The 2025-26 men's college basketball season made 11-year history on ESPN.
The men's college basketball season is gearing up for the postseason. Conference tournament week is here, with Selection Sunday set for this weekend. The 68-team NCAA Tournament field will be unveiled live on CBS on Sunday night.
Meanwhile, ESPN has announced that the 2025-26 men's college basketball regular season made 11-year history.
It was ESPN's best regular season since 2014-15.
"ESPN networks delivered its most-watched men’s college basketball regular season in 11 years — since 2014-15. Overall viewership across ESPN networks increased 25% year-over-year during the 2025-26 season, highlighted by premier matchups, signature events and a record performance from ESPN’s marquee Big Monday franchise," ESPN announced.
"Games on both ESPN and ABC posted double-digit growth this season. The 127 games on ESPN averaged 1.1 million viewers, up 12% year-over-year and the network’s most-watched season since 2018-19. On ABC, five broadcasts averaged 1.7 million viewers, up 29% year-over-year and the network’s best season since 2006-07. Across all nationally rated linear networks, ESPN networks accounted for 50% of live men’s college basketball game minutes viewed, delivering 26 billion minutes watched."
ESPN's most watched games
|
Sat, Feb 21 |
ESPN |
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 3 Duke |
4,324,000 |
|
Sat, Feb 7 |
ESPN |
No. 4 Duke at No. 11 North Carolina |
3,511,000 |
|
Sat, Mar 7 |
ESPN |
No. 17 North Carolina at No. 1 Duke |
3,426,000 |
|
Sat, Feb 21 |
ABC |
No. 4 Arizona at No. 2 Houston |
2,448,000 |
|
Sat, Jan 31 |
ESPN |
Kentucky at No. 15 Arkansas |
2,393,000 |
|
Sat, Jan 31 |
ESPN |
No. 13 BYU at No. 14 Kansas |
2,105,000 |
|
Sat, Dec 13 |
ESPN |
Indiana at Kentucky |
1,958,000 |
|
Mon, Feb 23 |
ESPN |
No. 5 Houston at No. 12 Kansas |
1,953,000 |
|
Tue, Nov 18 |
ESPN |
No. 24 Kansas vs. No. 5 Duke |
1,874,000 |
|
Sat, Feb 21 |
ESPN |
Kentucky at Auburn |
1,853,000 |
ESPN has a lot to be happy with this season.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Mar 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Basketball section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.