The men’s Final Four returns to Indianapolis for ninth time on April 4 and 6, 2026, at Lucas Oil Stadium. On Saturday night, Illinois plays Connecticut, followed by Michigan vs. Arizona, and the winners meet Monday night for the national championship.
Duke — which suffered a crushing loss to UConn in a regional final this year — has won three titles in Indianapolis. Michigan State earned the Big Ten’s most recent championship at the RCA Dome in 2000. The next-to-last third-place game took place at Market Square Arena in 1980. One championship game here went to overtime.
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Two teams came to Indianapolis with a chance to become the first undefeated team since Indiana in 1976, but neither could finish the job.
Here are most memorable moments in Indianapolis’ Final Four history.
Who made it to Indy for Final Four?: March Madness schedule, where to watch, tickets, NCAA bracket
1991: Duke beats undefeated UNLV
The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels looked invincible coming into the 1991 Final Four. The same group that won the ’90 championship — led by Larry Johnson, Anderson Hunt, Stacey Augmon and Greg Anthony — largely ran roughshod over their Big West schedule.
They came to the Hoosier Dome to play Duke — which they had beaten by 30 points in the 1990 title game — in the semifinal. For the first time all season, they faced pressure to hold a lead in the final minute, and they couldn’t.
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Duke went on to beat Kansas in the championship game.
1997: Arizona interrupts a Kentucky dynasty
Mike Bibby’s 30 points lifted the Arizona Wildcats to an 84-79 overtime victory over the Kentucky Wildcats in the 1997 championship game, interrupting what could have been a Kentucky three-peat. Kentucky, which extended the game by rallying from a 4-point deficit in the last minute of regulation, won the 1996 and ’98 titles.
2010: Gordon Hayward’s shot rims out
It may be the most famous missed shot in college basketball history.
Butler‘s Gordon Hayward heaved a halfcourt shot that hit the backboard, the rim and bounced out in the 2010 title game at Lucas Oil Stadium, leaving the upstart from the Horizon League just short of a dream ending. Duke won 61-59.
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Oh, so close: Read more about Butler’s narrow loss to Duke
2015: Wisconsin beats undefeated Kentucky
The 2015 Kentucky Wildcats had nine future NBA players on their roster, including Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns and Trey Lyles, the previous year’s Indiana Mr. Basketball from Tech High School.
Kentucky led by 4 points with 6:30 remaining, but Wisconsin’s 8-0 run and made free throws down the stretch ruined Kentucky’s undefeated season.
Who won Final Fours in Indianapolis?
1980 at Market Square Arena
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Championship: Louisville 59, UCLA 54
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3rd-place game: Purdue 75, Iowa 58
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Semifinals: Louisville 80, Iowa 72; UCLA 67, Purdue 62
1991 at Hoosier Dome
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Championship: Duke 72, Kansas 65
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Semifinals: Kansas 79, North Carolina 73; Duke 79, UNLV 77
1997 at RCA Dome
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Championship: Arizona 84, Kentucky 79, OT
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Semifinals: Arizona 66, North Carolina 58; Kentucky 78, Minnesota 69
2000 at RCA Dome
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Championship: Michigan State 89, Florida 76
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Semifinals: Florida 71, North Carolina 59; Michigan 53, Wisconsin 41
2006 at RCA Dome
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Championship: Florida 73, UCLA 57
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Semifinals: UCLA 59, LSU 45; Florida 73, George Mason 58
2010 at Lucas Oil Stadium
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Championship: Duke 61, Butler 59
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Semifinals: Butler 52, Michigan State 50; Duke 78, West Virginia
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2015 at Lucas Oil Stadium
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Championship: Duke 68, Wisconsin 63
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Semifinals: Wisconsin 71, Kentucky 64; Duke 81, Michigan State 61
2021 at Lucas Oil Stadium
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Championship: Baylor 86, Gonzaga 70
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Semifinals: Gonzaga 93, UCLA 90, OT; Baylor 78, Houston 59
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Final Four in Indy: Memorable losses part of legacy; UNLV, Butler, Kentucky
