The Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team represents the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts (about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston) in NCAA Division I competition. The team competes in the Patriot League and plays their home games in the Hart Center.Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball 2007–08 media guide . Accessed April 20, 2008. Under coach Doggie Julian, the Crusaders won a national championship in 1947. It is the only school from Massachusetts to win an NCAA Division I tournament. Along with Final Four appearances in 1947 and 1948, Holy Cross has appeared 13 times in the NCAA tournament, most recently in 2016. Dave Paulsen was appointed the program's 19th head coach on March 28, 2023."Holy Cross Names Dave Paulsen Head Men’s Basketball Coach," College of the Holy Cross Athletics, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.

History Beginnings and national prominence Basketball first appeared at Holy Cross in 1900 but was discontinued several times until its reinstatement in 1939. The Crusaders originally played their home games at the Boston Garden and the South High Community School. In 1947, the Crusaders, behind coach Doggie Julian, NCAA tournament MVP George Kaftan, star Joe Mullaney and freshman point guard Bob Cousy, beat Oklahoma at Madison Square Garden to win the NCAA championship.http://sportslifer.wordpress.com/2009/03/14/once-upon-a-time-holy-cross-was-king-of-hoops/ Once Upon a Time, Holy Cross Was King of Hoops

The team entered the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament as the last seed in the 8-team tournament. In the first game, Holy Cross defeated the Navy 55–47, in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden. Mullaney led the team in scoring with 18 points, mostly in part to Navy coach Ben Carnevale's decision to have his players back off from Mullaney, who was reputed as being more of a playmaker than a shooter.Reynolds, p51. In the semi-final match, Holy Cross faced the City College of New York, coached by Nat Holman. The Crusaders, led by Kaftan's 30-point game, defeated the Beavers 60–45.Reynolds, p52. In the championship game, Holy Cross faced a Bruce Drake coached University of Oklahoma team in another sold-out game at Madison Square Garden. Kaftan followed up his semi-final game performance with 18 points in the title game, leading the Crusaders to a 58–47 victory against the Sooners. Along with UConn, Holy Cross is one of the two New England schools to ever win the NCAA tournament.

Holy Cross finished the 1947 championship season with 23 straight wins and became the first college from the New England area (as well as from the state of Massachusetts) to win a national college basketball title. 35,000 people watched a parade in the team's honor on Holy Cross Day in Worcester, Massachusetts. Future NBA legend Cousy was named AP and UP player of the year. In 1989, the NCAA voted teammate George Kaftan to the all-decade team of the 1940s.

The Crusaders followed up their championship by advancing to the 1948 NCAA Tournament's Final Four. After advancing to the Elite Eight in 1953, the Crusaders would wait 63 years before claiming another win in the NCAA Tournament.

In 1954, Holy Cross won the NIT Tournament behind another future NBA Hall-of-famer and Celtics legend Tom Heinsohn. This is widely recognized as the College's second national title in basketball due to the prestige of the NIT at the time.

In 1977, Holy Cross defeated a talented Providence team twice on last-second shots by forward Chris Potter and led top-ranked Michigan at the half in the first round of the NCAA tournament before being defeated. The following year, Sports Illustrated ranked Holy Cross and freshman of the year Ronnie Perry ninth in its pre-season poll.

Following the team's championship years of the 1940s and 1950s, the Crusaders have been ranked only occasionally by the Associated Press. After appearing in 65 of 116 total weekly polls (56%) in the 1950s, the Crusaders appeared in only five of 126 weekly polls (4%) in the 1960s and nine of 148 (6%) in the 1970s. The Crusaders have not been nationally ranked since January 1978.

Patriot League Holy Cross could have joined the newly founded Big East Conference in 1980, but college President Rev. John E. Brooks, S.J., vetoed the move for academic reasons. Holy Cross stayed independent until joining the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) to start the 1983–84 season. It moved to the Patriot League in 1991.

In recent decades, the men's basketball team has been the leading varsity program of the Holy Cross' athletic department. The men's basketball team has won six Patriot League titles (1993, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2016) since the league's formation in 1991.

With Ralph Willard as head coach, the Holy Cross men's team nearly accomplished three major upsets in the NCAA tournament. In 2001 as a fifteen seed, the Crusaders lost 72–68 to a second-seeded Kentucky team who advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. In 2002, the sixteenth-seeded Crusaders nearly became the first #16 seed to defeat a #1 seed, losing 68–59 to a top-seeded Kansas squad who advanced to the Final Four. The Crusaders led 37–35 at halftime, 44–39 with 11 minutes remaining and trailed by three points with fewer than two minutes remaining. In 2003 as a fourteenth seed, the Crusaders lost 72–68 to third-seeded, Dwyane Wade-led Marquette that would advance to the Final Four.

