Monday, April 7, 2025

National Championship Tidbits

#1 Florida 65 #1 Houston 63
  • Florida wins their 3rd National Championship in school history.  They are 3-1 in National Championship Games
  • Florida is 3-1 vs. the Big 12 in the tournament, including 2 wins in this year's tournament.
  • Todd Golden wins his first National Championship.  Four of the last six National Champions were the first title for the coach.
    • 2019 - Tony Bennett, Virginia
    • 2021 - Scott Drew, Baylor
    • 2023 - Dan Hurley, UConn
    • 2025 - Todd Golden, Florida
  • Florida becomes the first team since 1997 to defeat the defending champion and go on to win the tournament.
  • The Big 12 and SEC have played each other a record 8 times in this year's tournament.  SEC won 5 of the 8.
  • Florida is 16-1 against #1 seeds.
  • Florida wins their 4th consecutive game against #1 seeds.  They are 5-1 vs. #1 seeds.
  • This is the 11th time (out of 46 tournaments) that the Championship Game will feature two #1 seeds.
    • 1982 - North Carolina d. Georgetown
    • 1993 - North Carolina d. Michigan
    • 1999 - UConn d. Duke
    • 2005 - North Carolina d. Illinois
    • 2007 - Florida d. Ohio State
    • 2008 - Kansas d. Memphis
    • 2015 - Duke d. Wisconsin
    • 2017 - North Carolina d. Gonzaga
    • 2021 - Baylor d. Gonzaga
    • 2024 - UConn d. Purdue
    • 2025 - Florida d. Houston
  • Florida is 12-0 in the tournament when ranked #3 in the AP Poll.
  • Houston is 0-3 in National Championship Games.
  • Houston has the most Final Fours (7) without a championship.

Saturday, April 5, 2025

Final Four Tidbits

#1 Florida 79 #1 Auburn 73
  • Florida is in the National Championship Game for the first time since 2007 and the 4th time overall.  They are 2-1 in National Championship Games.
  • Florida is the 1st SEC team to play in the National Championship Game since 2014, when Kentucky lost to Connecticut.
  • Florida is 4-2 in National Semifinal Games.
  • Florida is 15-1 as a #1 seed.
  • Florida is 4-1 vs. #1 seeds.
  • Florida is 11-0 as an AP #3 team in the tournament.
  • This is the first time two SEC teams have faced each other in the National Semifinals.  It is the 9th time two teams from the same conference faced each other in the National Semifinals.
    • 1981 - ACC - North Carolina 78 Virginia 65
    • 1985 - Big East - Georgetown 77 St. John's 59
    • 1987 - Big East - Syracuse 77 Providence 63
    • 1989 - Big Ten - Michigan 83 Illinois 81
    • 2000 - Big Ten - Michigan State 53 Wisconsin 41
    • 2001 - ACC - Duke 95 Maryland 84
    • 2016 - ACC - North Carolina 83 Syracuse 66
    • 2022 - ACC - North Carolina 81 Duke 77
    • 2025 - SEC - Florida 79Auburn 73
  • Florida is 1-1 vs. SEC teams in the tournament.
    • 2017 - Lost to South Carolina 77-70 in the Elite Eight.
    • 2025 - Defeated Auburn 79-73 in the National Semifinals.
  • Auburn is 0-2 in National Semifinal Games
  • Auburn is 2-5 vs. #1 seeds.
#1 Houston 70 #1 Duke 67
  • Houston is in the National Championship Game for the first time since 1984 and the 3rd time overall.  They are 0-2 in National Championship Games.
  • Houston is 3-4 in National Semifinal Games.
  • Houston is 3-3 vs. #1 seeds.
  • Houston defeats the AP #1 team in the tournament for the first time.  They are 1-2 vs. #1 ranked teams.
  • Houston wins their tournament-leading 16th game this decade.
  • Houston avenges a loss to Duke in last year's tournament.
  • Houston's win snaps a 7-game tournament losing streak for the ACC vs. the Big 12.
  • Houston's win is the 4th consecutive win for the Big 12 in National Semifinal Games.
  • Houston is 6-6 vs. the ACC
  • Duke is 11-7 in National Semifinal Games.
  • Duke is 9-3 vs. the Big 12 in the tournament.  It is the first time they have lost to a Big 12 team other than Kansas.
  • Duke is 10-8 vs. #1 seeds.
  • Duke loses a tournament game vs. a team from Texas for the first time.  They are 9-1 vs. teams from Texas.

