Final Four ratings up 37 percent from 2016

Five points.

That's the combined point differential of the two Final Four games on Saturday - likely a big reason why TV ratings were up dramatically from a year ago.

The NCAA released the numbers Sunday, which showed the Final Four saw a 37 percent increase in ratings compared to 2016, when the combined scoring differential was 61 points.

The North Carolina-Oregon game tied the second-highest Final Four rating in the last 19 years, coming in at 11.5/21. The earlier game, between Gonzaga and South Carolina, earned a 9.3/20 rating, which was up 31 percent from a year ago, when Villanova dominated Oklahoma by 44 points.

Aside from three of the four teams being different, another major change is last year's Final Four being broadcast on TBS, while this year's edition was on CBS.