There was 11 BEast teams in the tournamanent in 2011. As there were more than 8 teams from a conference they did not follow the Elite 8 rule (as it was not possible). This year there are only 8 teams so we do not need to worry about it - it is a bracket rule that must be followed.
Sorry to Pearl for offending him with this post
Still, even at the time, it wasn't supposed to happen until the Sweet 16 at the earliest...not in the Round of 32. We got hosed.