Patriot

Poll: Who Will Win the Patriot League?

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:27:31 -0400

College Basketball: Preseason Conference Ranking

CHN — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:43:04 -0400

After finishing 1st in the RPI the last two years, the ACC should fall back slightly thanks to the big-name departures at UNC & Wake Forest. This should allow one of the Big 12, Big Ten, or even SEC a shot at being #1. The Pac-10 is weak enough that a high-major like the A-10, MVC, or MWC could surpass it.

Chime in with your thoughts below if you agree or disagree with CHN's preseason conference ranking.

2009-10 Conference Ranking

*08-09 is last year's conference RPI. Commentary by Shawn Siegel, ranking by CHN.

	Conference	08-09*
1	Big Ten 9 of 11 teams go into season with ncaa hopes, and as many as 7 may reach that goal	2
2	Big 12 ku is the clear title contender. the bottom few teams are weak though and the middle-tier is hit or miss	3
3	ACC no dominant team like last year, but solid as always.	1
4	SEC rise of uk brings league back to prominence after down year..	6
5	Big East lose tons of big name players, and still held down by likes of depual, rutgers, etc	4
6	Pac-10 conceivable the pac-10 only receives 3 tourney bids.	5
7	Atlantic 10 should get at least 2 invites to the ncaa tournament	8
8	MVC with improvement expected from usual leaders creighton & siu, mvc should be solid all-around	9
9	MWC just about every top team loses a top player, but mwc should be one of the more entertaining leagues	7
10	Conference USA though memphis takes step back, rest of league is better than usual.	10
11	WAC after some down years, wac will once again be compeititve league	11
12	Horizon butler has top 10 hopes, but squads like csu and green bay lose key seniors.	12
13	Colonial while still 1 bid league, likes of odu, n'eastern, gmu, and vcu are all quality	14
14	Sun Belt more then just wku, the entire east division is solid	17
15	MAAC siena, niagara, and rider all have postseason hopes	13
16	WCC gonzaga and smc both worse then season ago	15
17	MAC #'s should be better than last year, but west division still a struggle	21
18	Big West led by up-and-coming long beach state. always finish around this #.	18
19	Summit darling ndsu loses a lot, so usual contenders like oru and oakland should be at forefront again	26
20	Big Sky with exception of sacramento st, this is a solid league top to bottom.	24
21	Southland underrated league always good for some non-conference upsets	19
22	Ivy cornell will be the best the ivy has offered in quite some years	29
23	Southern steph curry's departure opens up door for charleston	20
24	America East decimation of binghamton will hurt league #'s	16
25	Atlantic Sun the league's upper half is as solid as it's been for a few years	27
26	Patriot could use a rebound from former top gun bucknell.	22
27	OVC morehead st continues its improbable rise..	23
28	Big South outside of radford, not much to get excited about here..	25
29	NEC nec hasn't had much going for it in recent years	28
30	MEAC as usual, will battle swac for title of country's worst	30
31	SWAC solid jackson st gives swac hope of surpassing meac	31

College Basketball Preview - 144 Teams in 144 Days - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

Conference Tournament Odds: Mid-Majors

Evan Dorey — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:47:53 -0400

Tournament Odds: Mid-Major Conferences

These are conference tournament log5 projections, using in-conference offensive and defensive efficiency. The basic log5 methodology comes from Bill James, and this is an area Ken Pomeroy has looked at in the past as well. I claim nothing new in the application, but obviously with slightly different methodologies, these numbers may differ from others you find.

- more odds coming soon!

America East - March 6-14

The first three rounds will be played in Albany’s home court, SECFU Arena, with the final happening on Saturday morning at the higher remaining seed.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
1	Binghamton	100.00%	85.45%	53.64%	26.52%
2	Vermont	100.00%	87.92%	62.85%	45.92%
3	Boston University	100.00%	86.45%	32.33%	18.97%
4	New Hampshire	100.00%	28.09%	7.94%	0.82%
5	Stony Brook	100.00%	71.91%	34.71%	6.86%
6	UMBC	100.00%	13.55%	1.39%	0.19%
7	Albany	100.00%	12.08%	3.43%	0.47%
8	Maine	75.37%	12.98%	3.54%	0.24%
9	Hartford	24.63%	1.57%	0.18%	0.00%

Hometown team Albany got the worst possible opening draw, as the favorite, #2 Vermont will be a tough task. Binghamton and BU should be the main challengers, with Stony Brook a team from outside the top 4 that could cause a big surprise.

