The road to the Final Four has ended, and it turned out to be a chalk-filled one. For just the second time since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, all four No. 1 seeds (Auburn, Duke, Houston and Florida) survived their regions to get to the final weekend of the college basketball season.
The relatively predictable nature of this tournament should set us up for some epic basketball here, as four of the top teams in the country will take the floor trying to claim a national title in one of the most top-heavy seasons of all time. Here's all you need to know about how to watch the Final Four in 2025.
NCAA men's basketball Final Four schedule
This year's Final Four matchups will take place on Saturday, April 5, at the Alamodome. Florida, which rode an epic finish from Walter Clayton and company against Texas Tech to their first Final Four in 11 years, will kick off the night by taking on Michigan State at 6:09 p.m. ET.
The second game of the doubleheader will also feature a battle of No. 1 seeds as Houston, which should feel right at home as its fans will easily make the three-hour drive to the Alamodome, takes on Cooper Flagg and Duke. Tip-off for that contest is tentatively scheduled for 8:49 p.m. ET, with both contests airing on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
CBS' top college basketball crew, with Ian Eagle as the play-by-play announcer alongside analysts Bill Raftery and Grant Hill, will be on the call for both Final Four matchups and Monday's national championship game. Tip time for that contest will begin at 8:50 p.m. ET, which is 30 minutes earlier than the usual 9:20 p.m. start time, in an effort to avoid having the contest end after midnight in the Eastern time zone.
The Final Four returns to San Antonio
The 2025 Final Four marks the fifth time that the college basketball season will wrap in San Antonio. All five have come at the Alamodome, which originally served as the home of the San Antonio Spurs from 1993-2002. The relationship began in 1998, when Kentucky beat Utah for their seventh national title.
The most recent Final Four in San Antonio came in 2018, when Villanova beat Michigan to win their second national title in three years under Jay Wright. The Alamodome officially holds 64,000 fans but can be expanded north of 70,000 for basketball, which is in line with the NCAA's desire to hold the Final Four in a football stadium, allowing them to maximize ticket sales for their most anticipated event.
The Final Four is being hosted officially by the University of Texas at San Antonio, which plays in the Alamodome during their football season. Fans looking to go to the games can explore the secondary market, which features a get-in price of $300 for two tickets on the NCAA's official ticket exchange, or more expensive hospitality options available on the NCAA's website.
Who is playing in the Final Four?
The Final Four matchups feature plenty of star power in both the coaching ranks and on the floor, with dynamic players like Duke's Flagg, Auburn's Johni Broome, Houston's J'Wan Roberts and Florida's Clayton carrying their teams to this moment. The highlight of the night figures to be the Duke-Houston matchup, which could turn into a true road game for the Blue Devils as Houston's fans figure to swarm the Alamodome in big numbers.
While Duke is known for its explosive offense, the physicality that they play with on the defensive end will be a good matchup against a rugged Cougars side. Expect this contest to be a bit lower scoring than you would think given the star power on the floor in the matchup.
The other side of the bracket features an SEC grudge match between the conference's two top seeds, Auburn and Florida. The two rivals met just once during the regular season, with Florida snapping Auburn's 14-game winning streak with a 90-81 win at Neville Arena on February 8f. Clayton paced the Gators with 19 points while Alex Condon added 17, so the Tigers will have a revenge opportunity in San Antonio.
Historic Final Four Moments
Some of the craziest moments in college basketball history have occurred in Final Fours, including dramatic buzzer-beaters like Kris Jenkins' title-winner against North Carolina in 2016 and NC State sealing a championship on a last-second dunk that left Jim Valvano looking desperately for someone to hug in 1983. Plenty of elite players have also graced the Final Four stage, including future Hall of Famers like Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon and Chris Webber.
Coaches can also use success in the Final Four to bolster their legacies, like former Duke icon Mike Krzyzewski, who proved his mettle as one of the greatest college coaches of all time with five national championships. The Final Four can also produce some dramatic upsets, like Villanova's stunning defeat of Georgetown in 1985, and fantastic finishes like Hakim Warrick's clutch block to preserve Jim Boeheim's first national championship at Syracuse in 2003.
The quality of teams in the 2025 Final Four mean we could be in line for some more historic moments by the time the nets get cut down on Monday, April 7. Either way, fans should be in for a treat with the final three games of this season.