Feb. 21, 2008

Center Valley, Pa. - Two games will showcase the most heated rivalries in the Patriot League, while two others will give one last chance to make an impression outside of League play. In matchups that will go a long way towards determining the seeds for the Patriot League Tournament, Navy visits Army and Lehigh goes to Lafayette in Saturday's League matchups. The Mids will clinch a top four seed and quarterfinal-round home game with a win over Army, and would also stay on track for a showdown for first place against American on Wednesday. Lehigh and Lafayette are currently tied for the fourth and final seed to host a quarterfinal contest, so the winner of Saturday's matchup will get a leg up and enter into a third-place tie with Bucknell. Both contests are at 2 p.m., and both will be televised. The Navy/Army game has regional coverage on CBS, while the Lehigh/Lafayette contest will be shown on CSTV.

Holy Cross and Bucknell will return to the O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters event on Saturday. Both teams play opponents from the Colonial Athletic Association, with the Crusaders hosting Northeastern and the Bison traveling to Old Dominion. Colgate also plays a non-League game at home against NC Central, while American will take the weekend off.

Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 2.21.08

Patriot League Notebook

American, Navy Keep Rolling

American and Navy extended their winning streaks and gained even more separation at the top of the Patriot League men's basketball standings with victories on Wednesday night. The first-place Eagles won their sixth in a row and clinched no worse than the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament with a 49-40 victory over Army, while the Midshipmen won their fourth straight and gained a two-game lead in the loss column over third place with a 72-66 triumph over Holy Cross. Bucknell took over third place with a thrilling 77-75 win in overtime over Lafayette, while Colgate kept itself in the hunt with a 71-63 victory over Lehigh. All four winners were victorious on their home courts. The Eagles sit in first place in the League standings at 9-3, and have clinched home-court advantage in the quarterfinals and a potential semifinal game since they can finish no lower than second in the standings. Second-place Navy is just one game behind in the loss column with a 7-4 mark, while Bucknell has third place at 6-6 in the League. Lehigh and Lafayette are tied for the fourth position at 5-6 in League play, but are followed closely by Colgate and Holy Cross at 5-7 and Army at 4-7.

Early Picture on League Tournament Positioning

American has clinched a home date in the quarterfinals and a potential semifinal matchup in the Patriot League Tournament as it can finish no lower than the No. 2 seed. The Eagles will claim the Patriot League regular-season crown with a win over Navy on Wednesday. The Mids will clinch a home spot in the quarterfinals by winning one of their final three games, and can claim the No. 1 seed in the Tournament by winning out. At this point, no other team can clinch a top four seed only by winning its next game. Bucknell, Lehigh and Lafayette control their own destiny to claim top four seeds by winning out. The League Tournament will be played entirely at home sites.

League Tiebreaking Procedures

In the case of ties in the Patriot League final regular-season standings, the following process will be used until all ties are broken and the seeding process is completed (ties will be broken in rank order beginning with the highest seed):

Head-to-Head Competition/Records Between Tied Teams: The higher seed will go to the team that has won the most Patriot League contests played against the other team (s) involved in the tie.

If a Tie Still Exists: A Comparison of records will be made between the tied institutions starting at the highest possible seed and continuing through the lowest possible seed, if necessary.

If a Tie Stil Exists: The Patriot League office will use the RPI according to the Collegiate Basketball News men's RPI Report, published on the day following the final regular-season Patriot League game, to determine the higher-seeded team (or the next day that the report is available). Note- If a game must be postponed for any reason, the first Men's RPI report rankings calculated following the conclusion of that game will be used. The team with the higher RPI will receive the higher seed and the opportunity to host the tournament final (should that team advance to the championship).

Bracket Busting Against the CAA

Bucknell and Holy Cross will both take on opponents from the Colonial Athletic Association in the sixth annual O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters event on Saturday. The Bison will visit Old Dominion at 7 p.m., while the Crusaders will host Northeastern at 4 p.m. The Patriot League has a 4-2 record against opponents from the CAA this season, including a 61-47 victory for Holy Cross against Hofstra and a 71-57 victory for Bucknell at Towson. Both games will be accesible via the Patriot League All-Access package.

Close Calls

Every Patriot League game was decided by 10 points or less on Wednesday, but that's nothing new in the crowded and competitive League race. The last eight and 12 of the last 13 League contests have been decided by 10 points or less. For the season, 32 of 46 games have come within a 10-point difference, with 17 of those coming down to the wire in outcomes that were by five points or less.

History-Making Win Totals

For the first time in the 18-year history of the Patriot League, every team has recorded at least 10 victories in a season, and Bucknell made it 11 wins for every team with its victory over Lafayette on Wednesday. There were only three other instances where every team in the League scored nine wins. The Atlantic Coast Conference is the only other league in the country where every member has at least 11 wins against Division I opponents. Every team has at least four wins in League play for the second time, with the other occassion in 1993-94.

