How to Bet First-Time NCAA March Madness Final Four Teams

There's a first time for everything, but is it smart to bet on it? In March Madness, first-timers are arriving faster than ever.

Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, programs making their debut at the Final Four have had mixed results. For decades, two first-timers appearing in the same tournament was a rare feat. Only one program has won a national championship in its debut Final Four appearance: the 1999 Connecticut Huskies. 

Then 2023 happened: three programs—San Diego State, Florida Atlantic, and Miami—all made their first Final Four in the same year, the most since 1970.

Below, we break down every first-time Final Four participant since 1985, what happened to them, and what history tells us about betting on programs new to the biggest stage in college basketball.

First-Time Final Four Teams since 1985

1988 Arizona Wildcats

Arizona basketball is a staple, but this wasn’t always the case. The Cats first got to the Final Four back in 1988 under the tutelage of Lute Olson.

The team was a true cast of characters, including current Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and Kenny Lofton.

The program would eventually make three more Final Fours and take home a championship in 1997 on its third try.

1989 Seton Hall Pirates

P.J. Carlesimo may have had his struggles coaching in the NBA, but he’s a legend at Seton Hall for a reason.

He brought the Pirates to within a point of immortality, though they ultimately fell to Michigan in the Championship game, 80-79.

1990 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Ramblin’ Wreck made its first splash in the Final Four back in 1990. Coach Bobby Cremins would get them back there one more time before he moved on in 2009, but Tech still has yet to win a title.

Dennis Scott and Kenny Anderson were the stars that made it happen, but they fell to eventual Champs UNLV in the semis.

1994 Florida Gators

Before the days of back-to-back dominance and Billy Donovan, there was Lon Kruger’s barrier-breaking squad.

This largely forgotten and overshadowed crew featured the likes of Dan Cross and Craig Brown, who overachieved and lost in the semis to powerhouse Duke.

1996 Massachusetts Minutemen

While this appearance was vacated due to improper gifts received by star player Marcus Camby, it was one of only three years when two teams got their first crack at the Final Four.

It was also the first Final Four to feature a young, promising coaching prospect named John Calipari, who led the Minutemen to an historic 35-2 record.

1996 Mississippi State Bulldogs

In a crazy Final Four for big men, it was future NBA center Erick Dampier who led the Bulldogs to the Final Four.

They lost to John Wallace’s Syracuse team that would come up just short against Tony Delk’s champion Kentucky Wildcats.

1997 Minnesota Golden Gophers

Another historic run vacated, this time due to academic fraud, the 1997 Gophers Final Four campaign was led by future NBA point guard Bobby Jackson under head coach Clem Haskins.

It was the farthest a Gopher team has gone before or since.

1999 Connecticut Huskies

We come to the midway point of our list with its most cherished member. The 1999 Huskies cemented the start of Jim Calhoun’s championship legacy, and it would only grow from there.

The star of the team and the tournament was future Detroit Pistons legend Richard “Rip” Hamilton, whose late-game heroics led the Huskies to greatness in their first try in Tampa, Fla.

They’re the only first-time Final Four team to win a Championship as of the date of this article.

2001 Maryland Terrapins

Some major NBA names on this roster helped make coach Gary Williams a fixture at Maryland for years to come.

Steve Blake, Chris Wilcox, Juan Dixon, and Lonny Baxter were all key pieces on a team that fell to Duke in the semis.

The Terps would ultimately redeem themselves a year later, taking home a title to College Park with a hungrier returning squad.

2006 George Mason Patriots

They were the Cinderella story that captivated the nation in 2006 as the mid-major Patriots beat a host of blue-blooded schools en route to the Final Four.

Before losing to eventual champion Florida in the semis, George Mason, under Jim Larrañaga, knocked out Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State, and Connecticut in one of the toughest Final Four paths ever traveled.

2010 Butler Bulldogs

Brad Stevens became a household name and eventually scored a high-profile NBA job thanks to his work with the Bulldogs.

In basketball-crazed Indianapolis, the local team led by the local star (Gordon Hayward) came just a prayer of a half-court shot away from beating Duke.

The shot rimmed out, but the game was unforgettable, and Butler would make an astonishing second trip the next season, only to come up short yet again.

