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Championship Week Thursday Rewind: Holy Cross, Batman

The Crusaders pillage Bethlehem, while in women's action top seeds fell like rain.

Say hello to the tournament's 68th team.
Say hello to the tournament's 68th team.
James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

Lehigh got in a big hole early, and trailed by 11 at halftime. But you all know how that usually ends up when a high seed faces one of the worst teams in the conference, right? Holy Cross had finished ninth out of ten teams in the Patriot League, and had gone the entire season without winning a single game on the road... until the tournament, when they suddenly started behaving abominably as guests. They went to Baltimore and beat Loyola by five. They went to Lewisburg and beat Bucknell by five. They they went to West Point and destroyed Army in a 60-38 rout.

In the second half, Lehigh seemed determined to put an end to this nonsense. Twice in the final minute and ten seconds, the Mountain Hawks got within a point. But the Crusaders made their free throws, and then the game's final possession happened. Oh, jeez, did it happen.

Twenty-six ticks left, and Lehigh brought the ball down looking for a three to tie. Kyle Leufroy shot. He missed, but Kahron Ross got the rebound. He dribbled back out behind the arc and tried himself. Another miss. Leufroy got the rebound this time, raced out and put it up again. No dice. Again, Ross got the rebound, the clock having dwindled to three seconds. He heaved it up from beyond the top of the key, it clanged off the front of the rim, and Holy Cross finally got the defensive rebound.

Oh for four from beyond the arc in 26 seconds, and suddenly Holy Cross, at 14-19, is headed to the NCAA Tournament. There hasn't been a miracle this astounding in a town called Bethlehem in over two thousand years.

Yesterday's Men's Results

There was some other stuff going on last night, but for the most part brackets held to form outside of the Atlantic 10, where both first-round games were upsets. Georgia Tech sent Clemson home early in the ACC, and in the SWAC seventh-seeded Mississippi Valley State ended the season of the second seed, Alcorn State; the Braves are done for the year because they're ineligible for the real postseason due to APR penalties. And, of course, there was the surprising second Big 12 game of the night. Fortunately for Texas Tech, they appear to be well clear of the bubble.

There were two crazy games; in the Southland, Nicholls State took down McNeese State in double overtime, while UNLV needed three extra sessions to finally rid themselves of the aerial portion of the U.S. Military.

As always, links in green indicate recaps from our friends around the SB Nation network.

ACC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
R2 (8) Pittsburgh 72, (9) Syracuse 71 Cameron Johnson (PITT), 24
Michael Gbinije (SYR), 24
R2 (5) Duke 92, (12) North Carolina State 89 Cal Barber (NCSU), 29
R2 (10) Georgia Tech 88, (7) Clemson 85 Marcus Georges-Hunt (GT), 28
R2 (6) Virginia Tech 96, (11) Florida State 85 Seth Allen (VT), 20
ATLANTIC 10 MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
R1 (13) Saint Louis 83, (12) George Mason 78 Marcus Bartley (SLU), 24
R1 (14) La Salle 88, (11) Duquesne 73 Jordan Price (LAS), 36
BIG EAST MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
R1 (8) Georgetown 70, (9) DePaul 53 D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (GU), 20
R1 (7) Marquette 101, (10) Saint John's (NY) 93 Christian Jones (SJU), 29
BIG TEN MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
R1 (12) Illinois 85, (13) Minnesota 52 Michael Finke (ILL), 17
R1 (11) Nebraska 89, (14) Rutgers 72 Shavon Shields (NEB), 20
BIG 12 MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
R1 (8) Kansas State 75, (9) Oklahoma State 71 Dean Wade (KSU), 20
R1 (10) Texas Christian 67, (7) Texas Tech 62 Chauncey Collins (TCU), 19
CONFERENCE USA MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
R2 (8) Western Kentucky 84, (9) North Texas 76 Eric Katenda (UNT), 22
R2 (5) Old Dominion 72, (12) Florida Atlantic 46 Trey Freeman (ODU), 25
R2 (7) North Carolina-Charlotte 79, (10) Rice 69 Jon Davis (UNCC), 27
Marcus Evans (RICE), 27
R2 (6) Texas-El Paso 85, (11) Florida International 77 Lee Moore (UTEP), 30
MID-EASTERN MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
QF (1) Hampton 83, (9) Morgan State 81 Donte Pretlow (MSU), 27
QF (2) Norfolk State 66, (7) North Carolina Central 47 Dante Holmes (NCCU), 17
MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
R1 (9) Utah State 88, (8) Wyoming 70 Shane Rector (USU), 24
R1 (7) Nevada-Las Vegas 108, (10) Air Force 102 (3OT) Ike Nwamu (UNLV), 38
R1 (6) Colorado State 80, (11) San José State 61 Antwan Scott (CSU), 17
PAC-12 MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
R1 (8) Washington 91, (9) Stanford 68 DeJounte Murray (UW), 25
R1 (5) Colorado 80, (12) Washington State 56 George King (COL), 21
R1 (7) Southern California 95, (10) UCLA 71 Bennie Boatwright (USC), 19
R1 (6) Oregon State 75, (11) Arizona State 66 Gerry Blakes (ASU), 20
PATRIOT LEAGUE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
FINAL (9) Holy Cross 59, (2) Lehigh 56
Malachi Alexander (CHC), 26
SEC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
R1 (12) Tennessee 97, (13) Auburn 59 Armani Moore (TEN), 22
SOUTHLAND MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
R1 (5) Southeastern Louisiana 84, (8) New Orleans 74 Nate Frey (UNO), 21
R1 (7) Nicholls State 94, (6) McNeese State 90 (2 OT) Jarren Greenwood (MSU), 23
SWAC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
QF (7) Mississippi Valley State 64, (2) Alcorn State 61 Marcus Romain (MVSU), 22
QF (1) Texas Southern 77, (8) Alabama A&M 69 Malcolm Riley (TSU), 22

