Last year’s epic showdown between Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes and Angel Reese’s LSU Tigers in the 2023 National Championship broke ratings records and helped usher in this new era of excitement and attention around women’s college basketball.
Iowa and LSU will have their rematch on Monday in the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA Women’s Tournament. And while everyone is excited to see these two titans throw down once more, LSU Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey does have one regret about it.
Mulkey told reporters Sunday that she wished the game was being played in the Final Four, as befitting the hype around the match-up.
“This is not to take away from any other team remaining but I understand her point,” said Mulkey, who was agreeing with a comment made by Iowa’s head coach Lisa Bluder. “We talk about growing the game. Didn’t that national championship game have the highest ratings ever in women’s basketball? You’re probably going to anticipate this one will too but it needs to be at the Final Four.”
Last year’s game saw an average of 9.9 million people watching, the biggest audience in women’s college basketball history. This year’s version may match or surpass that number even though it’s the Elite Eight.
Still, as Mulkey notes, you have to wonder what could have been had this showdown waited until next weekend.
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