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.
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. 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.
Results For the semifinal columns, the No. 1 vs. No. 4 matchup is given first. Legend Arellano University Colegio de San Juan de Letran De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde Emilio Aguinaldo College José Rizal University San Beda University (OT) Game went into overtime. Year Finals/third-place playoff Semifinals One-game playoffHigher seed Scores Lower seed Higher seed Score/s Lower seed Winner Score Loser Seed199784–7272–65None68–571998 81–74 (OT) def. def. 1999 74–750–20Game 2 of the 1999 finals was abandoned after a fracas where Letran point guard John Prior elbowed JRC's John Dale Valeña, with Letran leading 83–60. This caused the gallery to pelt debris to the court which caused the NCAA Commissioner to order JRC to concede the game. 63–65def. by 84–63 2000(details) 66–6474–61 53–6079–97 70–7373–86 2001(details) 74–7795–8162–95 94–9899–76 58–6548–44 2002(details) 79–7886–69 102–96 (OT) 93–95 (OT)106–87 2003(details) 89–7377–8564–59 72–66 81–73 2004(details) 68–7060–72 48–5758–56 59–52 4th 64–6585–80 (OT) 2005(details) 74–7978–6062–54 93–60 None 76–53 2006(details) 71–5750–7268–67 55–51 67–62 2nd 72–50 2007(details) 76–6876–64 74–64 None 70–61 2008(details) 72–6860–6285–69 51–5360–53 57–53 2nd/4thWith four teams tied for second place in 2008, a mini-tournament was held to determine the 2nd–4th seeds in which the team with the best head-to-head record among the four (SSC-R) meets the team with the worst head-to-head record (JRU), with the other two (Letran and Mapúa) meeting each other in classification games. The winners of both games faced each other for the No. 2 seed while the losers faced for the No. 4 seed. 62–52 2nd/4th 63–61 69–53 2nd 63–54 4th2009(details) 68–72 (2OT)61–76 82–76 71–65 1st 65–7279–64 2010(details) 93–7385–70 61–52 None 60–54 2011(details) 75–6357–55 83–74 88–85 1st 62–7063–56 2012(details) 62–6055–6467–39 56–52 73–68 4th 74–9270–73 2013(details) 80–6874–7960–56 70–51 81–71 3rd 85–58 2014(details) 74–6589–70 81–75 97–69 1st 72–65 2015(details) 90–9468–6182–85 (OT) 78–68 83–78 1st 91–90 81–76 3rd2016(details) 88–8583–73 83–8778–63 80–73 1st 92–80 2017(details) 87–9482–92 76–71 74–69 4thWith three teams tied for fourth place in 2017, two tie-breaker games were held to determine who the 4th seed shall be. SSC-R, who has the best head-to-head record among the three, gets a bye, with the other two teams (Letran and Arellano) playing the first tie-breaker game. The winner of the Letran-Arellano game meets SSC-R in the second tie-breaker game. 73–85 70–68 4th2018(details) 73–6071–56 83–72 None 109–85 2019(details) 64–6579–7679–81 88–92 85–80 20202020–21 season had a basketball tournament, but it was basically a skills showdown, due to the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. Not held – Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Metro Manila20212021–22 season was played in early 2022.(details) 68–6375–65 77–75 63–57 Play-in The teams that finished 3rd and 4th after the elimination round; the winner is the #3 seed and advances to the semifinals against the #2 seed, while the loser is relegated to the fourth seed playoff. The teams that finished 5th and 6th after the elimination round; the winner advances to the fourth seed playoff, while the loser is eliminated. The winner is the #4 seed and advances to the semifinals against the #1 seed. 59–52 67–73 (OT)70–67 76–64 2022(details) 75–8176–7167–81 62–61 None 67–58 2023(details) 68–6365–7166–76 78–67 83–93 68–8972–82 2024(details) 84–7394–82 89–79 79–63 2025(details)Did not use the Final Four format
Notes
See also UAAP Final Four List of UAAP Final Four results
References