Lehigh looks to keep its lock on third when it hosts Navy, while Colgate could take over the lead in the race for the fourth and final first round home game when it visits Lafayette.
The Mountain Hawks open a two-game service academies homestand against the Midshipmen (matchup) needing to keep winning to have any shot of more than one home game in the playoffs. At 5-3 in the league, Lehigh pins its hopes of moving up to one of the top two seeds on the fact that it closes the regular season at home against second-place Bucknell and league-leading Holy Cross. Lehigh has good reason to be optimistic. The Hawks are 8-1 in Stabler this season, the lone loss coming on a disputed call in the final seconds.
Navy comes in riding a five-game losing streak, falling below .500 on the season with Saturday's home loss against Bucknell. Navy's upset hopes ride on their three-point shooting. That does not bode well against the Mountain Hawks, who are one of the league's top defensive sides, in Stabler, one of the toughest places to shoot in the league.
Mids dealing with growing pains (Examiner)
Colgate at Lafayette (matchup): In the crazy, mixed-up world that is the bottom half of the Patriot League, this battle between 5-14 Colgate and 8-15 Lafayette actually is a pretty important game. Somebody among a group of five teams currently below .500 in league play is actually goiung to have its mediocrity rewarded with a first round home game in the playoffs.
Lafayette could do itself, and the rest of the league, a huge favor by knocking off Colgate. Nobody, with the possible exception of Colgate's own players, wants to go to Hamilton if they can avoid it. Yet despite being absolutely horrible most of the season, the Raiders (3-6 in the league) could take the lead in the race for that final host spot with a win here.
On the other hand, Lafayette (2-6 Patriot) could make it a four-team logjam if it can join the three conference wins club tonight in Kirby. That is certainly a realistic possibility. The Leopards already own a 71-65 road win over Colgate. Labels: CU, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews