This was originally posted on March 27th, 2011

I feel like I just watched Kirk Gibson hit a hobbled home run, because all I can think right now is, “I don’t…believe…what I just saw!”

But it wasn’t a Kirk Gibson home run that I just saw; it was a VCU Rams home run. More like a grand slam, against #1 seeded Kansas. And now the Virginia Commonwealth Rams, led by Shaka Smart, will be facing the Butler Bulldogs, led by Brad Stevens, in the Final Four.

Wow.

We’ll find out in a couple of hours who will be facing UCONN in the other Final Four matchup. Enjoy that game. In the meantime, here is the Final Four TV schedule:

Final 4 TV Schedule and Matchups:

TV Schedule and Matchups for Saturday, April 2nd

• Final 4 Game 1: 6:09 ET Tip Time – Butler Bulldogs v VCU Rams
• Final 4 Game 2: 8:49 ET Tip Time – Connecticut Huskies v Kentucky Wildcats

TV Schedule and Matchup for Monday, April 4th

• NCAA Championship Game: 9:18 ET Tip Time – Game 1 Winner v Game 2 Winner

Note: Credit goes to @fangsbites for the tips times. If you haven’t bookmarked FangsBites.com, go do it now. Thanks.

Here is the basic info about the 2011 Final Four:

2011 Final Four Basic Info

• Final Four Date: Saturday, April 2nd
• NCAA Championship Game Date: Monday, April 4th
• Final Four Location: Houston, Texas
• Final Four Arena: Reliant Arena
• Final 4 TV: CBS
• Final 4 Announcers: Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, and Steve Kerr

2011 Final Four Tickets

RazorGator:

• Click here: 2011 Final Four Tickets
• ($30 off on orders of $300+ at Razorgator.com! Use Code RG300J to save at checkout!)

VividSeats:

• Click here: 2011 Final Four Tickets

TicketLiquidator:

• Click here: 2011 Final Four Tickets
• (CLICK FOR $20 COUPON DISCOUNT – Gift Card ID: spring11)

TickCo:

• Click here: 2011 Final Four Tickets
• $20 off on orders of $200 or more at TickCo.com. Use Promo Code: ORDR20TC

We will have plenty of Final 4 coverage here at MSF throughout the week, so be sure to stop back by. Now go enjoy North Carolina-Kentucky. If the first three games of the Elite 8 are any indication, it’s going to be epic.

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Midwest Sports Fans (MSF) Disclosure of Material Connection: We have an affiliate relationship with each of the ticket sites linked above and receive a small commission (4%-7%) of any sale made after a click from MSF. It is our policy to only write about stories that we believe will interest our readers, and we only link to and endorse sites and services that we would use or have used ourselves. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Florida was up by one at halftime, after leading by 10 early on, but the Bulldogs battled back. In the 2nd half, the same thing happened. Florida built a double-digit lead, but Butler regained their footing and slowly but surely chipped away at it, finally tying the game at 57 with 2:30 minutes to play.

The game ultimately went into OT with the Bulldogs winning by three to reach their second straight Final Four. More analysis coming, but I need to take a few deep breaths first…

2011 Florida Final Four Tickets

RazorGator:

• Click here: 2011 Butler Final Four Tickets
• ($30 off on orders of $300+ at Razorgator.com! Use Code RG300J to save at checkout!)

VividSeats:

• Click here: 2011 Butler Final Four Tickets

TicketLiquidator:

• Click here: 2011 Butler Final Four Tickets
• (CLICK FOR $20 COUPON DISCOUNT – Gift Card ID: spring11)

TickCo:

• Click here: 2011 Butler Final Four Tickets
• $20 off on orders of $200 or more at TickCo.com. Use Promo Code: ORDR20TC

And here is the basic info about this year’s Final Four. We’ll have more detailed information and the TV schedule once the matchups are set.

