This is a list of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's basketball final four results. The list includes NCAA men's basketball games played under the final four format since the 1997 season, the year the format was instituted. [1] [2]
The results include one-game playoffs where teams tied after the elimination round for a final four berth played an extra game to determine which team clinches the higher seed in the playoffs.
Since the NCAA is not a home-and-away league, the position of season host rotates among member universities, and the host pays for the arena rental and other facilities. Since the 2004 season, most final four games are held at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, the Philippines largest indoor arena, unless the Big Dome is unavailable.
The league uses a modified Shaughnessy playoff system: the top four teams enter the playoffs, while the top two seeds are given the "twice-to-beat" advantage, that is, in order for them to be eliminated in the semifinals, they have to be beaten twice by the No. 3 and No. 4 seed, with them needing to win only once in order to advance. The winners in the semifinals dispute the championship trophy in a best-of-three series.
In its institution in 1997, if a team wins all of its elimination round games (the "sweep"), the sweeping team advances outright to the finals possessing the twice-to-beat advantage, while the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds figure in a playoff to face the No. 2 seed. In 1997, the San Sebastian Stags swept the elimination round, earning a finals berth and a twice-to-beat advantage. [2] After the San Sebastian juniors team swept the elimination round in 2008, the twice-to-beat incentive was dropped and the finals was turned into a best-of-three series. When the San Beda seniors team swept the elimination round in 2010, the No. 1 seed has a thrice to beat advantage in the finals, while the opponent has to be beaten twice to be defeated.
A third place playoff, a one-game playoff between losing semifinalists, was added in 2023. [3]
For the semifinal columns, the No. 1 vs. No. 4 matchup is given first.
Year | Finals/third-place playoff | Semifinals | One-game playoff | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Higher seed | Scores | Lower seed | Higher seed | Score/s | Lower seed | Winner | Score | Loser | Seed | ||||
1997 | San Sebastian | 84–72 | San Beda | San Beda | 72–65 | Letran | None | ||||||
Letran | 68–57 | Mapúa | |||||||||||
1998 | Letran | 81–74 (OT) | San Sebastian | Letran | def. | San Beda | |||||||
San Sebastian | def. | Perpetual | |||||||||||
1999 | JRC | 74–75 [4] 0–20 [5] [* 1] | Letran | San Sebastian | 63–65 [6] def. by | Letran | |||||||
JRC | 84–63 [6] | Perpetual | |||||||||||
2000 (details) | Benilde | 66–64 [7] 74–61 [8] | San Sebastian | JRC | 53–60 [9] 79–97 [10] | San Sebastian | |||||||
Perpetual | 70–73 [9] 73–86 [10] | Benilde | |||||||||||
2001 [11] (details) | JRU | 74–77 95–81 62–95 | San Sebastian | JRU | 94–98 99–76 | Benilde | |||||||
San Sebastian | 58–65 48–44 | Mapúa | |||||||||||
2002 [12] (details) | San Sebastian | 79–78 86–69 | Benilde | San Sebastian | 102–96 (OT) | JRU | |||||||
Benilde | 93–95 (OT) 106–87 | PCU | |||||||||||
2003 [13] (details) | Letran | 89–73 77–85 64–59 | San Sebastian | Letran | 72–66 | Mapúa | |||||||
San Sebastian | 81–73 | JRU | |||||||||||
2004 [14] (details) | Perpetual | 68–70 60–72 | PCU | Perpetual | 48–57 58–56 | San Beda | San Beda | 59–52 | Mapúa | 4th | |||
PCU | 64–65 85–80 (OT) | Letran | |||||||||||
