BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Head coach Billy Taylor has announced Lehigh’s 2006-07 schedule, which includes eight games versus teams that won at least 15 games a season ago, six first-time opponents, and 13 appearances at Stabler Arena. “I’m very excited about this season’s schedule,” Taylor said. “It is by far the most challenging non-league schedule that we have had since I’ve been at Lehigh and it will provide a great opportunity for our team to take on opponents from major conferences such as The Big East, ACC, and Pac-10, along with other historical rivals.”
Lehigh begins its 2006-07 season in Eugene, Oregon when the Mountain Hawks take part in a trio of contests in the Basketball Travelers Classic, hosted by the University of Oregon. The Brown and White will tip off its season on Friday, November 10 versus the host Ducks, who return all five starters from a team that made its way to the conference championship a season ago and will have an eye on the NCAA Tournament this year.
The Mountain Hawks other two games in Eugene will be against Portland State (November 11), and the Matadors of Cal-State Northridge (November 12). Lehigh has never met any of the three teams in the Basketball Travelers Classic.
Following the trip out west, Lehigh returns to Stabler Arena to open up the home portion of the schedule. On Friday, November 17, the Mountain Hawks welcome the Cornell Big Red to town for a 7:00 start, while two days later Sacred Heart comes to Stabler, for a 3:30 tip. Lehigh enjoyed an 11-3 mark at home last season.
On November 22, Lehigh heads to Connecticut to take on the Bobcats of Quinnipiac at the TD Banknorth Sports Center. The Bobcats return four starters from last season’s team and this will be their first-ever meeting with Lehigh.
The final weekend of November provides the Mountain Hawks with a tough pair of games. Lehigh will first travel to Massachusetts to take on Harvard on November 25, a team the Mountain Hawks defeated last season. Following that game, the Brown and White will head to Billy Taylor’s alma mater, Notre Dame, on Monday, November 27. The Mountain Hawks and Fighting Irish have not played since 1995, and the evening promises to be an emotional one for Taylor, a former captain at ND. “This is a great chance to take the team back to my alma mater and compete against Notre Dame. I know we will have a lot of family and friends in the stands that night, and it should be fun.”
Upon returning home Lehigh will host a pair of games, including one with Northeast Conference member Central Connecticut on December 2. The Blue Devils are coming off of an 18-11 campaign last season and return three starters and two of their top four scorers. On December 6 Lehigh makes its first of three trips to the state of New Jersey, as the Mountain Hawks take on the Princeton Tigers at Jadwin Gym. Next up is a trip down south to take on ACC member Miami on Saturday, December 9. The Hurricanes advanced to the quarterfinals of last season’s NIT, before falling to Michigan.
Following a home game with Haverford on December 11, Lehigh heads out on the road once again, this time traveling to Rutgers to play in one of the toughest venues in all of college basketball, the RAC. The Scarlet Knights, who were selected to play in last season’s NIT, are under the direction of first year head coach Fred Hill and are always tough to beat at home. Lehigh will then take a break for the holidays before returning to action on December 29 against yet another team from the Garden State, in Monmouth, a team Lehigh downed 71-57 last year. The Hawks were the 2006 NEC Champion and became the first school in that league’s history to win an NCAA Tournament game last season.
Lehigh’s final non-league game comes at home on January 2 versus the Lions of Columbia. The Mountain Hawks won last year’s showdown in the Big Apple by a score of 65-57. On Saturday, January 6, Lehigh will welcome American to Stabler Arena to begin Patriot League play, while on Wednesday, January 10, the Mountain Hawks head to Annapolis for the league road opener versus Navy.
Lehigh will welcome archrival Lafayette to Stabler Arena on January 20, as the Mountain Hawks go for their fifth straight win at home against the Leopards. On January 23, Lehigh will take on the two-time defending league champion Bucknell Bison in Lewisburg, while on January 26, the Mountain Hawks will head to Worcester, Mass. to take on the Holy Cross Crusaders in a re-match of last season’s Patriot League Tournament semifinals.
The Mountain Hawks close out the season with a trio of very interesting contests, starting with a trip to Easton on February 18. Last year, Lehigh broke a four-year losing streak at the Kirby Sports Center with a convincing 76-58 victory. On Wednesday, February 21, the Bucknell Bison come to Stabler in what has grown to be one of the most intense rivalries in the Patriot League. The last three games played between the schools at Stabler Arena have been decided by a total of 13 points. The regular season finale will take place on January 25 when Lehigh welcomes Holy Cross to town in a game that could have large implications on Patriot League Tournament seeding.
The league tournament has undergone yet another transformation in 2006-07, as the quarterfinal round will be hosted by the top four seeds at four different sites. That round gets underway on February 28. On March 4, the semifinals will take place at the home court of the two highest remaining seeds, while on March 9, the 2007 Patriot League Championship game will take place.
“We’re hopeful that the non-league portion of our schedule will prepare our guys for the rigors of Patriot League play and what we hope will be a successful run in league play. If we are able to be successful during league play, that can set us up for home court advantage come Patriot League Tournament time, which as everyone knows, is a huge advantage,” Taylor explained.
Once again this season, all of Lehigh’s games will be broadcast in the Lehigh Valley on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM, as well as around the world on lehighsports.com, as part of the Yahoo! Sports College Broadcast package. Veteran Matt Kerr returns for his seventh season to call the action and will be joined for most games by former Lehigh standout Greg Falkenbach ‘72. Select Mountain Hawk games will also feature live streaming video in addition to the play-by-play at no additional charge.
Lehigh’s television schedule will be announced at a later date.