Yesterday's Women's Results

There's no other way to put this: the WNIT field got a heck of a lot stronger last night. Montana State, Ohio, and Bethune-Cookman -- one seeds all -- were all dispatched by either eight or nine seeds last night in a bloodletting of epic proportion. In lesser upsets, the CAA's tenth-and-final seed, Towson, dumped seven-seed William & Mary, Rice sent Louisiana Tech home early in a 10-7 upset, and the four final seeds in the MAC are 2, 5, 6, and 8 after the quarterfinals went pear-shaped.

Three finals are now set, though, although none of them take place today. In the Atlantic Sun, the top-seeded Florida Gulf Coast women did what the men did: knocked off Stetson. FGCU will attempt to join the men in the big dance by beating second-seeded Jacksonville later this week. The top two seeds will also vie for the Mountain West crown as Colorado State and Fresno State both survived; in the NEC, third seed Robert Morris upset the two, Bryant, for the right to face top-seeded Sacred Heart.

The rest of today's results:

ATLANTIC SUN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
SF (2) Jacksonville 67, (3) South Carolina-Upstate 56 Briona Brown (JU), 19
Travonda Haddock (USCU), 19
SF (1) Florida Gulf Coast 61, (4) Stetson 46 Kaneisha Atwater (FGCU), 25
BIG SKY WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
QF (9) Idaho State 52, (1) Montana State 50 Peyton Ferris (MSU), 16
QF (4) North Dakota 65, (5) Montana 62 Kayleigh Valley (MONT), 30
QF (2) Eastern Washington 100, (7) Sacramento State 97 Hayley Hodgins (EWU), 27
QF (3) Idaho 86, (6) Weber State 83 (OT) Mikayla Ferenz (IDA), 29
BIG WEST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
QF (3) Long Beach State 54, (6) Cal Poly-SLO 52 Beth Balbierz (POLY), 17
QF (4) Cal-Davis 71, (5) Cal-Santa Barbara 67 Morgan Bertsch (UCD), 26
COLONIAL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
R1 (8) College of Charleston 71, (9) North Carolina-Wilmington 62 Breanna Bolden (COC), 25
R1 (10) Towson 71, (7) William & Mary 65 Marlena Tremba (W&M), 29
CONFERENCE USA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
R2 (8) Alabama-Birmingham 64, (9) Southern Mississippi 46 Brittanny Dinkins (USM), 20
R2 (5) Old Dominion 62, (13) North Texas 55 Jennie Simms (ODU), 32
R2 (10) Rice 72, (7) Louisiana Tech 67 (OT) Brooklyn Pumroy (LT), 24
R2 (6) Marshall 76, (14) Florida International 44 Leah Scott (MRSH), 18
MID-AMERICAN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
QF (8) Buffalo 72, (1) Ohio 60 Quiera Lampkins (OHIO), 23
QF (5) Akron 73, (4) Toledo 71 (OT) Anita Brown (AKR), 37
QF (2) Central Michigan 66, (7) Western Michigan 62 Tinara Moore (CMU), 18
QF (6) Eastern Michigan 67, (3) Ball State 53 Cha Sweeney (EMU), 29
MID-EASTERN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
QF (9) South Carolina State 56, (1) Bethune-Cookman 48 Amber Howard (SCSU), 20
QF (2) North Carolina A&T 67, (7) Florida A&M 50 Aprill McRae (NCAT), 16
MOUNTAIN WEST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
SF (1) Colorado State 60, (5) New Mexico 42 Elin Gustavsson (CSU), 18
SF (2) Fresno State 66, (6) Nevada-Las Vegas 60 Toni Smith (FSU), 18
NORTHEAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
SF (3) Robert Morris (PA) 72, (2) Bryant 59 Alex Klein (BRY), 27
SF (1) Sacred Heart 92, (4) Saint Francis (PA) 71 Alissa Tarsi (SHU), 25
SWAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
QF (2) Southern 61, (7) Alcorn State 57 Norianna Haynes (ALC), 17
QF (1) Alabama State 88, (9) Alabama A&M 72 Britney Wright (ALST), 25
SUN BELT WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
QF (1) Arkansas State 81, (8) Appalachian State 61 Joi Jones (APST), 28
QF (4) Troy 62, (5) South Alabama 49 Ashley Beverly Kelley (TROY), 18
QF (2) Arkansas-Little Rock 62, (7) Texas State 50 Ayriel Anderson (TXST), 20
QF (3) Louisiana-Lafayette , (6) Texas-Arlington Simone Fields (ULL), 18
WAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND RESULT HIGH SCORER
QF (4) Utah Valley 61, (5) Missouri-Kansas City 53 Sam Loggins (UVU), 14
QF (2) Texas-Rio Grande Valley 60, (7) Chicago State 52 Shawnte' Goff (RGV), 22
QF (3) Cal State-Bakersfield 62, (6) Seattle 54 Erika Williams (CSB), 19

