2026 NCAA Men’s Tournament: Last Time Elite Eight Teams Reached Final Four

And then there were eight! We’ve reached the Elite Eight round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, and there are several high-profile programs who have made the cut. With that in mind, here’s the last time each of the eight teams that reached this year’s Elite Eight made the Final Four. Note: Schools are mentioned in alphabetical order. Arizona Wildcats – 2001 Arizona earned a No. 2 seed in the 2001 NCAA Tournament and proceeded to go on a run to the title game, defeating, most notably, the No. 1 seed Illinois, fellow No. 1 seed Michigan State and No. 3 seed Ole Miss. That said, Arizona came up just short, losing to Duke in the championship game. Duke Blue Devils – 2025 The Elite Eight is familiar territory for Duke under both current coach Jon Scheyer and coach Mike Krzyzewski. Last year, Duke not only made the Elite Eight, but it made the Final Four — a run that included standout victories over Baylor, Arizona and Alabama, among other teams. At the same time, said trip to the Final Four became a nightmare for the Blue Devils, who blew a six-point lead with 1:14 remaining in the second half to Houston, who won 70-67. Illinois Fighting Illini – 2005 The Fighting Illini have made the NCAA Tournament in each of the past six seasons, but they haven’t been able to play “Connect Four” since 2005. In said season, Illinois reached the national championship, defeating Lute Olson’s Arizona team in the Elite Eight and Rick Pitino’s Louisville squad in the Final Four. Ultimately, though, North Carolina beat the Fighting Illini in the title game, 75-70. Iowa Hawkeyes – 1980 It’s been a minute for the Hawkeyes. Nevertheless, Iowa went on one of the best runs in program history in 1980 when it reached the Final Four. It was a stretch that featured wins over Syracuse and Georgetown. However, it came to a close in the Final Four, as Iowa lost to Louisville. Michigan Wolverines – 2018 After winning the Big Ten Tournament, Michigan earned a No. 3 seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament and reached the Final Four. Unfortunately for the Michigan faithful, though, the Wolverines ran into the freight train that was Villanova, who defeated Michigan in the championship game for its second title in three years. Purdue Boilermakers – 2024 After losing in the first round of the tournament in 2021 and 2023 — which saw the Boilermakers lose to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round of the tournament, becoming just the second No. 1 seed to lose in the opening round — and being eliminated in the Sweet 16 in 2022, Purdue reached the national championship in 2024. The Boilermakers finished the season at 34-5, with UConn later defeating them in the title game. Tennessee Volunteers – Trick Question! The Volunteers have been a fixture in the second weekend of the tournament of late, with them reaching the Elite Eight in each of the past three seasons. That said, Tennessee has never reached the Final Four in program history. UConn Huskies – 2024 Following winning the national title in 2023, Dan Hurley’s Huskies became the first men’s college basketball team to repeat as national champions since Florida accomplished that feat under Billy Donovan in 2006 and 2007. UConn went 37-3 altogether and won its six NCAA Tournament games by an average of 23.3 points per contest. The Huskies later had four players selected in the 2024 NBA Draft, with two of them being picked in the first seven selections (Stephon Castle at No. 4 and Donovan Clingan at No. 7).