Atlantic Sun - March 4-7

With only seven eligible teams, champions Jacksonville get an opening round bye, while the bottom 6 teams play for the other semifinal spots. All games are held at the Allen Center, home to #4 Lipscomb.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Jacksonville	100.00%	54.37%	35.75%
2	East Tennessee St.	84.10%	52.47%	20.87%
3	Belmont	76.41%	37.58%	12.64%
4	Lipscomb	84.83%	43.25%	28.80%
5	Campbell	15.17%	2.38%	0.66%
6	Mercer	23.59%	5.87%	0.81%
7	Stetson	15.90%	4.07%	0.46%

Jacksonville’s first round bye doesn’t help them a whole lot, while Lipscomb’s home court advantage will give them a serious shot of breaking through to steal the bid.

(Ed: ETSU ended up winning, one of the few upset conference champions so far.)

Big Sky - March 7-11

The Big Sky Tournament features just 6 of the conference’s 9 teams, with the top two teams getting automatic semifinal byes. The first round games are played at campus sites, while Weber St. hosts the semis and final at the Dee Events Center.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Weber St.	100.00%	87.17%	73.11%
2	Portland St.	100.00%	58.13%	13.29%
3	Montana	94.12%	41.37%	7.97%
4	Idaho St.	70.40%	9.54%	4.30%
5	Northern Colorado	29.60%	3.30%	1.31%
6	Montana St.	5.88%	0.50%	0.02%

Weber would have been favorites at a neutral site. At home, they should be able to win the two games they’ll need.

Big South - March 3-7

The semis and finals will be hosted at regular season champs Radford.

#	Team	F	W
1	Radford	86.18%	69.39%
2	Virginia Military Inst	47.51%	12.44%
3	Liberty	52.49%	14.59%
4	NC Asheville	13.82%	3.58%

Radford’s home advantage should see them through, but the Liberty-VMI winner will give the Highlanders a tough fight

(Ed: As expected, Radford locked up the title.)

Big West - March 11-14

Hosted in Anaheim, the Big West conference tournament uses a bizarre style, which I don’t faithfully reproduce here, as they have a two-team double-level bye, just like the WCC, but also re-seeded at each level. These odds reflect the tournament without reseeding, so they somewhat hurt the top teams, but still give a basic idea of the overall picture.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
1	CS Northridge	100.00%	100.00%	59.70%	32.34%
2	Long Beach St.	100.00%	100.00%	58.41%	30.28%
3	Pacific	100.00%	73.63%	35.02%	17.31%
4	UC Santa Barbara	100.00%	60.42%	26.20%	12.48%
5	UC Irvine	71.81%	32.63%	12.71%	5.48%
6	UC Riverside	58.88%	17.18%	4.67%	1.35%
7	Cal St. Fullerton	41.12%	9.19%	1.90%	0.42%
8	UC Davis	28.19%	6.95%	1.39%	0.32%

The top two seeds get a huge boost by avoiding the opening two rounds, and look the likeliest to advance to the NCAA tournament. The two teams with single byes also have decent chances.

MAC - March 10-14

The MAC Tournament, held in Cleveland, gives four first round byes, and is mostly notable for the fact that the two division champs get the top two seeds, which elevates a below-.500 Ball St. team out of the first round up to #2.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
1	Bowling Green	100.00%	57.17%	18.32%	7.90%
2	Ball St.	100.00%	52.39%	13.83%	3.75%
3	Buffalo	100.00%	43.91%	30.38%	13.72%
4	Miami OH	100.00%	43.91%	29.09%	16.40%
5	Akron	94.36%	55.65%	41.06%	26.52%
6	Kent St.	90.15%	54.67%	42.38%	23.49%
7	Central Michigan	77.03%	41.65%	12.33%	3.74%
8	Western Michigan	39.43%	14.41%	3.09%	0.96%
9	Ohio	60.57%	28.42%	8.37%	3.38%
10	Eastern Michigan	22.97%	5.97%	0.68%	0.08%
11	Northern Illinois	9.85%	1.42%	0.40%	0.05%
12	Toledo	5.64%	0.45%	0.07%	0.01%

This conference is simply insane. The top two favorites don’t even get a bye, and Akron fans in particular must be steamed at the division winners rule. There look to be five teams that can potentially win the tournament, all from the East division, and no matter who gets it in the end, the MAC will retain its reputation for eating its own. Don’t be too surprised if you see the #5 or #6 seed make a long run in Cleveland.

