For the second year in a row and third time in five seasons, Navy and American will meet in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament.  This year's game between the No. 2 Mids (18-12, 11-7) and the No. 7 Eagles (16-14, 7-11) will be played Thursday at 7 p.m. in Alumni Hall.

Five Starting Notes
1 – Navy enters its 32nd Patriot League Tournament with a record of 19-28 and its 42nd conference tournament with a record of 31-35.  The Mids have totaled three Patriot League Tournament titles, six conference tournament titles overall and made a combined 11 appearances in tournament finals (seven in Patriot League).
2 – Navy and American are meeting in the postseason for the second year in a row, second time in five seasons, fifth time in the Patriot League Tournament and sixth time in a conference tournament.
3 – This is the seventh year in a row in which both Navy and Colgate are not playing in the first round of the league tournament.  They are the only two teams to not appear in a first round game during this span (2017-23).
4 – Navy earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament for the second-straight year, which followed the Mids being the No. 1 seed in 2021.  The last time Navy was seeded among the top-two teams in multiple years in a row was a span of six-straight seasons from 1996-2001.
5 – Daniel Deaver (first team), Sean Yoder (second team, all-defensive team) and Tyler Nelson (third team) received All-Patriot League honors this week.  It is the first season since 1999 in which three Mids earned postseason accolades from the league.

Game Day Info
•    The game will be streamed on ESPN+
•    The game will be carried on WNAV (AM-1430, FM-99.9, www.wnav.com, Audacy app).
•     Live statistics will be available through NavySports.com.

Attending the Game
•     Fans without a Department of Defense ID card must park outside of the USNA and either walk through the gate one visitors center or ride the shuttle bus.  Shuttle bus service begins one hour before tip  It will depart from and return to the blue (west) parking lot at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (550 Taylor Ave., Annapolis, MD, 21401).
•    Tickets are $14 for those ages 19 and older and $7 for those ages 18 and younger.  Tickets can be purchased HERE through the Navy Ticket Office.

Last Game - Colgate 64, Navy 60
•    Colgate jumped out to leads of 5-0,10-2 and 28-14 before taking a 34-23 lead at halftime.  That was Navy's lowest first-half production of the season.
•    The Raiders would eventually take a 49-29 lead with 14 minutes remaining.
•    Navy sliced the deficit down to two points at 56-54 and had a possession to tie the game with less than five minutes left on the clock.  The Mids missed a field goal attempt and the Raiders took a 60-54 lead with 1:42 left.
•    Daniel Deaver connected on back-to-back three-point field goals to pull the Mids to within 62-60 with 52 seconds left.  The Raiders missed a shot with 25 seconds left, but tipped in the offensive board to account for the last points of the game.
•    Patrick Dorsey tied a career high with 18 points.  Daniel Deaver (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Tyler Nelson (10 points, 13 rebounds) each recorded double doubles.
•    Colgate held a 45-35 edge on the glass and shot 42.6 percent for the game while limiting Navy to a 35.4 percent shooting effort.

About American 
•    American has posted a 16-14 record on the season and tied for sixth place during the Patriot League regular season with a 7-11 mark in league games.
•    The seventh-seeded Eagles have compiled road records of 8-8 overall and 3-6 in league play.
•    American had lost six games in a row until it defeated Bucknell, 64-59, Tuesday night.

Series History
•    The teams first met Feb. 2, 1929, when Navy defeated American, 46-21, in Annapolis.
•    Thursday's game will be No. 103 in the series.
•    Navy holds a 52-50 edge in the series.  The Mids lead the Eagles, 33-22, in games played in Annapolis, but American has a 13-11 edge in games played in Alumni Hall.
•    11 of the last 14 games in the series have been decided by single digits.
•    American leads Navy, 3-2, in Patriot League Tournament games played between the teams.  Navy won last season's postseason game, which was the first to be played in Annapolis.
•    The teams also met annually for eight years (1984-91) as members of the ECAC South Conference / Colonial Athletic Association.  American won the lone postseason game played in the series during that span.
•    All six prior games (five in the Patriot League era) have been played in the quarterfinal round of the tournament.

