March 19, 2008
Patriot League Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament Release - First Round 
2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Bracket
Center Valley, Pa. - After winning their initial Patriot League Men's Basketball Championship, the American Eagles will play as the No. 15 seed in the East Region and face a first-round matchup with No. 2 seed Tennessee of the Southeastern Conference in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship on Friday in Birmingham, Alabama. The game will tip off at 12:15 p.m (EST), and can seen on CBS.
The Eagles earned their first-ever berth in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship by claiming the League's automatic bid with a 52-46 victory at home against Colgate in the Patriot League Championship on Friday. They previously defeated Holy Cross and Army in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, of the 2008 Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament. The Eagles also won the Patriot League regular-season crown, and were the 14th No. 1 seed in 18 seasons to win the League Championship. They are one of four teams in the field making their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
American has a 21-11 record for the year, and finished 10-4 during the Patriot League regular season. They have won four games in a row and 10 of their last 11 heading into the NCAA Tournament. They are led by junior guard Garrison Carr, who received Patriot League Tournament Most Valuable Player honors and tallied 17 points in Friday's victory over Colgate. Carr has a Patriot League record 129 three-pointers this season, and is in the top five nationally in three-pointers per game. He also received First-Team All-Patriot League recognition. The Eagles rank in the NCAA top 50 in scoring defense, free throw percentage and three-point field goal percentage, where they are in the top 10 in the nation.
Tennessee enters the contest with an overall record of 29-4. The winner of the American/Tennessee matchup will play the winner of the game between No. 10 seed South Alabama and No. 7 Butler in the second round on Sunday.
Patriot League NCAA Tournament Notebook
Finally Dancing
American makes its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament after 41 seasons as a Division I program. The Eagles earned their bid, and their first-ever Patriot League Championship, by beating Colgate, 52-46, in the League Championship game on Friday. They are in the postseason for the first time since playing in the NIT in 1982. They are one of four teams making their first Tournament appearance.
Regular-Season and Tournament Champs
In addition to the Patriot League Tournament title, American captured its first outright regular-season Patriot League title since 2002, and first at all since 2004, by going 10-4 in the League this season. They claimed the outright crown with a win and a Navy loss on the final day of the year. The Eagles played as the No. 1 seed in the League Tournament for the first time since 2002.
Rolling Into the Tournament
Coming into the month of February, the Eagles were in the middle of the Patriot League pack with a 3-3 League mark and an 11-10 overall record. But they have taken off from there. American has won 10 of its 11 games since February started, and has a four-game winning streak coming into the NCAA Tournament.
Winning on the Road
American's matchup with Tennessee will be its first on a neutral court this season. But the Eagles are very comfortable away from home. They posted a 10-7 mark on the road this year, and are one of only 18 teams nationally with 10 or more wins away from home. Thirteen NCAA Tournament teams have 10 or more road wins.
Sharp Shooting.....
If you look at the top line of the Patriot League statistics, you'll see American's name in the shooting percentage categories. And the Eagles represent nicely among the overall NCAA leaders as well. American led the Patriot League in field goal percentage and three-point percentage, and finished second in free throw percentage. The Eagles hit 40.9 percent of their shots from long range, which places them sixth in the country. They are 28th nationally with a 74.3 foul shooting percentage.
....And Tough Defense
American also excelled at shutting down opposing offenses this year. The Eagles held Colgate to 46 points in the Patriot League Championship win, and did not allow Holy Cross or Army to break 60 in the other Tournament games. The Eagles are up to 35th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 61.8 points per game.
Carr Connecting From Long Range
American junior guard Garrison Carr has posted the best season in Patriot League history from three-point range. Carr has made a League record 129 three-pointers on the season, shattering the old mark of 99 and cracking the NCAA single-season top 25. He leads the Patriot League and ranks in the top 15 nationally in three-pointers made per game, three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage. He is fifth with 4.0 three-pointers per game. Carr was named the Patriot League Tournament MVP after nailing 12 three-pointers in American's three games, and also earned First-Team All-Patriot League honors this season.
