• by Wayne Friedman , April 4, 2022

The final NCAA games for Duke's storied head coach Mike Krzyzewski delivered big numbers: The 'Final Four' semi-final game, where North Carolina beat Duke, scored 16.3 million viewers on Turner cable networks and streaming services.

This was the best result for a “Final Four” contest since 2017.

The viewing numbers are according to Nielsen fast-nationals. Last year's Gonzaga-UCLA game averaged 14.94 million viewers, which included out-of-home viewing.

Turner says adding in out-of-home viewing should raise these viewer numbers by 10%. In 2017, the Final Four game -- CBS’ North Carolina vs. Oregon -- pulled in 18.8 million.

The other semi-final game -- in which Kansas beat Villanova -- averaged 10.3 million, up 21% from last year's early Saturday game. Baylor’s win over Houston in 2021 had 8.1 million viewers.

A year ago, the NCAA Men's College Basketball Championship game averaged 16.9 million -- down 14% from 2019.

The 2020 contest was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.