Tuesday Top Ten: Fun Facts About the Final Four

We've gone from a chalky Sweet 16 -- only the 6th time since seeding began in 1979 that all four 1-seeds and 2-seeds advanced to the Sweet 16 -- to a less chalky Final Four.

In the East, in a rematch of last year's title game, 1-seed UConn won its Sweet 16 game over 5-seed San Diego State by 30, and then followed that up with a ludicrous 30-0 run to blowout 3-seed Illinois in the Elite 8. The Huskies are in their 7th Final Four and are playing for their 6th national title, looking to become the first back-to-back champ since Florida in 2006 and 2007.

In the West, 4-seed Alabama ousted 1-seed UNC in the Sweet 16 and held off 6-seed Clemson in the Elite 8, clinching the Crimson Tide's first-ever Final Four appearance.

In the South, 11-seed NC State upset 2-seed Marquette in the Sweet 16 and then topped ACC rival 4-seed Duke in the Elite 8 to clinch the Wolfpack's 4th Final Four and first since 1983, when Jim Valvano led them to their second national championship in one of the most memorable title games ever. They are tied for the lowest seed to ever make the Final Four, becoming the sixth 11-seed to do so (the others were LSU in 1986, George Mason in 2006, VCU in 2011, Loyola in 2018, and UCLA in 2021). Their 14 losses is a record for the most losses by any Final Four team ever.  It bears mentioning that NC State was 17-14 heading into the ACC Tournament -- losers of four in a row and six of seven -- before reeling off nine straight wins to get to the Final Four.

In the Midwest, 1-seed Purdue exorcised its Final Four demons, beating 5-seed Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 and getting by 2-seed Tennessee in the Final Four. The Boilermakers are in the Final Four for the third time ever and first time since 1980. They have never won an NCAA championship.

Here is the schedule for this Saturday's semifinal games (times ET).  Both games are on TBS:

(MW1) Purdue vs. (S11) NC State - 6:09 p.m.

(E1) UConn vs. (W4) Alabama - 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.

11.  If Alabama and Purdue win on Saturday, it will be only the second time since 1990 that two teams without a previous national championship will be playing for the title.  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

10.  While it will be tough to top Oregon's 78-year span between Final Fours (1939-2017), Purdue and NC State have managed to crack the Top 10 on the list of longest spans between Final Four appearances at 44 and 41 years, respectively.  Here are both the longest current Final Four droughts and longest all-time droughts between appearances.

Here are the longest current Final Four droughts for teams that have previously played in at least one Final Four (and are currently Division 1 schools –- sorry CCNY fans).  Half of them are "major" conference teams.  I'm adding a year, since the earliest these teams could make the Final Four would be 2025:

1.  Duquesne:  85 years (1940)

2 (tie).  Pittsburgh and Washington State:  84 years (1941)

4.  Wyoming:  82 years (1943)

5 (tie).  Dartmouth and Iowa State:  81 years (1944)

7.  Holy Cross:  77 years (1948)

8.  Santa Clara:  73 years (1952)

9.  Washington:  72 years (1953)

10 (tie).  Bradley, Penn State, and USC:  71 years (1954)

Here are the ten all-time longest droughts between Final Four appearances:

1.  Oregon:  78 years (1939-2017)

2.  Baylor:  71 years (1950-2021)

3 (tie).  Stanford:  56 years (1942-1998)

3 (tie).  Texas:  56 years (1947-2003)

5.  Loyola (IL):  55 years (1963-2018)

6.  West Virginia:  51 years (1959-2010)

7 (tie).  Oklahoma State:  44 years (1951-1995)

7 (tie).  Purdue:  44 years (1980-2024)

9 (tie).  NC State:  41 years (1983-2024)

9 (tie).  Oklahoma:  41 years (1947-1988)

10.  Georgetown:  39 years (1943-1982)

9.  Since 2000, the ACC has sent 8 different schools to the Final Four, for a total of 19 appearances.  Both are the most of any conference this millennium.  Here are the conferences ranked by number of teams that have made it to the Final Four since 2000:

1.  ACC - 8 schools for 19 appearances:  North Carolina (7), Duke (5), Maryland (2), Georgia Tech (1), Miami (1), NC State (1), Syracuse (1), Virginia (1)

2.  Big Ten - 7 schools for 17 appearances:  Michigan State (7), Wisconsin (3), Michigan (2), Ohio State (2), Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Purdue (1)

