UConn. Texas. South Carolina. These are teams accustomed to making deep runs in March, teams that are very familiar with the Final Four. But there are a number of teams who've never experienced the thrill of playing on that final weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Could that change in 2025? There are some very talented teams in this year's field that are looking to make the Final Four for the first time.
Below are six teams with a shot to make their first Final Four, as well as information on the deepest runs the programs have made in past tournaments.
UCLA
Believe it or not, the No. 1 overall seed in this year's NCAA Tournament has never appeared in a Final Four.
UCLA's deepest tournament run was a pair of Elite Eight trips, first in 1999 and then again in 2018. The first team, coached by Kathy Olivier, went 26-7 and was a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, defeating No. 14 seed Green Bay and No. 6 seed Kentucky on the first weekend before upsetting No. 2 seed Colorado State in the Sweet Sixteen. Its run would end in the Elite Eight against No. 1 seed Louisiana Tech, with the team falling 88-62.
In 2018, the Cori Close-coached Bruins made the Elite Eight again, going 27-8 on the year. That was a loaded team, featuring future WNBA players Jordin Canada, Michaela Onyenwere and Monique Billings as well as the underrated Japreece Dean. The Bruins were a No. 2 seed once again, beating No. 14 American, No. 11 Creighton and No. 2 Texas before falling 89-73 to No. 1 seed Mississippi State in the Elite Eight.
TCU
Not only has TCU never made the Final Four, the Horned Frogs have never even made it out of the second round. Five times, TCU advanced to the second round, but all five of those times were met with defeat.
The team's most recent second round appearance came all the way back in 2006, with the team appearing in three tournaments since and losing in the first round each time.
All of TCU's previous second round appearances came with Jeff Mittie as the head coach. The current Kansas State head coach left TCU in 2014, and while the team played in four WNITs under Raegan Pebley, it never got back to the NCAA Tournament. Now, it has a chance to change that.
Kentucky
The Wildcats have a number of Elite Eight appearances, but they've all ended in defeat. Four different times Kentucky has advanced to that round, including three times in a four year span from 2010-2013, but none of those times resulted in a win.
It's a little shocking Kentucky never found its way deep enough. Starting in the 2009-10 season, the Matthew Mitchell-coached team lost single-digt games five seasons in a row and finished first or second in the SEC four times in a row.
The best season was the 2012-13 campaign, when a 30-win Kentucky squad earned a No. 2 seed but were blown out in the Elite Eight by UConn, losing 83-53.
Ole Miss
Ole Miss is another team with a number of Elite Eights that never managed to get over that hump. The Rebels have advanced to that round five times.
That includes appearances in 1985, 1986 and 1989, part of a strong run for the program. From 1983-1990, Ole Miss made eight consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearances, but the team stalled out right before the Final Four.
The closest the team came was in 1986, when it lost by just three points to No. 1 seed Texas. The Rebels most recent Elite Eight was in 2007, when it was blown out 98-62 by No. 1 seed Tennessee.
Florida State
Can high-scoring guard Ta'Niya Latson lead the Seminoles to the Final Four this year? If she does, it would mark the team's first appearance after coming up just short in the Elite Eight three times.
Florida State made Elite Eight appearances in 2010, 2015 and 2017. The most recent Elite Eight trip saw a 28-7 Seminoles team lose 71-64 to South Carolina. The Gamecocks also ended the team's 2015 run, while the 2010 run was ended by UConn.
At least Florida State kept losing to the best of the best.
Michigan
Michigan probably won't break its Final Four-less streak in 2025 as it enters the tournament as a No. 6 seed, but it isn't totally out of the equation.
While the men's Michigan team has historically had a ton of success, it's taken a long time for the women's side to catch up. The program's lone Elite Eight appearance was in 2022; the year before, Michigan made its first Sweet Sixteen.
That 2022 Michigan team defeated American, Villanova and South Dakota in its first three games. All three teams were double-digit seeds. Against No. 1 seed Louisville, the team came up short, losing 62-50.