Hoop Dreams

CBS earns 9.7 overnight for Kentucky's victory over North Carolina

CBS earned an 8.5 overnight Nielsen rating for its two NCAA men’s basketball Regional Final games yesterday. Kentucky’s win over North Carolina, which gave the Wildcats their first trip to the Final Four since ’98, drew a 9.7 overnight from 5:00-7:15pm ET yesterday, down 2% from the comparative window in ’10 but up 26% from ’09. The day’s first game, which saw No. 11 seed VCU stun top-seeded Kansas, drew a 7.5 overnight from 2:15-4:45pm. That game was even with the comparative game last year and up 27% from ’09. Butler’s upset of Florida on Saturday to earn the school’s second straight Final Four trip earned a 6.6 overnight rating from 4:20-7:06pm, while UConn’s win over Arizona drew a 5.8 overnight from 7:06-9:27pm.