3 (tie).  Big East - 6 schools for 15 appearances:  UConn (5), Villanova (4), Louisville (2), Syracuse (2), Georgetown (1), West Virginia (1)

3 (tie).  SEC - 6 schools for 12 appearances:  Florida (4), Kentucky (4), Alabama (1), Auburn (1), LSU (1), South Carolina (1)

3 (tie).  Big 12 - 6 schools for 12 appearances:  Kansas (6), Oklahoma (2), Baylor (1), Oklahoma State (1), Texas (1), Texas Tech (1)

6.  Conference USA - 4 schools for 4 appearances:  FAU (1) Louisville (1), Marquette (1), Memphis (1)

7.  Pac-10/Pac-12 - 3 schools for 6 appearances:  UCLA (4), Arizona (1), Oregon (1)

8 (tie):  Colonial - 2 schools for 2 appearances:  George Mason (1), VCU (1)

8 (tie):  Missouri Valley - 2 schools for 2 appearances:  Loyola (IL) (1), Wichita State (1)

8 (tie).  American Athletic Conference - 2 schools for 2 appearances:  UConn (1), Houston (1)

11 (tie).  West Coast - 1 school for 2 appearances:  Gonzaga (2)

11 (tie):  Horizon - 1 schools for 2 appearances:  Butler (2)

11 (tie).  Mountain West - 1 school for 1 appearance:  San Diego State (1)

8.  With Alabama making its first Final Four appearance, this leaves only 16 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, 2024)

-Virginia Tech (Elite Eight in 1967)

Big 12

-BYU (Elite Eight in 1950, 1951, 1981)

-Central Florida (Round of 32 in 2019)

-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, 2024)

-Northwestern (Round of 32 in 2017, 2023, 2024)

Pac-12

-Arizona State (Elite Eight in 1961, 1963, 1975)

SEC

-Missouri (Elite Eight in 1944, 1976, 1994, 2002, 2009)

-Mississippi (Sweet 16 in 2001)

-Tennessee (Elite Eight in 2010 and 2024)

-Texas A&M (Sweet 16 in 1951, 1969, 1980, 2007, 2016, 2018)

-Vanderbilt (Elite Eight in 1965)

7.  This year's Final Four features three coaches who are coaching in their first-ever Final Fours:  Alabama's Nate Oats, NC State's Kevin Keatts, and Purdue's Matt Painter.  This is a relatively rare occurrence, as this is only the 9th time it has happened since seeding was instituted in 1979, and 20th 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:

2024:  3:  Kevin Keatts (NC State), Nate Oats (Alabama), Matt Painter (Purdue)

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

6.  On a similar note, if anyone but UConn wins the national title, it will be the 29th 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 10 times, though in three of the last four tournaments.  Here is everyone (including before 1985), in reverse chronological order:

-Dan Hurley (UConn, 2023)

-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 (IL), 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)

5.  Last year, NC State was also an 11-seed, losing in the First Round to Creighton, and Purdue, of course, famously lost in the First Round as a 1-seed to 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson.  The Wolfpack and Boilermakers join a list of now 54 teams who made the Final Four the year after losing their first game of the NCAA Tournament.  21 of those teams have gone onto the title game, with 7 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):

2024:  NC State, Purdue

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

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 second year in a row, the second time since 1985, and only the third 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 10 of 85 Final Fours (1941, 1943, 1947, 1950, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1985, 2023, 2024).

3.  As noted above, there are two 1-seeds in the Final Four, which is about average.  Here is a breakdown of how many #1 seeds have advanced to the Final Four each year since 1979.

2024:  2 (UConn, Purdue)

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 4.25, which is only the ninth time since seeding began in 1979 that the average seed is four or above.  Here are the average seeds for the Final Four since 1979 (with the years it was 4 or higher bolded):

2024:  4.25

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 NC State advancing to the Final Four as an 11-seed, they are the sixth 11-seed to make it to the Final Four (no team seeded 12 or higher has ever made it to the Final Four).  This is the 11th tournament in a row in which at least one team seeded 5 or higher has made it to the Final Four.  Of the prior 36 teams to have accomplished the feat, only 4 have won it all, another 9 have been runners up, and the remaining 23 have lost in the semis (including all five of the prior 11-seeds to make it to the Final Four).  Here are the years in which there have been any teams seeded 5 or higher in the Final Four since 1979:

2024:  1:  11-seed NC State

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