Women's Fastbreak On SI

USC's Thrilling Win Over UConn Delivers Massive Viewership Numbers

The USC vs. UConn December 21 game set a new standard this season in terms of TV viewership.

Grant Young

Dec 21, 2024; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) dribbles the ball against UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) in the first half at XL Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Dec 21, 2024; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) dribbles the ball against UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) in the first half at XL Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans vs UConn Huskies women's basketball game on December 21 (which ended up being a 72-70 win for the Trojans) delivered on the court.

In addition to this game being a hard-fought battle between two elite teams that featured highlight reel-worthy plays and came down to a last-second shot, all of the many stars who competed in this game performed like audiences were hoping for.

Given these superstars (namely Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins) and the name value of these two schools, it's no surprise that this Saturday evening game drew a lot of attention. But few could have predicted just how well this game performed, in terms of TV viewership.

A December 24 X post from Fox Sports PR wrote, "USC's narrow 72-70 victory over UConn scored 2,227,000 viewers on FOX

- Second most-watched WCBB game ever on FOX
- Most-watched WCBB game on any net this season
- Peaked at 3,764,000 viewers from 8 to 8:15 PM ET".

For additional context, the most-viewed women's college basketball game in FOX history was when former Iowa Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark set the NCAA D1 record for most career points scored against the Ohio State Buckeyes last season, which drew 3.4 million viewers.

UConn how holds the two most-viewed NCAAW games this season, as their December 21 defeat to Notre Dame that was broadcast on ESPN averaged 847,000 viewers and peaked at 915,000, according to Sports Media Watch. This made it the most viewed pre-January women's game on ESPN since 2011.

Geno Auriemma's Huskies team is clearly the biggest draw in women's college basketball this season. However, they're now 0-2 in this season's biggest games.

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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