Through the first two rounds of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, CBS and TNT Sports have seen a surge in viewership. The Round of 32 game between St. John’s and Kansas led the charge.

On3 obtained Nielsen Big Data + Panel data for the Rounds of 64 and 32 to start March Madness. St. John’s victory over Kansas was the only game to top 10 million viewers, averaging 10.58 million on CBS. In fact, CBS had nine of the Top 10 most-watched games of the 2026 NCAA Tournament to date.

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All told, CBS and TNT Sports said viewership is up 7% from last year with an average of 10.1 million viewers through the first two rounds. Here are the most-watched college basketball games from the Rounds of 64 and 32, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel TV ratings data.

St. John’s vs. Kansas (Round of 32)

Date/Time: March 22, 5:15 p.m. ET
Channel: CBS
Viewers: 10.58 million

St. John’s victory over Kansas led the TV ratings charge and is the most-watched men’s college basketball game of the season to date. An average of 10.58 million viewers tuned to CBS as the Red Storm took down the Jayhawks on a buzzer-beating shot by Dylan Darling in the Round of 32.

Kentucky vs. Iowa State (Round of 32)

Date/Time: March 22, 2:40 p.m. ET
Channel: CBS
Viewers: 9.79 million

Early in the Round of 32 matchup against Iowa State, it looked like Kentucky had an upset on its mind. But the Cyclones hit the gas and didn’t look back as they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, and more than 9.79 million viewers tuned in for the game.

TCU vs. Duke (Round of 32)

Date/Time: March 21, 5:15 p.m. ET
Channel: CBS
Viewers: 9.55 million

After surviving Siena in the first round, Duke again faced an upset scare in the second round against TCU. But Cameron Boozer and the Blue Devils prevailed to keep their season alive. An average of 9.55 million viewers tuned in for the thrilling round of 32 matchup.

Louisville vs. Michigan State (Round of 32)

Date/Time: March 21, 2:40 p.m. ET
Channel: CBS
Viewers: 8.47 million

As Michigan State secured a second straight trip to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in a decade, Louisville kept things fairly close. The Spartans’ 77-69 win averaged 8.47 million viewers on CBS in the afternoon window on Saturday, becoming the fourth-most watched game of the 2026 NCAA Tournament so far.

Miami (FL) vs. Purdue (Round of 32)

Date/Time: March 22, Noon ET
Channel: CBS
Viewers: 6.83 million

Miami (FL) didn’t make things easy on Purdue and took a 40-38 lead into halftime of the Round of 32. But the Boilermakers flipped the script in the second half as they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen with the victory in front of 6.83 million viewers.

Saint Louis vs. Michigan (Round of 32)

Date/Time: March 21, Noon ET
Channel: CBS
Viewers: 6.25 million

Following a dominant performance against Georgia in the first round, Saint Louis made things interesting in the first half against Michigan. But in the second half, the Wolverines found their stridge as they came away with the 95-72 victory in front of 6.25 million viewers on average.

VCU vs. Illinois (Round of 32)

Date/Time: March 21, 8 p.m. ET
Channel: CBS
Viewers: 5.65 million

Fresh off an upset victory over North Carolina in the first round, VCU was hoping lightning would strike twice. But Illinois’ high-powered offense didn’t leave any room for doubt as the Fighting Illini secured another Sweet Sixteen trip with a 76-55 victory over the Rams in the Round of 32.

Siena vs. Duke (Round of 64)

Date/Time: March 19, 2:50 p.m. ET
Channel: CBS
Viewers: 5.43 million

Although Siena didn’t make a sub through the first 39 minutes, the Saints gave Duke all they could handle. The Blue Devils eventually got the 71-65 win to avoid an upset in the 1-seed vs. 16-seed game, led by another double-double from Cameron Boozer.

Iowa vs. Florida (Round of 32)

Date/Time: March 22, 7 p.m. ET
Channel: TBS
Viewers: 5.14 million

TBs’ most-watched game of the 2026 NCAA Tournament so far featured the biggest upset of March Madness through the first two rounds. Iowa defeated reigning national champion and 1-seeded Florida in the Round of 32, drawing a huge college basketball TV ratings win with 5.14 million viewers tuning in for the matchup.

Santa Clara vs. Kentucky (Round of 64)

Date/Time: March 20, Noon ET
Channel: CBS
Viewers: 4.999 million

Kentucky’s two 2026 NCAA Tournament games appeared in the Top 10 most-watched games of the first two rounds. Otega Oweh’s buzzer-beater sent the Round of 64 game against Santa Clara to overtime, and the Wildcats were able to secure the victory in the extra period and advance to the second round. Nearly 5 million people watched the thrilling matchup, which started Friday’s slate of games.