MEAC- March 9-14

The MEAC Tournament features the 11 eligible teams meeting in Winston Salem, with the bottom six playing for spots in the quarterfinals.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
1	Morgan St.	100.00%	95.15%	83.06%	69.88%
2	South Carolina St.	100.00%	67.26%	36.98%	9.43%
3	Norfolk St.	100.00%	61.85%	33.51%	8.22%
4	NC A&T	100.00%	50.79%	8.05%	3.58%
5	Coppin St.	100.00%	49.21%	7.62%	3.33%
6	Bethune Cookman	90.11%	37.43%	17.18%	3.35%
7	Hampton	48.95%	15.79%	5.84%	0.90%
8	Florida A&M	41.68%	1.66%	0.37%	0.07%
9	Howard	58.32%	3.19%	0.91%	0.22%
10	Delaware St.	51.05%	16.95%	6.43%	1.02%
11	MD Eastern Shore	9.89%	0.72%	0.06%	0.00%

Morgan St. is a dominant favorite, but after that, its truly a free-for-all. Delaware St. is a fascinating potential long-shot, should it survive its first round game.

Northeast - March 5-11

The NEC Tournament has all game played at the higher seed with 8 of the 11 teams making the quarters.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Robert Morris	94.76%	82.61%	64.72%
2	Mount St. Mary's	91.99%	66.85%	22.16%
3	Sacred Heart	91.38%	31.18%	9.09%
4	Long Island	72.84%	12.75%	3.11%
5	Quinnipiac	27.16%	3.76%	0.71%
6	Central Connecticut	8.62%	0.98%	0.06%
7	Wagner	8.01%	0.99%	0.07%
8	St. Francis NY	5.24%	0.88%	0.09%

Robert Morris has separated itself from the rest of the conference all season, and with it hosting every game it plays, it should be on course for the NCAA bid.

Ohio Valley - March 3-7

With the semifinals set, all games will be played in Nashville from now on in the tournament.

#	Team	F	W
1	Tennessee Martin	62.54%	31.86%
2	Austin Peay	28.48%	10.72%
3	Murray St.	71.52%	42.86%
4	Morehead St.	37.46%	14.56%

Murray and Martin are both favored to make the final, where a battle between the two would be a lot of fun.

(Ed: Like ETSU above, Morehead St managed to defy the odds.)

Patriot League - March 4-13

All games in the Patriot League tournament are at the higher seed’s arena.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	American	99.07%	97.22%	86.03%
2	Holy Cross	93.81%	80.21%	12.37%
3	Navy	85.31%	17.26%	1.28%
4	Army	66.79%	1.75%	0.16%
5	Lehigh	33.21%	0.83%	0.08%
6	Colgate	14.69%	1.39%	0.04%
7	Bucknell	6.19%	1.14%	0.03%
8	Lafayette	0.93%	0.19%	0.01%

American has had an excellent season, and should head back to the NCAA tournament, especially with all its games at home.

Southland - March 12-15

Eight of the league’s 12 teams meet in Katy, TX to decide the Southland title.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Stephen F. Austin	70.74%	46.69%	28.36%
2	Nicholls St.	80.97%	40.99%	19.77%
3	Sam Houston St.	76.46%	46.90%	25.31%
4	Texas A&M Corpus Christi	63.42%	28.37%	14.03%
5	Texas Arlington	36.58%	11.81%	4.32%
6	Texas San Antonio	23.54%	8.15%	2.23%
7	Texas St.	19.03%	3.96%	0.74%
8	Southeastern Louisiana	29.26%	13.13%	5.23%

Prepare for good four-way battle between the top seeds, with the #8 Southeastern Louisiana potentially poised to bust some brackets.

