2021 PenFed Credit Union Patriot League First Round
#7 Boston University (6-10, 6-10 PL)
vs.
#10 Lehigh (4-10, 4-10 PL)
Wednesday, March 3, 7 p.m.
Case Gym - "The Roof" (Boston, Mass.)
Watch:
ESPN+ |
International Stream
Listen:
GoTerriers.com/tsrn
Twitter:
@BUGameDay |
@TerrierMBB
Rosters:
BU |
Lehigh
Schedule:
BU |
Lehigh
Stats:
BU |
Lehigh
BOSTON – The seventh-seeded Boston University men's basketball will begin its title defense on Wednesday night when the Terriers welcome No. 10 Lehigh to Case Gym for the first round of the 2021 PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
A year prior, the Terriers entered the tourney as the No. 3 seed and claimed a pair of home victories against Navy and Bucknell before beating top-seeded Colgate, 64-61, on the road. Owner of seven conference championships with six in the America East, BU has never repeated but came close in 2003 when it suffered a buzzer-beating one-point defeat in the title game.
Trying to help the Terriers reach back-to-back title games for the first time since 2010-11, senior
Javante McCoy leads BU at 15.6 ppg and 2.3 apg while adding 4.9 rpg. He ranks 16th all-time in the program record book with 1,281 points. Junior
Walter Whyte (13.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and senior
Sukhmail Mathon (10.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg) both own three double-doubles apiece. Overall, BU is averaging 69.4 ppg and 43.2 FG% while holding opponents to 74.8 ppg and 48.0 FG%.
For the first time in program history, BU will be facing a conference opponent in the tournament without an earlier regular season matchup due to the teams being placed in separate divisions this year. The squads though did share two common opponents with BU posting a 2-0 record at third-seeded Lafayette and 3-3 mark against No. 8 Holy Cross. The Mountain Hawks went 1-3 against the Leopards and 2-0 on the road against the Crusaders.
Marques Wilson leads Lehigh at 15.1 ppg, 2.9 apg and 1.6 spg with Nic Lynch also averaging double figures at 13.0 ppg. Evan Taylor owns a team-high 7.6 rpg while adding 9.2 ppg. The Mountain Hawks are averaging 69.1 ppg and 43.5 FG% with opponents averaging 77.1 ppg and 46.4 FG%. They ended the regular season posting a 76-72 win at Loyola Maryland before dropping two games to Lafayette by a combined seven points.
The teams will be meeting in a conference tournament for the third time since BU joined the Patriot League in the summer of 2013. The Mountain Hawks won the first matchup at Case Gym in the 2017 semifinals in double overtime, but the Terriers got revenge on the road the following year in the quarterfinals. Overall, BU has a slight 9-8 advantage in the all-time series with both home teams winning last season. Wednesday's advancing team will visit No. 2 Colgate on Saturday (March 6) in the quarterfinals.
