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SALT LAKE CITY -- It wasn’t just about Arizona being bigger. The Wildcats, led by point guard Mark Lyons, also were flat-out better. Aggressive, accurate and defensive-minded from the beginning, sixth-seeded Arizona ended 14th-seeded Harvard’s short-lived Cinderella run, 74-51, to advance to the Sweet 16.

A quick look at the victory:

Turning point: A true turning point never came, because Arizona controlled this one from the get-go. While the Crimson missed shot after shot -- its first 13, to be exact -- the Wildcats built a 17-2 lead. Freshman point guard Siyani Chambers finally buried Harvard’s first field goal, a 3, with 12:16 left in the first half, but Arizona led by as many as 22 before taking a 40-22 lead into halftime.

Players of the game: Lyons finished with a season-high 27 points on 12-for-17 shooting, and forward Solomon Hill added 13.

Chambers, who lost part of a tooth early in the second half when he caught an inadvertent elbow from Wildcat Kevin Parrom, finished with six points on 2-for-8 shooting. Forward Kenyatta Smith led Harvard with 10 points.

Stat of the game: Arizona held Belmont to 39.2 percent shooting on Thursday. This time around, it held Harvard to 27.6 percent.

Next up: Arizona advances to play either No. 10 Iowa State or No. 2 Ohio State in the West region semifinals.

BOSTON -- Jack Parker's farewell tour picked up steam Friday night, as his Boston University Terriers fought back from a 2-0 deficit to beat archrival Boston College 6-3 in the Hockey East semifinals at TD Garden.

The third-seeded Terriers (21-15-2) turned the tables on the second-seeded Eagles (22-11-4) with five straight goals, including three critical goals in the second period that gave BU a 3-2 lead going into the final stanza. After BU sophomore Evan Rodrigues finally sealed Parker's 897th win with an empty-net tally at 17:31 of the third period, the Terriers locked up their date in the finals against UMass Lowell on Saturday.

"We came back from the dead, I thought," said Parker, who is retiring after the season. "The game could have been a lot worse in the first half. We hung in there and hung in there, got a little life and took advantage of it.

"I was very proud of these guys," he said.

Saturday's final will mark BU's 10th time in the Hockey East championship game, where the Terriers have a 7-2 record. Perhaps more importantly, it gives Parker's players a chance to win the league crown, and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament that comes with it, in their coach's swan song.

"Now we have a chance to not only win a championship, but if we do, we'll have a chance to go to another tournament, which is what we would like to do. And we'll have all we can handle with Lowell tomorrow night," said Parker. "I was real pleased with my team. I was real pleased with my special teams. We got a very, very competitive effort tonight."

It didn't look that way early on. The Terriers took three first-period penalties, and the Eagles' power play looked impressive, moving the puck crisply and patiently. But BU's bend-but-don't-break defense, and some timely saves by freshman goaltender Sean Maguire (44 saves), kept BC off the board.

"The game was so out of hand the first half," said Parker. "I thought my guys were uptight, I thought we were struggling to move the puck, I thought we were outskated. I thought our goaltender really stood tall. Forget the fact that we were outshot badly. We were tentative."

At 17:50, BC's Johnny Gaudreau, the league's leading scorer and player of the year, had Maguire down and out, with the puck on his backhand, but he snapped it over the crossbar. Eventually, though, playing a man down caught up with the Terriers.

With BU's Sean Escobedo serving two minutes for tripping, the Eagles broke the scoreless tie at 18:33. Eagles forward Bill Arnold, driving down the right wing, threw the puck in front. It never got there. Instead, the puck deflected off BU defender Garrett Noonan and ramped over Maguire's left shoulder for a 1-0 BC lead.

"Kind of a bad hop," said the junior defender, who just returned from injury.

Quinn Smith nearly doubled the BC lead at the 5-minute mark, on another power play, but the sophomore forward's bid from the low slot rang iron. At 8:25, Whitney, streaking down the left wing, rifled a shot that narrowly missed the cage while being pressured by Matt Grzelcyk.

Twenty seconds later, though, the Eagles were attacking again. Smith didn't miss on his next bid, taking a picture-perfect feed from BC captain Pat Mullane and redirecting it over Maguire's glove at 8:46 for an even-strength tally.

BU showed some life at 12:17, halving the Eagles' lead. BU's Rodrigues executed a nifty toe drag that tripped up Smith, and then fired a wrister that broke through Parker Milner (21 saves). The goal gave the BU offense some spark, and the Terriers started strafing the BC net.

"I think it was almost two completely different games," said BC associate head coach Greg Brown, who along with Mike Cavanaugh was handling bench duties for a recuperating Jerry York. "I thought the first half, we were controlling a lot of the play, dictating the tempo. And then basically, right from their first goal by Rodrigues, their bench got a huge lift, and it seemed like they were asserting themselves more than we were after that."

The Terriers clawed all the way back at the 14:21 mark. When BC's Danny Linell, a converted forward playing defense, bobbled the puck at the BU blue line, Terrier Matt Lane seized the opportunity. Jumping past Linell, Lane raced in on Milner, switched to his backhand and tucked the puck between the legs of the BC netminder.

At 16:55, Milner came up with a big blocker stop on BU's Rodrigues, who got off a quality backhand bit while being tripped by Mike Matheson. The Terriers capitalized on the ensuing power play, with Noonan taking a super-cross-ice feed from Grzelcyk and threading the needle between Milner and the short side post from a bad angle. Noonan's sixth goal of the season gave BU a 3-2 lead at 17:59.

"I think we just finally figured it out," said BU's superb freshman Danny O'Regan. "Coach [was] telling us to play wings out of the zone. Our D's made some great looks up the ice. Nieto and Rodrigues are tough to keep track of. They slipped behind them a couple of times. A couple of skill guys, tough to contain sometimes. So I think it was us adjusting to them."

Milner made amends with 34 seconds left, denying Nieto with a great blocker stop on another breakaway bid. But the second-period collapse was an ominous sign, as BU had a 15-1-0 record this season while leading after two periods and the Eagles were 1-9-0 when trailing after the middle stanza.