Summit League - March 7-10

The Summit League Tournament is a pretty simple 8-team affair, with all games in Sioux Falls, SD.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	North Dakota St.	92.48%	83.64%	52.90%
2	Oral Roberts	88.37%	61.87%	31.48%
3	Oakland	81.52%	32.35%	12.02%
4	IUPUI	54.58%	7.58%	1.39%
5	Southern Utah	45.42%	5.50%	0.87%
6	IUPU Fort Wayne	18.48%	2.75%	0.41%
7	South Dakota St.	11.63%	3.04%	0.48%
8	Centenary	7.52%	3.28%	0.46%

North Dakota St. will be a team to watch for an upset in the NCAA tournament, but only if they can get by tough challenges from the winner of an ORU-Oakland semifinal.

SWAC - March 11-14

Eight teams meet in Birmingham to determine the SWAC automatic bid.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Alabama St.	94.70%	81.39%	63.36%
2	Jackson St.	84.03%	57.22%	20.15%
3	Prairie View A&M	72.56%	31.36%	8.01%
4	Arkansas Pine Bluff	70.73%	14.11%	6.07%
5	Southern	29.27%	3.05%	0.75%
6	MVSU	27.44%	6.57%	0.84%
7	Texas Southern	15.97%	4.84%	0.55%
8	Alabama A&M	5.30%	1.44%	0.27%

Alabama St. is a big favorite, with only the top four looking to have any kind of shot, and the top two in particular dominant favorites to meet in the title game.

Also: BCS Tournament Odds

Also: High-Major Tournament Odds

More: Championship Week Coverage

+2009 NCAA Tournament
	• All Tournament Coverage • NCAA Tournament Capsules • NIT Capsules • NCAA Tournament Schedule • Venue Info & Tickets • Bracketology

Patriot League Tournament: Preview & Prediction

Evan Dorey — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:09:05 -0500

This is one in a series of conference tournament previews, in which I run down all the teams involved, give a brief statistical review and present the log5 projections, using in-conference offensive and defensive efficiency. The basic log5 methodology comes from Bill James, and this is an area Ken Pomeroy has looked at in the past as well. I claim nothing new in the application, but obviously with slightly different methodologies, these numbers may differ from others you find. I don’t claim to be an expert on any particular conference, and I’m sure there are some mis-characterizations on some players I’ve seen sparingly at best, so please add your thoughts in the comments. Anyway, with no further ado, the preview follows below:

Patriot League Championship

The Patriot League Tournament features all league teams, with all games being hosted at the higher seed.

Tournament Odds

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	American	99.07%	97.22%	86.03%
2	Holy Cross	93.81%	80.21%	12.37%
3	Navy	85.31%	17.26%	1.28%
4	Army	66.79%	1.75%	0.16%
5	Lehigh	33.21%	0.83%	0.08%
6	Colgate	14.69%	1.39%	0.04%
7	Bucknell	6.19%	1.14%	0.03%
8	Lafayette	0.93%	0.19%	0.01%

Between their domination of the league and the home court advantage, American is the single most dominant favorite in any conference tournament of the season. Holy Cross seem to have the only serious chance of stopping the Eagles’ run.

#1 – American Eagles (21-7, 13-1) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.219

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2008 (1^st Round)

After earning its first NCAA Tournament berth last season, American doesn’t seem like it’ll take long to get its second, having lost just once since late December, and entering the tournament on a 10-game winning streak. It might be easier to list what American doesn’t do better than anyone else in the league, it’s so dominant. The Eagles are excellent shooters, 47% overall and at nearly 40% from behind the arc. They take a lot of threes, and play a slow, deliberate offense that focuses on ball control. They are also the best at defending shots in the PL, allowing opponents the same percentage from two that they shoot from three themselves. The Eagles also dominate the defensive glass, so opponents have a lot of one-miss-and-out possessions.

Players to watch:

5-11 SR Garrison Carr, 17.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 50.7 eFG% - Carr leads the Eagles in scoring, and is basically the only guy who takes threes on the team, his 251 attempts about the same as the rest of the team combined. He’s made nearly 38% of them, nearly as good a percentage as his two-point attempts. He’s a typical sort of high-usage player, providing solid efficiency over a large number of possessions, and freeing up other players into smaller, more effective roles.

