Final Four History

Guide Note: In the annual NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, the still-undefeated teams after the first four rounds are referred to as the Final Four. These teams compete on a Saturday and the winners play for the national title on the following Monday. Though the tournament has existed since 1939, only eight teams competed until 1951 when the tournament was expanded to 16 teams.

The 2008 NCAA Mens Tournament was the first time in NCAA history, since 1979 when seeding was introduced, that the four top seeds all made it into the Final Four. The Jayhawks' overtime victory against the Memphis Tigers marks the seventh time a NCAA Championship game went into overtime.

UCLA holds the records for most NCAA championship titles (11), most Final Four appearances (18), and most Final Four wins (26).

Fast Facts:

  1. 1982: Brent Musburger supposedly coined the term "March Madness"
  2. Billy Packer has done color or studio analysis for every Final Four since 1975
  3. 1997: The Arizona Wildcats became the first champion to win by defeating three #1 seeds
  4. Most points in a single game: 1973, Bill Walton vs. Memphis (44)
  5. Most made free throws: 1965, UCLA's Gail Goodrich vs. Michigan (18)
  6. Most points by a team in a single game: 1965, UCLA vs. Wichita State (108)
  7. 1967-1969: Lew Alcindor won "Most Outstanding Player" three years in a row

The Mahalo Top 7

  1. CBSSports.com: All Final Four Teams | Final Four Team Records
  2. NCAA: Final Four and Championship Winners
  3. Wikipedia: NCAA Men's Championship - Final Four | List of Final Four Broadcasters
  4. Sports Illustrated: History of the Final Four
    • Though this link only charts Final Four history through 2002, it gives a comprehensive analysis of the memorable moments, close calls, and stats from each year, and lists the site of each game and the best performances in the championship match-ups.
  5. Vegas Insider: Men's Basketball Final Four History
  6. Bracketville: The Big Dance Bracket History (1985-present)
    • Bracketville has a flashy color-coded diagram of every tournament bracket going back to 1985, making it easy to find that hard-to-remember team from the second round in '87.
  7. USA Today: Men's Final Four History and Individual Records  WARNING: Pop-ups
    • Though these statistics are only complete through 1997, they contain some significant records, including a list of "Most Outstanding Players" and other individual Final Four records.


