PATRIOTMBB NOTEBOOK (.PDF)

DAYTON, Ohio – No. 16 Lehigh (18-16, 11-7 PL), the 2026 Patriot League Men’s Basketball Champion, will face the SWAC Champion No. 16 Prairie View A&M (18-17, 9-9 SWAC) Wednesday during the First Four at the University of Dayton’s UD Arena.
 
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN: Tip-off between the Mountain Hawks and Panthers is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET, on truTV. Jordan Kent will handle play-by-play, with Jim Spanarkel providing analysis and Jenny Dell reporting from the sideline. Westwood One will also have live radio coverage with Danny Reed and King McClure on the call.  
LIVE STATS | WATCH LIVE | LISTEN ON WESTWOOD ONE
 
NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST FOUR
NO. 16 LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS (18-16, 11-7 PL) VS. NO. 16 PRAIRIE VIEW A&M PANTHERS (18-17, 9-9 SWAC)
UD Arena/Dayton, Ohio                                                    6:40 p.m. ET (truTV)
BROADCAST (truTV): PxP – Jordan Kent; Analyst – Jim Spanarkel; Sideline – Jenny Dell
RADIO BROADCAST (Westwood One): PxP – Danny Reed; Analyst – King McClure
ABOUT LEHIGH:  The Mountain Hawks have won their last six games and eight of their last 10, entering the Tournament off a 74-60 victory over No. 4 Boston University in the Patriot League Men’s Basketball Championship Game.
*Junior guard Nasir Whitlock earned Tournament MVP after averaging 23.0 points per game in their three tournament wins. Whitlock is tied for the NCAA Division I lead with eight 30-point performances and ranks 18th in scoring (21.0 ppg, 3.4 apg).
*So. F/C Hank Alvey (15.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg) and Jr. G Joshua Ingram (10.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.3 apg) joined Whitlock on the Patriot League All-Tournament Team. Whitlock, Alvey and Ingram have started all 34 games this season.
*So. F Edouard Benoit missed all but three games in the non-League, but helped solidify Lehigh’s front court in League play, averaging 10.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 23 games.
ABOUT PRAIRIE VIEW A&M: Head coach Byron Smith, in his 11th season at the helm of the Prairie View A&M program, has guided the Panthers to seven straight wins entering the NCAA Tournament.
*No. 8 Prairie View A&M defeated No. 3 Southern, 74-55, as SWAC Tournament MVP Dontae Harris (Sr., G) finished with 15 points, five assists and four steals. Lance Williams (Gr., G), an All-Tournament selection, scored a team-high 18 points and dished out five assists.
*The Panthers upset top-seeded Bethune-Cookman in the SWAC quarterfinals, 71-67, with Horne scoring a game-high 30 points before downing No. 5 Alabama A&M, 74-55, in the semifinals behind 25 points from Horne.
*Horne is averaging 20.2 points, with three more Prairie View A&M players scoring in double figures. Wells (13.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg), Williams (10.1 ppg, 3.3 apg) and Gr. G Tai’Reon Joseph (18.2 ppg) have helped lead the fast-paced Panthers’ offense that leads the SWAC and ranks 19th in NCAA DI in fastbreak points (15.4 ppg).
LEHIGH NOTES
 
LEHIGH MEN’S BASKETBALL WEDNESDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
Q. You were both with the Mountain Hawks last year. What would you say is the biggest difference from last year to this year?
NASIR WHITLOCK: I think last year we were a little bit younger. Hank was starting as a freshman. We had a sophomore. We had a lot of young people. I think Ed was also starting as a freshman most of the season. I think coming into this summer, I told the team we've got to learn how to win.
 
We won a lot of close games this year. A lot of those games we were losing last year, just coming down to the final two, three minutes, the last minute of the game.
 
I think we figured out how to win a little bit more which helped us win those close games because in our league every game is going to be close no matter if you're home or away, so yeah.
 
HANK ALVEY: I would agree with that. We were definitely younger last year. You could say we're still young right now. But being here now in my second year, just that experience of that first year has helped a lot.
 
I feel like Nas has really stepped up as a leader this year. Not saying we didn't have leaders last year. We had great leaders last year, but Nas has taken on that leadership role and leading us to where we are now.
 
I want to shout out him for making a big impact on the team this year.
 
Q. What are you looking forward to most tomorrow night when that ball goes in the air and you're there in March Madness?
NASIR WHITLOCK: I think I'm looking forward to just playing with my brothers, everything we worked for. I think this is our first time -- yeah, it's everybody on the team's first time in the tournament, so going out there and playing with my brothers.
 
This is what we worked for, to be in this moment, winning the Patriot League Championship and then go to March Madness. Just tried to tell the guys have fun, this is what we worked for.
 
We did the spring, conditioning all throughout the season, playing 30-something games and this is what we've worked for. We're just going to have fun. Yeah, going out there and battling with my brothers.
 
HANK ALVEY: I would say the same thing. Just going out there with the guys you've been around for the past two years for me, three years for Nas. Just going out there knowing that they have my back and I've got theirs is what I'm going to look forward to the most as well as just looking up -- got some people coming out from Illinois. So just looking up in the crowd and seeing them, hopefully, that's what I'm looking forward to.
 
