American University announced Thursday that Keith Gill will be its new athletic director, effective June 1. Gill comes from Oklahoma, where he had been a senior associate AD since 2004.

Key Sequence: With 4:55 left in the first half, Simmons put the Crusaders ahead 19-17. Ten seconds later, Randal Falker hit a basket that tied the game and sparked a 9-0 Saluki run. Beginning with the Falker bucket, Southern Illinois scored points on six consecutive possessions, much of the run coming with Tim Clifford on the bench.

According to the Annapolis Capital, Corey Johnson, who was Navy’s starting point guard this past season, has decided to leave the basketball team and join the Naval Academy football squad. Navy coach Billy Lange said Johnson’s decision was based on a decrease in minutes, and that Johnson’s first love was football rather than hoops.

Holy Cross received a 13 seed and will take on Southern Illinois in Columbus on Friday, March 16. The 14th-ranked Salukis went 27-6 this season, and won the regular season Missouri Valley championship at 15-3. Game times will be announced Monday.

Bucknell is looking to prolong its season in the NIT, but with the NCAA buying out the tournament last year and shrinking the field from 40 teams back to 32, bids are tougher to come by than they used to be. The good news for the Bison is that there have been very few upsets of regular season champions in postseason tournaments, which means fewer automatic NIT bids. Here’s a breakdown of Bucknell’s chances of getting one of those 32 invites.