When West Virginia women's basketball found out they could have a date with Caitlin Clark-led Iowa in the 2024 NCAA Women's Tournament, many speculated it could be one of the biggest games the WVU program has played yet.
Now, with the Iowa game having came and went, the preliminary TV numbers are in -- and it turns out it was bigger than many dared to imagine.
Nearly five million viewers watch Caitlin Clark, Iowa, escape against West Virginia -- easily the largest audience on record prior to the Women's Final Four.
— Sports Media Watch (@paulsen_smw) March 26, 2024
Viewership is up sixfold over last year, and other games are up big as well: https://t.co/hUlZxiGIyL
It turned out an average of 4.90 million viewers watched the Hawkeyes and Mountaineers battle it out on ESPN, which is the largest audience ever-recorded for a non-Final Four game in the NCAA Women's Tournament.
Despite the heartbreaking end to the season against Iowa, the WVU women's basketball team had more eyes on the program than many women's basketball teams have ever experienced on Monday. And those folks were tuned in while the Mountaineers nearly pulled off a colossal tournament upset against one of the best teams in the nation.