Cinderella has taken March Madness off this year.
An NCAA men’s basketball tournament usually known for its inspiring upsets by small-school underdogs has been defined by the heavyweight contenders this season.
For the first time since 2008 and just the second time since seeding began in the tournament in 1979, all four No. 1 seeds have advanced to the Final Four.
Auburn, Duke, Houston and Florida made the seeding committee look smart when they all punched their tickets to San Antonio, Texas, where the tournament semifinals and championship game will be held at the Alamodome.
Florida will face Auburn at 6:09 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 5, followed by Houston against Duke at 8:49 p.m. ET in the second game of a doubleheader. The championship game is April 7.
Top-seeded Auburn celebrated just its second trip to the Final Four in program history when the top-seeded Tigers beat Michigan State in the Elite Eight on March 30. Grant Halverson / NCAA Photos via Getty Images
The only other time four No. 1 seeds made it this far in the same season was 17 years ago when Memphis, UCLA, Kansas and North Carolina all reached the Final Four. Kansas beat Memphis in overtime to claim the championship.
Duke and Florida entered this year’s tournament as the two biggest favorites, and they have delivered to reach the semifinals. Duke is the favorite to win it all, led by superstar freshman Cooper Flagg, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft.
The Blue Devils are in their 18th Final Four. They have made 14 appearances in the round since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. They rolled over Alabama 85-65 to reach their first Final Four under head coach Jon Scheyer, who is in his third season after replacing the legendary Mike Krzyzewski.
Florida features high-scoring guard Walter Clayton Jr., another NBA prospect who led the Gators to a thrilling 84-79 comeback win over Texas Tech to reach the Final Four. Florida won the SEC Tournament this season and joins conference rival Auburn in the Final Four after the SEC had a record 14 teams in the tournament.
Auburn withstood an in-game injury to star forward Johni Broome before he made his return to cheers from the crowd in a 70-64 win over Michigan State. The Tigers are in the Final Four for the first time in six years and just the second time in program history in search of their first NCAA Tournament title.
Houston reached the Final Four for the second time in five seasons by cruising past Tennessee 69-50 and will try to reach the final for the first time since 1984. The Cougars have never won the title.
This year’s championship game will mark the 10th time in tournament history that the matchup will be between two No. 1 seeds.
The powerhouses have also exerted their will in the women’s NCAA Tournament. So far, two No. 1 seeds have advanced to the semifinals, as UCLA reached its first Final Four in program history by beating LSU on March 30, and defending champion South Carolina squeezed by Duke in a four-point win to advance.
Two more top seeds will try to join them on March 31, when Texas takes on second-seeded TCU in an all-Texas matchup, and USC tries to hold off second-seeded University of Connecticut and superstar guard Paige Bueckers. The Trojans will be without their own star, sophomore JuJu Watkins, who is out for the season with a knee injury she suffered earlier in the tournament.
On the women’s side, all four No. 1 seeds have advanced to the Final Four just four times in tournament history, with the last instance coming in 2018, according to the NCAA.
