Paris Alston: This is GBH's Morning Edition. It's March, and the madness of the men's and women's Division 1 NCAA tournaments is in full swing. College teams from across the country are playing for bragging rights, upsets and of course, the big prize a national championship. Joining us to talk everything March madness is GBH's Esteban Bustillos. Hey, Esteban. How's it going?

Esteban Bustillos: Good, good.

Alston: You got your bracket all figured out?

Bustillos: I'm working on it right now.

Alston: Okay. Me too.

Bustillos: Yeah, yeah. So it's exciting.

Alston: So this year is particularly exciting because there's just one team from Massachusetts that's made it to the big dance, right?

Bustillos: That's right. So for the second year in a row, Holy Cross women's basketball is the only Massachusetts team, men's or women's, to play in the NCAA Division 1 tournament. Now, they earned their bid after 61-55 victory over BU on Sunday to win the Patriot League and get a ticket to the tourney. After the game, I asked head coach Maureen Magarity what it means to once again be representing Massachusetts. Here's what she said.

Maureen Magarity: You know, we take tremendous pride in that. That's a hard thing to do, it's a hard thing to do, to get to the NCAA, but to do it back to back and then, like you said, to be the only team men's or women's from Massachusetts is even more incredible. But nothing that this group does doesn't shock me and surprise me. They're just, they are incredible. And, you know, anytime you have them on your team, you know, you can do amazing things.

Bustillos: So Massachusetts was close to having at least two other teams in the tournament, but both UMass Lowell and Merrimack's men's teams lost in their conference championship games.

Alston: Okay, so now that it is just Holy Cross that's carrying the flag for the whole Commonwealth, you know, some slight, nothing too big. Is there any player that we should be keeping our eyes on?

Bustillos: So their star player is Bronagh Power-Cassidy, who's a senior guard from Dublin, Ireland, who's averaged over 16 points per game this season. She put up 21 points in the championship game against BU, while also nabbing MVP honors, all on Saint Patrick's Day, by the way. And really, I mean, this team will go as far as she does. After the game against BU, she said the win was a dream come true.

Bronagh Power-Cassidy: I know, like, we were making jokes about it being on Saint Patrick's Day and it just kind of seemed like the perfect coincidence. But I know luck of the Irish is one thing, but I don't think anything about this win was luck. We all worked so hard all season.

Alston: And they'll have to keep working hard if they want to stay alive in the tournament. So what can you tell us about the team that Holy Cross is facing?

Bustillos: Yeah. So they'll be taking on the University of Tennessee at Martin in the first four. Now, the Skyhawks of UT Martin, they've had a weird season. They've gone 16 and 16 and actually lost in their conference championship game, which is kind of bizarre. But they're in the tournament either way. Holy Cross knows playing in the tournament is a challenge. They lost to Maryland in the first round last year. Here's Magarity again.

Magarity: I think we've just got to go into this. We have experience. We've obviously been there. We've kind of seen it all this year. We've been down, we've been up, we've been underdogs, we've expected to win. So you know, hey, at this point with this crew, what do we have to lose now?

Bustillos: Holy cross is 1 and 13 all-time in the NCAA tournament. So a win would be a big deal for the program no matter what.

Alston: So win the game and they're in the round of 64. Then what?

Bustillos: Yeah. So if they beat UT Martin, the Crusaders' reward — and I'm saying this in air quotes — will be facing off against Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes on their home court in Iowa City.

Alston: A reward? I don't know. That's a big challenge, Esteban.

Bustillos: Like getting to the second round and having to play the game's final boss, you know? It's safe to say that Iowa is going to be heavily favored in that game. But, you know, that's why it's March Madness. You never know. Holy Cross would be a 16 seed in that game, which is scheduled for Saturday. And in both the men's and women's D1 tourneys, a 16 seed has only beaten a one seed three times.

Alston: Well, there's always a first time, or a fourth time in this case, for everything. So who do you have coming out on top in your brackets?

Bustillos: On the women's side — look the only thing Caitlin Clark doesn't have is that national championship. I'm going with Iowa. And on the men's side, look, I'm pulling for my hometown Texas Tech. Shout out to Texas.

Alston: Esteban, but they got to face the Tar Heels first.

Bustillos: I know, I know, I'm sorry. And for the championship, I don't think they're going to win it for the championship. I'm going with Houston. Sorry, Paris.

Alston: Well, I'm going to be thinking of you keeping you on my heart. That is GBH' Esteban Bustillos, thanks so much.

Bustillos: Thanks so much, Paris.

Alston: You're listening to GBH News.

Massachusetts has just one squad representing the Bay State in the NCAA’s March Madness tournament: the Holy Cross women’s team, which will take on the University of Tennessee at Martin at 9 p.m. Thursday.

For the second year in a row, Holy Cross is the only Massachusetts team — men's or women's — to play in the NCAA Division 1 tournament. The Crusaders earned their bid after 61-55 victory over BU on Sunday to win the Patriot League.

After the game, head coach Maureen Magarity said the team took “tremendous pride” in their achievement.

“It's a hard thing to do, to get to the NCAA, but to do it back to back and then, like you said, to be the only team men's or women's from Massachusetts is even more incredible,” Magarity said. “But nothing that this group does doesn't shock me and surprise me. They're just, they are incredible. And, you know, anytime you have them on your team, you know, you can do amazing things.”

Massachusetts was close to having at least two other teams in the tournament, but the men's teams at both UMass Lowell and Merrimack lost in their conference championship games.

A woman in a basketball jersey with the number 13 and the word Crusaders runs on a basketball court.
Holy Cross guard Bronagh Power-Cassidy (13) in action in the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament against Maryland, Friday, March 17, 2023, in College Park, Md.
Nick Wass AP

One Holy Cross player to keep an eye on: Bronagh Power-Cassidy, a senior guard from Dublin, Ireland, who's averaged over 16 points per game this season. She put up 21 points in the championship game against BU, while also nabbing MVP honors, all on St. Patrick's Day. After the game, she said the win was a dream come true.

“We were making jokes about it being on St. Patrick's Day and it just kind of seemed like the perfect coincidence,” Power-Cassidy said. “I know luck of the Irish is one thing, but I don't think anything about this win was luck. We all worked so hard all season.”

If the Crusaders win their first game, they have a challenge ahead: Facing Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes on their home court in Iowa City. It’s akin to getting to the second round and having to play the game's final boss.

Holy Cross knows playing in the tournament is a challenge, Magarity said.

“I think we've just got to go into this,” she said. “We have experience. We've obviously been there. We've kind of seen it all this year. We've been down, we've been up, we've been underdogs, we've expected to win. So you know, hey, at this point with this crew, what do we have to lose now?”