Old Dominion basketball overcame an embarrassing mascot snafu to take the 2011 CAA championship and the conference's first NCAA Tournament bid of the year with a 70-65 win over Virginia Commonwealth. George Mason is also a sure thing to make it in, and VCU was reportedly a consideration coming into today, but ODU's victory may have snuffed out that last part.

The Monarchs went 27-6 on the season and 15-4 in the CAA. This is their third tourney trip since 2005 and their sixth CAA conference title. Last year they shocked Notre Dame 51-50 to reach their first second round since 1995.

Star senior forward Frank Hassell leads the team in points and rebounds, averaging 14.6 and 9.8 respectively. Coach Blaine Taylor has been with ODU since 2001.

For more on Old Dominion, visit Mid Major Madness and SB Nation DC.

For updates on every automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Tournament, keep this StoryStream bookmarked. For bracketology and 2011 NCAA Tournament field projections, be sure to visit SB Nation’s Blogging the Bracket.