BU went right back on the power play to start the third when BC's Gaudreau was whistled for cross-checking Escobedo behind the BU net, resulting in a five-minute major. And again, the Terriers made BC pay.

The Terriers were patient, sending the puck around the perimeter before it was sent to an unmarked O'Regan in prime scoring position. With Ryan Santana setting a monster screen in front of Milner, O'Regan calmly snapped a shot low glove side for a 4-2 Terriers advantage at 1:42.

The Terriers kept firing away, slowly wearing down the Eagles. Arnold and Whitney got off a pair of short-handed shots, but they were long-range efforts that Maguire handled easily. O'Regan then put the game out of reach with another power-play strike.

With BC's Whitney serving two minutes for high-sticking, BU's Nieto launched a bomb from the right point that Milner blocked but couldn't control. O'Regan, cruising in the low slot, found the puck on his stick and immediately deposited it into the BC net, stretching BU's lead to 5-2.

BC showed some life when BU's Patrick MacGregor was sent off for cross-checking at 9:16, but the Eagles couldn't get the puck past Maguire.

"Maggie's been unbelievable this whole stretch, the last eight games or so," said O'Regan. "We'll rely on him tomorrow. He's the most competitive kid I know, so I know he's going to bring it tomorrow as well."

Whitney got one back for BC when he took a carom off the backboard and chipped a bad angle shot that rolled over Maguire's left shoulder at 13:43, cutting the BU margin to 5-3.

At 17:31, with Milner pulled in favor of the extra BC attacker, Rodrigues buried the Eagles with a short-handed, empty-net goal. But the Terriers were keenly aware that their season could easily end Saturday if they don't bring the same effort against Lowell.

"The job's not done yet," said Noonan afterward. "We have to win tomorrow. But it was a good win tonight."

Saturday's Hockey East championship will be a rematch of the 2009 title game won by BU 1-0. Both Lowell and BC have already punched their tickets to the NCAA tournament by virtue of their lofty national and PairWise rankings. BU, however, doesn't have the same luxury. The Terriers need to win to keep playing and extend Parker's legendary career for at least another game.

"Especially after the first period, we kind of realized he's such a great coach," said O'Regan. "We weren't going to let him lose to BC at the Garden as his last game, and we were willing to do whatever we had to."

"Much appreciated, Danny," quipped Parker. "Thank you."

In Lowell, BU faces a squad that swept three straight games with the Terriers this season. "They've had everybody's number," said Parker of the River Hawks.

"We have our backs to the wall," he said. "We have to win to continue our season. More importantly, we have to win for our seniors, not for me. We have to win for these guys who would like to win a championship."

He's a professional now, playing basketball for a living. But that doesn't mean Keith Wright feels any less of a connection to his alma mater.

The forward for Uppsala in Sweden's top league (where he's listed at 209 centimeters and 109 kilograms) was watching Thursday night as No. 14 seed Harvard upset No. 3 seed New Mexico 68-62.

"It is such a huge win for our program," Wright said by email Friday. "I'm so proud of those guys."

Part of Tommy Amaker's first full recruiting class in 2008, Wright helped establish the winning culture that's flourishing in Cambridge right now. The 2010-11 Ivy Player of the Year played 33 minutes in the 12th-seeded Crimson's loss to No. 5 seed Vanderbilt in last season's NCAA tournament, finishing with eight points and nine rebounds.

After the Crimson upset the Lobos, Wright said he was able to video chat with some of his former teammates and coaches.

"For Coach Amaker to do what he did with the squad this year, given the circumstances, is unbelievable," Wright said. "All of the alums are so proud to be a part of what Harvard had become."

That includes some of Wright's other former teammates, like Oliver McNally and Houston Rockets star Jeremy Lin.

After the buzzer sounded in Salt Lake City, Lin tweeted his excitement.

Wright did the same:

its 6 am..i have a game tonight…but i can't go back to sleep now…hahaha IM TOO HYPED for the little homies #gocrimson

— Keith Wright (@KWright44) March 22, 2013

Hours later, Wright sounded just as excited.

"It was just awesome to see. You can give credit to Coach Amaker but the players buying into his system and the brand of Harvard basketball is the most important part," Wright said. "Players like Wes Saunders stepping up and the emergence of Siyani Chambers was great to see. Kenyatta [Smith] finally coming into his own towards the end of the season … I'm just a proud alum, man.

"I feel extremely blessed to be a part of the Harvard program and community. We are all a family!"

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

Though it might seem like it happens in an instant, history is made slowly.

So when the buzzer sounded in Salt Lake City and the Crimson flooded onto the court to celebrate the school's first NCAA tournament victory, they had indeed made history. But they didn't just magically appear on that stage at the Big Dance, didn't just magically turn into Ivy League contenders and then champions.

Harvard has traveled a long road to this point, a yearslong journey that isn't over yet.

The journey started six years ago, when the school decided to make a fresh commitment to the program, on and off the court, and chose Tommy Amaker as its next coach.

Building toward history

It's hard to overstate just what a historic achievement No. 14 seed Harvard's 68-62 win over No. 3 seed New Mexico really is.

Amaker is the 17th coach in Harvard's long basketball history, which stretches all the way back to 1900 (although Harvard didn't field teams from 1909 to 1920). Entering the 2012-13 season, the Crimson had played 2,268 games (winning 1,015 and losing 1,253) but had never won a postseason game of any kind (0-2 in the NCAA tournament, 0-1 in both the NIT and the CollegeInsider.com tournament).

Of course, before Amaker took the 2009-10 team to the CollegeInsider.com tourney following a buzzer-beating loss to Princeton for the Ivy League's automatic NCAA bid, only one Harvard team had even played in a postseason tournament.

And that was in 1945-46.

Amaker took over in Cambridge before the 2007-08 season, having been fired by Michigan following the 2006-07 season. Amaker's Wolverines finished that season at 22-13 overall, including an 8-8 record in the Big Ten, with a second-round loss in the NIT.