2011 VCU Rams

Shaka Smart’s upstart squad had its memorable Final Four run ended by Butler in 2011, as the Rams led a similarly difficult charge to the National Semifinals in Houston.

Thanks to their high-pressure “Havoc” game plan, the Rams went from the First Four to the Final Four with wins over USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State, and, finally, top-seeded Kansas.

2017 Gonzaga Bulldogs

Mark Few had already led his team to 16 NCAA tournaments in 17 seasons when the Bulldogs finally made the National Championship game in 2017.

The Zags, unfortunately, had to face a determined Roy Williams-led team of experienced, talented stars. They fell to the Tarheels, and the best Gonzaga season in history unfortunately ended in heartbreak.

2017 South Carolina Gamecocks

Frank Martin brought his signature style and recruiting to South Carolina after producing some quality tourney teams at K-State.

It was in Columbia, however, that he enjoyed his deepest postseason run to date as the Gamecocks blew up their region with gritty, defensive play under the basket and physical toughness.

2019 Auburn Tigers

Auburn made its first-ever Final Four appearance in 2019 as a No. 5 seed, having knocked off powerhouses Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky along the way. They fell to eventual champion Virginia by a single point in the national semifinals, one of the most heartbreaking one-and-done exits a first-timer has ever suffered. 

Bruce Pearl would eventually lead Auburn back to a second Final Four in 2025, proving the program had arrived as a legitimate national contender. 

2019 Texas Tech Red Raiders

Texas Tech, led by third-year head coach Chris Beard, earned a No. 3 seed and knocked off Northern Kentucky, Buffalo, Michigan, and Gonzaga to reach its first-ever Final Four. 

The Red Raiders fell to Virginia 85-77 in overtime in the national championship game, becoming national runners-up in their debut. It remains one of the better first-timer performances in the modern era. 

They just had the bad luck of running into a Virginia team playing the best defense in the country. 

2023 San Diego State Aztecs

2023 was a landmark year: For the first time since 1970, three teams made their first Final Four appearance in the same tournament. San Diego State was one of them. 

The Aztecs overcame a 14-point second-half deficit to stun fellow first-timer Florida Atlantic on a buzzer-beater by Lamont Butler, advancing to the national championship game. There, they fell to UConn 76-59, finishing as runners-up in their debut.

2023 Florida Atlantic Owls

The Owls, as a No. 9 seed, became only the second 9-seed to reach the Final Four since the tournament expanded to 64 teams. Their Cinderella run ended on that Lamont Butler buzzer-beater, denying FAU the chance to become the lowest-seeded team ever to reach the national title game. 

2023 Miami Hurricanes

Miami made its first-ever Final Four appearance under 73-year-old Larrañaga, the same coach who led George Mason on its iconic 2006 run. The Hurricanes' luck ran out against UConn in the semis, falling 72-59. 

Fittingly, Larrañaga is the only coach to have led two different programs to their first-ever Final Four.

2024 Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama made its first Final Four appearance in program history in 2024, joining defending champion UConn, Purdue, and NC State in Phoenix. 

The Crimson Tide fell to UConn 86-72 in the national semifinals, despite a 24-point effort from Mark Sears. Like so many first-timers before them, they ran into a battle-tested powerhouse at the worst possible moment: a UConn team in the middle of a run to back-to-back national titles.

Should You Pick Final Four First-Timers to Win it All?

As can be seen, the most likely scenario for first-time Final Four teams is still an exit in the National Semifinals. Of the 20 first-timers since 1985, 14 have lost in the semis, four have reached the championship game, and only one—the 1999 UConn Huskies—has won it all.

That said, recent history has been kinder to first-timers than the overall numbers suggest. Since 2017, four of the nine first-time Final Four participants have reached the national championship game (Gonzaga, Texas Tech, San Diego State, and—just barely—Butler in 2010 if you include the recent window). 2023 was the most remarkable year for first-timers since 1970, with three programs making their debut simultaneously, and one of them, San Diego State, made it all the way to the title game. 

The "happy to be here" trap remains very real. But the modern era of college basketball—with more parity, transfer portals, and experienced rosters—has made it easier for first-time programs to compete deep into the tournament. The smart money still lies with established programs and coaches who have been on this stage before, but the gap is narrowing. 

First-timers are increasingly worth a look, especially when they've shown grit and depth throughout the tournament rather than just catching lightning in a bottle.