Since the NCAA men’s basketball tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, No. 1 seeds have dominated, capturing 26 of the 40 national championships, including Florida’s 2025 title run. Top seeds have reached the Final Four 64 times in that span, underscoring their consistent strength. However, the tournament has also seen remarkable Cinderella stories, such as No. 8 seed Villanova’s 1985 championship and No. 7 seed UConn’s 2014 triumph.
| Year | Semifinal 1 | Semifinal 2 | National Champion | ||||
| Team A | Team B | Winner | Team C | Team D | Winner | ||
| 2025 | Florida (1) | Auburn (1) | Florida (1) | Houston (1) | Duke (1) | Houston (1) | Florida (1) |
| 2024 | Purdue (1) | NC State (11) | Purdue (1) | UConn (1) | Alabama (4) | UConn (1) | UConn (1) |
| 2023 | North Carolina Tar Heels (8) | Duke (2) | North Carolina Tar Heels (8) | Kansas Jayhawks (1) | Villanova (2) | Kansas Jayhawks (1) | UConn (4) |
| 2022 | North Carolina Tar Heels (8) | Duke (2) | North Carolina Tar Heels (8) | Kansas Jayhawks (1) | Villanova (2) | Kansas Jayhawks (1) | Kansas Jayhawks (1) |
| 2021 | UCLA (11) | Gonzaga (1) | Gonzaga (1) | Baylor (1) | Houston (1) | Baylor (1) | Baylor (1) |
| 2019 | Michigan State (2) | Texas Tech (3) | Texas Tech (3) | Auburn (5) | Virginia (1) | Virginia (1) | Virginia (1) |
| 2018 | Villanova (1) | Kansas (1) | Villanova (1) | Michigan (3) | Loyola Chicago (11) | Michigan (3) | Villanova (1) |
| 2017 | South Carolina (7) | Gonzaga (1) | Gonzaga (1) | Oregon (3) | UNC (1) | UNC (1) | UNC (1) |
| 2016 | Villanova (2) | Oklahoma (2) | Villanova (2) | Syracuse (10) | North Carolina (1) | North Carolina (1) | Villanova (2) |
| 2023 | Michigan State (7) | Duke (1) | Duke (1) | Kentucky (1) | Wisconsin (1) | Wisconsin (1) | Duke (1) |
| 2014 | UConn (7) | Florida (1) | UConn (7) | Kentucky (8) | Wisconsin (2) | Kentucky (8) | UConn (7) |
| 2013 | Louisville (1) | Wichita State (9) | Louisville (1) | Michigan (4) | Syracuse (4) | Michigan (4) | Louisville (1) |
| 2012 | Ohio State (2) | Kansas (2) | Kansas (2) | Kentucky (1) | Louisville (4) | Kentucky (1) | Kentucky (1) |
| 2011 | Kentucky (4) | UConn (3) | UConn (3) | VCU (11) | Butler (8) | Butler (8) | UConn (3) |
| 2010 | West Virginia (2) | Duke (1) | Duke (1) | Michigan State (5) | Butler (5) | Butler (5) | Duke (1) |
| 2009 | Villanova (3) | UNC (1) | UNC (1) | Michigan State (2) | UConn (1) | Michigan State (2) | UNC (1) |
| 2008 | Kansas (1) | UNC (1) | Kansas (1) | UCLA (1) | Memphis (1) | Memphis (1) | Kansas (1) |
| 2007 | Florida (1) | UCLA (2) | Florida (1) | Georgetown (2) | Ohio State (1) | Ohio State (1) | Florida (1) |
| 2006 | George Mason (11) | Florida (3) | Florida (3) | UCLA (2) | LSU (4) | UCLA (2) | Florida (3) |
| 2005 | UNC (1) | Michigan State (5) | UNC (1) | Louisville (4) | Illinois (1) | Illinois (1) | UNC (1) |
| 2004 | Duke (1) | UConn (2) | UConn (2) | Oklahoma State (2) | Georgia Tech (3) | Georgia Tech (3) | UConn (2) |
| 2003 | Syracuse (3) | Texas (1) | Syracuse (3) | Marquette (3) | Kansas (2) | Kansas (2) | Syracuse (3) |
