Nellie Andreeva

It was all about hoops and hoofs last night as the NCAA men’s basketball championship game and ABC’s Dancing with the Stars were the two main attractions, while  Univision (1.6/4 in adults 18-49) pulled off another No. 3 finish in adults 18-49. No time-zone-adjusted viewer or demo numbers for the game are available yet, but CBS is expected to carry the night in 18-49, while ABC (4.0/10, 18.2 million) may have the edge in total viewers.

The NCAA final between UConn and Butler was down from last year’s face-off between Duke and Butler. In the metered market household ratings, last night’s game pulled a 13.3/21, down 17% from last year’s title game but up from the 2009 and 2008 finals. With NCAA men’s basketball coverage expanding to four networks this year as TNT, TBS and truTV joined CBS, the combined tournament household rating average was the highest since 2005.

Dancing (4.6/12 in 18-49) took a fall, and it was not limited to Kirslie Alley’s tumble on the dance floor (video below). Against the basketball game, the reality competition was down 12% in the demo from last week. Ditto for Castle (2.9/7), down 9% and bound for a double-digit decline in the finals as its fast national numbers are inflated by Dancing overrun.

Following a Chuck rerun (0.6/2), The Event (1.2/3) held steady at its series-low mark, while the season finale of Harry’s Law (1.3/3) was down 19% in the demo from last week for a series low. Fox and the CW aired reruns.

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.