What Amaker found by the Charles was a program that needed major upgrades both on and off the court. The Crimson needed better locker rooms, they needed better facilities and they needed more on-court talent.

But asked Friday about his "vision" for the Harvard program, Amaker said he didn't have to do anything special to make it a reality.

"I love the word 'vision,' first of all, and we use that a lot because that was real and truthful from day one of what I felt in my heart about Harvard. It's an incredible brand. It's a magical name, and that's not a knock to any other wonderful place or institution or university," Amaker told reporters in Salt Lake City. "I just think that it speaks for itself in so many ways of being considered the very best.

"I didn't have to overcome, or we didn't have to try and feel like we were overcoming anything. What we tried to do is present a vision and present Harvard as an option, as an opportunity. I never used the word 'sell.'"

Amaker did inherit some talent, including a point guard named Jeremy Lin, but otherwise the cupboard was close to bare early. (Lin, of course, went on to star in the Ivy League and then bounced around the NBA before bursting onto the scene with the Knicks last season. He now plays for the Houston Rockets.)

With Lin and a first recruiting class that included players such as Oliver McNally and Keith Wright, who would become stalwarts and two-year co-captains as juniors and seniors, Amaker set about building a winning culture in Cambridge.

That was a big deal because while the Crimson have had success in other sports, before Amaker arrived the men's basketball program never had.

Keeping the momentum going

The success the Crimson have had this season is surprising for a number of reasons, the most obvious being all the talent they lost after last season. McNally and Wright graduated, and their would-be senior co-captain replacements also left before the 2012-13 season began.

Kyle Casey, the do-it-all forward and former Ivy League rookie of the year, and Brandyn Curry, the steady, speedy point guard, both chose to withdraw from school after being implicated in an academic cheating scandal that involved more than 100 students.

Their abrupt departure could have submarined the season. Where there should have been two experienced, knowledgeable and talented hands on the helm, suddenly there were none.

But that was true only briefly.

"The facts are what they are, and it wasn't anything that any of us would prefer to have happen at our school across the board with so many kids and families and folks involved in something like that which is somewhat from what I've seen," Amaker said Friday.

"But I think our guys have been able to adjust just like I would expect most young kids to be able to do. They've done it exceptionally well. I've been very impressed with how they have been able to do that."

After losing Casey and Curry, Amaker turned to senior Christian Webster and junior Laurent Rivard. The duo would have to lead, and hope youngsters such as Wesley Saunders, Steve Moundou-Missi and Kenyatta Smith (all sophomores) and Siyani Chambers (a freshman) would follow.

At first, the sudden added responsibility was jarring.

"Of course [the loss of Casey and Curry] was a big blow to our team," Rivard said on a conference call with reporters Monday, "but the coaching staff was quick to tell us that it was an incredible opportunity for the team and for each of us individually.

"We embraced that role and we did what we could to get the team to where it's at now."

Webster, who had 11 points against New Mexico to cross the 1,000-point mark for his career, said they've grown into their roles as the season has gone on.

"If you look at us from earlier in the season to now, it's like a change in worlds," Webster said in the call Monday. "It's gotten so much better."

Rivard, a native of Saint-Bruno, Quebec, played a big role in the upset of the Lobos. The sharpshooting guard was 5-for-9 from behind the arc, including three big 3s in the first half, to help the Crimson build a lead first and later come back after the Lobos had rallied to take the lead.

His 17 points were only one off the team lead (Saunders had 18), and without his consistent ability to slip free of his defender -- mostly New Mexico forward Cameron Bairstow -- and hit open shots, Harvard almost certainly would have lost.

And while Rivard was only a two-star recruit coming out of Northfield Mount Hermon -- the prep school in Gill, Mass., that he transferred to in order to increase his recruiting profile -- that doesn't mean the shooter wasn't coveted.

After Rivard helped Harvard beat Boston College during his freshman season, Steve Donahue was asked whether the marksman had taken the Eagles by surprise.

"I know Laurent very well," Donahue said that day in January 2011, after Rivard scored a game-high 23 points in a 78-69 Harvard win in Conte Forum. "We recruited him very hard at Cornell. Terrific basketball player."

But as is becoming more and more common, the recruit chose to go to Harvard instead. And that has made all the difference.

"I think the back-to-back games in the Ivy League is going to help us a lot," Rivard said Friday of Harvard's preparation for Arizona. "It's a little different here now. I guess we have a day off in between.

"But during the Ivy League season, we would win or lose on Friday night and we had to turn the page whether we felt good about how we played or not, but we had to turn the page and focus on the next opponent. That's what we're doing today. We have practice right now. We're going to start focusing on Arizona, and I think it's going to help us."

Since 2010, the Crimson have added more three-star recruits (five) than the rest of the Ivy League combined (three, two for Yale and one for Penn), according to ESPN Recruiting Nation. And that total doesn't include the 2012-13 Ivy League rookie of the year, the first freshman to be voted first-team All-Ivy, Siyani Chambers (a two-star recruit).

Next season, the Crimson lose only the senior Webster, and should not only add another solid recruiting class -- including coveted prospect Zena Edosomwan, who turned down the likes of California, USC, Wake Forest, Washington, UCLA and Texas to commit to Harvard -- but also welcome back Casey and Curry (assuming the cheating scandal is settled).

So after winning a third straight Ivy League title, making a second straight NCAA appearance and capturing the first postseason win in school history, all in a season in which it was supposed to be weakened, Harvard likely will be even better in 2013-14.

Just imagine the history that Crimson team could make.

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

SALT LAKE CITY -- When Siyani Chambers chose Harvard, he hoped to be the Crimson’s starting point guard ... someday.

He dreamed of leading his team on an NCAA tournament run ... someday.

The fact that someday is today?

“Amazing," the 6-foot Ivy League rookie of the year said Friday, less than 24 hours after 14th-seeded Harvard knocked off No. 3 New Mexico for the program’s first NCAA tournament victory.

That word could describe his development, too.

“He’s the leader on our team," said senior guard Christian Webster, whose team will face sixth-seeded Arizona on Saturday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16. “Laurent [Rivard] and I are the captains, but he’s the leader. He drove this team."

