Meet the qualifiers: Saint Francis

New York Times

17-03-2025

The bracket for the 2025 men's NCAA Basketball Tournament has been revealed, led by Auburn as the No. 1 overall seed
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Team: Saint Francis
Conference: Northeast
In a 'good old fashioned rock fight,' according to winning coach Rob Krimmel, Saint Francis pulled off a major upset in the NEC on Tuesday night. The Red Flash topped No. 1 seed Central Connecticut 46-43 to earn their first NCAA berth since 1991. The rare below-.500 NCAA qualifiers, the 16-17 Red Flash have a young squad (zero seniors) led by junior guard Riley Parker. Sophomore wing Daemar Kelly hit the game-winning jumper with under 10 seconds left.
VCU leads George Mason 53-48 with 6:39 remaining in the Atlantic 10 championship game.
Every time it looked like the Rams were on the brink of pulling away, the Patriots have fought their way back.
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Team: Drake
Conference: Missouri Valley
Drake is headed to the NCAA for the third straight year, the second time the Bulldogs have accomplished that feat (1969-1971). Drake (30-3) beat Bradley 63-48 on Sunday in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship to earn the eighth NCAA berth in program history. Coach Ben McCollum is in his first season with the program after coaching Division II powerhouse Northwest Missouri State from 2009-24. The Bulldogs are led by Bennett Stirtz and Daniel Abreu.
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At the under-10 timeout, Florida leads 65-57 over Tennessee. The Volunteers have made this a single-digit game but the Gators still look formidable. A pair of Will Richard free throws and a Walter Clayton Jr. 3-pointer preceded the TV timeout.
Let's see if the Volunteers cut the deficit.
In a matter of two minutes, George Mason has cut VCU's lead to just two points, trailing 45-43 with 12:08 remaining in the second half.
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Team: Liberty
Conference: CUSA
Liberty is headed back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021 after topping Jacksonville State 79-67 in the Conference USA tournament final. Kaden Metheny led the Flames with 21 points, and Colin Porter was one assist shy of a double-double, finishing with 13 points and nine assists. Taelon Peter scored 20 points off the bench, going a perfect 7-of-7 from the field. Peter's hot hand extended to his teammates, as Liberty shot 60 percent — 30-of-50, including 12-of-20 from 3-point range.
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Tennessee isn't going away. The Volunteers, down by as much as 13, have made this a five-point game. Florida leads 60-55 with 8:47 to go but the Volunteers are charging.
Fun finish ahead of the SEC title game.
After trailing by eight at the break, the Patriots briefly cut into the Rams lead to start the second half, getting the deficit to as low as three points.
However, VCU responded quickly and have extended their lead to nine points, leading 45-36 with 14:08 remaining.
Tennessee can't get this game to single digits. At the 11:56 mark, the second TV timeout of the second half, Florida remains up 11 54-43 on Tennessee.
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Team: Robert Morris
Conference: Horizon League
Robert Morris will make its ninth NCAA trip after beating Youngstown State 89-78 on Tuesday in the Horizon League tournament championship. The Colonials (25-8) are coached by Andrew Toole, who is in his 15th season with the program. They are led by Kam Woods, Alvaro Folgueiras, Amarion Dickerson and Josh Omojafo, who all average in double figures in scoring.
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Team: UNC Wilmington
Conference: CAA
UNC Wilmington, the No. 2 seed in the CAA Tournament, had to survive against No. 12 seed Delaware in Tuesday's title game, 76-72 – preventing Delaware from becoming the lowest-seeded team in a conference tournament in men's basketball history to earn a bid, per CBS. This is UNC Wilmington's seventh NCAA trip and first since 2017. It's the first under fifth-year coach Takayo Siddle, who had 82 wins combined in the past three seasons to tie the best three-year run in program history. Senior guard Donovan Newby leads the Seahawks in scoring, 3-pointers and assists. He had 17 points and the biggest basket of the game with 34 seconds left Tuesday. This team hovers around the top 80 in offensive efficiency and the top 30 in offensive rebounding, and it projects as a No. 13 or No. 14 seed.
