NCAA Basketball: Unlikeliest Conference Tournament runs of the Decade
By Joey Loose
3. Holy Cross (2016 Patriot League, 9-seed) (10-19, 5-13)
When the 2016 Patriot League Tournament began, the Holy Cross Crusaders were a complete afterthought. They were a program with a successful history, but hadn’t won the league in nine years, and had really struggled in recent times. This was the first year the Crusaders were led by former Northwestern coach Bill Carmody, but they still scuffled to a 10-19 record heading into the conference tournament. They also hadn’t won a road game in more than two months, having lost all of their conference road games.
The Patriot League Tournament does not take place on a neutral floor, and Holy Cross was given the unenviable task of heading to 8-seed Loyola-Maryland, knowing full well that another home game was almost an impossibility. After a tightly contest game, they managed to pull away late and topple Loyola, but this was just the first step of a long journey.
The Crusaders were awarded a trip to top-seeded Bucknell two days later. They avoided turnovers, made enough 3-pointers, and clawed back from a 9-point second half deficit. They hit enough shots late twice, eventually pulling out an incredible win in double overtime on the road. For the second game in a row, Crusaders forward Malachi Alexander led the way, with 20 points and the go-ahead basket in 2OT.
Three days later, the Crusaders were back on the road again, this time traveling to West Point to take on Army, the 4-seed. Once more, Holy Cross caused turnovers and shot the ball very well, taking advantage of an extremely sour offensive output from the Black Knights. The Crusaders scored the game’s first 10 points and never relinquished a healthy lead, eventually winning 60-38; Army scored just 12 points after halftime.
Somehow, the now 13-19 Crusaders were in the Patriot League title game, heading off to Lehigh for their fourth-straight road game. Once again, Alexander shined, leading the way with 26 points as Holy Cross’ offense exploded early. They built a 14-point lead in the first half, held a 25-14 advantage at the break, and held off a late charge from the Mountain Hawks. Holy Cross won the game by 3 points and pulled off the unthinkable.
A little over a week earlier, a team without any conference road victories was completely overlooked, but now they were the team heading to the NCAA Tournament. They had ended the regular season on a five game skid, but they had won four games in a row when it mattered most. They won a close game over Southern in the First Four before getting shellacked by 1-seed Oregon. Bill Carmody, who never made an NCAA Tournament during 13 years at Northwestern, had inspired this team to just an insane run in his first season with the Crusaders.