Lehigh and Duke set for NCAA Tournament clash, Friday on CBS

 

Courtesy of LehighSports.com.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After a school-record 26 wins capped off by its second Patriot League Title in three years, the 15th-seeded Lehigh men’s basketball team will face #2 Duke in an NCAA Second Round Game Friday in Greensboro, N.C. Tipoff is set for 7:15 p.m. on CBS with Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Tracy Wolfson on the call. The Mountain Hawks enter the program’s fifth NCAA Tournament on a season-high eight-game winning streak, tied for fourth-longest in school history.

 

Be sure to follow the Lehigh Men’s Basketball Facebook Page leading into Friday’s game for complete behind-the-scenes photos, video, news, notes and much more. Lehighsports.com will be there the entire way and will bring you updates.

Lehigh topped Bucknell, 82-77, last Wednesday in a sold-out Sojka Pavilion to capture the school’s third Patriot League Championship and second in the last three years. Junior C.J. McCollum was once again sensational, posting 29 points, five assists and three steals to earn Tournament MVP honors. He is also up for the Capital One Impact Performance of the Week. The Mountain Hawks never trailed, becoming the first team to beat Bucknell twice at Sojka Pavilion in the same season; Lehigh also topped the Bison, 56-53 on Feb. 16 behind a McCollum three-pointer with less than a second remaining, a play featured on SportsCenter that night.

 

The Mountain Hawks are eying the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win. Two seasons ago, Lehigh hung tough against top overall seed Kansas before the Jayhawks pulled away at the end for a 90-74 victory.

 

Lehigh is looking for its first-ever win over Duke and first over any ACC opponent. A victory would give the Mountain Hawks their ninth straight, tying for the third-longest winning streak in program history. Lehigh is one win shy of its 27th of the season, which would tie the Patriot League record for most total wins in a season (Holy Cross in 2005-06).

 

McCollum is the nation’s fifth leading scorer, averaging 21.9 points per game. He is second among players who qualified for the NCAA Tournament, only behind Creighton’s Doug McDermott (third, 23.2 points per game). Lehigh junior Cory Goodman played with former Duke star Gerald Henderson in high school at Episcopal Academy. Another one of their teammates was UNC star Wayne Ellington.

 

Lehigh and Duke have two common opponents this season, both playing St. John’s and Michigan State. The Mountain Hawks are the Blue Devils’ first-ever Patriot League opponent in NCAA Tournament history while Duke’s Mike Krzyzeswski had his first-ever win as head coach against Lehigh. It came on Nov. 28, 1975 when he was leading Army.
Duke enters the NCAA Tournament with a 27-6 overall record, winners of eight of its last 10. The Blue Devils went 13-3 in the ACC before falling to Florida State in the semifinals. Leading the way is freshman standout Austin Rivers, who averages 15.4 points per game, including a big game-winning three pointer at North Carolina on Feb. 8. Meanwhile, junior Seth Curry (younger brother of Steph from the NBA) comes in at 13.4 per contest. Mason and Miles Plumlee lead the way on the inside; Mason averages 10.9 points and 9.1 rebounds while Miles is at 6.7 and 7.2. Duke is dominant from the outside, shooting at 37.6 percent from long range. The Blue Devils have knocked down 268 three-pointers (8.1 per game) vs. 147 for their opponents (4.5). Curry leads the way with 82 total assists while Rivers has 70.

 

Lehigh is 2-13 all-time against teams currently in the ACC. The two wins came back in 1911-12 against Maryland (60-8) and 1989-90 vs. Miami (83-59). The last time the Mountain Hawks faced an ACC squad was on Nov. 23, 2007, a 72-51 loss at Maryland. Overall, Lehigh is 1-6 against Miami, 1-2 against Maryland, 0-1 vs. Virginia, 0-2 against North Carolina State and 0-4 vs. Duke.

 

Lehigh and Duke have played four times in their history with the Blue Devils owning a perfect 4-0 record. The sides have met in 1940-41, 1978, 1990 and 1996. The last matchup saw Duke top Lehigh, 103-51 on Dec. 2, 1996.

 

Should the Mountain Hawks win on Friday, they’d advance to face the winner of #7 Notre Dame and #10 Xavier on Sunday with a berth to the Sweet 16 on the line.

 

Like Lehigh Men’s Basketball on Facebook for exclusive content, team updates and more: https://www.facebook.com/LehighMensBasketball.

 

Date:	March 16, 2012
Opponent:	Duke Blue Devils
Tip-off:	7:15 PM
Arena/Capacity:	Greensboro Coliseum/22,400
Location:	Greensboro, N.C.
Lehigh’s Record:	26-7 overall, 11-3 Patriot League
Duke’s Record:	27-6 overall, 13-3 ACC
Series:	Duke leads, 4-0
Radio:	Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM with Matt Kerr. Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:00 PM.
Television:	CBS
Internet Video:	NCAA.com
Behind Enemy Lines:	goduke.com