Star-Studded Women’s Final Four Matchup Could Set Ratings Record

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Font Office Sports:

The women’s Final Four in Dallas will feature the most anticipated matchup of the season: the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The game could easily set a record for the most-watched women’s semifinal in the past decade — and top the 2013 Notre Dame-UConn matchup that drew three million viewers.

It will be a showdown between the best defensive and offensive programs that women’s college basketball offers.

  • South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston has a resume that’s too long to list — but highlights include the 2022 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and multiple overall Player of the Year accolades.
  • Iowa’s Caitlyn Clark is a Naismith Player of the Year finalist and the first men’s or women’s player to post a 40-point triple-double in the NCAA tournament.
Another factor: a trend of skyrocketing ratings during recent Final Fours, no matter the matchup.

frontofficesports.com

Women’s Final Four Matchup Could Set Ratings Record

The game could easily set a record for the most-watched women’s semi-final in the past decade — or even notch a new record.
frontofficesports.com frontofficesports.com

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
per Font Office Sports:

The women’s Final Four in Dallas will feature the most anticipated matchup of the season: the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The game could easily set a record for the most-watched women’s semifinal in the past decade — and top the 2013 Notre Dame-UConn matchup that drew three million viewers.

It will be a showdown between the best defensive and offensive programs that women’s college basketball offers.

  • South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston has a resume that’s too long to list — but highlights include the 2022 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and multiple overall Player of the Year accolades.
  • Iowa’s Caitlyn Clark is a Naismith Player of the Year finalist and the first men’s or women’s player to post a 40-point triple-double in the NCAA tournament.
Another factor: a trend of skyrocketing ratings during recent Final Fours, no matter the matchup.

frontofficesports.com

Women’s Final Four Matchup Could Set Ratings Record

The game could easily set a record for the most-watched women’s semi-final in the past decade — or even notch a new record.
frontofficesports.com frontofficesports.com

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

I think they should at least learn to spell Caitlin.
 


The overall team balance is much improved in women's basketball right now. There are so many good teams now, as opposed to a few years ago when it was always UConn+1 and all other teams were miles behind.
 

mplarson7 said:
The overall team balance is much improved in women's basketball right now. There are so many good teams now, as opposed to a few years ago when it was always UConn+1 and all other teams were miles behind.
Click to expand...
I tend to agree with you but it could be that we have just swapped U Conn. for South Carolina.
 


The Athletic:

Iowa vs. South Carolina: The Final 4 matchup we wanted, the one the sport deserves​

 

My hope is that the tourney no longer gives Bridgeport and Greenville as automatic regional hosts. UConn and SC are already super powers in WBB time to play those games at neutral sites. Since I’m already on a rant would like to see 4 regional sites more geographically located through out the country. I did enjoy the coverage of this year’s tourney and choosing the games I wanted see and not ESPN whip around coverage while we see UCONN pound their first round opponents.
 

Iowa WBB is must-see TV, but the South Carolina game could get out of hand very quickly.
South Carolina's 2nd team, would probably be a top 10-15 team in the country. I really hope it is a close game, but I would not bet on it.
 






howeda7 said:
Is it acceptable to root for Iowa in this game? I feel conflicted.
Click to expand...
Yes, because they are under dog. I dislike all things Hawks but I am impressed with their team. Monika Czinano is a Minnesotan, Maggie's sister. Previous staff prior to coach Whalen never recruited Monika. South Carolina is like the Empire team now. Clark like Whalen is fun to watch. SC great team, should be good game.
 

howeda7 said:
Is it acceptable to root for Iowa in this game? I feel conflicted.
Click to expand...
Probably the 3 Big Teams I like the least are OSU, Maryland and Iowa but found myself cheering for all of them in the tournament. ESPN has a biased towards SEC and to some degree the ACC. So it was good to see the Big Ten do well. I do hope Iowa wins it all and the Gophers give them a competitive battle next year.
 





howeda7 said:
Is it acceptable to root for Iowa in this game? I feel conflicted.
Click to expand...
Half way through the game against Louisville I said to my wife, "I can't believe it. I'm actually rooting for Iowa."
 




howeda7 said:
Is it acceptable to root for Iowa in this game? I feel conflicted.
Click to expand...
Too many brutal FB experiences with their fans. Can’t cheer 4 IO…………Also, I want somebody 2 wipe that smirk off CC’s face. The game needs less Taurasi n more Bird !!
 

gopher572 said:
I try to view it as rooting for the B1G and Monika than Iowa specifically.
Click to expand...
Rooting for the BIG, at least to make it competitive, feels right. The BIG has been a deserved national afterthought in WBB for a long time (except for ACC transplant Maryland), and it would be nice for a real BIG team to play a competitive game after finally reaching the Final Four. From a BIG perspective, too bad Indiana isn't in Dallas as well.
 

Big Ten Women's Basketball is a strong conference with many teams that now are good. The Big Ten will grow even stronger as the new realignment and media deal unfold. Plus USC and UCLA are joining.

Yet a Big Ten team has just once won the national championship. That was Purdue in 1999. Maryland also won it before Maryland joined the Big Ten.

1680306735511.png


It may be tough to get to that #1 spot anytime soon. UConn or South Carolina has won the championship 11 of the last 20 times.

www.ncaa.com

DI Women's Basketball Championship History | NCAA.com

Here is the complete history of the DI women's basketball championship game, including scores, national champions, winning coaches, national runners-up, and Women's Final Four locations.
www.ncaa.com www.ncaa.com
 




Awesome!!! 😎 Iowa knocks off South Carolina! Go Hawks! Kim Mulkey can’t win Sunday, I hope.
 

I’ve spent a lifetime cheering against Iowa but I grew up in south central Minnesota which happens to be like 90% of Iowa so I am all in on this historic Squawk team. So many similarities to the best of the Whalen years. Better prime player with not-as-good supporting cast.
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
Caitlin Clark is ridiculously good. If she was WNBA eligible, she'd get drafted Number 1 over Aliyah Boston. It's not even debatable.
Click to expand...
An argument can easily be made (I think) that she is the best collegiate player right now regardless of gender.

She reminds me of Larry Bird, skilled at all facets of the game.

I’ll be watching Sunday and hope she wins as it’s great for women’s sports and all the little girls she’s inspiring 😃
 

I wonder if the Iowa/South Carolina game TV ratings is going to be larger than the Men tonight. Wouldn't surprise me.

Once the Wolves game was out of reach, I watched the Sue Bird/Diana Taurasi commentary version. Good stuff. Doris Burke joined them down the stretch.
 

Ope3 said:
I wonder if the Iowa/South Carolina game TV ratings is going to be larger than the Men tonight. Wouldn't surprise me.

Once the Wolves game was out of reach, I watched the Sue Bird/Diana Taurasi commentary version. Good stuff. Doris Burke joined them down the stretch.
Click to expand...
What did they have to say about Clark?
 

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