University of Iowa basketball sensation Caitlin Clark capped off a record-setting two weeks with an appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend. The Iowa women drew in a record 18.87 million viewers in their NCAA final game against the South Carolina last Sunday afternoon.
Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes had 4 million more viewers than the men’s final on Monday night.
Caitlin Clark and her Iowa teammates were involved in the four most-viewed games in women’s college basketball history.
The Caitlin Clark effect:
** 2023 NCAA Championship with Iowa vs. LSU — 9.9 million viewers.
** April 1 2024 NCAA quarterfinal game with Iowa vs. reigning champions LSU — 12.3 million viewers
** April 5, 2024 NCAA semifinal with Iowa vs. UConn Huskies – 14.2 million viewers (Almost topping the men’s final game)
** April 7, 2024 NCAA final with Iowa vs. UC – 18.87 million viewers almost doubling the previous year’s record!
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark broke every record imaginable this year in women’s AND men’s basketball.
• D-I scoring leader (3,951 pts)
• only D-I player w/ 3,500 pts, 1,000 ast & 850 reb in a career
• most pts in single season in D-I WBB (1,234)
• most 3pt in single season in D-I hist (201)
• most pts (491), ast (152), 3pt (78) in NCAAT in career
• only player w/ 40 pts, 10 ast in NCAAT gm (she has 2)
• only player w/ 30+ pt trip-dbl in NCAAT
• only D-I player to led CBB in pts & ast in single season 2x
• B1G all-time ast leader (1,144)
• only player w/ > 3 career 25+ pt trip-dbl (she has 10)
Caitlin Clark also brought excitement to the game of women’s basketball – something unimaginable before she entered college.
Look at how Caitlin compared to the rest of the women’s league in her performance.
(Open the tweet to see the little green mark in the upper right-hand corner of the chart. The chart helps explain the excitement surrounding Clark.)
Secret Base @secretbase
Dorktown: Caitlin Clark!
https://twitter.com/secretbase/status/1777352428503064601/photo/1
Clark and her Iowa teammates sold out every home game and sold out or set attendance records at nearly every major venue they played at all season.
Despite Caitlin Clark’s enormous success and the record interest in women’s basketball for the first time EVER — the old stars of yesteryear showed nothing but jealousy and disgust for Caitlin this year.
But they can’t stop Caitlin’s appeal.
Last night Saturday Night Live invited Caitlin Clark on – And she was sensational!
https://twitter.com/i/status/1779509624548282757