National Collegiate Athletic Association

NCAA News Archive - 2010

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Apr 6, 2010 11:23:59 AM

The NCAA 2010 Men's Final Four championship game between Duke and Butler was a hit among television viewers, tying the highest rating for the event in 11 years.

CBS' coverage earned an average overnight rating of 16.0, an increase of 34 percent over the 11.9 drawn for the 2009 championship game between North Carolina and Michigan State.

The rating for last night's game, which featured a potential game-winning shot from half court by Butler's Gordon Hayward that rimmed out at the buzzer, tied the 2005 championship game (North Carolina and Illinois) as the highest-rated final since the matchup between Duke and Connecticut (16.9) in 1999.

The rating for Duke's 61-59 win over Butler peaked at 20.3 between 11:30-11:45 p.m. Eastern time.

Overall, CBS averaged an overnight rating of 6.6 for the entire tournament, which is a 5 percent increase over the 2009 Division I Men's Basketball Championship.