We can just start out by stating the obvious. This is perhaps the craziest NCAA Tournament ever. For the first time since seeding began in 1979, all four 1-seeds failed to advance to the Elite Eight, and with only one 2-seed in the Elite Eight (Texas), this tournament featured the fewest combined 1- and 2-seeds in the Elite Eight. Madness!
Three of the four Elite Eight games came down to the last minute. In the East Region, 9-seed FAU continued its improbable run by topping 3-seed Kansas state, 79-76, to clinch the Owls' first-ever Final Four.
In the West, in the only blowout of the Elite Eight, 4-seed UConn dominated 3-seed Gonzaga, 82-54. The Huskies will be going to their 6th Final Four and first since 2014.
In the South, two teams that had never been to the Final Four before battled to an exciting finish, with 5-seed San Diego State getting a free throw with 1.2 seconds left to beat 6-seed Creighton, earning the Aztecs their first Final Four berth.
In the Midwest, 5-seed Miami rallied to beat 2-seed Texas, 88-81, clinching the Hurricanes' first-ever Final Four appearance.
Here is the schedule for this Saturday's semifinal games (times ET). Both games are on CBS:
(S5) San Diego State vs. (E9) FAU - 6:09 p.m.
(W4) UConn vs. (MW5) Miami - 8:49 p.m.
As I do this time of year, I'm going to drop some Final Four statistical knowledge on you. Get ready for it. This is the kind of minutiae that makes me giddy.
17. For the first time since they began seeding the NCAA Tournament in 1979, there are no 1-seeds, 2-seeds, or 3-seeds in the Final Four. It is only the second time no 1-seeds or 2-seeds advanced to the Final Four. The other time it happened was in 2011, when the Final Four was in Houston, and UConn was also the highest-remaining seed.
16. Among the many crazy facts surrounding FAU's run to the Final Four -- including being on the second-ever 9-seed to make it to the Final Four (Wichita State, 2013) -- is that before this year, the Owls had never even won an NCAA Tournament game. They become the first school since George Mason in 2006, only the second school since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, and the 22nd school overall since 1951 to make it to a Final Four the same year as it won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game. I'm only going back to 1951 because that's when the NCAA Tournament expanded to 16 teams, and anything before that would skew the results even more towards the first 25 years of the tournament than they already are. Anyway, here are the teams since 1951 that went to the Final Four in the same year they won their first-ever NCAA Tournament game:
-2023: FAU
-2006: George Mason
-1981: Virginia
-1979: Indiana State**
-1977: UNC Charlotte
-1976: Rutgers
-1973: Memphis State**
-1972: Florida State**
-1970: Jacksonville**
-1969: Purdue**, Drake
-1963: Loyola (IL)*
-1961: St. Joseph's
-1959: West Virginia**, Louisville
-1957: Michigan State
-1956: SMU
-1955: San Francisco*, Iowa
-1954: LaSalle*
-1953: LSU
-1952: Santa Clara
*Champions
**Advanced to championship game
15. FAU and Miami are the fourth and fifth schools from Florida to make the Final Four, making Florida the 7th state that has sent five or more different schools to at least one Final Four. And San Diego State is the 7th school from California to ever make the Final Four. Here are all of the states (and the District of Columbia), ranked by how many different Final Four teams each state had had (and listing the schools with how many Final Four appearances each school has had, with the bolded schools being national champs):
Eight (1)
- Pennsylvania: Duquesne (1), LaSalle (2), Penn (1), Penn State (1), Pittsburgh (1), St. Joseph's (1), Temple (2), Villanova (7)
Seven (1)
- California: California (3), San Diego State (1), San Francisco (3), Santa Clara (1), Stanford (2), UCLA (19), USC (2)
Six (1)
- Texas: Baylor (3), Houston (6), SMU (1), Texas (3), Texas Tech (1), UTEP (1)
Five (4)
- Florida: FAU (1), Florida (5), Florida State (1), Jacksonville (1), Miami (1)
- Indiana: Butler (2), Indiana (8), Indiana State (1), Notre Dame (1), Purdue (2)
- New York: CCNY (2), NYU (2), St. Bonaventure (1), St. John's (2), Syracuse (6)
- North Carolina: Charlotte (1), Duke (17), North Carolina (21), NC State (3), Wake Forest (1)
