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Tuesday's meeting between Holy Cross and Boston will be the first college basketball game to feature players wearing masks on the court.
A Boston University spokesperson told ESPN's Jeff Borzello that players on both teams would be wearing protective masks.
Borzello added the game is "believed to be the first in men's college basketball this season in which both teams will be wearing masks on the court."
The Terriers and Crusaders are scheduled to play six games against each other, starting with a home-and-home series on Monday and Tuesday.
Per Jeff Goodman of Stadium, Holy Cross isn't wearing masks on the court for Monday's game on its home court, but Boston "mandates their opponents wear them" when playing at Case Gymnasium.
Monday's game marks the season opener for both Boston and Holy Cross. The Patriot League announced in November that it would hold a conference-only season for men's and women's basketball due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 10-team conference has been divided into three divisions, with each team playing opponents in its division. The Patriot League tournament will begin on March 6.
Neil Fingleton, who played college basketball at North Carolina and Holy Cross, has died as a result of heart failure, the Press Association (via the Guardian) reported Sunday.
Following the conclusion of his basketball career in 2007, which included professional leagues in England and Spain, Fingleton had acting roles in X-Men: First Class and 47 Ronin before playing Mag the Mighty in an episode of Game of Thrones.
In addition to his acting work, Fingleton, who stood 7'7", owned the distinction of being Great Britain's tallest man, an honor he earned in 2007.
Fingleton had a decorated prep career at Holy Name Central Catholic High School in Worcester, Massachusetts before signing with the Tar Heels in 2000.
He left the team after the 2001-02 season and transferred to Holy Cross. In 33 games for the Crusaders over two years, he averaged 2.7 points and 1.6 rebounds.
Holy Cross is the worst team in this year's NCAA tournament, but it's also, amazingly, 5-0 against the spread this season. The Crusaders will try to prove they belong in the Big Dance when they tangle with the Jaguars of Southern University in a First Four play-in game Wednesday night in Dayton, Ohio.
Point spread: The Jaguars opened as 2.5-point favorites; the total was 128, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (line updates and matchup report).
March Madness pick, via Odds Shark computer: 70.9-65.2 Jaguars
Why pick Holy Cross to cover the spread
In their first season running the Princeton-style schemes under former Tigers head coach Bill Carmody, the Crusaders battled to a 7-7 start, before ending the season by losing 12 of their final 15 games. However, seven of their losses came by six points or less, two of those in overtime.
Holy Cross then benefited from a breakout performance from junior forward Malachi Alexander in the Patriot League tournament, leading to four wins in eight days, including upsets of top-seeded Bucknell, Army and Lehigh, to become the most unlikely conference tournament champion this season.
Alexander leads the team in scoring, rebounding and assists, and he carries a hot hand into the Dance, after averaging 21 points and eight boards during the Crusaders' recent run.
Why pick Southern to cover the spread
The Jags rated among the favorites to win the SWAC this season, but they stumbled into January, losing five of six games. They then won 10 of their next 11 but ended the regular season on a 1-4 slide to finish at 11-7 in conference play.
Southern had one more run in it, though, winning three games in three days, including an upset of top-seeded Texas Southern and a come-from-behind victory over third-seeded Jackson State, to win the SWAC tournament for the second time in the last four seasons.
The Jags are led by an experienced backcourt trio of seniors Adrian Rodgers and Christopher Hyder, and junior Trelun Banks, who combined to average 39 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists per game. As a team, Southern is shooting almost 45 percent from the floor while holding opponents to less than 42 percent.
Smart betting pick
Holy Cross is the most undeserving team in the tournament; at least Southern has a legitimate claim, with 22 victories. The Jags can also play some good defense, while the Crusaders struggle to throw the ball in the hole. The smart money here sides with Southern.
March Madness betting trends
Southern is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games against teams with losing records.
Southern is 3-0 SU in its last three games.
Holy Cross is 4-0 SU and ATS in its last four games.
Holy Cross is 3-0 SU and ATS in its last three games after winning as an underdog.
All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark, and all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app for iOS or Android.
After a hiccup last year that resulted in a loss to Lehigh in the Patriot League title game, Bucknell is headed back to the NCAA Tournament.
The Bison beat the Lafayette Leopards 64-56 at their home gym, the Sojka Pavilion.
Bucknell was the best team in the Patriot League during the regular season, going 12-2 in the conference while amassing an impressive 28 victories overall.
The win the conference championship game not only sends the team to the Big Dance for the first time since 2011, but it also avenges the last loss the Bison suffered back on February 16th.
In that game, Lafayette guard Tony Johnson hit a jumper with six seconds left on the clock to beat Bucknell by a score of 63-62.
This time around, Dave Paulsen’s team was ready for Johnson. The Leopards’ second-leading scorer, who was averaging well above his 13.4 points per game average during the Patriot League Tournament, was held to just 11 points on 4 of 12 shooting.
On the offensive end, the Bison relied on their big center Mike Muscala to carry them to victory as he has done much of the season.