| 2002 | Maryland (1) | Kansas (1) | Maryland (1) | Oklahoma (2) | Inidana (5) | Inidana (5) | Maryland (1) |
| 2001 | Duke (1) | Maryland (3) | Duke (1) | Michigan State (1) | Arizona (2) | Arizona (2) | Duke (1) |
| 2000 | Michigan State (1) | Wisconsin (8) | Michigan State (1) | UNC (8) | Florida (5) | Florida (5) | Michigan State (1) |
| 1999 | Ohio State (4) | UConn (1) | UConn (1) | Michigan State (1) | Duke (1) | Duke (1) | UConn (1) |
| 1998 | Kentucky (2) | Stanford (3) | Kentucky (2) | UNC (1) | Utah (3) | Utah (3) | Kentucky (2) |
| 1997 | Minnesota (1) | Kentucky (1) | Kentucky (1) | UNC (1) | Arizona (4) | Arizona (4) | Arizona (4) |
| 1996 | Kentucky (1) | UMass (1) | Kentucky (1) | Mississippi State (5) | Syracuse (5) | Syracuse (5) | Kentucky (1) |
| 1995 | Oklahoma State (4) | UCLA (1) | UCLA (1) | UNC (2) | Arkansas (2) | Arkansas (2) | UCLA (1) |
| 1994 | Florida (3) | Duke (2) | Duke (2) | Arkansas (1) | Arizona (2) | Arkansas (1) | Arkansas (1) |
| 1993 | UNC (1) | Kansas (2) | UNC (1) | Kentucky (1) | Michigan (1) | Michigan (1) | UNC (1) |
| 1992 | Duke (1) | Indiana (2) | Duke (1) | Cincinnatti (4) | Michigan (6) | Michigan (6) | Duke (1) |
| 1991 | UNLV (1) | Duke (2) | Duke (2) | UNC (1) | Kansas (3) | Kansas (3) | Duke (2) |
| 1990 | Georgia Tech (4) | UNLV (1) | UNLV (1) | Arkansas (4) | Duke (3) | Duke (3) | UNLV (1) |
| 1989 | Duke (2) | Seton Hall (3) | Seton Hall (3) | Illinois (1) | Michigan (3) | Michigan (3) | Michigan (3) |
| 1988 | Kansas (6) | Duke (2) | Kansas (6) | Arizona (1) | Oklahoma (1) | Oklahoma (1) | Kansas (6) |
| 1987 | Indiana (1) | UNLV (1) | Indiana (1) | Syracuse (2) | Providence (6) | Providence (6) | Indiana (1) |
| 1986 | Kansas (1) | Duke (1) | Duke (1) | Louisville (2) | LSU (11) | Louisville (2) | Louisville (2) |
| 1985 | St. John's (NY) (1) | Georgetown (1) | Georgetown (1) | Memphis (2) | Villanova (8) | Villanova (8) | Villanova (8) |
Have four #1 seeds ever made it to the Final Four?
Only once since 1985 have four #1 seeds made it to the final four. That was in 2008 when Kanas, North Carolina, Memphis and UCLA advanced to the semifinals with Kansas winning it all.
Number 1 seeds in the Final Four
| How many times has there been? | # of Times since 1985 |
| Four #1 seeds in final four: | 1 |
| Three #1 seeds in final four: | 5 |
| Two #1 seeds in final four: | 14 |
| One #1 seeds in final fout | 16 |
| Zero #1 seeds in final four: | 3 |
What is the lowest seed to to ever reach the Final Four?
The lowest Seed to Make the Final Four: The 11 seed is the lowest ranking team to have ever made the final four, and this has happened 5 times (List out year and team) have made the final four
Number of Final Four appearances by seed
From 1985 through 2023, there have been 38 tournaments, which means 152 teams have made the final four. Here is how many times each seed has made it:
| Seed | # of Times in Final Four |
|---|---|
| 1 | 61 |
| 2 | 31 |
| 3 | 17 |
| 4 | 14 |
| 5 | 9 |
| 6 | 3 |
| 7 | 3 |
| 8 | 6 |
| 9 | 2 |
| 10 | 1 |
| 11 | 5 |
| 12 | 0 |
| 13 | 0 |
| 14 | 0 |
| 15 | 0 |
| 16 | 0 |
