Men's Basketball 3/12/2023 8:01:19 PM

No. 15 Colgate to Meet No. 2 Texas in NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament First Round

Raiders and Longhorns to meet Thursday at 7:25 p.m. on TBS

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Colgate (26-8, 17-1 PL), the 2023 Patriot League Men’s Basketball Champions, received the No. 15 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament when the bracket was unveiled on Sunday evening. The Raiders will play No. 2 Texas (26-8, 12-6 Big 12), who claimed the Big 12 title on Saturday.

The Raiders and Longhorns will meet for the first time when the programs take the court on Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Live coverage will begin at 7:25 p.m. ET on TBS with Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson and Allie LaForce on the call.

Colgate makes the Tournament field for the fourth time in the last five seasons and for the sixth time in program history after defeating No. 6 Lafayette, 79-61, in the 2023 PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Men’s Basketball Championship Game on Wednesday. Senior guard Tucker Richardson earned championship MVP honors after recording a triple-double in the title game with 14 points, 12 rebounds and a championship-game-record 11 assists. Richardson, the Patriot League's Player, Defensive Player and Scholar-Athlete of the Year was named a finalist for the Lou Henson National Mid-Major Player of the Year last week by College Insider. Senior forward Keegan Records (13.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg) was also a First Team All-Patriot League honoree and All-Tournament selection.

Four-time Patriot League Coach of the Year Matt Langel and the Raiders won 17 League games, breaking the Patriot League record of 16 wins that the 2021-22 Raiders shared with the 2016-17 Bucknell Bison. This season’s Raiders were among the most efficient in the nation, leading NCAA DI in 3-point field goals percentage (40.8) while ranking second in field goal percentage (51.4), effective field goal percentage (58.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.82).

Texas enters the Big Dance after defeating Kansas, 76-56, to win the Big 12 Championship. The seventh-ranked Longhorns are led by graduate student guard Marcus Carr (15.9 ppg, 4.0 apg, 1.8 spg), who was selected First Team All-Big 12 and named a finalist for the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award last week. Graduate student guard Sir’Jabari Rice (12.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg) was a Third Team All-Big 12 honoree in addition to receiving the conference’s Sixth Man of the Year Award. Senior forward Timmy Allen (10.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg) received Honorable Mention All-Big 12. Interim head coach Rodney Terry has guided the Longhorns to a 17-7 since taking over on Dec. 12. He is one of 10 semifinalists for the Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year.

PATRIOT LEAGUE TEAMS BY SEED
This is the ninth time the team “going dancing” from the Patriot League has done so as the No. 15 seed. The Raiders were on the 15 line in 2019 when they played No. 2 Tennessee in the first round. American was the No. 15 in 2008 and 2014. Lafayette has also been the 15th seed twice, in 1999 and 2000. Holy Cross (2001) and Navy (1997) also entered the Tournament at No. 15. Most notably, Lehigh was the No. 15 seed when C.J. McCollum led the Mountain Hawks to a 75-70 upset victory over Duke during the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

PATRIOT LEAGUE VS. BIG 12 IN THE NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
The Colgate vs. Texas matchup marks the fourth time a Patriot League team will meet an opponent from the Big 12 in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Bucknell upset Kansas, 64-63, in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Holy Cross fell to the Jayhawks in the 2002 Tournament. The Bison also met West Virginia in 2017, falling 86-80 in the first round.

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.