CLEVELAND (AP) — Caitlin Clark's final college game is booked. The record-breaking Iowa State star, who has been the biggest story in the basketball world all season, will be looking to win a national title in this weekend's Final Four. Clark scored 41 points Monday night as the Hawkeyes avenged their loss to LSU in last year's championship game and earned a spot in Cleveland. Iowa State will play UW in the second semifinal on Friday. It will be the Huskies' 23rd appearance under Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma. The first semifinal will pit undefeated South Carolina against North Carolina State, which will be on the road for the fourth straight year under coach Dawn Staley.
NOT UPDATED (AP) – Caitlin Clark could set a new record for most-watched women's college basketball game in history. The University of Iowa's 94-87 win over LSU averaged 12.3 million viewers on ESPN, according to Nielsen. Clark scored 41 points and the Hawkeyes avenged their loss to the Tigers in last year's national championship game. The game was one of the most-watched games of the past year in sports other than NFL football. Iowa vs. LSU won all but five games in last year's NBA Finals and the deciding game in last year's World Series. The largest attendance ever for women's college basketball was the 1983 national title game between Southern California and Louisiana Tech.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A series of missteps in the women's NCAA Tournament, the top one being Portland's wrongly lined court, is the backdrop to a great moment for women's basketball. This season's tournaments drew large crowds and record viewership ratings, while featuring players like Iowa's Caitlin Clark and the University of Southern California's JuJu Watkins. But just like in 2022, when the women's weight room became a symbol of injustice, this year's competition featured a number of avoidable mistakes.
CHICAGO (AP) – A judge will dismiss Northwestern University's $130 million lawsuit filed by former coach Pat Fitzgerald against the school alleging he was wrongfully fired over an open scandal. The complaint was dismissed. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Daniel J. Kubasiak ruled Tuesday that Mr. Fitzgerald had made a strong enough case to proceed with the lawsuit. A trial is scheduled for April 2025. Fitzgerald was initially suspended for two weeks and then was fired last year after 17 years as the Wildcats' head coach. The school said he had a responsibility to know the hazing was happening and he needed to stop it. Mr. Fitzgerald denies any wrongdoing on his part.
NEW YORK (AP) — Four assistant coaches arrested in 2017 in an FBI investigation aimed at cleaning up college basketball were black. All have been banned by the NCAA and are away from competition. One of the coaches, Book Richardson, told The Associated Press he knows why. Black assistants are the low-hanging fruit, as they are the ones who connect with recruits on the front lines. The numbers back him up. An Associated Press analysis of college officials in the six major conferences found that Black people hold nearly 60% of high-stakes assistant positions but less than 30% of head coaching positions. . And while Richardson and his black coaches remain on the outside, most of the white coaches on the teams investigated are still working.
NOT UPDATED (AP) — Black coaches in men's college basketball's top six leagues still face a tough promotion from assistant to top job. An Associated Press analysis found that Black coaches will fill 59.4% of assistant positions in the Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conferences for the 2022-23 season. However, the appointment rate for head coaches remained at 29.9%. Richard Lapchik is the founder of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport. He said the percentage of black coaches in top jobs across Division I has hovered around 25% for decades.
NOT UPDATED (AP) — Caitlin Clark will reach the Final Four this weekend with another milestone on her resume. She is also the all-time leader in women's Division I in points per game. At least for now. Clark's 41-point performance helped Iowa State past her LSU, and her career scoring average reached her 28.47 points per game. This puts her ahead of Mississippi Valley State's Patricia Hoskins as the all-time leader in points per game for Division I women. She averaged 28.38 points in 110 games from 1985 to 1989. Clark needed 30 points to pass Hoskins. She will need at least 17 points against UW on Friday night to surpass Hoskins in career average.
UNDATED (AP) — Americans flocked to sports bars across the country Monday night, their eyes glued to television and movie screens. This wasn't “Monday Night Football.” This was Monday Night Women's Basketball. Caitlin Clark and Iowa State edged out Angel Reese and LSU. Paige Bueckers and UConn edged out JuJu Watkins and USC. The reward for Iowa State and UW was a trip to the Final Four this weekend. But the biggest winner may have been the women's match, whose popularity seems to be skyrocketing thanks to its star power. And Monday's matchup did not disappoint. The LSU-Iowa game drew 12.3 million viewers, the most in women's basketball history, according to ESPN.
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