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 CBS, The CW, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, FOX, FS1, FS2, NBC, USA, truTV and TNT – with Michigan State and Duke 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 Jan. 18. Note: This story will be updated regularly throughout the 2025-26 season.
1. Michigan State
Through Jan. 18, Michigan State remains the 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’ only non-conference loss came to Duke as they turned their attention to Big Ten play, but dropped a road game against a red-hot Nebraska team Jan. 2.
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2. Duke
(Jaylynn Nash | Imagn Images)
Led once again by a true freshman standout, Duke has been one of the top teams in the country this year and sits atop the ACC standings. The Blue Devils are also now the second-most watched team in college basketball through Jan. 18, according to Nielsen, and have played in four games with at least 1.7 million viewers. The biggest, of course, was a Thanksgiving win over Arkansas in front of 6.8 million viewers.
Cameron Boozer is putting together a huge freshman campaign in Durham, leading the Blue Devils in four major categories – points, rebounds, assists and steals per game. Duke got off to an impressive start to ACC play at 7-0 while sitting squarely on the 1-seed line in On3’s Bracketology as of Jan. 25.
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3. Arkansas
Arkansas ends January toward the top of a jam-packed SEC race and remain one of the most-watched teams in college basketball through Jan. 18. The Razorbacks were also 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.
Arkansas got off to a 5-2 start to SEC play to sit tied for second through Jan. 26. The Razorbacks have gotten huge production from freshman standout Darius Acuff, who’s averaging 20 points per game to go with a team-high 6.2 assists.
4. North Carolina
In an important year for head coach Hubert Davis, North Carolina got off to a strong start with a 12-1 record, only losing to Michigan State on Thanksgiving in the second-most watched game to date. The Tar Heels are also the fourth-most watched college basketball team through Jan. 18, including a victory over Ohio State in front of 1.5 million viewers Dec. 20 on CBS.
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UNC got off to a rocky start to conference play, though, with three losses in its first four games. But the Tar Heels cruised past Notre Dame and came back to take down Virginia to get back over .500 at 4-3 in league action.
5. Kentucky
© Clare Grant/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Although it was an up-and-down start to the season for Kentucky, the Wildcats remained a top draw through the first two months. UK is the fifth-most watched team in college basketball through Jan. 18 and appears to be finding a groove through SEC play.
Mark Pope’s group won five straight games to shake off an 0-2 start in conference action, including back-to-back last-second victories. Plenty of eyes were on the win over Tennessee on Jan. 17 as 1.51 million viewers tuned in as Kentucky erased a 17-point deficit.
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6. Kansas
Although star freshman Darryn Peterson has been dealing with injuries, Kansas still started out the 2025-26 season strong and is in the middle of the Big 12 race. The Jayhawks take a 15-5 record into January, including four straight victories, and their game against Duke averaged 1.87 million viewers on ESPN.
KU is also the sixth-most watched team in college basketball through Jan. 18, according to Nielsen, as one of the top draws heading into the Big 12 portion of the schedule. The Jayhawks won five games in a row as of Jan. 26, including a resounding victory over rival Kansas State.
7. UCLA
While sitting right in the middle of the Big Ten race, UCLA is now among the most-watched teams in college basketball through Jan. 18. The Bruins played in third-highest rated game of the season Jan. 10 against Maryland, which averaged 2.9 million viewers – fueled by the NFC Championship lead-in on FOX.
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Additionally, UCLA’s matchup Jan. 17 against Ohio State averaged 1.29 million viewers. Those two games helped propel the Bruins into the Top 10 most-watched teams of the men’s basketball season as of Jan. 18.
8. Indiana
© Robert Goddin-Imagn Images
Indiana began a new era as Darian DeVries took over this season, and the Hoosiers started out strong. But even amid a rough patch in Big Ten play, IU remains the eighth-most watched team in college basketball as of Jan. 18.
IU lost four straight games before getting back on track with a blowout win over Rutgers to improve to 4-5 in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers have played in three games with at least 1 million viewers, led by the loss to Kentucky Dec. 13.
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9. Tennessee
Now at No. 9 in the most-watched men’s college basketball teams of the season, Tennessee got off to a 3-3 start in SEC play. Two of those games are among the top games of the year, including the last-second loss to Kentucky at 1.51 million viewers.
The Volunteers’ loss to Florida also brought in 1.22 million viewers as they became a big draw in conference play. Viewership numbers for Tennessee’s victory over Alabama were not available at the time of this update.
10. Wisconsin
Rounding out the latest Top 10 most-watched men’s college basketball teams as of Jan. 18, Wisconsin played in the fourth-most watched game of the year Jan. 10. The Badgers’ upset victory over Michigan averaged 2.0 million viewers on CBS, which helped propel them to No. 10 on the list.
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That win was part of a five-game win streak for Wisconsin as Big Ten play began to heat up. UW suffered a close loss to USC to end the run, but remained in strong position in the conference as the calendar prepared to flip to February.
With conference play in full swing, the the road to the Final Four is well underway. Teams are starting to make their runs in their respective conferences with hopes of heading to Indianapolis at season’s end.
