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2009 Patriot League Tournament Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd

patriot-league-3309 The Patriot League sounds more like a group of super heroes than an athletic conference. Nevertheless, it gets its men’s basketball conference tournament underway Wednesday March 4th. The Tournament concludes Friday March 13th with the championship game being broadcast on ESPN 2. American brought home the Patriot League Tournament title a season ago to capture an automatic NCAA Tournament bid. The Eagles are the favorite to take home the trophy again. Can they get it done or will a Cinderella story emerge? Jimmy Boyd breaks down the action in this predictions article. Bet the Patriot League Tournament at BetUS and receive up to 145% in sign up bonuses.

The Favorite: American Eagles
The American Eagles finished the regular season with a 21-7 mark and were an impressive 13-1 in league play. The Eagles are the only Patriot League team with 20 wins this season and will have a great chance to bring home another tournament title as the higher seed gets to play on its home floor. That means that the Eagles would get home court throughout and they are 10-1 at home this season. American’s only conference loss came to Holy Cross back in January. Since, the Eagles have rattled off 10 straight wins, including a revenge win over Holy Cross. The guy to watch for American is Garrison Carr, leading the way with 17.5 points per game. Brian Gilmore and Derrick Mercer both average in double figures as well and provide the Eagles with some offensive balance. It looks like it could come down to a third meeting between the Eagles and the Holy Cross Crusaders to see which team will represent the Patriot League in the Big Dance.

Another Team That Can Win: Holy Cross Crusaders
Holy Cross finished three games better than third place Navy and is the only team in the league to have beaten American this season. Naturally, the Crusaders are the biggest threat to top seed American. Holy Cross has traditionally been the best program in this league the past couple decades and has captured 15 tournament titles since the tourney began in 1991. There’s nothing flashy about Holy Cross hoops. It’s five guys working together as a team. R.J. Evans leads the way with 12.7 points per game but the Crusaders put a very balanced attack on the floor. The Crusaders beat American by 9 at home and lost by 6 on the road. A very stingy defense, which held the Eagles to 62 and 56 points respectively, will give the Crusaders a chance to win.

2008 Patriot League Tournament Recap:
The American Eagles brought home their first ever Patriot League Tournament title last season by beating Colgate in the championship game, which meant that it also earned its first ever bid to the Big Dance. The No. 15 seed Eagles put up a good fight against No. 2 seed Tennessee before eventually losing 72-57 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Need help beating the college basketball odds? Jimmy Boyd’s basketball picks will help you with your college basketball betting throughout March Madness.

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