Final Four

From Hoopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

The term Final Four refers to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament. It originally referred to the four NCAA Division I Men's Tournament survivors. These are the champions of the tournament's four regional brackets, and the only teams remaining on the tournament's final weekend. (The term has been applied retroactively to include the last four teams in tournaments from earlier years, when only two brackets existed.)

The Euroleague and the EuroLeague Women also use the term "Final Four" to refer to the the winners of the four quarterfinal series in one-off knockout matches. The semifinal losers play for third place; the winners play for the championship.

Some claim that the phrase Final Four was first used to describe the final games of Indiana's annual high school basketball tournament. But the NCAA, which has a trademark on the term, says Final Four was originated by a Cleveland Plain Dealer sportswriter, Ed Chay, in a 1975 article that appeared in the Official Collegiate Basketball Guide. The article stated that Marquette University “was one of the final four” in the 1974 tournament. The NCAA started capitalizing the term in 1978, and turning it into a trademark several years later.

On the third weekend, traditionally a Saturday and Monday for the men's tournament and a Sunday and Tuesday for the women's tournament, the Final Four teams meet in semifinals on the first day and the championship on the second. For several years in the men's tournament, the teams eliminated in the semifinals met in a consolation game prior to the championship; this practice was discontinued in 1981.

[edit]

Other Final Fours

In recent years, the term Final Four has come into use for the last four teams in other elimination tournaments. Tournaments which use Final Four include the Euroleague in basketball, national basketball competitions in several European countries and the now-defunct European Hockey League. Together with the name Final Four, these tournaments have adopted an NCAA-style format in which the four surviving teams compete in a single-elimination tournament held in one place, typically, during one weekend.

The derivative term "Frozen Four" is used by the NCAA to refer to the final rounds of the |Division I men's and women's ice hockey tournaments. Until 1999, it was a popular nickname for the last two rounds of the hockey tournament; officially, it was also called the Final Four.

[edit]

Final Four Oddities

1980 and 2006 were the only years a #1 seed failed to make the Final Four since seeding of all tournament teams began in 1979.
1980

2006

Since the expansion to 64 teams in 1985, there has never been a case where all four #1 seeds made it to the Final Four. The closest outcome happened in 1993, three #1 seeds (Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina) and a #2 seed (Kansas) made it to the Final Four.

In 2007, two #1 seeds (Florida, Ohio State) and two #2 seeds (Georgetown, UCLA) made it to the Final Four.

On two other occasions, three #1 seeds made it to the Final Four accompanied by a #4 seed:

[edit]

Low seeds

Lowest seeds to reach Final Four since 1985: #11 seed:

Lowest seeds to reach Championship Game: #8 seed:

While lower seeds have made the Final Four in the 64-team era (as shown above), the University of Pennsylvania's 1979 appearance is notable as they made it as a #9 seed—out of 10 teams in their region. In fact, they defeated the #10 seed, St. John's University in the regional final, following three upsets by each team.

Additionally, in 1980, UCLA made the Championship Game as a #8 seed (in a tournament with twelve seeds in each region), a record tied by Villanova in the 64-team era. However, UCLA's run was later vacated by the NCAA.

Retrieved from "http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php/Final_Four"
Personal tools