Patriot League Check-In Has a Lot of Striations

Well, I hope you've all dug out after the Snowmageddon and an avalanche of comments to Saturday's Good, Bad, and Ugly hit us this weekend. Don't look now, but we're looking to get another 10-20 inches tomorrow into Wednesday. Woooo boy, I don't know what Washington, D.C. collectively did to Mother Nature, but she is PISSED.



Sadly, Vlad the Impaler did not win his third consecutive Patriot League Player of the Week award (he was only an honorable mention). Some guy named O.J. from Navy won it, but I'm not going to tell you why. I am also sad to tell you that C.J. McCollum won his fourth Rookie of the Week award in the past five weeks, due in large part to the double-double he put up against us on Saturday.

As of today, the standings in the Patriot League look like this:

	Conf	All
Lehigh	6-2	15-8
Lafayette	5-3	14-9
Navy	5-3	11-12
Bucknell	4-4	9-15
American	4-4	7-16
Army	3-5	13-9
Holy Cross	3-5	6-17
Colgate	2-6	6-16

Lots and lots of striations. In fact, everyone has a date in the League. Lafayette is dancing with Navy in second. We're dancing with Patrick Behan (who is now writing for the NYT, apparently) and the Bison. Army and Holy Cross are paired up (and boy do I hope the Black Knights can teach those indolent Crusaders how to play some defense). And lastly, the Lehigh Hill Pigeons are dancing with their ugly second cousins twice removed, the Colgate Raiders. Hopefully AU can get a new dance partner soon (I'm making eyes at you, Navy and Lafayette), but first we'll have to kick Bucknell down to some other reject on the dance floor on Thursday.

Some other notes from the Patriot League this week:

Can Bison Bring a Close One to CBS College Sports Network?
None of the first four games shown on the CBS College Sports Network through the Patriot League package have been decided by single digits, but that can all change in the next two TV outings if the trends remain the same. That's because Bucknell will play on the network twice this week, at American on Thursday at 7 p.m. and at home against Holy Cross on Sunday at 2 p.m. Of the eight League games decided by five points or less this year, the Bison have been involved in six of them. That includes a 72-68 overtime win against American on Jan. 13, the fifth time in the past six meetings that the matchup was decided by four points or less.

Home-court Advantage
Home court in the Patriot League is proving to be more important than anywhere else in the nation, as the 23-9 mark for home teams in League action is the highest winning percentage (.719) among all Division I conferences. The Northeast Conference is next with a .700 home winning percentage in league play. Home teams have won 16 of the past 20 Patriot League games after taking three of four over the weekend. The numbers could increase on Wednesday, with the Patriot League's top three home teams (Lehigh, Lafayette and Army) all hosting their contests.

Streak Snappers
When Lehigh ended American's 20-game Patriot League home-winning streak on Saturday, it wasn't the first time that the Mountain Hawks had ended a reign of home-court dominance by a Patriot League foe. In Head Coach Brett Reed's first season in 2008, the Mountain Hawks put an end to Bucknell's 38-game Patriot League home-winning streak with a 56-54 triumph on Jan. 30.

And here's their snapshot preview of the Bucknell-AU game, which isn't nearly as funny as the ones Josh puts up:


Bucknell and American meet in a CBS College Sports Network telecast in Washington on Thursday with a spot in the top half of the Patriot League standings on the line...The teams are tied for fourth place at 4-4 in League action, with each squad having a three-game win streak snapped over the weekend...Bucknell ended American's three-game series win streak in dramatic fashion on Jan. 13, as the Bison held off the Eagles, 72-68, in overtime...The last two and five of the past six matchups have been decided by four points or less...American has won the last two meetings at home...The Eagles are trying to get over .500 through nine games for the third straight year, while the Bison look to do it for the sixth time in seven seasons.

Last note that I want to share with you is that Lehigh is still being picked by Rivals to represent the PL in the tournament. Not surprising, because Lehigh is in 1st place and that's all they really look at for leagues like the PL. Right now, Lehigh is the 63rd team out of 65 and is projected to come up against Kentucky in the first round. Enjoy that success, Lehigh Hill Pigeons, it will only bring you up against the John Wall buzzsaw.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!