sentences:  Following their only MAC loss of the season (a 66–65 loss at Buffalo), they proceeded to win 15 straight games to close the regular season at 24–5 with a 17–1 record in the MAC and winning their first-ever MAC regular season title.After winning the 2002 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament, the Flashes qualified for the 2002 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and were seeded tenth in the South regional bracket.After scoring a mild upset of the seventh-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Flashes gained national attention by defeating second-seeded SEC champion Alabama 71–58 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.