It’s a role the 19-year-old ball handler never expected, at least not this soon, when he arrived on Harvard’s campus less than a year ago. First recruited by Crimson coach Tommy Amaker when he was in the eighth grade, Chambers decided pretty quickly that he wanted to play for the former Duke guard because of what he could learn.

But Chambers also thought he would have some time to be a pupil, while playing behind Brandyn Curry, a Cousy award candidate last season. That is, until September, when Curry and fellow senior Kyle Casey withdrew from Harvard following an academic scandal.

When the freshman heard the news, his head spun. “I was definitely nervous -- very, very nervous," Chambers said. “All of a sudden, it’s your first year, you’re coming in trying to learn the whole process about everything: playing, dealing with school and basketball.”

To persevere, he said, he leaned on his teammates -- and they leaned back, looking for the vocal freshman to glue together a team whose chances of winning the Ivy League all of a sudden seemed precarious, at best.

But Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball exceeded expectations probably because he had no other choice, gaining confidence (and his team’s confidence in him) by becoming a steady assist man and scorer early; he even hit the game-winning basket with four seconds left against Boston University on Dec. 11.

“He’s a special kid, and certainly he plays basketball in a special way, and I think you get excited when you watch him play," Amaker said. “I know when we recruited him, we wanted him to play in that manner; sometimes I thought he held himself back a little bit, and I told him if you ever come to play for us ... we want you to be dazzling because you’re capable of it.”

His season stats -- 12.6 points and 5.8 assists per game -- were dazzling enough to make him the first freshman named first-team All-Ivy League.

But the way he melded his team dazzled, too. Sophomore Wesley Saunders emerged as a go-to scorer (16.5 PPG). Rivard became a scary outside threat (five 3s against the Lobos on Thursday). Kenyatta Smith and Steve Moundou-Missi improved in the post. Harvard finished the regular season 19-9, winning the Ivy League.

So maybe it was fitting that as the seconds ticked down on Harvard's historic upset Thursday, Chambers was the one with the ball in his hands, grinning and carefully watching the clock. That moment is a feat the Crimson hope to repeat against another bigger, more heralded team Saturday.

And one Chambers never imagined when he thought about his goals a year ago.

“I just wanted to come in and learn as much as possible, so when it was my time I could step in and be able to contribute to the game," he said, remembering. “... When I first decided to come here, I did not think this is what I would be stepping into.

“But I’m glad I came here, and I’m glad this happened.”

Now.

SALT LAKE CITY NEWS AND NOTES

SAFETY FIRST: One teammate compared Wichita State sophomore Tekele Cotton to a strong safety. Shockers coach Gregg Marshall? He thinks the guard is more like a free safety.

Whatever the football analogy, you get the picture: The 6-2, 202-pound athlete is hard-nosed, hard-bodied and hard-focused on making stops. And if he can stymie a certain Gonzaga player like he did Pittsburgh guard Tray Woodall on Thursday (the senior was brought to tears after his 1-for-12, two-point performance), Cotton knows his team has a better chance to upset the No. 1 team in the country.

“I look forward to being that guy, to chase around their player like I did yesterday," said Cotton, who is also averaging 6.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game this season. “So I look forward to chasing around Kevin Pangos. I have no problem with it; I enjoy it.”

Pangos, the Zags’ standout sophomore guard, is averaging 11.6 points per game this season and scored the final five points in top-seeded Gonzaga’s six-point survival against 16th-seeded Southern on Thursday. He said the key to competing with a physical team such as the ninth-seeded Shockers is to be physical right back.

“We don’t shy away from that; our team is tough," Pangos said. “We don’t back down from that at all.”

This should be an interesting matchup. The Shockers held Pitt to 35.2 percent shooting from the field -- and just 5.9 percent on 3-pointers. The Zags are third in the nation in field-goal percentage, making 50.4 percent of their shots.

NO ALARM HERE: Zags coach Mark Few wasn’t particularly rattled that the game against Southern went down to the wire; a win is a win is a win right now.

“At this point of the year, I don’t think we need to worry about aesthetics or, you know, differences," he said. “I know it’s cliché, ‘survive and advance,’ but there really is no other alternative. We’re not getting style points and we’re not getting graded -- you know, you either win or your season is over.”

QUOTE-WORTHY: “We know we’re in for a fight, especially the confidence that they have. When you win a game like that, it doesn’t just all of a sudden leave you; many times it carries through for the rest of the weekend. For us, it’s not about being consumed with Harvard, as much as it is about being consumed with ourselves, making sure we’re ready to go.” -- Arizona coach Sean Miller

BOSTON -- Providence College's bid to get back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001 was derailed on Friday, as the top-seeded Lowell River Hawks upended the Friars, 2-1, in the opening Hockey East semifinal tilt at the TD Garden.

The win was sweet revenge for Norm Bazin's River Hawks, who were unceremoniously dumped from the Hockey East playoffs last year in the quarterfinal by the Friars despite having home ice. This year, it was Lowell (25-10-2) that came out on top, going toe-to-toe with the fourth-seeded Friars (17-14-7) before getting two third-period goals to secure the win.

The Lowell victory ends the Friars' season, and sends the River Hawks into the Hockey East finals for the third time in their history, and the first time since 2009.

The game featured a great goaltending duel between freshmen Jon Gillies of Providence (31 saves), the night after he was named the league's Rookie of the Year, and Lowell's Connor Hellebuyck (34 saves). When the smoke cleared, it was Hellebuyck who won the battle, shutting down the Friars over the last 51 minutes, and allowing Lowell to post its come-from-behind win.

And for the second year in a row, Nate Leaman's young Friars saw their season end at TD Garden in the league semifinals. However, it looked promising early on for the Friars, who struck first.

Providence freshman Kevin Rooney, slashing across the low slot, picked up the rebound of Noel Acciari's wrister, and tucked it past the outstretched right leg of Lowell's Hellebuyck. It was Rooney's first career goal, giving the Friars a 1-0 lead at 8:59.

