Final Four

Final Four is a sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament. The oldest, and most common, use of the term is in reference to the final four teams in the annual NCAA basketball tournament. These are the champions of the tournament's four regional brackets, and the only teams remaining on the tournament's final weekend. (The term has been applied retroactively to include the last four teams in tournaments from earlier years, when only two brackets existed.)

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Currently, the men's tournament begins with 65 teams. The two teams deemed weakest by the NCAA Selection Committee play the first game (the "play-in game") in Dayton, Ohio, and the field is narrowed down to 64 teams. The women's tournament starts with 64 teams, with no play-in game. The tournament proceeds by means of single elimination play on consecutive weekends in March at preselected sites in the United States.

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In the men's tournament, all sites are nominally neutral: teams are prohibited from playing tournament games on their home courts (though in some cases, a team may be fortunate enough to play in or near its home state). However, the women's sites, though chosen in advance, are not necessarily neutral; the women's tournament committee deliberately places host teams on their home floors when possible. This practice is increasingly controversial.

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On the third weekend, traditionally a Saturday and Monday for the men's tournament and a Sunday and Tuesday for the women's tournament, the final four teams meet in semifinals on the first day and the championship on the second. For several years in the men's tournament, the teams eliminated in the semifinals met in a consolation game prior to the championship; this was discontinued in 1981.

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See NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship and NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship for a list of NCAA champions.

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NCAA basketball tournament: There are six main NCAA basketball tournaments....

NCAA Selection Committee: REDIRECT NCAA basketball tournament selection process...

Final Four related Images and Photos (experimental)

"2010 Final Four Bound ""Four Team"" T-shirt"	"2010 Final Four Bound ""Butler Bulldogs"" Hat"	"2010 Final Four Bound ""Duke Blue Devils"" Hat"	"2010 Final Four Bound ""Duke Blue Devils"" Hat"
"2010 Final Four Bound ""Duke Blue Devils"" S/S T-Shirt"	"2010 Final Four Bound ""Duke Blue Devils"" S/S T-shirt"	"Final Four Bound ""West Virginia Mountaineers"" S/S T-shirt"	"2010 Final Four Bound ""Michigan State Spartans"" Hat"
"2010 Final Four Bound ""Michigan State Spartans"" Hat"	"2010 Final Four Bound ""Michigan State Spartans"" S/S T-Shirt"	"2010 Final Four Bound ""Michigan State Spartans"" S/S T-shirt"	Black Knit Final Four Beanie