LSU–Virginia Tech and South Carolina–Iowa combined to become the most-viewed Women’s Final Four matchups ever. Here’s what you should know:
- Hawkeyes versus Gamecocks garnered 5.5 million viewers with a peak of 6.6 million.
- Tigers versus Hokies brought in 3.4 million viewers with a peak of 5 million.
- These games were the two most-viewed (men’s or women’s) college basketball games ever on ESPN+, averaging 4.5 million viewers.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Why were these numbers so strong?
Iowa-South Carolina is a matchup that so many people have been wanting for the last two years — an offense led by a generational talent versus one of the best and deepest defensive teams in the recent history of women’s basketball. Then, you had Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston as the headliners — the last two national players of the year, and two of the best individual players women’s college basketball has had over the last decade.
Everyone was hoping these two teams would meet in the Elite Eight in the Greensboro Region a season ago when South Carolina was the No. 1 seed and Iowa was the No. 2 seed. But Iowa lost to Creighton in the second round and the matchup never happened. So, when the bracket came out this year and Iowa and South Carolina were on the same side,…