2011 Final Four Basic Info

• Final Four Date: Saturday, April 2nd
• NCAA Championship Game Date: Monday, April 4th
• Final Four Location: Houston, Texas
• Final Four Arena: Reliant Arena
• Final Four Matchups: Butler v VCU/Kansas; UNC/Kentucky v Arizona/UCONN
• Final 4 TV: CBS
• Final 4 Announcers: Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, and Steve Kerr

I will obviously be updating MSF throughout the weekend as games are completed and Final 4 slots are attained. Enjoy the Arizona-UCONN game and the two games tomorrow.

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Midwest Sports Fans (MSF) Disclosure of Material Connection: We have an affiliate relationship with each of the ticket sites linked above and receive a small commission (4%-7%) of any sale made after a click from MSF. It is our policy to only write about stories that we believe will interest our readers, and we only link to and endorse sites and services that we would use or have used ourselves. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

In this post, we review every Final 4 since the NCAA Tournament started in 1939, showing you the champion, the runner-up, the score of the NCAA title game, the other two Final 4 participants, each team’s tourney seed, and the Final 4 location.

Note: The number listed by each team is their tournament seed. Seeding did not occur until 1979, which interestingly is the year that many people feel changed college basketball forever: the Magic-Bird title game. FYI, future Final Four sites include:

• 2011: Reliant Stadium — Houston, TX (April 2nd, 4th)
• 2012: Louisiana Superdome — New Orleans, LA (March 31st, April 2nd)
• 2013: Georgia Dome — Atlanta, GA (April 6th, 8th)
• 2014: Cowboys Stadium — Arlington, TX (April 5th, 7th)
• 2015: Lucas Oil Stadium — Indianapolis, IN (April 4th, 6th)
• 2016: Reliant Stadium — Houston, TX (April 2nd, 4th)

The NCAA Tournament has expanded on numerous occasions since 1939. Interestingly, before 1975 only one team per conference was allowed to be in the NCAA Tournament. Here is a breakdown of the number of teams in the tournament during each different iteration:

• 1939-1950: 8 teams
• 1951-1974: varied between 16 teams and 25 teams
• 1975-1978: 32 teams
• 1979: 40 teams
• 1980-1982: 48 teams
• 1983: 52 teams (48-team tourney with four play-in games beforehand)
• 1984: 53 teams (48-team tourney with five play-in games beforehand)
• 1985-2000: 64 teams
• 2001-2010: 65 teams (64-team tourney with one play-in or “opening round” game beforehand)
• 2011-Beyond: 68 teams, with four “opening round” games to open tournament.

Six times, the National Championship game has been decided by one point, with two of those games being decided in overtime. The most recent 1-point game was 1989 when Michigan beat Seton hall in OT. The largest margin of victory in an NCAA Championship game was 30, when UNLV beat Duke 103-73 in 1990.

And while you could probably make a pretty compelling argument that college basketball should not really be considered “amateur”, that is a debate for another day.

This post is designed to give you everything you need to know about the 2010 Final Four in Indianapolis, especially if you plan on attending, as well as the history of the Final 4s that have been held in the great city that I once called home.

2010 Final Four in Indianapolis Preview:

• 2010 Final 4 City: Indianapolis
• 2010 Final 4 Site: Lucas Oil Stadium
• 2010 Final 4 Date: Saturday, April 3rd (Title Game on April 5th)
• 2010 Final 4 TV: CBS
• Official Website: 2010 Final Four in Indianapolis
• StubHub: 2010 Indianapolis Final Four Tickets
• TicketsNow: 2010 Indianapolis Final Four Tickets
• RazorGator: 2010 Indy Final 4 Tickets
• TickCo: 2010 Indy Final 4 Tickets $20 off on orders of $200 or more at TickCo.com. Use Promo Code: ORDR20TC – promotion ends March 31, 2010

Also, if you are coming to Indianapolis from out of town, the following two links will help you get great deals on flights and hotels.

• Travelocity: Flight+3 Night Hotel Stays from $299
• Priceline: Save up to $325 on your Final 4 travel package to Indianapolis

Now, let’s take a quick look at the history of the Final Four in Indianapolis. Here are few quick notes that I found interesting, and then you can view the table below that breaks down every Final 4 that has been held in Indy.