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With the second half underway, Florida leads by double digits 50-39 over Tennessee at the first TV timeout. Alex Condon already has six second-half points and 14:38 left to play.
Condon is one of three Gators players to have double-digit scoring.
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Team: Mount St. Mary's
Conference: MAAC
The Mountaineers head back to the Big Dance for the first time since 2021 after defeating Marist, Merrimack and Iona to take the MAAC title as a No. 6 seed. After a 4-5 start in conference play, Mount St. Mary's, located in Emmitsburg, Md., has won 11 of its past 14 games. Led by Dallas Hobbs, Dola Adebayo and Jedy Cordilia, the Mountaineers rely on their defense; they ranked just 291st in offensive efficiency and 356th of 364 Division-I teams in turnover percentage. A unique twist to their story: Eleven months ago, Mountaineers coach Dan Engelstad left his post to join Syracuse's staff as an assistant. First-year coach Donny Lind, who was a video coordinator for the 2011 VCU team that went to the Final Four, led the program to 22 wins in year one, its most since joining Division I in 1988.
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In the Atlantic 10 title game, VCU leads by eight 36-28 over George Mason. The Rams are limiting the Patriots to 30 percent (9-of-30) shooting from the floor in the first half. VCU is succeeding from beyond the arc, tallying five first-half 3s.
VCU senior forward Jack Clark leads the team in scoring with 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field. He also has two 3-pointers.
Team: Lipscomb
Conference: ASUN
Lipscomb will make its second NCAA appearance after beating North Alabama 76-65 in the ASUN tournament championship game on Sunday. The Bisons, who are coached by Lennie Acuff, will enter March Madness with a 25-9 record. They have five players who are scoring in double figures: Jacob Ognacevic, Will Pruitt, Joe Anderson, Gyasi Powell and Dylan Faulkner. Lipscomb's first NCAA appearance came in 2018.
The Yale Bulldogs are victorious in the Ivy League tournament, defeating Cornell 90-84. It is the second consecutive conference tournament win for the Bulldogs and fourth as a program.
Yale led by as much as 16 in the second half. But the Big Red clawed back, bringing the deficit to single digits. The Bulldogs pulled away late in the second half, thanks to a strong performance from Nick Townsend, who posted 19 points, five rebounds and four assists.
John Poulakidas, Yale's senior guard, had a game high 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field.
This is the eighth NCAA Tournament appearance for Yale. The Bulldogs reached the Round of 32 in 2024.
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At the half, Florida leads 39-30 over Tennessee. It's been all Gators in the first 20 minutes, who led by as much as 12 points.
The Gators are shooting 45.2 percent from the floor, drained five 3-pointers and are outrebounding Tennessee 19 to 15. Will Richard has a game high 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the floor.
Florida looks tough to beat as it looks to win the SEC tournament and earn a No. 1 seed in the "Big Dance."
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Team: High Point
Conference: Big South
High Point rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Winthrop for the Big South Conference tournament title on Sunday, pulling out an 81-69 victory. The Panthers, coached by Alan Huss in his second season, are led by Kezza Giffa, D'Maurian Williams and Kimani Hamilton, who all average in double figures in points. The Panthers (29-5) will be making their first March Madness appearance.
Team: Akron
Conference: MAC
A go-ahead layup by Nate Johnson with 2.3 seconds remaining secured Akron the MAC tournament championship and a thrilling 76-74 victory over Miami (OH). The top-seeded Zips, who won the outright regular-season crown, erased an 18-point deficit to the second-seeded RedHawks.
Akron returns the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season and third time in eight seasons under coach John Groce. Akron (27-6) is one of the hottest teams of the country, losing just once since the calendar flipped to 2025.