Men’s basketball: Bonnies were most-watched A-10 team on NBC Sports this season

(Denzel Gregg and Dion Wright Photo Credit: GoBonnies.com)

By Chuckie Maggio @chuckiemaggio

When the Atlantic 10 makes its television schedule for the 2017 season, the St. Bonaventure Bonnies may make a few more appearances.

The Bonnies averaged more viewers per game than any other A-10 team on NBC Sports Network this past season, according to Nielsen ratings collected by Douglas Pucci for his “NBC Sports Ratings Buzz” on AwfulAnnouncing.com.

Bona had four games on the network this season and averaged 78,500 viewers per game, 6,250 more a contest than second-place VCU. Dayton’s average of 60,500 viewers was third-highest.

SBU played in three of the five most-watched A-10 games on the network. The Feb. 20 game at Dayton drew 99,000 viewers, second only to the VCU-George Washington matchup on Feb. 27 that was watched by 113,000. The Bona-Davidson Atlantic 10 Tournament game on March 11 drew 91,000 viewers, while the Super Bowl Sunday matinee against Saint Louis that ended in a Jaylen Adams buzzer-beater was watched by 73,000.

Here is the full data from the 31 A-10 games on NBC Sports Network in the 2015-16 season:

Viewership numbers by team (sorted by average of viewers):

1. St. Bonaventure- Four games, average of 78,500 viewers
2. VCU- Four games, average of 72,250 viewers
3. Dayton- Four games, average of 60,500 viewers
4. George Washington- Seven games, average of 56,143 viewers
5. Davidson- Six games, average of 50,500 viewers
6. T5. Duquesne- Two games, average of 50,500 viewers
7. St. Joe’s- Four games, average of 47,250 viewers
8. George Mason- Three games, average of 46,333 viewers
9. Saint Louis- Five games, average of 46,000 viewers
10. UMass- Six games, average of 43,000 viewers
11. Richmond- Four games, average of 42,000 viewers
12. La Salle- Five games, average of 36,800 viewers
13. Fordham, Four games, average of 34,500 viewers
14. Rhode Island, four games, average of 31,500 viewers

Most-watched Atlantic 10 NBC Sports Network games

1. VCU-George Washington: 113,000 viewers
2. St. Bonaventure-Dayton: 99,000 viewers
3. Davidson-St. Bonaventure: 91,000 viewers
4. Saint Louis-St. Bonaventure: 73,000 viewers
5. VCU-UMass: 70,000 viewers

Viewership numbers for each game in A-10 NBC schedule:

Jan. 2:

St. Joe’s-Richmond: 65,000 viewers

Dayton-Duquesne: 50,000 viewers

Saint Louis-Rhode Island: 34,000 viewers

Jan. 3:

Fordham/George Washington: 49,000 viewers

UMass/La Salle: 45,000 viewers

Jan. 10:

VCU/Saint Louis: 55,000 viewers

Richmond/Fordham: 29,000 viewers

St. Joseph’s/Rhode Island: 25,000 viewers

Jan. 16:

UMass/Davidson: 35,000 viewers

La Salle/Rhode Island: 23,000 viewers

Jan. 17:

George Mason/Saint Louis: 43,000 viewers

Jan. 24:

St. Bonaventure/VCU: 51,000 viewers

Jan. 30:

Fordham/UMass: 30,000 viewers

La Salle/Rhode Island: 23,000 viewers

Jan. 31:

George Washington/George Mason: 62,000 viewers

Feb. 6:

Davidson/Duquesne: 51,000 viewers

Feb. 7:

Saint Louis/St. Bonaventure: 73,000 viewers

Feb. 20:

St. Bonaventure/Dayton: 99,000 viewers

St. Joe’s/Davidson: 47,000 viewers

Feb. 21:

La Salle/George Washington: 40,000 viewers

George Mason/UMass: 34,000 viewers

Feb. 27:

VCU/George Washington: 113,000 viewers

March 5:

Davidson/George Washington: 40,000 viewers

March 10 (A-10 Tournament):

Fordham/Richmond: 30,000 viewers

George Washington/Saint Louis: 25,000 viewers

Rhode Island/UMass: 44,000 viewers

Davidson/La Salle: 27,000 viewers

March 11 (A-10 Tournament):

Dayton/Richmond: 44,000 viewers

St. Joe’s/George Washington: 52,000 viewers

VCU/UMass: 70,000 viewers

St. Bonaventure/Davidson: 91,000 viewers