Duke vs. Kansas averages 2 million viewers, becomes most-watched game of 2024-25 season so far

“Feast Week” means the college basketball season is in full swing, and multiple upsets are already making things interesting. But a battle between two bluebloods came in as the most-watched game through the first three weeks.

Kansas’ win over Duke in the Vegas Showdown averaged 2 million viewers, ESPN announced. That made it the most-viewed contest of the season, meaning the network not only has the top game of the year, but also nine of the top-10 most-watched matchups so far.

Kansas and Duke put together one of the most exciting games of the young college basketball season so far. The Jayhawks led by as many as 14 points before the Blue Devils made a surge to cut the lead to 41-39 at halftime. Duke then kept fighting in the second half and took a lead at one point. However, it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback as Kansas held on for the victory.

One of the key moments in the matchup came with 10:26 to play in the second half. Hunter Dickinson and Maliq Brown were fighting for a rebound, and Dickinson appeared to kick Brown in the head. The officials then went to the monitor and upgraded it to a Flagrant 2, meaning Dickinson was ejected.

That led to a Duke surge as Kansas went forward without its top player, but the Jayhawks did just enough to seal the victory. Afterward, though, Bill Self said he thought it should’ve been a flagrant foul. He didn’t think it met the criteria for a Flagrant 2, though.

Cooper Flagg leading the charge for Duke

Duke’s early ratings success might not be a coincidence. The Blue Devils have projected No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick Cooper Flagg on the roster, and he’s living up to the billing through the first part of his freshman season.

Flagg leads Duke with 17 points and 8.3 rebounds over seven games, including a 24-point showing against Arizona last week. He had 13 points and five rebounds in the loss to Kansas, and is also one of the highest-profile players in college basketball. With an On3 NIL Valuation of $2.9 million, Flagg ranks No. 5 in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

In fact, ESPN’s Seth Greenberg said Flagg might only scratch the surface of his potential at the college level. He thinks the former Five Star Plus+ product will be even better in the NBA.

“He’s going to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft,” Greenberg said on Get Up. “There’s one other guy, Egor Demin from BYU, 6-9 point guard, Russian kid who can see over the defense and shoot the ball. But the problem is, in the NBA, there’s spacing, and the 24-second clock. He’s playing with no space right now. But when he gets to an NBA roster, there will be tremendous space. There will be shot-makers and floor-gamers all over the floor that will give him room to make plays.

“Right now, he’s playing with a short-court. Every catch is tough. Every move, basically, he’s playing in a crowd. When he plays with better players, and he’s playing with great players right now, but better spacing and great spacing, he’ll have more room to make plays, he’ll be harder to guard and he’ll make a greater impact on the game.”