Four (2)
- Illinois: Bradley (2), DePaul (2), Illinois (5), Loyola (IL) (2)
- Washington: Gonzaga (2), Seattle (1), Washington (1), Washington State (1)
Three (6)
- Iowa: Drake (1), Iowa (3), Iowa State (1)
- Kansas: Kansas (16), Kansas State (4), Wichita State (2)
- Kentucky: Kentucky (17), Louisville (10), Western Kentucky (1)
- New Jersey: Princeton (1), Rutgers (1), Seton Hall (1)
- Ohio: Cincinnati (6), Dayton (1), Ohio State (11)
- Virginia: George Mason (1), VCU (1), Virginia (3)
Two (6)
- Georgia: Georgia (1), Georgia Tech (2)
- Massachusetts: Holy Cross (2), UMass (1)
- Michigan: Michigan (8), Michigan State (10)
- Oklahoma: Oklahoma (5), Oklahoma State (6)
- Oregon: Oregon (2), Oregon State (2)
- Wisconsin: Marquette (3), Wisconsin (4)
One (19)
- Alabama: Auburn (1)
- Arizona: Arizona (4)
- Arkansas: Arkansas (6)
- Colorado: Colorado (2)
- Connecticut: UConn (6)
- District of Columbia: Georgetown (5)
- Louisiana: LSU (4)
- Maryland: Maryland (2)
- Minnesota: Minnesota (1)
- Mississippi: Mississippi State (1)
- Nevada: UNLV (4)
- New Hampshire: Dartmouth (2)
- New Mexico: New Mexico State (1)
- Rhode Island: Providence (2)
- South Carolina: South Carolina (1)
- Tennessee: Memphis (3)
- Utah: Utah (4)
- West Virginia: West Virginia (2)
- Wyoming: Wyoming (1)
Zero (11)
- Alaska (no D-1 schools)
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Maine
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Vermont
14. Also, Florida becomes the 6th state to have multiple schools in the same Final Four, and this is only the 11th time in NCAA Tournament history -- but third year in a row -- where two schools from the same state are in the Final Four in the same year. If both teams win on Saturday, it would be only the 7th time two schools from the same state have faced off in either the semifinal or championship game, and the first time since 1962 (and only the third time ever) that two schools from the same state have faced off in the national title game. Here are the states that have had multiple teams in the same Final Four and the years in which it happened (with the schools):
- Florida
- 2023 (FAU and Miami)
- Kentucky
- 1975 (Kentucky and Louisville - did not play each other)
- 2012 (Kentucky and Louisville - Kentucky beat Louisville in the semis)
- North Carolina
- 1977 (North Carolina and UNC Charlotte - did not play each other)
- 1991 (Duke and North Carolina - did not play each other)
- 2022 (Duke and North Carolina - Duke beat North Carolina in the semis)
- Ohio
- 1960 (Cincinnati and Ohio State - did not play each other)
- 1961 (Cincinnati and Ohio State - Cincinnati beat Ohio State in the title game)
- 1962 (Cincinnati and Ohio State - Cincinnati beat Ohio State in the title game)
- Pennsylvania
- 1954 (LaSalle and Penn State - LaSalle beat Penn State in the semis)
- Texas
- 2021 (Baylor and Houston - Baylor beat Houston in the semis)
13. FAU, Miami, and San Diego State are all playing in their first Final Fours, making this the first time since 1970 and only the third time since 1950 that the Final Four features three or more teams playing in their first Final Four. Here are the years in which at least two teams were playing their first Final Four in the same year (excluding tournaments prior to 1950, since all of them would be included in this group):
2023: FAU, Miami, San Diego State
2019: Auburn, Texas Tech**
2017: Gonzaga**, South Carolina
1996: Massachusetts, Mississippi State
1979: Indiana State**, Pennsylvania
1977: UNLV, UNC Charlotte
1973: Memphis State**, Providence
1970: Jacksonville**, New Mexico State, St. Bonaventure
1969: Purdue**, Drake
1967: Dayton**, Houston
1965: Princeton, Wichita State
1963: Loyola (IL)*, Duke
1962: UCLA, Wake Forest
1959: West Virginia**, Cincinnati, Louisville
1956: SMU, Temple
1955: San Francisco*, Iowa
1954: LaSalle*, Penn State
1953: LSU, Washington
1952: St. John's**, Santa Clara
1950: Bradley**, NC State
*Champions
