NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – While the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team's season has been over for nearly a month now, the program has found a way to tie into the bracket-busting madness that occurred on Friday, March 16, during the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament second round. Both Norfolk State University and Lehigh University boast coaches with ties to New Paltz, while a former Hawk player is a member of the Iowa State University coaching staff that knocked off the defending national champion, the University of Connecticut, on Thursday.

The first 'upset' of the day occurred at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb., when 15th-seeded Norfolk State topped the second-seeded University of Missouri, 86-84. The Spartans, who raised their overall record to 26-9, are under the direction of fifth-year head coach Anthony Evans. Evans' collegiate coaching career began at New Paltz in the late 1990's, and during the 1997-98 season, he helped build the foundation for the 1998-99 squad that wound up being the most successful team in program history. During that 1997-98 season, Evans mentored a 6-5, 240-pound freshman by the name of Rob Jones. He finished his collegiate playing career as one of the best post players in program history, as he is New Paltz's career record holder in rebounds (878) and blocks (140) and ranks seventh all-time in points (1,321). Jones would end up following Evans to Norfolk State, as he joined the Spartans' staff upon Evans' appointment as head coach. Currently, Jones holds the title of head assistant coach.
  As the magic in Omaha was winding down, another upset was in the making about 1,200 miles away at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C. There, 15th-seeded Lehigh (27-7) battled second-seeded Duke University, which was playing a virtual home game given the location of Duke's campus relative to Greensboro. Lehigh led for the majority of the game, and the Mountain Hawks ended up prevailing by a 75-70 final. While Lehigh's head coach does not have any ties to the New Paltz men's basketball program, up-and-coming assistant coach Steve Ott does. Ott competed for the Hawks from 2001-04.

Finally, T.J. Otzelberger, the associate head coach at Iowa State, was a member of the 1997-98 New Paltz men's basketball team. Otzelberger ended up transferring to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he became a two-year team captain. The Cyclones advanced past Connecticut by a 77-64 margin in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.