Kentucky ranks among top 10 most-watched college basketball teams this season

It’s been an up-and-down season for Mark Pope‘s Wildcats, but that hasn’t stopped the Big Blue Nation (and the country) from tuning in to watch it all unfold.

According to new data released by Nielsen, Kentucky is the fifth-most-watched men’s college basketball team in the 2025-26 season, based on games played through January 18. The list comprised viewership numbers across ESPN, Fox, NBC, and the Warner Bros. family of networks.

The traditional Blue Blood programs all cracked the top 10, as did John Calipari‘s Arkansas team, which checked in at third. UK and Arkansas joined Tennessee as the SEC teams that cracked the list. The only true shock on this list for most will be Wisconsin checking in at No. 10. The Badgers are 14-6 on the season and 6-3 in Big Ten play, but have played a trio of top 10 opponents throughout the season.

1. Michigan State
2. Duke
3. Arkansas
4. North Carolina
5. Kentucky
6. Kansas
7. UCLA
8. Indiana
9. Tennessee
10. Wisconsin

Nielsen also released the top 10 most-watched women’s college basketball teams of the season, but Kenny Brooks‘ Wildcats did not make the cut.

Most-watched men’s college basketball teams through January 18, via @nielsen📺

Read: https://t.co/gUf9nMGduK pic.twitter.com/oDt9jw9Z05

— On3 NIL (@On3NIL) January 26, 2026

Kentucky’s start to the season didn’t go as planned, but the TV numbers were impressive regardless. It helped that the Wildcats faced four other teams also in the top 10 most-watched category, all happening on ESPN: Michigan State, North Carolina, Indiana, and Tennessee. The win over the Volunteers drew over 1.7 million viewers and included a 17-point comeback for the ‘Cats. Kentucky also faced big-time opponents such as Louisville (ESPN), Gonzaga (ESPN2), and St. John’s (CBS) on the national stage during non-conference play.

UK’s win over the Hoosiers on Dec. 13 drew an especially large crowd as two million people tuned in to watch that matchup — which was ESPN’s most-watched college basketball game of the season to that point and the most-watched college game in December in five years. Having Charles Barkley and Dick Vitale commentate surely attracted some extra eyeballs, but that was still a high-profile matchup across the country between two of the most well-known programs in the sport.

Calipari’s Hall of Fame resume and collection of young talent still have plenty of college basketball fans tuned in to the Razorbacks, but his departure from Lexington hasn’t stopped others from tuning in to see what Pope is working with at Kentucky. We’ll likely see some big TV numbers when Arkansas and Kentucky go head-to-head in Fayetteville this weekend on ESPN.

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