College basketball ratings are starting to pick up, with Duke figuring prominently.
Monday’s Syracuse-Duke men’s college basketball game delivered 2.12 million viewers on ESPN, up 66% from last year (Duke-Miami: 1.28M) and up 74% from 2017 (Syracuse-North Carolina: 1.22M). Those games took place on Martin Luther King Day and faced significant NBA competition. Ratings were not immediately available.
The Blue Devils’ upset loss delivered the seventh-largest audience of the season. It was the third game in just over 48 hours to crack the top seven.
On Saturday, ESPN drew a 1.5 rating and 2.28 million for Duke-Florida State — up 67% in ratings and 63% in viewership from last year (West Virginia-Texas Tech: 0.9, 1.39M) and 25% and 19% respectively from 2017 (FSU-UNC: 1.2, 1.92M).
Duke’s narrow win delivered the sixth-largest audience of the season. Overall, Duke has played in five of the top eight.
On CBS Sunday, Michigan-Penn State had a 1.6 and 2.44 million immediately following an NFL playoff game — down 16% in ratings and viewership from last year (Northwestern-Indiana: 1.9, 2.88M) but up a tick and 3% respectively from 2017 (Michigan-Ohio State: 1.5, 2.36M).
Despite the decline, it scored the fourth-largest audience of the season. Two of the top four were CBS games immediately after the NFL playoffs.
In other recent college hoops action, Louisville’s upset of North Carolina pulled a 0.9 (+13%) and 1.41 million (+21%) on ESPN Saturday afternoon.
On the women’s side, last Thursday’s Louisville-Notre Dame #1 vs. #2 game had a 0.36 and 553,000 (+29%). Last year’s comparable window featured the same matchup, with the teams then ranked #3 and #5.
