March Madness 2012: The Lehigh Mountain Hawks are Dancing in the NCAA Tournament

Conference: Patriot League (26-7)

Location: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Famous Alums: Lee Iacocca and Roger Penske

They’re Back! Lehigh has played in four previous tournaments, most recently in 2010, and have never won a game in the NCAA tournament.

Resume: They won 2 out of 3 from Bucknell, and lost by 9 points at both Michigan State and Iowa State.

Notable Player(s): The inside/outside combination of C.J. McCollum and Gabe Knutson, both juniors, will carry this team. McCollum had 29 points and Knutson had 23 in the Patriot final against Bucknell.

Team Style/Strengths: They’ll play up tempo, and rely on McCollum and Mackey McKnight to handle the ball. Don’t get into a foul shooting contest with Lehigh. They are 2nd in the country in FT% and both guards and primary interior scorers shoot over 75%.

All-Important Rankings: 101 (RPI), 88 (Pomeroy)

Projected Outlook/Seed: The Mountain Hawks are likely heading for a 15 seed, unless there are upsets in multiple remaining conference tournaments. Their competitive performances at Michigan State and Iowa State suggest that they won’t be a pushover.

[photo via US Presswire]

NCAA Tournament Automatic Berths:

UNC-Asheville
Murray State
Belmont
Creighton
Loyola (Maryland)
VCU
Davidson
St. Mary’s
Western Kentucky
Harvard
Detroit