2023 March Madness scores, takeaways: Elite Eight set as Texas, Creighton, Miami, San Diego State advance

The 2023 NCAA Tournament devolved into utter chaos on Friday. The Sweet 16 once again took center stage, and the last No. 1 seeds departed from the bracket as Alabama lost to San Diego State and Houston fell against Miami. Both the Aztecs and Hurricanes are No. 5 seeds who will be marching on to an Elite Eight that will feature just one team seeded No. 2 or better. This will mark the first time in tournament history that not a single No. 1 seed has made it past the Sweet 16.

Amid the mayhem, the top team left standing is No. 2 seed Texas, which handled No. 3 seed Xavier 83-71 in Friday’s final game to secure the Longhorns’ first Elite Eight appearance since 2008. In total, the Elite Eight fields looks like this: No. 2 seed Texas, No. 3 seed Kansas State, No. 3 seed Gonzaga, No. 4 seed UConn, No. 5 seed Miami, No. 5 seed San Diego State, No. 6 seed Creighton and No. 9 seed FAU.

One of the only things that could have made the Sweet 16 wonkier would have been an upset victory from No. 15 seed Princeton on Friday. While the Tigers put forth a gamely effort, they could not overcome a hot-shooting Creighton team as their Cinderella run ended with an 86-75 loss to the Bluejays. The Elite Eight appearance will be the first in program history for Creighton.

Here are some more takeaways from Friday’s action as the Sweet 16 wrapped up and we look ahead to the Elite Eight.

SEC fades

The SEC looked like a big winner entering the Sweet 16 as the league was tied with the Big East for most representatives (3). But the league’s hopes of sending a team to the Final Four crashed hard in the Sweet 16, capped by No. 1 overall seed Alabama’s abrupt exit thanks to San Diego State. The Aztecs held Alabama to 32.4% shooting, which tied a season-low for the Crimson Tide. Alabama’s 3-of-27 shooting mark from 3-point range marked its second-worst percentage (11.1%) in a game this season.

No. 4 seed Tennessee lost to No. 9 seed FAU in Thursday’s action, while No. 8 seed Arkansas was blown out by No. 4 seed UConn as well, to mark a disappointing end to the conference’s season.

Big East shines

On the flip side, the Big East is the only conference with two teams left standing for the Elite Eight after Creighton handled Princeton on Friday to join UConn in the Regional finals. While Xavier produced a dud performance in its loss to Texas, this has been a good tournament for the league, on the whole. Of the conference’s five tournament teams, only Providence exited in the first round.

If either the Bluejays or Huskies can win their Elite Eight game, it will mark two years in a row with a team in the Final Four for the conference after Villanova made it last season. A win from one of the two would also mark the first time since UConn’s 2014 national title run that someone other than Villanova represents the conference in the Final Four.

Texas is hot

After dismantling Xavier, Texas is now on its longest winning streak of the season at seven games. The Longhorns have won five of those seven games by double digits, including a beatdown of Kansas to close the regular season and another thrashing of the Jayhawks in the Big 12 Tournament title game. In an NCAA Tournament that has seen well-seeded teams struggle, the Longhorns have risen to every challenge.

A game with Miami will be another big test Sunday, but playing Xavier marked a good warmup for Texas. Like Miami, the Musketeers like to play fast and are a good 3-point shooting team, and Texas had no problem in the matchup. The Hurricanes have a deeper group of dynamic playmakers on the perimeter than Xavier, but many of the concepts used for Friday’s win should translate to Sunday’s Elite Eight showdown for the Longhorns.