Florida vs. Houston Title Game Averages 18.1M Viewers in 2025 MCBB March Madness

In a showdown that featured no shortage of drama, this year's men's college basketball national championship game drew plenty of viewers.

Monday's national title bout between Florida and Houston drew 18.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched title game since 2019. The game peaked at 21.1 million viewers and was up 22 percent from last year.

The Final Four itself also saw an increase in viewership from recent years, averaging 16.4 million viewers across the three games.

Monday's championship game was one of the more exciting contests of the last few years. Florida managed to rally from a double-digit second-half deficit to make things interesting down the stretch. Houston led heading into the final minute, but the Gators took the lead on a pair of free throws before extending it to a two-point lead with just 20 seconds left.

The Cougars had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Emanuel Sharp turned it over as the clock ran out.

It was the third championship in Florida history and its first since the team won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007.

The last two championship games weren't nearly as dramatic as UConn downed San Diego and Purdue by double-digits in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

The Final Four this year was, for the first time since 2008, all No. 1 seeds. While we didn't get to see any major Cinderella runs this year, it made for some exciting matchups. Florida downed Auburn 79-73 in their Final Four bout, while Houston snuck past Duke 70-67 to advance to the championship.

Part of the magic of March Madness is seeing lower-seeded teams make deep runs, but the all-chalk Final Four was clearly a hit.