The Final Four has arrived. Division I teams in men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and men’s ice hockey will compete in the big event this week and next.
In men’s basketball, regional finals were played both on Saturday and Sunday to set up the Final Four in New Orleans. On Saturday in the South Final, the Villanova Wildcats got a double double from Jermaine Samuels with 16 points and 10 rebounds to take a defensive slugfest over the Houston Cougars 50-44. In the West Final and second game on Saturday, the Duke Blue Devils built a 12 point halftime lead and took down the Arkansas Razorbacks 78-69. Duke put four players in double figures, and gave Coach K in his final season the most Final Four appearances (13) passing John Wooden with 12. In the Midwest Final on Sunday, the Kansas Jayhawks outscored the Miami Hurricanes 47-15 in the second half after trailing by six at halftime and rolled to a 76-50 win. And finally in the East Final, the eight seed North Carolina TarHeels set up an epic showdown with rival Duke by taking out the cinderella of the tournament the 15 seeded Saint Peters University Peacocks 69-49. It will be the first time Duke and UNC have ever met in the NCAA Tournament. Villanova makes their first appearance since 2018 when they won the National Championship, while Kansas is making their first appearance also since 2018 and seeking their first title since 2008. Duke and UNC last won a title in 2015 and 2017 respectively.
In the women’s basketball tournament, the South Carolina Gamecocks ended a good run by the 10 seed Creighton Bluejays 80-50 on Sunday in the Greensboro, North Carolina final. In the nightcap, the Stanford Cardinal held off a tough Texas Longhorns squad for a 59-50 victory in the final of the Spokane, Washington regionals. The Connecticut Huskies would make it 14 straight trips to the Final Four on Monday night by getting past the North Carolina State Wolfpack 91-87 in double overtime in the game of the tournament so far in the Bridgeport, Connecticut final. The game was also the first double OT contest in the elite eight or deeper in the history of the women’s tournament. Paige Bueckers had 27 points, 15 of those in the two overtime periods. In the second game Monday, the Louisville Cardinals finished off their regional by beating the Michigan Wolverines 62-50 in the Wichita, Kansas final led by 22 points from Hailey Van Lith. Van Lith is the first Cardinals player in history to score 20 or more points in four straight tournament games. Stanford is the defending champion, UConn seeks their first title since 2016, South Carolina searches for their first since 2017, and Louisville looks to be a first time national champion.
In the men’s hockey regional finals, Minnesota State would oust Notre Dame 1-0 in Albany, New York on a Nathan Smith goal late in the first period on Saturday. Denver got a goal with six minutes left in the second game Saturday to win the Loveland, Colorado final over Minnesota-Duluth 2-1. On Sunday, Minnesota shut down Western Michigan 3-0 in the final in Worcester, Massachusetts while the top overall seed Michigan would take the Allentown, Pennsylvania final over Quinnipiac 7-4. The Minnesota St. Mavericks will seek their first D1 National Championship. Their only title was in 1980 in D2. The Denver Pioneers make their fifth Frozen Four appearance in seven seasons and look for their first championship since 2017. The Minnesota Golden Gophers head to Boston searching for the first title since 2003, and the Michigan Wolverines look for their first since 1998.
Division I men’s basketball Tournament Final Four Schedule (Caesars Superdome, New Orleans)-
Saturday, April 2 National Semifinals
Villanova (30-7) vs Kansas (32-6)- 6:09 p.m.
UNC (28-9) vs Duke (32-6)- 8:49 p.m.
Monday, April 4 National Championship
semifinal 1 winner vs semifinal 2 winner- 9:20 p.m.
Division I women’s basketball Tournament Final Four Schedule (Target Center, Minneapolis)-
Friday, April 1 National Semifinals
South Carolina (33-2) vs Louisville (29-4)- 7 p.m.
UConn (29-5) vs Stanford (32-3)- 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 3 National Championship
semifinal 1 winner vs semifinal 2 winner- 8 p.m.
Division I men’s hockey Frozen Four Schedule (TD Garden, Boston)-
Thursday, April 7 National Semifinal
Denver (29-9) vs Michigan (31-9)- 5 p.m.
Minnesota St. (37-5) vs Minnesota (26-12)- 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 9 National Championship
semifinal 1 winner vs semifinal 2 winner- 8 p.m.
