Who are the highest scorers in a Final Four game in NCAA Men's Tournament history?
The Final Four is a huge milestone for any college basketball player. It's one weekend to define an individual and a collective team's destiny on the sport's biggest stage.
Illustrious scoring performances can be the catalyst for lifting a team into the national championship.
With this year's Final Four beginning Saturday, we took a look back at the players who have scored the most points in the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament. Highest Final Four single-game scorers in NCAA Men's Tournament history T-10. Danny Ferry: 34 points vs. Seton Hall (1989)
Though Ferry led Duke to the Final Four in three of his four seasons as a Blue Devil, he never won it all. In his senior season, he scored 34 points and showcased his versatile inside game with post-ups, face-ups and hook shots. In the end, Seton Hall's athleticism and defensive discipline were too much, as the Pirates captured a 95-78 win. T-10. Darrell Griffith: 34 points vs. Iowa (1980)
Griffith, a crafty wing, scored 34 points off a flurry of mid-range jump shots and aggressive drives as he helped Louisville earn an 80-72 win in the 1980 Final Four. The Cardinals advanced and went on to win the national championship that season, in a 59-54 rock fight over UCLA. Griffith dropped 23 and was the only Cardinal to break double digits against the Bruins. T-10. Don May: 34 points vs. North Carolina (1967)
May was a big man who played with finesse. He danced through the paint to score 34 points off nifty post moves and take Dayton to a Final Four win over UNC. The Flyers, ultimately, lost the championship to Lew Alcindor-led UCLA. 9. Larry Bird: 35 points vs. DePaul (1979)
Bird had an illustrious career at Indiana State, averaging 30.3 points and 13.3 rebounds per game in his three seasons. Although he never won an NCAA championship, 1979 was the closest he came. After scoring 35 in a two-point win over DePaul in the Final Four, he brought the Sycamores to the title game against Magic Johnson and Michigan State. T-5. Rick Mount: 36 points vs. North Carolina (1969)
Mount was one of the best pure scorers of the late 1960s, averaging 32.3 points per game over a three-year career at Purdue. He maneuvered around screens and pulled up from mid-range to drop 36 points against North Carolina and send the Boilermakers through to the national championship game in 1969. Purdue, though, ultimately lost to UCLA. T-5. Jamie Thompson: 36 points vs. UCLA (1965)
Thompson wasn't as prolific of a scorer as most of the other players on this list, but he showed out in the semifinal round as a sophomore. In a season in which he averaged just 12.6 points, he popped for 36 in the Final Four against UCLA, though Wichita State did not emerge victorious. T-5. Paul Hogue: 36 points vs. UCLA (1962)
Hogue led Cincinnati to consecutive titles in 1961 and 1962. He was a big man with a balanced game, averaging a double-double with a modest 15.3 points to go with 12 rebounds per game. However, he erupted for 36 points in the 1962 Final Four against UCLA. The Bearcats edged the Bruins by two points and advanced to beat Ohio State in the national championship. T-5. Bill Logan: 36 points vs. Temple (1956)
Logan was another do-it-all big man who made this list. He pounded in 36 points to help Iowa make the 1956 championship round, but the Hawkeyes ended up losing to San Francisco in a game in which Logan scored just 12 points on 5-of-23 shooting. T-2. Freddie Banks: 38 points vs. Indiana (1987)
Over four years at UNLV, Banks developed into a polished, sharp shooting guard. His 38-point performance in the 1987 Final Four was buoyed by a Final Four record 10 made 3-point shots. The Rebels, though, lost 97-93 to Indiana. T-2. Jerry Chambers: 38 points vs. Texas Western/UTEP (1966)
Chambers put on a dominant performance, grabbing 17 rebounds to go with his 38 points, but Utah couldn't overcome UTEP in the 1966 Final Four. He was a long wing who lived in the mid-range and had a nice pull-up game. T-2. Jerry West: 38 points vs. Louisville (1959)
Before he became one of the best point guards in NBA history, West starred at West Virginia. In his senior season, he averaged 29.3 points and 16.5 rebounds per game. The year before that, his 38 points lifted West Virginia over Louisville, but the Mountaineers fell short of capturing the national title as they lost 71-70 to Cal. 1. Al Wood: 39 points vs. Virginia (1981)
Wood was a slick guard for North Carolina, but he wasn't known as a high-volume scorer. He averaged just 11.7 field goal attempts per game over four seasons, with 16 points per game. In his final chance to win a national championship, Wood boosted the Tar Heels into the final with a 39-point outing on 14-of-19 shooting in a 78-65 win over Virginia. UNC was then bested in the title game by Indiana.
Check out all of our Daily Rankers .
