North Carolina Tar Heels guard Seth Trimble Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
By Drew Lerner on

A thriller in the Dean Dome proved to be the most-watched edition of the Tobacco Road rivalry since Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game in 2022.

According to data from Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, Saturday’s game between Duke and North Carolina averaged 3.51 million viewers on ESPN, marking the best regular-season audience for the rivalry since Coach K called it a career in March 2022 (3.98 million viewers). It was also the most-watched regular season men’s college basketball game on ESPN since 2022.

If taking out Coach K’s home finale, Saturday’s game would be the most-watched regular season Duke-UNC game since the Zion Williamson era in 2019.

Per ESPN, the game increased from the last Duke-UNC matchup in 2025 by 53% (2.29 million viewers). The audience peaked at 4.8 million viewers.

Unsurprisingly, the Tar Heels’ win was the most-watched college basketball game of the season when excluding the two games that followed Thanksgiving NFL action on CBS and Fox.

As always, it’s important to keep in mind that Nielsen’s methodological changes have impacted comparisons to audiences before February 2025.

Nevertheless, what has always been college basketball’s most popular rivalry seems to still be churning out solid numbers. Sure, the competitive nature of the game, which ended on a last-second shot from UNC’s Seth Trimble, definitely helped capture a larger audience. Both teams were also ranked quite highly, Duke at No. 4 and UNC. at No. 14, which adds to the intrigue.

The two schools will play again, this time in Cameron Indoor Stadium, for the final game of the regular season on March 7.

About Drew Lerner

Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.

View all posts by Drew Lerner