More most-watched 1st, 2nd-round games

Round of 64: TCU vs. Ohio State (March 19, Noon ET, CBS) – 4.62 million
Round of 64: Howard vs. Michigan (March 19, 7:15 p.m. ET, CBS) – 4.52 million
Round of 64: VCU vs. North Carolina (March 19, 6:40 p.m. ET, TNT) – 4.30 million
Round of 64: Iowa vs. Clemson (March 19, 6:40 p.m. ET, TNT) – 4.23 million
Round of 32: Tennessee vs. Virginia (March 22, 6 p.m. ET, TNT) – 4.00 million
Round of 32: UCLA vs. UConn (March 22, 9 p.m. ET, TNT) – 3.98 million
Round of 32: Vanderbilt vs. Nebraska (March 21, 8:50 p.m. ET, TNT) – 3.77 million
Round of 64: Saint Louis vs. Georgia (March 19, 10 p.m. ET, CBS) – 3.43 million
Round of 64: High Point vs. Arkansas (March 21, 9:40 p.m. ET, TBS) – 3.28 million
Round of 64: Tennessee State vs. Iowa State (March 20, 3 p.m. ET, CBS) – 3.12 million
Round of 64: UNI vs. St. John’s (March 20, 7:15 p.m. ET, CBS) – 3.01 million
Round of 64: Texas vs. BYU (March 19, 7:30 p.m. ET, TBS) – 2.97 million
Round of 64: Cal Baptist vs. Kansas (March 20, 10 p.m. ET, CBS) – 2.89 million

With the first two rounds in the books, it’s on to the Sweet Sixteen. Games get underway Thursday night as teams look to secure spots in their respective regional finals.

Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.) athlete Gideon Gash was the headliner at last weekend’s Adidas Polynesian Bowl Combine and he exceeded expectations. 

Gash is a great looking prospect and is rated the No. 97 player in the Rivals Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services and the No. 3 athlete in the county. 

He’s even higher in the Rivals 300 and checks in as the No. 64 prospect nationally and after what we saw last weekend, he should continue to trend up. 

Gash has rare athletic traits in terms of size and speed. He measured in at 6-4, 206 pounds, broke the Poly combine record with a 4.35 time in the 40, had a camp best 120” broad jump plus a solid 4.47 shuttle. He earned a well deserved invite to the ’27 Polynesian Bowl following the camp. 

Gash worked out at corner both days and shows the ability to play four or even five positions in college. He’s good enough to play receiver or even grow in to a tight end on offense and can play corner, safety or grow in to an off-ball linebacker on defense. 

A lot will depend on how much weight he naturally puts on as he physically matures. He’s someone we could easily see at 6-4, 240 pounds in 2-3 years so a hybrid safety/linebacker who can run, blitz, play in space, cover tight ends and attack the line of scrimmage and be essentially a position-less player you can move anywhere is pretty intriguing.

On the recruiting front, Gash told us he solid group of six schools he’s currently focusing on. 

“My top schools right now are Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Michigan State, Indiana, Alabama and LSU,” Gash said. “They’re all showing me a lot of love, they reach out and check on me and I have a good relationship with all of those programs.”

Gash’s most recent visit was to Oklahoma for the Sooners ‘Future Freak’ event.

“It was a great visit, I really enjoyed it there,” Gash said. “Several players committed and being there, you can understand why. I was never tempted because I want to take my visits but the coaches were really cool and the atmosphere was amazing. 

“They have a super unique position for me that I like a lot. It’s a safety that can also play on the edge and I think it fits me really well.”

Gash’s older brother Samson Gash signed with Michigan State in February so you can expect the Spartans to be a player in his recruitment the rest of the cycle. 

“It’s always been a dream for us to play college ball together,” Gash said. “If I have to walk my own path or it’s not the right fit for me, I’ll choose a different school but it would be a dream to play together. 

“It would be super cool but I have to make the best decision for me. I do like the new staff and what coach Fitzgerald is building. I visited in January and had a good time so I’m excited to go through the process and play it out.”

Texas Tech and LSU are slated to host Gash over the next few weeks.

“I’ll be at both schools for spring practice,” Gash said. “LSU is a dominant program and the coaching staff has been reaching out a lot and been aggressively recruiting me. I’m excited to visit and see the campus for the first time. I want to watch a practice as well as see how the coaches and players interact.

“This will be my first time seeing Texas Tech as well. They’re starting to roll and playing some really good football. They played great defense last year and had some big time playmakers on that side of the ball. I like their style of play so looking forward to that trip as well.”

Alabama is another intriguing option. 

“I visited Bama when Samson went down there for his official visit,” Gash said. “It was a great atmosphere to be there. I got to see a game and just experience all that Bama is about and what SEC football is about.

“It’s such a prestigious program and that offer carries a lot of weight. It meant a lot to me so I’m definitely interested for sure.”

As for a timeframe for his decision, Gash said sometime before his senior season. 

“I want to take official visits to all of those schools first,” Gash said. “I don’t have any dates yet but I want to visit all of them first, then likely decide in July or August before my season. 

“I want to focus on my team and our goals without recruiting being a distraction for me. The biggest factors for me are the culture of the program, a place that pushes you to work hard on and off the field and the coaching staff and how connected I feel with them.”