PHILADELPHIA - Moments like this are why Jameer Nelson returned to Saint Joseph's for his senior season.

"People kept asking me why I came back for my senior season," he said. "This season is why. Today is why."

Saint Joseph's earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament's East Rutherford regional Sunday, a first in school history. The top-ranked Hawks, who won their first 27 games before losing by 20 points to Xavier in the Atlantic 10 tournament, open play in Buffalo, N.Y., on Thursday against Liberty.

"I tried not to think about it, but who doesn't want to be a No. 1 seed?" Nelson said.

More than 1,000 fans at Alumni Fieldhouse cheered on the Hawks as they watched the selection show on a big-screen TV. The crowd and the players erupted when Saint Joe's name was flashed as a No. 1 seed.

"To actually see it up on the screen, Saint Joseph's No. 1 seed, it's something we never imagined. Ever," said forward Pat Carroll. "Just to see your name flashed up as one of the top four teams is a great accomplishment."

Coach Phil Martelli hugged his wife and tearful athletic director Don DiJulia, who starred for the Hawks in the 1960s. The Hawks are making consecutive appearances in the tournament for the first time since the 1981 and 1982 seasons. They lost in the first round last year.

This is Saint Joe's 18th tournament appearance and the fourth under Martelli.

No top seed has ever lost a first-round game. If they prevail, the Hawks face either eighth-seeded Texas Tech or No. 9 Charlotte in the second round.

It wasn't a total celebration, though. Martelli harshly criticized Billy Packer after the CBS college basketball analyst said the Hawks didn't deserve their No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Martelli said Packer had a bias in favor of power conferences such as the Big Ten or ACC.

"Everyone knows what his agenda is and someone has to call him out on it," he said. "He's going to voice that agenda over and over again. Enough. He called us out. He knows more than the committee? He invented the game. Just ask him."

Nelson brushed off the controversy.

"People are going to say what they want to say," he said. "We believe in ourselves. No one else has to believe. Who cares? Let's play."

Committee chairman Bob Bowlsby said Saint Joseph's earned its No. 1 seed because the Atlantic 10 team played the nation's toughest nonconference schedule.

"They didn't just play a good schedule, but the No. 1 schedule, and I think that's worth something," he said.

Bowlsby, however, acknowledged that the committee debated the effect of the Hawks' blowout loss to Xavier in the Atlantic 10 tournament before deciding to keep them as a top seed. He said as many as nine other teams were being considered.

The Hawks, though, said they were focused on getting back to basketball after getting pounded by Xavier. Martelli said the Hawks had two strong days of practice and have put the disappointment of the loss behind them.

"We got pounded last week. Your feelings get hurt," Martelli said. "The question of whether or not you're good enough comes into play. We really went to work on that. We really cleansed the system of the disappointment."

The next thing they have to work on? Finding out something about Liberty (18-14) which won the Big South Conference tournament. Liberty's other NCAA bid came 10 years ago and resulted in a 71-51 first-round loss to North Carolina.

Nelson knew nothing about Liberty's nickname - the Flames.

"It's the first time I ever thought about playing Liberty in my life," Nelson said.

The Hawks game will be only their second in two weeks. Martelli said rust was a concern, but made sure practices would be tougher. He's also glad the Hawks will have to play with some desperation - something they haven't had to play with this season.

"We haven't had to play with that all year long," he said. "Now we will."

And if they don't respond, their next loss will be their last one.

"I don't want to turn in my uniform until after the championship game," Nelson said. "I want to wear it as long as I can."

AP-ES-03-15-04 0007EST