The 2021 NCAA Tournament, the entire 2020-21 college basketball season, comes down to four teams.
The Final Four’s biggest surprise is UCLA, the 11th seed, a team that no one (if we’re honest) saw advance beyond the opening weekend, at best. And yet the Bruins, led by coach Mick Cronin and the fantastic duo of Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez Jr., won the Eastern Region with victories over Michigan 1, Alabama 2 and BYU 6, among others.
They will face Gonzaga, who has left no doubt that he deserves his overall seed. West Region champions Zags have been unstoppable not only on offense, as evidenced by their 24-point average margin of victory, but also on defense; only one of Gonzaga’s opponents has eclipsed the 70-point mark. The trio of Drew Timme, Corey Kispert and Jalen Suggs are executing the Mark Few machine to perfection.
PLUS: Watch the Final Four live on fuboTV (7-day free trial)
On the other side of the bracket, the champion of the Midwest, Houston, will face the champion of the South, Baylor. Quentin Grimes has been the primary playmaker for Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars team, but it should take a team effort to defeat Baylor. The Bears are led by Jared Butler, but their defensive effort against Villanova and Arkansas should make them favorites to play in the national championship game.
Here’s everything you need to know to watch the Final Four in 2021, the penultimate set of games of the 2020-21 college basketball season:
What time does the Final Four start?
- Date: Saturday April 3
- Time: 5:14 pm ET | 2:14 pm PT
The kickoff for the first game of the Final Four between Houston and Baylor is at 5:14 pm ET on Saturday, April 3. The Gonzaga-UCLA scheduled time is 8:34 pm ET, although that is subject to change if the first game ends.
Below is the full schedule for Saturday’s Final Four:
| Play | Time (ET) | television |
| No. 2 Houston vs. No. 1 Baylor | 5:14 pm | CBS, fuboTV |
| No. 11 UCLA vs. No. 1 Gonzaga | 8:34 pm | CBS, fuboTV |
What channel is the Final Four on?
CBS has broadcast rights for the Final Four and the national title game in 2021, which means that all games from now on will be broadcast on the station. Cable cutters also have several options for viewing the game, including NCAA March Madness Live, Paramount + and fuboTV, which offers a free seven-day trial.
MORE: Ranking Final Four teams’ chances of winning everything from the Zags to the Bruins
March Madness results for Final Four teams
Houston
| Date | Round | Opponent (seed of the region) | Result |
| Friday March 19 | Round 1 | Cleveland State (Midwest Hotbed 15) | W, 87-56 |
| Sunday March 21 | Round 2 | Rutgers (Midwest seed 10) | W, 63-60 |
| Saturday March 27 | Sweet 16 | Syracuse (Midwest seed 11) | W, 62-46 |
| Monday March 29 | Elite eight | Oregon State (Midwest Seed 12) | W, 67-61 |
| Saturday April 3 | The last four | Baylor (South 1 seed) | TBD |
Baylor
| Date | Round | Opponent (seed of the region) | Result |
| Friday March 19 | Round 1 | Hartford (seeded South 16) | W, 79-55 |
| Sunday March 21 | Round 2 | Wisconsin (southern seed 9) | W, 76-63 |
| Saturday March 27 | Sweet 16 | Villanova (Southern seed 5) | W, 62-51 |
| Monday March 29 | Elite eight | Arkansas (3 South seed) | W, 81-72 |
| Saturday April 3 | The last four | Houston (Midwest Seed 2) | TBD |
UCLA
| Date | Round | Opponent (seed of the region) | Result |
| Thursday March 18 | First four | Michigan State (seeded East 11) | W, 86-80 (overtime) |
| Saturday March 20 | Round 1 | BYU (Eastern seed 6) | W, 73-62 |
| Monday March 22 | Round 2 | Abilene Christian (seeded East 14) | W, 67-47 |
| Sunday March 28 | Sweet 16 | Alabama (seeded East 2) | W, 88-78 (overtime) |
| Tuesday March 30 | Elite eight | Michigan (East 1 seed) | W, 51-49 |
| Saturday April 3 | The last four | Gonzaga (West 1 seeded) | TBD |
Gonzaga
| Date | Round | Opponent (seed of the region) | Result |
| Saturday March 20 | Round 1 | Norfolk State (West 16 seed) | W, 98-55 |
| Monday March 22 | Round 2 | Oklahoma (seeded West 8) | W, 87-71 |
| Sunday March 28 | Sweet 16 | Creighton (West 5 seed) | W, 83-65 |
| Tuesday March 30 | Elite eight | USC (West 6 seed) | W, 85-66 |
| Saturday April 3 | The last four | UCLA (seeded East 11) | TBD |
Where is the Final Four in 2021?
- Location: Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)
Lucas Oil Stadium is the venue for the Final Four in 2021, the third time since 2010. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2021 NCAA Tournament to be played entirely in the state of Indiana, which means that it too It hosted games from the first. round of the tournament.
Who won the Final Four in 2020?
None. The tournament was completely canceled just days before Selection Sunday due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The last teams to play in the Final Four were Virginia (seeded South 1); Auburn (Midwest 5 seed); State of Michigan (Eastern seed 2); and Texas Tech (seeded West 3) in 2019. The Cavaliers beat Auburn, controversially, 63-62. Texas Tech beat Michigan State 61-51.
From there, Virginia went on to beat the Red Raiders 85-77 in overtime, again, not without controversy, to win the program’s first national title.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.