INDIANAPOLIS – March is gone, but there are still a couple of last calls for Madness. Matter of fact, April is when the heaviest lifting gets done in the NCAA Tournament, and this year’s quartet is an example. These teams have played 26 Final Four games in April.
That means a lot of anniversaries to remember this week, even as they gather to create new moments. A sampling...
April 1
As Michigan and Illinois land in Indy, this will be the 37th anniversary of the last time they were together in the same Final Four town. They played one another in 1989, and it turned into an epic give-and-take in the Seattle Kingdome. The Wolverines had lost to the Illini by 12 and 16 points during the season but won 83-81 in the semifinals after 33 lead changes, on Sean Higgins’ follow-up basket with two seconds left.
April 2
While the teams have media sessions at Lucas Oil Stadium Thursday, several special dates must be marked.
Happy 38th anniversary to Arizona’s first-ever game in the Final Four — not that it ended well in Kansas City. The Wildcats took an 86-78 loss against Oklahoma, and among the problems was a tough shooting day by a guard whose name should ring a bell from his NBA doings: Steve Kerr was 2-for-13.
It’s also the 25th anniversary of the last game Arizona played in the Final Four. That didn’t turn out well, either, with an 82-72 championship loss to Shane Battier and Duke.
And happy 8th to Michigan’s last Final Four appearance, a 79-62 championship game whipping by Villanova, whose Donte DiVincenzo came off the bench to torch the Wolverines for 31 points. That 2018 result left Michigan 1-6 in title games, a record the Wolverines will carry into this one, if they can get that far.
April 3
It’ll be open practice day Friday in Lucas Oil Stadium, always a special occasion. So are these:
The third anniversary of Connecticut rolling through San Diego State, 76-59, for the national championship. That completed an absolute romp through the bracket for the Huskies, winning their six tournament games by an average of 20 points. They did all that as a No. 4 seed.
It‘ll be anniversary No. 22 for the night the Huskies shocked Duke with 12 unanswered points in the last minutes to win 79-78 in the 2004 semifinals. UConn has tormented the Blue Devils with or without Braylon Mullins.
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Michigan’s lone national title turns 37 years old Friday. That was 80-79 over Seton Hall in overtime in 1989, with Rumeal Robinson’s two free throws with three seconds left. The winning points came after a call which the Seton Hall camp will never, ever, accept as a foul. Most remarkable is that Steve Fisher was named interim Michigan head coach just before the tournament began. He went 6-0 directly to a championship his first six games.
April 4
Gameday this Saturday in Lucas Oil Stadium. Connecticut vs. Illinois, Arizona vs. Michigan.
Imagine if Illinois wins. That’d be be exactly 21 years to the day after the 75-70 championship game loss to North Carolina in St. Louis. The Illini were ranked No. 1, the Tar Heels No. 2, and that collision in 2005 remains the last 1 vs. 2 matchup for the title.
Imagine if Connecticut wins. That’d be one way for the Huskies to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the championship game where their defense squeezed the life out of the Butler Way. The Bulldogs’ Cinderella era ended with an ugly 53-41 loss, when they shot only 19 percent. They went 3-for-31 in 2-point shots.
Imagine if UConn loses. That would be 17 years to the day the Huskies were beaten by another Big Ten team in the semifinals, Michigan State, 82-73 in Detroit. Connecticut is a rather staggering 12-1 in Final Four games. So at least until Saturday, the 2009 Spartans can still say they’re the only team to ever beat UConn in a Final Four. If the Huskies lose for a second time, they might want to avoid April 4.
April 5
The last two survivors of the 2025-26 season will be preparing for the championship game.
If one is Connecticut, the Huskies will still be playing while marking another championship anniversary. It’ll be exactly 22 years since Connecticut defeated Georgia Tech 82-73 for the 2004 national title.
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If Michigan is still playing, be advised this is 33rd anniversary of the last bow of the Fab Five. The 1993 Michigan team lost 77-71 to North Carolina, a game known for the Wolverines’ Chris Webber calling a late timeout the Wolverines didn’t have. Only four schools in history have lost consecutive title games and Michigan is one of them.
April 6
The 87th NCAA Tournament national champion will be crowned in Lucas Oil Stadium.
Thirty-four years earlier on the same date, Michigan tried to win the title with a lineup of all freshmen. The nickname stuck. The Fab Five. Duke, in Christian Laettner’s final game, wasn’t much fazed by the fuss. The Blue Devils breezed 71-51.
April 7
Next Monday’s winner will be making parade plans.
If it’s Connecticut, the Huskies should know that on the same date in 2014, UConn was beating Kentucky 60-54 for the title in — seeding-wise — the most unusual championship game in history.
Connecticut was a No. 7 seed, Kentucky No. 8. The two teams went into that Monday night with a combined 18 defeats. If it’s Arizona and UConn Monday night, they’ll have a combined seven.
April 8
It’ll all be over in Indianapolis, the teams gone, the signs coming down. April 8 is the latest a Final Four game has ever been played. UConn has a hand in that. The Huskies repeated with a 75-60 win over Purdue two years ago. So does Michigan, losing to Louisville 82-76 in the 2013 title game.
Bottom line? March gives us the Madness — this year from the Tayler Tanner last gasp that didn’t go in, to the Braylon Mullins’ last gasp that did.
But April gives us the champions.
