2009 Patriot League Conference Basketball Tournament Predictions
Written March 2, 2009 by Jason Lowry
The Patriot League is not really known for its basketball, but the 8 teams in this conference will be giving it their all when the men’s basketball tournament gets underway this Wednesday. The tournament finishes up the following Friday with the championship game, and one team’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. American won this event for the first time in school history last year, and will be the favorite going into the tournament after just 1 loss in conference play this season. The games are played based on the highest seed getting home court advantage, so that gives a big edge to American and Holy Cross to get to the finals. Here are the 3 favorites going into the tournament and a sleeper we think is worth keeping your eye on. Bet on the Patriot League Tournament with Bookmaker.
1. American Eagles (21-7, 13-1 Patriot League)
American coasted through conference play this season, as their only loss came on the road to Holy Cross back at the end of January. The Eagles have since won 10 straight games, including a win over Holy Cross. American is led on the court by Garrison Carr, who averages a team best 17.5 points a game, but they also get some scoring from Brian Gilmore and Derrick Mercer, with both average over 11 points a game. The Eagles have a pretty clear path to the finals, and it will likely come down to a rubber match between them and Holy Cross to get back to the NCAA Tournament.
2. Holy Cross Crusaders (16-13, 11-3 Patriot League)
This team poses the biggest threat to the Eagles for the conference title. Holy Cross seems to have a edge over their competition when it comes to this tournament, as they have won it 5 times since it started back in 1991. The Crusaders only player averaging over 10 points a game is R.J. Evans, who is averaging 12.7 points a game, but they have good balance with 5 individual players averaging between 6-9 points a game.
3. Navy Midshipmen (19-10, 8-6 Patriot League)
The Midshipmen took home 3rd place in the Patriot League in the regular season, and were the only team besides American and Holy Cross to finish above .500 in conference play. Navy has played both American and Holy Cross tough this season, beating the Crusaders back in January and losing to American by a combined 6 points in 2 meetings. The Midshipmen get the majority of their scoring from Kaleo Kina and Chris Harris, as Kina averages a team best 17.9 points with 5.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists a game, while Harris is close behind with a 15.7 scoring average.
Sleeper: Lehigh Mountain Hawks (15-13, 5-9 Patriot League)
Its hard picking a sleeper in this conference, as it looks pretty top heavy, but the Mountain Hawks were the only other team to post an overall record above .500 other than the top 3 teams, and that leaves them the best option to be the surprise team in tournament play. They will have to shake off a slow finish to the regular season, however, as they lost 6 of their final 10 games.
Prediction: American Eagles
Looking for some NCAA basketball betting advice? Check out our expert NCAA basketball picks, and make sure you have the very latest college basketball lines for every tournament game at Betfirms.
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- 2009 Conference USA Men’s Basketball Tournament Predictions
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