Today's Men's Schedule

There are no finals today, and the final wave of conferences swing into action as the American, Sun Belt, and WAC begin tournament play. With K-State playing Kansas very early in the day, there will be plenty of action for you to take in this evening:

AMERICAN MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
R1 2:30pm (9) South Florida (8) East Carolina Orlando FL ESPNU
R1 5:00pm (10) Tulane (7) Central Florida ESPNNews
ACC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
QF 11:00am (8) Pittsburgh (1) North Carolina Washington DC ESPN
QF 1:00pm (5) Duke (4) Notre Dame
QF 6:00pm (10) Georgia Tech (2) Virginia
QF 8:00pm (6) Virginia Tech (3) Miami (FL)
ATLANTIC 10 MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
R2 11:00am (9) Richmond (8) Fordham Brooklyn NY NBCSN
R2 1:30pm (13) Saint Louis (5) George Washington
R2 5:30pm (10) Massachusetts (7) Rhode Island
R2 8:00pm (14) La Salle (6) Davidson
BIG EAST MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
QF 11:00am (8) Georgetown (1) Villanova New York NY FS1
QF 1:30pm (5) Butler (4) Providence
QF 6:00pm (7) Marquette (2) Xavier
QF 8:30pm (6) Creighton (3) Seton Hall
BIG SKY MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
QF 2:05pm (8) Portland State (1) Weber State Reno NV Watch Big Sky
QF 4:35pm (5) North Dakota (4) Idaho State
QF 7:35pm (10) Sacramento State (2) Montana
QF 10:05pm (6) Eastern Washington (3) Idaho
BIG TEN MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
R2 11:00am (9) Northwestern (8) Michigan Indianapolis IN BTN
R2 1:30pm (12) Illinois (5) Iowa
R2 5:30pm (10) Penn State (7) Ohio State ESPN2
R2 8:00pm (11) Nebraska (6) Wisconsin
BIG 12 MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
QF 11:30am (5) Baylor (4) Texas Kansas City MO ESPN2
QF 1:30pm (8) Kansas State (1) Kansas
QF 6:00pm (10) Texas Christian (2) West Virginia ESPNU
QF 8:00pm (6) Iowa State (3) Oklahoma
BIG WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
QF 2:00pm (8) Cal State-Fullerton (1) Hawai'i Anaheim CA Prime Ticket
QF 4:30pm (5) Cal-Davis (4) Cal-Santa Barbara
QF 8:00pm (7) Cal Poly-SLO (2) Cal-Irvine
QF 10:30pm (6) Cal-Riverside (3) Long Beach State
CONFERENCE USA MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
QF 11:00am (8) Western Kentucky (1) Alabama-Birmingham Birmingham AL ASN
QF 2:30pm (5) Old Dominion (4) Louisiana Tech
QF 6:00pm (7) North Carolina-Charlotte (2) Middle Tennessee State
QF 8:30pm (6) Texas-El Paso (3) Marshall
MID-AMERICAN MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
QF 11:00am (8) Eastern Michigan (1) Akron Cleveland OH TWC/ESPN3
QF 1:30pm (12) Bowling Green (4) Central Michigan
QF 5:30pm (7) Northern Illinois (2) Ohio
QF 8:00pm (11) Miami (OH) (3) Buffalo
MID-EASTERN MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
QF 5:00pm (11) Coppin State (3) South Carolina State Norfolk VA MEACHoops
QF 7:30pm (5) Savannah State (4) Bethune-Cookman
MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
QF 11:00am (9) Utah State (1) San Diego State Paradise NV CBSSN
QF 2:30pm (5) Nevada (4) New Mexico
QF 6:00pm (7) Nevada-Las Vegas (2) Fresno State
QF 8:30pm (6) Colorado State (3) Boise State
PAC-12 MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
QF 2:00pm (8) Washington (1) Oregon Paradise NV Pac-12
QF 4:30pm (5) Colorado (4) Arizona
QF 8:00pm (7) Southern California (2) Utah
QF 10:30pm (6) Oregon State (3) California FS1
SEC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
R2 noon (9) Arkansas (8) Florida Nashville TN SECN
R2 2:30pm (12) Tennessee (5) Vanderbilt
R2 6:00pm (10) Alabama (7) Mississippi
R2 8:30pm (11) Mississippi State (6) Georgia
SOUTHLAND MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
QF 5:00pm (5) Southeastern Louisiana (4) Houston Baptist Katy TX ESPN3
QF 7:30pm (7) Nicholls State (3) Sam Houston State
SWAC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
QF 2:30pm (6) Prairie View A&M (3) Jackson State Houston TX SWAC
QF 8:30pm (5) Alabama State (4) Southern
SUN BELT MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
R1 5:00pm (8) South Alabama (5) Georgia Southern New Orleans LA ESPN3
R1 7:30pm (7) Texas State (6) Georgia State
WAC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
QF 4:00pm (5) Missouri-Kansas City (4) Utah Valley Paradise NV WAC Digital
QF 6:30pm (7) Chicago State (2) Cal State-Bakersfield
QF 9:00pm (6) Texas-Rio Grande Valley (3) Seattle