• No Final Four in Indianapolis has featured a title game between two #1 seeds.
• In every Indy Final Four but one, there has been at least one team seeded #4 or lower that has made the Final Four.
• 20 teams total have played in the Final Four in Indianapolis; three of them have been #8 seeds. Thus, it’s only fitting that the greatest Cinderella run in tourney history, #11 seed George Mason in 2006, culminated in Indianapolis.

History of Final Four in Indianapolis

Table notes:

• Clicking on the year will take you to the Wikipedia page for that year’s Indy Final Four.
• The RCA Dome and the Hoosier Dame were the same venue; the name was changed from Hoosier to RCA in 1994. It was demolished in December of 2008 once Lucas Oil Stadium was completed.
• No, that’s not a type. The Purdue Boilermakers have, in fact, made a Final Four. Surprising, I know.

We are obviously still a month away from the Final Four, and far, far away from filling in the most important information in the table below, but it’s here waiting for when 65 teams have been whittled down to four.

2010 Final Four TV Schedule, Tip Time, Dates, Announcers, Spread

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Midwest Sports Fans (MSF) Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means that MSF makes a small percentage of anything purchased upon a click-through. That said, MSF only writes about stories that we believe will interest our readers, and we only link to and endorse sites and services that we would use or have used ourselves. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This post and all of our March Madness coverage this year is sponsored by Armorex Exterior Coating, the company that helps keep you inside watching sports went you want to be…not outside re-painting your house. Do it right the first time, for a lifetime.

Can you feel it? March Madness is quickly approaching. For basketball junkies from Indiana like me, there is no more exciting time of the year. 65 of the best teams in college basketball get together and decide – on the court – who is the champion.

College football…are you paying attention? (No.)

Back by popular demand, this is your March Madness 2010 preview, complete with everything you need to know about this year’s NCAA mens basketball tournament, including dates, locations, and ticket information for each of the 1st & 2nd round sites, the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 sites, and of course, the Final Four in Indianapolis.

First, here are general NCAA tournament ticket links and a breakdown of this year’s key March Madness dates.

2010 NCAA Tournament Tickets

Note: the following links will redirect you to the website of the merchant (i.e. StubHub, TicketMaster, etc.).

• StubHub: 2010 NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament Tickets – All sites and dates
• TicketsNow: 2010 NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament Tickets – All sites and dates
• RazorGator: 2010 NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament Tickets – All sites and dates
• TickCo: 2010 NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament Tickets – All sites and dates

Click here so you never waste a weekend re-painting your house, when you could have done it right the first time, for a lifetime!

2010 March Madness Schedule

Here are the key dates for March Madness 2010:

• March 14: Selection Sunday
• March 16: Opening Round Game at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio
• March 18th and 19th: First round games of 2010 NCAA Tournament
• March 20th and 21st: Second round games of 2010 NCAA Tournament
• March 25th and 26th: Sweet 16 games
• March 27th and 28th: Elite 8 games
• April 3rd: Final Four in Indianapolis
• April 5th: NCAA Championship Game in Indianapolis

And now, let’s break the 2010 NCAA Tournament schedule down by round and location, with links to StubHub (our preferred ticket reseller at MSF) to purchase tickets for each location.

NCAA Tournament First and Second Round Tickets, Dates, and Sites

March 16th

UD Arena in Dayton, OH

• Tickets for NCAA Tournament opening round game in Dayton, OH

March 18th & 20th

New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, LA

• Tickets for NCAA Tournament first and second round games in New Orleans, LA

Ford Center in Oklahoma City, OK

• Tickets for NCAA Tournament first and second round games in Oklahoma City, OK

Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI

• Tickets for NCAA Tournament first and second round games in Providence, RI

HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA

• Tickets to NCAA Tournament first and second round games in San Jose, CA

March 19th and 21st

HSBC Arena in Buffalo, NY

• Tickets for NCAA Tournament first and second round games in Buffalo, NY

Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL

• Tickets to NCAA Tournament first and second round games in Jacksonville, FL

Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI

• Tickets to NCAA Tournament first and second round games in Milwaukee, WI

Spokane Arena in Spokane, WA

• Tickets to NCAA Tournament first and second round games in Spokane, WA

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and Elite 8 Tickets, Dates, and Sites

