North Carolina was able to punch its ticket to the Sweet 16 with a big win over Michigan State on Saturday. Going into the game, the Spartans were considered a threat to upset the No. 1 seed in the West Region.
But even after a shaky first 10 minutes, the Tar Heels took control and ended up getting a double-digit win to move on. And they did so in front of a record TV audience.
Per Sports Media Watch, 10.02M people watched the game on TV which was the highest-rated game of the 2024 NCAA Tournament so far as the site explains from the weekend:
Saturday’s North Carolina-Michigan State second round game ranks as the most-watched of the tournament thus far with a 5.0 and 10.02 million on CBS, up 2% in ratings and 5% in viewership from Arkansas-Kansas in the same window last year (4.9, 9.50M).
The full three-game window was also the most-watched of the tournament with a combined 8.1 (+9%) and 16.59 (+16%) million across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. In particular, NC State-Oakland averaged a 2.1 and 4.35 million across TBS (1.5, 3.29M) and truTV (0.51, 1.06M), up 42% and 53% respectively from Houston-Auburn on TBS alone a year ago (1.45, 2.85M). Iowa State-Washington State drew a 1.0 (flat) and 2.22 million (+17%) on TNT.
The Gonzaga win over Kansas was the second-highest-rated game from the tournament so far, bringing in 8.88M viewers.
Overall, tournament ratings are up this year which is a good sign for college basketball as there is still a major interest in the tournament despite changes with the transfer portal and NIL.
With some premier matchups looming in the Sweet 16 and potentially Elite 8, it wouldn’t shock us to see ratings stay high throughout the tournament.
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