By the time the streak ended with a near-miss against eventual conference champs Morgan State, the Eagles had pulled themselves up to a much more respectable record (7-9, 13-20) and the middle of the Mid-Eastern conference.

That was all well and good, but they were still a team that, much like Illinois in the Big Ten or Georgia in the SEC, may have made noise down the stretch, but were still a sub-.500 team for a reason and would have to pull off the unlikely feat of winning the conference tournament to make the Big Dance.

Well, four more consecutive wins by a total of six points, including a 33 point night from stud guard McKee, and the improbable has become a reality. The Coppin State Eagles have become the first team ever to enter the NCAA tournament after losing 20 games in the regular season.

Granted, the deck is stacked, because all Coppin State gets for their efforts is the chance to be in the play-in game tomorrow against Mount Saint Mary's, and if they manage to win that one, they get to travel all the way to Raleigh to face the almighty  UNC Tar Heels.

It may not end on the prettiest of notes, but the Eagles have got to be very proud of their impressive turnaround this season, which they will hopefully use as a springboard to better things next year.

Sidenote: I'd like to give an honorable mention to Jackson State, who came one stupid foul and two last second free-throws away from making it into the tournament with an equally miserable 15-19 record.