One of the most anticipated Final Fours in some time will top-off Saturday night in San Antonio with an SEC battle between Florida and Auburn followed up by the nightcap between Duke and Houston.
Before the action gets going inside the Alamodome, here are 10 things you need to know about this year’s semifinals and the four teams left standing.
1. For just the second time in Final Four history, the quartet of teams remaining are all No. 1 seeds.
The only other time in tournament history that all four No. 1 seeds have survived regional play was back in 2008. In that season, No. 1 overall seed Kansas hammered North Carolina in the semifinals before toppling Memphis in overtime in one of the most memorable national title games in tournament history.
Perhaps a good omen for this year’s No. 1 overall seed, Auburn.
2. Duke’s overall Net Efficiency Rating in Ken Pomeroy’s model (the Bible of college basketball) is 39.63. That’s the second-best rating of any team since the inception of KenPom, which goes back to the 1996-97 season.
The only team with a better overall ranking? The 1998-99 Blue Devils. That team was stunned by UConn in the national championship game.
3. This year’s Final Four will feature three of the five Associated Press First Team All-Americans.
National Player of the Year front-runners Cooper Flagg (Duke) and Johni Broome (Auburn) were both consensus first teamers, while Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. — perhaps the most exciting player of the NCAA tournament thus far — was the third leading vote getter.
There hasn’t been a Final Four in some time with this level of star power.
4. The SEC was 30-4 against the ACC this season, a number which became notable again if Duke is able to topple Houston and advance to face the winner of Auburn-Florida.
Equally notable: One of those four ACC victories was Duke toppling Auburn back on Dec. 4.
5. Houston is the best defensive team in the country, and they’re especially dominant in the game’s opening half.
The Cougars allow an average of under 26 points a game in the first half, and held Tennessee to just 15 in their Elite Eight victory. If Duke is scoring at its typical rate after 20 minutes, it’ll likely be a good sign that the Blue Devils will be playing on Monday night.
6. Saturday’s game will mark the first Final Four contest between the nation’s best offensive team (Duke) and the nation’s best defensive team (Houston) since Wisconsin spoiled Kentucky’s perfect season 10 years ago. In that game, it was the more offensive-minded squad that prevailed.
7. Houston has lost a grand total of one game in regulation this season.
The team that pulled off the feat? Auburn, which toppled the Cougars, 74-69, on the first Saturday of the season back on Nov. 9.
Houston would go on to lose overtime games against Alabama, San Diego State and Texas Tech before starting its current 17-game winning streak, the longest in the country.
8. This season, Florida became just the fifth team in college basketball history to beat two different AP No. 1 teams in the same season (Tennessee and Auburn).
The Gators can become the first to defeat three if they knock off Duke for the national title on Monday night.
9. Houston has been a member of the Big 12 for just two years, and the Cougars already have three conference championships (two regular season, one tournament). The Cougars are the first Division-I team since 1922 to join a major conference and win its first two regular season titles.
10. Two of the last five national champions have been programs that had previously never cut down the nets before (Baylor in 2021 and Virginia in 2019).
That number could go to three if Auburn or Houston win two more games. Auburn is playing in just its second Final Four, while Houston is in its seventh Final Four and has twice previously lost in the national championship game.
Duke is search for its sixth national championship, while Florida is two wins away from its third.
