No. 5 Houston Cougars Rank Among Most-Watched Teams in College Basketball

Arizona vs. Houston ranks among the most-watched games of the season.

Feb 21, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) dribbles against Houston Cougars guard Milos Uzan (7) in the first half at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Despite the program's recent struggles, the No. 5 Houston Cougars have continued to receive national attention this season. Ranked the No. 2 team in the country at one point, it's no shock that the Cougars have been featured in some of the most-watched games of the college basketball season.

According to On3, college basketball viewership has surged across every major network this season — and Houston is one of the program's benefitting from that spike. The Cougars' matchup against Arizona ranked inside the top-10 most-watched games of the year with nearly 2.5 million viewers.

Not only was Houston featured in the top-10 most watched games of the year, but the program's recent matchup against the No. 14 Kansas Jayhawks also drew over 2 million viewers as well.

Big Ten and ACC Lead the Pack in TV Viewership

Feb 24, 2026; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer claps against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second half at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

While the Big 12 may be the most well-rounded and difficult conference to dominate in, the TV ratings have favored the ACC and Big Ten. Houston's matchup against Arizona and BYU's matchup against Kansas are the only Big 12 conference games to reach the top-10 in terms of viewership.

Clearly, Duke is must-see TV as they are featured in three of the top four most-watched games this season. The Blue Devils' win over the Arkansas Razorbacks drew in an impressive 6.8 million average viewers.

While the game's numbers may have been inflated due to a massive lead-in from the Dallas Cowboys' matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, Duke also appears inside the top-5 most-watched games multiple times. The program's matchups against Michigan and North Carolina also drew top-10 viewership.

The Wolverines, who are currently ranked the No. 3 team in the country, are another program that's been well-received by TV audiences this season. Michigan's rivalry matchup against Michigan State became the "most-watched College Basketball Friday game ever" according to FOX.

With the program's recent game against Kansas, Houston tops the viewership charts outside of the top-10. Despite the Cougars losing by double-digits, the matchup between top-15 teams on Big Monday drew in 2 million viewers. Bill Self's dominance on Big Monday, combined with Houston's long streak of avoiding three straight losses, likely added even more outside intrigue to the Big 12 matchup.

Even with the Cougars struggling to put it together recently, it's likely that the program's individual viewership will continue growing as March approaches. If Houston can get healthy at the right time, the spotlight on Kelvin Sampson's Cougars will only grow.