**Advanced to championship game
If Miami beats UConn Saturday, it will be only the second time since 1990 that two teams without a previous national championship will be playing for the title, the second time since 1979 that two teams will play for the championship without ever having played in the championship game before, and the first time since 1945 (!) that the two teams playing for the championship were also playing in their first Final Four. Here are the years in which both teams meeting in the championship game had not previously won an NCAA title (excluding the first tournament in 1939), with an asterisk for years in which both teams played in the title game for the first time and a double asterisk for years in which both teams playing in the title game were playing in their first Final Four:
-2019*: Virginia over Texas Tech
-1990: UNLV over Duke
-1989: Michigan over Seton Hall
-1984: Georgetown over Houston
-1979*: Michigan State over Indiana State
-1974*: NC State over Marquette
-1964*: UCLA over Duke
-1959*: Cal over West Virginia
-1954: LaSalle over Bradley
-1952: Kansas over St. John's
-1950*: CCNY over Bradley
-1948*: Kentucky over Baylor
-1947*: Holy Cross over Oklahoma
-1945**: Oklahoma A&M over NYU
-1944: Utah over Dartmouth
-1943**: Wyoming over Georgetown
-1942**: Stanford over Dartmouth
-1941**: Wisconsin over Washington State
-1940**: Indiana over Kansas
12. Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga previously took 11-seed George Mason on their magical run to the Final Four in 2006. The 17 years between Final Four appearances is tied for the 6th largest gap between Final Four appearances for a coach. Here are the coaches with a gap of 10 or more years between Final Four appearances:
-36 years: Ray Meyer (DePaul in 1943 and 1979)
-22 years: Lon Kruger (Florida in 1994 and Oklahoma in 2016)
-19 years: Lou Henson (New Mexico State in 1970 and Illinois in 1989); Kelvin Sampson (Oklahoma in 2002 and Houston in 2021)
-18 years: Bob Huggins (Cincinnati in 1992 and West Virginia in 2010)
-17 years: Jim Larrañaga (George Mason in 2006 Miami in 2023); Eddie Sutton (Arkansas in 1978 and Oklahoma State in 1995)
-14 years: Slats Gill (Oregon State in 1949 and 1963); Guy Lewis (Houston in 1968 and 1982)
-13 years: Branch McCracken (Indiana in 1940 and 1953)
-12 years: Phog Allen (Kansas in 1940 and 1952); John Calipari (UMass in 1996 and Memphis in 2008)
-11 years: Hugh Durham (Florida State in 1972 and Georgia in 1983)
-10 years: Jim Boeheim (Syracuse in 2003 and 2013); Jack Gardner (Kansas State in 1951 and Utah in 1961); Jerry Tarkanian (UNLV in 1977 and 1987)
11. Larrañaga also becomes the 17th head coach to lead at least two different schools to the Final Four:
-Forddy Anderson (Bradley in 1950 and 1954 and Michigan State in 1957)
-Gene Bartow (Memphis in 1973 and UCLA in 1976)
-Larry Brown (UCLA in 1980 and Kansas in 1986 and 1988)
-John Calipari (UMass in 1996, Memphis in 2008, and Kentucky in 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015)
-Hugh Durham (Florida State in 1972 and Georgia in 1983)
-Jack Gardner (Kansas State in 1948 and 1951 and Utah in 1961 and 1966)
-Lou Henson (New Mexico State in 1970 and Illinois in 1989)
-Bob Huggins (Cincinnati in 1992 and West Virginia in 2010)
-Lon Kruger (Florida in 1994 and Oklahoma in 2016)
-Jim Larrañaga (George Mason in 2006, Miami in 2023)
-Frank McGuire (St. John's in 1952 and North Carolina in 1957)
-Lute Olson (Iowa in 1980 and Arizona in 1988, 1994, 1997, and 2001)
-Rick Pitino (Providence in 1987, Kentucky in 1993, 1996, and 1997, and Louisville in 2005, 2012, and 2013)
-Lee Rose (UNC Charlotte in 1977 and Purdue in 1980)
-Kelvin Sampson (Oklahoma in 2002 and Houston in 2021)
-Eddie Sutton (Arkansas in 1978 and Oklahoma State in 1995 and 2004)
-Roy Williams (Kansas in 1991, 1993, 2002, and 2003, and North Carolina in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2016, and 2017)
10. San Diego State is the first Mountain West team to ever make it to a Final Four (as a member of the conference), and FAU is the first Conference USA team since Memphis in 2008 to make it to the Final Four. Here's every conference's last Final Four team. Note that, with all of the conference realignments over the years, this is for the conference itself and teams playing in that conference when they made the Final Four, and not necessarily for teams currently in each conference. I'm going to do it by how many years it's been since the conference's last Final Four, listing the relevant teams. For conferences with no Final Fours ever, I'll list the year they were founded (and I'm not including defunct conferences).
