Final Four: With both teams still standing, UConn and NC State are in unprecedented territory
2024 is the first time that two schools have both teams in the Final Four in the same season
NC State and UConn are each achieving a rare feat in 2024. And together, they’re making history.
The Wolfpack became the 14th school to have both its men’s and women’s basketball teams advance to the Final Four in the same season on Sunday when the women’s team knocked off Texas in the Elite Eight hours before the men’s team took down Duke.
Monday night, UConn’s women joined the men in the Final Four. The men had advanced to the Final Four on Saturday with an incredible win over Illinois. Monday, the UConn women beat USC to fill out the women’s Final Four.
As UConn became the 15th school to have teams in both Final Fours, 2024 became the first year to have two schools with both teams in their respective Final Fours. Never before had two schools made up a quarter of the combined Final Four field.
Can either UConn or NC State get two national titles in the same season? The Huskies have done it before. UConn became the first school to win the men’s and women’s national title in the same season in 2004 and did it again in 2014. If you think we’re on a 10-year interval of double UConn titles, then you should go place some bets.
Here’s a look at the other 13 instances a school has gotten both teams in the Final Four.
Georgia (1983)
The first school to get both teams in the Final Four in the same year had each of its teams go on remarkable postseason runs. The men’s team went 9-9 in the SEC and drew the No. 4 seed in the East region. Georgia knocked off No. 1 St. John’s and No. 2 North Carolina to make the Final Four before losing to eventual national champion NC State in the Final Four.
The women’s team went 4-5 in SEC play but took down LSU, Tennessee and Ole Miss in the conference tournament. In the NCAA tournament, the Bulldogs beat North Carolina and Indiana to set up a rematch with the Lady Vols. Georgia won that game again, but lost by 24 to USC in the Final Four.
Duke (1999)
After no school had repeated Georgia’s feat in 15 years, Duke became the second school to get both teams in the Final Four and started a trend that has continued with regularity in the 2000s. Both of these Blue Devils teams made the national title game too.
The men were the No. 1 seed in the East Region and beat Michigan State in the Final Four before losing 77-74 to UConn in the championship game. The women were a No. 3 seed and knocked off No. 1 Tennessee to win the East. The Blue Devils beat Georgia in the semifinals but lost to Purdue in the national title game.
Oklahoma (2002)
The men’s team had to take down a fellow Big 12 opponent in the Elite Eight to get to the Final Four. The No. 2 seed Sooners faced No. 12 seed Missouri in the Elite Eight and beat the Tigers by six. However, Oklahoma was upset by No. 5 seed Indiana in the Final Four.
The women made it all the way to the national title game. After winning both the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles, the women also faced a Big 12 team in the Elite Eight. This game wasn’t as close. Oklahoma beat Colorado by 34. The Sooners beat Duke to open the Final Four but lost by 12 to UConn in the national title game.
Texas (2003)
Both Texas teams lost in the semifinals. The men were the top seed in the South and beat Michigan State by nine to advance to the Final Four. However, they faced eventual national champion Syracuse in the semifinals and the Orange won by 11. The women were the No. 2 seed in the West and won their first four games of the tournament by double-digits before losing by two to UConn in the semis.
UConn (2004)
The UConn men entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 2 seed and cruised through the West Region. It had to win a 79-78 thriller over Duke in the semifinals to advance to the national title game, where the Huskies took down Georgia Tech 82-73.
The women scored their third consecutive national title and fourth in five seasons in 2004. Like the men, the women were also a No. 2 seed. UConn had been a No. 1 seed in each of the past five tournaments. After blowout wins in the first two rounds, UConn’s games got closer. But not by much. The Huskies won every tournament game by eight points or more.
Michigan State (2005)
The women were the Big Ten’s dominant team over the course of the season. MSU went 14-2 during the regular season and also won the tournament title. After sneaking past No. 8 USC in the second round, the Spartans took down Vanderbilt and Stanford to win their region and beat Tennessee by four in the semifinals. Michigan State came up a win short of a title, however, as it lost by 22 to Baylor in the national championship.
The men finished second in the Big Ten and were a No. 5 seed in the tournament. They upset No. 1 Duke in the Sweet 16 and beat No. 2 Kentucky in the Elite Eight before losing to No. 1 North Carolina by 16 in the semifinals.
