PatriotMBB Notebook (.PDF)
PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAY CONTINUES TONIGHT
Patriot League play continues tonight with four games on ESPN+, all starting at 7 p.m. Navy hosts Boston University in a meeting between undefeated squads. Loyola Maryland welcomes Holy Cross with both teams looking for their first League win. Colgate travels to Lehigh to open its League slate, and Army West Point will put its 1-0 record on the line at Bucknell. Lafayette’s game at American has been postponed due to COVID protocols within the American program. International viewers can watch by visiting www.patriotleague.org/watch. For more information, visit PatriotLeague.org/sports/mbball.
2021-22 Patriot League Men’s Basketball Standings (as of 1.4.22)
| School |
Patriot League |
Pct. |
Overall |
Pct. |
| Boston University |
1-0 |
1.000 |
10-4 |
.714 |
| Navy |
1-0 |
1.000 |
8-4 |
.667 |
| Army West Point |
1-0 |
1.000 |
7-6 |
.538 |
| Lehigh |
1-0 |
1.000 |
3-10 |
.231 |
| Colgate |
0-0 |
- |
4-9 |
.308 |
| Lafayette |
0-0 |
- |
3-8 |
.273 |
| Loyola Maryland |
0-1 |
.000 |
6-6 |
.500 |
| American |
0-1 |
.000 |
4-9 |
.308 |
| Bucknell |
0-1 |
.000 |
3-10 |
.231 |
| Holy Cross |
0-1 |
.000 |
2-11 |
.154 |
Patriot League Composite Men’s Basketball Schedule
NAVY LEADS PATRIOT LEAGUE IN NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL NET RANKINGS
Navy leads the Patriot League at No. 91 in the most recent NCAA Men’s Basketball NET Rankings. The Patriot League preseason favorite, Boston University, is second among League teams, ranking 155th, and defending champion Colgate is third at 198th. The 2020-21 League runner-up, Loyola Maryland, is ranked 246th, with Army West Point (272nd) rounding out the League’s top-five in the NET rankings. The 2021-22 season marks the fourth year of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, which replaced the RPI as the primary tool for evaluating teams.
TERRIERS RANK 22ND IN MID-MAJOR POLL
Boston University climbed two spots in this week’s CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll, ranking No. 22. The preseason Patriot League favorites have won six of their last seven games to go 10-4, the best start for the program since starting 11-3 during the 2004-05 season. Head Coach Joe Jones’s Terriers are outscoring opponents by an average margin of +4.8 and outrebounding opponents by a League-best +6.6 boards per game. BU ranks second in the League, holding opponents to 63.9 points per game, the second-lowest mark in the League. Navy is receiving votes in this week’s poll, having won seven of its last nine games. The Mids possess the best scoring defense in the League and are ranked 19th in NCAA, allowing 58.7 points per game.
MCCOY CLIMBING LEAGUE SCORING LIST
Boston University graduate student guard Javante McCoy passed former BU teammate Max Mahoney for 30th place on the League’s career scoring list after his 17-point performance against Bucknell (Jan. 1). He is among this season’s League scoring leaders with 17.1 points per game, giving him 1,561 career points. McCoy is the only active League men’s basketball player to have eclipsed 1,000 career points. Teammate Walter Whyte is 13 points shy after scoring 10 points against the Bison on Jan. 1.
Name, School Career Points
26. Matt Wilson, Army, 1,587
27. Ella Ellis, Army, 1,585
28. Rashawne Glenn, Lehigh, 1,578
29. Kevin Bettencourt, Bucknell, 1,577
30. Javante McCoy, Boston U, 1,561
NAVY’S DEFENSE KEYING HOT START
Navy leads the Patriot League and is 19th in NCAA DI in scoring defense (58.7) while limiting opposing offenses to a .398 field goal percentage. Head Coach Ed DeChellis’s Mids have held three opponents to 40 points or less, including a League-low 33 points to win a 47-33 decision against Radford (Nov. 20). Navy held then-No. 25 Virginia to 58 points in the program’s first win over a ranked opponent since 1986. The Mids have won seven of their last nine games to complete its non-League slate before defeating Holy Cross 70-56 in their League-opener on Jan. 1. The Mids host Boston University on Tuesday and travel to Bucknell on Jan. 7.
PATRIOT LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL LEADS NCAA DIVISION I IN GRADUATION RATE REPORTS
The Patriot League’s 10 men’s basketball programs finished with the highest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in with nation with a perfect score of 100, a four-point improvement from last year. Eight League schools - Army West Point, Boston University, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland and Navy posted perfect GSR scores. The League also had the highest Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) score (76), with Bucknell, Holy Cross and Lafayette tying for a League-high score of 92 percent. The Patriot League has been among the top three conferences in the NCAA in GSR each year since the introduction of the rating in 2013. The League’s overall 86 percent FGR score leads the country for the ninth consecutive year.
PATRIOT LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL GEICO PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PATRIOT LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL GEICO PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sukhmail Mathon, Boston University, Gr., F, Shavertown, Pa./Holderness School (N.H.)
*Mathon posted career-highs of 21 points and 18 rebounds to lead Boston University to a 63-61 victory over Bucknell in their League opener.
*His 18 rebounds tied the highest single-game total in the League this season while tying Nate Dieudonne for the most by a Terrier since 2000.
*The graduate student forward shot 8-of-14 from the floor and connected on 5-of-6 from the charity stripe to eclipse 20 points for the first time in his career.
PATRIOT LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL GEICO ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Elijah Stephens, American, Fr., G, Waco, Texas/China Spring
*Stephens scored a career-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting in his first collegiate start in American’s League opener against Lehigh.
*The Waco, Texas native went on a personal 5-0 run during the final minute of regulation to bring the Eagles within one point in an eventual 63-61 loss.
*Stephens added three rebounds, one assist and one steal for an American squad that was missing three starters.
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athlete can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.