Men's March Madness 2024 Final Four: Locations and key dates explored

And then there were four. As March Madness continues, and several big upsets and blowout wins later, there are four teams remaining out of 68.

Purdue, NC State, UConn and Alabama have defied all the odds to get here, and now, but only two of them will earn the right to play for an NCAA championship.

The NCAA Final Four is set to be primetime sports cinema with all the matchups that are already set. On that note, here`s a look at the locations and key dates for the two Final Four games.

---

March Madness NCAA Final Four dates

The NCAA Final Four begins on Apr. 6, on a Saturday (via USA Today). The two games are scheduled for 6:09 p.m. and 8:49 p.m. ET, with 11-seed NC State vs 1-seed Purdue playing first. Naturally, 1-seed UConn vs 4-seed Connecticut is the second game of the double-header.

The Wolfpack have reached their first NCAA Final Four appearance since 1983, the same year they won their last championship. On the big, broad shoulders of senior big man (and March Madness crowd darling) DJ Burns Jr., NC State has defied all odds and won its last 10 games (including regular season, ACC championship and the Tournament) after a four-game skid.

As for UConn vs Alabama, the Crimson Tide are in their first NCAA Final Four appearance in program history. Senior guard Mark Sears has been on a tear, averaging 24.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg and 3.0 apg in four Tournament games.

However, he and the Tide will have to take down No. 1 overall seed UConn, who hasn`t lost in over a month and has looked pretty much invincible in March Madness.

---

NCAA Final Four venue

Both the two NCAA Final Four matchups will be played at the State Farm Center in Glendale, Arizona (via NCAA.com).

This will be the second time that the arena will host the Final Four, after first hosting the two games in 2017. State Farm Center is the 19th venue in March Madness history that has hosted the Final Four at least twice.

In 2017, State Farm Center hosted South Carolina, Gonzaga, Oregon and UNC in that year`s NCAA Final Four. It ended with the Bulldogs beating the Gamecocks, and the Tar Heels besting the Ducks to meet in the national title game.

Of course, this is the most recent national championship for UNC, with the Heels beating the Zags 71-65.