Kentucky's loss to Oakland was most-watched opening round NCAAT game since 2019

All eyes were on Kentucky during the Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament opener on Thursday. But viewers weren’t solely tuning in to watch Kentucky; they tuned in to watch a massive upset thanks to 10 three-pointers from Jack Gohlke.

According to Sports Media Watch, Kentucky’s 80-76 loss to 14-seed Oakland on Thursday was the most-viewed opening-round NCAA Tournament game since 2019. The game welcomed 6.21 million viewers, the largest audience to watch a first-round game since Zion Williamson led Duke to a win over North Dakota State back in 2019. Additionally, it was the second-most watched game under the current television format that goes back to 2011.

Compared to the same window last year between Duke and Oral Roberts, Kentucky-Oakland saw a 70 percent increase in ratings and an 81 percent jump in viewership. This game also drew more viewers than the Wildcats’ upset loss to 15-seed Saint Peter’s in 2022.

Oakland's upset of Kentucky is most-watched opening round NCAA Tournament game since Zion-era Duke against NDSU in 2019: https://t.co/MgNFXf1GdK

— Sports Media Watch (@paulsen_smw) March 22, 2024

Those who tuned in were treated to an exciting game. As mentioned, Gohlke drained 10 shots from deep — the second-most in NCAA Tournament history — to reach 32 total points as Oakland led for nearly 28 minutes against the ‘Cats. Meanwhile, Antonio Reeves poured in 27 points for Kentucky in what was a thrilling back-and-forth display of shot-making.

Unfortunately, it was UK that had its 2023-24 season come to an unexpectedly early end — and millions of people saw it all go down.