Lehigh set to clash with #19/20 Michigan State on ESPNU Thursday
12/20/2011 2:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Winners of nine of its last 10, the red-hot Lehigh men's basketball team travels to Michigan State on Thursday to face the #19/20 Spartans who are riding a 10-game winning streak. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. and will be televised live on ESPNU and ESPN3.com. Both teams lost their first two games of the season and have gone a combined 19-1 since. The Mountain Hawks are only one win away from tying their most nonleague victories in program history (2008-09 season). This comes with three nonleague contests still on the schedule following Michigan State (Saint Peter's, Bryant and UMES).
Be sure to follow the Lehigh Men's Basketball Facebook Page beginning Wednesday for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks' trip to East Lansing. There will be photos, videos and more leading up to and during the game.
The Spartans are Lehigh's first nationally-ranked opponent since the 2010 NCAA Tournament when the Mountain Hawks faced No. 1 seed Kansas. It also marks Lehigh's first regular season contest against a ranked squad since facing No. 4 Villanova on Nov. 27, 2005.
Michigan State marks Lehigh's second 2011 NCAA Tournament team on its schedule. The Mountain Hawks dropped a 78-73 final at St. John's in their season-opener while Lehigh also faces Saint Peter's (Dec. 28) and Bucknell (Jan. 18 & Feb. 16).
The trip serves as a homecoming for three individuals. Two players - junior Holden Greiner and sophomore Kevin McCarthy - are Michigan natives as Greiner lives in the northern part of the state in Traverse City (approximately three hours away) while McCarthy is from St. Clair Shores, less than two hours from East Lansing. In addition, head coach Brett Reed is a native of Waterford, which is barely over an hour from Michigan State's campus.
After starting the season 0-2, Lehigh has gone 9-1 over its last 10, the first time the Mountain Hawks have won nine in a 10-game span since the 2005-06 season when they won 13-of-14. Lehigh improved to 9-3 on the season with a 95-55 win over Arcadia last Monday. Freshman Stefan Cvrkalj scored a game-high 19 points while adding six rebounds and freshman Conroy Baltimore fell just one point shy of a double-double, posting career highs in points (9) and rebounds (11).
The Mountain Hawks have faced five current members of the Big Ten in their history, with the most recent coming last Nov. 12 at Penn State, a 70-56 loss. Lehigh has faced three teams since the turn of the century, falling to Northwestern on Nov. 13, 2005 (61-59) and Illinois on Nov. 24, 2002 (90-56).
A perennial Final Four contender, Michigan State has enjoyed a strong season to date, playing itself into both the AP Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Spartans currently stand a perfect 8-0 at home, are 2-1 on the road and 0-1 at a neutral site. They enter Thursday's showdown with an 10-2 record, falling to only North Carolina (67-55) and Duke (74-69) in the first two games of the season. They've been a perfect 10-0 since. Leading the way offensively is Draymond Green, one of C.J. McCollum's teammates at this summer's USA Basketball World University Games Tryouts. He owns a team-leading 15.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Keith Appling and Brandon Wood also average double figures (10.5 points apiece) while Branden Dawson comes in at 8.4 and Adreian Payne 7.6
Thursday is the first-ever meeting between Lehigh and Michigan State.
Lehigh returns to action following the holiday on Wednesday, Dec. 28 at Saint Peter's. The Mountain Hawks then head to Bryant on Dec. 31 before returning home on Jan. 3 to host University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Tickets for all home games are now on sale and may be purchased on Lehighsports.com or by calling the ticket office at (610) 7LU-GAME.
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Date:
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December 22, 2011
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Opponent:
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Michigan State Spartans
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Tip-off:
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9:00 PM
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Arena/Capacity:
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Breslin Center/14,759
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Location:
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East Lansing, Mich.
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Lehigh's Record:
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9-3 overall, 0-0 Patriot League
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Michigan State's Record:
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10-2 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
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Series:
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First Meeting
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Radio:
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Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM with Matt Kerr. Pregame coverage gets underway at 8:30 PM.
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Television:
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ESPNU
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Internet Video:
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Behind Enemy Lines:
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