Final Four

Trademark.

1. the four remaining play-off teams that compete for the U.S. men's or women's college basketball championship, awarded by the NCAA.

Example Sentences

They led Baylor to its first Final Four since 1950, and they did so by beating an Arkansas team that Sampson had referred to as “Transfer U” earlier in the tournament.

From Washington Post

In leading Arizona to its first Final Four, Barnes shows there is room for brilliant young coaches to create rising programs, even though the established giants are so difficult to move.

From Washington Post

Marsh’s other vivid memory is the 1985 women’s soccer Final Four that George Mason hosted.

From Washington Post

Goal: field 25,000 volunteers for the final four days of the race.

From The Daily Beast

Sometimes, as in Erforsche mich Gott, there is a violin obbligato above the voice parts in the final four-part chorale.

From Project Gutenberg

More About Final Four

What is the Final Four?

The Final Four is the nickname of the final round of both the men’s and women’s NCAA Division I basketball tournaments, which are single-elimination tournaments to determine the U.S. national champion. It’s named for the fact that there are four teams left at that point in the tournament.

The men’s tournament (nicknamed March Madness) features 67 games between 68 teams. The main tournament bracket includes 64 teams. Four teams must earn a spot on the main bracket by winning one of four games, which are called play-in games and known as the First Four. The women’s tournament features 64 teams.

Because the tournaments are single-elimination (meaning a team is eliminated upon losing a game), the field of teams is reduced by half each round, from 64 in the first round to 32 in the second round, which is followed by rounds named after the number of teams left: the Sweet Sixteen, the Elite Eight, and the Final Four. The final two teams play in the National Championship game.

The tournament bracket is divided into four quadrants, with the winner of each section going on to compete in the Final Four.

The term Final Four is sometimes used casually in other contexts, such as high school basketball tournaments. However, it is trademarked by the NCAA.

When is the Final Four?

The NCAA tournament begins around mid-March and takes place over a course of about two and a half weeks. The Final Four and the National Championship game are usually held during the first week of April.

For the men’s tournament, the first two games of the 2024 Final Four will be held on Saturday, April 6, with the National Championship game being held on Monday, April 8. The first two games of the 2025 Final Four will be played on April 5, with the National Championship game on April 7.

The first two games of the 2024 Women’s Final Four will be held on Friday, April 5, with the National Championship game being held on Sunday, April 7. The first two games of the 2025 Women’s Final Four will be played on April 4, with the National Championship game on April 6.

More information and context on the Final Four

The first NCAA men’s college basketball tournament was held in 1939, with eight teams competing. But it wasn’t until 1978 that the NCAA started using the term Final Four to refer to the final round and the final four teams competing in the tournament.

What are some terms that often get used in discussing the Final Four?

• NCAA
• college
• basketball
• tournament
• championship
• bracket
• March Madness

How is Final Four discussed in real life?

The phrase Final Four is a reference to the four remaining teams in the tournament, but it’s typically used as the name of the final round of the tournament, as in Villanova is going to the Final Four! 

Two of the teams Oregon defeated on its way to the 2017 Final Four – Kansas and Michigan – are in the 2018 Final Four.

— Oregon Men's Basketball (@OregonMBB) March 25, 2018

✨ Minneapolis ✨ returns as a Women’s Final Four host city in 2022!

➡️ https://t.co/ogHezfydla#WFinalFour pic.twitter.com/JeEOnrmkk7

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 1, 2021

Your Final Four will be:

Gonzaga, Baylor, Michigan, Florida State

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 3, 2021

 

Try using Final Four!

True or False?

The term Final Four refers to the final four games of the NCAA tournament.