For the second time in the history of the March Madness tournament, four one seeds will play in the final four. The only other time that this has happened was in the 2007-2008 season. The four teams lucky enough to make it this far are Auburn, Houston, Duke, and Florida. All four were tournament favorites going in and all four dominated their competition to be the last four standing with a chance at a championship.
Florida barely escaped the three seeded Texas Tech looking to make a run into the final four. Texas Tech kept it close with the powerhouse, they even had a nine point lead with 2:48 left in the game, but multiple three pointers and a few lucky foul shots put Florida over the top and back into the final four with a 84-79 win. This is the Gators sixth final four appearance and they are looking for their third national championship.
Auburn will be Florida’s opponent in the Final Four after dominating two seeded Michigan State 70-64. Auburn has had an interesting season to say the least, ranked number one through most of the year, but late season losses to Florida, Texas A&M, and Alabama, ended their tenure as the number one team in the nation. Then, after losing to Tennessee in the SEC tournament, they were still able to make it into the tournament as a one seed, and defeated Alabama State, Creighton, Michigan, and Michigan State to make their second final four appearance in franchise history. Auburn is in the hunt for their first ever national championship in 2025, and with a win will play Duke or Houston in the championship game.
Going into the tournament, Houston was the sleeper pick of the one seeds, and did not disappoint. Houston stomped their way into the Final Four after dominating Tennessee in the Elite Eight. Houston also smoked their Big 12 opponents in the regular season, only losing one out of 20 conference games. Final Four appearances are common for the Houston Cougars, as this is their seventh time in school history. They are also looking for their first national title, but that won’t be an easy path as the team they will face is a force to be reckoned with.
Duke is Houston’s opponent in the Final Four, they have had an incredible year off of the back of superstar player Cooper Flagg, a generational talent who has had all the hype and attention on him, as he helped carry Duke through the NCAA tournament with wins over Mount St. Mary’s, Baylor, Arizona, and Alabama. Duke is always in the playoff picture, this will be their 18th Final Four appearance, and they are looking to win their sixth national title.
The Final Four will take place on April 5th, Florida vs. Auburn at 6:09PM, and Duke vs. Houston at 8:49PM. Once the final two teams are decided, the national championship game will be on Monday, April 7.
