The first round of the Tobacco Road rivalry brought a thrilling finish as Seth Trimble’s three-pointer lifted North Carolina past Duke. It also drew strong TV ratings as it became the third-most watched game of the men’s college basketball season to date.
UNC’s victory averaged 3.5 million viewers on ESPN and peaked at 4.8 million, the network announced. That made it ESPN’s most-watched men’s college basketball game in four years and saw a 53% increase from last season’s first of the two-game series between the two teams.
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Only two games have drawn more viewers than North Carolina vs. Duke this year, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel data compiled by On3. Two Black Friday games – Duke’s win over Arkansas and Michigan State’s win over North Carolina – lead the way with 6.8 million and 6.5 million viewers, respectively.
Trimble’s three-pointer in the final seconds was the difference as North Carolina got the win over Duke in their first showdown of the season. UNC improved to 19-4 overall on the year, including a 7-3 record in ACC play, while the Blue Devils dropped to 21-2 overall and 10-1 in league action.
Tar Heels forward Caleb Wilson had a monster game with 23 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. It was a battle of potential lottery picks in this year’s NBA Draft as Wilson went up against Cameron Boozer. He led Duke with 24 points and 11 rebounds in the effort.
This story will be updated.
