First Four

In the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, the First Four are a series of play-in games played since 2011.^[1] The games are contested between teams holding the four lowest seeded automatic bids and the four lowest seeded at-large bids.

Prior to expanding from 65 to 68 teams, the two lowest seeded teams played in an Opening Round game from 2001 to 2010. All of the previous-format single Opening Round games and current-format First Four games, with the exception of 2021, have been played at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio.^[2] In a first for the First Four, the 2021 edition will be played in two venues outside of Ohio due to logistical challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic: Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana, hosted by Purdue University, and Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, hosted by Indiana University Bloomington.

History[]

Opening Round (2001–2010)[]

The game was conceived after the Mountain West Conference, which had been formed in 1999 following the split of the Western Athletic Conference, was given an automatic bid for its conference champion, which made it the 31st conference to receive an automatic berth into the men's tournament. Unlike the women's tournament, which accommodated this change by eliminating an at-large bid to keep their field at 64 teams, the organizers of the men's tournament elected to keep their at-large entries at 34. In order to eliminate one of the teams to have a 64-team bracket, it became necessary for another game to be played between the two lowest-ranked teams among the automatic bid leagues.

Florida A&M (2004 and 2007) and Winthrop (2001 and 2010) were the only teams to appear in the game more than once. The 2003 game was the only one to end in overtime.

First Four (2011-present)[]

On April 22, 2010, the NCAA announced that the tournament would expand to 68 teams, with four "Play-In Games" beginning with the 2011 tournament.

In 2011, the broadcast media began calling these games "The First Four" (as opposed to the "Final Four"); and, also used the term "first round games" interchangeably with "opening round games." Formerly, the term "first round game" specifically referred to the first games played by the final 64 teams, not the teams in the opening round. Through the 2015 tournament, these games were known as "second round games," resulting in some confusion for those more accustomed to the round being known as the "first round" and the "second round" being used for the regional quarterfinals (field of 32). Effective with the 2016 tournament, the NCAA reverted to the traditional usage of "First Round" as referring to the first games played by the final 64 teams, and began officially using "First Four" to refer to the opening round games.

On January 15, 2021, the NCAA announced that the 2021 tournament will follow modified principles. For this year the First Four games have the overall 65th and 66th seeds, the 67th and 68th seeds, and the last four at-large seeds playing each other.^[3]

Criticism[]

Although analysts' initial reactions to the concept were skeptical, the first game, played on March 13, 2001, was a success^{[citation needed]}, and few complaints were lodged. The games are prominent by attracting viewers on nights in which no other NCAA games are played. Prior to the proposal of expansion, Syracuse University coach Jim Boeheim had advocated for an expansion of the tournament from 64 to 76 teams, which would include four opening round games for all of the 16th and also added opening round games for the 14th and 15th seeded teams.^[4] The expansion of play in games faced logistical challenges and lukewarm acceptance from then-NCAA President Myles Brand and the corporate and media partners of the NCAA. However, on April 22, 2010, the NCAA announced, as part of a new 14-year, US$10.8 billion agreement between CBS Sports and Time Warner's Turner Sports division, that the tournament will include three more play-in games, which would come to be known as the "First Four."

The opening round games have also been criticized as a handicap for teams among the historically black colleges and universities. In every game from 2002 to 2010, one team was an HBCU, and at least one HBCU (two in 2018, 2019 and 2021) has participated in every First Four. However, the two conferences which are made up of HBCUs, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Southwestern Athletic Conference, are often two of the lowest-rated conferences in the RPI, and its successor since 2018–19, the NET.^[5] Since each win in an opening round game is treated the same as a win in any other game for purposes of sharing in NCAA tournament revenue, athletic directors and commissioners of HBCU-heavy conferences often welcome the exposure and money gained.^[6][7]

Broadcasters[]

The first Opening Round Game in 2001 was broadcast by cable network TNN—a sibling to tournament broadcaster CBS—with Tim Brando and Rick Pitino as commentators.^[8]

ESPN, which had not shown NCAA Tournament games since the early rounds of the 1989 tournament, then signed a deal to show the Opening Round Game beginning in 2002. ESPN would continue to cover this game through 2010, as the only one of 64 NCAA Tournament games not to be shown on a CBS network.