March 25th and 27th

East Regional at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY

• Tickets to the NCAA Tournament East Regional games in Syracuse, NY

West Regional at Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City, UT

• Tickets to the NCAA Tournament West Regional games in Salt Lake City, UT

March 26th and 28th

Midwest Regional at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO

• Tickets to the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional games in St. Louis, MO

South Regional at Reliant Stadium in Houston, TX

• Tickets to the NCAA Tournament South Regional games in Houston, TX

NCAA Tournament Final Four Tickets, Dates, and Site

April 3rd and 5th

Final Four and NCAA Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN

• Tickets to the Final Four and NCAA Championship games in Indianapolis, IN

And there you have it. All of the sites, all of the dates, and access to great deals on tickets only a mouse click away. That’s how we do it here at MSF.

Stay tuned as February heats up and then rolls into March. If you were around last year you know that the site pretty much gets taken over by college basketball coverage once the conference tournaments hit. And with the Final Four being in Indianapolis this year, and teams like Michigan State and Purdue looking like solid bets for deep tournament runs, there will be plenty to discuss.

In the meantime, here are a couple of quick NCAA tournament history links for reference:

• March Madness History: Year-by-Year Final 4 Breakdown
• All-Time List of Mens NCAA Basketball Champions
• All-Time List of Womens NCAA Basketball Champions
• NCAA Tournament History: Mens and Women’s Most Outstanding Player Award Winners

And if you are looking for information about this year’s women’s tournament, here you go:

• 2010 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Schedule, Key Dates, Sites, and Tickets

Here a few quick words on another story that everyone should keep their eye on.

The number of teams in the NCAA mens basketball tournament may not stay at 65 for long, apparently. A topic that we will undoubtedly hear discussed ad nauseum during March Madness 2010 is the possibility of future NCAA Tournaments including many more teams than the current field of 65. 96 seems to be the number most often thrown out there.

This isn’t the place to get into the whole debate, but  I do want to share the video below with you. It is from The Onion Sports Network and is actually from 2009, but I didn’t see it until today. It is pretty humorous (and ridiculous), and is obviously still relevant to the current expand-the-field discussion.

Now that would be Madness.

BTW, I just looked at MSF’s all-time stats for the first time in a long time. Since launching in August of 2008, we’ve had 2,441,570 pageviews as of the exact moment I am typing this on February 20th, 2010.

To say that is beyond our wildest expectations when the site started would be an understatement.

In all, there have been 16,855 individual posts and pages published on MSF, and the one that has driven more traffic than any other – even more than the homepage! – is last year’s March Madness preview. We’ll see if this year’s can even come close to that number.

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* – Lew Alcindor cutting down nets image credit: Rich Clarkson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

Midwest Sports Fans (MSF) Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means that MSF makes a small percentage of anything purchased upon a click-through. That said, MSF only writes about stories that we believe will interest our readers, and we only link to and endorse sites and services that we would use or have used ourselves. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Update: This post is a year old! Get ready for this year’s NCAA Tournament with our March Madness 2010 preview post.

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After Indiana’s trashing at the hands of the Michigan State Spartans yesterday, I think it is time to admit the obvious: the Indiana Hoosiers will not be making the NCAA Tournament.

Not that this is surprising of course; but, it is still strange to say this early in the season. Unlike Indiana and its fans, who are suffering through an awful season with no hope of postseason play, hundreds of other teams and fan bases are still holding out hope of playing deep into March.

Here is a breakdown of the key dates and locations for the 2009 Mens Basketball Tournament. First the dates:

• Selection Sunday Date: March 15
• Opening Round/Play-in Game Date: March 17
• NCAA Tournament First Round Dates: March 19-20
• NCAA Tournament Second Round Dates: March 21-22
• NCAA Tournament Regional Semi-final Round Dates: March 26-27
• NCAA Tournament Regional Final Dates: March 28-29
• Final Four Date: April 4
• NCAA Mens Basketball Championship Game Date: April 6
• StubHub Tickets: 2009 NCAA Tournament Tickets

