It takes a lot to compete with a top-10 battle between ACC schools, especially old guard members of the conference who have been playing regularly for 65 years. The same goes for trying to gain headlines when Kansas is playing on Big Monday.
Monday night’s slim college basketball schedule actually featured a trio of huge games, though, even if few might’ve known much about one of them. While TV powers faced off, though, Bucknell and Lehigh met again in the Patriot League, where two old foes just over two hours apart in Pennsylvania have taken their rivalry to another level in recent years.
Others have dabbled near the top of the standings, but the Bison and Mountain Hawks have been the class of the Patriot League for going on 10 years now. And while Bucknell has had the greater success of late (four straight regular season titles and seven of the last eight, with four trips to the NCAA Tournament in that time), it was Lehigh that entered with a 9-7 record in the teams’ last 16 meetings and having not been swept by the Bison since 2011.
The two teams have regularly put on terrific games, and the 173rd meeting between the two schools was an eagerly anticipated one. It was a battle for first in the league and a rematch of one of the better games of all of January, when a frantic finish ended with the Bison’s Jimmy Sotos going coast-to-coast and scoring the game-winning layup with a second left in an 85-83 win.
When the dust cleared this time it was Bucknell completing the season sweep, building a two-game lead in the standings with a hard-earned 87-75 win at home at its Sojka Pavilion. The Bison moved to 11-2 in the Patriot League and now are in the driver’s seat for a remarkable eighth league title in nine years, really one of the most underrated feats in the sport right now.
It was a high-caliber game from the start, with two familiar foes feeling each other out and Lehigh jumping out to an 11-point lead. The Bison overcame a shaky start and trailing most of the first half to score 52 points in the second half. On a team with a bunch of up-and-coming stars, it was senior Kimbal McKenzie scoring 27 points, his fourth straight game with at least 20 points.
Bucknell also kept the wraps on the top three-point shooting attack in the country. Lehigh entered the game shooting nearly 45% from three as a team, a number that would make it a flat-out frightening foe should the Mountain Hawks make the NCAA Tournament. Lehigh hit just 6 of 22 from deep in this one, though. The Bison’s perimeter defense was outstanding, and its work inside also resulted in a 43-31 rebounding advantage.
Among the many terrific nuggets delivered by CBS Sports Network’s Jason Knapp and Mo Cassara-who were outstanding on this broadcast-this was the 18th time in the two teams’ last 20 regular season meetings where at least one or the other was in first place in the Patriot League. The staying power of the two programs has been exceptional, and especially in the case of Bucknell. The Bison lost three outstanding seniors and over 50 ppg from last year’s NCAA Tournament squad, but young talent continues to step up. Mackenzie has had a big senior year, big man Nate Sestina has nearly tripled his scoring and doubled his rebounding, and Bucknell is a very deep squad that can go 11-deep with ease.
The Bison now look like the clear team to beat in the Patriot League, while Lehigh has had success against everyone in the league except for Bucknell and Colgate, both of who swept the Mountain Hawks. It still would surprise no one if these two teams are meeting again in March, perhaps with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line.
Side Dishes:
- Of course, the night’s marquee matchup nationally was in the ACC, where Virginia appeared to face a tall task trying to bounce back from its second straight loss as it traveled to red-hot North Carolina. There won’t come many more satisfying wins this season than the Cavaliers’ 69-61 victory in Chapel Hill. UVA led by seven at halftime, went down by the same amount in the latter stages, but then put the clamps on defensively (six points allowed in the final 7:51) and got a pair of cold-blooded three-pointers from Kyle Guy late, in all finishing the game on a 12-2 run and 21-6 over the final 7 1/2 minutes. This was a true gut-check win, and should reinforce Virginia’s top-five standing after some shaky moments of late.
