Miami’s Elite Eight comeback win over Texas is the most-watched March Madness game yet with more than 11.2 million tuning in to watch the No. 2 seed drop
Miami’s thrilling 88-81 victory over Texas last Sunday is the most-watched game of March Madness this year to date, as more than 11.2 million people tuned in to watch the Hurricanes book their spot in his first Final Four.
The No. 5 seed trailed as many as 13 points in the second half, but clamped down on the Longhorns to turn the game around in Kansas City.
Elsewhere on last weekend’s slate, Creighton vs. San Diego drew more than 8.3 million viewers, UConn-Gonzaga saw nearly 8 million tune in, and about 7 million people watched FAU beat Kansas State at Madison Square Garden, for olbg.com.
Also in the top ten, 6.1 million people watched Gonzaga beat UCLA, Michigan-Kansas State drew 5.9 million, and Miami’s win over Houston was watched by 5.1 million.
Additionally, Xavier-Texas, San Diego State-Alabama, and Princeton-Creighton recorded at least 4.37 million viewers respectively.
Wooga Poplar had 16 points and six rebounds for Miami’s win against No. 2 seed Texas
Marcus Carr celebrates making a 3-pointer in Texas’ eventual loss
Jordan Miller (C), who made 13/13 from the free throw line, celebrates against Texas on Sunday
Only San Diego State remains from that list of teams.
Miami-Texas’ viewership performance came after an extremely impressive first round, as it finished as the most watched on record earlier this month.
That was helped by Fairleigh Dickinson’s upset over No. 1 seed Purdue (4.37 million viewers), while second-round Marquette-Michigan State paced the opening weekend with 10.9 million, according to Nielsen data.
However, Miami-Texas performed poorly compared to other years.
Viewership was down 17 percent from North Carolina-Saint Peter’s last year (13.58 million) and was the least-watched Elite Eight game in the Sunday window since 2016, according to sports media watch.
And with No. 4 seed UConn as the highest-seeded team in the Final Four, it seems unlikely that the final stage will be able to replicate last year’s high mark.
A whopping 18.1 million viewers watched Kansas beat UNC in the final in 2022, a record for the men’s championship on pay TV.
After Duke, Villanova, UNC and Kansas made it to the Final Four last year, this year’s national semifinals don’t have the same blue-blooded feel.
No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic will play No. 5 San Diego State, and the Owls hadn’t even won a tournament game until this season.
In the other game, Miami and UConn will meet in Saturday’s late contest.
After that, the title will be played out on Monday, with the potential for a first-time champion at FAU, San Diego State or Miami.