- Zero years (2023):
- ACC: Miami
- Big East: UConn
- Conference USA: FAU
- Mountain West: San Diego State
- 1 year (2022)
- Big 12: Kansas
- 2 years (2021)
- AAC: Houston
- Pac-12: UCLA
- WCC: Gonzaga
- 4 years (2019)
- Big Ten: Michigan State
- SEC: Auburn
- 5 years (2018)
- Missouri Valley: Loyola (IL)
- 12 years (2011)
- Colonial: VCU
- Horizon: Butler
- 25 years (1998)
- WAC: Utah
- 27 years (1996)
- Atlantic 10: UMass
- 32 years (1991)
- Big West: UNLV
- 44 years (1979)
- Ivy League: Penn
- 46 years (1977)
- Sun Belt: UNC Charlotte
- 52 years (1971)
- Ohio Valley: Western Kentucky
- 73 years (1950)
- SoCon: NC State
- Never
- America East (founded 1979)
- Atlantic Sun (founded 1978)
- Big Sky (founded 1963)
- Big South (founded 1983)
- MAAC (founded 1980)
- MAC (founded 1946)
- MEAC (founded 1970)
- NEC (founded 1981)
- Patriot League (founded 1986)
- Southland (founded 1963)
- Summit League (founded 1982)
- SWAC (founded 1920)
9. With Miami making its first Final Four appearance, this leaves only 15 schools from the six "power" conferences -- ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC -- that have never been to a Final Four. Here are the remaining teams, as well as the furthest they've ever gotten in the NCAA Tournament and the year(s) they got the furthest:
ACC
-Boston College (Elite Eight in 1967, 1982, 1994)
-Clemson (Elite Eight in 1980)
-Virginia Tech (Elite Eight in 1967)
Big 12
-TCU (Elite Eight in 1968)
Big East
-Creighton (Elite Eight in 1941, 2023)
-Xavier (Elite Eight in 2004, 2008, 2017)
Big Ten
-Nebraska (Round of 64 in 1986, 1991-1994, 1998, 2014)
-Northwestern (Round of 32 in 2017, 2023)
Pac-12
-Arizona State (Elite Eight in 1961, 1963, 1975)
SEC
-Alabama (Elite Eight in 2004)
-Missouri (Elite Eight in 1944, 1976, 1994, 2002, 2009)
-Mississippi (Sweet 16 in 2001)
-Tennessee (Elite Eight in 2010)
-Texas A&M (Sweet 16 in 1951, 1969, 1980, 2007, 2016, 2018)
-Vanderbilt (Elite Eight in 1965)
8. This year's Final Four features three coaches who are coaching in their first-ever Final Fours: UConn's Dan Hurley, FAU's Dusty May, and San Diego State's Brian Dutcher. This is a relatively rare occurrence, as this is only the 8th time it has happened since seeding was instituted in 1979, and 19th time overall since 1944 (all of the five Final Fours before that featured four first-time coaches). Here are the years since 1944 in which three or more coaches made their Final Four debut:
2023: 3: Brian Dutcher (San Diego State), Dan Hurley (UConn), Dusty May (FAU)
2019: 3: Tony Bennett (Virginia)*, Chris Beard (Texas Tech)**, Bruce Pearl (Auburn)
2017: 3: Mark Few (Gonzaga)**, Dana Altman (Oregon), Frank Martin (South Carolina)
2006: 3: Ben Howland (UCLA)**, John Brady (UCLA), Jim Larrañaga (George Mason)
1999: 3: Jim Calhoun (UConn)*, Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Jim O'Brien (Ohio State)
1998: 4: Tubby Smith (Kentucky)*, Rick Majerus (Utah)**, Bill Guthridge (North Carolina), Mike Montgomery (Stanford)
1985: 3: Rollie Massimino (Villanova)*, Lou Carnesecca (St. John's), Dana Kirk (Memphis State)
1979: 3: Jud Heathcote (Michigan State)*, Bill Hodges (Indiana State)**, Bob Wienhauer (Penn)
1978: 3: Bill Foster (Duke)**, Digger Phelps (Notre Dame), Eddie Sutton (Arkansas)
1973: 3: Gene Bartow (Memphis State)**, Dave Gavitt (Providence), Bob Knight (Indiana)
1971: 3: Jack Kraft (Villanova)**, Johnny Oldham (Western Kentucky), Ted Owens (Kansas)
1970: 3: Joe Williams (Jacksonville)**, Lou Henson (New Mexico State), Larry Weise (St. Bonaventure)
1967: 3: Bob Donoher (Dayton)**, Guy Lewis (Houston), Dean Smith (North Carolina)
1959: 4: Pete Newell (California)*, Fred Schaus (West Virginia)**, Peck Hickman (Louisville), George Smith (Cincinnati)