2005 [15] (details) | Letran | 74–79 78–60 62–54 | PCU | Letran | 93–60 | San Sebastian | None | ||||||
PCU | 76–53 | Mapúa | |||||||||||
2006 [16] (details) | San Beda | 71–57 50–72 68–67 | PCU | San Beda | 55–51 | Mapúa | PCU | 67–62 | Letran | 2nd | |||
PCU | 72–50 | Letran | |||||||||||
2007 [17] (details) | San Beda | 76–68 76–64 | Letran | San Beda | 74–64 | Mapúa | None | ||||||
Letran | 70–61 | JRU | |||||||||||
2008 [18] (details) | San Beda | 72–68 60–62 85–69 | JRU | San Beda | 51–53 60–53 | Mapúa | JRU | 57–53 | San Sebastian | 2nd/4th [* 2] | |||
Letran | 62–52 | Mapúa | 2nd/4th [* 2] | ||||||||||
JRU | 63–61 | Letran | JRU | 69–53 | Letran | 2nd [* 2] | |||||||
Mapúa | 63–54 | San Sebastian | 4th [* 2] | ||||||||||
2009 [19] (details) | San Beda | 68–72 (2OT) 61–76 | San Sebastian | San Beda | 82–76 | Letran | San Beda | 71–65 | San Sebastian | 1st | |||
San Sebastian | 65–72 79–64 | JRU | |||||||||||
2010 (details) | San Beda | 93–73 85–70 | San Sebastian | San Sebastian | 61–52 | JRU | None | ||||||
JRU | 60–54 | Mapúa | |||||||||||
2011 (details) | San Beda | 75–63 57–55 | San Sebastian | San Beda | 83–74 | JRU | San Beda | 88–85 | San Sebastian | 1st | |||
San Sebastian | 62–70 63–56 | Letran | |||||||||||
2012 (details) | San Beda | 62–60 55–64 67–39 | Letran | San Beda | 56–52 | Perpetual | Perpetual | 73–68 | JRU | 4th | |||
San Sebastian | 74–92 70–73 | Letran | |||||||||||
2013 (details) | San Beda | 80–68 74–79 60–56 | Letran | San Beda | 70–51 | Perpetual | San Sebastian | 81–71 | Perpetual | 3rd | |||
Letran | 85–58 | San Sebastian | |||||||||||
2014 (details) | San Beda | 74–65 89–70 | Arellano | San Beda | 81–75 | Perpetual | San Beda | 97–69 | Arellano | 1st | |||
Arellano | 72–65 | JRU | |||||||||||
2015 (details) | San Beda | 90–94 68–61 82–85 (OT) | Letran | San Beda | 78–68 | JRU | San Beda | 83–78 | Letran | 1st | |||
Letran | 91–90 | Mapúa | Mapúa | 81–76 | JRU | 3rd | |||||||
2016 (details) | San Beda | 88–85 83–73 | Arellano | San Beda | 83–87 78–63 | Perpetual | San Beda | 80–73 | Arellano | 1st | |||
Arellano | 92–80 | Mapúa | |||||||||||
2017 (details) | Lyceum | 87–94 82–92 | San Beda | San Beda | 76–71 | San Sebastian | San Sebastian | 74–69 | Letran | 4th [* 3] | |||
JRU | 73–85 | San Sebastian | Letran | 70–68 | Arellano | 4th [* 3] | |||||||
2018 (details) | San Beda | 73–60 71–56 | Lyceum | San Beda | 83–72 | Perpetual | None | ||||||
Lyceum | 109–85 | Letran | |||||||||||
2019 (details) | San Beda | 64–65 79–76 79–81 | Letran | Lyceum | 88–92 | Letran | |||||||
Letran | 85–80 | San Sebastian | |||||||||||
2020 [* 4] | Not held – Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Metro Manila | Not held – Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Metro Manila | |||||||||||
2021 [* 5] (details) | Letran | 68–63 75–65 | Mapúa | Letran | 77–75 | Perpetual | San Beda | 63–57 | Benilde | 3rd/Qualification [* 6] | |||
Perpetual | 59–52 | Arellano | Qualification [* 6] | ||||||||||
Mapúa | 67–73 (OT) 70–67 | San Beda | Perpetual | 76–64 | Benilde | 4th [* 6] | |||||||
2022 (details) | Benilde | 75–81 76–71 67–81 | Benilde | 62–61 | San Beda | ||||||||
None | |||||||||||||
Letran | 67–58 | Lyceum | |||||||||||
2023 (details) | Mapúa | 68–63 65–71 66–76 | San Beda | Mapúa | 78–67 | Benilde | |||||||
Lyceum | 83–93 | Benilde | Lyceum | 68–89 72–82 | San Beda | ||||||||
2024 (details) | [ to be determined ] | – | [ to be determined ] | Mapúa | – | Lyceum | |||||||
[ to be determined ] | – | [ to be determined ] | Benilde | – | San Beda |
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