NCAA Tournament numbers game.

Ratings for the 2009 NCAA Tournament through the Elite Eight. Through 23 telecasts, CBS is averaging a 5.3 rating for NCAA Tournament coverage, up 2% from a 5.2 through the same point in ’08, but down 5% from ’07 and 10% from ’06.

The Elite Eight averaged a 6.0 rating, down 7% from last year and tied with 2003 as the lowest average ever. The Sweet Sixteen averaged a 6.2, up 13% from a record-low 5.5 last year.

Ratings for the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

Date	Time	Featured Game	Net	Rating
Thu., 3/19/09	12:15 PM	LSU/Butler	CBS	2.8/10
Thu., 3/19/09	2:37 PM	North Carolina/Radford	CBS	3.4/10
Thu., 3/19/09	7:00 PM	Clemson/Michigan	CBS	5.7/10
Thu., 3/19/09	9:56 PM	Duke/Binghamton	CBS	5.0/9
Fri., 3/20/09	12:10 PM	Oklahoma St./Tennessee	CBS	3.0/10
Fri., 3/20/09	2:45 PM	West Virginia/Dayton	CBS	3.5/10
Fri., 3/20/09	7:00 PM	Boston College/USC	CBS	4.5/9
Fri., 3/20/09	9:35 PM	Florida St./Wisconsin	CBS	5.6/11
Sat., 3/21/09	1:00 PM	Villanova/UCLA	CBS	3.9/11
Sat., 3/21/09	3:23 PM	Memphis/Maryland	CBS	5.0/13
Sat., 3/21/09	5:39 PM	North Carolina/LSU	CBS	6.7/15
Sat., 3/21/09	8:10 PM	Duke/Texas	CBS	6.5/12
Sun., 3/22/09	12:00 PM	Syracuse/Arizona St.	CBS	3.8/10
Sun., 3/22/09	2:18 PM	Pittsburgh/Oklahoma St.	CBS	5.8/14
Sun., 3/22/09	5:02 PM	Louisville/Siena	CBS	7.3/15
Thu., 3/26/09	7:00 PM	Purdue/Connecticut	CBS	5.6/10
Thu., 3/26/09	9:45 PM	Villanova/Duke	CBS	6.7/12
Fri., 3/27/09	7:00 PM	Oklahoma/Syracuse	CBS	5.5/10
Fri., 3/27/09	9:35 PM	North Carolina/Gonzaga	CBS	6.9/13
Sat., 3/28/09	4:30 PM	Connecticut/Missouri	CBS	5.4/12
Sat., 3/28/09	7:01 PM	Villanova/Pittsburgh	CBS	6.6/12
Sun., 3/29/09	2:10 PM	Michigan St./Louisville	CBS	5.2/12
Sun., 3/29/09	4:55 PM	North Carolina/Oklahoma	CBS	6.8/13