Iowa vs Louisville Breaks Record For Most Watched Women’s College Basketball Game Outside The Final Four
The biggest stars in women’s college basketball have taken center stage with big performances during Women’s March Madness. The recent Elite Eight clash between Louisville’s Haley Van Lith and Iowa’s Caitlyn Clark set the record for the most-watched Women’s March Madness game ever. With the 2023 Final Four around, the corner, we’ll take a look at the 10 most-watched women’s NCAA Tournament games.
The 2023 Women’s March Madness Tournament is breaking records.
So far, games from the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight are drawing in record viewership numbers.
The Elite Eight game between Iowa and Louisville had the highest viewership ever among any Women’s March Madness game outside of the Final Four, averaging 2.5 million viewers on ESPN.
Two of the biggest names in women’s college basketball went up against one another, as Caitlin Clark and Hailey Van Lith met in the Elite Eight. No. 2 Iowa went on to win the game 97-83. It was an unbelievable game with Iowa’s Clark balling out and posting 41 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for the Hawkeyes. On the other side, Van Lith put up 27 points for the Cardinals.
For Clark, it was the first every 40-point triple double in NCAA Tournament history by either a men’s or a women’s player.
In 2023, the Women’s Elite Eight round received around 2.2 million average views, representing a year-over-year increase of 43 percent.
Iowa vs Louisville Breaks Record For Most Watched Elite Eight Game
Clark’s performance at the Elite Eight was one of the greatest performances in NCAA history. Up against a former teammate during their USA National Teams days, Clark played arguably the best game of her career on national television.
With America glued to the television, Iowa vs Louisville drew in 2.5 million viewers on ESPN. Perhaps even more impressive, it averaged more viewers than the most-watched NBA games on ESPN this year, which had around 2.15 million.
With the win over Louisville, Iowa is set to make its first trip to the Final Four since 1993. Clark will be fresh off a huge win where she hit 16-three pointers.
Most-Watched Women’s March Madness Games Outside the Final Four
The 2023 year has been huge for the Women’s March Madness Tournament. It owns five spots on the list of the top-10 most watched women’s March Madness games.
Iowa vs Louisville takes first place after breaking the record at 2.499 million views. Overall, the Elite Eight round received around 2.2 million average views, which is a 43 percent increase from last year.
Check out the top 10 most-watched women’s March Madness games below.
- Iowa vs Louisville (Elite Eight 2023) — 2.499 Million
- Ohio State vs UConn (Sweet 16 2023) — 2.414 Million
- Tennessee vs Duke (Elite Eight 1999) — 2.263 Million
- Tennessee vs Stanford (Elite Eight 2003) — 2.247 Million
- Uconn vs Duke (Elite Eight 2006) —2.243 Million
- Virginia Tech vs Ohio State (Elite Eight 2023) — 2.233 Million
- South Carolina vs Maryland (Elite Eight 2023) — 2.167 Million
- Minnesota vs Duke (Elite Eight 2023) — 2.053 Million
- UConn vs NC State (Elite Eight 2022) — 2.037 Million
- UConn vs Rutgers (Elite Eight 2008) — 2.025 Million
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Source: Basketball Insider
