With 16 teams still alive in the NCAA men’s tournament, there are 256 potential Final Four combinations left. Here’s a look at 16 compelling ones, some chosen for basketball reasons and others chosen for reasons scarcely related to basketball at all.
1. Chalk Final Four: Duke, Florida, Houston, Auburn
Only once have all four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four since the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. That was 2008, when Kansas, Memphis, UCLA and North Carolina each advanced to San Antonio. This is the best chance for a repeat in quite awhile, but it’s still a long shot. There’s a 31.1% chance all four No. 1 seeds even make the Elite Eight, according to Ken Pomeroy’s projections.
2. Chaos Final Four: Ole Miss, Arkansas, BYU, Purdue
There has been a Final Four team seeded No. 5 or worse every year since 2012, but don’t be surprised if that streak ends this year. The elite teams are just too good and too many of them are left in the field. Who has the best chance to make it out of this quartet? It’s genuinely a tough call. Arkansas might have the most overall talent, especially with Adou Thiero back. BYU has lost only once since Valentine’s Day. Ole Miss has among the nation’s best turnover margin. And the Midwest region in Indianapolis is 70 miles from Purdue’s campus.
3. The Brainiac Final Four: Michigan, Florida, Duke, Purdue
According to U.S. News and World Report, Duke (6), Michigan (21), Florida (30) and Purdue (46) are the highest-rated academic institutions in their regions.
4. The Party School Final Four: Alabama, Ole Miss, Florida, Tennessee
“S-E-C! S-E-C! S-E-C!”
Alabama (4) is the NCAA tournament’s top remaining party school, according to Niche.com. There’s also no shortage of fun to be had at Ole Miss (13), Michigan State (18), Michigan (32), Florida (41), Arizona (44) and Texas Tech (49), either. Only the South region can’t throw a good kegger. Houston barely cracks the top 200. Purdue is outside the top 300.
Which teams will meet in San Antonio next weekend? (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports)
5. New blood Final Four: Ole Miss, Texas Tech, BYU, Tennessee
Ole Miss has never been past the Sweet 16. BYU and Tennessee have made the most NCAA tournament appearances without reaching the Final Four. Texas Tech advanced to the Final Four in 2019 but it’s the only remaining program in the West region that has yet to hang a national title banner.
6. The first-year coach Final Four: Michigan, Arkansas, Kentucky, BYU
It used to be that newly hired coaches needed at least three or four years to revitalize struggling programs. Now, the transfer portal has made it possible to overhaul a talent-bereft roster in a single offseason. Kentucky’s Mark Pope, Arkansas’ John Calipari and Michigan’s Dusty May each did it. Only BYU’s Kevin Young inherited some returning talent.
7. The mascot fight to the death Final Four: Auburn, Florida, Alabama, Houston
The East region final is the de facto title game. I wasted far too much time trying to figure out how an Elephant would fare fighting a Blue Devil.
8. Final Four guaranteed to capture the NBA audience: Michigan State, Maryland, Duke, Houston
There is at least one potential lottery pick on three of these four teams: Michigan State’s Jase Richardson, Maryland’s Derik Queen and the Duke trio of Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach. Houston has several potential draft picks, including point guard Milos Uzan.
9. Final Four guaranteed to have NBA fans changing the channel: Ole Miss, Texas Tech, BYU, Purdue
Even this quartet has potential NBA talent. BYU point guard Egor Demin is a projected top-20 pick who could rise higher if a team believes in his wayward jump shot. It would be a surprise if Purdue’s Braden Smith didn’t at least get a look. Same with the Texas Tech duo of Darrion Williams and J.P. Toppin.
10. When’s spring practice Final Four: Michigan, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee
The competition in the South region is fierce! Michigan’s tradition won out over Auburn and Ole Miss, but the Rebels might have the strongest football team next season.
11. Best beer cities Final Four: Michigan, Florida, Arizona, Tennessee
Must-visit Ann Arbor brewery: HomesMust-visit Gainesville brewery: First MagnitudeMust-visit Tucson brewery: Pueblo Vida
Must-visit Knoxville brewery: Xul
12. The All-SEC Final Four: Auburn, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee
One week after the SEC received a record 14 NCAA tournament bids on Selection Sunday, the league toppled another longstanding mark. The SEC sent seven teams to the Sweet 16, one more than the previous record set by the ACC in 2016. This Final Four would be a repeat of the SEC tournament semifinals earlier this month. It features four of the top six teams in the country for most of the season.
13. All gas, no breaks Final Four: Michigan, Maryland, Alabama, Kentucky
Alabama games should come with a whiplash warning. The Tide look to run at any opportunity. They’ve eclipsed 100 points eight times this season. They also gave up 110 in a road loss at Missouri last month.
14. No fast breaks Final Four: Auburn, Texas Tech, Houston, BYU
A 10-point deficit can feel like 20 against Houston. The Cougars have been near the bottom in college basketball all season in average possession length. (BYU doesn’t belong in this Final Four, but the Cougars are somehow the slowest-paced of the East region’s remaining teams.)
15. Defense wins championships Final Four: Michigan State, Maryland, Duke, Houston
Five of the nation’s top six defensive teams are still alive in the NCAA tournament. Only St. John’s failed to reach the Round of 16.
16. My Final Four: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
All four of my original Final Four teams survived the opening weekend, no great feat in a chalk-heavy year in which St. John’s was the only top-two seed to go home early. Florida and Houston both endured close calls in the round of 32, but I don’t think I would change any of my picks if given the opportunity.
