The “Elite Eight” refers to the last eight teams of the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament and the NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Championship, respectively. The Elite Eight features the winners of the four regional finals in Divisions I and III.
Division II’s Elite Eight has consisted of the eight regional champions since 1997 when the NCAA trademarked the phrase. All eight games of the Division II Elite Eight take place at the same site, just as the Final Four of the higher division.
In the modern era of the 64-team tournament, Saint Peter’s University in 2022 was the lowest-seeded team to reach this round in men’s Division I.
Who is in the Elite 8?
Only two #12 seeds (Missouri in 2002 and Oregon State in 2021) have ever made it to the Final Four. But now, nine 11th-ranked teams are among the final eight.
LSU (1986)
The Louisiana State University Tigers men’s basketball team also known simply as the LSU Tigers, competes in Division I of college basketball on behalf of LSU. After firing Will Wade on March 12, 2022, the Tigers hired Matt McMahon as their new head coach.
The Pete Maravich Assembly Center on the LSU campus serves as their home arena for home games. Southeastern Conference play is where you’ll find this squad. In the 1908–09 season, LSU fielded a men’s basketball team for the first time.
The first-ever game was a 35-20 triumph on the road against Dixon Academy. The program’s first-ever home game ended in an 18-12 victory over Mississippi State.
Loyola Marymount (1990)
Men’s collegiate basketball at Loyola Marymount University is represented by the Lions. They play in the West Coast Conference right now. Since 1981, the team’s home games have been held in Gersten Pavilion. In 1990, Loyola Marymount’s men’s basketball team made it all the way to the Final Four of the NCAA Division I Tournament.
They were defeated by eventual champions UNLV. Hank Gathers, a top player for the Lions passed away from a heart issue at the West Coast Conference tournament before the NCAA tournament.
The Lions won three straight games, beating New Mexico State, the defending champion Michigan and Alabama. At an average of 122 points per game, the 1990 club was also the best-scoring team in NCAA Division I annals.
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Temple (2001)
The men’s basketball program at Temple University competes as the Temple Owls. The Owls are a Division I American Athletic Conference school in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (The American).
They are coached by Aaron Mckie and play their home games at the Liacouras Center on the main campus of the university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With 1,978 victories as of the completion of the 2022-23 season, Temple’s men’s collegiate basketball program is the seventh most successful in NCAA Division I history.
With almost thirty appearances, they are one of only nine schools to have never won the NCAA Tournament and one of only four to have never advanced to the National Championship Game. After 31 years in the Atlantic 10 Conference, the Temple Owls football team announced on March 7, 2012, that it would be returning to the Big East Conference for the 2013 season.
George Mason (2006)
George Mason University’s men’s basketball team is called the Patriots. The Patriots’ home court is on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia’s EagleBank Arena.
- Most victories, 27, came in 2005–06 and 2010–11
- The 1969–70 season saw the most losses (23), by far
- The 2010–2011 season’s 16-game winning streak was the longest ever
- Most points – 42 by Carlos Yates (vs. Navy) on February 27, 1985
- Most field goals made – 18 by Rudolph Jones (vs. Bowie State) on January 18, 1973
- Most field goal attempts – 36 by Rudolph Jones (vs. Bowie State) on January 18, 1973
- Most 3-pointers made – 10 by Dre Smith (vs. James Madison) on January 19, 2008
- Most 3-pointers attempted – 20 by Riley Trone (vs. Troy State) on November 27, 1993
Virginia Commonwealth (2011)
The men’s collegiate basketball team for Virginia Commonwealth University is known as the VCU Rams. After playing in the Colonial Athletic Association for a decade, the Rams moved to the Atlantic 10 Conference for the 2012–13 season (CAA).
The Wall Street Journal placed VCU’s men’s basketball team as the 40th best in the country in terms of value in 2017. VCU’s $56.9 million valuation placed it second in both Virginia and the Atlantic 10 Conference. Mike Rhoades leads the squad as head coach.
The E.J. Wade Arena in the Stuart C. Siegel Center on the university’s Monroe Park campus in Richmond, Virginia has been the site of home basketball games since 1999. In 2011, Virginia Commonwealth became the first team in school history to reach the NCAA Final Four.
In addition to their 10 conference tournament appearances, the Rams have won three Sun Belt Conference tournaments, five Colonial Athletic Association tournaments, and two Atlantic 10 Conference tournaments since 2010.
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Dayton (2014)
The University of Dayton in Ohio fields a men’s collegiate basketball team that participates in the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) and NCAA Division I. The Flyers play their home games at the University of Dayton Arena. Anthony Grant, who is in his seventh year leading the Flyers is the head coach.
Dayton reached its highest AP Top 25 Poll position of #3 in March 2020, moving up from #2 in the 1955-56 season. While Dayton has never been ranked #1, they did get one first-place vote in the most recent AP poll for the 2019-2020 season.
With 2014 adjusted revenues of more than $16.6 million (the highest for non-football conference teams) and a valuation of nearly $84 million, Dayton was ranked No. 23 in a study of college basketball team valuations in 2015.
Xavier (2017)
The Xavier University men’s basketball team competes in the Big East Conference and calls Cincinnati, Ohio home. The squad is presently coached by Sean Miller and plays in the Big East Conference. Xavier has made 29 total appearances in the NCAA tournament, including 16 in the last 18 tournaments.
Xavier was given a first-ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament on March 11, 2018. Xavier University men’s basketball has won the NIT twice, most recently in 2022. Xavier has triumphed in the Atlantic 10 competition four times (1998, 2002, 2004 and 2006).
There have been 17 regular season conference titles won by Xavier and 9 conference tournament titles won. In addition, they have one regular-season championship in the Big East Conference in 2018. In 2023, they competed in the Big East finals but ultimately fell to the Marquette Golden Eagles.
Loyola Chicago (2018)
Loyola University Chicago’s men’s basketball team is known as the Ramblers. The Ramblers are Atlantic 10 Conference rivals. In 2013, the Ramblers became a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, where they remained in membership until 2022.
For 34 years before to 2013, the club was a founding member of the Horizon League. Under the direction of All-American Jerry Harkness, Loyola won the 1963 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament then the “NCAA University Division” by defeating the defending champion Cincinnati Bearcats, 60-58, in overtime.
UCLA (2021)
The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team competes in the Pac-12 Conference as a representative of the University of California, Los Angeles. The program has been around since 1919 and has won 11 NCAA championships. From 1964 to 1975, John Wooden coached the UCLA Bruins, who won ten national championships under his watch, including seven in a row from 1967 to 1973.
For the record, UCLA has gone undefeated four times (1964, 1967, 1972, and 1973). In 1995, under Jim Harrick’s guidance, the squad won yet another NCAA championship. During 2006 and 2008, UCLA was coached by Ben Howland, who guided the Bruins to three straight appearances in the Final Four.
UCLA won 13 straight regular season conference titles from 1967–1979 as a member of the AAWU, Pacific-8 and Pacific-10. This record remained until Kansas surpassed it in 2018. In 2024, UCLA plans to become a member of the Big Ten Conference.
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