Elite Eight

Last updated
NCAA Elite Eight wordmark color.svg

In the NCAA men's Division I basketball championship or the NCAA women's Division I basketball championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Division III, the Elite Eight consists of the two teams in each of the four regional championship games. The winners advance to the Final Four. Since 1997, when the NCAA trademarked the phrase, [1] in Division II, the Elite Eight consists of the eight winners of the eight Division II regions. Like the Division I Final Four, the Division II Elite Eight games are all held in one predetermined location.

In the men's Division I, the lowest-seeded team ever to reach this round in the modern 64-team tournament era is No. 15 seed Saint Peter's University in 2022.

Two No. 12 seeds have advanced to the Elite Eight: Missouri in 2002, and the Oregon State Beavers in 2021.

Ten No. 11 seeds have advanced to the Elite Eight: LSU (1986), Loyola Marymount (1990), Temple (2001), George Mason (2006), Virginia Commonwealth (2011), Dayton (2014), Xavier (2017), Loyola Chicago (2018), UCLA (2021), and North Carolina State (2024). There have only been four seasons where two double-digit-seeded teams have made it to the Elite Eight: 1990 (10 seed Texas and 11 seed LMU); 2002 (12 seed Missouri and 10 seed Kent State); 2021, where both were from the same conference (12 seed Oregon State and 11 seed UCLA); and 2022 (10 seed Miami and 15 seed Saint Peter's).

On average, three of the four No. 1 seeds make it to the Elite Eight each year. There has only been one occurrence in history in which no No. 1 seeds made the Elite Eight (2023). In men's play, the Elite Eight exists intact for less than 24 hours between the second Friday evening and the following Saturday afternoon of the tournament. The Elite Eight also represents the halfway mark of the men's tournament since each qualifying team must win three rounds (games) to reach the national quarterfinals, with three rounds remaining to reach and win the national championship game.

Like "March Madness," the phrase "Elite Eight" originally referred to the Illinois High School Boys Basketball Championship, the single-elimination high school basketball tournament run by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). When the IHSA finals were reduced from sixteen to eight teams in 1956, a replacement nickname for Sweet Sixteen was needed, and Elite Eight won popular favor. The IHSA trademarked the term in 1995; the trademark rights are now held by the March Madness Athletic Association, a joint venture between the NCAA and IHSA formed after a 1996 court case allowed both organizations to use "March Madness" for their own tournaments.

The Elite Eight can also refer to the eight NCAA Division I baseball teams that reach the College World Series.

In addition, the term is often colloquially used to denote quarterfinalists in the four major North American professional sports; i.e., the teams that reach the American League Division Series and the National League Division Series in Major League Baseball, the Divisional Playoffs in either conference of the National Football League, and the conference semi-finals in the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League.

Elite-eight teams in the men's Division I NCAA tournament

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> United States top collegiate-level basketball tournament

The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the Division I level in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Played mostly during March, the tournament consists of 68 teams and was first conducted in 1939. Known for its upsets of favored teams, it has become one of the biggest annual sporting events in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship</span> Annual college water polo tournament

The NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship has existed since the 2001 season. Seven conferences have teams competing in women's water polo: the Big West Conference, the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), the single-sport Golden Coast Conference, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). Some teams compete at Division III either as members of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference or independently. Teams qualify by either winning their respective conference tournament or receiving one of the few at large bids available. Unlike most NCAA sports, only one National Collegiate championship is held each season with teams from Division I, Division II, and Division III competing together.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horizon League</span> College sports league in the United States

The Horizon League is a collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in and near the Great Lakes region and in part of the Southern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Howland</span> American basketball coach (born 1957)

Benjamin Clark Howland is an American college basketball coach who most recently served as the men's head coach at Mississippi State University from to 2015 to 2022. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Northern Arizona University from 1994 to 1999, the University of Pittsburgh from 1999 to 2003, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 2003 to 2013. Howland became the first men's coach in modern college basketball history to be fired shortly after winning an outright power-conference title. He is one of the few NCAA Division I coaches to take four teams to the NCAA tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> Edition of USA college basketball tournament

The 2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2005–06 basketball season. It began on March 14, 2006, and concluded with the championship game on April 3 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> Edition of USA college basketball tournament

The 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2007-08 season. The 70th annual edition of the tournament began on March 18, 2008, and concluded with the championship game on April 7, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> Edition of USA college basketball tournament

The 1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1986, and ended with the championship game on March 31 in Dallas, Texas. A total of 63 games were played.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> Edition of USA college basketball tournament

The 1990 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I men's college basketball. It began on March 15, 1990, and ended with the championship game on April 2 in Denver, Colorado. A total of 63 games were played.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCLA Bruins men's basketball</span> American college mens basketball team

