"If you missed it, you missed a classic": College hoops fans express excitement as Iowa vs. LSU's Elite Eight matchup shatters viewership records

The Iowa Hawkeyes advanced to the Final Four as they defeated the LSU Tigers 94-87 in an Elite Eight matchup that served as a rematch of last year's national title game. There was plenty of hype around the game, which shattered women's college basketball viewership records.

The Twitter account of press releases for ESPN, which aired the game, tweeted:

"Monday night's rematch between @IowaWBB & @LSUwbkb scores as the MOST-WATCHED WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL GAME ON RECORD 🤯 🏀 12.3M viewers 🏀 Most-watched college basketball game EVER on ESPN platforms More details to come... #NCAAWBB | #MarchMadness"

Fans reacted to the news by expressing their excitement.

"If you missed it, you missed a classic," @ErrorDante tweeted.

@glrush13 believes Monday was the best night of college basketball all season:

"Last night was the best night of college hoops of the season. 4 great teams with transcendent stars playing 2 fantastic games."

@kderm808 noted that the men's tournament, which has had higher-rated games this year, is not on ESPN:

"They also don't put NCAA tournament games on ESPN..."

@amber_puga claimed the ratings would be higher if the game was aired on ABC:

"I think the television numbers would have been higher if the game was shown on ABC Network television."

@NadirSameed had a similar sentiment:

"Would’ve done 20 on regular tv."

@KnightFev3r pointed out the error in a previously deleted tweet:

"Glad you changed the headline. Originally, it was “most watched college basketball game in history.” Big difference. But, still impressive."

@lennoxc shared the previous women's college basketball ratings record came over four decades ago:

"Previous record was 1983 final, USC def. Louisiana Tech (CBS): 11.84 million. ESPN took over the rights in 1996 and not until 2023 did any ESPN WBB game enter the top 10 of all time. Now that ESPN is actually promoting the sport we can see the results from the investment."

@headheathen14 was upset the two teams met in the Elite Eight:

"it’s extremely surprising to me that the tournament selection committee put them in the same bracket to meet in the elite eight. In my opinion, that was a big fail. It was a great game for sure though."

@UnRayao praised Iowa star Caitlin Clark:

"Good s**t. Helped that the game was pretty good for folks to stick around. Caitlin is HER."

What is next for the Iowa Hawkeyes and LSU Tigers?

The Iowa Hawkeyes have advanced to the Final Four for the second consecutive season and just the third time in program history. After falling to the LSU Tigers 102-85 in the national title game last season, they will look to capture the first championship in program history.

The Hawkeyes will face the UConn Huskies on Friday. The winner of that game will take on the winner of the matchup between the South Carolina Gamecocks and NC State Wolfpack.

Meanwhile, the Tigers will have plenty to figure out after their unsuccessful efforts to become the first repeat champion since the 2016 Huskies, who won their fourth consecutive title. It is unclear if Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith will enter the 2024 WNBA draft or return for an additional season; however, they will have until Wednesday night to make their decision.