The college basketball world collectively came to a stop March 24 when, just minutes into USC’s second-round game against Mississippi State, Trojan guard Juju Watkins went down awkwardly and immediately began grabbing at her knee in pain.
Watkins was helped off the floor, putting no pressure on her leg. By the end of the night, everyone’s worst fear had been confirmed. Watkins had torn her ACL.
Of course, the injury drew questions about USC’s tournament prospects and how Watkins’ career and quality of play would be affected upon return. But the question that quickly moved to the forefront of many people’s minds was what would this injury do for the game of women’s basketball? Would tournament viewership decrease? Would all the growth from the last couple of years be sustained in her absence? Would this be the end of women’s basketball’s moment in the spotlight?
The answer is a resounding no.
Watkins may be one of the biggest stars in college basketball, men’s or women’s, but she’s not the only one, especially on the women’s side. In the weekend following Watkins’ injury, several Sweet 16 games drew significant audiences.
South Carolina versus Maryland and UConn versus Oklahoma – which were both broadcast on ESPN – drew upwards of an average of 1.7 million viewers, moving into the top 10 for most-watched Sweet 16 games on record.
Notre Dame versus TCU and Tennessee versus Texas – which were broadcast on ABC, ESPN+ and Disney+ – drew even bigger audiences. Those games, with average viewership numbers of 2.5 million and 2.9 million, moved into third and fourth, respectively, on the list of most watched Sweet 16 games.
USC’s Elite 8 game against UConn, without Watkins, still drew 3.0 million average viewers on the main ESPN channel.
The success of these broadcasts proves the central point of why asking how Watkins’ absence would affect viewership was obsolete. Watkins was never going to play in these games. Sure, her being hurt may have hurt USC’s viewership, but USC wasn’t necessarily the far-away top draw.
Millions tuned in to see Paige Bueckers on her final quest for a national championship. Millions watched Hailey Van Lith find her redemption at TCU after her WNBA draft stock tanked last season with LSU. Millions witnessed arguably the best backcourt trio in the nation at Notre Dame. Millions viewed the anticipated rematch between UCLA and LSU for a spot in the Final 4.
This year’s tournament was filled with so many enticing storylines that Watkins’ injury was never going to significantly alter the amount of attention the whole tournament received.
This is a welcome development for the NCAA from fans who actually enjoy women’s basketball. The game is less than a year removed from the end of Caitlin Clark’s departure, and it’s evident now more than ever that questions about the game’s sustainability at the NCAA level post-Clark were nonsensical.
“The health of women’s basketball is obviously the highest it’s been,” The Next reporter Rob Knox said, “from the standpoint of just the perfect storm of interest, the amount of stories around it, the amount of investment into the sport of the different programs and then just the unique story lines. … Women’s basketball still in a healthy place, even without Caitlin Clark.”
For years, this faction of fans has pointed out the larger media’s inability to highlight more than one top player at a time. This was especially true when Clark became the face of the college game in the 2023-24 season.
But this year was different. There were simply too many players and teams performing at an elite level to ignore the majority and try to hone in on just one. This was especially difficult considering Watkins, one of the players in the running for “face of the game,” played on the West Coast, routinely competing in 9:00 and 10:00 pm EST tipoffs.
Clark’s graduation left a door open for multiple players to try to top the media’s Mount Rushmore. But instead of just one player reaching the peak, multiple players found their way up the mountain, and it’s been one of the most positive developments this season.
Now, it’s the WNBA’s turn to follow suit. The league has also had its struggles with focusing the brunt of media attention on one player. In 2020, when Sabrina Ionescu started her rookie season, her face was everywhere in commercials and promotional material. Three games into the season, she hurt her ankle and didn’t see the floor again. The WNBA and the media had no backup option.
Kelsey Plum received the same type of attention after her senior year at Washington. And just like Ionescu, Plum didn’t play much due to several factors that included injury, but also a slow adjustment to the caliber of play. Now, Plum is one of the best shooters in the league, but she remembers how she, and in contrast, other players were treated in the first few years of her career.
In a 2022 article written by Katie Barnes, Plum revealed that she had blocked the WNBA social media accounts. Plum felt the attention she received from the league was undeserved based on her play.
Years later, the league still has the same problem. No matter how much players try to articulate that there’s so much talent in the league, all the mainstream media want to talk about is Caitlin Clark.
The WNBA has an opportunity to follow in the NCAA’s footsteps. Instead of making Clark the center of everything, uplift all the players who’ve established themselves among the best in the league.
A’ja Wilson has a signature shoe. Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart are entrepreneurs and former teammates dominating the professional league. Handfuls of top players are leaving the only teams they’ve known and debuting in new uniforms. There are so many topics, players and storylines to discuss.
The WNBA is bigger than Caitlin Clark. NCAA women’s basketball is bigger than Juju Watkins. It’s time to give everybody their moment in the spotlight.