And now the locations of the 2009 NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament. And remember how the whole “pod” system works. During the first two rounds of the tourney, eight teams play at each host site. The top four seeds in each region are placed at a site as close to the school’s location as possible. with other three teams in the top-seeded teams’ bracket “pod” also playing at that site. Here are the first and second round locations for March Madness 2009:

2009 NCAA Tournament Schedule and Locations

• Opening Round/Play-In Game: Dayton, OH (Dayton, Arena)

First and Second Round NCAA Tournament Locations, March 19 and March 21

2009 NCAA Tournament First and Second Round Tickets

• Greensboro, NC (Greensboro Coliseum)
• Kansas City, MO (Sprint Center)
• Philadelphia, PA (Wachovia Center)
• Portland, OR (Rose Garden)

Tickets for the First and Second Round sites listed above. The links below will take you directly to the all-session purchase page. (Note: To browse all available tickets, including single-session options, use the link highlighted in gray above.)

NCAA Tournament Greensboro Tickets – Strip (Includes all Sessions) March 19 2009


NCAA Tournament Kansas City Tickets – Strip (Includes all Sessions) March 19 2009


NCAA Tournament Philadelphia Tickets – Strip (Includes all Sessions) March 19 2009


NCAA Tournament Portland Tickets – Strip (Includes all Sessions) March 19 2009

First and Second Round NCAA Tournament Locations, March 20 and March 22

• Boise, ID (Taco Bell Arena)
• Dayton, OH (Dayton Arena)
• Miami, FL (American Airlines Arena)
• Minneapolis, MN (HHH Metrodome)

Tickets for the First and Second Round sites listed above. The links below will take you directly to the all-session purchase page. (Note: To browse all available tickets, including single-session options, use the link highlighted in gray above.)

NCAA Tournament Boise Tickets – Strip (Includes all Sessions) March 20 2009


NCAA Tournament Dayton Tickets – Strip (Includes all Sessions) March 20 2009


NCAA Tournament Miami Tickets – Strip (Includes all Sessions) March 20 2009


NCAA Tournament Minneapolis Tickets – Strip (Includes all Sessions) March 20 2009

Regional Semi-Final and Regional Final NCAA Tournament Locations, March 26 and March 28

2009 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and Elite 8 Tickets

• East Regional: Boston, MA (TD Banknorth Arena)
• West Regional: Glendale, AZ (University of Phoenix Stadium)

Tickets for the Regional sites listed above. The links below will take you directly to the all-session purchase page. (Note: To browse all available tickets, including single-session options, use the link highlighted in gray above.)

NCAA Tournament East Regional Tickets – Strip (Includes Tickets for both Semifinals and the Final) March 26 2009


NCAA Tournament West Regional Tickets – Strip (Includes Tickets for both Semifinals and the Final) March 26 2009

Regional Semi-Final and Regional Final NCAA Tournament Locations, March 27 and March 29

• Midwest Regional: Indianapolis, IN (Lucas Oil Stadium)
• Southeast Regional: Memphis, TN (FedEx Forum)

Tickets for the Regional sites listed above. The links below will take you directly to the all-session purchase page. (Note: To browse all available tickets, including single-session options, use the link highlighted in gray above.)

NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional Tickets – Strip (Includes both Semifinals and the Final) March 27 2009


NCAA Tournament South Regional Tickets – Strip (Includes both Semifinals and the Final) March 27 2009

2009 Final Four Location, April 4 and April 6

2009 NCAA Tournament Final Four Tickets

• Detroit, MI (Ford Field)

Tickets for the Final Four. The links below will take you directly to the all-session purchase page. (Note: To browse all available tickets, including single-session options, use the link highlighted in gray above.)

NCAA Final Four Tickets – Strip (Includes both Semifinals and the Finals) April 04 2009

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And now the the tournament pairings have officially been announced, here is the breakdown for each of the four brackets:

Midwest Regional Bracket, TV Schedule, Sites, Announcers

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South Regional Bracket, TV Schedule, Sites, Announcers

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East Regional Bracket, TV Schedule, Sites, Announcers

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West Regional Bracket, TV Schedule, Sites, Announcers