Navy vs. American in Postseason Tournaments
Year    Rd.    Site    Result
1990    QF    a    No. 3 AU def. No. 6 Navy, 71-61
2003    QF    b    No. 2 AU def. No. 7 Navy, 72-57
2005    QF    c    No. 3 AU def. No. 6 Navy, 85-83 (OT)
2010    QF    d    No. 4 AU def. No. 5 Navy, 62-60
2019    QF    d    No. 5 Navy def. No. 4 AU, 60-56
2022    QF    e    No. 2 Navy def. No. 10 AU, 71-64
2023    QF    3    No. 2 Navy vs. No. 7 American
a = Richmond, Va. (CAA Tournament); b = Upper Marlboro, Md.; c = Lewisburg, Pa.; d = Washington, D.C.; e = Annapolis, Md.

American-Navy Series Venues
•    Navy and American have faced each other in seven different cities and 10 different venues.  The 10 arenas is a high for any Navy series and the seven different cities ranks second (to Navy-Duke in eight).

American-Navy Series Cities and Venues
Annapolis, Md. – Dahlgren Hall, Halsey Field House; Alumni Hall
Arlington, Va. – Fort Myer Ceremonial Hall
Landover, Md. – Capital Centre
Lewisburg, Pa. – Sojka Pavilion
Richmond, Va. – Richmond Coliseum
Upper Marlboro, Md. – Show Place Arena
Washington, D.C. – STARPLEX (D.C. Armory); Bender Arena

Series Longevity
•    Navy has faced American the second-most times of any opponent in school history.

Most Navy Games vs. One Opponent
1.    139    Army
2.    102    American (will be 103 on Thursday)
3.    90    Lafayette

•    This is the 62nd season in which Navy and American are facing each other.  That ranks third of any Navy opponent.

Most Seasons Facing One Opponent
(including 2022-23)
1.    100    Army
2.    78    Penn
3.    62    American

Miscellaneous Game Records
•    The Mids have tallied a 141-96 record against teams located in Washington, D.C.
•    Navy has posted a 9-9 record in games played on March 2.  This includes a 2-3 record in Patriot League tournament games played on the date.

Mids Earn Another First Round Bye
•    Navy and Colgate are the only two teams to not appear in a first round game in each of the last seven Patriot League Tournaments.

Team    First-Round PLT Games (2017 to '23)
American    2017, 2018, 2022, 2023
Army    2017, 2018
Boston U.    2019, 2021
Bucknell    2020, 2022, 2023
Colgate    ––
Holy Cross    2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Lafayette    2017, 2018, 2019, 2022
Lehigh    2020, 2021
Loyola    2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023
Navy    ––

2020-21 to 2022-23 Success
•    Navy has posted a 54-26 record since the start of the 2020-21 season.  Included in this run are wins at Georgetown, at Virginia and at home vs. Princeton.
•    Navy has compiled a 35-14 record in Patriot League regular season games going back to the start of the 2020-21 season.

Patriot League Tournament Notes
•    Navy begins its 32nd Patriot League Tournament on Thursday night.
•    The Mids have won the event three times (1994, 1997, 1998) and reached the final seven times, with the last title game appearance coming in 2022.

W-L    Type
19-28    Overall Record
14-4    at Home
7-21    in Quarterfinal Round
5-4    at Home in Quarterfinal Round

Navy at Home in the Quarterfinal Round
Year    Result
1994    No. 1 Navy def. No. 8 Army, 96-84
1998    No. 2 Navy def. No. 7 Army, 79-52
2001    No. 2 Navy def. No. 7 Army, 92-73
2008    No. 7 Bucknell def. No. 2 Navy, 87-86 (3OT)
2009    No. 6 Colgate def. No. 3 Navy, 64-59 (OT)
2017    No. 4 Navy def. No. 5 Holy Cross, 49-42
2018    No. 6 Holy Cross def. No. 3 Navy, 81-65
2021    No. 9 Loyola def. No. 1 Navy, 76-68
2022    No. 2 Navy def. No. 10 American, 71-64

•    This is the seventh time the Mids are the No. 2 seed in the tournament.  
•    The No. 2 seed has posted a 22-7 record against the No. 7 seed in Patriot League tournament history.

