Holy Cross won 10 of its final 12 basketball games after starting the season 8-12.

The Crusaders’ reward for that dazzling turnaround  capped by defending their Patriot League tournament championship  is a date with Kansas University in the Big Dance.

“What better way to test yourself then play against the best team in the country?” said guard Ryan Serravalle, the Crusaders’ team captain and only scholarship senior.

Top-seeded KU (29-3) will face No. 16-seed Holy Cross (18-14) on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Regional at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

A top seed has never been ousted by a No. 16 seed, but Holy Cross won’t be intimidated by playing a nationally-ranked team. The Crusaders played perennial power Kentucky in the first round last season, and the 15th-seeded Crusaders came within four points of upending the second-seeded Wildcats.

“Last year really will help us immensely,” Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard said. “When you are a big underdog, you need to play with no consequences. You need to play loose and aggressive in order to compete in the game. Kansas is a very good team. They are extremely talented, very well coached and they are very, very good. We need to play this game with no consequences and compete.”

Last year, the Crusaders won the Patriot League’s regular-season and postseason titles and finished 22-8.

This year hasn’t gone nearly as smoothly. Willard’s team got off to a rough start, dropping 12 of its first 20 games. The Crusaders finally turned things around during the second semester, winning four straight games in late January and early February against American, Bucknell, Navy and Lafayette.

The Crusaders enter the NCAAs on another four-game sizz, having beaten American in the regular-season finale before beating Navy, Bucknell and American to defend their Patriot League tournament championship and gain an automatic bid to the NCAAs.

“We finished strong and are peaking at the right time,” Serravalle said. “We won 10 of our last 12 because we played tough Holy Cross basketball. This is the most confidence that we have had all season.”

The Crusaders’ strong second half is due in large part to the maturation of five freshmen who play important roles. Nate Lufkin, a 6-foot-11 center, was the league’s rookie of the year and filled a huge gap when junior center Patrick Whearty was hobbled by a string of injuries.

Lufkin averages 7.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in a starting role, while Whearty (6-9) averages 8.3 points and 5.7 rebounds off the bench for the Crusaders, who rank 19th in the nation in rebounding margin (plus-6.2).

Freshmen Michael Smiley (6-3 guard), John Hurley (6-7 forward) and Greg Kinsey (6-5 guard) all average between nine and 10 minutes a game in reserve roles, while classmate Greg Richter (6-7 forward) saw significant minutes while Whearty was injured.

Like the Jayhawks, the Crusaders feature a three-guard lineup. Sophomore Jave Meade (6-1) leads the team with averages of 4.9 assist and 2.1 steals. Serravalle (6-foot) is the Crusaders’ second-leading scorer at 12.3 points per game. Brian Wilson, a 6-2 junior, is the third guard. He averages 9.7 points.

The Crusaders biggest weapon, however, is 6-8 junior forward Tim Szatko, who leads the team with averages of 13.7 points and 6.7 rebounds.

Holy Cross averages a modest 63.2 points a game, but the Crusaders rank eighth in the nation in scoring defense  holding opponents to 59.3 points a game. They’ll face a monumental task in defending Kansas, the nation’s top scoring team at 92 points a game.

“Kansas has great players and great depth, and they are the best transition team in the nation,” Willard said. “Their big guys do a great job of running the floor and they are extremely well coached.”

Willard knows a thing or two about coaching himself. He has guided the Crusaders to consecutive NCAA berths after taking over a struggling program three years ago.

Holy Cross was once considered a national powerhouse. The Crusaders won a national title in 1947 and finished second in 1953, but the they haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game since that runner-up finish.

The Crusaders hadn’t even played in the tournament since 1993-94 before Willard led them back to the postseason in his second season at his alma mater.

Holy Cross, the oldest Catholic school in New England, had a record of 22-67 in the three years prior to Willard’s return to Worcester, Mass., for the 1999-2000 season. The Crusaders went 10-18 that season before rolling through the Patriot League last season.

Willard has an solid resume. He was an assistant at Hofstra, an aide to Jim Boeheim at Syracuse and worked under Rick Pitino with both the New York Knicks and the University of Kentucky. As a head coach, Willard was 81-42 in four seasons at Western Kentucky. He led the Hilltoppers to three postseason berths, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 1993. He didn’t fare as well at Pittsburgh, posting a 63-82 record in five seasons.

“I am pleased with the team’s maturity and their road mentality, especially down the stretch,” Willard said. “This is going to be a very tough game and that mentality will help us in the contest. For us as a coaching staff, our biggest challenge is to get our kids to compete and not going into the game being intimidated. We need to value the basketball and play tough.”