Four Wins Away from the No. 1 seed

Forum Forum Lehigh Sports Lehigh Men’s Basketball Four Wins Away from the No. 1 seed

This topic contains 4 replies, has 1 voice, and was last updated by  norcalfan 15 years ago.

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  • #1671

    lfnadmin
    Keymaster

    Here’s the recap of Lehigh /Navy’s schedules the rest of the way (with records added):

    2/17 @ Colgate (8-16, 4-6)/ home to Holy Cross (7-18, 4-6)
    2/21-20 @ Lafayette (15-10, 6-4) / @ Army (12-11, 3-7)
    2/24 home to Bucknell (11-15, 6-4) / home to American (7-18, 4-6)
    2/27 home to Holy Cross (7-18, 4-6) / @ Colgate (8-16, 4-6)

    On paper, Navy has to be thinking as long as they dispose of the PL teams under .500 and Lehigh slips up against Bucknell or Lafayette, they still have an excellent chance to be the No. 1 seed. From our side, finishing strong in our final two away games of the season is critical. It’s tempting to look ahead to CBS College Sports at Kirby on Sunday, but Colgate has won their last two games (vs. Lafayette and American) and might be dangerous, especially at home.

    If the Hawks can win their last four, they’ll get the regular season title, but Navy’s schedule looks much easier than Lehigh’s.

    #1672

    LU65
    Participant

    Navy has to be kicking themselves for dropping one to Lafayette. First place and control slipped right through their fingers. Yet, it’s BU and HC – each playing their best ball of the season – that represents a bigger challenge to us at this time (yes, Lafayette, too, if you’re a Leopard fan reading this post). After all, Navy has come and gone and there’s little more that need be said. We loss two and it’s time to move on. What we can control – and should fear – are the improved Bison and Crusaders. Just be thankful each must journey to Stabler.

    With four games to go, we are no doubt in the driver’s seat. Win and we’re in. "In" being, at a minimum, an NIT Invitee. Of course, win three more and we go to the NCAA ‘s. But, with all that said, it’s fun to also start examining some of the countless scenarios that could play out in the days ahead. One thing is for sure, LU will not finish last in the PL this year even if we were to drop our final four games and end up tied with Army (assuming they win out) at 7-7. Beyond that, little else is certain. A short term goal, however, could be realize on Wednesday night with a LU win over CU and wins by Army and Navy over AU and HC, respectively. Should all that come to pass (not far-fetched), Lehigh would host a first round game in the PL Championships on Wednesday, March 3rd. Let’s take it one step at at time, however. That’s something I’m sure Coach Reed is preaching to his troops every day.

    #1674

    norcalfan
    Participant

    LU 65,

    Nice writeup. My worry continues to be the whole bench is not in the game. Playoffs lead to nerves and the steel like players can sometimes become too anxious and make mistakes. LU needs to build confidence in those bench players. I for one will really be disappointed if, with all that talent, they do not make it past the first round. Look at the bench players who stepped up in their last game against Army. They have more who are capable of helping out. For goodness sake, coach get them ready! Ugh. I am not a coach, but I have seen enough games and the scenario where the coach leans on a few.
    I love seeing the east coast boys play, but LU is the team this year. Last year it was Lumpkins’ team killing everyone and they won it all.

    #1682

    Mtnhwkfan
    Participant

    With the team playing very well and it being this late in the season, I don’t expect the rotation to change. Reed is essentially using an eight man rotation that is working well.

    Ojo has passed Keefer as the primary reserve off guard. While his scoring has been up and down, he brings athleticism, rebounding and strong offensive potential.

    Shamis has passed Small as the primary reserve point guard. However, there is a big dropoff from Hall so unless there is foul trouble, the reserves minutes will be very limited.

    Greiner and Adams have shared the frontcourt reserve role when the opponent does not have a strong low post player. Greiner brings better shooting and defense, while Adams is the better rebounder. Adams appears to have recovered from his hip injury, but it will be tough at this point to take minutes from Greiner.

    Safstrom has passed Maneri in the frontcourt reserve role when the opponent has a strong low post player. Maneri brings more offense, but Safstrom is the better defender and rebounder.

    I can’t say that I can argue with any of these decisions.

    #1684

    norcalfan
    Participant

    Mtnhawk,

    I appreciate your analysis. Let’s see how it works out. Good luck to the team.

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