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Patriot League Odds, Preview, Bracket and Predictions

Chris Amberley

by Chris Amberley in College Basketball

Updated Mar 2, 2022 · 9:55 PM PST

Colgate Raiders huddle during timeout
Colgate head coach Matt Langel, center, gives instructions during a timeout during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
  • The Patriot League Conference Tournament will run from Tuesday, March 1st, to Wednesday, March 9th
  • Top seed Colgate is seeking its third conference title in the past four seasons
  • See the Patriot League Tournament odds, seeds, bracket, and full tournament preview, below

The Patriot League has produced two of the most unlikely upsets at the NCAA Tournament this century. In 2012, Lehigh shocked college basketball blue blood Duke in a 15-versus-2 matchup, while in 2005 Bucknell stunned Kansas in a 14 versus 3 contest.

This year’s Patriot League champion will be looking to pull off a similar feat, as whoever wins the conference championship is slated as a 15 seed at best.

2022 Patriot League Tournament Odds

Team (Seed) Odds
Colgate Raiders (1) -210
Boston University Terriers (3) +550
Navy Midshipmen (2) +600
Loyola (MD) Greyhounds  (6) +1800
Lehigh Mountain Hawks (4) +2700
Army Black Knights (5) +3100
Lafayette Leopards (8) +6000
Holy Cross Crusaders (7) +50000
Bucknell Bisons (9) +50000
American Eagles (10) +50000

Odds as of Feb. 27 at FanDuel Sportsbook.

 

The Patriot League Tournament is set to begin on Tuesday (March 1), with the final taking place the following Wednesday (March 9th). Colgate, the defending champion, won this season’s regular-season crown, and will be looking to become just the fourth regular season champion to go on to win the conference tournament in the past 11 years.

Just two of the 10 Patriot League teams rank inside the top-200 in the NCAA NET rankings, and none inside the top-135. As a result, most online sportsbooks don’t have a single Patriot League program listed in their NCAA Tournament odds. The only way one of these 10 teams is advancing to March Madness is if they win the conference tournament.

SBD’s college basketball odds page will have the odds for each of the games in the tournament.

Lehigh Mountain Hawks Betting Analysis

As we’ll discuss later, there’s plenty of reasons to back the top-seeded Raiders. But, if you’re looking for a sleeper you could do worse than the Mountain Hawks at +2700. Lehigh has the fifth shortest odds, despite being the fourth seed, and won three of its final four contests.

They’re one of only two teams to beat Colgate this season, and were also 2-0 against the number two seed Navy.

As we’ve seen countless times, anything can happen in March, and the Mountain Hawks at least have the ingredients to be a live sleeper. First, they shoot the ball very well from beyond the arc. They rank behind only Colgate in the conference in three-point efficiency, and feature four upperclassmen in their top-five.

Second, they force their opponent off the three-point line at an elite rate. Only one team in the country allows fewer three-point attempts than Lehigh, while only 17 yield fewer three-point makes.

Get hot from outside, and force jump shooting teams like the Raiders to move inside, and they could make some noise this week.

Loyola (MD) Greyhounds Betting Analysis

Another program that has a case to be a March darling is Loyola (MD) at +1800. The Greyhounds boast the Patriot League’s top scorer Cam Spencer, and top distributor Kenny Jones.

Loyola beat both the number three seed Boston University, and the number four seed Lehigh this season, and lost two games to the number two seed Navy by a combined 3 points.

YouTube video

They compiled a pedestrian 8-10 conference record, but don’t let that mark fool you. They lost five games by five or fewer points, and are on the opposite side of the draw as Colgate.

They’re not without warts, as they ranked seventh in points per game, and last in three-point efficiency. However, only Navy allows fewer points per game in the conference, and their suffocating defense is more than capable of stealing a few games.

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Colgate Raiders Betting Analysis

While both Lehigh and Loyola (MD) make interesting long shot candidates, it’s hard to pick against Colgate even at its -210 price tag. They’ve been absolutely dominant in conference play, closing out the regular season with 12 consecutive wins.

They beat every Patriot League team by double-digits at least once this season, and have home court advantage throughout the conference tournament. They bounced back against the two programs that beat them in the regular season (Lehigh and Boston U), blowing each out in the rematch by 19 and 16 points respectively.

They’re currently pencilled in as a 15-seed in the projected March Madness bracket, and while they’ve failed to win an NCAA Tournament game in their previous four appearances, they have the ingredients to upset some of the contenders in the Final Four odds.

They shoot a high percentage inside and outside the three-point line, rebound well and don’t commit turnovers. They finished first in the Patriot League in points per game, field goal percentage, three-point efficiency, and assists.

Defensively, they finished fourth in opponent points per game, and yielded 62 points or less in 10 of their final 17 contests.

They’re also loaded with experience, which never hurts in March. All five starters, and each of their top-six scorers are upperclassmen.

Pick: Colgate Raiders (-210)

All Conference Tournament Previews:

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