Caitlin Clark, Iowa Set TV Ratings Record, But Can't Match Men In Early Rounds

Women's college basketball caught the men and passed them in television ratings last year during Final Four weekend. But the women still have miles to go to get even close to the men in the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Viewers of the men's games last Thursday through Sunday in the first two rounds dwarfed the women's opening two rounds on Friday through Monday by 10 to 1. But the women rallied on Monday night when there were no men's games to watch as iconic superstar Caitlin Clark and Iowa averaged 4.9 million viewers for their nail-biting win over No. 8 seed West Virginia on ESPN.

Iowa's Caitlin Clark celebrates a victory in front of her home fans in Iowa City this season. (Getty Images)

The top men's game of the weekend - No. 1 seed North Carolina beating No. 9 seed Michigan State in the second round on Saturday - doubled that with 10.02 million average viewership.

No. 5 seed Gonzaga's win on Saturday over No. 4 seed Kansas drew another 8.88 million viewers.

Iowa and Clark, though, could be building momentum. Even the Hawkeyes' easy first round win over No. 16 seed Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon as men's games were being played drew 3.23 million viewers.

Iowa-West Virginia 3rd Most Watched Of Women's Games In 20 Years

The 4.9 million for the Iowa-West Virginia game, which was tied at 48 in the fourth quarter, couldn't keep up with the men, but it did smash the previous record for largest television audience for an NCAA Tournament game before the Final Four. And the previous record was for Iowa and Holy Cross, which came in unranked with a 21-12 record.

The Iowa-West Virginia game was also the third most watched of any women's game, going back two decades. All three games have one element in common - Caitlin Clark. The top two are LSU's win over Iowa in the national championship game in Dallas last season at 9.92 million and Iowa's win over No. 1 South Carolina two nights before in a national semifinal.

Two other women's second round tournament games drew more than 2 million. That's a bad draw for the men in the early rounds, but it remains rare for the women. Connecticut's win over Syracuse on Tuesday night with no men's games drew 2.05 million. And LSU's win over Middle Tennessee on Sunday afternoon amid men's games brought in 2.01 million. 

Iowa (31-4) and Clark next play on Saturday against No. 5 seed Colorado (24-9) in the Sweet 16 round in Albany, New York (3:30 p.m., ABC). And OutKick will be there. And look out TV ratings, if LSU and Iowa meet for the right to return to the Final Four on Monday night.

That will happen with an Iowa win Saturday and if No. 3 seed LSU (30-5) beats No. 2 seed UCLA (27-6) on Saturday (1 p.m., ABC).