Despite injuries to some key players, Duke’s win over North Carolina delivered another TV ratings win to end the college basketball regular season. An average of 3.4 million viewers tuned to ESPN for the matchup, the network announced.
Saturday’s game became the fifth-most watched game of the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season, according to TV ratings data compiled by On3. In addition, it drew the third-highest viewership for a Duke-North Carolina rivalry game in the last seven years, per ESPN.
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The Blue Devils’ victory just trails the Feb. 7 game between the two rivals at the Dean Dome. That matchup, which saw Seth Trimble hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to seal a UNC win, averaged 3.511 million viewers on ESPN to rank as the fourth-watched men’s college basketball game this season.
With the regular season in the books, Duke officially played in four of the five most-watched games of the year, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel data compiled by On3. The Blue Devils’ Thanksgiving win over Arkansas led the way with 6.8 million viewers on CBS, fueled by an NFL lead-in after the historic Dallas Cowboys vs. Kansas City Chiefs game.
North Carolina, meanwhile, was part of three of the top four most-watched games of the season. The Tar Heels’ loss to Michigan State on Thanksgiving ranked No. 2 on the year, averaging 6.5 million viewers on FOX. That game also had an NFL lead-in, following the Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions game.
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Duke ends season with win over North Carolina
UNC was down star forward Caleb Wilson on Saturday due to a season-ending injury, and Duke went without Patrick Ngongba after he appeared on the ACC availability report. The Blue Devils then lost guard Caleb Foster in the first half due to what Jon Scheyer later confirmed was a broken foot.
Duke was still able to get revenge in the Tobacco Road rivalry, sealing the 76-61 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Cameron Boozer led the way with 26 points and 15 rebounds while Maliq Brown, who started in Ngongba’s place, had 15 points and 10 boards to go with five steals.
Now, Duke and North Carolina will head to Charlotte for the ACC tournament. The Blue Devils will be the No. 1 seed after winning the regular-season title and will play their first game Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. UNC, meanwhile, will be the No. 4 seed and start tournament play Thursday at approx. 9:30 p.m. ET.
