No more No. 1 seeds left in NCAA men’s basketball tournament after Alabama and Houston lose
San Diego State Aztecs players celebrate defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide in the men's NCAA tournament third round on March 24 in Louisville
By Homero De la Fuente, CNN
For the first time ever in NCAA men’s basketball tournament history, all four No. 1 seeds have failed to reach the Elite Eight after the top-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide and Houston Cougars were eliminated in the Sweet 16 on Friday.
Top overall seed Alabama was stunned by No. 5 seed San Diego State, 71-64, at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Crimson Tide led by nine points with over 12 minutes left in the game, but the Aztecs went on a 12-0 run to take a 51-48 lead and they never trailed again.
San Diego State guard Darrion Trammell led the way with 21 points and five rebounds, as the Aztecs advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in men’s program history. San Diego State is also the first Mountain West team to ever advance to the Elite Eight.
“It’s just who we are, we feel like we can beat any team in the country, ” Trammell said on the TBS broadcast after the game. “We work hard, and we feel like we have the DNA of a winning team that goes far in March. We have experience, we have grit, and we feel like this is what we’re supposed to do.”
Crimson Tide forward Brandon Miller was held in check on offense most of the night, scoring just nine points on 3-of-19 shooting. He also had six turnovers.
Miller’s and Alabama’s season comes to an end after a tumultuous regular season campaign marred by an off-court issue surrounding the shooting death of a woman on campus.
San Diego State will play Sunday against No. 6 seeded Creighton, which ended No. 15 seeded Princeton’s Cinderella run.
Friday’s action in Kansas City, Missouri, saw No. 5 seed Miami defeat Houston 89-75.
The game was close for most of the first half, before Miami took an 11-point lead early in the second half. Houston cut the deficit to 51-49 with under 15 minutes left in the game but Miami answered with a 16-2 run to put the game away.
Miami guard Nijel Pack scored at will in the victory, dropping 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 7-of-10 from the three-point line to lead the Hurricanes to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season.
“It just shows that we’re one of the best teams in the country now we’re moving to the Elite Eight,” Pack said on the CBS broadcast after the game. “It’s the top eight schools in the country right now, we still have a lot of work to do but it feels great right now.”
Miami will next play No. 2 seed Texas, which ended No. 3 seed Xavier’s chance to advance with a comfortable 83-71 win.
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