Lowell nearly knotted the game late in the first stanza, with Friar Myles Harvey in the box for interference. But Christian Folin's power-play bid from the right point, which beat Gillies, glanced off the left post and stayed out with 40 seconds left.

The River Hawks turned up the heat in the second frame, but Gillies was immense, turning aside 15 Lowell shots, including two point-blank bids by Riley Whetmore and Joseph Pendenza. Lowell had another last-minute bid when Whetmore corkscrewed Harvey into the ice on the right half-wall, but his shot sailed wide right.

Lowell finally broke through at the 34-second mark of the third period, knotting the game at 1-1. Pendenza, driving down the left side, ripped a shot that Gillies blocked. The puck popped into the air, and as Friars captain Kyle Murphy spilled into Gillies, Lowell's A.J. White potted the puck for his second of the year.

Hellebuyck kept the game deadlocked, stuffing Friar Chris Rooney at the doorstep at 6:27. The River Hawks rewarded their goalie, grabbing their first lead at 12:30.

Whetmore feathered a terrific saucer pass from the left wing that found Scott Wilson streaking into the slot. Despite Friars defenseman John Gilmore's suffocating presence, Wilson was able to corral the puck and in a single motion rip it past Gillies' glove for a 2-1 Lowell lead. Wilson's 15th goal of the season proved to be the winner, with Hellebuyck and the Lowell defense shutting down the Friars the rest of the way.

With the win, Bazin's River Hawks -- already assured an NCAA bid based on their No. 5 national ranking and sixth place in the national PairWise rankings -- will have a chance to compete for their first-ever Hockey East championship on Saturday night.

Houston Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin, the best player to ever come out of Harvard, tweeted the following after his alma mater pulled off an upset of historic proportions last night in the NCAA tournament:

YYYYYEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!! HARVARD winssss!!! hahahahhah i told you.... #threepointgoggles #bracketbusters twitter.com/JLin7/status/3…

— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) March 22, 2013

SALT LAKE CITY -- A year ago, Harvard guard Laurent Rivard was in awe just seeing the midcourt NCAA logo; after all, the Crimson hadn’t made the tournament in six decades.

So helping the program to its first tournament victory -- a 68-62 win over No. 3 New Mexico that marked the biggest seed upset by an Ivy League team?

That, he said, was indescribable. Although he tried: “You imagine it … it’s something everyone dreams about,” Rivard said after scoring 17 points and going 5-for-9 from 3-point range, “but it’s a different feeling when it actually becomes real.”

The win seemed improbable for a plethora of reasons: The Lobos (29-6) were bigger (7-footer Alex Kirk finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds), and more seasoned by playing in a conference many considered one of the nation’s toughest. Heck, some even thought UNM was robbed by the tournament committee when it didn’t earn higher than a No. 3 seed.

But Harvard countered with a four-guard lineup that was sharpshooting (52.4 percent overall, including 8-for-18 from 3-point land) and that frustrated Lobos leading scorer Kendall Williams into a forgettable, 1-for-6 night. Led by their tallest starter, 6-foot-8 Kenyatta Smith, the Crimson also aggressively banged with Kirk and 6-9 Cameron Bairstow (15 points, nine rebounds).

“We knew they were going to be tough,” Smith said. “We just had to be confident.”

And they were, particularly down the stretch.

New Mexico, trailing for most of the game, took a 53-52 lead with 6:26 left on yet another Kirk inside move. But Harvard, even with its three bigger guys in foul trouble, countered with a 7-0 run -- beginning with another 3 from Rivard and including a jumper from guard Wesley Saunders (18 points) -- to rebuild its cushion. The Lobos never got closer than four after that.

“For me to see the composure that we had is meaningful to me as a coach,” Harvard’s Tommy Amaker said. “We had the lead. We lost the lead. We had to make plays and to have an answer each time when things got really tight there. We had to make pressure free throws. … But we didn’t wilt or cave in.”

Somehow, the Crimson (20-9) didn’t seem to feel the pressure of being a No. 14 seed on the brink of making history.

“I was just playing in the moment, enjoying the moment,” freshman point guard Siyani Chambers said. “… It felt like, just getting here, was our night.”

Indeed, not long ago it seemed like a long shot that the Crimson would make the tournament at all -- much less advance to the round of 32.

First there were the offseason academic problems that led the team’s co-captains -- Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry -- to withdraw from school.

And although those departures gave Chambers (5 points, 7 assists in 40 minutes Thursday) the opportunity to develop more quickly, the team wasn’t quite the runaway favorite it might have been to dominate the Ivy League -- as evidenced by back-to-back road losses at Princeton and Penn in early March.

Yet the Crimson endured. And prevailed.

And forget about last year’s awe-inspiring NCAA logo. Now, there’s a new daydream: the Sweet Sixteen.

“Before this, we wanted to be the Cinderella story,” Smith said. “And I guess now, we kind of are.”

It was a scene that bordered on the bizarre. Moments after his team swept Merrimack in the Hockey East quarterfinals, just before he left the ice, Boston University coach Jack Parker was hugging the on-ice officials. Most notably, he embraced Tim Bennedetto, the long-time Hockey East referee who -- like many referees -- had sparred with Parker over the years, sometimes heatedly.

"They all know that I'm nuts on the bench sometimes. It's nothing personal," said Parker, who announced his retirement on March 11. "When the game is over, the game is over. I think these guys give their best effort. They're trying to do as good a job as they can for the teams on the ice, and for the most part they do. And if they don't, I might comment on it.

"I've known Timmy since he was a rookie in the league, and he's been a terrific referee for all these years. I've always respected his work," he said. "I might be yelling at him this weekend, who knows? But I think he's a sincere guy who goes out there every night trying to give you his best effort."

That moment speaks volumes about the tight-knit college hockey community, and the mutual respect between programs that personifies Hockey East. However, fans shouldn't anticipate any pleasantries once the puck drops for the league semifinals this Friday at Boston's TD Garden. What they can expect is every team's best effort, given that the top four seeds in the tightest league race in memory -- with only two points separating first place from fifth -- are playing.

