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

With conference play well underway, the 2025-26 college basketball season has already brought surprises. Some marquee games, notably in the non-conference slate, brought some strong TV ratings in the early part of the men’s college basketball season.

Nielsen has updated its Top 10 most-watched teams of the year, led by some of the storied programs in the sport. The rankings include data from ABC, CBS, The CW, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, FOX, FS1, FS2, NBC, USA, truTV and TNT – with Duke and Michigan State leading the charge.

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On3 is tracking the most-watched men’s college basketball teams, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel data. Here is the full Top 10 through Feb. 8. Note: This story will be updated regularly throughout the 2025-26 season.

1. Duke

Now the most-watched team in college basketball through Feb. 8, Duke remains squarely atop the ACC standings heading into the final stretch. The Blue Devils have also played in two of the three most-watched games of the season through Feb. 8, according to Nielsen.

Duke’s top game was a Thanksgiving win over Arkansas in front of 6.8 million viewers, and the Blue Devils’ loss to North Carolina ranks No. 3 on the year with 3.5 million viewers on ESPN. That made it ESPN’s most-watched men’s college basketball game in four years as the Tar Heels got the victory in Chapel Hill.

2. Michigan State

Through Feb. 8, Michigan State is the second-most watched team in college basketball, according to Nielsen. The Spartans played in multiple high-profile games to start the year, including one of the top games on Thanksgiving.

MSU’s victory over North Carolina averaged 6.499 million viewers on FOX, becoming the network’s most-watched college basketball game on record after an NFL lead-in. The Spartans’ loss to Michigan also drew 2.8 million viewers on Jan. 30 to come in as the fifth-most watched game of the year through Feb. 8.

3. North Carolina

Fueled by a Thanksgiving matchup against Michigan State – the second-most watched game of the year – North Carolina is another big-time TV ratings draw in men’s college basketball. The Tar Heels have now played in two of the three most-watched games of the year as of Feb. 8.

UNC’s Feb. 7 win over Duke marked a 53% increase from last year’s opening matchup of the two-game Tobacco Road rivalry series. The Tar Heels got dealt a major blow after that, though, when star freshman Caleb Wilson suffered a broken hand that will keep him out indefinitely.

4. Arkansas

The SEC race continues to take shape through February, and Arkansas is right in the middle of it. The Razorbacks are also the fourth-most watched team in college basketball through Feb. 8, according to Nielsen data.

Arkansas was notably part of the loaded Thanksgiving slate, falling to Duke in the most-watched game of the season to date, with an average of 6.8 million viewers. In addition, the Razorbacks’ loss to Kentucky ranks as the sixth-most watched game of the year with 2.4 million viewers on Jan. 31.

5. Kentucky

Although it was an up-and-down start to the season for Kentucky, the Wildcats appeared to turn a corner to start SEC play. After dropping their first two league games, UK went 8-2 across its next 10 matchups heading into the final sprint.

Kentucky is also a top TV ratings draw this year, playing in at least six games with at least 1 million viewers, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel data compiled by On3. The biggest was the Jan. 31 win over Arkansas, which brought 2.4 million viewers.

6. Kansas

Through mid-February, Kansas put itself in prime position in the Big 12. An eight-game win streak propelled the Jayhawks to a 9-3 record in conference play with six games to go, and they’ve also drawn strong TV ratings throughout the year.

KU’s most-watched game of the year was a victory over BYU, which averaged 2.1 million viewers as Darryn Peterson went up against AJ Dybantsa. All told, at least nine Jayhawks games have hit 1 million viewers, per data compiled by On3.

7. Michigan

Year 2 of the Dusty May era has been an impressive one for Michigan. The Wolverines jumped up to No. 1 in the AP poll on Feb. 16, and they are also among the Top 10 most-watched teams in men’s college basketball as of Feb. 8.

UM has played in two games with more than 2 million viewers, led by the rivalry win against Michigan State at 2.8 million. The Wolverines’ upset loss to Wisconsin also averaged 2 million as they became one of the big draws in the sport through mid-February.

8. Purdue

As the Big Ten race continues to take shape, Purdue is right in the thick of it. The Boilermakers also moved into the Top 10 most-watched men’s college basketball teams as of Feb. 8, sitting at No. 8.

A three-game losing streak in Big Ten play halted a 17-1 start to the season. One of those games – a loss to Illinois – became Purdue’s most-watched game of the year with 1.7 million viewers on FOX.

9. Illinois

The heat of Big Ten play propelled Illinois to No. 9 in the most-watched men’s college basketball teams list. In late January and early February, the Fighting Illini played in their top games of the season, led by the matchup at Michigan State Feb. 7.

That loss to the Spartans averaged 1.95 million viewers to become FOX’s third-most watched game of the year. Illinois remains a Top-10 team in the AP poll heading into the final five games of the regular season.

10. Tennessee

Rounding out the Top 10 most-watched men’s college basketball teams of the season, Tennessee appeared to find its stride through mid-February. The Vols won six out of seven games through Feb. 16 to get within two games of first place in the SEC.

Tennessee’s two games against Kentucky have been the big draws this year. The Vols’ loss at Rupp Arena Feb. 7 averaged 1.79 million viewers and the Jan. 17 loss at Food City Center brought in 1.51 million viewers.

With just a few games left in the regular season, the road to the Final Four is heating up. Teams are starting to make their runs for their respective conferences with hopes of heading to Indianapolis at season’s end.