Today's Women's Schedule

No finals here today, either -- or even semifinals, for that matter -- and the Big South, Horizon, Missouri Valley, Southland, and WAC commence hostilities.

BIG SOUTH WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
R1 1:00pm (9) Coastal Carolina (8) Campbell Asheville NC Big South Net
R1 3:30pm (10) Longwood (7) Charleston Southern
R1 6:00pm (11) Winthrop (6) High Point
COLONIAL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
QF 11:00am (8) College of Charleston (1) James Madison Upper Marlboro MD ASN
QF 1:30pm (5) Delaware (4) Elon
QF 4:00pm (10) Towson (2) Drexel
QF 6:30pm (6) Northeastern (3) Hofstra
CONFERENCE USA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
QF 11:00am (8) Alabama-Birmingham (1) Texas-El Paso Birmingham AL ASN
QF 1:30pm (5) Old Dominion (4) North Carolina-Charlotte
QF 5:00pm (10) Rice (2) Middle Tennessee State
QF 7:30pm (6) Marshall (3) Western Kentucky
HORIZON LEAGUE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
R1 noon (9) Valparaiso (4) Detroit Green Bay WI ESPN3
R1 2:30pm (8) Cleveland State (5) Northern Kentucky
R1 5:00pm (10) Illinois-Chicago (3) Wright State
R1 7:30pm (7) Oakland (6) Youngstown State
MID-EASTERN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
QF 11:00am (11) Howard (3) Hampton Norfolk VA ESPN3
QF 1:30pm (5) Morgan State (4) Coppin State
MISSOURI VALLEY WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
R1 4:00pm (9) Bradley (8) Wichita State Moline IL ESPN3
R1 7:00pm (10) Evansville (7) Illinois State
SOUTHLAND WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
R1 11:00am (8) Lamar (5) Houston Baptist Katy TX ESPN3
R1 1:30pm (7) Sam Houston State (6) Nicholls State
SWAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ROUND TIME (CT) TEAM - TEAM LOCATION NETWORK
QF noon (6) Jackson State (3) Texas Southern Houston TX SWAC
QF 6:00pm (5) Prairie View A&M (4) Grambling State