March can be a busy time for everyone as spring encourages a lively lifestyle; however, March also signals the start to every basketball fan’s favorite time of the year — March Madness. This year in particular, the whole country has seen some amazing strides for the women’s NCAA basketball league as their viewership surges. This coming week, the final four teams will battle it out in a semifinal match. The Final Four games will be between South Carolina and Iowa along with UConn and NC State.
South Carolina, who has been undefeated and a number one–ranked team, has made it to the Final Four for the past four consecutive years. Last year, they lost in the Final Four round to this year’s opponent, the Iowa Hawkeyes. In 2023, the Iowa players were able to advance to the semifinals but were unsuccessful in winning the game. Iowa, coming off of a hot win against the number three-ranked team, the LSU Tigers, is hoping to make some history, as they want their first national title. Starring two amazing players, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, the Hawkeyes versus Tigers game became the most-watched women’s NCAA game ever, with historic TV viewership. The rematch saw 12.3 million viewers from ESPN platforms. The live broadcast peaked at 16 million views, which was documented as the most-watched college basketball game ever on ESPN.
NC State has also never won a national title and made it to the Final Four for the first time since 1998 after beating number one-ranked Texas. UConn had to beat their respective number one-ranked team, USC, to make it to this year’s Final Four. The UConn team last made it to the Final Four in 2022 and took home its first title in 2016.
Both games are scheduled for Friday at the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers’ Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. One of the four teams will be hosting the NCAA National Title game. Both semifinal games can be found on ESPN, and the national champion will be determined on Sunday, April 7 after the championship game.