Crim: Bracket busting isn’t exclusive to the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament

QUINCY — It has been a bracket-busting tournament.

No, we’re not talking about 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson toppling No. 1 Purdue. The Boilermakers, after all, have now lost to a double-digit seed in each of the last three seasons, so the outcome should not have been a complete shock.

Rather, this concerns the NCAA Division II men’s basketball tournament, where receiving a top regional seed has nearly as often as not meant a ticket to the Elite Eight. In fact, no fewer than three No. 1 regional seeds had annually advanced to the quarterfinals under the current 64-team format.

Until this year.

Undefeated Nova Southeastern University of Davie, Fla., the top-ranked team in Division II at the end of the regular season, is the lone No. 1 seed remaining. The Sharks breezed through the South Regional, winning three games by an average of 33 points, none closer than 25.

The other seven regional top seeds, including three-time defending champion Northwest Missouri State, were bounced from the tournament. Of those, only Indiana (Pa.) and West Texas A&M reached the regional championship game before their bubble burst.

Joining Nova Southeastern this week are three No. 2s, one No. 3, one No. 4 and two No. 6 seeds. The quarterfinals will be played Tuesday, the semifinals Thursday and the championship game Saturday at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.

The Great Lakes Valley Conference is represented, but not by the University of Indianapolis, which won 17 of 20 league games during the regular season and was ranked in the top 10 nationally for a good portion of the season.

After surviving a double overtime scare against Quincy University in the opening round of the GLVC tournament, the Greyhounds were upset by McKendree in the league semifinals.

No worry. Indianapolis was still awarded the top seed in the Midwest Regional, only to be stunned in the first round by McKendree, which earned a berth as an eighth seed after losing to Missouri-St. Louis in the GLVC championship game.

That opened the door for UMSL, the second seed. The Tritons easily dispatched Wisconsin-Parkside and Ferris State before holding off McKendree 62-60 in the regional title game despite leading by 18 points with nine minutes remaining.

This will be UMSL’s first appearance in the quarterfinals since 1972. It ended a 32-year NCAA tournament drought in 2020, only to see it canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, this season marks its third straight appearance since, and the second consecutive time it advanced to the regional championship game.

However, it has been a rollercoaster season for the Tritons, who won their first 12 games and rose to No. 4 in the national poll. They then limped to the finish line, losing 10 of their final 16 regular-season games to end up in a fourth-place tie in the GLVC with McKendree and Rockhurst at 11-9.

Not that the regular season matters anymore. Just ask Indianapolis and the other No. 1 seeds on the sideline.

Unlike Division I, the NCAA reseeds the Division II field once it reaches the Elite Eight, and UMSL (24-10) was awarded the eighth seed. So, it will face Nova Southeastern (33-0), the top seed for the second consecutive season, on Tuesday.

The up-tempo Sharks are averaging a whopping 103.1 points per game. They have reached or surpassed the century mark 19 times, with a high of 153 against Florida Memorial. (They scored 85 points in the first half of that game.) They’re shooting a gaudy 51% from the field and 40% from 3-point range as a team and have five players scoring in double figures.

As daunting as that may appear, UMSL is rooting for history to repeat itself. A year ago, eighth-seeded Black Hills State (S.D.) knocked off unbeaten Nova Southeastern in the quarterfinals before losing to Northwest Missouri State in the semifinals.

Other quarterfinals games feature Cal State-Bernadino and Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.), Black Hills State and Minnesota-Duluth in a game pitting two regional sixth seeds, and West Liberty (W.Va.) and New Haven (Conn.).

Should the seedings hold, and that’s certainly not a given considering the way the tournament has played out, the championship game would pit Nova Southeastern against second-seeded West Liberty in what could be an epic shootout.

The Hilltoppers (31-3) are averaging 100.1 points per game and have reached or topped the century mark 18 times, with a high of 129 against Frostburg State. They’re shooting nearly 50% from the field and 38% from 3-point range and have five players scoring in double figures. They have won 16 consecutive games.

Another potential title game twist: Before taking over as head coach at Nova Southeastern in the 2017-18 season and turning a 6-20 program into a Sunshine State Conference contender in less than 12 months, Jim Crutchfield spent 13 years in the same capacity at West Liberty.

While there, his teams won 20 or more games every season and averaged more than 30 victories during his final eight seasons. His teams reached the Division II Sweet 16 for seven straight seasons and the Final Four three times, losing to Central Missouri State in the 2014 title game.

This is the third time Nova Southeastern has reached the Elite Eight under Crutchfield and it was the No. 2 seed in the South Regional in 2020 when the season was shut down. The Sharks did not play during the 2020-21 season.

Notably, Crutchfield has won 85% of his games (461-81) overall. It’s the highest winning percentage among all NCAA coaches with at least 10 seasons at the helm — better than Adolph Rupp, John Wooden and Mike Krzyzewski, to name three.

The only thing missing on his resume is a national championship, and this could be the year he finally achieves that milestone.

Unless, of course, more upsets are lurking in Division II.