By Missy Grimes
3/16/2025
Saint Francis has advanced to the NCAA Division I Tournament and learned that it would face Alabama State in its first NCAA Tournament game since 1991 in the First Four on Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio. Tipoff is set for 6:40 pm on truTV.
The game-winner between Saint Francis and Alabama State advances to the Lexington Regional and will face top-seed Auburn on Thursday.
Saint Francis advanced to the NCAA Tournament after winning three games in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Championships by three points each. Junior Riley Parker hit three free throws in a 58-55 win against Wagner in the NEC Quarterfinals on March 5 in Loretto. Freshman Juan Cranford, Jr. hit three free throws in the waning seconds of a 71-68 win against LIU in the NEC Semifinals on March 8. Sophomore Daemar Kelly hit a jumper with 9.8 seconds left, and junior Chris Moncrief grabbed a steal and made a free throw to seal a 46-43 win at top-seed CCSU on March 11. Cranford was named the NEC Tournament Most Valuable Player, and Parker earned a spot on the All-Tournament team.
Parker, an All-NEC performer, leads the Red Flash with 13.4 points per game and has a team-best 111 assists. Junior Valentino Pinedo (Murcia, Spain), an All-NEC third-team performer, paces the team in rebounding (6.5 rpg.) and blocks (19) and is second in scoring (10.0 ppg.). Cranford, the NEC Rookie of the Year, is tied with Pinedo in scoring and ranks second in rebounding (4.1), assists (62), and leads the team in steals (34).
Alabama State advanced to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Championship with a 60-56 win against Jackson State on March 15. The Hornets defeated Texas Southern 84-79 in the SWAC Quarterfinals and Grambling State 64-62 in the Semifinals. CJ Hines had 20 points in the championship game to lead the Hornets to the victory.
Hines leads Alabama State with 14.4 points per game. TJ Madlock leads the team in rebounding (7.2 rpg.) and is third in scoring (12.6 ppg.). Amarr Knox is second in scoring with 14.3 points per game and leads the team in assists (84) and steals (57). Jasteven Walker is the team-leader in blocks (28).
Saint Francis is making its second NCAA Tournament appearance and first since it lost to No. 2 Arizona 93-80 on March 14, 1991. The Red Flash defeated Fordham 70-64 in an NCAA Play-in Game in Loretto on March 6, 1991, but that does not count as an official NCAA win. While it will be Saint Francis’ second NCAA appearance, the Red Flash has also participated in the National Invitation Tournament four times (1954, 1955, 1958, and 2019). The 1954 and 1955 teams were led by Maurice Stokes, who was named the unanimous Most Valuable Player in the 1955 NIT. In addition, Saint Francis participated in the CollegeInsiders.Com Postseason Tournament in 2015, 2017 and 2018. The last postseason win for the Red Flash was a 78-76 win against Jacksonville in the CIT on March 14, 2017.
Alabama State will be participating in its fifth NCAA Tournament after winning the SWAC in 2001, 2004, 2009, and 2011. The Hornets are 0-4 in the NCAA Tournament and will play in the opening round for the third straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
It will be the fourth time a team from the NEC will face a team from the SWAC in the NCAA Tournament. Mount St. Mary’s (2021) and FDU (2023) played Texas Southern, and FDU also played Prairie View A&M (2018). The NEC is 2-1 against those teams, thanks to a pair of Knights’ wins.
Rob Krimmel is in his 13th season as the head coach at Saint Francis. The first game in the NCAA Tournament will be Krimmel’s 399th game as the Red Flash head coach and his first in the NCAA Tournament. Krimmel, who came to Loretto in the fall of 1996 as a freshman and has never left, has been a part of nearly 850 games as a player, assistant coach, or head coach in the last 29 years.
Tony Madlock is the head coach at Alabama State. He is in his third season with the Hornets and fifth season as a head coach.
COURTESY ST. FRANCIS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
