Winners Club: March Madness Results in a Blueblooded Final Four
March Madness isn’t over—the men’s Final Four remains to be played this coming weekend in New Orleans. But the madness itself took a bit of a hit over the weekend after reaching perhaps an all-time high Friday night.
After deep runs by double-digit seeds Michigan (No. 11), Iowa State (No. 11), Miami (No. 10) and beloved No. 15 Saint Peter’s, the Cinderellas were sent home and four blue bloods remain.
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 2 Villanova. No. 2 Duke vs. No. 8 North Carolina (for the first time ever in the NCAA tournament).
“They have a combined 17 NCAA tournament championships,” writes Pat Forde of the last four standing teams. “The last time every Final Four program came in having already won at least three national titles? Never. These are serious pedigrees.”
The action picks back up in the men’s bracket on Saturday before Monday’s national championship game. See how we got here and how the Final Four will unfold.
Men’s Final Four Set
Villanova snatched up the first spot in the Final Four on Saturday against No. 5 Houston. The Wildcats won the defensive battle, 50-44. Nova lost Justin Moore, its second-leading scorer, to a torn Achilles with less than a minute left on the clock and will have to face Kansas without him.
Villanova was most recently in the Final Four in 2018, when it won the national championship. The Wildcats beat the Jayhawks en route to that title.
Kansas punched its ticket Sunday afternoon in a blowout win over Miami. The Hurricanes led 35-29 at the half and the Jayhawks thoroughly dominated the final 20 minutes, outscoring UM 47-15 in the frame to score a 76-50 win.
The last time Bill Self’s squad went this far was that 2018 loss to Jay Wright’s Villanova.
Saturday 6:09 p.m. ET (TBS): No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 1 Kansas (-4.5)
Duke secured its Final Four trip on Saturday against No. 3 Arkansas. The Blue Devils put together a complete game and rode a double-digit halftime lead to a 78-69 victory over the Razorbacks and avoided suffering the same fate as Gonzaga.
This will be Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 13th Final Four appearance, giving him more appearances than UCLA’s John Wooden (12) and the most all-time.
North Carolina was the last team to win its region but the game was decided the earliest of any of the Elite Eight matchups. The Tar Heels were doubling up Saint Peter’s 38-19 at the half and the Peacocks never found their stroke to push UNC in the final 20 minutes. North Carolina came away with a 69-49 win.
Chris Szagola/AP
Hubert Davis, UNC’s first-year coach, is making his first appearance in the Final Four after taking over for legendary coach Roy Williams.
Saturday 8:49 p.m. ET (TBS): No. 8 North Carolina vs. No. 2 Duke (-4.5)
Odds to win the national championship, per SI Sportsbook.
Duke (+160)
Kansas (+180)
Villanova (+450)
North Carolina (+500)
Women’s Elite Eight Continues
Two of the Final Four spots in the women’s tournament have already been spoken for.
No. 1 South Carolina dismantled No. 10 Creighton, 80-50, to head back to the Final Four. The Gamecocks and star Aliyah Boston will face the winner of No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 1 Louisville, which tips off tonight at 9 ET on ESPN. The Cardinals are 5-point favorites.
Gerry Broome/AP
On the other side of the bracket, No. 1 Stanford defeated No. 2 Texas, 59-50, and kept its national title defense alive. The Cardinal will play the winner of tonight’s game between No. 1 UConn and No. 2 N.C. State. The Huskies are favored by 4.
The Final Four games will take place Friday night with the national championship game being played on Sunday evening.
In Other News
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