Jan. 9, 2007
PATRIOT LEAGUE HOME OPENER
LEHIGH (6-11 / 1-0) at NAVY (10-6 / 0-1)January 10, 2007 • 7:00 pm (EST)
Alumni Hall (5,710) • Annapolis, Md.
RADIO: WNAVY (1430 AM)
INTERNET: www.wnav.com, www.yahoosports.com
VIDEO STREAMING: www.navysports.com (Navy All-Access Users), www.patriotleague.com (Patriot League All-Access Users)
GAMETRACKER: www.navysports.com
WEDNESDAY'S PROMOTIONS
Special Olympics Night -- Participants for Maryland Special Olympics can purchase tickets in advance at a discounted rate by call 410-293-8785.
Tipping It Off
Navy returns home for the first time in almost two weeks on Wednesday night for the first of two Patriot League contests, as it will take on Lehigh beginning at 7:00 pm. The Mids are 10-6 overall and 0-1 in league play after falling to Patriot League favorite Bucknell on Saturday, while Lehigh is 6-11 and 1-0 following a dramatic victory over American on Saturday. The game will be streamed online (All-Access) at www.navysports.com and www.patriotleague.com, and Bob Socci will handle the call on the airwaves at WNAV (1430 AM, beginning at 6:45 pm.
On This Date in Navy History
January 10th - Navy is 16-8 all-time on January 10, including 0-1 against Lehigh. Lehigh defeated the Mids, 80-61, in Bethlehem to start the 2003-04 Patriot League season. Calvin White was the only current player to play in that game, scoring two points with a blocked shot in 16 minutes of action.
Series History
• Navy leads the all-time series, 39-14, including a 23-8 advantage in Annapolis. At Alumni Hall, Navy leads 9-6.
• Lehigh has won the last two meetings in the series, including a 74-49 victory in Annapolis last year.
• The Mountain Hawks have claimed seven of the last nine games in the series. One of the Navy wins was via forfeit in the 2004-05 season. During the current nine-game run, Lehigh's wins have been by an average of 17.1 ppg.
• Navy hasn't won on the court at Alumni Hall since the 2001-02 season. The lone win during that time at Alumni Hall came via forfeit.
About Lehigh
Lehigh enters Wednesday's game with a 6-11 overall record and 1-0 in the Patriot League after defeating American, 51-49, thanks to a last-second basket by Phil Anderson on Saturday in Bethlehem. The Mountain Hawks were selected fourth in the preseason Patriot League predictions, but stumbled out of the games, posting a 5-11 non-conference record, including just 3-11 against Division I teams.
Lehigh has also not fared well on the road, posting an 0-10 mark in games away from Stabler Arena, being outscored by an average of 10.8 ppg. However, three of the losses came to Oregon, Miami (Fla.) and Notre Dame, falling to the Ducks, 77-65, and to the Irish, 93-87.
Leading the Mountain Hawk charge is senior guard Jose Olivero. Olivero, a preseason All-Patriot League candidate, is averaging 16.7 ppg (good for third in the league), while shooting almost 42 percent from the field. Kyle Neptune and Jason Mgebroff average 11.0 and 10.8 ppg, respectively. Marquis Hall, one of the league's top freshman, is averaging 8.5 ppg and 4.5 apg. Mgebroff is questionable for the game after an injury has sidelined him since Dec. 11.
As a team, Lehigh leads the Patriot League in scoring at 67.2 ppg, while allowing 65.4. After allowing 67.1 ppg in the first 15 games, Lehigh has given up just 52.0 ppg in the last two outings. Lehigh is shooting .463 from the field and .346 from three-point land.
Patriot League History
The Navy men's basketball team has been one of the most successful teams in the Patriot League and looks to move its way back up the league standings, starting Saturday. The Mids are picked to finish seventh in the league standings, but with 11 of the 15 players being either freshmen or sophomores, no one really knows what is in store for the Navy men's basketball team.
Navy has won or shared five regular season championships (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000) and has claimed three tournament championships (1994, 1997 and 1998). No team since the league was formed in 1991 has won more championships (both regular season and tournament) combined than Navy's eight. Holy Cross has also won eight titles (four reg. season, four tournament).
Bucknell Leftovers
Navy gave two-time defending Patriot League champion Bucknell all it could handle on Saturday, but dropped its fourth straight game to the Bison, 59-51. • Navy dropped its sixth consecutive Patriot League opener on Saturday night. During Navy's current streak, the Mids have been outscored 14.8 ppg.
• The loss was Navy's sixth straight against PL foes on the road.
• Navy lost for the first time on Saturday when holding foes to 60 points or fewer. The Mids are now 6-1 when that happens.
