Illinois basketball: Game vs Arkansas tallies second largest viewership since 2008

Last week on Thanksgiving day, Illinois basketball put on a dominant performance against then-number 19th-ranked, Arkansas. It was certainly a nice palette cleanser for most Illinois fans who are also Chicago Bears fans. Fans were very pleased as the Arkansas game was the first game in what will be a pretty difficult stretch of high-major opponents. If the Illini come out of this December with more wins than losses, the hype around this very talented Illinois basketball team will absolutely explode. With 5 out of their next 6 games being Quad One opponents, fans are ready to get a true idea of where this team stands.

The ever-so-hungry Illinois basketball fanbase

The official Illini basketball Twitter account announced that the game vs Arkansas garnered an average of 5.1 million viewers total. To put that into context, that marks the second-highest viewership amount in college basketball since 2008. Given the amount of marquee matchups that have already occurred this season, and in the past 16 years, that is quite the accomplishment. Brad Underwood’s willingness to schedule games against the toughest and best opponents and helped elevate his program back into the national spotlight. Certainly, Underwood has maintained that same mentality by pushing the envelope with the power of the brand of Illini basketball.

Next week, Illinois basketball will host the current number-one team in the country, the Tennessee Volunteers. With the way the Illini have performed, look for that environment to be one that you just cannot miss out on.

The biggest stages and the brightest lights.

The Thanksgiving Day matchup vs. Arkansas tallied the second-largest regular season college basketball viewership since 2008.#Illini | #HTTO | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/hkvY6p1XGX

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) December 4, 2024

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