Final four

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This article is about the sports term. For other uses, see Final Four (disambiguation).

In American sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in the semi-final round play another single-elimination game whose winner is the tournament champion. In some tournaments, the two teams that lose in the semi-final round compete for third place in a consolation game.

The term "final four" is most often used in the United States and in sports heavily influenced by that country; elsewhere, only the term "semi-finals" is in common use. "Final four" first appeared in print in a 1975 article for the Official Collegiate Basketball Guide, whose author Ed Chay was a sportswriter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Chaye stated that the Marquette basketball squadron "was one of the final four" during the previous season's tournament. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) pioneered the term and later trademarked it.[1]

The oldest and most common use of the term is in reference to the final four teams in the annual NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. Each Final Four team is the regional champion from the East, South, Midwest, or West regions of the tournament. (Other region names have been used, such as "Mideast" replacing South, or "Southeast" and "Southwest" replacing South and Midwest.) The teams travel from the four separate sites of their regional rounds to a common venue for the Final Four. In the men's basketball tournament, a team must win either four or five consecutive rounds (games) to qualify for the Final Four. The four teams are matched against each other on the last Saturday of the tournament. The two winners emerge to play in the national championship game the next Monday evening.[citation needed] The same concept is used for the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship.

The NCAA also uses "Final Four" for other sports besides basketball, such as the Men's and Women's Volleyball Championship. For ice hockey tournaments, the NCAA uses a variation of the term: the "Frozen Four".

Because the term is now a registered trademark of the NCAA in the U.S., no other organizations in that country can use the phrase to refer to their tournaments. Organizations in other countries may officially do so. Many basketball organizations outside the U.S. use the term for the semifinal and final rounds of their tournaments such as the Euroleague and Eurocup, the Israeli Basketball Super League, and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. The CEV Champions League in volleyball also uses "Final Four" for its final rounds.[citation needed]

Non-sports use

"Final Four" refers to the crew of STS-135, the final Space Shuttle mission.[2][3]

The term is also used in some television shows to denote the last remaining four contestants, such as the Philippine TV series StarStruck and the reality show Survivor.[citation needed]

See also

References

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External links

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