Game #7 • Navy (2-4) at Penn (2-3)
Fri., Nov. 29 • 4:30 p.m.

Game #8 • Navy (2-4) vs. Elon (3-2)
Sat., Nov. 30 • 2 p.m.

Game #9 • Navy (2-4) vs. Maine (3-3)
Sun., Dec. 1 • Noon

All games at The Palestra • Philadelphia, Pa.

Game Information
•    Navy heads to Philadelphia for the second time this season to take part in the Cathedral Classic Invitational presented by Toyota.  
•    The Mids will face weekend-host Penn Friday at 4:30 p.m., Elon Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and Maine Sunday at noon.
•    ESPN+ will carry a video stream of all six games during the tournament.  Joe Tordy and Vince Curran will call the games Friday and Sunday with Gary Erdelyi and Curran announcing the Saturday games. 
•    WNAV will have the radio feed of each Navy contest. Matt Sabados will serve as the announcer for the Mids.

The Palestra
•    The Palestra opened on Jan, 1, 1927, and has played host to more college basketball games and visiting teams than any venue.
•    In addition to its place in basketball history, in the 1940s, the building was utilized as a Navy mess hall during World War II, requiring Penn to temporarily relocate their home games to Convention Hall.
•    The Mids played their first game in the venue three weeks and a day after it opened.  Penn defeated Navy, 32-18, on Jan. 22, 1927, in that inaugural game.
•    Navy has compiled a 9-39 record in games played in The Palestra.  This includes a 5-28 record when playing Penn in the facility.
•    The Mids also have played Holy Cross (0-1, last: March 10, 1953), Cornell (1-0, last: March 12, 1954), La Salle (0-1, last: March 13, 1954), Temple (3-8, last: Dec. 22, 1978) and Seton Hall (0-1, last: Nov. 23, 2007) in The Palestra.
•    Navy has played three NCAA Tournament games in The Palestra.  The Mids lost an 87-74 game to Holy Cross in the first round of the 1953 tournament, defeated Cornell, 69-67, in the regional semifinal of the 1954 event and lost to La Salle, 64-48, in the 1954 regional final.

Penn Preview
•    Penn posted an overall record of 11-18 a year ago and placed seventh in the Ivy League with a record of 3-11.
•    Penn placed seventh in the 2024-25 Ivy League Preseason Poll.
•    The Quakers enter the tournament with a 2-3 record on the season.  Penn opened the year with a 58-57 victory at NJIT, a team Navy will face on Dec. 7.  The Quakers then won an 85-84 decision at home against UMES before losing games to Lafayette (65-63), a Saint Joseph's (86-69) team that defeated Navy (70-63) in the season opener and at Villanova (93-49) in their last game played on Nov. 19.

Series History
•    Penn holds a 59-26 lead in the series with Navy.  The Quakers have a 32-11 lead in games played at Penn and a 28-5 edge in games played at The Palestra.
•    With Friday's game, Navy and Penn will have met at least once each decade from the 1900s to the 2020s EXCEPT for the 1980s.  
•    The teams originally met on Dec. 28, 1907.  The Mids posted a 37-16 victory in the game played in Annapolis.
•    Penn recorded a 66-45 victory over Navy when the teams last met on Nov. 15, 2017, at The Palestra.
•    Navy has posted a 99-123 record against teams in the Ivy League.  This includes an 85-80 victory over Harvard on Nov. 8.
•    Penn has tallied a 172-61 record against Patriot League teams.  The Quakers lost to Lafayette, 65-63, on Nov. 12.
•    Navy has played more games against Penn than any non-Patriot League team.  The 85 games played to date ranks sixth overall for the most games against any foe.
•    This is the 79th season in which Navy and Penn are facing each other.  That ranks second for the most seasons in which the Mids have played an opponent.

On This Date
•    Navy has posted a 11-3 record in games played on Nov. 29.

