Members of Lehigh University’s basketball team celebrate their 74-59 victory over Lafayette in the Patriot League Championship title game Friday in Bethlehem, Pa. Next up for Lehigh: Kansas on Thursday in the first round of the NCAAs.

For Lehigh University’s men’s basketball team, the suspense of Selection Sunday was over early.

After CBS revealed the identity of the four No. 1 seeds in this year’s NCAA Tournament — of which Kansas University (32-2 overall) was tapped as the No. 1 overall team in the field — the Mountain Hawks were the next squad to see their name appear in the bracket.

Senior guard Marquis Hall, 6-foot, 190 pounds, who will make his first appearance in the NCAA Tournament when Lehigh (22-10, 10-4 in Patriot League) faces KU approximately 8:40 p.m. Thursday in Oklahoma City, said the moment was one of extreme pride.

“Everybody exploded,” Hall said. “To be that first team after all the No. 1s come out, there was kind of a moment of shock for just one second, but everybody was excited, and we were happy to see our name up on the board.”

Although Lehigh coach Brett Reed saw the pairings from a slightly different point of view, he said he was able to share in the thrill of the tourney berth, which the Mountain Hawks earned by winning the Patriot League tournament title Friday.

“Our first reaction was excitement, completely,” Reed said. “I was pleased to share that with our players. It was just terrific to see them enjoy that experience of seeing Lehigh University officially in the NCAA Tournament.”

Lehigh is making its fourth appearance in the NCAAs, its first since 2004. Reed, who is in his third year as head coach of the program, was an assistant at Lehigh in ’04. Although he plans to draw on that experience, Reed said the theme of the week for the Mountain Hawks would be to focus on what’s in front of them and not worry about the past.

“One of the biggest things that I look at is the opportunity of this moment,” he said. “With the character of the kids we have and the talent that’s on this team, I truly believe that special things can happen. There’s no doubt about it.”

Lehigh’s is led by freshman guard C.J. McCollum, who averaged 18.9 points per game this season. McCollum, 6-3, 165, became the first player in league history to be named the player and freshman of the year. He also was named to The Sporting News’ all-freshman team.

Fellow-freshman Gabe Knuston (6-9, 215) was fourth on the team in scoring, at 9.6 points per contest, while seniors Hall and Zahir Carrington (6-7, 220) averaged 11 points apiece.

Although Hall said he would not describe his team’s offensive style as up-tempo, the Mountain Hawks averaged a league-best 75.1 points per game this season. They surrendered an average of 70 points per game on defense.

“For our conference, we run a little bit,” Hall said. “But compared to the rest of the country, it’s a little different. But we try to get out and get any easy baskets that we can.”

In 2005, Patriot League-champion Bucknell broke the hearts of the Jayhawks in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by doing just that. In fact, KU is just 4-2 all-time against the Patriot League, and Hall said that fact was not lost on his team, especially since the Mountain Hawks will play the Jayhawks in the same arena that Bucknell did in ’05.

After winning the regular-season title outright, the Mountain Hawks rolled through their conference tournament by an average margin of victory of 19 points per game.

“We’re walking into this tournament with a great deal of momentum and confidence,” Reed said. “I told our team, ‘Why not us, why not now?’ The history is in the past. Kansas’ 32 wins are in the past. This is all about this one moment.”

Despite entering the tournament on a roll, both Reed and Hall had nothing but good things to say about the Jayhawks.

“Kansas is such a terrifically well rounded team,” Reed said. “I really see them as a complete team and feel they’re definitely worthy of being a No. 1 seed. We have a tremendous amount of respect for them — the team that they have this year and the program with its rich history and tradition.”

Added Hall: “The excitement has come and gone. Now it’s back to reality. We’re happy for the opportunity to go to the tournament and play the No. 1 team. If you want to be the best, you gotta beat the best, and that’s who we’re matched up against.”