That time period was down 22 percent from a year ago, when Duke 69-64 win over Kansas drew a 9.1 rating. Until Sunday, CBS' ratings held fairly steady. From Thursday to Saturday, the rating was 5.1, down 4 percent from 2000. The share was 13 each year. The rating is the percentage of U.S. television homes that tuned in to a program.
Share represents the percentage of homes with TVs in use that watched a given show.
CBS Sports president Sean McManus predicted last week that ratings would be down from last year through the first two rounds but would rebound in the latter stages of the tournament. Last season's championship game between Michigan State and Florida drew a 14.1 rating, an 18 percent drop from 1999 and the worst since the network began airing the event in 1982.