This was unexpected.
No. 2 seed Texas cruised past No. 3 Xavier for an 83-71 win on Friday to advance to the Elite Eight. There, it will arrive as the highest-seeded team remaining in the NCAA tournament.
Prior to the Texas-Xavier tip, Alabama and Houston both lost. They joined fellow No. 1 seeds Purdue and Kansas with early exits from NCAA play. No. 2 seeds UCLA, Arizona and Marquette also fell short of the regional finals, leaving Texas as the lone survivor from the tournament's top eight teams.