6-8 SR Brian Gilmore, 11.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 60.7 eFG% - Gilmore is the main option for American inside, a very good inside scorer with a great touch from outside as well. He leads the team in rebounding, but his rates on the boards aren’t particularly good. While he doesn’t often put up a big number, he chips in with effective shooting down low.

#2 – Holy Cross Crusaders (16-13, 11-3) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.114

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2007 (1^st Round)

Holy Cross had a poor non-conference season, picking up a number of bad losses (including three against the Ivy), but turned it on when Patriot play started, and were the only team to beat American. The Crusaders dominated the rest of the league as well, and have the second best offense and defense, behind only the Eagles. Holy Cross depends on getting the ball inside to score, and going 50% on two-point shots makes up for struggles with long-distance shots and free-throws. It’s a good offensive rebounding team, and distributes the ball well, but turns the ball over too often to be really efficient. Defensively, the word is possessions. The Crusaders are decent at stopping shots, but really shine at denying opponents chances with turnovers and rebounds.

Players to watch:

6-9 SO Andrew Keister, 9.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 59.6 eFG% - Keister may not be the Crusaders’ first option, but he’s the most efficient offensive player by a wide margin. That tends to happen when you lead the team in rebounding and shoot a better percentage from the field (60%) than from the stripe (56%).

6-4 SR Colin Cunningham, 8.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.8 SPG, 47.1 eFG% - If Cunningham were a half-decent three point shooter, he’d be an excellent player. However, his 29% mark from beyond the arc really drags him down. Beyond that, he’s a good ball distribution guard who leads the league in steals.

#3 – Navy Midshipmen (19-10, 8-6) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.030

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1998 (1^st Round)

Navy first came to my attention when it shot 71% from the field in beating Texas San Antonio, but it couldn’t keep that level of play when conference play came around, and ended up hanging just above .500 the whole season. The Midshipmen are a step down from the two leading teams on the offensive end, but are still clearly better than the teams below them. They play a fairly quick style that depends on avoiding turnovers, where they are best in the conference, and making long-distance shots, where they are only average. Navy is a pretty good team at defending the perimeter, but get beaten out inside, and are only an average league defense.

Players to watch:

6-4 SR Kaleo Kina, 17.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.4 SPG, 44.4 eFG% - Kina leads the Midshipmen in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals, and when his shooting touch is on, he’s as dangerous a scorer as there is in the league. The problem comes when his shots aren’t falling, as he is capable of some frightening lines, especially from three, where he shoots just 25%.

6-2 JR Chris Harris, 15.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 48.3 eFG% - Harris is the team’s second leading scorer, and takes the majority of his shots from behind the arc, where he makes a better percentage than he shoots inside.

#4 – Army Black Knights (10-18, 6-8) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.052

Last NCAA Tournament bid: None

Army has had one of the nation’s worst offenses, and the worst in the Patriot League, so its 6-8 final record is a testament to its ability to defend. The Black Knights are decent shooters, 41 % overall, but struggle inside, and lose so many possessions with poor rebounding and turnovers that that their shooting doesn’t really matter. Army defends shots well, and forces a lot of turnovers, good enough for the Patriot’s third-best defense, but not good enough to keep up with the conference leaders.

Players to watch:

6-3 JR Cleveland Richard, 11.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 53.9 eFG% - Richard is the Black Knights’ main threat from behind the arc, and the team’s leading scorer. The team is quite deep, using a lot of players, but Richards’ shooting ability clearly sets him apart.

5-11 JR Josh Miller, 9.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 3.4 APG, 45.5 eFG% - The team’s best ball distribution guard, Miller doesn’t score much, and his two point shooting is a weakness at just 43%.

#5 – Lehigh Mountain Hawks (15-13, 5-9) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.057

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2004 (Play-In)

There’s not much separating the teams in slots 4-7, and the Mountain Hawks’ trip to Army to open the tournament should be a good one, if the triple overtime game the two played in the regular season is any indication. Lehigh’s in-conference inconsistency can be blamed, for a large part, on their shooting, which is among the worst in the nation, and easily the worst in the PL. It especially struggles from two, where it takes the majority of its shots, and even good rebounding and interior defense weren’t enough to get it to the .500 mark.

