in a game it trailed, 59-50, at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

The coaches in this one are among the best out there. Each team has its headliner accompanied by a cast of excellent team members, and a path to taking home the hardware.

Here is a look at the LSU Tigers ahead of the matchup.

The show goes on! Takeaways from Hawkeyes’ historic Final Four win to advance to title game

The song keeps on playing and the Hawks keep on dancing! The biggest takeaways from Iowa’s historic Final Four win to advance to the title.

Every team wants the chance to take its shot at the top team, the team no one else can figure out — the team that is supposed to be dominant.

The Iowa Hawkeyes earned that chance against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Final Four.

The Hawkeyes didn’t flinch.

Iowa jumped to a quick lead, showed it wanted to give everything and them some to South Carolina and proved it had every right to play for a national title. From the first quarter onward, Iowa weathered every run the Gamecocks thew at them and responded with one of their own. The Hawkeyes took down the team no one was supposed to beat.

Iowa’s 77-73 win was a heavyweight boxing fight with two powerhouses trading blows back and forth. It exceeded the lofty expectations America had set for it.

The effort by the Hawkeyes was incredible in every sense of the word from all sorts of contributors. Here are the biggest takeaways from the Hawkeyes’ historic Final Four win.

Kevin Durant calls Caitlin Clark incredible ahead of Final Four, talks Iowa Hawkeyes

NBA superstar Kevin Durant talks about Caitlin Clark’s performance, the Hawkeyes’ cohesiveness, and more ahead of their Final Four matchup.

Kevin Durant is the newest voice to join the hype surrounding Iowa Hawkeyes’ star guard Caitlin Clark and the magical run that has the Hawkeyes in the Final Four.

Durant went on his podcast, “The ETCs,” to discuss what the Hawkeyes are doing and didn’t hesitate to stamp his knowledge on what is happening.

Durant’s podcast stems from Boardroom, a news outlet covering anything from sports to culture to entertainment that was founded by Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman in 2019. Hearing Durant talk about the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team and what is happening highlights just how national the attention is that they are demanding. Durant joins LeBron James — not only two of the best basketball players on the planet — but in recent talks surrounding Caitlin Clark.

Their recent podcast discusses the Hawkeyes’ performance, Caitlin Clark, their team comradery and more. Check out Durant’s thoughts on the Hawkeyes as the tip against No. 1 South Carolina in the Final Four approaches.

Iowa’s Elite 8 victory surpassed every NBA game on ESPN this season

Iowa and Caitlin Clark are must-see TV. The Hawkeyes’ Elite 8 win out-rated any NBA regular season game on ESPN in the 2022-23 season.

The proof is in the pudding and there is no denying what the numbers say. The Iowa Hawkeyes are drawing in viewers and doing so at a massive rate. Their latest victory, the Elite Eight win over Louisville, proved that true.

All women’s basketball needed was the chance and it will shine like it is doing right now. The women’s game has the biggest and brightest stars in college basketball that are household names. That holds true when looking at the viewership of the Elite Eight game.

Iowa-Louisville reeled in a whopping 2.49 million viewers per Show Buzz Daily.

That’s notable because it’s a massive viewing audience, but it’s also notable because it’s a larger viewing audience than any 2022-23 NBA regular season game broadcast on ESPN.

Per Show Buzz Daily, the highest-rated NBA regular season game thus far this season on ESPN was the March 5 game between the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics. That game drew 2.14 million viewers.

The next-closest ESPN NBA regular season contest to Iowa-Louisville in the ratings was the Denver Nuggets versus Golden State Warriors contest all the way back during the NBA’s season-opening week on Friday, Oct. 21, 2022. That game pulled in an average of 1.91 million viewers.

As a matter of fact, only the LSU-Miami Elite Eight contest failed to out-rate ESPN’s top NBA broadcast thus far this season. That contest still drew 1.89 million.

Ohio State versus Virginia Tech pulled in 2.23 million viewers, while South Carolina versus Maryland had an average of 2.16 million watching.

The game had star power in Caitlin Clark and Hailey Van Lith. It had high stakes with a spot in the Final Four up for grabs. It delivered big time and it is proof of the promotion of the women’s game being worth every single second.

For reference, the average NBA regular season game drew 1.6 million viewers across ABC, ESPN and TNT last season. This game cleared that number with ease. The Hawkeyes showed just how dominant they can be as a team and what the face of the game looks like on full display.

Here’s a look at how the Iowa-Louisville broadcast stacked up relative to some of the other weekend sports programming.

The overall viewership came in at just a hair under two and a half million viewers. That number in itself is truly incredible but may get dwarfed this Friday when Iowa takes on South Carolina for a shot at the title.

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Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Riley on Twitter: @rileydonald7

GOAT Talk: LeBron James, Dick Vitale, Jay Williams, and more sound off on Caitlin Clark

Caitlin Clark is transcending sports right now with her play. She has drawn praise from the best of the best, most recently Lebron James.

The world of sports had its eyes on the Iowa Hawkeyes and Caitlin Clark last night when she lit it on fire with her all-time performance. The entire universe took note of her performance and had quite a lot to say about it.

