Boston University and Lehigh have each had to win two close contests in order to earn their berth in the Patriot League championship game. Second-seeded Lehigh will host No. 4 Boston U in Wednesday’s championship matchup.
Both teams are on a roll. Lehigh (17-16, 11-7 Patriot League regular season) has won five in a row, while Boston U (17-16, 10-8) enters with a four-game winning streak.
Boston U is coming off Sunday’s dramatic 73-72 upset win at top-seeded Navy. That was a Navy team that went 17-1 in the Patriot League regular season. Trailing 72-70 after a Navy layup with under four seconds remaining, BU 6-foot-4 freshman Chance Gladden took the inbounds pass, dribbled past half court, and deposited a game-winning 40-foot three-point field goal at the buzzer for the win. Gladden, who scored 26 points against Navy, was also the hero in Boston U’s 75-73 quarterfinal win over defending conference tournament champion American U. With the score tied at 73, Gladden hit a step-back jumper with two seconds left.
Lehigh began tournament play with a 69-66 win over No. 10 seed Holy Cross. Nasir Whitlock, a 6-foot-2 junior, was the hero for Lehigh, heaving a half-court three-pointer at the buzzer. Lehigh then advanced to the title game with Sunday’s 76-69 home win over No. 3 seed Colgate. Hank Alvey, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, scored a career-high 30 points to lead the win.
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Boston U at Lehigh Odds
As of this writing, Boston U is a 2.5-point college basketball betting favorite via BetMGM.
The Over/Under is 138.5 points.
Boston U at Lehigh On TV
Tipoff for Boston U at Lehigh is expected shortly after 7 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised by CBS Sports Network.
Boston U at Lehigh Prediction
I like Lehigh to cover.
While Boston U is riding a magical wave, Lehigh has also pulled out two close games, just not as dramatically as Boston U.
In addition, Lehigh is 12-4 this season at home, while Boston U is 6-11 in road games.
During the regular season, Lehigh won two extremely close games over Boston U by a total of five points. On Jan. 14, Lehigh earned a 93-91 overtime win at Boston U. Whitlock scored 30 points, hitting 4-of-5 three-pointers. He also hit a three-pointer with 2.4 seconds left in regulation that sent the game into overtime. Boston U 7-foot sophomore Ben Defty led the Terriers with 26 points.
Lehigh completed the season sweep with a 70-67 home win over the Terriers on Feb. 22. Whitlock again scored 30 points, hitting 3-of-6 from three-point range and all nine of his free throws. Gladden and 6-foot-5 junior Michael McNair each scored 17 for Boston U. McNair leads Boston U in scoring, averaging 17.0 points per game.
The teams are statistically close.
Boston U averages 75.9 points per game compared to 73.2 for Lehigh. The Terriers allow 73.9 PPG, while Lehigh is at 74.4. Lehigh shoots .732 from the foul line compared to .725 for Boston U. The Terriers lead the Patriot League in three-point percentage (.400), while Lehigh is shooting .356. Lehigh is holding teams to a .332 percentage from deep, while Boston U is at .362.
It must be noted that in the two games against Lehigh, Boston U shot way below its season average from beyond the arc. The Terriers were 13-of-38 (.342).
How the teams fare from three-point range could be the difference.