The 6’11” senior, who is fourth in the nation in rebounding averaging 11.2 boards per game, came through with his 22nd double-double of the season. Muscala finished the game with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Now that the Bison have secured their tournament berth, they can relax for a few days before focusing on their next opponent. But chances are Coach Paulsen’s team will have their work cut out for them next week.
Since 2005, Bucknell has made three NCAA Tournament appearances. Two of those times, they were awarded a No. 14 seed.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Bison have done relatively well in the NCAA Tournament despite receiving low seeds. Bucknell shocked Kansas as a No. 14 seed in 2005, and then beat Arkansas as a No. 9 seed the next year.
This year, the Bison may be compensated for their solid overall record and gritty post play. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi currently has Bucknell as a No. 13 seed in his latest projections.
As dominating as Muscala has been, it will be interesting to see how the Bison fare in this year’s tournament, regardless of their seeding.
Early season wins over Purdue and La Salle, as well as a close road loss to Missouri, suggests that the Bucknell could be a very tough out for a higher seed. Plus, the Bison have a decent amount of tournament experience.
In addition to Muscala, two other senior starters (Bryson Johnson and Joe Willman) were with the team when they took on Connecticut in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Bucknell lost to the eventual national champions 81-52.
With a trio of senior leaders, the team would like to get back to their winning ways in the Big Dance.
Tonight was a step in the right direction, because at the very least Bucknell has assured itself a shot at doing just that.
The Colgate Raiders were on a three-game losing streak coming into today, head coach Matt Lanegel had never beaten Lehigh and they were trying to knock off a Mountain Hawks team that hadn't lost on the road in Patriot League action yet this season.
None of it mattered to the Raiders, though, as they came up with a big 64-60 victory.
Colgate dominated the first half of the game and were up 41-25 at halftime. Lehigh refused to go away, though, making an 18-0 run at one point in the second half and eventually tying the game at 56. However, Colgate went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final minute and Lehigh went on a nearly three-minute skid without a single point.
Colgate's Murphy Burnatowski led all scorers with 19 points (and chipped in with five rebounds), while teammate Pat Moore added 17. Gabe Knutson and Anthony D'Orazio led Lehigh with 17 points each, and Holden Greiner posted 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals for the Mountain Hawks.
Colgate started off hot, jumping to an early 22-4 lead that was fueled by a 16-0 run. Lehigh had to take three timeouts before the 11-minute mark. The timeouts weren't helping, as the Mountain Hawks turned it over coming out of the first timeout and never scored out of a single one of those clock stoppages.
Knutson was doing the only work for Lehigh through the first four-and-a-half minutes. Nobody else took a shot from the floor during that stretch, while Knutson went 2-for-5, accounting for all four points.
The Raiders were taking advantage of John Brandenburg's 6'11" frame early on. He and Burnatowksi each had four points early, with the latter contributing a big steal and a dunk to help capture momentum.
Moore exploded with eight points out of Lehigh's first timeout, six coming on two three-point shots.
Outside of Knutson, the rest of the Lehigh team was 0-for-7 from the floor through the first 10 minutes of the game.
Mackey McKnight finally ended the Mountain Hawks drought when he drove to the rim and drew a foul, hitting both free throw attempts. Lehigh was able to make it competitive over the next couple minutes until the under-eight timeout, when it trailed 28-12.
However, the Raiders once again started knocking down shots and built their lead to 38-18 with under four minutes remaining in the first half.
Lehigh closed the gap slightly and trailed 41-25 at intermission. Colgate was attempting to hold for the last possession. At halftime, Moore led all scorers with 12 points. He was followed by Knutson's 11 and Burnatowski's nine.
The absence of C.J. McCollum was noticeable as the Mountain Hawks tallied just three assists in the first half. The Colgate bench also outscored Lehigh 11-0, and the Raiders outrebounded the Mountain Hawks 20 to 12.
Both teams went scoreless through the first two-plus minutes of the second half. Burnatowski then hit his second three of the game. Following a steal and dunk by Lehigh's D'Orazio, Moore knocked down another triple, extending the Colgate lead to 47-27.
Burnatowski remained hot in the second half. Through the first six minutes, he was 3-of-5 from the field with all three makes coming from beyond the arc.
The Mountain Hawks wouldn't go away, though. They scored 18 unanswered, fueled mainly by D'Orazio and Greiner. Greiner had two big steals and dunks during that run, while D'Orazio contributed six points.
Lehigh's big run finally concluded, and both teams continued to battle, with Colgate taking a 56-53 lead after an up-and-under move by Burnatowski. However, D'Orazio answered on the other end to tie the game at 56.
Brandon James gave Colgate a 58-56 lead after hitting two free throws. On the other end, Knutson missed a layup attempt and knocked it out of bounds while trying to corral the rebound—a call he wasn't pleased about.
