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Stephen A. lets Shannon hear it for siding with Duke (1:49)
Stephen A. Smith reacts to Shannon Sharpe being the highest on Duke among the men’s Final Four teams. (1:49)
This year’s men’s basketball Final Four is as “chalky” as chalk gets: All four No. 1 seeds in the bracket advanced from their respective regions.
Even with the expectation that top seeds have a better shot at reaching the Final Four, this year marks just the second time since NCAA Tournament seeding began in 1979 that all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the final weekend.
The only other year such an occurrence unfolded was in 2008.
Here’s what the college basketball and pop-culture landscape looked like the last time the Final Four was made up entirely of top seeds.
The destination is familiar …
The 2008 and 2025 Final Fours share one thing that doesn’t involve the seeding of the teams: the San Antonio setting. San Antonio will host its fifth Final Four this weekend.
College basketball fans will be in luck if the excitement of the 2008 tournament is replicated this year at the Alamodome. The 2008 tournament was decided via a thrilling national championship game, with the Kansas Jayhawks topping the Memphis Tigers in overtime. The contest is one of just two men’s basketball national title games to be decided by overtime in the 21st century.
… but the participating teams’ fates undecided
The 2025 Final Four programs were all in very different spots at the end of the 2008 season. Houston, which was in Conference USA, made a run to the College Basketball Invitational semifinals. Duke earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament but was upset in the round of 32 by West Virginia.
Florida, fresh off back-to-back national championships in the two years prior, experienced a down year, losing five of its seven regular-season games en route to an NIT bid. Auburn finished 14-16 on the year, including an elimination in the first round of the SEC tournament.
Leona Lewis tops the charts
Sitting atop the Billboard Hot 100 the week of the 2008 Final Four was Leona Lewis’ hit “Bleeding Love,” from her debut studio album “Spirit.”
Joining Lewis and “Bleeding Love” in Billboard’s top 10 that week were a number of other memorable songs and artists, including “Love in This Club” by Usher (featuring Young Jeezy), “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles, “Low” by Flo Rida (featuring T-Pain) and “Don’t Stop the Music” by Rihanna.
Grand Theft Auto IV flies off shelves
Weeks after the 2008 Final Four wrapped up in San Antonio, Rockstar Games released Grand Theft Auto IV.
The game was well received, and then some. Its release generated $310 million on the first day, earning a Guinness World Record for “Highest Grossing Video Game in 24 Hours.” Grand Theft Auto IV held up against a critical eye as well, with its design and gameplay garnering rave reviews.
Elsewhere in the sports world, a classic NBA Finals matchup loomed
As the 2008 college basketball season wrapped up, its professional counterpart was just starting to gear up for the postseason — and the 2008 NBA Finals delivered a historic clash.
Two of the league’s most storied franchises — the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics — met to decide that year’s champion. It marked the 11th time the two teams faced each other in the Finals. Boston, led by Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, prevailed over Kobe Bryant’s Lakers in six games.
