The start of March Madness had already offered its share of surprises with the elimination of several favorites in the first rounds of the tournament. On Friday night, the March madness struck once more, with Houston and Alabama being ejected from the competition despite being the two remaining #1 seeds.
March Madness is ruthless.
After Purdue, seeded #1 who fell to everyone’s surprise in the first round once morest Fairleigh Dickinson, and the defeat of the defending champion Kansas once morest Arkansas in the second, it was therefore Houston and Alabama who were forced to return home prematurely. .
THE Cougars de H-Town failed to get the better of the University of Miami, who ended up winning 89-75, and will therefore not have the opportunity to play the Final Four at home, this one taking place in Houston this year. As to Crimson Tide d’Alabamawhere prospect Brandon Miller (possible 3rd choice of the 2023 Draft) evolves, he fell once morest San Diego State 71-64.
Result: no more seed #1 appears today in the March Madness table, while we are barely reaching the stage of the Elite Eight (the quarter-finals). According to NCAA data, this is quite simply a first in the history of the competition.
THIS TOURNAMENT KEEPS ON GIVING ????#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/SLpcgwRAIU
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 25, 2023
This is the beauty of March Madness: its unpredictability, its format in a winning match which gives the opportunity to any team to create the surprise, and this feeling that no one is immune matter the difference in talent.
This is how we find universities that are not necessarily very reputable, such as Florida Atlantic (#9), Creighton (#6), or even San Diego State and Miami (#5) at the Elite Eight stadium, while major programs are watching the end of the competition from their couch.
Last night’s scores
- Alabama (#1) – San Diego State (#5) : 64-71
- Houston (#1) – Miami (#5) : 75-89
- Creighton (#6) – Princeton (#15) : 86-75
- Texas (#2) – Xavier (#3) : 83-71
The Elite Eight program
- Kansas State (#3) – Florida Atlantic (#9), tonight at 11:09 p.m.
- Gonzaga (#3) – UConn (#4), on the night of Saturday to Sunday at 1:49 a.m.
- San Diego State (#5) – Creighton (#6), Sunday night at 8:20 p.m.
- Texas (#2) – Miami (#5), Sunday evening at 11:05 p.m.