Players to watch:

5-11 JR Marquis Hall, 14.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.7 SPG, 44.7 eFG% - Hall is the first part of Lehigh’s inside-outside duo, and is a good guard in every area but his shot. He’s a decent rebounder, and has a very good assist rate, but his shooting inside the arc is quite weak, and is the major failing in his game.

6-7 JR Zahir Carrington, 14.0 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 44.2 eFG% - The conference’s leading rebounder, Carrington’s 44% from the floor is pretty disappointing, and really reduces his effectiveness as an offensive option. He does get a good number of points at the free throw line, where he makes fairly frequent appearances.

#6 – Colgate Red Raiders (9-19, 5-9) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.060

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1996 (1^st Round)

Colgate sat at 5-5 with two-and-a-half weeks left in the season, but a disastrous end to the season that included a tough series of road games saw them slump into the bottom portion of the conference. The Red Raiders are an average offensive team, though their slow pace makes them seem less potent then they are. They sit fifth in FG% and turnovers, so the middle-of-the pack overall efficiency fits with a balanced, mediocre unit. Defensively, they manage to hold opponents to a reasonable percentage, but have trouble stopping opponents from getting a possession advantage, with their rebounding a major culprit.

Players to watch:

6-6 JR Ben Jonson, 10.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 49.7 eFG% - The junior forward is Colgate’s best option inside, and has really upped his level of play while taking on a larger role. He’s a solid rebounder, and is a good scorer from the floor who puts up a lot of points at the free throw line.

6-1 SO Mike Venezia, 10.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 44.5 eFG% - Venezia leads the Red Raiders in scoring, but his shot needs a lot of work, especially with his 41% inside. Considering that he doesn’t contribute many steals or assists, he’s a very inefficient player when his shots aren’t falling, which is fairly often.

#7 – Bucknell Bison (7-22, 4-10) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.055

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2006 (2^nd Round)

Just three years removed from the second of their pair of memorable NCAA runs, the Bison have shown just how fleeting success can be, slipping to a spot just above the Patriot League cellar. The Bison are good shooters, and don’t turn the ball over much, but are woefully outclassed inside, putting up one of the nation’s worst two-point percentages. Likewise, they defend the three well, but allow opponents to score with relative ease inside. A couple of things don’t quite fit with this profile; Bucknell forces very few turnovers, but is excellent at defensive rebounding, despite playing at a fairly high pace.

Players to watch:

6-8 JR Patrick Behan, 13.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 45.8 eFG% - Behan fits with what we’ve seen from several Patriot League forwards, a good rebounder who takes a lot of his team’s shots, but doesn’t shoot a particularly good percentage.

6-1 SR Justin Castleberry, 11.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 44.5 eFG% - Castleberry has a good scoring average, but not much else; he put up a good steal rate, and he’s a decent three-point shooter, but his sub-40% shooting from two means he’s a pretty inefficient player.

#8 – Lafayette Leopards (8-21, 4-10) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.117

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2000 (1^st Round)

When I’ve been describing some of the teams above as relatively poor defensively, this has been within the context of the Patriot League, where the average team has scored well below a point-per-possession. Lafayette is the only team that allows more than that, and have been easily the worst team in the conference. The Leopards’ opponents shoot 47% from the field, and manage to score inside and outside with equal impunity. Lafayette also commits a lot of fouls, giving opponents even more high-percentage chances. Offensively, Lafayette are about average in the conference, a three-heavy offense that doesn’t shoot a great long distance percentage, but is effective inside and at the line.

Players to watch:

6-2 SR Jeff Kari, 10.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.7 APG, 48.2 eFG% - Kari is 2^nd on the team in scoring, but he’s not a particularly effective guard, having an even assist/turnover ratio and a below average shot inside and outside.

5-11 SR Andrew Brown, 13.6 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 3.1 APG, 43.6 eFG% - Lafayette’s leading scorer and assist man, Brown is another player who’s struggled to make shots, below 30% from three and under 35% overall.

