Florida had a flair for the dramatic throughout its run in this NCAA Tournament, and those dramatics were served in abundance on the grandest stage of all in Monday night’s national championship victory over Houston.
The Gators, down 12 early in the second half, roared back like they had roared back multiple times before in this tournament to prevail, 65-63. It was UF’s third national title, and the gritty, low-scoring showdown with everything on the line had a lot of eyes on it. In fact, the championship game earned TV ratings on CBS not seen in a while in a sport that’s suffered a bit over the years with players only staying 1 season at their schools.
But Florida’s championship victory was authored by a senior who did stick around, Walter Clayton Jr., and it paid off with a title. The comeback win delivered 18.1 million viewers on CBS, which was up 22% and was the most-watched championshp game since 2019. That year, Virginia outlasted Texas Tech in overtime in the title game, so the ratings were probably going to be great for the overtime factor alone.
But Florida-Houston didn’t need overtime to deliver great ratings. The battle peaked with 21.1 million viewers for the dramatic conclusion, as the Gators held off the Cougars at the very end. The title game also capped off the most-watched Final Four since 2017. Final Four weekend averaged 16.4 million viewers for the 3 games, which was up 21% and the best Final Four weekend ratings in 8 years.
As a final ratings bonus, NCAA Tournament viewership on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV averaged 10.2 million viewers, which was up 3%.
National Championship between Florida and Houston delivers 18.1 million viewers on CBS, capping off the most-watched Final Four weekend since 2017 pic.twitter.com/3FmBOMDGuF
— March Madness Men’s Basketball TV (@MM_MBB_TV) April 8, 2025This particular NCAA Tournament was devoid of any Cinderella teams or grand upsets. A lot of it was chalk, right to the Final Four with 4 1-seeds heading to San Antonio. But people watched, and Florida celebrated.
Florida’s comeback win over Houston delivers best national championship ratings since 2019 Saturday Down South.
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