Ten Most Unlikely Final Four Teams

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Mar 30, 2013

Ten Most Unlikely Final Four Teams

Virginia Commonwealth (11-seed, 2011)

The Rams became the third 11-seed in NCAA history to make the Final Four when they went on an unbelievable run. It began with a First Four game against Southern Cal, then upsets of No. 6 Georgetown, No. 3 Purdue, No. 10 Florida State (in overtime) and No. 1 Kansas.

George Mason (11-seed, 2006)

In 2006, the Patriots became just the second double-digit seed to make the Final Four. Mason's incredible run included wins over Michigan State, a Final Four team the previous season, North Carolina, the defending champions, and No. 1 seeded Connecticut, which featured four future first-round NBA draft picks.

Indiana (5-seed, 2002)

Just two years after Bob Knight and the Hoosiers parted ways, Indiana made an unlikely return to glory. The Hoosiers beat defending champion Duke (stocked with NBA talent like Jay Williams, Carlos Boozer, Chris Duhon, Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Dahntay Jones) 74-73 thanks to 24 points and 15 boards from star forward Jared Jeffries.

Wisconsin and N. Carolina (8-seeds, 2000)

Wisconsin upset a No. 1 seed, Arizona, in the second round out West, while North Carolina took care of top-ranked Stanford in the South region, paving the way for both to reach the Final Four. That 2000 tournament remains the only one in which two teams with seeds of higher than 6 made the final weekend.

Michigan (6-seed, 1992)

The Fab Five weren't expected to do so much damage so soon, but as the rest of the 1992 NCAA tournament found out quickly, the young Wolverines played a high-flying, high-tempo game. Michigan's raw talent produced wins over 2-seed Oklahoma State (Jalen Rose led all scorers with 25) and 1-seed Ohio State (behind Chris Webber's 23 and 11) en route to the first of back-to-back Final Fours.

Providence (6-seed, 1987)

A then-unheralded coach named Rick Pitino led the Friars to the Final Four as a 6-seed in 1987. Leading scorer Billy Donovan had 20 points, including 16 from the free throw line, in Providence's 88-73 regional final win over Big East rival and top seed Georgetown.

LSU (11-seed, 1986)

In 1986, Lousiana State became the first double-digit seed to reach the Final Four. But the Tigers had won their first two games of the tourney playing on their home floor in Baton Rouge, leading the NCAA to institute a rule against such advantageous home-court scheduling for future tournaments.

Villanova (8-seed, 1985)

In the final season without a shot clock, 8-seed Nova made a magical run to the Final Four, casting aside top-seeded Michigan, and then Maryland and North Carolina. The tournament's MOP was the Wildcats' leading man, Ed Pinckney.

N.C. State (6-seed, 1983)

After sneaking into the tournament field by winning the ACC tournament, coach Jim Valvano's Wolfpack team needed overtime to get past Pepperdine in the first round. Virginia, led by future No. 1 NBA draft pick Ralph Sampson, had beaten N.C. State twice in the regular season and lost to it in the ACC tourney finale, but when the two tangled for a fourth time, in the Elite Eight, the Pack punched its ticket to the Final Four.