In 2016, the Crusaders made a miraculous run in the postseason. The team entered the Patriot League Tournament as the ninth seed and ultimately defeated second-seeded Lehigh in the championship game to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007. The Crusaders then defeated Southern University marking the first NCAA win for the program since 1953.

Seasons

Postseason

NCAA tournament results The Crusaders have appeared in the NCAA tournament 13 times. Their combined record is 8–13. They were national champions in 1947.

1947 Elite EightFinal FourNational Championship Game CCNYOklahoma W 55–47W 60–45W 58–47 1948 Elite EightFinal FourNational 3rd Place Game MichiganKentuckyKansas State W 63–45L 52–60W 60–54 1950 Elite EightRegional 3rd Place Game NC State L 74–87L 52–72 1953 Round of 22Sweet SixteenElite Eight W 87–74W 79–71L 73–81 1956 Round of 25 Temple L 72–74 1977 Round of 32 Michigan L 81–86 1980 11 Round of 48 (6) Iona L 78–84 1993 13 Round of 64 (4) Arkansas L 64–94 2001 15 Round of 64 (2) Kentucky L 68–72 2002 16 Round of 64 (1) Kansas L 59–70 2003 14 Round of 64 (3) Marquette L 68–72 2007 13 Round of 64 (4) Southern Illinois L 51–61 2016 16 First FourRound of 64 (16) Southern(1) Oregon W 59–55L 52–91

Men's NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player 1947 – George Kaftan

NIT results The Crusaders have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 12 times. Their combined record is 11–11. They were NIT Champions in 1954.

1952 First RoundQuarterfinals SeattleDuquesne W 77–72L 68–78 1954 QuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship Game St. Francis (NY)Western KentuckyDuquesne W 93–69W 75–69W 71–62 1955 Quarterfinals Saint Francis (PA) L 64–68 1960 First Round St. Bonaventure L 81–94 1961 First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals3rd Place Game Detroit MercyMemphis StateProvidenceDayton W 86–82W 81–69L 83–90W 85–67 1962 First RoundQuarterfinals Colorado StateSt. John's W 72–71L 74–80 1975 First Round Princeton L 63–84 1976 First RoundQuarterfinals Saint Peter'sNC State W 84–78L 68–78 1979 First Round L 81–105 1981 First RoundSecond Round Syracuse W 56–54L 57–77 1990 First Round L 78–87 2005 First RoundSecond Round Notre Dame W 78–73L 60–68

Men's National Invitation Tournament Most Valuable Player 1954 – Togo Palazzi

CIT results The Crusaders have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) one time. Their record is 1–1.

2014 First RoundSecond Round BrownYale W 68–65L 66–71

Appearances in final national polls Holy Cross has made 79 appearances in the AP Poll since it was introduced during the 1948–1949 season, peaking at No. 1 for five weeks in 1950. The college last appeared in the AP Poll during the 1977–1978 season. Holy Cross has finished the year ranked by the Helms Athletic Foundation in 1947 and in the final Associated Press poll of the season on six occasions:

Year Ranking Record 1947 1 27–3 1950 4 27–4 1952 13 24–4 1953 13 20–6 1954 3 26–2 1956 14 22–5 1960 16 20–6

Honored jerseys Note: As the college program stated, the jerseys were retired but not the "numbers" so other players can wear them: Holy Cross Crusaders honored jerseys No.PlayerYearsRef. 12 George Kaftan 1945–1949 Holy Cross to Raise Jerseys of Four Basketball Greats at College of the Holy Cross, 12 Nov 2008 15 Ron Perry 1976–1980 17 Bob Cousy 1946–1950 22 Togo Palazzi 1951–1954 24 Tom Heinsohn 1953–1956 32 Jack Foley 1959–1962

NBA players

George Blaney (1961–1962) Bob Cousy (1950–1963) Jack Foley (1962–1963) Tom Heinsohn (1956–1965) George Kaftan (1948–1953) Malcolm Miller (2011–2015) Joe Mullaney (1949–1950) Dermie O'Connell (1948–1950) Togo Palazzi (1954–1960) Kevin Stacom (1974–1982) Garry Witts (1981–1982)

International players

Jehyve Floyd (born 1997), in the Israeli Basketball Premier League

Awards All-America 1947 – George Kaftan (Second Team) 1948 – George Kaftan (Second Team), Bob Cousy (Third Team) 1949 – Bob Cousy (Second Team) 1950 – Bob Cousy (First Team) 1953 – Togo Palazzi (Third Team) 1954 – Togo Palazzi (Third Team) 1955 – Tom Heinsohn (Third Team) 1956 – Tom Heinsohn (First Team) 1962 – Jack Foley (Second Team)

References

External links