After apperaing in back to back NCAA Tournament 2nd rounds in 2005 and 2006 Bucknell finally got back to the promised land in 2011 only to lose to eventual National Champion UConn in the 1st round. That loss didn’t phase the Bison though as they became regular season Patriot League Champions, sporting a 12-2 conference record and going 22-8 overall.
Usually this tournament produces a surprise or two, especially from the 1st round, so teams like Lehigh, American, and Holy Cross need to be on the look out for an upset. Who’s most likely to go down? Well if the regular season is any indication it very well could be the Crusaders of Holy Cross who split their regular season matchup with their 1st round opponent Lafayette, with each team winning their home game.
The game to watch in this tournament very well could be the potential semifinal matchup between Holy Cross and Bucknell. Holy Cross handed the Bison one of their two losses during conference play but it was at home and they were crushed in the game at Bucknell (75-41).
Picks & Predictions:
Champion: Mike – Lehigh Andy – Lehigh
Sleeper: Mike – American Andy – Holy Cross
Tournament MVP: C.J. McCollum – Lehigh
– McCollum led the league in scoring at a very impressive 21.7 points per game, nearly 4 points better than the next closest person. Not only that but if I’ve got Lehigh winning it wouldn’t be wise to pick against McCollum. He also was 3rd in the league in rebounding at 6.6 boards a game. He’s about as susre a bet if the Mountain Hawks are going to win the whole thing.
Quarterfinals – Feb. 29th
No. 8 Navy at No. 1 Bucknell 7pm (ET)
No. 5 Lafayette at No. 4 Holy Cross 7pm (ET)
No. 7 Colgate at No. 2 Lehigh 7pm (ET)
No. 6 Army at No. 3 American 7:30pm (ET)
Semifinals – March 3rd
Navy/Bucknell vs. Lafayette/Holy Cross 2 or 4:30pm (ET) CBSSports Network
Colgate/Lehigh vs. Army/American 2 or 4:30pm (ET) CBSSports Network
Final – March 7th
Semifinal Winners 7pm (ET) – CBSSports Network
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