1955: 3: Phil Woolpert (San Francisco)*, Bebe Lee (Colorado), Bucky O'Connor (Iowa)
1954: 3: Ken Loeffler (LaSalle)*, Elmer Gross (Penn State), Forrest Twogood (USC)
1947: 3: Doggie Julian (Holy Cross)*, Nat Holman (CCNY), Jack Gray (Texas)
1945: 3: Henry Iba (Oklahoma A&M)*, Howard Cann (NYU)**, Eugene Lambert (Arkansas)
1944: 3: Vadal Peterson (Utah)*, Earl Brown (Dartmouth)**, Louis Menze (Iowa State)
*Won NCAA championship
**Advanced to title game
7. On a similar note, if anyone but Miami wins the national title, it will be the 28th time that a first-time Final Four coach will have won the championship. Of course, those numbers are heavily skewed towards the beginning decades of the NCAA Tournament. Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, it has only happened 9 times, though in two of the last three tournaments. Here is everyone (including before 1985), in reverse chronological order:
-Scott Drew (Baylor, 2021)
-Tony Bennett (Virginia, 2019)
-Kevin Ollie (UConn, 2014)
-Bill Self (Kansas, 2008)
-Jim Calhoun (UConn, 1999)
-Tubby Smith (Kentucky, 1998)
-Jim Harrick (UCLA, 1995)
-Steve Fisher (Michigan, 1989)
-Rollie Massimino (Villanova, 1985)
-Jim Valvano (NC State, 1983)
-Jud Heathcote (Michigan State, 1979)
-Norm Sloan (NC State, 1974)
-Don Haskins (Texas Western, 1966)
-George Ireland (Loyola (Ill.), 1963)
-Ed Jucker (Cincinnati, 1961)
-Fred Taylor (Ohio State, 1960)
-Pete Newell (California, 1959)
-Phil Woolpert (San Francisco, 1955)
-Ken Loeffler (LaSalle, 1954)
-Doggie Julian (Holy Cross, 1947)
-Henry Iba (Oklahoma A&M, 1945)
-Vadal Peterson (Utah, 1944)
-Everett Shelton (Wyoming, 1943)
-Everett Dean (Stanford, 1942)
-Harold E. Foster (Wisconsin, 1941)
-Branch McCracken (Indiana, 1940)
-Howard Hobson (Oregon, 1939)
6. Last year, San Diego State was an 8-seed, losing in the First Round to Creighton (coincidentally, the team they beat to reach the Final Four), and UConn was a 5-seed that was upset by 12-seed New Mexico State in the First Round. The Aztecs and Huskies join a list of now 52 teams who made the Final Four the year after losing their first game of the NCAA Tournament. 19 of those teams have went onto the title game, with 6 winning it all. Here are the others who have done it (this does not include teams that made the Final Four a year after not participating in the NCAA Tournament):
2023: UConn, San Diego State
2022: North Carolina**
2019: Virginia*
2015: Duke*
2014: Wisconsin
2013: Michigan**, Wichita State
2012: Louisville
2010: Butler**, West Virginia
2009: UConn
2006: UCLA**, LSU
2005: Louisville, Michigan State
2003: Marquette
2002: Indiana**, Oklahoma
2000: North Carolina, Wisconsin
1995: UCLA*
1994: Arizona
1990: Georgia Tech
1988: Arizona
1987: Indiana*
1986: LSU
1985: St. John's
1983: NC State*
1982: Georgetown**, Louisville, Houston
1981: North Carolina**
1980: Iowa
1978: Arkansas
1977: North Carolina**
1976: Michigan**, Rutgers
1975: Louisville, Syracuse
1974: Marquette**
1973: Providence
1971: Western Kentucky
1964: UCLA*
1961: St. Joseph's, Utah
1959: West Virginia**, Cincinnati
1956: SMU
1955: Colorado
1944: Dartmouth**
1942: Dartmouth**
*Champions
**Advanced to championship game
5. Along those same lines, last year FAU missed the tournament, and now they're in the Final Four. Since the NCAA Tournament began in 1939, this is the 113th time that a school has made it to the Final Four the year after missing the NCAA Tournament. As you can see from the list below, most of the times this happened were in the '40s and '50s (when the tournament was much smaller), and since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, only 20 schools have made it to the Final Four the year after missing the tournament, with only four winning it all in that span and only seven advancing to the title game.
