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2026 NCAA Tournament: UConn-Duke draws 13.4 million viewers as TV ratings continue to increase

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz03/31/26NickSchultz_7

Sunday evening, Braylon Mullins sent UConn to an all-time victory over Duke as part of a comeback for the ages in the Elite 8. It also capped the most-watched game of the 2026 NCAA Tournament so far as TV ratings keep rising.

An average of 13.4 million viewers tuned to CBS as UConn rallied from 19 points down to defeat Duke and punch its ticket to the Final Four, CBS and TNT Sports announced. That includes a peak of 18.9 million viewers as Alex Karaban found Mullins for the game-winning shot with 0.4 second left in Washington, D.C. and sent UConn to Indianapolis.

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It also continued a TV ratings increase for CBS Sports and TNT Sports during the 2026 NCAA Tournament. An average of 10.3 million people watched through the Elite 8, which is a 9% increase and on track to be the most-watched March Madness since 1993. Of course, part of that increase can be attributed to Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel metric, which debuted in September 2025.

Additionally, Friday’s “early primetime” window in the Sweet Sixteen averaged 14.2 million viewers for Duke vs. St. John’s and Michigan vs. Alabama. Individual game data was not available at the time of publication, but CBS and TNT Sports said every game in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 saw year-over-year viewership increases.

At 13.4 million viewers, UConn vs. Duke is now the most-watched game of the 2026 NCAA Tournament to date. It topped the previous No. 1 game, which also ended with a buzzer-beater. An average of 10.6 million people watched Dylan Darling send St. John’s past Kansas in the Round of 32 via a layup as time expired.

The 2026 NCAA Tournament also saw a strong start with record First Four viewership. An average of 7.5 million viewers watched the four matchups in Dayton to get March Madness underway. The matchup between Miami (OH) and SMU led the way with 2.8 million viewers on average, which is a 17% increase from the previous top game. That figure also would have ranked in the Top 10 among regular season games this year, according to data compiled by On3.

There’s plenty of momentum heading into this weekend’s Final Four in Indianapolis. Illinois vs. UConn will get Saturday’s games underway, followed by a battle of No. 1 seeds as Michigan takes on Arizona in the nightcap at Lucas Oil Stadium.