Michigan State’s dramatic NCAA Tournament victory over Duke drew a 10.5 television rating, the highest for a late Sunday regional final in 14 years.
CBS Sports and Turner Sports say Nielsen ratings for the entire tournament heading into Saturday’s Final Four are up 8 percent from last year at 6.7.
Ratings represent the percentage of U.S. television households tuned into a program.
The four Elite Eight games from Saturday and Sunday drew a 7.2 rating, the second highest for the tournament’s second weekend since 2011. The Michigan State-Duke game on Sunday, which the Spartans won 68-67, was the highest rated game for that time frame in 14 years and up 4 percent from last year.
Auburn’s overtime victory over Kentucky on Sunday was up 15 percent from last year’s game in that time slot. Virginia’s overtime victory over Purdue on Saturday night was up 14 percent over 2018.