A year ago all eyes on the women’s NCAA tournament were focused on the greatness of Caitlin Clark. Clark might be gone from college basketball but the attention on the women’s game is still here.
In the final week of the first March Madness tournament in the post Clark era there are still many exciting storylines to draw in viewers.
There are team storylines, such as this year we saw North Carolina and Duke meet in the tournament for the first time where Duke came out on top to go to the Elite 8. There were victories for smaller schools like Norfolk State who earned a 13 seed in this year’s tournament, its highest in program history and the best seed for an HBCU since 2014 when Hampton got the 12 seed.
The success of the women’s game is growing on a large scale, but don’t just take my word for it, take it from an expert like Rob Knox.
Rob Knox is an NCAA basketball beat writer for The Next who focuses on HBCUs. He is optimistic about what he’s seeing and says the women’s game is continuing to head in the right direction.
“Women’s basketball is still in a healthy spot even without Caitlin Clark,” Knox said.
Fans have been flocking all year to big names in women’s college basketball such as Paige Bueckers, Lauren Betts and JuJu Watkins, USC’s recently injured star point guard.
As devastating as Watkins’ injury is to USC and basketball fans around the country, Knox is confident that it won’t turn off viewers from watching the tournament play out.
“People are going to continue to watch for Uconn and Paige Bueckers,” Knox said.
Bueckers and the Huskies have been on an absolute tear this tournament. Uconn has won its first three games by an average of 42 points to set themselves up with a date against the number one seeded USC Trojans to go to the Final Four.
The matchups we’ve been given as the tournament winds down are truly box office and must watch TV.
With a trip to the Final Four on the line Lauren Betts and the Bruins have a matchup with LSU led by its tenacious, four time national championship winning coach Kim Mulkey.
If those games weren’t enough to grab your attention, you can look on the other side of the bracket and see just as intriguing matchups.
In one of the games it’s Duke facing the number one seed South Carolina who has been a buzz saw this season. The Gamecocks are looking to repeat as champions and win its third national championship in four years.
Dawn Staley, who recently became the highest-paid women’s basketball coach by inking a $25 million contract extension this year has been a constant in South Carolina’s success. She has an opportunity to win her fourth national championship this year and tie Kim Mulkey for third most championships all-time.
Last but not least the final matchup in the Elite 8 is an in-state rivalry, Texas vs TCU. All eyes will be on TCU’s Hailey Van Lith who helped guide TCU to its first Elite 8 appearance in program history.
Regardless of the outcome of this year’s tournament, it’s safe to say that the interest in women’s basketball post Caitlin Clark is just fine.
So sit back, grab your popcorn and appreciate the greatness that’s on display.
