Hawkeyes turned Target Center into ‘Carver North,’ smashed Big Ten Tournament attendance record

Anyone who saw any of the Big Ten Tournament championship saw that the Target Center was a sea of black and gold in support of the Iowa Hawkeyes. It was packed, it was loud, and it absolutely made a difference in the outcome by spurring the Hawkeyes out to an early lead that they never looked back from on the way to a 105-72 rout as they repeated as Big Ten champs.

While the Hawkeyes did their part in winning the title, the fan base did their duties as well to the tune of setting the Big Ten Tournament attendance record with 9,505 fans.

It is now the record for the largest single session or game in the history of the Big Ten Tournament’s history. This is minimal surprise to those that followed the Iowa Hawkeyes this year as they often amped up attendance totals wherever they went.

It was perfectly demonstrated as Clark looked to track down her 10th rebound to collect her 10th career triple-double. Everyone in the arena knew what was at stake.

“I mean, I knew I needed one more. Coach Bluder told me right before that, and it was a really long rebound, so I had to turn the jets on to get it. It was kind of fun. We went down, maybe somebody made a shot, I don’t know. It was kind a fun moment with the arena.

“I started laughing a little bit. Our fans have been incredible. Our three games here, I don’t know if we do it without them. It’s really a home court advantage. They’re chanting “Let’s Go Hawks” with 45 minutes left in warmups. That’s probably pretty intimidating if I’m the other team. A lot of credit goes to them. They’re incredible. It’s been like that all season long. So we’re just really thankful,” Clark said of the fan support.

From social media to in-person, Iowa fans had some of the best turnouts in the nation. They saw the largest year-over-year increase of social media interactions. Iowa’s home attendance this year averaged 10,705 which was the Big Ten Conference’s record for attendance at women’s basketball games.

Luckily, the Iowa Hawkeyes’ fan base will have at least one more chance, and likely two, to see them in person and show their support when they host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

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Story originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire