NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — Among the countless things that make March the most magical sports month on the calendar, the unexpected spill into the NCAA Tournament by an unsuspecting, lowly seed team from a one-bid league ranks high on the list.
We typically get at least one of these every year. Programs that flail in obscurity for four months, then roar to life when given a chance at glory in the biggest week on the calendar, make for some incredible stories.
On Feb. 19, Saint Francis was a 10-17 team toiling in the bottom half of the Northeast Conference.
On Tuesday night, it pulled a stunner and did something that will live forever at the tiny school in the tiny town Loretto, Pennsylvania. (Population: 1,168)
SFU went into the gym of No. 1 Central Connecticut State — 22-6 coming in, a nation’s-best 14-game winning streak and obviously the best team in the conference this season — and the Red Flash (what a great moniker) pulled off their third straight NEC tournament win by three points to take the league’s automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
The game was ugly, but nobody associated SFU cares about that now.
The team is dancing for just the second time ever, the previous trip coming all the way back in 1991. Saint Francis won 46-43, shooting a paltry 31.7% and making only five of its 26 3-point attempts. The game was on a tightrope all night; Saint Francis never held a lead larger than four, CCSU’s biggest advantage being just two points. This after CCSU beat Saint Francis twice this season by a combined 31 points.
Bracketology: Teams jockeying for NCAA Tournament seeding get last chance in conference tourneys
Jerry Palm
Red Flash coach Rob Krimmel had guided his alma…
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