03/25/10

Sweet Sixteen Rematches
- Xavier defeated Kansas State 87-79 in 1990 First Round
- Duke is 1-1 vs. Purdue (Purdue 68-60 in 1980 Elite Eight, Duke 69-60 in 1994 Elite Eight)
- Ohio State defeated Tennessee 85-84 in 2007 Sweet Sixteen

Butler is in the Elite Eight for the first time.  Brad Stevens will be coaching in his first Elite Eight.

With Butler in the Elite Eight, it is the first time a team from the Horizon league is in the Elite Eight.  The Horizon League had been 0-5 in Sweet Sixteen games before Butler's victory over Syracuse.

Butler is now 5-1 as a #5 Seed.  In 2007, they went to the Sweet Sixteen as a #5 seed before losing to eventual champion Florida.  It is currently the best record all-time for #5 seeds.

Butler is now tied for a tournament best 8-0 when allowing less than 65 points.  They are tied with Santa Clara.

The Big East is now 6-4 vs. the Horizon League in the tournament.  Here are the Horizon League victories:

Year

Team

Opponent

Score

Score

Round

1990

Xavier

Georgetown

74

71

Second Round

1998

Detroit

St. John's

66

64

First Round

2005

Milwaukee

Boston College

83

75

Second Round
2010 Butler Syracuse 63 59 Sweet Sixteen

West Virginia is in the Elite Eight for the 3rd time and the first since 2005.  Bob Huggins will be coaching in the Elite Eight for the 4th time, but the first time for West Virginia.

With West Virginia's victory, there will be a Big East team in the Elite Eight for a 9th consecutive year.  That is the longest current streak.

Kentucky is in the Elite Eight for the 32nd time and the first since 2005.  John Calipari will be coaching in the Elite Eight for the 6th time, but the first time for Kentucky.

Bob Huggins is coaching his third different school in the Elite Eight joining Gene Bartow, Rick Pitino, Bill Self and Eddie Sutton for the most different schools coaching in the Elite Eight.

The SEC is now 7-1 vs. the Ivy League.

Cornell's 45 points is the fewest that they have scored in 8 tournament games.  Their previous low was 50 vs. Arizona in the 1988 First Round.

Kansas State is in the Elite Eight for the 12th time and the first time since 1988.  Frank Martin will be coaching in his first Elite Eight.

Xavier's 96 points is the most that they have scored in 40 tournament games.  Their previous high was 89 vs. Texas in the 1990 Sweet Sixteen, vs. Nebraska in the 1991 First Round and vs. Mississippi State in the 2004 Second Round.