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As expected, Arkansas-Kentucky basketball game draws big audience on ESPN

Related Topics: Kentucky, Arkansas, ESPN, Rupp Arena

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach John Calipari’s return to Kentucky ranks fourth among most-watched games of the 2024-25 college basketball season.

The Razorbacks’ 89-79 victory over the Wildcats at Rupp Arena last Saturday averaged 1.94 million viewers on ESPN.

Popular as it was, Arkansas-Kentucky was not TV's top game of the night. The strong numbers likely benefitted from the lead-in game between Duke and North Carolina on ESPN, which averaged 2.29 million viewers.

Duke-North Carolina was ESPN’s most-watched game of the season and had the second-highest TV audience for a game across all networks this season.

The most-watched game was the Razorbacks’ 90-77 loss to Illinois on Thanksgiving.