The men’s NCAA college basketball tournament is already underway, and the ladies’ side begins tonight (as of this post). Our man Shaq says he’ll be skipping out on one-half of the action. His thinking may surprise you…
In a brand-new interview with PEOPLE magazine (and thanks to the mag for info on this story), O’Neal says his plans for the NCAA hoops tournaments this year mean – for him – only watching the ladies’ games. Pretty big idea!
O’Neal is usually part of the big, multi-network presentation of both the mens’ and ladies’ Final Four tournaments, and here at the offices of ShaqFu Radio, we’re sure we’ll see him on those programs again this year, adding to the analysis and commentary.
Still, in talking to PEOPLE, Shaq said it directly: “I haven’t even been paying attention to the guys, only been paying attention to the girls.” Shaq went on to point out all the stars and the stories from the women’s side of the game this year: “I hate to say it, but the women players are kicking the men’s butts. You’ve got my Angel Reese. You’ve got all the girls from South Carolina. You’ve got JuJu Watkins, you’ve got Caitlin Clark.”
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As a fan of the game himself, O’Neal says it just comes down to a better courtside experience: “It’s just a better game, just more competitive.”
And it seems Shaq is not alone in his assessment of the game and its watch-ability. On X (formerly Twitter), Fox Sports analyst Michael Mulvihill showed some numbers. Seems big TV games for women’s college basketball are averaging 981,000 viewers this season. That bests the men’s side of the game, which are getting an average of 946,000 viewers this season.
Could that be that there are just so many more men’s games that the viewership numbers are being watered down? It’s possible, but the numbers definitely show the rising popularity of the ladies’ games as well.
As for O’Neal, he says that the sea-change in viewer numbers is – in his words – “well deserved” for the women. Shaq got a taste of that rising popularity for himself this year when he visited his alma mater LSU to be on hand for Angel Reese’s senior night ceremony. The big man escorted her (along with Reese’s mother) on to the court to pick up her award and get some fan love.
Shaq said he was surprised and impressed by the turnout and the energy for the game. “I went to LSU to watch Angel. It was my first time ever seeing the girls’ game way more packed than the boys’ game, but it was actually a good feeling.”
O’Neal says he likes what’s happening on the women’s side of the game. “I’m happy for the young female athletes, and it’s inspiring to young girls. It’s definitely well deserved… We’re all in this together. I think sports and music are the only two things that can have people turn off their stress, turn off negative stuff and just sit and relax and wind down.”
Since filling out brackets is pretty much the national obsession this time of year, PEOPLE asked O’Neal for his Final Four – for the ladies. His “perfect” bracket for the 2024 Women’s Final Four “would be Iowa, LSU, South Carolina and USC, if it’s possible.”
This year’s Women’s Final Four is in Cleveland. The men’s side wraps up in Phoenix. We’ll see how it goes!