One Team Automatically Made NCAA Tournament Without a Win

Five teams made the NCAA tournament over the weekend, but one squad didn’t need to do anything after a conference semifinal win.

St. Thomas guard Drake Dobbs (11) puts in a layup against Omaha during the first half of the championship game in the Summit League NCAA college basketball tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D. on March 9, 2025. Josh Jurgens/AP Photo

Among the five teams that punched tickets to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament during the weekend, one team didn’t need to win its conference tournament title game to qualify.

Omaha (23–12) won anyway in an 85–75 victory over the St. Thomas Tommies (24–11) in the Summit League title game in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Sunday.

UST isn’t eligible for the NCAA tournament because of rules surrounding the school’s transition from Division III to Division I, so Omaha received the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament before Sunday’s championship game.

“I don’t know if I can put it into words right now because this group [has] been through so much,” Mavericks head coach Chris Crutchfield told KETV on court after the championship game on Sunday. “The day-one guys stayed around, and the role guys came in and played their role.”

“You gotta have special roles, a special group—not just on the basketball court but off the court,” Crutchfield added. “Their character is what got them through all this stuff, so I’m just so proud of them. A special moment for our school, a special moment for the city, and all the guys that came before them.”

Similar to UST, Omaha made a transition from Division II to Division I in 2011 and became tournament eligible in 2016. Besides Omaha, Lipscomb, High Point, Drake, and Southern Illinois Edwardsville all made the Big Dance on Sunday.

SIUE (22–11) will go to the NCAA tournament for the first time amid a 69–48 win over Southeast Missouri State (21–12) in the Ohio Valley Conference on Saturday. Once a Division II program, the Cougars made the move up to Division I in 2008 and posted a winning season at that level for the first time in 2022–2023. Cougars head coach Brian Barone, who has been the coach since 2019–2020, came prepared with framed scissors for cutting down the basketball hoop nets—a tradition for advancing teams.

“Six years ago! Six years ago, I put this above our locker room door,” Barone told ESPN 2 after the game broadcast. “Six years ago, and that’s been hanging above our locker room door. People didn’t think we were going to be able to do it. But that dude right there, that dude right there, believed it.”

High Point (30–5) also made the NCAA tournament for the first time on Sunday with a comeback from 15 points down to win 80–69 over Winthrop (23–12) for the Big South Conference title. The Panthers moved from Division II to Division I in 1998–1999 and notably had Tubby Smith as a head coach from 2018 to 2022 but went 41–75 in that span.

Current Panthers head coach Alan Huss has taken the program to new heights amid a 56–14 record since his 2023 hiring, which included a conference regular season title in his first year.

“We went immediately ... into trying to get our guys back and trying to talk them into coming back and running it back,” Huss told The Field of 68 podcast on Sunday night. “And we got all but one of our key pieces back from a season ago.”

“And so for those guys, especially, it’s pretty awesome watching … the vision … become reality,” Huss added.

Lipscomb (26–9) meanwhile denied North Alabama (24–11) a first-ever trip to the Big Dance. The Bisons beat the Lions 76–65 for the Atlantic Sun Conference championship on Sunday. For Bisons head coach Lennie Acuff, it’s his first trip to the NCAA tournament after years of working his way up through coaching in Division II before Lipscomb.

“It’s really a thrill,” Acuff told The Field of 68 podcast on Sunday night. “It’s something you dream of your whole life if you’re a coach, but, you know, I was fortunate enough to go to 11 NCAA Division II tournaments. I had a bunch of the guys who played for me, who worked for me here today, and they’re crying. It’s a hard road to get here.”

For Drake, the NCAA tournament is somewhat routine amid nine tournament appearances and four since 2021. Drake (31–3) ousted Bradley (26–9) for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament crown in a 63–48 win on Sunday.