Elite 8

本日のthe Daily Yomiuri（03/30/13）にあった記事の見出しから英語表現を拾います。Elite 8はアメリカの大学バスケットボールトーナメントで「ベスト8」を指す表現。ウェブ上では以下のように定義しています。
"Elite Eight" refers to either the last eight teams remaining in a given NCAA Tournament or the tournament's fourth round, when the last eight teams play for a chance to advance to the Final Four.
http://basketball.about.com/od/collegebasketballglossary/g/eliteeight.htm
そもそもelite自体が「選ばれた者, えり抜きの人々」（『プログレッシブ英和中辞典』小学館）という意味の単語なので，このような使われ方になったのも納得できます。（Koyamamoto）

Syracuse stifles Indiana to advance to Elite 8
WASHINGTON -- It took winning a national title for Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim to get over a late-shot loss to Indiana the last time the schools faced off in the NCAA tournament.
This meeting, 26 years later, was never close enough to come down to the final seconds, thanks mostly to Boeheim's trademark 2-3 zone defense. Now he has the Orange one victory from getting back to the Final Four.