At this time of the year, you will sometimes hear the question, “Should the Final Four be re-seeded?”
Rather than launch into a sweeping denunciation or fervent defense of the idea, let’s take another route: Examine the history of the Final Four since the NCAA tournament began to be seeded in 1979. Let’s see if the matchups and results reveal anything that would make anyone reconsider a longstanding position.
You can certainly see plenty of instances in which the Final Four’s national semifinals smoothly fit a properly seeded structure. Many other Final Fours didn’t create balanced brackets, unavoidably altering the complexion of the national championship game. College basketball’s history is undeniably different due to the creation of a “pure” bracket and the accompanying refusal to re-seed the Final Four.
Enjoy this stroll through college basketball history, as you are left to consider whether you think re-seeding the Final Four is appropriate for the sport.
*
1979: (9) Pennsylvania vs. (2) Michigan State; (2) DePaul vs. (1) Indiana State.
Championship: Michigan State d. Indiana State
1980: (2) Louisville vs. (5) Iowa; (8) UCLA vs. (6) Purdue
Championship: Louisville d. UCLA
1981: (3) Indiana vs. (1) LSU; (2) North Carolina vs. (1) Virginia
Championship: Indiana d. North Carolina
1982: (6) Houston vs. (1) North Carolina; (3) Louisville vs. (1) Georgetown
Championship: North Carolina d. Georgetown
1983: (6) North Carolina State vs. (4) Georgia; (1) Louisville vs. (1) Houston
Championship: North Carolina State d. Houston
1984: (7) Virginia vs. (2) Houston; (1) Georgetown vs. (1) Kentucky
Championship: Georgetown d. Houston
1985: (8) Villanova vs. (2) Memphis; (1) St. John’s vs. (1) Georgetown
Championship: Villanova d. Georgetown
1986: (11) LSU vs. (2) Louisville; (1) Kansas vs. (1) Duke
Championship: Louisville d. Duke
1987: (6) Providence vs. (2) Syracuse; (1) UNLV vs. (1) Indiana
Championship: Indiana d. Syracuse
1988: (6) Kansas vs. (2) Duke; (1) Arizona vs. (1) Oklahoma
Championship: Kansas d. Oklahoma
1989: (3) Seton Hall vs. (2) Duke; (3) Michigan vs. (1) Illinois
Championship: Michigan d. Seton Hall
1990: (4) Arkansas vs. (3) Duke; (4) Georgia Tech vs. (1) UNLV
Championship: UNLV d. Duke
1991: (3) Kansas vs. (1) North Carolina; (2) Duke vs. (1) UNLV
Championship: Duke d. Kansas
1992: (6) Michigan vs. (4) Cincinnati; (2) Indiana vs. (1) Duke
Championship: Duke d. Michigan
1993: (2) Kansas vs. (1) North Carolina; (1) Michigan vs. (1) Kentucky
Championship: North Carolina d. Michigan
1994: (2) Arizona vs. (1) Arkansas; (3) Florida vs. (2) Duke
Championship: Arkansas d. Duke
1995: (4) Oklahoma State vs. (1) UCLA; (2) North Carolina vs. (2) Arkansas
Championship: UCLA d. Arkansas
1996: (5) Mississippi State vs. (4) Syracuse; (1) Kentucky vs. (1) Massachusetts
Championship: Kentucky d. Syracuse
1997: (4) Arizona vs. (1) North Carolina; (1) Minnesota vs. (1) Kentucky
Championship: Arizona d. Kentucky
1998: (3) Stanford vs. (2) Kentucky; (3) Utah vs. (1) North Carolina
Championship: Kentucky d. Utah
1999: (4) Ohio State vs. (1) Connecticut; (1) Duke vs. (1) Michigan State
Championship: Connecticut d. Duke
2000: (8) Wisconsin vs. (1) Michigan State; (8) North Carolina vs. (5) Florida
Championship: Michigan State d. Florida
2001: (2) Arizona vs. (1) Michigan State; (3) Maryland vs. (1) Duke
Championship: Duke d. Arizona
2002: (5) Indiana vs. (2) Oklahoma; (1) Kansas vs. (1) Maryland
Championship: Maryland d. Indiana
2003: (3) Marquette vs. (2) Kansas; (3) Syracuse vs. (1) Texas
Championship: Syracuse d. Kansas
2004: (3) Georgia Tech vs. (2) Oklahoma State; (2) Connecticut vs. (1) Duke
Championship: Connecticut d. Georgia Tech
2005: (4) Louisville vs. (1) Illinois; (5) Michigan State vs. (1) North Carolina
Championship: North Carolina d. Illinois
2006: (11) George Mason vs. (3) Florida; (4) LSU vs. (2) UCLA
Championship: Florida d. UCLA
2007: (2) Georgetown vs. (1) Ohio State; (2) UCLA vs. (1) Florida
Championship: Florida d. Ohio State
2008: (1) UCLA vs. (1) Memphis; (1) Kansas vs. (1) North Carolina
Championship: Kansas d. Memphis
2009: (2) Michigan State vs. (1) Connecticut; (3) Villanova vs. (1) North Carolina
Championship: North Carolina d. Michigan State
2010: (5) Butler vs. (5) Michigan State; (2) West Virginia vs. (1) Duke
Championship: Duke d. Butler
2011: (11) VCU vs. (8) Butler; (4) Kentucky vs. (3) Connecticut
Championship: Connecticut d. Butler
2012: (4) Louisville vs. (1) Kentucky; (2) Ohio State vs. (2) Kansas
Championship: Kentucky d. Kansas
2013: (9) Wichita State vs. (1) Louisville; (4) Syracuse vs. (4) Michigan
Championship: Louisville d. Michigan
2014: (7) Connecticut vs. (1) Florida; (8) Kentucky vs. (2) Wisconsin
Championship: Connecticut d. Kentucky
