Lehigh Mountain Hawks
Patriot League (26-7, 11-3)
The Patriot League Final was an interesting matchup indeed. Bucknell and last year’s Patriot League Player of the Year Mike Muscala faced off against second place Lehigh and this year’s POY, C.J. McCollum. Both men were tremendous. Muscala played 38 minutes, scored 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. He also dished out 4 assists and blocked 3 shots. McCollum, meanwhile, tallied 39 minutes played, 29 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. He also got a bunch more help from teammate Gabe Knutson who managed 23 points of his own. It seemed like that may have been the difference as Bucknell was never able to find a second scorer. The Mountain Hawks took the league title and the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament along with it. It will be their second tourney berth in the past three seasons.
Big Wins: 12/10 at Wagner (70-69), 2/16 at Bucknell (56-53), 3/7 at Bucknell (87-77)
Bad Losses: 12/3 at Cornell (79-81), 1/7 at Holy Cross (78-84), 2/9 at American (62-71)
Coach: Brett Reed (5 seasons at Lehigh)
Why They Can Surprise:
C.J. McCollum is a fascinating player. He is a two-time Patriot League Player of the Year who has seen his shooting percentage drop and his turnovers rise from his freshman season. Of course that is blatantly misleading considering he won his first POY award as a freshman, when he scored 19 a game. This most recent season, only his junior year, marked the third straight season he’s scored at least 19 points per game and grabbed at least 5 rebounds. His overall numbers this season are perhaps his best: leads Lehigh in minutes, points, rebounds, steals, free-throw shooting, made threes, and ended just a shade away from leading in assists as well. McCollum is one of the best go-to players in the country and has been since he first suited up for the Mountain Hawks. This is not to say he didn’t have help this season though. Lehigh played fast and scored a bunch, both from the floor and from the line. Junior Gabe Knutson, second on the team in scoring, was a very reliable second option and has run side by side McCollum for years now. Knutson himself has been great since his freshman season, scoring, rebounding and shooting above 50% from the floor every year.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Lehigh did not lose many games this season. When they did lose, it was usually against a superior opponent. Out of their seven losses, three came against BCS conference foes on the road. Six of the seven were on the road in general with the lone home loss coming against conference leader Bucknell. The problem is Lehigh accumulated only one out-of-conference win of any consequence, losing all the other matchups. Although McCollum and, to a lesser extent Knutson, were still able to perform well in the losses, the rest of the team was not able to give them the help they needed. Even though Lehigh ranks well compared to their conference peers, their team numbers stacked up to the rest of the country do not hold up as well. They rank outside the top 100 in many of the major offensive categories: field goal percentage, rebounds and assists per game. They also rank poorly in blocks and committing fouls on the defensive end which all leads to their RPI being outside the top 100 as well.
Probable Starters:
CJ McCollum, Junior, Guard, 21.9 ppg, 3.5 apg, 6.5 rpg, 2.6 spg
Mackey McKnight, Sophomore, Guard, 8.3 ppg, 3.7 apg
Gabe Knutson, Junior, Forward, 12.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg
Jordan Hamilton, Senior, Forward, 6.6 ppg, 1.7 rpg
John Adams, Senior, Forward, 4.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Holden Greiner, Junior, Forward, 10.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg
Corey Schaefer, Freshman, Guard, 2.8 ppg, 1.2 apg
Justin Maneri, Senior, Forward, 3.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg
Anthony D’Orazio, Sophomore, Guard, 2.7 ppg, 1.0 rpg
B.J. Bailey, Sophomore, Guard, 3.0 ppg, 1.4 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 76.0 (30th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 64.7 (111, 3)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.7 (117, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.3 (85, 3)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.4 (68, 3)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.5 (116, 6)
Free-Throw Percentage: 78.0 (2, 1)
Rebound Margin: 2.3 (100, 2)
Assists Per Game: 13.4 (126, 3)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.4 (25, 2)
Last Five Postseason Appearances:
Lehigh 2010 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Kansas
Lehigh 2004 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Florida A&M
Lehigh 1988 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Temple
Lehigh 1985 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Georgetown
*all team stats through 3/4
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
