• by March 20, 2001

(AP) - CBS' ratings for the first four days of the NCAA basketball tournament were down 9% from last year, a victim in part of one-sided games and Tiger Woods.

The ratings for Thursday to Saturday totaled 5.2 with a 13 share, down from 5.7 with a 14 share a year ago and from 5.6 with a 13 share in 1999.

Six of the eight games Sunday were decided by 12 points or more. The two exceptions, Notre Dame-Mississippi and Penn State-North Carolina were in the period between 4:30 and 7 p.m. EST, when the rating was 7.1 with a 15 share.

That late period also was down from a year ago, when a game between Duke and Kansas, two of the highest profile teams in college basketball, had a 9.1

Sunday's ratings were split equally among three events.

Woods' first win on the PGA tour this season, drew a 5.3 overnight rating on NBC despite the fact that most of it was shown on tape ending at 6 p.m. EST. NASCAR on Fox, ending at the same time, did a 5.2.

The rating is the percentage of all homes with TVs, whether or not they are in use. One rating point represents about 1.01 million households. The share is the percentage of homes with TVs in use.

Until Sunday, CBS' ratings held fairly steady. From Thursday to Saturday, the rating was 5.1, down 4 percent from the 5.3 a year ago. The shares were the same both years - 13.