Against This State
•    Navy has posted a 389-268 record in games played against opponents located in Pennsylvania.
•    This includes a 53-93 record against the Philadelphia Big 5 schools.

In This State
•    Navy has posted a 76-140 record in games played in Pennsylvania.  
•    This includes a 14-53 record in games played in the Philadelphia area.
•    This also includes a 14-48 record in games played against the Philadelphia Big 5 schools.

Navy vs. Ivy League on the Road
•    Navy has posted a 36-69 record in road games played against Ivy League teams.  

Elon Preview
•    Elon tallied a 13-19 record in the 2023-24 season and placed 11th in the 14-team Coastal Athletic Association with a 6-12 record.
•    Elon placed 12th in the 2024-25 CAA Preseason Poll.
•    The Phoenix enter a Friday game against Maine with a 3-2 record this season.  They began the year with a 90-76 loss at North Carolina and most recently posted an 84-77 win at Notre Dame.
•    Elon head coach Billy Taylor was the head coach at Lehigh for five years (2002-03 to 2006-07).  His teams posted a 10-2 record against Navy.

Series History
•    Navy and Elon have split the four previous games played in the series.
•    The first meeting took place on Jan. 5, 2009, when Navy won a 66-62 decision on the road.  The teams last met on Dec. 3, 2011, when Elon won a 51-48 game on its home floor.
•    This will be the first neutral site game played in the series.
•    Navy has totaled a 102-59 record against current teams in the Coastal Athletic Association.  This includes an 86-66 loss to Campbell on Nov. 17.  The Mids will play at William & Mary on Dec. 30.
•    Elon has posted an 8-6 record against Patriot League teams.  The Phoenix last played a Patriot League opponent on Nov. 18, 2023, when they defeated Holy Cross, 83-69, in a game played at Rock Hill, S.C.

On This Date
•    Navy has posted a 9-8 record in games played on Nov. 30.

Against This State
•    Navy has posted a 65-69 record in games played against opponents located in North Carolina.

Navy in the CAA
•     Navy was a founding member of the Colonial Athletic
    Association, which became the Coastal Athletic Association last year.
•    The league was known as the ECAC South Conference for four seasons (1981-82 through 1984-85) before becoming the CAA in 1985-86.
•    The Mids shared the 1985 CAA regular season title and won it outright in 1986 and '87.
•     Navy played in three-straight conference tournament
    title games (1984-86), winning the 1985 and '86 editions
    of the event to advance to the NCAA Tournament in both seasons. The '86 team reached the Elite Eight.
•    The Mids competed in the affiliation for 10 seasons, with their last being the 1990-91 campaign.
•    Navy compiled a 61-59 record in ECAC South / CAA regular season games and a 12-7 record in postseason tournaments.

Maine Preview
•    Maine compiled an overall record of 15-17 a year ago and ended America East Conference play in a three-way tie for fourth place with a 7-9 record.
•    The Black Bears placed fourth in the nine-team 2024-25 America East Conference Preseason Poll.
•    Maine has posted a 3-3 record this year prior to the tournament.  The Black Bears lost a 96-62 decision at Duke in the season opener, fell 58-55 to a Quinnipaic team Navy lost to (74-63) and registered an 80-55 win over Holy Cross Sunday.

Series History
•    Sunday's game will be the first between the teams.
•    Navy has tallied a 23-12 record against current teams in the America East Conference.  The Mids last played a team from the America East when they lost at Bryant, 60-45, on Nov. 30, 2019.  Navy will play at NJIT on Dec. 7.
•    Maine has totaled a 70-80 record against Patriot League teams after its win Sunday over Holy Cross.

On This Date
•    Navy has posted a 14-9 record in games played on Dec. 1.

Against This State
•    This will be Navy's first game against a team from Maine.
•    This will leave Alaska, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming as the only states from which Navy has not faced an opponent.