2023: FAU
2022: Duke
2021: UCLA
2018: Loyola (IL)
2017: South Carolina
2016: Syracuse
2014: UConn*, Kentucky**
2011: UConn*, VCU
2006: George Mason
2004: Georgia Tech**
2003: Syracuse*
1999: Ohio State
1997: Minnesota
1994: Florida
1992: Michigan**, Cincinnati
1987: Providence
1986: Louisville*
1983: Georgia
1981: Virginia
1980: Purdue
1979: Indiana State**
1978: Duke**
1977: UNC Charlotte
1975: Kentucky**
1974: NC State*, Kansas
1973: Memphis State**, Indiana
1972: Florida State**, Louisville, North Carolina
1971: Kansas
1970: Jacksonville**, St. Bonaventure
1969: Purdue**, Drake
1968: Ohio State
1967: UCLA*, North Carolina
1966: Texas Western*, Kentucky**, Duke, Utah
1964: Kansas State, Michigan
1963: Loyola (IL)*, Duke
1962: UCLA
1960: Ohio State*, NYU
1959: Louisville
1958: Seattle**, Kansas State, Temple
1957: North Carolina*, Kansas**, Michigan State
1956: Temple
1955: San Francisco*, Iowa
1954: LaSalle*, Bradley**, Penn State, USC
1953: Indiana*, LSU, Washington
1952: Kansas*, Santa Clara
1951: Kentucky*, Kansas State, Illinois, Oklahoma A&M
1950: CCNY*, Bradley**, Baylor, NC State
1949: Oklahoma A&M**, Illinois, Oregon State
1948: Kentucky*, Baylor**, Kansas State
1947: Holy Cross*, Oklahoma**, CCNY, Texas
1946: North Carolina*, California
1945: Oklahoma A&M*, NYU**, Arkansas
1944: Utah*, Iowa State, Ohio State
1943: Wyoming*, Georgetown, DePaul, Texas
1942: Stanford*, Colorado, Kentucky
1941: Wisconsin*, Washington State**, Arkansas, Pittsburgh
1940: Indiana*, Kansas**, Duquesne, USC
*Champions
**Advanced to championship game
4. There are 10 schools with 8 or more Final Fours (including vacated appearances): North Carolina (21), UCLA (19), Duke (17), Kentucky (17), Kansas (16), Ohio State (11), Louisville (10), Michigan State (10), Indiana (8), and Michigan (8). This is the first time since 1985 and only the second time since the Eisenhower Administration that at least one of those ten teams is not in the Final Four. In fact, one of those teams has been in all but 9 of 83 Final Fours (1941, 1943, 1947, 1950, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1985, 2023).
3. As noted above, there are no 1-seeds in the Final Four. This is only the fourth time since seeding began in 1979 that no 1-seeds made it to the Final Four. Here is a breakdown of how many #1 seeds have advanced to the Final Four each year since 1979.
