March Madness is here and Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal will be locked into the NCAA Women's Tournament.
In fact, the women's tournament is the only college basketball that O'Neal plans to watch this March.
"I haven't even been paying attention to the guys, only been paying attention to the girls," O'Neal told PEOPLE. "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."
As one of the most decorated men's basketball players in LSU history, O'Neal's allegiance to LSU's star makes plenty of sense — they are LSU basketball royalty. The four-time NBA champion even helped escort Reese during the Lady Tigers' senior night ceremonies in Baton Rouge, LA.
🥹💜💛 pic.twitter.com/ysdAoEnGAM
— LSU Women's Basketball (@LSUwbkb) March 3, 2024
WOMEN'S MARCH MADNESS HQ
Live NCAA bracket news | TV schedule | Printable PDF
O'Neal has also made it abundantly clear that he is a big fan of Clark.
In February, O'Neal said, "I'm gonna go on the record and say [Clark is] the best female collegiate player ever."
"I ain't disrespecting nobody," he continued. "It's just my opinion and I ain't gonna change it."
MORE: The Sporting News 2023-24 Women's College Basketball All-America Team
As for his connection to the rest of the women's college game, O'Neal was straightforward in his explanation: "It's just a better game, just more competitive."
O'Neal cited his experience at LSU's senior night as more evidence for the growth of the women's game and why it has exceeded the men's game. He added that the growth makes him "happy for the young female athletes, and it's inspiring to young girls."
The inspiration piece is clearly near and dear to O'Neal, whose daughter Me'Arah is a McDonald's High School All-American who signed on to play collegiately at the University of Florida next season.
STREAM: Watch 2024 March Madness live with Sling TV
With his daughter set to star at a major program in 2024-25, O'Neal's days of tuning into the men's college game could be behind him for good.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Sporting News has editorial oversight for this content. Learn more >