The UCLA Bruins men's basketball program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in the sport of men's basketball as a member of the Big Ten Conference. Established in 1919, the program has won a record 11 NCAA titles. Coach John Wooden led the Bruins to 10 national titles in 12 seasons, from 1964 to 1975, including seven straight from 1967 to 1973. UCLA went undefeated a record four times. Coach Jim Harrick led the team to another NCAA title in 1995. Former coach Ben Howland led UCLA to three consecutive Final Four appearances from 2006 to 2008. As a member of the AAWU, Pacific-8 and then Pacific-10, UCLA set an NCAA Division I record with 13 consecutive regular season conference titles between 1967 and 1979 which stood until tied by Kansas in 2017. In 2024, UCLA departed the Pac-12 Conference and joined the Big Ten Conference on August 2, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Gators men's basketball</span> Team representing the University of Florida in basketball

The Florida Gators men's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in NCAA Division I's Southeastern Conference (SEC). Home games are played in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loyola Ramblers</span> Athletic program of Loyola University Chicago

The Loyola Ramblers are the varsity sports teams of Loyola University Chicago. Most teams compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference, which the school joined in 2022 after leaving the Missouri Valley Conference. They previously played in the Horizon League. Notable athletes from Loyola have included middle-distance runner Tom O'Hara, volleyball player Thomas Jaeschke, and basketball players Mike Novak, Jerry Harkness, Les Hunter, Wayne Sappleton, Alfredrick Hughes, LaRue Martin, and Blake Schilb. The nickname "Ramblers" was first used in 1926. The Loyola Ramblers departed from the Missouri Valley Conference and joined the Atlantic 10 Conference effective July 1, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loyola Marymount Lions</span> Athletic teams that represent Loyola Marymount University

The Loyola Marymount Lions are the athletic teams that represent Loyola Marymount University, a Jesuit institution in Los Angeles, California. The school competes in NCAA Division I and the West Coast Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wisconsin Badgers women's volleyball</span> Womens volleyball team of the University of Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Badgers women's volleyball is the volleyball team representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Division I women's program. The university has a rich volleyball tradition, with origins dating back to 1974. They won a national title in 2021. They have had eleven head coaches since the team's inception. In the 2021 season, they ranked second in attendance among all Division 1 volleyball programs, averaging 7,540 fans over 15 regular season matches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989–90 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 1989–90 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada Las Vegas in the 1989–90 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by 17th-year head coach Jerry Tarkanian. The team played its home games in the Thomas & Mack Center as a member of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 35–5, 16–2 in Big West play to win the regular season championship. They defeated Cal State Fullerton, Pacific, and Long Beach State to win the Big West tournament championship. As a result, the received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the West region. They defeated Arkansas–Little Rock, Ohio State, Ball State, and Loyola Marymount to advance to the school's second Final Four in 4 years. In the Final Four, they defeated Georgia Tech to advance to the championship game where they defeated Duke for the school's only national championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game</span> American college basketball final

The 2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the finals of the 2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and it determined the national champion for the 2005-06 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The game was played at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana and featured the Oakland Regional Champion, No. 2-seeded UCLA and the Minneapolis Regional Champion, No. 3-seeded Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> Edition of USA college basketball tournament

The 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2017–18 season. The 80th annual edition of the tournament began on March 13, 2018, and concluded with the championship game on April 2, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> 2021 edition of NCAA Division 1 Mens college basketball tournament

The 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's college basketball national champion for the 2020–21 season. The 82nd edition of the tournament began play on March 18, 2021, in sites around the state of Indiana, and concluded with the championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on April 5, with the Baylor Bears defeating the previously undefeated Gonzaga Bulldogs 86–70 to earn the team's first ever title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Juzang</span> American basketball player (born 2001)

Jonathan Anh Juzang is an American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He began his college basketball career playing one season with the Kentucky Wildcats before transferring and spending two seasons with the UCLA Bruins. A two-time all-conference selection in the Pac-12, Juzang earned third-team All-American honors as a junior in 2022. As a sophomore, he was named to the All-Tournament Team of the 2021 NCAA tournament, as the Bruins advanced to the Final Four.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020–21 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2020–21 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I season. The Bruins were led by second-year head coach Mick Cronin and played their home games at Pauley Pavilion as members of the Pac-12 Conference. Tyger Campbell was named first-team all-conference, while Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Johnny Juzang were selected second-team All-Pac-12. Jaquez also earned Pac-12 All-Defensive team honors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> American college basketball tournament

The 2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2022–23 season. The 84th annual edition of the tournament began on March 14, 2023, and concluded with the UConn Huskies defeating the San Diego State Aztecs, 76–59 in the championship game on April 3 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.

References

  1. "Trademark record for serial no. 74687330 (Elite Eight)". United States Patent and Trademark Office . Retrieved 2011-03-27.
  2. Bruins were finally floored