Final Four Timeline

  • 1939: Oregon Ducks defeat Ohio State Buckeyes 46-33.
    • This was the first year of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The other two Final Four teams were Villanova and Oklahoma.
  • 1945: Oklahoma State University defeats NYU
  • 1946: Oklahoma State University defeats North Carolina.
    • The first team to win two consecutive NCAA Championships, the Oklahoma State Cowboys won each game by less than five points, despite winning each of their previous games by significant margins.
  • 1952: Kansas Jayhawks defeat St. John's 80-63.
    • This was the first year to have a true "Final Four", as it was the first time the tournament had teams from four separate regional sites advance. The runner's up were Illinois and Santa Clara University.
  • 1955: San Francisco defeats La Salle 77-63
  • 1961: Cincinnati defeats Ohio State 70-65 (OT)
  • 1962: Cincinnati defeats Ohio State 71-59
    • After winning the championship themselves in 1960, the Buckeyes lost twice in a row to Cincinnati, who had star players Paul Hogue and Bob Wiesenhahn. Paul Hogue won "Most Outstanding Player" in 1962, but in '61 it went to Ohio State's Jerry Lucas.
  • 1964: UCLA defeats Duke 98-83
    • The first of UCLA's ten championships over a twelve year span, the Bruins' 1964 victory signaled the start of one of the greatest dynasties in sports history, next to the 1950s Boston Celtics and the 1980s San Francisco 49ers. 1964 was also the first of UCLA's four undefeated seasons.
  • 1973: UCLA defeats Memphis State 87-66.
    • Coached by the legendary John Wooden and led by Bill Walton, continued to dominate college basketball, winning every game in the tournament by at least ten points. Memphis State coach Gene Bartow took over for the retiring John Wooden in 1975.
  • 1979: Michigan State defeated Indiana State 75–64.
    • This game is what many basketball historians refer to as the game that not only brought the NCAA Tournament into the main stream, but also was the starting point for the re-birth of the popularity of the NBA. The Spartans, led by Magic Johnson defeated Indiana State, led by Larry Bird, in the highest rated televised game in NCAA history. The game not only led to the earnings potential for the tournament on television, witnessed by the huge rights-contract signed by CBS in 1982, but also the popularity of Magic and Bird helped transcend the NBA from after-thought (where its finals were once actually shown on tape-delay late night) to the global empire it is today.
  • 1981: Indiana defeated North Carolina 63-50.
  • 1982: North Carolina defeated Georgetown 63-62.
    • Two freshmen dominated the game: Georgetown's Patrick Ewing was called for goaltending on each of the first five North Carolina shot attempts. Then as the clock wound down, Michael Jordan hit a jumper giving the Tar Heels the lead for good. Seconds later, Georgetown's Fred Brown made an inadvertent pass to James Worthy of the Tar Heels, to seal the win for Dean Smith.
  • 1983: North Carolina State University defeats Houston 54-52
    • Considered the greatest upset in NCAA tournament history, Jim Valvano's Wolfpack beat the powerhouse that was the University of Houston, a team that included household names Akeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.
  • 1988: Kansas defeats Oklahoma 83-79
    • Another heralded upset, Larry Brown's Jayhawks were expected to fall to a Sooners team that cruised through the Big 8 to earn a #1 seed. Instead, Kansas left with a four-point victory, thanks to Brown's coaching of the team known as "Danny Manning and the Miracles". Brown moved on to a prestigious NBA career including a 2002 NBA title with the Detroit Pistons.
  • 1991: Duke wins national championship after upsetting UNLV in semifinals.
    • One year earlier, UNLV had humiliated the Blue Devils, blowing them out by 30 points in the title game. In the 1991 tournament, UNLV entered the Final Four with an undefeated record, and were considered by many experts at the time to go down as one of the great teams of all-time. But in the semifinals, the Blue Devils gained their revenge, stunning the Rebels in a 79-77 decision which catapulted them to the first of two consecutive national titles.
  • 1992: Duke defeats Michigan 71-51
    • Duke jumped into the Final Four in 1992 with a stunning 104-103 overtime victory over Kentucky in the Elite Eight. Though Duke played well throughout the tournament, USA Today counted the Duke-Kentucky Elite Eight game as the great NCAA tournament game of all time.
  • 2003: Syracuse defeats Kansas 81-78
    • Current NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony had 33 points to help the Syracuse Orangemen defeat the Texas Longhorns in the National Semifinals. The Longhorns were the last #1 seed to be defeated. Anthony continued his dominance in the final game vs. Kansas, winning the "Most Outstanding Player" award.
  • 2006: Florida defeats UCLA 73-57
  • 2007: Florida defeats Ohio State 84-75
    • Florida's two consecutive national titles capped off the school's dominance across all collegiate sports. The Gators football counterparts won their NCAA Division I Title as well. In fact, the Gators defeated both the Ohio State football team and basketball team in national championship games held within three months of each other. After losing their starting five, Florida did not make the NCAA Tournament in 2008.
  • 2008: Kansas defeats Memphis 75-68 (OT)
    • The Jayhawks were written off when Memphis took a 60-51 lead with 2:12 left to play. Kansas did the only thing a team can do at that point and starting fouling. Memphis then missed four consecutive free throw attempts and Mario Chalmers hit a three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to tie the game 63-63. In overtime, it was all but inevitable, as the momentum carried Kansas to an improbable come-from-behind overtime victory. It was only the seventh time that an NCAA championship game went into overtime.

Classic Final Four Videos

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