On the fourth day of the fourth month of the year, we’re down to four teams in the 2026 NCAA Men’s Tournament.
The No. 2-seeded UConn Huskies will face off against the No. 3-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini in the Final Four on Saturday night, while a pair of No. 1 seeds go up against each other in the Arizona Wildcats and Michigan Wolverines.
With that in mind, here’s the last time each of the four teams that reached this year’s Final Four reached the National Championship.
Note: Schools are mentioned in alphabetical order.
Arizona – 2001
Following consecutive seasons of being eliminated from the NCAA Tournament in the opening weekend, the Wildcats went on a run to the national title in 2001.
Among its best wins in the 2001 tournament, Arizona, which was a No. 2 seed, took down the No. 1-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini and Michigan State Spartans — which was an 80-61 victory over the then-defending champions — and the No. 3-seeded Ole Miss Rebels en route to reaching the National Championship. Led by future three-time All-NBA honoree All-Star Gilbert Arenas, Michael Wright and Richard Jefferson, among others, the Wildcats reached their second title game in five years (they were also in the 1997 National Championship).
With that said, Jay Williams, Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer and the No. 1-seeded Duke Blue Devils bested Arizona in the National Championship.
Illinois – 2005
Illinois was a force to be reckoned with in the 2004-05 season.
Losing just one game in the regular season, the Fighting Illini won both the Big Ten regular season title and Big Ten Tournament. After No. 1-seeded Illinois played a trio of contested games in the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament, future NBA star Deron Williams, Luther Head, Dee Brown & Co. proceeded to get a one-point overtime victory over the No. 3-seeded Arizona Wildcats in the Elite Eight and beat the No. 4-seeded Louisville Cardinals with conviction in the Final Four.
However, the No. 1-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels were the end of the road for Illinois. The 2004-05 season marks the only time that the Fighting Illini have reached the title game.
Michigan – 2018
Michigan earned a No. 3 seed in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Tournament and ultimately made its second National Championship appearance in six years (it made the 2013 national title game).
The Wolverines defeated the No. 14-seeded Montana Grizzlies, No. 6-seeded Houston Cougars, No. 7-seeded Texas A&M Aggies, No. 9-seeded Florida State Seminoles and the surging No. 11-seeded Loyola Ramblers to reach the National Championship. Moritz Wagner, Charles Matthews and Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman led the way for Michigan, which also had future NBA starters Jordan Poole and Duncan Robinson, among other pro players.
But Jay Wright’s Villanova Wildcats — which featured future NBA star Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo — at the height of their reign awaited Michigan and got the best of the Wolverines in the National Championship.
UConn – 2024
After winning the 2023 National Championship, UConn put together an even better campaign in the 2023-24 season.
Losing just three games in the regular season, the Huskies won both the Big East regular season title and Big East Tournament and then annihilated the competition in the NCAA Tournament. Among its more impressive tournament victories, No. 1-seeded UConn beat the No. 5-seeded San Diego State Aztecs — who the Huskies beat in the 2023 National Championship — in the Sweet 16 (82-52), the No. 3-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini in the Elite Eight (77-52), the No. 4-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide in the Final Four (86-72) and the No. 1-seeded Purdue Boilermakers in the title game (75-60). UConn beat its six tournament opponents by an average of 23.3 points per game.
The Huskies went on to have two players selected within the top 10 picks of the 2024 NBA Draft (Stephon Castle at No. 4 and Donovan Clingan at No. 7) and four players selected altogether (Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer were selected in the second round).
