We may have to open up a shoe store around here for all the Cinderella slippers.

The first one was grabbed by Mount St. Mary's last night when the Mountaineers upset Sacred Heart, 68-55, in Fairfield, Conn., to win the Northeast Conference championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament that goes along with it.

However, as they say on the late-night infomercials -- "But there's more!"

On Saturday, UMBC, the No. 1 seed in the America East, will play Hartford at home in the final of that conference tournament with an NCAA bid on the line. And Morgan State last night survived its first-round game in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference quarterfinals, beating South Carolina State, 77-68. Morgan State is the No. 1 seed there and moves on to the semis Friday against the winner of Delaware State-North Carolina A&T. Oh yeah, and let's not forget Coppin State, also still alive in the MEAC tourney after an upset win over Hampton.

Of course, Maryland will try to win its way into the favor of the NCAA tournament selection committee when it opens in the ACC tournament tonight against Boston College.

But today belongs to the the Mount, the first Maryland team to qualify for the Big Dance so far this season. As Sun writer Kevin Van Valkenburg pointed out, the Mountaineers did it the old-fashioned way, with great defense and steady foul shooting. They held Sacred Heart to less than 30 percent from the field and shot 30-of-35 from the free throw line. It's uncertain yet whether they'll slip right into the field of 64 or have to play in the play-in round. That will be decided on Selection Sunday.