The Houston Cougars were the second No. 1 seed to get eliminated in the Sweet 16, after they were decisively beaten by the No. 5 Miami Hurricanes.
Friday, March 24 was a bad day for the remaining No. 1 seeds in the 2023 men’s NCAA Tournament. Earlier in the night, the Alabama Crimson Tide lost to the No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs to lose their ninth game in the Sweet 16 in 10 trips. The Houston Cougars were the last No. 1 seed remaining, but only for a short amount of time.
The Cougars, whom many had picked to win it all, lost in decisive fashion to the No. 5 Miami Hurricanes by the score of 89-75. This is now the second straight year in which the Hurricanes make it to the Elite Eight.
Perhaps the most stunning revelation is that this is the first NCAA Tournament ever to not have a single No. 1 seed left entering the Elite Eight! Again, the first time ever!
Let’s take a look at some of the reactions after Miami’s huge upset over Houston on Friday night.
Best memes, tweets after Miami upsets No. 1 Houston in NCAA Tournament
DOWN GOES BAMA
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 25, 2023
DOWN GOES HOUSTON
All the 1-seeds are officially out of #MarchMadness 😬 pic.twitter.com/LYXVmrisQg
MIAMI BASKETBALL IS ELITE.
— ESPN (@espn) March 25, 2023
🔸 @CanesHoops upsets 1-seed Houston to move on to the Elite Eight
🔸 @CanesWBB advance to its first Elite Eight in program history
What a day 🙌 pic.twitter.com/9BHUaufVD7
Purdue. Gone.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 25, 2023
Kansas. Gone.
Alabama. Gone.
Houston. Gone.
There will not be a No. 1 seed in the Elite 8 for the first time EVER.
For the first time since seeding began in 1979, there will be an Elite 8 without a single 1 seed.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 25, 2023
Purdue - Lost in First Round to Fairleigh Dickinson
Kansas - Lost in Second Round to Arkansas
Alabama - Lost in Sweet 16 to San Diego State
Houston - Lost in Sweet 16 to Miami pic.twitter.com/v4f6avTR1O
Miami and SDSU after taking down Houston and Alabama: pic.twitter.com/peq8C8x4EI
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) March 25, 2023
Also, one of these teams will be in the NCAA National Championship game in Houston:
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) March 25, 2023
Kansas State
Florida Atlantic
Creighton
Princeton
San Diego State
How about that.
Win. Dance. Advance.
— Miami Hurricanes (@MiamiHurricanes) March 25, 2023
BOTH @CanesWBB & @CanesHoops are headed to the Elite 8!!!!!🙌🙌🙌 pic.twitter.com/YfOpV0YKZc
This is the second consecutive year in which head coach Jim Larrañaga’s Hurricanes will make it to the Elite Eight. They did so last year, but lost to the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks, the eventual national champions.
Not to mention, that Miami’s men’s and women’s basketball teams are in the Elite Eight. The No. 9 ranked Hurricanes in the women’s tourney defeated No. 4 Villanova to reach the Elite Eight.
Sophomore guard Nijel Pack led the way for the Hurricanes, scoring 26 points after making 8-of-12 shots from the field and 7-for-10 from the three-point line. Meanwhile, sophomore forward Norchad Omier notched a double double by recording 12 points (5-for-10 from field) and 13 rebounds.
As for Houston, freshman forward Jarace Walker notched a double double of his own, scoring 16 points and hauling in 11 rebounds. However, Walker was 4-for-16 from the field.
The Hurricanes now await the winner of No. 2 Texas vs. No. 3 Xavier in the Elite Eight. Miami will look to carry the momentum from eliminating a top seed and NCAA Tournament favorite into their next matchup, looking to reach the Final Four for the first time ever.
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