Women's NCAA championship game outdraws men's for first time

There's no doubt that the finale of the NCAA men's basketball tournament had intrigue.

Purdue, under head coach Matt Painter, has been slowly building to this moment — perhaps only needing a championship to cement its status among the top programs in college basketball. On the other side, UConn head coach Dan Hurley was looking for his second straight championship in order to add another notch to his program's legendary history.

The game, especially the first half, delivered on its hype, but according to the ratings, the women's national championship game between Iowa and South Carolina actually outdrew the men's final.

At this point, is that even surprising, though? Iowa guard Caitlin Clark has been a massive draw for the women's game and she was chasing a championship to cement her legacy — going up against another legend in South Carolina coach Dawn Staley.

Per the Wall Street Journal (h/t On3), UConn-Purdue averaged 14.8 million viewers, which was up from last year's title game between UConn and San Diego State.

With that said, Iowa -South Carolina on the women's side drew $18.7 million viewers, and this was on a Sunday afternoon.

This marks the first time in history that the women's final outdrew the men, per The Associated Press.

How's that for March Madness?