• by Wayne Friedman , March 29, 2010

Big ratings from the spillover of its Sunday afternoon NCAA basketball tournament gave CBS a nice head start on the evening -- but it probably didn't need it.

While the NCAA gave CBS a strong Nielsen preliminary 5.1/16 among 18-49 viewers heading into its 7 p.m. prime-time hour, the network's surprise hit of the season, "Undercover Boss," remains a large part of its highlight reel.

"Boss" continues to defy expectations -- climbing to a dominating 4.9/12 among 18-49 viewers on the night -- leading all prime-time entertainment shows, and half a rating point better than a week ago, when it earned a 4.4/11.

CBS' "The Amazing Race" caught the updraft from all this, improving a bit to score a 4.0/9 on the night, from a 3.8/9 the week before. "Boss," "Race" and "60 Minutes" started late because of the basketball games overrun.

There were other improvements as well for the night: NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" moved up to a 2.9/9 from a 2.6/7. Earlier in the night, NBC's "Minute to Win It" inched up to a 1/9.4 from a 1.8/5 the week before. Another good sign: it also grew to a 2.3 rating in its second half hour.

Three of Fox's five comedy shows saw gains: "The Cleveland Show" rose 8% to a 2.7/7; "Family Guy" grew 6% to a 3.7/9; and "Sons of Tucson" climbed 5% to a 2.0/5. The soon-to-exit "'Til Death" sank 20% to 0.9/2, while "The Simpsons" slipped 4% to 2.7/8.

ABC was in repeats for its entire Sunday night schedule -- except for "America's Funniest Home Videos."

The night ended with CBS at a 4.0/11 for 18-49 viewers; Fox at a 2.2/6; NBC at a 2.1/6; ABC at a 1.5/4; and Univision at a 0.8/2.