Sunday, March 30, 2025

Final Four Facts

Final Four by Conference

  • SEC 2
  • ACC 1
  • Big Twelve 1
Last Final Four Appearance by Conference
  • SEC 2024 (2 consecutive)
  • ACC 2024 (2 consecutive)
  • Big Twelve 2022

Last Final Four Appearance

  • Duke 2022
  • Houston 2021
  • Auburn 2019
  • Florida 2014
Final Four Appearances
  • Duke 18
  • Houston 7
  • Florida 6
  • Auburn 2
Record in the National Semifinals
  • Duke 11-6
  • Florida 3-2
  • Houston 2-4
  • Auburn 0-1
Final Four Appearances by Coach
  • Kelvin Sampson 3
  • Bruce Pearl 2
  • Todd Golden 1
  • Jon Scheyer 1

National Championships for each Final Four Team

  • Duke 5 (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015)
  • Florida 2 (2006, 2007)
  • Auburn 0
  • Houston 0
Tournament Records for Final Four Coaches
  • Kelvin Sampson 30-19
  • Bruce Pearl 21-13
  • Jon Scheyer 8-2
  • Todd Golden 4-2

Final Four Tournament Rematches

  • Duke defeated Houston 54-51 in the 2024 Sweet Sixteen.

Final Four by State

  • Alabama 1
  • Florida 1
  • North Carolina 1
  • Texas 1
Last Final Four Appearance by State
  • Alabama 2024 (2 consecutive)
  • North Carolina 2024 (2 consecutive)
  • Florida 2023
  • Texas 2021

Elite Eight Tidbits - Sunday

#1 Houston 69 #2 Tennessee 50
  • Houston is in the Final Four for the first time since 2021 and the 7th time overall.  They are 2-4 in the National Semifinals.
  • Houston is 7-1 in the Elite Eight.
  • Houston defeats an SEC for the 3rd consecutive tournament.
    • 2023 - Auburn
    • 2024 - Texas A&M
    • 2025 - Tennessee
  • Houston is 3-0 vs. teams from Tennessee in the tournament.  They defeated Memphis in 1983 and 1984.  Every year they have defeated a team from Tennessee, they have advanced to the Final Four.
  • Houston's win is a tournament-leading 15th win this decade.
  • Houston wins their 8th consecutive tournament game on a Sunday.
  • Tennessee is 0-3 in the Elite Eight.
  • Tennessee is 0-7 vs. #1 seeds.
  • Tennessee is 0-3 in the tournament vs. teams currently in the Big 12.
  • Tennessee is 0-9 in the tournament when scoring 56 or fewer points.
#1 Auburn 70 #2 Michigan State 64
  • Auburn is in the Final Four for the first time since 2019 and the 2nd time overall.  They are 0-1 in the National Semifinals.
  • Auburn is 2-1 in the Elite Eight.  All three games were against #2 seeds.
  • With Auburn's win, all four #1 seeds advance to the Final Four for only the 2nd time in tournament history.  The other time was 2008 (Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina, UCLA).
  • Auburn joins Florida to have two teams in the Final Four.  It is the 5th time overall that SEC has had two teams.
    • 1994 - Arkansas and Florida
    • 1996 - Kentucky and Mississippi State
    • 2006 - Florida and LSU
    • 2014 - Florida and Kentucky
    • 2025 - Auburn and Florida
  • Florida vs Auburn will be the first time two SEC teams have faced each other in the Final Four.
  • Auburn is the 3rd team to defeat Michigan and Michigan State in the same tournament.
    • 2019 - Texas Tech defeated Michigan in the Sweet Sixteen and Michigan State in the National Semifinals
    • 2021 - UCLA defeated Michigan State in the First Four and Michigan in the Elite Eight
    • 2025 - Auburn defeated Michigan in the Sweet Sixteen and Michigan State in the Elite Eight
  • Michigan State ends an 11-game tournament winning streak against the SEC.
  • Michigan State is 10-5 in the Elite Eight.  They are 0-3 in Elite Eight games played on March 30.
  • Michigan State is 7-12 vs. #1 seeds.

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Elite Eight Tidbits - Saturday

#1 Florida 84 #3 Texas Tech 79

  • Florida is in the Final Four for the first time since 2014 and the 6th time overall.  They are 3-2 in the National Semifinals.
  • Florida is 6-4 in the Elite Eight.
  • Florida is 1-1 vs. Texas Tech in the tournament.
  • Florida is 14-1 as a #1 seed.  They have been a #1 seed three times and advanced to the Final Four all three times.
  • Texas Tech is 1-2 in the Elite Eight.
  • Texas Tech is 1-4 vs. #1 seeds.
  • Texas Tech ends a 5-game tournament winning streak on a Saturday.

