What’s the furthest a First Four team has gone in NCAA Tournament?

Over the next few weeks, 68 different Division I men’s college basketball teams will go head-to-head in March Madness at different venues and arenas around the country in the hopes of winning a national championship.

But for two nights before the Round of 64 begins on Thursday, March 19, the Men’s NCAA Tournament will tip off the very same way it has for all but two years since 2011: with the First Four, hosted on the campus of the University of Dayton.

Advertisement

Think you can beat our experts? Join USA TODAY’s Bracket Challenge today!

It’s part of the pageantry of what has made the First Four a tradition like no other in March Madness, as it takes place across two nights on a college campus in winner-take-all games to kick off one of the best postseason tournaments in all of sports.

Action gets underway on Tuesday, March 17 with UMBC vs. Howard in the 16-seed game at 6:40 p.m. ET and Texas vs. North Carolina State in the 11-seed game at 9:15 p.m. ET.

No. 16 Prairie View A&M will take on No. 16 Howard at 6:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 18, with the winner advancing to play No. 1 seed Florida in the South Region. But perhaps the biggest game of this year’s First Four is the March 18 nightcap as No. 11 seed Miami (Ohio) takes on No. 11 seed Southern Methodist.

Advertisement

Will one of these teams go on a March run that is talked about for years? Time will tell as they look to punch their official ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Here’s your guide on the history of First Four teams, and their success in March Madness:

What’s the furthest a First Four team has gone in NCAA Tournament?

The furthest a First Four team has advanced in the NCAA Tournament has been the Final Four. Two teams have achieved this feat: VCU in 2011, and UCLA in 2021.

The Rams, coached then by a young Shaka Smart and featuring players Joey Rodriguez, Bradford Burgess and Jamie Skeen, defeated USC in the First Four and then knocked off three top-10 seeds — No. 6 Georgetown (first round), No. 3 Purdue (second round) and No. 10 Florida State (Sweet 16) — to make the Elite Eight. To make the Final Four, VCU knocked off a Kansas team that was…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/furthest-first-four-team-gone-153016441.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-03-16 15:30:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.