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily ! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Basketball
recommended
Get more from College Basketball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Chuba Hubbard's birthday celebration? Competing, getting chatty with Panthers defense
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Wednesday was Chuba Hubbard's birthday, not that you would have known it watching the Carolina Panthers' minicamp session and the post-practice activities. It looked like any other day for the 26-year-old running back. Hubbard ran hard and engaged in a war of words with Jaycee Horn and every other defender who dared to challenge him. Then, when practice wrapped up, Hubbard found an equipment staffer to fire footballs at him while most of his teammates headed to the air conditioning. Advertisement The only thing missing was tight end Tommy Tremble, Hubbard's friend and JUGS machine partner, who remains sidelined following back surgery. 'Obviously, that's my guy. He would have been out here catching with me per usual if he could've,' Hubbard said. 'But just a bump in the road. He'll bounce back. We have, in my opinion, the best staff when it comes to training stuff like that. They take care of us. So he'll be back by the season and be ready to go.' Hubbard will unwind for a bit after minicamp concludes Thursday and will host a youth camp in July in his hometown of Edmonton. But Hubbard is never too far from work. While some guys might have a barbecue grill or basketball court in their backyard, Hubbard has his own JUGS machine. Visitors are welcome to use it, including a neighbor who likes to try his hand at snagging passes. 'So shoutout to my neighbor,' Hubbard said. The Panthers extended Hubbard halfway through the 2024 season on a four-year, $33.2 million deal. With his propensity to work in practice and produce in games, Hubbard is exactly the kind of player that Dave Canales and Dan Morgan want to reward. It's also telling that Hubbard and Horn, who signed a four-year, $100 million extension in March, are the most vocal players on the field while trying to set the tone for practice. 'It's usually always Jaycee and Chuba,' said rookie edge rusher Princely Umanmielen, who just arrived in April. 'Chuba's always yapping. He's a big trash talker. So the defense always goes at it with him.' Hubbard declined to get into the particulars of his trash-talking with Horn, for fear it would give his birthday an R rating. 'I probably shouldn't say it on camera. Just keep it on the field,' he said. 'But it was definitely competitive. I love that type of stuff, so it was good.' Advertisement What hasn't been as good has been the coaching staff and front-office churn Hubbard has endured since the Panthers drafted him in the fourth round out of Oklahoma State in 2021. This will be the first year of Hubbard's career with the same head coach and offensive coordinator from the previous season. He's ready for some stability. 'Obviously, the last four years I've been here, it's been a new head coach, new scheme, new system,' Hubbard said. 'So to build off what we had last year, which I believe was really good — and to build off that chemistry — I mean, we see it out here. Just the way we're practicing, the way we trust each other, the way we're communicating, it's starting to show. Just the more we practice, the more we play, the closer we're gonna get and the better we're gonna get.' Chuba Hubbard getting birthday wishes as he signs autographs — Joe Person (@josephperson) June 11, 2025 The running back room has a new makeup this year with the additions of fourth-round pick Trevor Etienne and free-agent acquisition Rico Dowdle. While praising the newcomers, Hubbard also appeared to take a veiled shot at Miles Sanders, who lost his starting spot to Hubbard in 2024 and wasn't the happiest camper before getting released in March. 'Usually in the running back room, sometimes it can be a little off,' Hubbard said. 'But everyone's cool in our room, and that's a blessing. I don't take that for granted.' Despite missing the final two games with a calf strain, Hubbard rushed for 1,195 yards in 2024 to become the Panthers' first 1,000-yard rusher since Christian McCaffrey in 2019. He hopes to build on that this year after a brief respite. 'I'm gonna take me some time off. It's my birthday, so a couple days,' he said. 'But after that, straight back to work. It's a big year.'
Indianapolis Star
an hour ago
- Indianapolis Star
Paying players, private equity, roster limits: What House settlement means for Purdue
Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski has publicly welcomed the revenue sharing era of college sports as a way to even the playing field and stabilize a volatile name, image and likeness market. When judge Claudia Wilken gave final approval to terms of the House vs. NCAA settlement last week, Bobinski's letter to the Purdue community stressed the competitive upside — and the financial urgency — for the Boilermakers. The initial $20.5 million which can be shared — and which Bobinski has said Purdue will fully utilize — is not the only added expense. Bobinski said Purdue will increase the number of athletic scholarships awarded in some sports. He asked for expanded support for the John Purdue Club, the primary athletics fundraising organization. He also urged contributions to athletics through the university's "Victories & Heroes: Your Campaign for Purdue" initiative. "This moment requires all of us — alumni, fans, donor and friends — to step up and be bold," Bobinski wrote. "… Your support is not just appreciated — it is absolutely essential." Here's what we know about what the settlement term means for Purdue, and how it is moving forward. Bobinski stated early and often Purdue will participate fully in revenue sharing. That $20.5 million obligation would have equated to 15.2% of the athletic department's income for the 2023-24 fiscal year based on its annual report to the NCAA. (Figures for 2024-25 are not yet available.) Additionally, the NCAA's agreement to pay $2.6 billion in back pay damages to former athletes come out of its annual distributions to member schools. Purdue expects to receive about $1.2 million per year less from the NCAA for the next decade. It received $4.47 million in 2023-24. Dating back to the hire of Barry Odom in December, both Bobinski and President Mung Chiang have suggested a change to the university's financial relationship with athletics will help close the budget gap. Per records compiled by the USA Today Network in partnership with