New York — The first day of the NCAA Tournament, loaded with stunning wins by lower seeded teams and close games, drew roughly the same TV ratings as recent years' openers.
The evening games Thursday averaged a 5.8 national rating, down from 5.9 in 2000 and exactly the same as the prior two years.
Overall, Thursday's 16 games eight in the East Regional and eight in the West drew a 4.7 overnight rating and an 11 share on CBS for the periods from noon to 5 p.m. EST and 7:30 p.m. to midnight EST.
The numbers matched last year's opening-day figures, which were the best for the first day since 1994's 4.91/2.
The overnights are based on 49 major markets.
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