USC women’s basketball NCAA Tournament game vs Kansas drew 1.8 million TV viewers on ESPN

The USC women’s basketball team is getting noticed by more people. This is partly because the Trojans are really good, but it’s also because the Trojans are on ESPN now and not Pac-12 Network. NCAA Tournament exposure catapulted USC’s game against Kansas on Monday night into the national spotlight. Chantel Jennings of The Athletic reported that 1.8 million viewers tuned into ESPN to watch JuJu Watkins and the rest of the Women of Troy advance to the Sweet 16.

We reflected last year on the significance of the Caitlin Clark breakthrough at the Final Four, and how Iowa’s battle against Angel Reese and LSU in the women’s national championship game drew huge television numbers:

“Did women’s college basketball just have its 1979 Magic-Bird moment? Did Caitlin Clark and Iowa, who lost to LSU on Sunday in the national championship game, transform the economics and television visibility of women’s hoops?

“Clark and Iowa were ratings gold for ESPN, setting new records and milestones for women’s basketball TV ratings and overall national interest. The Women’s NCAA Tournament is about to become a standalone media property, which is going to make a lot of money for successful women’s hoops programs and conferences. USC could be one such success story.

“Only time will tell, but the 2023 Women’s NCAA Tournament and Women’s Final Four could eventually be remembered as a 1979 moment for women’s basketball in American sports.”

What we are seeing at the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament is affirming the thesis that the 2023 Final Four and Caitlin Clark are providing a real boost for women’s college basketball television ratings. USC is reaping the benefits of this trend.

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Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire