When the buzzer sounded, Mark Schmidt flailed both arms in the air and dashed onto the Knickerbocker Arena court. The excitement was evident -- a Cinderella team was born.

That was the scene on March 7, when Loyola captured the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship in Albany, N.Y., with a stunning 80-75 victory over the favored Manhattan Jaspers.

The Loyola College Greyhounds are on their way to the NCAA Tournament, and Schmidt is going with them as an assistant coach.

Last year at this time, Schmidt was finishing up his second season as a part-time restricted-earnings coach on the Penn State basketball team under Coach Bruce Parkhill. Now, Schmidt is headed to Sacramento, Calif., to watch his No. 15-seeded team battle Arizona in the West Region.

"It was the thrill of a lifetime for those kids," said Schmidt, who was hired last May as an assistant coach at Loyola. "It's a tribute to the kids as players and more importantly as people. It just shows what you can accomplish with hard work and togetherness."

Schmidt and Loyola Head Coach Skip Prosser have helped turn the program around. The Greyhounds ended last season at 2-25. This year, in the MAAC post-season tournament, Loyola knocked off top-seeded Canisius and Manhattan.

The Greyhounds are going to the Big Dance for the first time in school history. Heading into the tournament, Loyola is 17-12, a 15-game improvement over last season.

"Skip said throughout the season that we were gonna be an NCAA Tournament team," Schmidt said. "We didn't know it was gonna happen this quick, but you always have to dream. Since we won, the campus has been jumping."

The 1985 Boston College graduate knows what it's like to dance in the NCAA Tournament. While playing for the Eagles, Schmidt went to college basketball's promised land three times. But the former Lion assistant has never been to the tournament as a coach.

Schmidt returned to Rec Hall last Saturday to watch Penn State beat Michigan State. After the upset, Parkhill got the chance to congratulate the 31-year-old Loyola assistant and wish him luck in the tournament.

"He's really excited," Parkhill said. "I'm real happy for Mark. (Loyola) has done a tremendous job. The tournament will help their recruiting and put some money in their pocketbooks."

This week Schmidt has been preparing for the No. 2-seeded Wildcats, led by Coach Lute Olson and the impressive backcourt of Khalid Reeves and Damon Stoudamire. But Schmidt is confident, even though the Greyhounds are a longshot in the field of 64.

"It's fun to be selected," Schmidt said, "but since we're in it we might as well try to win it."

That's what March is all about.