Iowa drew record TV ratings in NCAA Tournament win vs. West Virginia

Once again, Iowa women’s basketball is money.

If you somehow doubted the drawing ability of Iowa and women’s basketball as a whole, let Monday’s matchup against West Virginia once again put you in your place.

The second-round matchup was the most viewed early round game in women’s NCAA Tournament history at 4.9 million viewers. The round of 32 contest peaked at 6.4 million viewers.

It represented the best viewership for a pre-semifinal women’s tournament game on record. It was a fantastic game with the eyes of the nation firmly glued to the action. This isn’t just Iowa and Caitlin-Mania though. Women’s basketball as a whole is hotter than ever this March.

The second round as a whole averaged 1.4 million viewers . That’s up 121% from last season, making it the most watched round of 32 in women’s tournament history.

The other top-rated games in the round of 32 featured UConn versus Syracuse at 2.1 million viewers, LSU versus Middle Tennessee at 2.0 million viewers and USC versus Kansas at 1.8 million viewers.

The latest numbers come after the women’s tournament posted their most-viewed opening round in its history , led by Iowa versus Holy Cross pulling in 3.2 million viewers. That was previously the record for a pre-semifinal tournament audience before Iowa’s latest clash against West Virginia.

LSU’s first-round battle against Rice pulled in 762,400 viewers, Tennessee versus Green Bay reeled in 819,000 viewers and UConn versus Jackson State had 1.1 million viewers.

You better believe it. Women’s college basketball is totally in right now and doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

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