History Made! No Number One Seeds to Make Elite Eight for the First Time Ever

History Made! No Number One Seeds to Make Elite Eight for the First Time Ever

Basketball

History Made! No Number One Seeds to Make Elite Eight for the First Time Ever

By March 25, 2023 5:45 am

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@CanesHoops on Twitter

The NCAA Tournament has been played for 84 years and we are still making history. For the first time in the beloved tournament’s history, there will be zero one-seeds in the Elite Eight. 

Alabama, the top overall seed in the tournament, was defeated on Friday night in the Sweet 16 by the San Diego State Aztecs with a final score of 71-64. There were times when the Crimson Tide were seemingly on the verge of pulling away, but the Aztecs kept fighting and ultimately pulled out the victory. 

The story of the game is Brandon Miller. The future top three pick in the NBA Draft has had an unbelievable season for Alabama, but tonight, he was the exact opposite of that. Miller’s stat line against San Diego State consisted of six turnovers, going one-of-10 from three and three-of-19 from the field overall. It will be a long offseason for Alabama fans, knowing what could have been had their top freshman played just a little bit better. 

Less than an hour later, the second overall seed fell. The Houston Cougars lost to the fifth-seeded Miami Hurricanes and guard Nijel Pack. Pack was the human torch on Friday night as he went for 26 points on seven-of-10 from three. His fellow backcourt mate Isaiah Wong also added 20 points, and forward Norchad Omier dropped a double-double. This was a truly complete game from the Hurricanes, and they look like they can beat anyone in the nation. The madness didn’t end here, though. 

All of this came less than a week after the Arkansas Razorbacks completed a phenomenal comeback to defeat the number three overall seeded Kansas Jayhawks. Behind 46 combined points from Davonte Davis and Ricky Council, Arkansas overcame a 12-point second-half deficit to upset the Jayhawks. All of this pales in comparison to what we saw on Friday, March 17.

For the second time in NCAA Tournament history, a 16-seed defeated a one-seed. Matt Painter’s Purdue Boilermakers and likely National Player of the Year, Zach Edey, lost to the Knights of Fairleigh Dickinson. This caps off another disappointing NCAA Tournament for the Boilermakers, who have lost to double-digit seeds in back-to-back-to-back seasons. 

I believe this is something we can expect to happen semi-regularly going forward. The transfer portal and NIL have changed college basketball forever. The days of the blue bloods dominating basketball are over. Along with zero one-seeds making the Elite Eight, this is also the second time in three years that the Sweet 16 didn’t have Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, and North Carolina. College basketball is entering uncharted waters in terms of parity. The NCAA Tournament has always been volatile, but going forward, nobody knows what to expect and it is great. 

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