LSU (2006)
LSU became the fourth school in four years to have both teams in the Final Four as the men’s team made a run to the Final Four as a No. 4 seed and the women were a No. 1 seed in their tournament.
The men upset No. 1 Duke by eight points in the Sweet 16 before beating No. 2 Texas by 10 in the Elite Eight. Their run ended a game later, however, as UCLA took down LSU 59-45 in the Final Four.
The women’s team beat No. 2 seed Stanford by three in the Elite Eight before getting blown out by the Blue Devils in the Final Four. Duke took down LSU 64-45 to advance to the national title game.
UConn (2009)
UConn’s women went 39-0 as they stormed their way through the NCAA tournament. The Huskies won every tournament game by at least 18 points. UConn beat Stanford 83-64 in the semifinals before beating Louisville 76-54 to win their first national title since 2004.
The men took down Missouri in the Elite Eight to advance to the Final Four but lost by nine in the Final Four. Michigan State beat UConn 82-73 in the semifinals.
UConn (2011)
The UConn men won the national title in 2011 as the women came up two games short. The men got a No. 3 seed in the tournament despite going 9-9 in the Big East. The Huskies beat No. 2 San Diego State in the Sweet 16 and then snuck past No. 5 Arizona by two in the Elite Eight.
UConn’s semifinal win was even closer as the Huskies beat No. 4 Kentucky 56-55 to advance to a national title game that everyone who isn’t a UConn fan wants to forget. The Huskies won the national title with an ugly 53-41 win over Butler.
The women were a No. 1 seed in the East and advanced to the Final Four with a 35-point win over No. 2 seed Duke. However, they fell 72-63 to Notre Dame in the Final Four.
Louisville (2013)
We’re going to pretend the men’s national title isn’t vacated. The Cardinals blew out Duke by 22 points in the Elite Eight before beating upstart Wichita State to advance to the national title game. Louisville then beat Michigan by six to win the school’s first national title since 1986.
The women were a No. 5 seed and upset No. 1 Baylor 82-81 in the Sweet 16. The Cardinals then beat No. 2 Tennessee in the Eight Eight and beat No. 2 Cal by seven in the semifinals. However, UConn was inevitable. There would be no double national title for the Cardinals. UConn beat Louisville by 34 in the national championship.
UConn (2014)
The men had to go on an improbable run to the Final Four to join the women as they were in the midst of another historic season.
UConn’s women’s team went 40-0 and won the second of what turned out to be four consecutive national titles. No one could come close to the Huskies. UConn won every tournament game by at least 15 points and took down Notre Dame by 19 in the national title game.
The men’s team was a No. 7 seed to start the tournament and upset No. 2 seed Villanova by 12 in the second round. UConn then beat No. 3 Iowa State in the Sweet 16 before beating No. 4 seed Michigan State to get to the Final Four. After taking down No. 1 Florida in the semis, the men then beat No. 8 Kentucky for the national title.
2024 is the fifth time that UConn has gotten both teams in the Final Four. No other school has even accomplished the feat twice.
Syracuse (2016)
The Orange made an improbable run to the Final Four on the men’s side as a No. 10 seed. After beating Dayton to open the tournament, Syracuse drew No. 15 Middle Tennessee and beat the Blue Raiders by 20. Syracuse then beat No. 11 Gonzaga before taking down No. 1 Virginia in the Elite Eight. However, the surprise Final Four trip ended in the semifinals with a 17-point loss to North Carolina.
The women’s team was a No. 4 seed and upset No. 1 South Carolina in the Sweet 16. Syracuse beat No. 7 Tennessee to get to the Final Four and knocked off No. 7 Washington to advance to the national championship game. However, UConn awaited in that title game and the Huskies won by 31.
South Carolina (2017)
The men’s team got to the Final Four as a No. 7 seed to join Dawn Staley’s first national champion as one of the last teams standing.
After finishing third in the SEC, South Carolina upset No. 2 Duke in the second round and beat No. 3 Baylor by 20 in the Sweet 16. South Carolina took down fellow SEC foe Florida in the Elite Eight, but lost 77-73 to Gonzaga in the Final Four.
The women survived an upset bid by No. 8 Arizona State in the second round before an easy Sweet 16 win and a seven-point win over Florida State in the Elite Eight. In the Final Four, South Carolina beat Stanford by nine and then Mississippi State by 12 in an all-SEC national championship game.