the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database, Purdue was one of 11 Division I athletic programs from the more than 230 public schools in the 2023 fiscal year which either received no revenue from its university (eight) or returned any revenue it received (three). Among the ways the university could help athletics would be to take on debt obligations. Purdue listed $14.5 million in "debt service, leases or rental fees" on its 2023-24 NCAA financial report. Direct overhead and administrative expenses — things like facilities maintenance, security, insurance and utilities — accounted for almost $13 million in expenses. An announcement on the specific details will come. Whatever the solution, belt-tightening alone won't get an already lean athletic department to its $20.5 million goal. It remains to be seen how transparent Purdue will be about which sports receive what percentage of the revenue-sharing pool. However, based on reports from around the country, estimates have power conference schools allotting 70% to 75% to football and 15% to 20% to men's basketball. The sports which by far bring in the most money will receive the lion's share. Not much will change for Purdue's marquee sports. Odom said he expects to operate on the traditional 85-scholarship limit within the new roster limit of 105. Walk-ons can make up that gap. Men's basketball can use up to 15 scholarships, but don't expect coach Matt Painter to fill up that allotment often, if at all. Keeping 13 players satisfied with their roles in any given year is difficult enough. Also, teams have the option of grandfathering in current athletes who would otherwise put them over those roster limits. This most likely applies to walk-ons who will be allowed to keep their spot until their career is over. Bobinski's mention of adding scholarships might impact the non-full scholarship sports, which is everything outside of football, men's and women's basketball and volleyball. Baseball used to be limited to 11.7 scholarships, distributed at the coach's discretion, on a roster three or four times that numberr. Going forward, teams are not beholden to those scholarship limits. However, they cannot exceed newly established roster limits. Baseball, for instance, can have up to 34 players on its roster. Purrdue's roster from this past season included 44 names. In most other sports, based on rosters posted on the athletics website, Purdue operated below or near the new limits. It has known this new structure was coming for months. Within the Big Ten, the impact will likely vary from school to school. In purely speculative example, historic wrestling powers Iowa and Penn State could offer more scholarships in that sport than most schools. Athletes can still earn income beyond their revenue share cut through those avenues currently associated with NIL: endorsements, brand campaigns, online influencing, etc. In his letter, Bobinski announced the formation of Boiler BrandWorks. Described as an "in-house student-athlete marketing and brand-building unit," this new arm of the athletic department will help athletes find and develop NIL deals with local and national businesses. 'Not everybody is marketable.' Purdue coach Matt Painter welcomes 'balance' House settlement brings Per the university's athletics careers website, it is hiring a director of NIL strategy and athlete marketing who will oversee Boiler BrandWorks. Even with revenue share, programs will need to show they can maximize the earnings potential of their most marketable athletes. (Think Zach Edey, Braden Smith or football quarterbacks.) This new administrator and department are responsible for making that happen. The 501c3 non-profit collective associated with the athletic department continues to operate. It was involved with the finalization of deal such as those struck by returning and incoming men's basketball players and football's two dozen-plus spring transfer portal additions. Last winter, though, Bobinski predicted the end of the philanthropic model of NIL fundraising. Schools will no longer need to hook players up with deals attached to charitable organizations or activities. However, a 501c6 entity known as Boiler Up Inc. also operates in conjunction with Boilermaker Alliance. The main difference between the two types of non-profits is Boiler Up Inc. can raise money through memberships or fundraising without any charitable endeavors. This setup or something similar is fairly common at power conference athletic programs. In recent months, more collectives have begun sunsetting their 501c3 to focus on their other platform — some of which are for-profit LLCs. IU's Hoosiers For Good announced last December it would cease operations early this year. Purdue could keep some version of the current collective to facilitate fundraising beyond the John Purdue Club and the new, in-house marketing arm. College athletic programs across the country have begun to partner with private equity firms, or are exploring the idea. These firms would not take a stake in the athletic program. Rather, they would offer a private source of credit paid back over time. Finance bump: Indiana, Purdue received roughly $62 million of Big Ten's $928 million in revenue. What it means Such a relationship could make sense for Purdue if it directly led to a long-term revenue enhancement. For example, taking private credit to fund an important facility or resource enhancement without asking for the money from the university. However, Purdue prides itself on fiscal responsibility. It typically does not lead the pack in creative ways to spend money it does not have. This could be a realistic opportunity in time, depending on how the market evolves.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
First blue marlin of 67th Big Rock Tournament has been submitted
MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WNCT) — The first blue marlin of the 67th annual Big Rock Tournament was weighed on Wednesday night. 'Bankwalkers' turned in a blue marlin just missed the 500lb requirement for the 'Fabulous Fisherman' prize, weighing in at 449.7lbs. Lizzie Montague, a Carteret County native, fought the fish for nearly three hours today before finally reeling it in. Bankwalkers brought the fish to the weigh station just before 9pm Wednesday evening. Although the marlin missed the mark of the Fabulous Fisherman prize, it is in first place for the tournament as it is the only marlin to be submitted. For more information, click on the video above and stay tuned to WNCT for full coverage of the Big Rock Tournament. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