The two semifinals present a number of interesting contrasts, almost as noteworthy as the sight of Jack Parker bear-hugging a referee. The marquee match, signified by the late start, has longtime rivals second-seed Boston College (22-10-4) and third-seed Boston University (20-15-2) squaring off.

"It's a little unusual that we haven't seen [BC] in so long. It seems like a long time ago when we last faced them in a home-and-home in early December," said Parker, the result of BU getting ousted from February's Beanpot Tournament by Northeastern. "In general, I think that both teams are playing pretty well and both teams usually bring out the best in each other. I know that the two games we played in December were both pretty good hockey games."

Parker is on borrowed time, as his Terriers are a classic bubble team in terms of the NCAA field of 16. While the Terriers still might squeak into the NCCAs even if they lose on Friday, Parker doesn't want to take any chances.

"Our situation is, win and continue, lose and go home," he said. "BC's situation is not quite the same. If they lose, they wait to see where they go in the national tournament. We have to win this game to get in the national tournament, and maybe even win the tournament to get in the national tournament. So we have a little more at stake."

The Eagles, meanwhile, are looking for their fourth straight Hockey East championship, and sixth in the last eight years. Their fourth straight trip to the NCAAs is a lock, due to their No. 4 national ranking. But they'll have to play Friday's semifinal without their own legendary coach, Jerry York, behind the bench. York suffered a second detached retina of his right eye last weekend, and underwent surgery on Monday.

However, associate head coaches Mike Cavanaugh and Greg Brown said this week that they expect the Eagles to adapt, particularly since York lost time earlier this winter with the same condition. York also missed BC's 4-1 quarterfinal-clinching win over Vermont last Saturday.

"If we had not gone through it earlier in the year, it probably would have been a lot more to handle," said Cavanaugh. "But since we had experienced it with the UNH weekend and with UMass and Northeastern, we had a pretty good idea of how it was going to work and how we handled things. I thought for the most part, it was as seamless as it could be on Saturday."

Brown agreed. "Especially for the kids, since they had all done that before, they didn't miss a beat," he said. "The seniors picked right up and told the other guys that we'll be fine, and they had a great attitude going into the game. There wasn't a lot of confusion at all because it had happened once before."

The Eagles also have a goaltender who has been there before. Unlike the other semifinalists, which are all starting freshman goaltenders, the Eagles are countering with senior Parker Milner (2.52 goals against average, .915 save percentage), the reigning MVP of the NCAA tournament.

"It certainly helps him that he's played in that building before, and he's played well in that building," said Cavanaugh of Milner. "But when it comes down to Friday, it's going to be what goaltender executes best, and what team plays the most solid in front of him. That's going to be the biggest determining factor."

The Terriers will counter with Sean Maguire (2.59 GAA, .924 save percentage), a freshman from British Columbia who has looked like the second coming of Kieran Millan -- the freshman goaltender who led BU to a national championship in 2009 -- since assuming full-time duties in net. In the quarterfinals against Merrimack, Maguire raised his game to another level, with a .958 save percentage and 1.50 GAA, including a 30-save shutout in the opening-game victory.

He will have to stay hot, given BC's firepower. Up front, Boston College is again loaded, boasting three 40-plus point scorers and the nation's second-ranked offense, tallying 3.44 goals a game. By comparison, BU has produced 3.08 goals a game, good for 17th nationally, and led by freshman Danny O'Regan (14 goal, 22 assists, 36 points) and rejuvenated junior Matt Nieto (18-17-35).

"He played pretty well most of the first half but he wasn't putting the puck in the net," said Parker of Nieto. "He was squeezing his stick too hard and was looking for goals. He really wasn't playing the type of game that he's got to play to be effective for us. Now, all of a sudden, he's one of the top goal-scorers in the league and he's one of the top pointmen. His line is as good of a line as there is in college hockey with O'Regan and [Evan] Rodrigues. I think a big reason for that has been the re-emergence of Matt Nieto as a star in this league."

The Eagles will be led by sophomore Johnny Gaudreau (20-29-49), the MVP of last year's Hockey East tournament and the league's leading scorer this past season, as well as Steven Whitney (25-18-43) and captain Pat Mullane (16-25-41). But both squads have gotten production throughout their respective line-ups through the second half of the season, which makes handicapping the 262nd meeting between the teams a difficult task.

"Our third line is playing much better right now and I noticed the same thing holds true for BC's third line," said Parker. "The [Patrick] Brown line has been chipping in with goals and playing really well. I think it's probably for the same reason; they're playing much more now. They're getting more ice time, they've earned that ice time and they're more comfortable in the swing of things."

Though BC took the season series, two games to one, none of the three coaches expect past results to have any bearing on Friday's outcome.

"They always seem to be playing well when they're playing us, so that's not really a concern of ours," said BC's Cavanaugh. "I know that they've won four in a row. They are rolling along here, and playing well as a team. But when they play Boston College, they could have lost four in a row, and we're still going to get their best game. The old adage is -- and it's a cliché -- 'You can throw the records out the window when these two teams play.' I think it is evident from our past games, and I think it will hold true this weekend. You're going to see the best from both teams on Friday night."

The Hockey East semifinals are Friday, with the opening match (5 p.m. ET) pitting two of the best young minds in Hockey East. Lowell's Norm Bazin and Providence's Nate Leaman each arrived at their respective campuses two years ago in the hopes of turning things around. And they did, in a hurry.

Both squads made the league playoffs last year, with Providence edging the River Hawks in a three-game series. The two squads were at it again this year, with Lowell taking the season series, 2-1, but splitting the final home-and-home series of the season, with each team winning on the road.

"I'm not sure this time of year we need too many reminders, but it never hurts to remind them of some of the failures of the past," said Bazin, when asked about last year's early exit from the Hockey East tournament. "Our focus is on playing well in the next hockey game. This time of year, all you have is the next game and we're focused on making this our best possible game."

With their quarterfinal win over Lowell last season, the Friars got to TD Garden and the Hockey East semifinals only to run into a BC buzzsaw, losing 4-2.

