They came and celebrated one more time on the Bellarmine University campus Monday.

By now, the Bellarmine story has made it around the sports world and back.

NCAA rules mandate a four-year transition period from schools moving from Division II to Division I. Bellarmine is now only halfway through that. Its first year of eligibility for the NCAA Tournament will be 2025, unless the NCAA makes a change when it revisits the issue this spring.

If it has been a rough 24 hours for University of Louisville men’s basketball fans, it has been no walk in the park for their basketball coach, Chris Mack said Monday, a day after his team was passed over for the NCAA Tournament.

The Hilltoppers and Gaels will tip off at 9 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN2. 

If you wondered why the Indiana University basketball team came to the Big Ten Tournament wishing, hoping and praying for an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, Archie Miller’s team provided a powerful reminder for more than 32 minutes Thursday afternoon at the United Center.