Houston's Sweet 16 loss to Miami sets a new standard for March Madness

Friday was a wild night in March Madness history as not one, but two No. 1 seeds fell and set an all-new standard for college basketball madness in March.

On Friday night both of the two remaining No.1 seeds in the 2023 NCAA Tournament took to the court with high expectations that they could maybe face off in the tournament finals in a few rounds. However, Alabama and Houston found out why this tournament is so mad.

First, the Alabama Crimson Tide entered their game with Mountain West champions San Diego State as big favorites with a star-studded squad against a team based around defense. Well, like many great upsets from tournaments passed, the defense was the ultimate trump card as the top overall seed in this year’s event ran into a buzzsaw in the Aztecs. The nation’s No. 1 saw their tourney journey end in the Sweet 16, 71-64.

Just ahead of them on the Sweet 16 games scheduled for Friday, another top seed in the Houston Cougars looked to avoid unfortunate history in their matchup against the Miami Hurricanes. Yet, just like Alabama, the Cougars were outgunned by a team that was a sizable underdog to them entering the game.

However, while the defense played a role for Miami in beating Houston in this year’s March Madness, it was also their explosive athleticism and unstoppable three-point game that made this surprise victory look easy at times. The Hurricanes were an outstanding 44% as a team from three and Nijel Pack was an absolute demon as he hit an absurd 7 of his 10 three-point attempts.

While top seeds, especially two-seeds, losing earlier than expected in the tournament has become far more common than it was decades ago, No. 1 seeds still often at least make it to the Elite Eight. However, because of Miami and San Diego State — as well as Arkansas and Fairleigh Dickinson earlier this week — there will not be a No. 1 seed in the Elite Eight for the first time ever in NCAA Tournament history.