Another Great No. 8

Alabama became the second No. 8-seeded team to defeat a defending national champion with its 80-71 victory over Syracuse in the Phoenix Regional semifinals Thursday night.

The other time was in 1985, when Villanova -- the No. 8-seeded team in the Southeast Regional -- made 22 of 28 shots (78.6%) to stun Georgetown, 66-64, in the national final at Lexington, Ky.

Georgetown, which had defeated Houston the previous year for its first -- and only -- national championship, was the No. 1-seeded team in the East in 1985.

The 1979 tournament was the first in which teams were seeded.