We all know the draw that Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes have had this year selling out every arena they have stepped foot in, home or away.
Their next feat is the eyes that they are drawing on television. Iowa’s win over the Maryland Terrapins aired on Fox in their 7 p.m. prime time slot on Saturday evening. The move by Fox paid off.
The matchup set Fox’s record as the most-watched women’s game in the history of Fox Sports.
Saturday’s Iowa-Maryland game averaged 1.58M viewers in primetime, the most-watched women’s basketball game in the history of Fox Sports.@IowaWBB has now played in three of the five most-watched women’s college basketball games this season to date.
H/T @richarddeitsch pic.twitter.com/tdLABJmIqy
— The Athletic WBB (@TheAthleticWBB) February 6, 2024
The game averaged 1.58 million viewers throughout. The massive draw gave viewers a back-and-forth affair that saw the Hawkeyes pull out a big 93-85 road win. But, it also showed the nation how high quality the women’s game has become.
Clark finished her night with 38 points and 12 assists as she knocked down seven 3-pointers and collected her 55th career double double. Fifth-year guard Molly Davis was fantastic for the Hawkeyes as well, scoring 17 points and knocking down a trio of 3-pointers.
These ratings give Iowa a stake in three of the five most-watched women’s games so far in the 2023-24 season. Iowa is sure to surpass these views and continue to be a lucrative ratings draw for networks as they head down the homestretch and into postseason play.
The Hawkeyes are slated to play on Fox’s networks three more times in what should be great ratings every time. Those games are on the road at Nebraska at noon on Sunday, Feb. 11, at home against Illinois on Sunday, Feb. 25 at noon on FS1, and in the season finale against Ohio State at noon on Sunday, March 3.
The regular season finale versus the Buckeyes is also the Hawkeyes’ chance for revenge in what figures to be a massive Big Ten matchup to close the regular season on Senior Day.
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