The NCAA established divisions prior to the 1947-48 season. Since then, some teams have left D1, but a ton more have joined (and some have left and then returned). However, of the teams that have been a member of D1 continuously since the beginning, only five have never played in the NCAA tournament. The most notable, of course, is the Big Ten’s Northwestern Wildcats. Joining Northwestern on the list is William & Mary, The Citadel, St. Francis (Brooklyn) and Army. The Army Black Knights should probably, however, have an asterisk next to their name on this list. They actually were extended an invitation to the NCAA tournament in 1968, while coached by one Robert Montgomery Knight, but declined the invite and chose to play in the NIT instead.
This season, William & Mary and St. Francis are both among teams expected to contend in their conferences for a championship and an end to their streaks. The same goes for Army, which has not played a postseason game since their appearance in the 1978 NIT, while coached by another notable name, Mike Krzyewski (and Coach K was a player on the 1968 Army team that declined the NCAA invite). While the Black Knights may not be our preseason pick to win the Patriot League, it would not be a shock at all to see them dancing this season. At the very least, a postseason bid to one of the other tournaments seems very likely, especially with all five starters returning including Kyle Wilson, who may be the best player in the conference.
Our pick to win the Patriot League this year is the defending conference tournament champions, American (which notably lost by 40 points in the NCAA tournament Round of 64 to Wisconsin). The Eagles return four starters, add a pair of transfers in Kevin Panzer (Nevada) and Jonathan Davis (George Washington), and get 6-11 Zach Elanco back from injury. However, this conference race has a chance to be very exciting as Army, Lafayette, Holy Cross (which made the CIT last season), Lehigh and Colgate all could be contenders — and that list does not even include last season’s regular season champion, Boston University, which played last year in the NIT. The conference race is wide open in what should be one of the more entertaining leagues to watch all season long.
Predicted Order of Finish:
1. American: Jordan Reed, John Schoof and Darius “Pee Wee” Gardner are the top returning scorers and form perhaps the best backcourt in the conference. Combined with newcomers such as Panzer and Davis, the Eagles look to have what it takes to make a run at a return to the NCAA tournament.
2. Army: Kevin Ferguson is a force down low to complement Wilson. The best part may be that four of the five returning starters, including Wilson and Ferguson, are only juniors. If the Black Knights don’t get their first bid this year, they should be right there again next season.
3. Lafayette: The Leopards bring back five starters that all averaged double digits in scoring and should be right in the hunt for the league title.
4. Holy Cross: Malcolm Miller and Anthony Thompson are the top players on this deep, experienced and balanced team.
5. Lehigh: The Mountain Hawks expect freshman Kahron Ross to take over at the point. If he can run the floor, combined with four returning starters, this team could be better than expected.
6. Colgate: Austin Tillotson, Ethan Jacobs and Damon Sherman-Newsome will help make the Red Raiders tough to beat and could put them in the middle of this wide open conference race.
7. Boston University: John Papale is the top returning player, but with their top three scorers gone, the Terriers look like they will be taking a step back this year.
8. Navy: The Midshipmen return all of their starters and welcome back point guard Tillman Dunbar who was suspended from the team after only ten games last year. An improvement on last year’s 21 losses should not be difficult.
9. Bucknell: Chris Haas will be their top player this year, but big things may be needed from freshman center Nana Foulland if they want any chance at doing better than this prediction.
10. Loyola: Dylon Cormier averaged 21.2 points per game last year (until going down late in the season to an injury). He is gone for good now and the Greyhounds will struggle to find a way to replace his production.