With the transition to the new CBS/Turner contract and the new First Four format in 2011, the round has historically allocated exclusively to TruTV. In 2021, TBS joined in with TruTV because of the First Four being played in a single day (Thursday) as opposed to two days on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Format[]

Opening Round[]

The winner of the game was awarded the No. 16 seeded position in one of four regions of the tournament and next played the No. 1 seeded team of that region on the following Friday. Three of the top seeds to beat the opening game winner advanced to the national championship game and all three won the national championship (2002 Maryland, 2005 North Carolina and 2010 Duke). North Carolina was the only No. 1 seeded team matched against the opening round winner more than once (2005 & 2008).

Note that, despite the term "Play-In" game being used colloquially, the loser of the opening round game was still considered to have been in the tournament, as both teams met the qualifications for "automatic tournament entry" as stated in the NCAA Bylaws. At first, only the loser received credit for being in the game for purposes of its conference receiving a share of the NCAA Division I "basketball fund"; however, starting with the 2008 tournament, both teams received credit for playing. There was an actual "play-in" round in 1991, with six teams playing each other (Saint Francis, Pennsylvania versus Fordham; Coastal Carolina versus Jackson State; NE Louisiana versus Florida A&M) before the tournament bracket was announced; these games are not considered part of the 1991 tournament. Consequently, in 2001, Northwestern State technically became the first No. 16 seeded team to win a game in the men's NCAA tournament by virtue of the team's opening round victory.

First Four[]

The teams are not the eight lowest-ranked teams in the field; the four lowest-ranked at-large teams usually have higher rankings among the entire field of 68 than several of the automatic-bid teams coming from the smaller conferences. The four games are held to determine which teams will assume a place in the first round. Unlike other early games in the tournament, the teams are not matched with disparity intended. Rather, equality governs match-ups (e.g., in one game, two teams—usually two of the four lowest-ranked automatic-bid teams—might play for a No. 16 seeding in the first round, while in another game, two teams—usually two of the four lowest-ranked at-large teams—are usually trying to advance as a No. 11 seed).

While most NCAA tournament games are played Thursday through Sunday (with the final game on a Monday), the First Four games are played earlier in the first week, between Selection Sunday and the First Round on Thursday and Friday. As of 2017, two games are played on the Tuesday following Selection Sunday, and the remaining two are played on Wednesday. Once the First Four games are played, the four winning teams assume their places in the bracket of 64 teams, and must play again later that week, with little rest. The two Tuesday winners are paired with their next opponent on Thursday; and, the Wednesday winners play on Friday. With the Second Round being played on Saturday and Sunday, this scheduling allows for six consecutive days of competition during the first week of the tournament.

With the exception of 2019, at least one of the First Four winners has advanced past the First Round of the tournament every year since the format's inception. Five teams have advanced to the second weekend and the Sweet 16.^[9] VCU (2011) and UCLA (2021) are the only two First Four teams to reach either the Elite Eight or the Final Four.^[10][11] In 2020, the NCAA Tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results[]

2001–2010[]

2011–present[]

The tournament results for the First Four teams since the tournament's expansion to 68 teams are shown in the table below.

Unless noted otherwise, the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio, has hosted all games.

(OT) indicates overtime.

Subsequent games are notated as round, score, opponent, and opponent's seed. For the round, R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, and NC indicate the First Round (Round of 64), Second Round (Round of 32), Regional Semifinals (Sweet 16), Regional Finals (Elite Eight), National Semifinals (Final Four), and National Championship, respectively. Scores for subsequent games are listed with the First Four team's score first; thus, a lower score first indicates a loss and a higher score first indicates a win. Wins are shown in bold.

† Played at Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Indiana (Host: Purdue University)

‡ Played at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana (Host: Indiana University Bloomington)

References[]