College Basketball TV Ratings: Most-watched men's teams of the 2025-26 season

After a surge in TV ratings during the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season, the NCAA Tournament also saw viewership rise. As a result, the Final Four teams drew the biggest average audiences this year.

Nielsen released its final Top 5 most-watched teams of the season across both the regular season and NCAA Tournament. The rankings include data from ABC, CBS, The CW, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, FOX, FS1, FS2, NBC, USA, truTV and TNT.

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On3 tracked the most-watched men’s college basketball teams throughout the 2025-26 season, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel data. Here is the full Top 5.

1. Michigan – 3.353 million

Year 2 of the Dusty May era was one for the books at Michigan. The Wolverines won their first national championship since 1989 as they took down UConn in the title game. That matchup drew 18.3 million viewers to become the most-watched game of the season.

In fact, Michigan’s Final Four win over Arizona drew the second-largest audience of the year at 14.29 million viewers across TBS, TNT and truTV. Those two games helped the Wolverines become the most-watched team in men’s basketball this year, according to Nielsen.

2. Duke – 2.965 million

Consistently one of the most-watched teams of the year, Duke drew the second-most viewership this year, according to Nielsen. The Blue Devils played in three of the Top 10 most-watched games of the season, led by the Elite Eight loss to UConn, which averaged more than 13.4 million viewers.

Duke’s wins over TCU and St. John’s also drew strong audiences with 9.55 million and 9.37 million viewers, respectively. The Blue Devils also played in the top regular-season game this year against Arkansas in front of 6.8 million viewers on Thanksgiving.

3. UConn – 2.842 million

With more than 2.8 million viewers on average, UConn is the third most-watched team of the year, per Nielsen data. The Huskies participated in three of the top four games of the year, led by the national championship against Michigan. Their Final Four win over Illinois also brought 14.16 million viewers.

UConn came up just short of a third national title in four years with its loss to Michigan last week. The Huskies’ Sweet Sixteen win over Michigan State also drew strong viewership with 7.34 million to rank among the Top 20 most-watched games of the season.

4. Purdue – 2.554 million

After holding a halftime lead against Arizona, Purdue’s season came to an end in the Elite Eight as the Wildcats dominated the second half. The game averaged 10.14 million viewers, becoming one of six to reach the 10 million mark this year.

Purdue was also one of the most-watched teams during the regular season and continued to draw strong viewership during March Madness. The Boilermakers’ thrilling Sweet Sixteen win over Texas sat just outside the Top 10 most-watched games of the year, as well.

5. Illinois – 2.377 million

Rounding out the Top 5 most-watched men’s basketball teams of the season, Illinois played in front of an average of 2.38 million viewers this year. The Fighting Illini put together an impressive run to the Final Four, which was the third most-watched game of the season.

Illinois’ Elite Eight win over Iowa drew the 12th-best audience of the year, as well, with 8.24 million viewers across TBS and truTV. That game punched a ticket to the Final Four for the first time since 2005 as part of a huge season for Brad Underwood’s group.

The Final Four teams headlined the most-watched teams in college basketball after a viewership surge during the NCAA Tournament. As a whole, TV ratings increased across the sport during both the regular season and postseason.