2026 NCAA Men’s Tournament: Last Time Final Four Teams Made National Championship

On the fourth day of the fourth month of the year, we’re down to four teams in the 2026 NCAA Men’s Tournament. No. 2 seed UConn will face off against No. 3 seed Illinois in the Final Four on Saturday night, while a pair of No. 1 seeds go up against each other when Arizona meets Michigan. Here’s the last time each of the four teams that reached this year’s Final Four played in a 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, No. 2 seed Arizona took down No. 1 seed Illinois, Michigan State — in an 80-61 victory over the then-defending champions — and No. 3 seed Ole Miss en route to reaching the title game. 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). That said, Jay Williams, Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer and No. 1 seed Duke bested Arizona in the championship game. 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 the Big Ten Tournament. After No. 1 seed 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 No. 3 seed Arizona in the Elite Eight and beat No. 4 seed Louisville with conviction in the Final Four. Top-seeded North Carolina was the end of the road for Illinois. The 2004-05 season marks the only time that the Illini have reached the title game. Michigan – 2018 Michigan earned a No. 3 seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament and ultimately made its second national championship appearance in six years (it made the 2013 national title game). The Wolverines defeated No. 14 seed Montana, No. 6 seed Houston, No. 7 seed Texas A&M, No. 9 seed Florida State and surging No. 11 seed Loyola 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, on the roster. But Jay Wright’s Villanova squad — 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 championship game. UConn – 2024 After winning the 2023 national title, 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 the Big East Tournament — and then they annihilated the competition in the NCAA Tournament. Among its more impressive tournament victories, top-seeded UConn beat No. 5 seed San Diego State — who the Huskies beat in the 2023 title game — in the Sweet 16 (82-52), No. 3 seed Illinois in the Elite Eight (77-52), No. 4 seed Alabama in the Final Four (86-72) and No. 1 seed  Purdue in the championship (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).