"As far as experience goes, it's something we are going to talk about today in the locker room," said Leaman earlier this week. "There is no doubt that our team, last year against BC [in the semifinal], was not focused in the first five minutes of the game. I think we gave up a break away and a 2-on-0 and they scored a goal in the first five minutes. It's something we are obviously going to talk about. Nothing helps that more than experience."

Coincidentally, the two squads also have two of the best young goaltender's in the league -- a pair of freshmen -- with Lowell's Connor Hellebuyck (1.49 GAA, .944 save percentage) and the Friars' John Gillies (2.08 GAA, .931 save percentage) between the pipes.

"Jon consistently gives you a chance to win every game. I think that's the biggest thing," said Leaman. "There's no doubt he has been our best player over the course of the year."

Hellebuyck, meanwhile, has simply been the league's best netminder, statistically speaking, since establishing himself as the team's No. 1 netminder. Bazin said his team's turnaround after a rocky start can be directly attributed to the goaltending of Hellebuyck and Doug Carr, and a renewed commitment to defensive on every player's part.

"We weren't that pleased with our special teams" against Maine in the quarterfinals, said Bazin. "The nice thing about hockey is that when you're full of yourself, you watch the videotape and then you're humbled. It's definitely important for us to keep improving, and special teams is one of those areas in which we're looking to improve."

The River Hawks are hoping to make the Hockey East finals for the first time since 2009, when they were edged by Boston University, 1-0. The Terriers went on to win the national championship, while the River Hawks went home. This year, the River Hawks, ranked fifth nationally, will return to the NCAA tournament. Providence, however, must win its next two games and capture the Hockey East flag to get the league's automatic bid.

"We have been a better road team in the second half than I feel we have been a home team," said Leaman. "We had success against Lowell and Boston College in their own rinks. If anything, I like the fact we are on the road and in a different building with a young team. I think it helps us focus better."

The Crimson have been here before (even if "here" is actually a new arena in a new city in a new state against a new opponent) and they're hoping that helps.

Playing Vanderbilt in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Albuquerque, N.M., last season provided experience that could prove valuable against New Mexico in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah, this season. At least that's the idea.

"I thought we did a terrific job [in the Big Dance] last year, being the first time in so many years," Tommy Amaker said in a conference call Monday morning.

The Crimson started slowly before rallying in the second half to make it close late against Vanderbilt, getting to within five points of the Commodores before falling 79-70.

But the roster Harvard takes into the tourney in 2013 is vastly different than the one it took into the tourney in 2012. Four-fifths of the starting five is gone: Oliver McNally and Keith Wright both graduated, and Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry both withdrew from school after being implicated in an academic cheating scandal.

Laurent Rivard is the lone remaining starter, one of three current Crimson players who played more than 10 minutes in the loss to the Commodores last season. (Rivard played 25 minutes, Christian Webster played 20 and Wesley Saunders played 11.)

Nine of the 14 players on the Harvard roster were in the program for the trip west last season, but besides Rivard, Webster and Saunders only Steve Moundou-Missi (six minutes) and Jonah Travis (one minute) actually set foot on the floor during the game.

"I think we'll just be a little bit more confident, a little bit more relaxed," Webster said. "When you go into this tournament, it's nerve-wracking when you come to the stadium and you see the big, blue [NCAA] logo and you see the TV cameras and you know that this is what everybody in America is watching. It's a big deal.

"And last year I think we were a little nervous. … I think that will help us just focus on the game and just play ball."

"When you have a point of reference there is a different comfort level that I think players and people adjust to," Amaker said, referring to the past tournament experience. "What does that mean? You're not really sure."

Star point guard Siyani Chambers, a freshman from Golden Valley, Minn., who took the Ivy League by storm on his way to rookie of the year honors, obviously wasn't there for last season's run. It'll all be new for him, and how he reacts to the situation will go a long way toward determining Harvard's chances.

When Chambers plays well, Harvard plays well. When Chambers struggles (as he did in losses at St. Joseph's, at UConn and at Memphis in the nonconference schedule), Harvard struggles.

Will his teammates' time in the tourney in 2011-12 help him on Thursday? That remains to be seen.

"This year knowing what to expect, and [having] kinda been through it once before will certainly allow them to be a little bit more relaxed about the environment and the situation," Amaker said. "Now does that mean we're gonna play perfectly? I doubt that.

"But certainly it gives us a point of reference that we hope will serve us well."

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

Siyani Chambers is not easily rattled.

The rookie point guard immediately was thrust into the starting lineup this season, thanks to the unexpected loss of would-be senior cocaptain Brandyn Curry to a widespread academic cheating scandal at Harvard. No matter -- all Chambers did was dominate the Ivy League, earning rookie of the year honors.

All he did was finish first in the Ancient Eight in assists (5.7 per game, 1.6 more than Ivy player of the year Ian Hummer of Princeton), fourth in free throw percentage (81.9), fifth in 3-point shooting percentage (44.0) and sixth in scoring (12.9 points per game).

Oh, and the 6-foot, 170-pound freshman hardly rested all season long -- playing the most minutes per game (37.8) in the Ivy League.

So perhaps it’s no surprise that Chambers finds himself in the spotlight as Harvard prepares to take on New Mexico in the NCAA tournament on Thursday in Salt Lake City (9:50 p.m. ET, TNT).

On Tuesday, ESPN.com’s Myron Medcalf named Chambers one of 10 mid-major stars who could bust brackets come game time.

That puts Chambers, a Golden Valley, Minn., native, alongside the likes of Saint Mary’s Matthew Dellavedova and Creighton’s Doug McDermott, names known throughout the college hoops nation.

But wait, there’s more.

ESPN Insider Chad Ford broke down the West Region from the perspective of NBA draft decision-makers, and had this to say about Tommy Amaker’s point guard: “He’s not Jeremy Lin, but Chambers has been awesome as a freshman.”

And true to form so far, Chambers appears to be taking this latest experience in stride.

