March Madness: From chalk to chaos — ranking the best Final Four possibilities

With 16 teams still alive in the NCAA men’s tournament, there are 256 potential Final Four combinations left. Here’s a look at 16 compelling ones, some chosen for basketball reasons and others chosen for reasons scarcely related to basketball at all.

1. Chalk Final Four: Duke, Houston, Arizona, Michigan

This Final Four would feature three No. 1 seeds and the highest-rated No. 2. Reigning national champion Florida’s stunning second-round loss to Iowa this past Sunday ensured that all four No. 1 seeds would not make the Final Four for the second straight year.

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2. Chaos Final Four: St. John’s, Iowa, Texas, Tennessee

Could a chalky opening weekend give way to a chaotic second week? This quartet is difficult to fathom, but St. John’s is the double Big East champion, Tennessee obliterates opponents on the offensive glass, Texas is peaking at the right time and Iowa will go into single-elimination games confident it can out-scheme any opponent.

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3. The Brainiac Final Four: Duke, Illinois, Texas, Michigan

According to U.S. News and World Report, Duke (7), Michigan (20), Texas (30) and Illinois (36) are the highest-rated academic institutions in their regions.

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4. The Party School Final Four: Michigan State, Illinois, Arizona, Alabama

Alabama (6) is the NCAA tournament’s top remaining party school, according to Niche.com. There’s also no shortage of fun to be had at Illinois (13), Michigan State (23), Michigan (24), Iowa (26), Texas (33) and Arizona (39).

Nebraska wasn’t even ranked heading into the season. Now, the Cornhuskers are in the Sweet 16. (Shane Bevel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

(Shane Bevel via Getty Images)

5. The nobody believed in us Final Four: Michigan State, Nebraska, Texas, Tennessee

Texas, Nebraska and Iowa are the only three programs that began the season unranked yet advanced to the Sweet 16. The Huskers weren’t even among the “others receiving votes” in the…

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Author : Jeff Eisenberg

Publish date : 2026-03-24 19:52:00

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