James then cost the Raiders a possession when he committed an offensive foul. It wouldn't hurt Colgate, though, as Knutson missed a three and Greiner was rejected by Burnatowski.
Following a timeout with 41 seconds to go, Colgate got the ball in Burnatowski's hands. He tried a fallaway jumper and was short. McKnight took possession of the ball for Lehigh, drove down court, tried to make a move under the basket and stepped out of bounds.
Down by two points, Lehigh proceeded to foul. They first sent James to the line, who made both of his free throws. McKnight answered with a layup, and Lehigh had to foul once again. Sending the senior Mitch Rolls to the line.
He sank both of his free throws. McKnight once again got the ball with only 7.7 seconds to go. Using only 4.2 seconds of the clock, he got another layup to go. Rolls was once again fouled and iced the game by making both free throws.
Colgate improves to 10-17, 4-6 in the Patriot League and will travel to West Point to play Army on Wednesday, Feb. 20. Lehigh drops to 18-6, 8-2 in conference, and their four-game winning streak comes to an end.
They will take on the Bucknell Bison on Monday, Feb. 18—a game that will be on the CBS Sports Network—in a battle for first place in the Patriot League conference.
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks were dealt a crushing blow on Sunday afternoon when X-rays confirmed that C.J. McCollum, who is currently No. 2 in the nation in scoring with 23.9 points per game, will miss eight to 10 weeks with a broken fifth metatarsal in his left foot, according to a tweet by ESPN's Andy Katz.
Lehigh's Brett Reed says in text CJ McCollum has broken 5th metatarsal in left foot. Out 8-10 weeks. Crushing blow to All-American, Lehigh.
— Andy Katz (@ESPNAndyKatz) January 6, 2013
McCollum, who entered Saturday as the nation's leading scorer, hobbled off the court during Lehigh's game at Virginia Commonwealth and did not return.
Without McCollum, this Lehigh team will be in some trouble.
The Mountain Hawks' chances of repeating as Patriot League champions and returning to the NCAA tournament were already in jeopardy because of a talented Bucknell team that nearly knocked off nationally ranked Missouri over the weekend.
Even without its star guard, Lehigh is the second-best team in its conference. Mackey McKnight is possibly the top point guard in the league, averaging 12 points and 5.3 assists per game, although he is turnover-prone, with four giveaways per contest.
Gabe Knutson and Holden Greiner make up a very strong and competitive frontcourt.
The timetable given for McCollum's recovery shows that he could return, at the earliest, for the Patriot League conference tournament or even the final few games of the regular season. At the latest, McCollum should return for a postseason tournament if the Mountain Hawks qualify.
At this point, Bucknell is the clear favorite for the regular-season championship. Forward Mike Muscala should wind up winning Patriot League Player of the Year, and his supporting cast could feasibly help the Bison to a perfect 14-0 record in the conference.
What Lehigh has to hope for is a second-place finish in the conference and then for McCollum to return in time for the conference tournament so that the Mountain Hawks will be able to make a run to the Big Dance.
First things first—the fact that Lehigh upset Duke in the second round of the NCAA tournament was one of the most improbable and totally awesome upsets ever. Way to go, Mountain Hawks.
And I fully believe that Lehigh, behind stud junior C.J. McCollum, can upset Xavier and advance to the Sweet 16.
But that's about as far as I think they'll go.
Here's the thing: Duke was as good of a matchup against a No. 2 seed as they could have drawn.
The Blue Devils were a poor defensive team that was overly reliant on perimeter scoring all season long, and the Mountain Hawks got to play them on a night when Seth Curry and Austin Rivers were a combined 6-of-23 from the field.
They got a Duke team that shot 6-of-26 on its three-point shots.
And they got a Duke team that was without injured forward Ryan Kelly and the 11.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game he brings to the table.
I'm not making excuses for Duke or belittling Lehigh's win in any way—they handled their business. But they also had the perfect storm of upset factors strike in Round 2, and I simply don't think those conditions will be replicated again.
I hope I'm wrong—it would be a great story if the Mountain Hawks advanced deep into this tournament.
I just don't see it happening.
Even if they beat Xavier, they'll have Baylor to deal with. Frankly, I don't think Lehigh will have an answer for Perry Jones III, and Quincy Acy is too tough on the block.
And even if they shock Baylor, the odds are pretty good that they'll meet Kentucky in the Elite Eight. As much as I love a good David vs. Goliath storyline, Kentucky facing Lehigh would be more like a Mighty Mouse vs. Superman storyline.
Really, having Kentucky looming off in the distance is the main reason I don't see Lehigh advancing to the Final Four like VCU did last year. Kentucky's dominance this year casts a shadow of fear over the entirety of the South Region.
So I'm afraid Lehigh won't be making a run to the Final Four. The Cinderella story will end for the Mountain Hawks rather early, spoiling their chance to be the belles of the ball this year.
But you'll always have Duke, Lehigh.
And that's pretty awesome.
Hit me up on Twitter—I've tweeted from Lehigh's campus before. Seriously.
