Big names will be under pressure to perform in the high-pressure NCAA Women’s Final Four.

NPR’s Ari Shapiro joins basketball writer Sabrina Merchant to preview the NCAA AW Final Four game between Iowa State and UW vs. South Carolina.

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Women’s college basketball has a final four left. And tomorrow night, they’ll play in Cleveland, South Carolina vs. North Carolina State, and Iowa State vs. UW. There’s a lot of star power in these games, led, of course, by Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, who scored 41 points in her last game against LSU. And ticket prices also reflect the hype. Resale tickets can fetch more than $2,000. This is twice as many as the men’s tournament.

Sabrina Merchant, The Athletic’s women’s basketball staff writer, joins us from the arena, so you can hear the squeak of shoes on the basketball court behind her. Hi Sabrina.

Sabrina Merchant: Hello.

SHAPIRO: I want to ask you about the ratings for these games, because last week’s quarterfinal game between Iowa and LSU set a record with more than 12 million people watching on average. ESPN called the game the most-watched women’s college basketball game in history. Do you expect that record to be broken tomorrow night when Iowa State plays her UConn?

Merchant: You know, I don’t know if we can top the drama of Iowa playing LSU in a rematch of last year’s national title game, even if it’s Iowa versus a historic powerhouse college con. . Considering it’s a Friday night, it might not get as much viewership as Monday, but I expect it to be a very big eight-figure number again.

SHAPIRO: Wouldn’t it be weird if the biggest, most exciting, biggest crowd for a game in this tournament would be in the quarterfinals?

Merchant: Yes. That may be true, but it’s still a rematch of last year’s national title match. And I think the fact that it happened on the same night as JuJu Watkins and Paige Backers performed also contributed to that.

SHAPIRO: Yeah.

Merchant: Maybe I’m just trying to…

SHAPIRO: Downplaying expectations?

Merchant: …we’re bracing ourselves for another big number, but no, I’m more excited about this match than any other match in the tournament so far. And the fact that every game we play in could be Caitlin Clark’s last game in an Iowa State uniform – I think we’re getting closer to that idea. We’ll probably get some really big numbers on Friday.

SHAPIRO: Well, what do you expect from this matchup?

Merchant: First of all, these two teams played against each other when Caitlin and Paige were freshmen in the Sweet 16 of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. That’s when Paige and his Buccaneers were named National Player of the Year and led UW to the championship. Final 4. Lead your team to the Final Four, as they do at UConn. However, in the intervening three years, Caitlyn surpassed her in terms of her overall popularity. She reigns as the National Player of the Year, and she is presumed to be the favorite to win National Player of the Year again this year, and the stakes are very high for her. And the fact that these two meet for the second time in a tournament is such a great story…

SHAPIRO: Yeah.

Merchant: …The base on which to build this matchup.

SHAPIRO: Let’s talk about the other semifinal game, South Carolina vs. North Carolina State. What do you expect there?

Merchant: Yes. So this is more of a David vs. Goliath situation. South Carolina enters the game as the No. 1 overall seed and has made it this far by going undefeated in the regular season and, of course, in the tournament. And although North Carolina State University’s starting point guard started his college career at the University of South Carolina, he ultimately had to transfer because there was no way for him to take advantage of South Carolina’s rich and talented roster. A fun little revenge story unfolds. And now she’ll play in the Final Four against her former team that won the national championship.

Otherwise, South Carolina has one of the best defenses in the country and one of the best offenses in the country. North Carolina State has been playing well offensively lately, but South Carolina State’s entire roster will present a lot of challenges for the Wolfpack. I chose NC State to win this game out of an interest in having fun and obviously blowing up my weight class…

SHAPIRO: (Laughs).

Merchant: …but let’s see what happens.

SHAPIRO: We talked about record-breaking viewership. Do you think this is the new normal for women’s college basketball? Will this level of interest continue after this tournament is over?

Merchant: I wonder how effective Caitlin Clark is, because I believe she’s the No. 1 person getting most of this attention. And obviously, this is her last college tournament. Depending on how the game against UConn goes, it will be her last one or two games. But I think what the network did a really good job of highlighting is how deep her talent pool is beyond her. Those who tune in to watch Kaitlyn have seen plenty of other contestants catching her eye. So I think there’s going to be some kind of peak whenever Caitlin’s last match comes around, but I don’t think the drop-off over the next few years will be that big.

SHAPIRO: That’s Sabrina Merchant, women’s basketball staff writer for The Athletic. Enjoy the game. thank you very much.

Merchant: Thank you, Ali.

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