The Patriot League Trends

Bucknell and Navy both rallied from six-point second-half deficits to win on Wednesday, making it 28 of the 46 winners in Patriot League games that have trailed in the second half, with 16 of those comebacks from six points or more down. Eleven series losing streaks of seven games or more have come to an end in the Patriot League this season, with 10 of those coming against Holy Cross and Bucknell. Army ended three of its seven-game or more losing streaks, while Lafayette, Navy and American have each snapped two. While the Patriot League opened the week as one of only two Division I conferences where the road teams had a winning record in League matchups, the home squads struck back by sweeping Wednesdays action to make it an even 23-23 split for the season.

Beltway Stars

A pair of players from the two Southern-most schools in the League are making waves this season. American guard Garrison Carr has set a Patriot League record with 111 three-pointers, and is on pace to shatter the former mark of 99. Navy's Greg Sprink is averaging 21.3 points per contest, and has a chance to be the League's first 20 point per game scorer since Lehigh's Brett Eppenheimer averaged 24.7 ppg in the 1997-98 campaign. Sprink holds eighth place in all-time scoring in League history with 1,687 points.

Rising RPI

The Patriot League has solidified its 16th-place position in the Collegiate Basketball News RPI rating. The League has a .4851 weighted RPI, which gives it a .0012 edge on the 17th-place Western Athletic Conference. American leads all League teams at No. 107 in the RPI rating, with Holy Cross checking in at No. 136. The Patriot League is one of only eight conferences in the nation to place all of its teams in the top 250, and one of just two Mid-Major leagues to accomplish the feat.

Patriot League Games

Navy (14-12, 7-4) at Army (11-14, 4-7), Saturday, 2 p.m.

Christl Arena, West Point, N.Y.

Series: Navy, 66-41 Streak: Army, One Win Last Meeting: Army, 69-67 (1.27.08)

Navy The Mids earned their fourth consecutive win with a 72-66 triumph over Holy Cross on Wednesday...They earned a season sweep against Holy Cross for the first time since 1999-00 after breaking a 17-game series losing streak in the teams' first matchup...It was also Navy's 11th win in 15 games after starting the season 3-8...Every win during the four-game streak has come by six points or less...The four-game Patriot League winning streak is the longest for the Navy program since the 2000-01 season...Trailing by six with 9:23 to play, the Mids rallied off a 15-2 run over the next four and a half minutes to claim the advantage for good...Chris Harris put Navy ahead with a pair of foul shots with 6:42 left, and extended the advantage to 58-53 on a three-pointer with 5:22 to play...Navy got the lead as high as eight points, and held on when Holy Cross missed a shot to tie with nine seconds left...Greg Sprink led Navy with 25 points, while Harris added 23...The Mids posted a 23-of-25 effort at the foul line, including a 10-of-10 night for Harris, to overcome 35 percent shooting from the floor...They notched 12 steals, with five by Harris, and forced Holy Cross into 19 turnovers...Navy will try to split the series with Army for the fifth year in a row....It has won the second meeting of the season in each of the previous four years...The conest will be shown on CBS with regional coverage for the 13th year in a row, and will serve as the Star Game between the Academies...The Mids have won the last five Star Games, and 24 of the last 27...They have a 50-34 all-time advantage in Star Games.

Army The Black Knights suffered their third straight defeat, falling at American, 49-40, on Wednesday...It is their first three-game losing streak of the season...Army was swept in the season series against American for the sixth time in seven Patriot League seasons...The Black Knights trailed by nine points at the half, but rallied to tie the score at 32 on a three-pointer by Jarell Brown with 11 minutes remaining...The Black Knights fell behind by seven when they scored just one field goal in six minutes, and came no closer than five down the stretch...Army held American to 28 percent shooting from the field...Brown had 12 points, while Doug Williams had nine and 11 rebounds...The Black Knights go for their first season sweep against Navy since the 1991-92 campaign...Army won the first meeting, 69-67, on a shot by Brown with 13.4 seconds to play...Brown scored 35 points in that contest...The game is broadcast on CBS, and the winner receives the Alumni Trophy for winning the Star Game.

Lehigh (12-13, 5-6) at Lafayette (14-12, 5-6), Saturday, 2 p.m.

Kirby Sports Center, Easton, Pa.

Series: Lafayette, 135-72 Streak: Lehigh, One Win Last Meeting: Lehigh, 60-55 (1.26.08)

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks lost for the fourth time in the last five games with a 71-63 defeat at Colgate on Wednesday...Lehigh saw its six-game winning streak against the Raiders come to an end as the teams split the season series...The Mountain Hawks rallied from an early nine-point deficit to claim a two-point lead late in the first half, but Colgate scored the next 14 points spanning both halves to take control...Lehigh got as close as four points in the final minutes, but could not get any closer...Marquis Hall led the way with a career-high 29 points...The Mountain Hawks only notched three assists in the game...Lehigh goes for its second sweep of Lafayette in the last three seasons...The Mountain Hawks rallied from a 14-point deficit to defeat the Leopards, 60-55, on Jan. 26...Zahir Carrington scored 18 points in that contest.

