FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas and Duke played in the most-watched regular-season college basketball game in 32 years last Thursday.
The Blue Devils’ 80-71 victory over the Razorbacks from United Center in Chicago averaged more than 6.18 million viewers on CBS. It was the most-watched regular-season game since CBS averaged more than 7.2 million to watch Indiana defeat Purdue 93-78 on Feb. 21, 1993.
Last week’s Arkansas-Duke game rode the coattails of the NFL’s most-watched regular-season game on record. The Dallas Cowboys’ 31-28 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs had an average audience of 57.2 million on CBS.
It is the second consecutive year Arkansas has played in a Thanksgiving basketball game that drew big numbers on the heels of an NFL broadcast.