Last year, Virginia made history as the first No. 1 seed to fall at the first hurdle in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. This year, it is the only top seed still standing heading into the Final Four.
UVA might not be the only big winner following the tournament’s regional rounds. After a domino of upsets through last weekend’s action, Turner Sports and CBS Sports have continued to set new streaming records for NCAA March Madness Live. The streaming hub for NCAA basketball tournament games reached a record in terms of both live streams and live hours of consumption, each increasing 30 percent or more through the regional finals.
.@MSU_Basketball‘s Road to the #FinalFour
Des Moines
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— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) April 1, 2019
Across all platforms, the tournament clocked in as the third highest-rated March Madness in 26 years. TV ratings were up eight percent compared to 2018 through Sunday’s games.
Overall, more tournament conversations are taking place online. Official NCAA March Madness social accounts (on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) have so far produced a 117 percent increase in engagements compared to last year.
The regional rounds were action packed and their ratings and online discussions might have been buoyed by a number of down-to-the-wire upsets. No. 5 Auburn scored its first-ever visit to the Final Four after knocking off Kentucky in overtime. Auburn has defeated three of the winningest teams in tournament history—No. 4 Kansas, No. 1 North Carolina, and No. 2 Kentucky—in consecutive games. No. 3 Texas Tech took down No. 1 Gonzaga 75-69. And, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski suffered a stunning defeat as the No. 1 seeded Blue Devils were squeezed out by No. 2 Michigan State (68-67).
At the Final Four this weekend in Minneapolis, Auburn will face Virginia, and Texas Tech will then face Michigan. The winners of each will compete for the national championship on Monday.