• Navy held its opponent to 50 percent or less from the field for the 13th time in 16 games.
• Navy has lost all five games in Sojka Pavilion. This one, however, was the first defeat by single-digits.
• Navy shot under 50 percent for the ninth straight game. In the first seven games, Navy shot over 50 percent four times.
Offensive Funk...
Navy began the season 5-2 and was clicking on all cylinders. However, over the next five games, the Mids' fortunes on offense started to change. Now, over the last four games, the Mids are mired in their deepest slump of the year. Navy hasn't reached the 60-point mark since Dec. 20, a span of four games.
But Defensive Excellence
The Mids have stayed in games, mostly due to outstanding defense. 8 On Dec. 17 and Dec. 20, Navy allowed 40 (10th fewest in school history) points against Delaware Valley College and 37 (6th fewest in school history) points against Washington (Md.) in back-to-back games. It marked the first time since the 1948-49 season that Navy allowed 40 or fewer points in back-to-back games. • Over the last 10 games, Navy has allowed just three teams to reach 70 points (Penn - 79, Howard - 75 and Yale - 74). Howard, however, needed two overtimes to reach the 70-point plateau, scoring just 57 points in regulation.
• If looking at just regulation totals, Navy is allowing just 56.8 ppg over the last 10 games.
• Over the last 10 games, foes are shooting 199-of-497 (.400) from the field, and just 47-of-166 (.283) from long distance.
• Over the last 10 games, just one team (Yale - .522) has shot over 50 percent and five of the teams shot .400 or lower.
• Lastly, Navy has held three straight foes to 59 points or fewer, and over the last two games foes are shooting just .206 (7-of-34) from long distance.
.400 Is The Magic Number
The Navy defense has been much improved in 2006-07 after struggling in the first two years under Billy Lange. Navy is holding foes to shoot just .412 from the field and .310 from three-point range. At its current pace, the .407 percent would be the lowest percentage for an opponent since the 1999-2000 team that went 23-6 held foes to just .398 from the field, while the .310 from three-point land is the lowest since that same 1999-2000 team allowed foes to just .300 percent from long distance.
Three-Point Streak Continues to Climb
Navy enters the Lehigh contest contest having connected on at least one three-pointer in 110 consecutive games. The last time Navy did not make a trey came in the Jan. 26, 2003, contest against Colgate (0-3). Navy's longest consecutive-games streak with a three-pointer is 134 games (12-23-98 to 1-24-03).
Three-Point Dependence
Navy's dependence on the three-pointer has been quite an obvious observation for the casual Navy basketball fan. One-hundred-and-forty-one of Navy's 358 made baskets this year have come from three-point range. Navy currently ranks eighth in the country in "dependence on three-pointers" according to men's basketball stat guru Ken Pomeroy (www.kenpom.com). Over 40 percent (.418) of Navy's points come from three-point range. Princeton is the leader at .464.
Navy is 331st in the country in two-point dependence and just five teams, Air Force (.392), Virginia Military (.387), Wofford (.385), Brown (.362) and Princeton (.344) rely less on two-pointers than Navy (.396).
Against Division I competition only, 49.9 percent of Navy's field goal attempts have been three-pointers. The total ranks fifth in the country behind Princeton, Virginia Military, Samford and West Virginia.
Notable Streaks And Notes
• 7 - Consecutive wins when leading at halftime (Last loss; 2-25-06)
• 7 - Consecutive wins when leading with 10:00 left (Last loss; 2-25-06)
• 7 - Consecutive wins when shooting more free throws (Last loss; 2-8-06)
• 8 - Consecutive wins when leading with 5:00 left (Last loss; 2-25-06)
• 8 - Consecutive wins when shooting 45 percent (Last loss; 12-20-05)
• 9 - Consecutive losses when scoring 0-49 points (Last win; 2-28-04)
• 13 - Consecutive losses when opponent scores 90+ points (Last win; 3-5-94)
• 19 - Consecutive wins when opponent scores 0-49 points (Last loss; 1-2-96)
Road Warriors
Navy owns a 5-4 record in games played away from Annapolis after falling to Bucknell on Saturday. Last year, Navy won just four games all year away from Alumni Hall and the last time Navy won six games away from Alumni Hall came in the 2000-01 season (8-9 record away from Annapolis).
Home Sweet Home
Navy enjoyed getting back to familiar settings, ending a season-long four-game homestand with a 3-1 mark on Dec. 20. The Mids own a 5-2 record at home and the 3-0 start was their best start in Alumni Hall in almost 10 years. The last eight times Navy won its first three games at home, the Mids won at least 18 games.
# GO NAVY #