W-L    Type
7-5    as No. 2 Seed (6 prior tournaments)
7-1    at Home as No. 2 Seed
4-2    in Quarterfinal Round as No. 2 Seed
3-1    in Quarterfinal Round at Home as No. 2 Seed

Navy as the No. 2 Seed
Year    Rd.    Site    Result    
1996    QF    N    L - No. 7 Army, 64-58
1998    QF    H    W - No. 7 Army, 79-52
      SF    H    W - No. 3 Bucknell, 80-61
      F    H    W - No. 1 Lafayette, 93-85
1999    QF    N    L - No. 7 Lehigh, 53-45
2001    QF    H    W - No. 7 Army, 92-73
      SF    H    W - No. 6 Bucknell, 88-64
      F    R    L - No. 1 Holy Cross, 68-64 (OT)
2008    QF    H    L - No. 7 Bucknell, 87-86 (3OT)
2022    QF    H    W - No. 10 American, 71-64
      SF    H    W - No. 3 Boston U., 85-80 (OT)
      F    R    L - No. 1 Colgate, 74-58
2023    QF    H    No. 7 American

•    Thursday will be Navy's eighth game against the No. 7 seed.

W-L    Type
3-4    vs. No. 7 Seed
2-3    in Quarterfinal Round vs. No. 7 Seed
2-1    at Home vs. No. 7 Seed
2-1    in Quarterfinal Round at Home vs. No. 7 Seed

Navy vs. the No. 7 Seed
Year    Rd.    Site    Sd.    Result    
1995    SF    R    3    W - Army, 70-59
1996    QF    N    2    L - Army, 64-58
1998    QF    H    2    W - Army, 79-52
1999    QF    N    2    L - Lehigh, 53-45
2001    QF    H    2    W - Army, 92-73
2008    QF    H    2    L - Bucknell, 87-86 (3OT)
2014    1st    R    10    L - Colgate, 57-51
2023    QF    H    2    No. 7 American

•    Additionally, Navy has tallied a 7-8 record when facing a team with which it had split the regular season series, as well as an 18-7 record when the Mids are the better seeded team (6-6 when they are the higher seeded team in quarterfinal round games).

ECAC South / CAA Era
•    Navy spent its last decade (1981-82 to 1990-91) prior to joining the Patriot League as a member of the ECAC South Conference / Colonial Athletic Association.
•    The Mids won three tournament titles (1985, '86, '87) and advanced to four tournament finals in that span.

W-L    Type
12-7    Overall
1-0    at Home
5-4    in Quarterfinal Round
1-0    at Home in Quarterfinal Round
2-0    as the No. 2 Seed (1984)
0-0    at Home as No. 2 Seed
0-0    in Quarterfinal Round as No. 2 Seed
0-0    in Quarterfinal Round at Home as No. 2 Seed
0-0    vs. No. 7 Seed

Overall Tournament Records
•    Navy has compiled an overall conference tournament record of 31-35, won six tournament titles and advanced to 11 finals in 41 prior seasons.

W-L    Type
31-35    Overall Record
15-4    at Home
12-25    in Quarterfinal Round
6-4    at Home in Quarterfinal Round
9-5    as No. 2 Seed (7 prior tournaments)
7-1    at Home as No. 2 Seed
4-2    in Quarterfinal Round as No. 2 Seed
3-1    in Quarterfinal Round at Home as No. 2 Seed
3-4    vs. No. 7 Seed
2-3    in Quarterfinal Round vs. No. 7 Seed
2-1    at Home vs. No. 7 Seed
2-1    in Quarterfinal Round at Home vs. No. 7 Seed

Patriot League Honors Three Mids
•    The Patriot League announced its all-league awards this week and the head coaches bestowed accolades upon three Mids.
•    Daniel Deaver earned first-team laurels, Sean Yoder was named to the second team and Tyler Nelson received third-team all-league accolades.
•    Yoder also was named to league's all-defensive team.
•    This is the first time each of the three Mids garnered postseason awards from the league.
•    Navy previously had three all-league honorees in 1997, '98 and '99 (there were only two all-league teams until 2014 when a third team was added due to Boston U. and Loyola joining the league).

Team Streak
•    Navy's six-straight league road wins (Jan. 21-Feb. 22) is tied for the longest road winning streak within a single Patriot League season by the Mids.  Navy's longest league road winning streak to include multiple seasons is nine, with this year's run of six in a row tied for third.
•    Navy's seven-straight wins regardless of site (Feb. 1-22) is tied for the fifth-longest Patriot League winning streak in school history.
•    This year's Navy team is the third in school history to have both a five-game winning streak and a five-game losing streak in the same season.  In each instance, the losing streak was first and the winning streak followed.  This marked the first time both of those streaks occurred during the Patriot League season.