Game #31 / Patriot League Tournament - Quarterfinal • at Boston U.
Thursday, March 7 • 7 p.m. • Case Gym • Boston, Mass.

Multimedia Information
Live Streaming - ESPN+ / Doug Brown, Brian Maurer
Navy Radio - WNAV AM-1430, FM-99.9, www.iheart.com/live/999-wnav-9420, Audacy app / Pete Medhurst
Live Statistics - NavySports.com

Tickets
Tickets can be purchased by Navy fans for $14 at this link.

Five Starting Notes
1 – Navy and Boston U. each enter the game on five-game winning streaks.
2 – The teams have split the two previous Patriot League Tournament games played against the other.  The Terriers won a 2020 quarterfinal round game in Boston and the Mids won a 2022 semifinal round game in Annapolis.
3 – Navy's win over Loyola was the 400th in the 28-year head coaching career of Ed DeChellis.
4 – Only Austin Inge, Austin Benigni and Mike Woods had played in a Patriot League Tournament game prior to Tuesday against Loyola.  Inge had scored 18 points in five postseason games, Benigni scored two points in his lone previous league tournament game and Woods scored four points in his lone prior game.
5 – Austin Benigni was named Second Team All-Patriot League and also earned Patriot League All-Academic Team honors this year.

Game Information
•    After winning its first round game Tuesday night, the seventh-seeded Mids (13-17, 8-10) travel to Boston, Mass., for a quarterfinal round game at No. 2 Boston U. (15-16, 10-8) at 7 p.m. game in Case Gym.
•    The winner will play a semifinal round game Sunday against either No. 3 Lafayette or No. 6 Lehigh.
•    The game will be streamed through ESPN+.
•    WNAV will each carry a radio broadcast of the game.
•    Links to live statistics from the game can be accessed at NavySports.com.

Last Game
•    The Mids opened the 2024 Patriot League Tournament with a 64-48 win over Loyola Tuesday in Annapolis.
•    Navy began the game with a 12-1 lead.  Loyola closed to within 28-27 before Navy took a 34-27 halftime lead.
•    The Mids used an 11-1 and 15-3 run to take a 49-34 lead midway through the half.  Navy would lead by double figures the remainder of the game.
•    Navy shot 44 percent and held Loyola to 27 percent.
•    Austin Benigni scored 24 points, Donovan Draper registered 16 points and 11 rebounds and Aidan Kehoe tallied 11 rebounds, nine points and five assists.

DeChellis Wins No. 400
•    Navy's first round victory over Loyola was the 400th in the 28-year head coaching career of Ed DeChellis.

About Boston U.
•    Boston U. has posted an overall record of 15-15 (8-6 in home games) and a Patriot League record of 10-8 (5-4 in home games).
•    The Terriers ended the regular season on a five-game winning streak.  Two of those games were decided in overtime.

Series History
•    Boston U. leads the all-time series with Navy by the count of 13-11.  Navy holds a 7-4 lead in games played in Boston, which includes a 7-2 record in games played in Case Gym.
•    The teams have split the two previous league tournament games.  The Terriers won a 69-63 decision in the 2019 quarterfinal round in Boston and the Mids won an 85-80 game in the 20922 semifinal round in Annapolis.
•    The teams originally met in the regional semifinal round of the 1959 NCAA Tournament. The Terriers defeated the Mids, 62-55 in overtime, in the game that was played in Charlotte, N.C.
•    The only additional meeting of the teams prior to Boston U. joining the Patriot League took place on Dec. 30, 1988, when the Terriers defeated the Mids, 75-54, in a game played in Santa Clara, Calif.
•    Ten of the last 15 games in the series have been decided by single digits.
•    Five of the last six games played in Boston have been determined by single digits.

Misc. Boston U. Tournament W-L
•    10-9 overall record
•    8-3 at home (5-0 in last five games)
•    5-4 in quarterfinal round
•    4-1 in home quarterfinal games

Misc. Patriot League Tournament W-L
•    The No. 2 seed is 23-8 against the No. 7 seed.
•    Teams winning first round games are 3-16 in the quarterfinal round.

Third Navy-Boston Postseason Game
•    Navy will be playing Boston U. in the postseason for the third time.  That is tied for second for the most games the Mids have played against an opponent since the Terriers and Loyola joined the Patriot League.

First Round Games
•    Navy was in the first round for the first time since the 2016 season and the fourth time overall since it began in 2014 (this is the 11th year with the first round).

Little Postseason Experience
•    Navy entered the postseason ranked last in the league for number of current players who have played and scored in the Patriot League Tournament.

Navy's Patriot League Tournament Records
Record by Site - at Boston - 0-1
Record by Venue - Road - 2-17
Record by Round - Quarterfinal - 7-22
Record as Seed (Years) - No. 7 Seed (7) - 3-6
Record vs. Seed - No. 2 Seed - 1-6
When Navy is the ...  - Lower Seed - 1-20
When Navy Faces a Team it was ...  - 1-1 against during the regular season - 8-9

On This Date
•    Navy has posted a 2-1 record in games played on March 7.  This includes a 1-1 record in Patriot League Tournament games.

Against This State
•    Navy has posted a 65-71 record in games played against opponents located in Massachusetts.

In This State
•    Navy has posted a 26-36 record in games played in Massachusetts.  This includes a 9-7 record in Boston.

