The women’s NCAA basketball championship game drew more viewers than the men’s final for the first time in college sports history.
On Sunday, a whopping 18.87 million hoops fans tuned in to watch the undefeated University of South Carolina Gamecocks beat the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and their superstar scorer Caitlin Clark, according to Nielsen ratings.
Meanwhile, on the men’s side, only 14.82 million viewers watched the University of Connecticut Huskies win their second consecutive title Monday by beating the Purdue University Boilermakers.
Viewership topped 24 million during the final minutes of the women’s game, which Nielsen called “the most-watched basketball game — at any level — since 2019.”
The men’s contest provided few late thrills as Connecticut controlled the second half of their 75-60 victory. South Carolina won their game 87-75 after trailing at the end of the first quarter. Women’s college games are divided into quarters while the male hoopsters play halves.
Part of the excitement around the women’s championship game can likely be attributed to Clark, who many fans consider the greatest player of any gender to play college basketball. No NCAA player has scored more points.
But Clark’s efforts weren’t enough to stop the Gamecocks, who finished their season at 38-0 to make their case as one of the best teams to have played college basketball.