Her Elite Eight triple-double made its way to the King himself, LeBron James. One of the greatest basketball players on the planet (we will save how great for another conversation) chiming in about Iowa women’s basketball truly says volumes about what is happening. Kudos from the King is rare and it also shows how the women’s game is seeing its deserved growth.

It didn’t stop with LeBron, though. There was commentary from some of the game’s greats in broadcasting, former college stars, NBA stars, and many more. Caitlin Clark has become a household name in the United States and one of the most recognizable faces in sports right now.

Final Four: Here come the Hawkeyes! The biggest takeaways from Iowa’s Elite 8 win

Final Four bound! The Iowa Hawkeyes’ magical season continues with their Elite Eight victory. Here are the biggest takeaways.

Your Iowa Hawkeyes are headed to the Final Four!

This season has been an incredible ride already but it has leveled up from something fun to thrusting itself into the history books and memories as one of the best seasons ever for a Hawkeyes’ squad.

In what was essentially like playing another game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena last night due to the support from Iowa fans, the Hawkeyes put on a show to make the trip worthwhile. The 97-83 win over Louisville in the Elite Eight sends the Iowa Hawkeyes to the Final Four in Dallas. It just their second time advancing this far into the tournament and the first since 1993.

The incredible part about this game was that it took everyone. There were contributions across the board and some to dive deeper into but all deserve their flowers. Monika Czinano once again showed her dominance in the paint with a masterclass on footwork.

Kate Martin is a glue piece that makes this team go and her contributions can’t be forgotten. Hannah Stuelke played significant minutes and played them well in the biggest moment of her young career. Assistant coach Jan Jensen, coaching with a heavy heart, dug deep and helped lead this family of Hawkeyes to a Final Four.

There are countless takeaways to discuss from this performance, but here are five of the biggest takeaways from the Hawkeyes’ Elite Eight victory over Louisville.

Inhale, exhale: Social media exhales as Iowa Hawkeyes advance to Elite 8

It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t without stress, but it was done. Social media exhales as the Iowa Hawkeyes advance to the NCAA Tournament Elite 8.

Sound the alarm Hawkeye Nation, the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team is going to the Elite Eight!

It wasn’t an easy win and nobody expected it to be. This is the Sweet 16. Every team deserves its place amongst the 16 best in the nation, especially a very tough Colorado squad. You knew the Buffaloes were going to make Iowa work for every bucket and every rebound in this one. This was a test of will as much as it was a test of skill and Iowa was able to come out on top 87-77. It is the Hawkeyes’ second Elite 8 appearance since 2019.

In what somehow seemed like an off game at times, star point guard Caitlin Clark led the way with 31 points and eight assists. The law office of Clark and Czinano was open late this Friday night with Monika Czinano adding 15 points and seven rebounds.

While the focus will always be on the Iowa superstar duo, heavy contributions from McKenna Warnock (12 points) and Kate Martin (16 points) cannot go overlooked.

Without those key plays from the entire squad, Iowa does not win this game and advance to the Elite 8. They appear to truly be ready for the occasion.

The crown jewel of the Hawkeyes’ program, all eyes were on Clark and Co. for this one. Here are the best social media reactions from the Hawkeyes massive victory over Colorado.

Keep on dancing! 5 takeaways as the Iowa Hawkeyes advance to the Elite 8

Survive and advance! That is exactly what the Iowa Hawkeyes did tonight against Colorado. Takeaways as the Hawkeyes advance to the Elite 8.

Survive and advance! That’s the name of the game and that is exactly what the Iowa Hawkeyes found a way to do tonight in their Sweet 16 battle against the Colorado Buffaloes. The Hawkeyes are headed to the Elite 8 and it wasn’t without a little sweat but that is what makes it fun.

The Buffaloes hung tough with the Hawkeyes for quite a while, even holding a 40-39 lead at halftime and never quite went away. They made Iowa work for this one and earn every single point. The Colorado stingy defense reared its head for a while against Iowa and made them work for points at times.

Down the stretch, the Hawkeyes found a way to dig deep and pull away. It wasn’t easy, there were good performances, there are areas to improve, but ultimately, Iowa is in the Elite 8 and that is the sole goal.

Here are the five takeaways from Iowa’s Sweet 16 victory over the Colorado Buffaloes.

Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Colorado Buffaloes: TV, stream, broadcast details for Friday

It’s time for the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16! Here’s how to watch, stream and listen to the Iowa Hawkeyes versus the Colorado Buffaloes.

The No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes made their way out of the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament and are in the Sweet 16. They head to Seattle to take on the No. 6 Colorado Buffaloes for a spot in the Elite 8 in a region that has suddenly become utterly wide open due to the chaos amongst the rest of the teams.

Standing in front of Iowa is a Colorado team that is playing well at the right time along with an abundance of confidence as they just bounced the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils in a surprise upset in the second round. This won’t be any walk in the park, but that may be alright for the Hawkeyes as they proved to everyone, themselves included, that they are ready to grind out a gutsy win as they did against No. 10 Georgia in the second round.

As we await the tip off on Friday evening, here is how to watch, stream, and listen to the game along with some tidbits of information to get ready.