My statistical all-Patriot League team:

American SR G Garrison Carr, 17.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 50.7 eFG%

Navy SR G Kaleo Kina, 17.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.4 SPG, 44.4 eFG

Navy JR G Chris Harris, 15.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 48.3 eFG%

Army JR G Cleveland Richard, 11.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 53.9 eFG%

American SR F Brian Gilmore, 11.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 60.7 eFG%

Patroit League Tournament: Quarterfinals Preview

Press Release — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:27:57 -0500

Center Valley, Pa. - The quest for the 2009 Patriot League Men's Basketball Championship begins with the quarterfinal round on Wednesday, with defending champion American playing as the No. 1 seed and hosting No. 8 Lafayette. No. 2 Holy Cross hosts No. 7 Bucknell, No. 3 Navy takes on No. 6 Colgate and No. 4 Army hosts No. 5 Lehigh in the other three contests.

Patriot League Quarterfinal Preview

It's win or go home time in Patriot League men's basketball, as the League Tournament tips off with the quarterfinal round on Wednesday. The evening's action begins at 7 p.m. with No. 7 seed Bucknell at No. 2 Holy Cross, No. 6 Colgate at No. 3 Navy and No. 5 Lehigh at No. 4 Army. The No. 1 seeded American Eagles begin defense of their League title at 7:30 p.m. at Bender Arena against No. 8 Lafayette. The winner of the Lehigh/Army game plays the winner of Lafayette/American in the semifinals on Sunday, with the winners on the other side of the bracket also facing off that day. All Patriot League Tournament games are played at the site of the higher seed, with the Championship on March 13

The Eagles won the Patriot League with a 13-1 mark in the regular season, claiming the top seed in the Tournament for the second year in a row. They are led by senior guards Derrick Mercer and Garrison Carr. Mercer was named Patriot League Player of the Year on Monday, while Carr earned his second consecutive First-Team All-League award. The Eagles are tied for third in the nation with a 10-game winning streak, and have victories in 16 of their last 17 games. Lafayette is led by senior guard Andrew Brown, who averages 13.6 points per game.

The Mountain Hawks and Black Knights play in the quarterfinals for the third year in a row. Lehigh is led by First-Team All-League selection Marquis Hall and Second-Team All-League choice Zahir Carrington. Army places 34th in the country in scoring defense, and has Patriot League Defensive Player of the year Marcus Nelson and Second-Team All-League pick Cleveland Richard on its side.

Bucknell and Holy Cross are meeting in the Patriot Leaguue Tournament for a record 12th time, with the Bison holding a 6-5 edge thus far. Bucknell is led by Second-Team All-League choice Patrick Behan, who has five consecutive 20-point games. Holy Cross boasts First-Team All-League pick Andrew Keister and Patriot League Rookie of the Year R.J. Evans for a team that went 11-3 in Patriot League action.

Colgate and Navy face off in Annapolis after just playing on Saturday in a game won by the Mids. The Raiders have lost five consecutive games coming into action, but do have three players scoring around 10 points per contest. Navy boasts First-Team All-Patriot League choice Kaleo Kina and Second-Team All-League pick Chris Harris, who each finished in the top three in overall and League only scoring in 2008-09.

Patriot League Notebook

American Enters Exclusive Company in League Annals

By clinching the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament, American become the first team since Lafayette in 1998-00 to earn the top seed in consecutive seasons. The Leopards are the only program to earn three straight No. 1 seeds, with Colgate (1995-96)?and Fordham (1990-91) the others to do it in consecutive years. American is also the first team in League annals to earn sole possession of the regular-season title for two straight seasons. The Eagles will play as the No. 1 seed in the Tournament for the third time in eight years as a League member, with the other instance in 2002. American has captured a top four seed in each of its League seasons.

No. 1 Usually Ends Up No. 1

If history rings true, American has to like its chances as the No. 1 seed with home court throughout the Patriot League Tournament. The top seed has won 14 of the 18 League Tournaments, and has advanced to the title game every season. American continued that trend by winning the Championship as the No. 1 seed last year.

Repeat Is No Unusual Feat

Also in the Eagles' favor is the history of repeat champions in the Patriot League. There have already been six repeat champions in League annals, with just four champions earning only a single crown. Lehigh is the only Patriot League program to win one title but never repeat as a champion, a distinction the Eagles will try to avoid joining this season.

-- From PatriotLeague.org