Nebraska upset victory over Iowa draws nearly 1.8 million viewers

Caitlin Clark’s chase for the NCAA’s all-time scoring record remains a big draw. That was again the case on Sunday as Iowa took on Nebraska at a sold-out Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Clark was 39 points away from Kelsey Plum’s record heading into Sunday’s game and had 31 points through three quarters. But Nebraska kept her scoreless in the fourth quarter, and the Cornhuskers rallied to pull off a comeback and upset Iowa 82-79.

As a result, it turned into a historic day for FOX on a jam-packed Super Bowl Sunday. With 1.77 million people tuning in for the matchup, it became the most-watched women’s college basketball game in network history had the second-highest viewership of any women’s basketball game this season. Iowa’s loss to Ohio State still holds the top spot with 1.86 million viewers.

It marked the second time this year an Iowa women’s basketball game set a FOX record. In fact, it was the second time this month after the Hawkeyes’ victory over Maryland brought in nearly 1.6 million viewers on Feb. 3.

TV networks are capitalizing Caitlin Clark’s pursuit of history

Sunday’s game marked the second time this year FOX had the “Caitlin Cam” going on TikTok, featuring a camera following Clark the entire game. The first go-round drew 800,000 viewers, FOX announced. The network didn’t announce the figures for the Nebraska matchup.

Peacock is doing something similar on Thursday when Iowa takes on Michigan at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Clark will be eight points away from passing Plum on the NCAA’s all-time scoring list, and fans can tune in to the “Caitlin Cast presented by State Farm” as she closes in on history.

Clark is in the midst of the best year of her career, averaging a career-best 32.1 points along with 7.0 rebounds and 8.3 assists. Her scoring and assist averages both rank first in the country and she is widely viewed as the projected No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.

Off the court, though, Clark is one of the highest-profile women’s basketball players in the country with 1.1 million social media followers, including 126,000 on TikTok. She holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $818,000, which puts her at No. 39 in the On3 NIL 100 – the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation. She also sits at No. 4 in the On3 College Women’s Basketball NIL Rank.