2023: 0
2022: 1 (Kansas)
2021: 2 (Baylor*, Gonzaga**)
2019: 1 (Virginia*)
2018: 2 (Villanova*, Kansas)
2017: 2 (North Carolina*, Gonzaga**)
2016: 1 (North Carolina**)
2015: 3 (Duke*, Wisconsin**, Kentucky)
2014: 1 (Florida)
2013: 1 (Louisville*)
2012: 1 (Kentucky*)
2011: 0
2010: 1 (Duke*)
2009: 2 (North Carolina*, Connecticut)
2008: 4 (Kansas*, Memphis**, North Carolina, UCLA)
2007: 2 (Florida*, Ohio State**)
2006: 0
2005: 2 (North Carolina*, Illinois**)
2004: 1 (Duke)
2003: 1 (Texas)
2002: 2 (Maryland*, Kansas)
2001: 2 (Duke*, Michigan State)
2000: 1 (Michigan State*)
1999: 3 (Connecticut*, Duke**, Michigan State)
1998: 1 (North Carolina)
1997: 3 (Kentucky**, North Carolina, Minnesota)
1996: 2 (Kentucky*, Massachusetts)
1995: 1 (UCLA*)
1994: 1 (Arkansas*)
1993: 3 (North Carolina*, Michigan**, Kentucky)
1992: 1 (Duke*)
1991: 2 (UNLV, North Carolina)
1990: 1 (UNLV*)
1989: 1 (Illinois)
1988: 2 (Oklahoma**, Arizona)
1987: 2 (Indiana*, UNLV)
1986: 2 (Duke**, Kansas)
1985: 2 (Georgetown**, St. John's)
1984: 2 (Georgetown*, Kentucky)
1983: 2 (Houston**, Louisville)
1982: 2 (North Carolina*, Georgetown**)
1981: 2 (LSU, Virginia)
1980: 0
1979: 1 (Indiana State**)
*Champions
**Advanced to championship game
2. The average seed for this year's Final Four is 5.75, which the second-highest average ever (behind only 2011), and only the 5th time the average seed is 5 or higher. Here are the average seeds for the Final Four since 1979 (with the years it was 5 or higher bolded):
2023: 5.75
2022: 3.25
2021: 3.75
2019: 2.75
2018: 4
2017: 3
2016: 3.75
2015: 2.5
2014: 4.5
2013: 4.5
2012: 2.25
2011: 6.5
2010: 3.25
2009: 1.75
2008: 1
2007: 1.5
2006: 5
2005: 2.75
2004: 2
2003: 2.25
2002: 2.25
2001: 1.75
2000: 5.5
1999: 1.75
1998: 2.25
1997: 1.75
1996: 2.75
1995: 2.25
1994: 2
1993: 1.25
1992: 3.25
1991: 1.75
1990: 3
1989: 2.25
1988: 2.5
1987: 2.5
1986: 3.75
1985: 3
1984: 2.75
1983: 3
1982: 2.75
1981: 1.75
1980: 5.25
1979: 3.5
1. With FAU, Miami, and San Diego State advancing to the Final Four as a 9-seed and two 5-seeds, respectively, this is the 10th tournament in a row in which at least one team seeded 5 or higher has made it to the Final Four, and only the third tournament where three teams seeded 5 or higher have made it to the Final Four. Of the prior 33 teams to have accomplished the feat, only 4 have won it all, another 8 have been runners up, and the remaining 21 have lost in the semis. Here are the years in which there have been any teams seeded 5 or higher in the Final Four since 1979:
2023: 3: 5-seed Miami, 5-seed San Diego State, 9-seed FAU
2022: 1: 8-seed North Carolina**
2021: 1: 11-seed UCLA
2019: 1: 5-seed Auburn
2018: 1: 11-seed Loyola (IL)
2017: 1: 7-seed South Carolina
2016: 1: 10-seed Syracuse
2015: 1: 7-seed Michigan State
2014: 2: 7-seed UConn* and 8-seed Kentucky**
2013: 1: 9-seed Wichita State
2011: 2: 8-seed Butler** and 11-seed VCU
2010: 2: 5-seeds Butler** and Michigan State
2006: 1: 11-seed George Mason
2005: 1: 5-seed Michigan State
2002: 1: 5-seed Indiana**
2000: 3: 5-seed Florida**, 8-seeds North Carolina and Wisconsin
1996: 1: 5-seed Mississippi State
1992: 1: 6-seed Michigan**
1988: 1: 6-seed Kansas*
1987: 1: 6-seed Providence
1986: 1: 11-seed LSU
1985: 1: 8-seed Villanova*
1984: 1: 7-seed Virginia
1983: 1: 6-seed NC State*
1982: 1: 6-seed Houston
1980: 3: 5-seed Purdue, 6-seed Iowa, 8-seed UCLA**
1979: 1: 9-seed Penn
*Champions
**Advanced to championship game
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