While his teammates sat at the podium Sunday night for the post-Selection Show news conference, near-constant smiles on their faces, the rookie had his game face on.

Then he was asked if this first year in Cambridge -- filling a huge role for the team, helping deliver a third straight Ivy title and a second straight NCAA berth -- could have gone any better.

“I don’t think so,” Chambers said, with a small laugh.

“In high school and coming up, you’re always watching this stuff and you’re always like, ‘Man, I wish I could be a part of it,’” he said. “And to finally be here and hear our team’s name called, it’s just very, very, very exciting for me personally and I know it’s very exciting for the team, as well.”

And if the past proves to be prologue with Chambers, the excitement’s only beginning.

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

An odd thing happens once the Selection Sunday-fueled adrenalin rush wears off and teams get down to the business of preparing to play tournament basketball: Many teams realize they know next to nothing about their opponent.

That’s what happened to the Harvard Crimson on Sunday night, when they found out they would be facing the New Mexico Lobos on Thursday in Salt Lake City (9:50 p.m. ET, TNT).

Not only have the two schools never met on the hardwood, but hardly any of the Crimson have even seen the Lobos play (Tommy Amaker joked Sunday night that he hoped his players were studying late at night, when their upcoming opponent would’ve been playing in Mountain West action, rather than watching TV).

And so while the athletic department staff scrambled to book flights and lodging for the tournament, the coaching staff began the mad dash to tipoff by searching for game film and scouring scouting reports.

On Monday morning, Amaker participated in a conference call with reporters. He’d seen a few game films on Steve Alford’s team in the hours since the announcement, and had a little better idea exactly what the Crimson will be up against.

“[The Lobos are] a big, strong team. A talented team,” he said. “A team that may not be in one of the bigger, higher-profile name conferences, has kind of gone under the radar nationally in some circles. But I think basketball people recognize a team that has won 29 games and has won their league, and has had a sensational season.”

He didn’t stop there.

“The thing that comes through loud and clear right away is that (1) they’re talented, (2) that they have great balance and (3) that they’re big,” Amaker said. “They’re a team that has a lot of size up front. And when I say balance, they have a number of guys that can score, they can score in and they can score out. … They have a lot of confidence in what they do.”

According to ESPN Insider’s Charlie Creme, Alford’s team relies on a lot of motion and getting to the free-throw line on offense, and on defending well without fouling on defense. Led by the 2012-13 Mountain West Player of the Year, Kendall Williams (14.0 PPG, 5.0 ASG), the Lobos finished the season ranked No. 15 in the country and reached as high as No. 11.

Every member of their starting five is 6-foot-3 or taller: Alex Kirk, 7-feet; Cameron Bairstow, 6-9; Tony Snell, 6-7; Williams, 6-4; Hugh Greenwood, 6-3.

Harvard’s tallest player, meanwhile, is Michael Hall, a 6-foot-10 freshman who has played 17 minutes in his college career. And Siyani Chambers and Wesley Saunders, arguably the Crimson’s best players, stand just 6 feet and 6-foot-5.

The Crimson will have their work cut out for them defending the paint and trying to hold their own on the glass (where the Lobos thrive). But there are areas in which they may be able to do damage.

Specifically, the areas behind the 3-point arc.

While Alford’s team defends very well inside the arc, it struggles to defend outside of it -- where the Lobos rank 240th in the country in 3-point percentage defense, according to KenPom.com.

Harvard, meanwhile, ranks seventh in the country in 3-point shooting, finishing at 40.1 percent as a team. The Crimson are led from behind the line by Laurent Rivard, who hit 74 three-pointers in 2012-13, tying a school record, and led the charge in the tourney last season with a 6-for-7 showing on 3s in the 79-70 loss to Vanderbilt.

And though there’s still a lot to learn and a game plan to construct, the Crimson know a great deal more now about the challenge awaiting them than they did Sunday night.

“They’re not 29-5, a 3-seed and the champions of their conference for nothing,” Amaker said. “This is one of the better teams in the country.”

One the Crimson and their fans will be much better acquainted with come Thursday night.

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

As the region braces for yet another late-winter storm, enviously huddling around TV sets tuned to sunny Florida for split-squad Red Sox spring training games, quietly another sure sign of spring approaches.

Boston College starts spring football practice Tuesday, one day before the equinox officially marks the start of the season.

Originally, new head coach Steve Addazio had planned to get his team on the field late last month. But Nemo had other ideas.

The snow storm that dropped more than 2 feet of powder on parts of Massachusetts damaged the bubble that BC erects on the field at Alumni Stadium each winter, pushing the start of spring practice back from Feb. 28.

The bubble has subsequently been repaired and inspected for safety, and a new schedule has been drawn up.

So the fiery Addazio and his staff will lead the Eagles onto the field for the first time at 3:15 Tuesday afternoon, beginning the first of 15 spring sessions. The Eagles have three scrimmages scheduled -- on April 6, April 13 and April 20, with the last one the annual spring game.

NCAA rules specify teams can have 15 spring practices, the first two of which must be non-contact. After those days, 12 of the 13 remaining sessions can involve contact and eight of those 12 can involve tackling.

BC will practice five times in the bubble before it is scheduled to be taken down over the Easter break (March 28-April 1), with the rest of the sessions planned for the open air in Alumni.

Also on the slate for the Eagles is the annual pro day for the team’s potential draft prospects. Linebacker Nick Clancy, left tackle Emmett Cleary, tight end Chris Pantale and right tackle John Wetzel are all scheduled to work out for scouts in the bubble at Alumni on Wednesday.

There’s a lot of ground work to do between Tuesday and the official beginning of the 2013 season, Aug. 31 versus Villanova. Addazio and new coordinators Ryan Day and Don Brown need to install new systems and adapt to the personnel at their disposal. Players like QB Chase Rettig have to learn yet another philosophy while building relationships with a mostly new coaching staff.

A new foundation must be built if the 2013 edition of the Eagles is to improve on the 2-10 disaster that was the 2012 version.

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi previews the road ahead for Harvard, the West Region's No. 14 seed.