Iowa-LSU most-watched women’s college basketball game
Caitlin Clark can claim another highlight — the most-watched women’s college basketball game on record.
Iowa’s 94-87 victory over LSU in Monday night’s Albany 2 Region final averaged 12.3 million viewers on ESPN, according to Nielsen. Clark scored 41 points as the Hawkeyes avenged last year’s loss to the Tigers in the national championship game.
The viewership surpassed the 11.84 million who watched the 1983 NCAA championship game between USC and Louisiana Tech. LSU coach Kim Mulkey played for Louisiana Tech and was matched up against USC great Cheryl Miller in that game, which was won by the Trojans 64-58.
According to Sports Media Watch, it is the mostviewed basketball game on ESPN since Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference finals, when the Cleveland Cavaliers’ victory over the
Boston Celtics averaged 13.6 million.
Clark’s four games in the women’s NCAA Tournament on ESPN and ABC have averaged 6.83 million. Iowa will face UConn in Friday’s second national semifinal at the Women’s Final Four on ESPN. The winner will face either South Carolina or North Carolina State on Sunday. The national championship game will air on ABC.
• Ryan Conwell matched his career high with 27 points and Robbie Avila had 26 points and 10 rebounds to help top-seeded Indiana State take advantage of a heavily partisan homestate crowd in Indianapolis to beat second-seeded Utah 100-90 to advance to the NIT championship game.
Indiana State will play Seton Hall, which defeated Georgia 84-67, in the championship game on Thursday.
• Zach Edey of Purdue and Tristen Newton of UConn are among the five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award as the nation’s outstanding men’s college basketball player of the season.
Joining them are RJ Davis of North Carolina, Dalton Knecht of Tennessee and Jamal Shead of Houston.
Caitlin Clark of Iowa and Paige Bueckers of UConn are among the five finalists for the women’s Wooden Award. The others are Cameron Brink of Stanford and freshmen JuJu Watkins of Southern California and Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame.
• Washington State hired David Riley as its basketball coach, nabbing the two-time Big Sky Conference coach of the years. Riley will move down the Palouse highway after three successful seasons as the coach at Eastern Washington.
• College of Charleston has hired former Louisville coach Chris Mack as its men’s coach after Pat Kelsey left to take the Cardinals job last week. Mack’s time with the Cardinals ended in January 2022 when he was dismissed with the team at 6-8.
• Western Kentucky promoted assistant Hank Plona to replace head coach Steve Lutz, who was hired by Oklahoma
State after leading the Hilltoppers to the NCAA Tournament in his lone season.
Chiefs sign Wentz, Edwards-Helaire
The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to one-year deals with quarterback Carson Wentz and running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, two people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press, giving them a backup for Patrick Mahomes and some depth in their backfield.
Wentz, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 draft, will join his fifth team in five years after starting his career in Philadelphia and spending last season with the Rams. He was 47-45-1 as a starter in eight seasons with the Eagles, where he finished third in NFL MVP voting in 2017 but tore two knee ligaments and watched backup Nick Foles lead them to a Super Bowl victory.
Edwards-Helaire is a known commodity in Kansas City, which picked him 32nd overall in the 2020 draft. He struggled to live up to expectations as a firstround pick, though. Edwards-Helaire dealt with a series of injuries over the past four seasons, and that was part of the reason that Isiah Pacheco was able to wrestle away the starting job two years ago.
The Chiefs decided not to use their fifth-year option on Edwards-Helaire, making him a free agent. But his knowledge of Andy Reid’s complex offense, coupled with his ability to catch passes out of the backfield, made an agreement make sense to remain in Kansas City, where Edwards-Helaire could earn a more lucrative contract with a good season.
Northwestern suit can proceed, judge rules
A judge denied Northwestern’s motion to dismiss former coach Pat Fitzgerald’s $130 million lawsuit against the school claiming he was wrongly fired in the wake of a hazing scandal. Cook County Circuit Judge Daniel Kubasiak ruled that Fitzgerald made a strong enough argument to keep the case going. A trial is set for April 2025.
A star linebacker at Northwestern in the 1990s, Fitzgerald was initially suspended for two weeks and then fired last year after 17 years as coach of the Wildcats. The school said he had a responsibility to know that hazing was occurring and should have stopped it. Fitzgerald denies wrongdoing.
• The Galaxy have added Colombian defender Carlos Emiro Garces on loan from Deportivo Pereira through the end of the MLS season, the club announced. Garces, 22, has made 67 appearances with Pereira, since making his debut last year. During the current season, he’s made 10 appearances and nine starts. The loan deal comes with an option to purchase.