Three Games in Three Days
•    The last time Navy played three games in three days was in the 2017-18 season at the FGCU Shootout.  The Mids defeated St. Francis Brooklyn, lost to FGCU and beat Denver.
•    Navy also has played three games in three days during the 2015-16 (3-0, at UNCG) and 2016-17 (0-3, at High Point) seasons under head coach Ed DeChellis.
 
A Look Back 
•    Navy built an early lead and kept extending it in a 94-43 win over Washington (Md.) Monday.
•    Navy used a 9-0 run to take a 17-8 lead.  The Mids slowly expanded the margin to 33-18 and then 40-23.
•    Navy led, 44-27, at half, then scored the first eight points of the second half.
•    Jack Medalie scored a career-best 18 points.

Service Assignments
•     Seniors at the Naval Academy learned of their future service assignments on Nov. 21.
•    On the men's basketball team, Mitch Fischer received Navy aviation (flight officer), Lysander Rehnstrom received Marine Corps (ground) and Kam Summers received Navy aviation (pilot).

The Flying Mids 
•     Navy is trying to play at a faster pace this season than in the past.
•    Using the adjusted tempo statistic (possessions per 40 minutes) on KenPom.com, the Mids are playing at their fastest pace during the Ed DeChellis-coached era (68.3 possessions a game, 209th in the NCAA).
•    Penn is averaging 65.5 possessions a game (335th), Elon is at 67.2 (266th) and Maine is averaging 68.3 possessions (206th).

Missing Home
•    Navy's Nov. 25 game against Washington (Md.) was the last home game for Navy in the 2024 calendar year.  The Mids will not return to Alumni Hall until they open Patriot League play on Jan. 2 against American.
•    Navy will go 38 days between home games, which is the second-longest span between home games in program history.  It also marks the 12th time in school history in which Navy will go at least 30 days between home games.
•     It also is tied for third for the most consecutive regular season games played away from Annapolis.

Navy Bench Has Been a Strength
•    The Mids have received an average of at least 20 points a game from their bench since the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
•    Navy ranked fourth in the Patriot League and 149th nationally in bench scoring during the 2023-24 season (20.06 ppg).
•    The Mids are third in the league and 180th in the NCAA this year with an average of 25.0 bench points per game.

Navy Good Again on the Offensive Boards 
•     Navy has been very good over the last number of years at winning the offensive rebound margin.
•    The Mids ranked first in the Patriot League and 40th nationally during the 2023-24 season with an average of 12.45 offensive rebounds per game.
•    Navy stands first in the league and 78th nationally with an average of 12.83 offensive boards a game this year.

Benigni's 10+ Point Scoring Streak
•    Austin Benigni saw his streak of games with scoring in double figures come to an end when he scored eight points in 18 minutes of playing time Nov. 25 against Washington (Md.).  
•    His run of 26 games is tied for fifth place for the longest streak of scoring in double figures in school history.

At the FT Line – Austin Benigni / 2024-25
•    Benigni ranks eighth in the NCAA for free throws made (43) and 13th in free throws attempted (52).

Kehoe Lately
•    Aidan Kehoe moved into the regular rotation during Navy's Feb. 21, 2024, game at Loyola and made his first start in the next game against Holy Cross.
•    He had totaled 26 points (1.0 ppg) and 40 rebounds (1.5 rpg) in 26 career games prior to taking to the floor against the Greyhounds.
•    Since then, he has totaled 117 points (9.8 ppg) and 98 rebounds (8.2 rpg). 
•    This year he ranks first in the Patriot League and 27th in the NCAA with a field goal percentage of 65.4%.

Pennick Lately
•    Jordan Pennick had appeared in 16 games prior to Navy's Feb. 17, 2024, game at Boston U., and totaled 26 points (1.6 ppg) and 18 rebounds (1.1 rpg).
•    Since then, he has scored 111 points (8.5 ppg) and grabbed 53 rebounds (4.1 rpg).