- When it appeared Kansas’s quest for another Big 12 title was set to become even more taxing, when the Jayhawks frittered away a 12-point lead late and trailed by four with just over a minute left in regulation and TCU was all set to hand the Jayhawks a damaging loss, one just had to remember: it was Kansas, it was Big Monday, and Kansas owns Big Monday. Sure enough, KU came back late once again, rallying to send the game into overtime and then defeat the Horned Frogs 82-77 on the road in Fort Worth for a huge win. Kansas has now won 11 straight games on Big Monday. The Jayhawks started four freshmen and they’re oft-questioned backcourt delivered, with Devon Dotson scoring 25 and Ochai Agbaji adding 20 points plus 11 rebounds. And just like that, Kansas appears second in the Big 12 standings again, two games back in the loss column of rival Kansas State but in a great position of the Wildcats slip up.
- Baylor snuck past Oklahoma 59-53 as two teams going in completely opposite directions continued their trends. The Bears got a big lift from reserve guard Devonte Bandoo, who scored 19 points and made five three-pointers, a much-needed offensive jolt on a night where both teams shot exactly 38.9%. The Sooners are now an unsightly 3-9 in the Big 12.
- Norfolk State stayed in first atop the MEAC, with a solid 66-54 win at Florida A&M. Nic Thomas tied a career high with 26 points. North Carolina A&T stayed a game back of the Spartans with a 68-61 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore.
- More Big 12 news: West Virginia announced on Monday that senior Esa Ahmad and junior Wesley Harris have been dismissed from the team, the latest in a season full of rain clouds for the Mountaineers. Both led the team in playing time and were about as much of regulars as there have been in a season that has seen all sorts of ins and outs with injuries, disciplines and other lineup changes.
- Georgia Southern announced on Monday that senior guard Ike Smith will sit out the rest of the season and will seek a medical hardship waiver to get back his senior year of eligibility. Smith played in GSU’s first 10 games this year, a stretch when the Eagles started 7-3 including the title at the Island of the Bahamas Showcase. They are just 7-7 since, with six of those losses by single digits, and sit at 14-10 overall and 6-5 in the Sun Belt. Smith has scored nearly 1,500 points in his career and for 3+ years formed an outstanding backcourt with Tookie Brown, who continues to be one of the top players in the league.
- On a similar note, Bryant also announced it will seek a redshirt for junior Ikenna Ndugba. The 6-foot guard has not played this year after a shoulder injury. He averaged 13.8 points per game last year as a sophomore and also paced the team in rebounds, assists and steals. The Bulldogs this year are 8-15 overall and 5-7 in the Northeast Conference in the first year under coach Jared Grasso.
Tonight’s Menu:
- A night with four top-25 battles tips off with Purdue at Maryland (6:30 p.m. Eastern, Big Ten Network). The Boilers won the first one in December but it was close.
- At the top of the hour it’ll be LSU at Kentucky (7 p.m., ESPN). Aside from an air pocket at home against Arkansas recently, the Tigers have been impressive. And the sport is better when both of these schools are good.
- Michigan State plays at Wisconsin, which despite losing at Michigan on Saturday has been on a roll. This is the only meeting of these two in the regular season. (7 p.m., ESPN2)
- MAC Tuesday has Buffalo with another toughie on the road at Akron. John Groce has engineered a quick turnaround with the Zips. Also, Bowling Green is tied with the Bulls for first in the MAC East and hosts Central Michigan.
- A potential trap game for Marquette, which after toppling Villanova now takes the short trip south to face old rival DePaul. Also, Butler tries to keep up its recent momentum (of two straight wins, anyway) with a trip to St. John’s (8:30 p.m., CBSSN).
- The MVC is where everyone seems to want to hover around mediocrity, with seven of 10 teams between 7-5 and 5-7. Southern Illinois (6-6 in league) tries to bring everyone even closer when it hosts Drake (7-5).
- Of the late games, the best one is Duke at feisty Louisville, a team that continues to maximize what it has (9 p.m., ESPN).
- Kansas State plays at Texas (9 p.m., ESPN2), with the Wildcats solidly in first place in the Big 12 for now, but just half a game ahead of-sure enough-Kansas if they lose this one.
- Alabama has won two straight, so its time for the Crimson Tide to slide back closer to the NCAA Tournament bubble. Meaning there’s a good chance Bama will lose at Mississippi State (9 p.m., SEC Network).
Enjoy your Tuesday.
Twitter: @HoopvilleAdam