Lafayette The Leopards dropped their fifth consecutive game in a 77-75 overtime heartbreaker at Bucknell...They saw a 10-game overtime win streak come to an end, and missed an opportunity to set an NCAA record with their seventh overtime win this season...They split the season series with Bucknell...The Leopards rallied from a 33-21 halftime deficit to take a 54-48 lead with 7:38 remaining, but saw Bucknell come back to tie the score with 13 seconds left in regulation...Lafayette led by as many as three points in the extra session, but the Bison got the game-winning bucket with 2.9 seconds to play...Lafayette had five players score in double digits, led by Andrew Brown with 17 and Matt Betley with 15...The Leopards will try to gain a split with Lehigh for the second year in a row...They have won the five of the last six meetings in Easton, with overtime victories in 2004 and 2007...Lafayette's five seniors will be honored before the game.

Team Notebooks

American The Eagles won their season-high sixth consecutive game with a 49-40 triumph over Army on Wednesday...American remains in first place in the League at 9-3, and has clinched at least the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament and home-court advantage through the League semifinals...The six-game winning streak is American's longest in Patriot League regular-season play since joining the League in the 2001-02 campaign...American earned its sixth season sweep against Army in seven seasons as a Patriot League member...The Eagles opened up a nine-point advantage at halftime, but saw Army rally to tie the score with 11 minutes to play...American clamped down on defense from there, holding the Black Knights to just one field goal in over six minutes of action to re-gain a 41-34 advantage... Army would come no closer than five points down the stretch...The Eagles won despite shooting just 11-of-39 (28 percent) from the field, including 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) from three-point range, and scoring a season-low 49 points...Garrison Carr was the only American player in double figures with 16 points, hitting all six of his foul shots to overcome a 4-of-14 shooting night... The Eagles hit 19-of-24 foul shots in the second half while connecting on just 3-of-17 shots in the stanza...American also held a 38-29 advantage on the boards...The Eagles have the weekend off, and return to action on Wednesday at Navy...They would clinch the Patriot League regular-season title outright and earn the No. 1 seed in the League Tournament with a win over Navy.

Bucknell The Bison won a wild one against Lafayette on Wednesday, claiming a 77-75 victory in overtime on Stephen Tyree's game-winning bucket with 2.9 seconds left...They split the series with the Leopards after an eight-game series win streak was broken in the first matchup...The Bison snapped a three-game losing streak, and also ended a three-game home skid in their regular-season finale at Sojka Pavilion...Bucknell had a 33-21 lead at halftime, but fell behind, 54-48, with 7:38 remaining...They were still down three on a possession with 20 seconds left, but tied the score and sent the game to overtime on Darryl Shazier's three-pointer with 13 seconds to play...The Bison tied the contest at 75 in overtime on a pair of foul shots by John Griffin with 51 seconds left, and forced a shot clock violation on Lafayette's next possession to set up Tyree's final basket...Bucknell placed five players in double figures, led by Patrick Behan with 16...Griffin scored 13 points while Tyree added 12 and seven assists...The Bison shot 54 percent (26-of-48) from the field in the contest...The Bison step out of the Pariot League for an O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters game at Old Dominion on Saturday...Bucknell lost its only all-time meeting with ODU in 1979...The Bison are back in Patriot League action on Wednesday at Lehigh.

Colgate The Raiders snapped a six-game series losing streak against Lehigh and split the season series for the first time in three years with a 71-63 win at home on Wednesday...The Raiders scored the final six points of the first half to take a 39-35 halftime advantage, and opened with the first eight points of the second half for a 47-35 lead...Lehigh cut the deficit to four with 2:23 left, but Kyle Roemer answered with a three-pointer to make it 65-58 with 1:42 remaining...The Raiders hit six foul shots down the stretch to seal the victory...Roemer paced the Raider attack with 18 points, while Alex Woodhouse recorded his first-career double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds...Kendall Chones scored 14 points, giving him 999 for his career...The Raiders connected on 48 percent of their shots, and hit 7-of-14 from beyond the arc...They step out of Patriot League action to host NC Central on Saturday...The teams are meeting for the first time...Colgate returns to League play with a contest at Holy Cross on Wednesday.

Holy Cross The Crusaders had their three-game winning streak come to an end with a 72-66 loss at Navy on Wednesday...They were also swept in the season series by the Mids...Holy Cross took a one-point lead at halftime, and held a 51-45 advantage before Navy put together a 15-2 run to pull ahead by seven with less than five minutes to play...The Crusaders stayed close, and cut the gap to 68-66 with a chance to tie in the final seconds...Pat Doherty got a good look at the basket, but missed a shot in the lane with 11 seconds to play and Navy iced the win at the foul line...Tim Clifford had a huge night with a career-high 34 points on 14-of-18 shooting from the floor...Doherty scored 11 points, but he was the only other Crusader to finish with more than six....The Crusaders play an O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters contest at home against Northeastern on Saturday...They hold a 12-4 advantage in the all-time series with Northeastern, winning the last meeting, 59-44, on Dec. 30, 2005...The Crusaders return to Patriot League action in their home finale on Wednesday against Colgate.