Women’s

On April 2, the Louisiana State University Tigers faced off against the University of Iowa Hawkeyes for the 2023 NCAA Women’s National Championship. The highly anticipated matchup between LSU star Angel Reese and Iowa star Caitlin Clark did not disappoint.

LSU was able to take Iowa down with a score of 102–85. This championship marks the first for LSU women’s basketball. This national championship game was the most-viewed NCAA Division I women’s basketball game on record, with an average of 9.9 million viewers and 12.6 million peak viewers.

Heading into the national championship game, the University of Iowa knocked out the No. 1-seeded South Carolina Gamecocks 77–73. With 5.5 million views, this matchup is the most-viewed semifinal on ESPN record.

With the win against the Gamecocks, the Hawkeyes were able to clinch their ticket to the championship game. Clark scored 41 points in 38 minutes of playtime. Clark dropped multiple 40-point games and averaged 31.8 points per game for the NCAA tournament. Clark scored 191 points throughout the tournament, setting a record for a single NCAA tournament.

In the Final Four matchup between LSU and Virginia Tech, LSU fought to the end and won 79–72. Reese played 38 minutes and had 12 rebounds with 24 points. The game had 3.4 million viewers, making it the most-viewed early semifinal on ESPN record.

Men’s

On April 3, the San Diego State Aztecs faced off against the University of Connecticut Huskies for the 2023 NCAA Men’s National Championship. UConn took down the Aztecs with a score of 76–59 and clinched their fifth national championship in the school’s history (1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023).

Heading into the national championship game, San Diego State could have become just the second team in the last 50 years to win the men’s national title in its first Final Four appearance. This accomplishment would make them the second-ever team to pull this off in the given time span, the first being UConn in 1999.

After San Diego State University beat Florida Atlantic University 72–71 with a mid-range buzzer beater, they marched into the Championship game.

After the Huskies steamrolled No. 3-seeded Gonzaga 82–54, they knocked out No. 5 seed Miami Florida University 72–59. UConn was heading into the national championship game as the team to beat. The closest game the Huskies played was against Miami, which they won by 13. After beating the favorites of the tournament in Gonzaga, it didn’t seem like UConn was backing down to anybody.