#1 Duke 85 #2 Alabama 65

  • Duke is in the Final Four for the first time since 2022 and the 18th time overall.  They are 11-6 in the National Semifinals.
  • Duke is 18-7 in the Elite Eight.
  • Duke is 6-8 vs the SEC in the tournament.
  • Duke is 58-10 as a #1 seed.  The 58 wins is the 2nd most behind North Carolina (65).
  • Duke is 12-0 in tournament games played in New Jersey.
  • Alabama is 5-5 vs. the ACC in the tournament.
  • Alabama is 1-2 in the Elite Eight.
  • Alabama is 2-7 vs. #1 seeds.

Friday, March 28, 2025

Elite Eight Facts

 Elite Eight by Conference

  • SEC 4
  • Big Twelve 2
  • Big Ten 1
  • ACC 1

Consecutive Elite Eight Appearances

  • Alabama 2
  • Duke 2
  • Tennessee 2

Last Elite Eight Appearance for other teams

  • Houston 2022
  • Auburn 2019
  • Michigan State 2019
  • Texas Tech 2019
  • Florida 2017

Last Final Four for each Elite Eight team

  • Alabama 2024
  • Duke 2022
  • Houston 2021
  • Auburn 2019
  • Michigan State 2019
  • Texas Tech 2019
  • Florida 2014
  • Tennessee None
Record in the Elite Eight
  • Houston 6-1
  • Michigan State 10-4
  • Duke 17-7
  • Florida 5-4
  • Alabama 1-1
  • Auburn 1-1
  • Texas Tech 1-1
  • Tennessee 0-2

Elite Eight Tournament Rematches

  • Texas Tech defeated Florida 69-66 in the 2018 Round of 32

Elite Eight by State

  • Alabama 2
  • Texas 2
  • Florida 1
  • Michigan 1
  • North Carolina 1
  • Tennessee 1

Sweet Sixteen Tidbits - Friday

#2 Michigan State 73 #6 Mississippi 70
  • Michigan State is in the Elite Eight for the 1st time since 2019 and 15th time overall.  They are 10-4 in the Elite Eight.
  • Michigan State is 15-7 in the Sweet Sixteen.
  • Michigan State is 2-0 vs. Mississippi in the tournament.
  • Michigan State has won 11 consecutive tournament games against the SEC.
  • Michigan State is 4-0 vs. #6 seeds.
  • Michigan State has won 7 consecutive tournament games on a Friday.
  • Mississippi is 0-2 in the Sweet Sixteen.
  • Mississippi is 1-2 vs. the Big Ten in the tournament.
#2 Tennessee 78 #3 Kentucky 65
  • Tennessee is in the Elite Eight for the 2nd consecutive year and the 3rd time overall.  They are 0-2 in the Elite Eight.
  • Tennessee's win over Kentucky is their first-ever tournament game against an SEC team.  Kentucky is 1-3 vs. SEC teams in the tournament.
  • This is the 5th time that SEC teams have faced each other in the tournament.
    • Kentucky 68 Alabama 63 - 1986 Sweet Sixteen
    • LSU 59 Kentucky 57 - 1986 Elite Eight
    • South Carolina 77 Florida 70 - 2017 Elite Eight
    • Auburn 77 Kentucky 71 - 2019 Elite Eight
    • Tennessee xx Kentucky yy - 2025 Sweet Sixteen
  • Tennessee is now 3-8 in the Sweet Sixteen.
  • Kentucky ends a 14-game tournament winning streak on a Friday.
  • Kentucky has missed the Elite Eight for the last five tournaments.  That is their longest drought since 1987 to 1991.  That is tied for their longest drought in school history.
  • Kentucky ends a 4-game winning streak vs. #2 seeds.  It is the first time Kentucky has lost to a #2 seed when seeded lower (5 games).
#1 Auburn 78 #5 Michigan 65
  • Auburn is in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2019 and the 3rd time overall.  They are 1-1 in the Elite Eight.
  • Auburn is 3-3 in the Sweet Sixteen.
  • This game and the Tennessee-Kentucky game ended in the same scores.  It is the 3rd time that has happened in the Sweet Sixteen (1952 and 1977).
  • Michigan ends a 5-game tournament winning streak against the SEC.
  • Michigan loses their 2nd straight Sweet Sixteen game for the first time in school history.
  • Michigan is 4-8 vs. #1 seeds.
#1 Houston 62 #4 Purdue 60
  • Houston is in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2022 and the 8th time overall.  They are 6-1 in the Elite Eight.
  • Houston has won 4 consecutive tournament games against the Big Ten.
  • Houston wins a tournament-best 14th game this decade.
  • Purdue is 6-6 vs. the Big Twelve in the tournament.
  • Purdue is 0-9 vs. #1 seeds.  That is 2nd worst tied with Temple.  Only Gonzaga (0-11) has a worse record vs. #1 seeds.