Mercer, Gilmore Also Earn League Honors
Two other American juniors also earned recognition from the Patriot League. Guard Derrick Mercer received Second-Team All-League honors, while forward Brian Gilmore took home All-Tournament team honors. Gilmore hit the game-winning shot with 18 seconds left in American's quarterfinal win over Holy Cross, and Gilmore and Mercer both nailed key free throws in the final 30 seconds of the Championship win against Colgate.
Jones Brings NCAA Tournament Experience
While American is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance, its head coach is back for a sixth time. Jeff Jones led Virginia to the NCAA Tournament five times in his head coaching stint from 1990-98. He has a 6-5 record in NCAA Tournament contests, with his last previous appearance coming in 1997.
Patriot League in the NCAA Tournament
Patriot League teams have a 2-16 mark in NCAA Tournament competition, but the two victories have come in the last three seasons. Bucknell knocked off Kansas, 64-63, with a basket by Chris McNaughton in the closing seconds in the first round in 2005, and then beat Arkansas, 59-55, in first-round action in 2006. The losses have been close recently as well, as no Patriot League team has fallen by more than 11 points in a first-round NCAA game since 2000.
American Makes It Eight
American became the eighth Patriot League program, and seventh active member, to make it to the NCAA Tournament as a Patriot League representative. Holy Cross leads all teams with five appearances, while Navy has three. Colgate, Bucknell and Lafayette each have two, while American joins Lehigh with one appearance. Fordham, which played in the Patriot League from 1991-94, made an NCAA appearance in 1992.
Proving the Pundits Wrong
American defied the expectations of being picked fifth in the Patriot League preseason coaches and sports information directors poll. The Eagles joined Navy (1994) and Lehigh (2004) as the only teams to win the Patriot League Championship after being picked fifth in the preseason. No team lower than No. 5 has gone on to win the crown.
Top Seeds Successful in Patriot League Tournament
The Patriot League is accustomed to sending its No. 1 seed to the NCAA Tournament, and this year is no different. American became the 14th No. 1 seed in 18 seasons to win the Patriot League Tournament, and 13th in the last 17 to make the NCAA Tournament after Fordham went to a play-in game in the first season of League play in 1991. The Eagles are the fifth No. 1 seed in the last six years to advance to the NCAA.
Patriot League Championship Game Notes
American's win in the Patriot League Championship was its seventh in a row at home to close the season, the longest home streak for a Patriot League team this year. It was their eighth consecutive win against Colgate, and they improved to 9-0 all-time against the Raiders at home. The Eagles made No. 1 seeds a perfect 6-0 all-time against No. 3 seeds in the title game, and no seed lower than No. 2 has ever won the League title. Home squads improved to 13-4 in Patriot League title games with American's win, including 13-2 since 1994. American Head Coach Jeff Jones improved to 12-6 in Patriot League Tournament history. The teams had the lowest two-point totals (52-46) in Championship game history, breaking the mark of 54 set by American in 2002.
History-Making Win Totals
For the first time in the 18-year history of the Patriot League, every team has recorded at least 10 victories in a season, and each squad finishes with at least 12 wins. The Atlantic Coast Conference is the only other league in the country where every member has at least 12 wins against Division I opponents. Also, every team recorded at least five wins in League play for the first time in history.
Non-League Success
The regular-season non-League schedule is complete, and Patriot League teams set a record with 62 non-League victories. The 62-55 mark is the best-ever non-League record in the regular season, and breaks the mark of 60 wins which was set just last year. It is the second all-time winning mark in non-League action, and is made even more impressive because Patriot League teams played an all Division I schedule for the first time in 2007-08.
Strong Regular-Season RPI
The Patriot League has the 16th-place position in the Collegiate Basketball News RPI rating. The League has a .4890 weighted RPI, which gives it a sizable .0030 edge on 17th place. American leads all League teams at No. 91 in the RPI rating. The Patriot League is one of only six conferences in the nation to place all of its teams in the top 250, and the only Mid-Major league to accomplish the feat. Tennessee claimed the No. 1 spot in the final regular-season RPI.
NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship First Round
No. 15 American (21-11, 10-4 Patriot) vs. No. 2 Tennessee (29-4, 14-2 SEC)
Friday, 12:15 p.m. (Eastern) (CBS) - East Region
BJCC Arena, Birmingham, Ala.
Series: Tennessee, 1-0 Streak: Tennessee, One Win Last Meeting: Tenn., 59-58 (12.18.81)
American/Tennessee Tournament Notes The Eagles are playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time, while Tennessee takes an 11-16 Tournament record into the first-round meeting....The teams are meeting for the second time in history, with Tennessee claiming a 59-58 victory in the Volunteer Classic on Dec. 18, 1981....Tennessee is ranked No. 5 in the country, and has won first-round games in each of the last two seasons...The Vols advanced to the Sweet 16 a year ago...American won the Patriot League regular-season and Tournament titles, while Tennessee won the SEC regular-season crown...Patriot League teams have a 1-2 record in NCAA Tournament meetings against the SEC, with the win coming in the last matchup when Bucknell beat Arkansas, 59-55, in the first round in 2006....Patriot League teams are 2-16 overall in NCAA Tournament play, but have not lost a first-round game by more than 11 points since 2000...Patriot League teams are 0-3 against ranked opponents this year, and 0-1 against SEC foes with Lafayette's loss at Mississippi State on Jan. 5...The Eagles take on an SEC opponent for the first time since playing Vanderbilt on Dec. 20, 2001.
American The Eagles won their first Patriot League Championship with a 52-46 victory over Colgate in the title game on Friday...They also earned thier first NCAA Tournament berth in 41 seasons as a Division I member, and are in the postseason for the first time since playing in the NIT in 1982...They became the 14th No. 1 seed to win the Patriot League Tournament in the 18-year history of the League, and the fifth in the last six years....The Eagles dropped title contests in their first three seasons in the League in 2002, 2003 and 2004...They became the eighth Patriot League program and seventh active member to take home the crown...It was their seventh win in a row at home, and 10th in the last 11 games overall...American also moved to a perfect 9-0 at home against Colgate...Colgate took a 46-45 lead in a back-and-forth game on a three-pointer by Kyle Roemer with 2:24 to go...The Eagles answered with the eventual game-winning basket on the other end, as Jordan Nichols scored in the lane with 1:56 left to make it 47-46 for American...Colgate had a pair of shots to re-gain the lead, but Daniel Waddy missed a running layup with 1:43 to play and a jumper with 41 seconds left...The Eagles extended the lead to 49-46 on a pair of free throws by Brian Gilmore with 31 seconds left...Colgate had one more possession with a chance to tie the score, but Gilmore forced a turnover with 20 seconds to go...Derrick Mercer was fouled on the ensuing inbounds and nailed a pair of free throws to give the Eagles a five-point edge, and Gilmore sealed the 52-46 score with one more free throw with three seconds to go...The Eagles had a huge advantage in the turnover battle, as they forced 16 Colgate miscues and only committed five of their own...That helped American to a victory despite shooting 34 percent for the game, and just 6-for-25 in the second half...They also connected on 4-of-17 shots from three-point range, but were aided by a 12-for-17 effort at the foul line, including an 11-for-14 clip in the second half...Garrison Carr earned Tournament MVP honors...Carr made 6-of-16 shots, and 3-of-7 three-pointers, against Colgate to finish one shy of the Tournament record with 12 three-pointers in American's wins over Holy Cross, Army and Colgate. ..Gilmore was the only other American player in double figures, scoring 11 points...The Eagles got seven points from Jordan Nichols and six from Nick Hendra, which gave them 24 points off the bench between the trio of Gilmore, Nichols and Hendra...Gilmore earned All-Tournament honors for his efforts...It was the lowest scoring Championship game in Patriot League Tournament history...Colgate's 46 points were the lowest in title game annals, while American's 52 were the fewest for a winning team...American will try to become the third Patriot League team to win an NCAA first round game in the last four years...Bucknell knocked off Kansas, 64-63, in 2005 and beat Arkansas, 59-55, in 2006... The Eagles play their first game at a neutral site this season...They also look to even up the series with Tennessee, who they lost to, 59-58, on Dec. 18, 1981.
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