Q. I was wondering, we get a lot of repeats here actually, especially a couple of leagues that send the same teams over and over again, but you guys hadn't been here in the First Four before. What are the pros and cons of being here versus being in the field of 64 to begin with?
BRETT REED: Well, I think it's a great opportunity to potentially go against another championship-level team and continue to see what you're made of. This is a great experience and a great chance for our guys, not only to showcase their talent on a national stage, but you've got an opportunity to go head-to-head almost as if it's a Patriot League championship-type game with another team that's playing some great basketball.
 
I've been in this environment, and fortunately for me, we've had experiences where we've orchestrated some magical upsets. But a lot of times, you're a major underdog. This is going to be a dogfight. When you have a chance to test yourself against some of the best, now it breaks through all those jitters. It breaks through everything.
 
Hopefully, we can be fortunate enough to advance, but we know that we're going to have to play an excellent game, and when you have that type of battle-tested experience that we have, you embrace that competition.
LEHIGH PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPTS | FULL PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO
 
LEHIGH HISTORY IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Head coach Brett Reed, in his 19th season at the helm of the Mountain Hawks, has guided Lehigh to the NCAA Tournament in three of the program’s six appearances. Lehigh returns to the Tournament for the first time since 2012, when the 15th-seeded Mountain Hawks upset No. 2 Duke, 75-70, behind 30 points from C.J. McCollum. The Mountain Hawks fell to No. 10 Xavier in the second round, with Mackey McKnight leading the way with 20 points.
 
Reed and the Mountain Hawks made the NCAA Tournament field in 2010 as a No. 16 seed, falling to No. 1 Kansas, 90-74, with McCollum posting 26 points and seven rebounds.
 
Lehigh made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in the Patriot League era under Billy Taylor in 2004, when they fell to Florida A&M, 72-57, in an opening-round game. Before the Patriot League, Lehigh twice made the Field of 64 in the 1980’s, with Tom Schneider taking the team in 1985 and Fran McCaffrey leading the program in 1988.
Year – Round - Result
1985 First Round (Hartford, Conn.) No. 16 Lehigh (L, 68-43, No. 1 Georgetown)
1988 First Round (Hartford, Conn.) No. 16 Lehigh (L, 87-73, No. 1 Temple)
2004 Opening Round (Dayton, Ohio): No. 16a Lehigh (L, 72-57, No. 16b Florida A&M)
2010 First Round (Oklahoma City, Okla.): No. 16 Lehigh (L, 90-74, No. 1 Kansas)
2012 First Round (Greensboro, N.C.): No. 15 Lehigh (W, 75-70, No. 2 Duke)
2012 Second Round (Greensboro, N.C.): No. 15 Lehigh (L, 70-58, No. 10 Xavier)
 
PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT VICTORIES
*Holy Cross defeated fellow No. 16 seed Southern, 59-55, during the First Four in Dayton to open the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
*No. 15 Lehigh upset No. 2 Duke in the 2012 NCAA Tournament Round of 64 behind 30 points, six assists and six rebounds from C.J. McCollum.
*Current Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee and Bettencourt combined for 42 points to lead the No. 9 Bison over No. 8 Arkansas, 59-55, during the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
*Bucknell won the League’s first NCAA Tournament contest, as Kevin Bettencourt’s 19 points led the No. 14 Bison over No. 3 Kansas, 64-63, in the first round in 2005.
 
PATRIOT LEAGUE TEAMS AS A NO. 16 SEED
The 2025-26 Lehigh Mountain Hawks are the 11th Patriot League squad since 1991 to make the Tournament as a No. 16 seed. Holy Cross was the last Patriot League team to win an NCAA Tournament game as a 16-seed, when they defeated Southern in the First Four, 59-55, in 2016.
Year – Round – Results
1993-94 - First Round- No. 1 Missouri 76, No. 16 Navy 53
1994-95 - First Round- No. 1 Kansas 82, No. 16 Colgate 68
1995-96 - First Round - No. 1 Connecticut 68, No. 16 Colgate 59
1997-98 - First Round- No. 1 North Carolina 88, No. 16 Navy 52
2001-02 - First Round - No. 1 Kansas 70, No. 16 Holy Cross 59
2003-04 - Opening Round- No. 16b Florida A&M 72, No. 16a Lehigh 57
2009-10 - First Round- No. 1 Kansas 90, No. 16 Lehigh 74
2014-15 - First Round - No. 1 Villanova 93, No. 16 Lafayette 52
2015-16 - First Four - No. 16 Holy Cross 59, No. 16 Southern 55
2015-16 - First Round - No. 1 Oregon 91, No. 16 Holy Cross 52
2024-25 – First Round – No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s 83, No. 16 American 72
 
PATRIOT LEAGUE APPEARANCES BY SCHOOL
7 - Colgate (1995, 96, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24)
6 - Bucknell (2005, 06, 11, 13, 17, 18); Holy Cross (1993, 2001, 02, 03, 07, 16)
4 - American (2008, 09, 14, 25); Lehigh (2004, 10, 12, 26)
3 - Lafayette (1999, 2000, 15); Navy (1994, 97, 98)
1 - Fordham (1992) *left the League following the 1994-95 season
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes 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 who are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.