Nielsen has released its list of the 10 most popular college basketball teams of the season, with still a whole batch of March Madness to come.
On Wednesday afternoon, as the NCAA Tournament got ready to kick into high gear in a matter of hours, Nielsen put out its most popular top 10 “based on the company’s measurement of TV viewership and social media engagement/data.”
Not surprisingly, Duke topped the Nielsen list, which could be the case going into March Madness during most seasons but especially this time around, with the Blue Devils completing a 32-2 run going into the tournament and being the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Second on the list is Kentucky, with the SEC blue blood going through an up-and-down regular season and SEC Tournament but still managing to be high on this popularity list. That’s because, whether the Wildcats win or lose, and maybe especially the latter, there are tons of eyeballs on Mark Pope’s program.
Next up is another blue blood, with North Carolina checking in at No. 3 on Nielsen’s list. Michigan, which like Duke earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, was No. 4, with Kansas following at No. 5. The Jayhawks, like Kentucky, have had an up-and-down season but still — also to nobody’s surprise — finished in the top 5 of this popularity list.
The 2 SEC basketball champions of the 2025-26 season also made the top 10, with SEC Tournament champ Arkansas at No. 6 and SEC regular-season champ Florida at No. 10.
The Gators will be trying to defend their national title starting on Friday night and to nobody’s shock they got more than enough attention this season to be high on Nielsen’s popularity list.
Here is Nielsen’s complete top-10 list of most popular teams:
Inbox: According to Nielsen, these are the 10 most popular teams in men's college basketball for the 2025-26 season, based on the company's measurement of TV viewership and social media engagement/data. pic.twitter.com/tMsK0H2iZr
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 18, 2026With the above 10 teams winning Nielsen’s popularity contest, so to speak, here is what the Kalshi market sees right now for the top teams in the mix to win what really counts — the NCAA Tournament — in early April:
Prediction Markets 2026 College Basketball Champion? Learn more about Prediction Markets Kalshi Duke 20% Michigan 18% Arizona 17% Florida 10% Houston 7% Iowa St. 5% Purdue 5% UConn 4% Illinois 3% Kansas 2% PredictNielsen reveals 10 most popular basketball teams of season entering March Madness Saturday Down South.
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