All-League Honors
•    Austin Benigni earned second-team all-league honors on Monday and teammate Donovan Draper was named to the league's all-defensive team.

Academic All-League Honors
•    Austin Benigni also was named to the Patriot League All-Academic Team.  The computer science major has compiled a 3.42 cumulative grade-point average.

Stats During Winning Streak
•    Here is how Navy ranks against Patriot League teams since Feb. 19, the start of Navy's five-game streak.

Pts. / G - Off. - 68.5 / 4th
Pts. / G Def. - 59.8 / 2nd
Scoring Margin - +8.60 / 1st
FT% - .745 / 3rd
FG% - Off. - .419 / 7th
FG% - Def. - .358 / 1st
3FG% - Off. - .420 / 1st
3FG% - Def. - .257 / 1st
Reb. - 40.27 / 1st
Reb. Margin - +4.607 / 2nd
Off. Reb. / G - 12.47 / 1st
Def. Reb. / G - 27.87 / 3rd

Eight First-Time Starters
•    Eleven Mids have started at least one game this season.   It marked the first career start for eight of those 11 players.
•    Navy has used 11 different starting lineups this year.

Kehoe on the Court
•    Aidan Kehoe has made his presence felt over the last five games.
•    He has totaled 147 minutes played (29.5 mpg), 41 points (8.2 ppg), 37 rebounds (7.4 rpg), 21 offensive rebounds (4.2 org), 13 assists (2.6 apg) and eight blocks (1.6 bpg) during this recent span.
•    Kehoe had totaled 158 minutes, 26 points, 40 rebounds, 14 offensive rebounds, six assists and nine blocks in his 26 game career prior to this span.

At the FT Line – Navy
•    Navy ranked 343rd nationally during the 2022-23 season with an average of 13.5 free throws attempted a game, and 344th with an average of 9.5 free throws made a game.
•    In 2023-24, the Mids rank 117th nationally in free throws attempted (20.5) and 136th in free throws made (14.5) per game.  Those averages lead the Patriot League.
•    Compared to their foes this year, the Mids are +48 in free throws attempted and +31 in free throws made.
•    In league games, Navy was +56 in free throws attempted and +27 in free throws made.

At the FT Line – Austin Benigni
•    Austin Benigni ranks first in the Patriot League and 17th in the country with 167 free throws made this season.
•    He also ranks first in the league and 32nd nationally with 198 free throws attempted.
•    Benigni's free throw percentage of .843 stands second in the league.
•    He ranks among the Navy sophomore class leaders for the most free throws made and attempted and the best free throw percentage.
•    Benigni ranks seventh overall at Navy for the most free throws made in a season and 10th overall for the most foul shots attempted in a year.
•    He was 10-10 from the foul line in Navy's Patriot League Tournament first round win over Loyola.  
•    Mike Heary, who was 16-16 from the foul line in 1997, is the only other Mid to be perfect form the free throw line with at least 8 attempts in a league tournament game.

Benigni Scoring In Double Figures
•    Austin Benigni has set a new school standard for the most games by a Mid with scoring 10 or more points in 18 league games during an 18-game Patriot League season (2014-15 to 2019-20, 2021-22 to present).
•    He has scored in double figures in 26 games overall this season.

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.
•    The Navy reserve players have outscored their foes 604-408 this year.
•    Navy ranks fourth in the Patriot League and 154th nationally in bench scoring this season (20.13 ppg).

Positive Turnover Margin 
•     Navy is on pace to again have a positive turnover margin (fewer turnovers committed than forced).
•    The Mids lead the Patriot League and rank 22nd nationally with a 3.4 turnover margin this season.
•    The Mids are scoring an average of 4.3 points per game after turnovers more than their foes this year.

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 rank first in the Patriot League and 42nd nationally this season with an average of 12.33 offensive rebounds per game.
•    The Mids have grabbed more offensive rebounds than their foes in 19 games this year (also tied in two games).

Second-Chance Points 
•    Navy has scored more second-chance points than its foes in 195 of the 294 games (66.3%) it has played since the start of the 2014-15 season.  
•    The Mids have scored more second-chance points than their foes in 18 games this year.

Mike Woods Key on the Offensive Glass 
•     70 of the 213 career points (32.9%) scored by Mike Woods have been second-chance points.
•    Navy has scored on 47 of the 82 (57.3%) career possessions in which Woods has grabbed an offensive rebound.

Draper's Boards and Steals Remain High
•    Navy has scored on 45 of the 87 (51.7%) possessions in which Donovan Draper has grabbed an offensive rebound.
•    Draper's defensive rebound average (5.93 drpg) currently ranks second by a Mid in a season since it became an official statistics with the 1986-87 season, and is second for most total defensive boards.
•    Draper has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 13 games this season.  That is the most by a Mid during Navy's Patriot League era.
•    Draper also is tied for the most double-doubles during Navy's Patriot League era with  10.

Navy Pace
•    Navy traditionally has been one of the more deliberate teams in terms of possessions per game under head coach Ed DeChellis.  
•    The Mids rank 286th in the country with an average of 65.9 possessions a game this season.
•    Boston U. ranks 273rd nationally with an average of 66.1 possessions a game.  
•    There were 66 possessions in the first game of the season between the teams and 59 in the second.