We’re still in the early half of March, but we already have one Cinderella ready to roll in the NCAA Tournament.

Holy Cross, the ninth seed in the Patriot League men’s basketball tournament, entered the tournament with a 10-19 record, including an 0-9 record against teams in the conference. But that wasn’t enough to keep them out. The Crusaders put together four wins, beating Loyola Maryland, Bucknell, Army, and Lehigh to make it to the Big Dance.

 

The first half was a telling sign of what was to come for the Crusaders. They held the Mountain Hawks to just 14 first-half points, and forced nine turnovers.

Malachi Alexander earned Patriot League tournament MVP honors, as he led Holy Cross with 26 points, giving the Crusaders their first appearance in the NCAAs since 2007. He made 6-of-7 from 3-point range, helping end Lehigh’s tying school record 11-game winning streak.

The utilization of the 1-3-1 zone made a high difference for Holy Cross throughout the tournament, and that was no different against Lehigh. “We tried to replicate it [the 1-3-1 zone],” Lehigh coach Brett Reed said via The Morning Call. “We took different strategies even in practice to try to replicate it. Unfortunately, I don’t think we were as assertive and aggressive against it as we needed to be.”

He added, “It wasn’t until our guards really started to probe and penetrate, especially at the top half, that we were able to get more of the looks we wanted. That was something we wanted to have as part of our attack. Unfortunately, we just didn’t do it quickly enough.”

It’s appropriate for a team like Holy Cross to steal an NCAA Tournament berth this season. No team appears to be a true favorite, in what seems to be one of the biggest toss ups of an NCAA Tournament we have seen in quite some time.

Holy Cross joins Northern Iowa, UNC Asheville, Florida Gulf Coast, Yale, Austin Peay, Iona, UNC Wilmington, Chattanooga, Green Bay, Fairleigh Dickinson, South Dakota State, and Gonzaga and the only teams to secure a berth in the Big Dance thus far.

With plenty of basketball to be played, surely more schools will steal automatic bids, knocking out some teams on the bubble.

[Photo: Holy Cross]

About Harry Lyles Jr.

Harry Lyles Jr. is an Atlanta-based writer, and a Georgia State University graduate.