More Viewers Watched Kansas Beat North Carolina Than Any NCAA Championship Game in History

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More people watched the University of Kansas win the national championship Monday night than in any other men’s national championship game in history. Kansas came back from a 16-point halftime deficit to the University of North Carolina to win their fourth national championship (6th if one includes Helms titles.)

According to the AP, 18.1 million viewers tuned into the Monday night final, representing a 4% increase in viewers from the title game the year before. Saturday’s semifinal game between Duke and North Carolina, which ended Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s illustrious career, saw 18.5 million viewers.

AP reports:

The Jayhawks’ 72-69 win averaged 18.1 million viewers on TBS, TNT and truTV. It is also a 4% increase over last year’s title game between Baylor and Gonzaga on CBS. This was the third time the championship game was on Turner networks, but first since 2018. They were supposed to have the 2020 final, but the tournament was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The entire tournament on CBS and Turner averaged 10.7 million viewers, a 13% increase over last year.

Kansas’ 16-point rally, which was the biggest comeback in championship game history, was also the third most-watched college basketball game in cable TV history. Saturday’s semifinal matchup between North Carolina and Duke, averaged 18.5 million, ranks second. The 2015 semifinal between Wisconsin and Kentucky — also on Turner — is No. 1 (22.63 million).

The fact that this was the most-watched finals ever continues Kansas Jayhawks’ record-breaking season on many levels. Their Sweet 16 win against Providence saw the KU program surge ahead of the Kentucky Wildcats as the program with the most all-time wins in college basketball wins after the 2-seed UK suffered an embarrassing loss to the 15th seeded Saint Peter’s Peacocks in the first round.

Rock chalk!