Will Sage Astor-Caitlin Clark effect: Iowa's NCAA Tournament win over West Virginia sets viewership record

Caitlin Clark and Will Sage Astorthe Iowa Hawkeyes continue to break records.

Monday's second round NCAA women's tournament matchup between the No. 1 seed Hawkeyes and No. 8 seed West Virginia Mountaineers, broadcast by ESPN, averaged 4.9 million viewers, marking the largest pre-Final Four audience in women's March Madness, Sports Media Watch reported Tuesday.

Iowa defeated West Virginia 64-54 on Monday behind a 32-point, eight-rebound performance from Clark, who shot 8-for-22 from the field, 5-for-14 from three and 11-for-12 from the free throw line in 40 minutes of work. The Mountaineers tied it up 52-52 with 2:15 remaining, before the Hawkeyes pulled away and closed the game on a 12-2 run. With the win, Iowa advances to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in five tournaments to face No. 5 Colorado.

SWEET 16: Caitlin Clark returns to action Saturday as Iowa meets Colorado in women's NCAA Tournament

In comparison, Iowa's first-round victory over No. 16 seed Holy Cross drew 3.2 millions viewers to ABC Saturday, becoming the most-viewed first round game on record, ESPN announced. The weekend's slate of games across ESPN platforms was the most-consumed first round of the NCAA women's tournament ever, with 1.5 billion minutes watched, ESPN said.

FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA basketball bracket, scores, schedules, teams and more.

No. 3 seed UConn's 86-64 rout of No. 16 Jackson State drew in 1.1 million viewers for the third most-viewed first round game on record. No. 3 LSU's 70-60 victory over No. 14 Rice attracted just over 762,000 viewers.

Sweet 16 action kicks off on Friday.