TV Ratings Say Indiana Basketball Is Still Nationally Relevant

Indiana ranks among the 10 most-watched college basketball programs this season.

Indiana's student section cheers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Despite underwhelming results for the better part of two decades, the Indiana basketball fan base has proven to be among the largest and most loyal.

According to the most updated Nielsen ratings released Monday, Indiana has been the eighth most-watched team through Jan. 18 of the 2025-26 men's college basketball season.

1. Michigan State Spartans
2. Duke Blue Devils
3. Arkansas Razorbacks
4. North Carolina Tar Heels
5. Kentucky Wildcats
6. Kansas Jayhawks
7. UCLA Bruins
8. Indiana Hoosiers
9. Tennessee Volunteers
10. Wisconsin Badgers

That's true dedication from Indiana fans, whose team has the worst record among the 10 listed this season. That's been the case for much of the last decade, as Indiana has missed seven of the last nine NCAA Tournaments. It's trending that way again in 2025-26, as the Hoosiers were listed among the first four teams out in Joe Lunardi's latest tournament projection.

Elsewhere on the list, Michigan State is currently ranked No. 7 and has five Final Four appearances since Indiana's last in 2002 and four Big Ten regular season titles since Indiana's last in 2016. Other blue bloods like Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas and UCLA made the list, and have had much more on-court success than Indiana in recent years.

But it's clear that all the success under Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight from 1971-2000 has built a loyal fan base that won't easily ignore their Hoosiers. That's true even in a season under first-year coach Darian DeVries that hasn't come with many major positives.

At 13-7 overall and 4-5 in Big Ten play, the Hoosiers are still looking for their first Quad 1 win over the season. Before a 23-point win at Rutgers on Friday, Indiana had lost four straight and three by at least 14 points. The outlier was a six-point loss at home to Nebraska, which overcame an 16-point second half deficit.

Indiana basketball maintaining high viewership ratings is a bit surprising when looking at the on-court results, but not when examining the fan base. Indiana has the largest living alumni base in the United States at roughly 805,000, many of whom recently packed the Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl and National Championship football games to watch coach Curt Cignetti's Hoosiers.

That should be the case again on Tuesday, as Indiana hosts in-state rival No. 12 Purdue at 9 p.m. ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Because despite the way Indiana's season has trended in recent weeks, losing four of the last five games, television ratings show the Hoosiers are still a major draw.

To buy the Sports Illustrated Indiana National Championship cover, visit this link.

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