Friday, November 13
Syracuse, N.Y.
7:00 pm
Lehigh University
at
Syracuse
Mountain Hawks open season at Syracuse Friday night
11/11/2015 3:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes | Watch Live (ESPN3/WatchESPN) | Listen Live | Live Stats
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team opens its season on Friday when the Mountain Hawks travel to Syracuse to face the Orange. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and can be viewed on ESPN3/WatchESPN. The preseason Patriot League favorite, Lehigh is coming off a resurgent season in 2014-15, which featured a third-place finish in the league standings along with wins over power conference opponents DePaul and Arizona State.
Hopes are high entering the 2015-16 season as the Mountain Hawks were predicted to win the Patriot League, as announced at the league's media day last month. It marks the second time in four seasons Lehigh has been No. 1 in the preseason poll, also in 2012-13 following the Mountain Hawks' historic 27-win season which featured an NCAA Tournament upset over Duke. Lehigh went on to win 21 games in 2012-13, even after star C.J. McCollum suffered a season-ending injury at VCU in early January.
The Mountain Hawks feature the reigning Patriot League Player of the Year (junior Tim Kempton) and Rookie of the Year (sophomore Kahron Ross). Kempton played some of his best basketball against power conference foes last season, averaging 15.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in three games against Villanova, DePaul and Arizona State, recording a double-double in each contest. The Mountain Hawks lost to eventual No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed Villanova (77-66) while defeating DePaul (86-74) and Arizona State (84-81 in triple overtime). Lehigh's last game against an ACC opponent came on Nov. 20, 2013 at Pittsburgh. The Mountain Hawks also played Pittsburgh the season prior while their previous ACC opponent before that was Duke in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
Lehigh will be searching for its first season-opening victory since the 2008 season. The Mountain Hawks have faced power conference foes in their opener in each of the last five seasons: Penn State (2010), St. John's (2011), Baylor (2012), Minnesota (2013) and Villanova (2014). Friday's game starts a challenging nonleague slate, and especially November, for Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks' 11 nonleague opponents averaged 19.8 wins last season. In November alone, they will face three power conference foes in Syracuse, Virginia and Purdue while also playing the preseason No. 1 and 2 teams in the Ivy League Yale and Columbia. Lehigh's other November game is at Canisius, who won 18 games last season.
The sixth all-time winningest program in NCAA Men's Basketball history, Syracuse has won more than 1,800 games in its history. The Orange lost its leading scorer Rakeem Christmas from a team that finished last season 18-13. Christmas averaged a team-high 17.5 points and 9.5 rebounds. Syracuse is just two seasons removed from a 28-6 campaign and three years removed from a 30-10 season and run to the Final Four. Despite losing Christmas, Syracuse's second and third leading scorers return this season in graduate students Trevor Cooney (13.4 scoring average) and Michael Gbinije (12.7). Tyler Roberson is also projected to start for Syracuse after averaging 8.3 points a season ago. DaJuan Coleman returns for the first time since his sophomore season in 2013-14 when he suffered a knee injury that December. Coleman averaged 4.3 points and 4.2 rebounds that season. In 2014-15, the Orange were 9-9 in the ACC, dropping their final three games of the season. Syracuse did not participate in the ACC Tournament or any national postseason tournaments due to a self-imposed ban. The Orange were 13-5 in the Carrier Dome last season compared to 5-8 away from home. In this preseason, Syracuse has dominated Le Moyne and Florida Southern in exhibitions this November, winning 97-58 and 96-54, respectively.
Syracuse leads the all-time series, 3-0 with the last meeting coming back during the 1931-32 season. The Orange won that game, 34-17, while also winning in 1930-31 (51-23) and 1922-23 (28-16).
Following Friday's game, Lehigh will return to action on Monday when the Mountain Hawks travel to Canisius for a 7 p.m. tipoff. Lehigh then returns home next Thursday (Nov. 19) to host Yale at 7 p.m. Tickets are available and can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours.
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team opens its season on Friday when the Mountain Hawks travel to Syracuse to face the Orange. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and can be viewed on ESPN3/WatchESPN. The preseason Patriot League favorite, Lehigh is coming off a resurgent season in 2014-15, which featured a third-place finish in the league standings along with wins over power conference opponents DePaul and Arizona State.
Hopes are high entering the 2015-16 season as the Mountain Hawks were predicted to win the Patriot League, as announced at the league's media day last month. It marks the second time in four seasons Lehigh has been No. 1 in the preseason poll, also in 2012-13 following the Mountain Hawks' historic 27-win season which featured an NCAA Tournament upset over Duke. Lehigh went on to win 21 games in 2012-13, even after star C.J. McCollum suffered a season-ending injury at VCU in early January.
The Mountain Hawks feature the reigning Patriot League Player of the Year (junior Tim Kempton) and Rookie of the Year (sophomore Kahron Ross). Kempton played some of his best basketball against power conference foes last season, averaging 15.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in three games against Villanova, DePaul and Arizona State, recording a double-double in each contest. The Mountain Hawks lost to eventual No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed Villanova (77-66) while defeating DePaul (86-74) and Arizona State (84-81 in triple overtime). Lehigh's last game against an ACC opponent came on Nov. 20, 2013 at Pittsburgh. The Mountain Hawks also played Pittsburgh the season prior while their previous ACC opponent before that was Duke in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
Lehigh will be searching for its first season-opening victory since the 2008 season. The Mountain Hawks have faced power conference foes in their opener in each of the last five seasons: Penn State (2010), St. John's (2011), Baylor (2012), Minnesota (2013) and Villanova (2014). Friday's game starts a challenging nonleague slate, and especially November, for Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks' 11 nonleague opponents averaged 19.8 wins last season. In November alone, they will face three power conference foes in Syracuse, Virginia and Purdue while also playing the preseason No. 1 and 2 teams in the Ivy League Yale and Columbia. Lehigh's other November game is at Canisius, who won 18 games last season.
The sixth all-time winningest program in NCAA Men's Basketball history, Syracuse has won more than 1,800 games in its history. The Orange lost its leading scorer Rakeem Christmas from a team that finished last season 18-13. Christmas averaged a team-high 17.5 points and 9.5 rebounds. Syracuse is just two seasons removed from a 28-6 campaign and three years removed from a 30-10 season and run to the Final Four. Despite losing Christmas, Syracuse's second and third leading scorers return this season in graduate students Trevor Cooney (13.4 scoring average) and Michael Gbinije (12.7). Tyler Roberson is also projected to start for Syracuse after averaging 8.3 points a season ago. DaJuan Coleman returns for the first time since his sophomore season in 2013-14 when he suffered a knee injury that December. Coleman averaged 4.3 points and 4.2 rebounds that season. In 2014-15, the Orange were 9-9 in the ACC, dropping their final three games of the season. Syracuse did not participate in the ACC Tournament or any national postseason tournaments due to a self-imposed ban. The Orange were 13-5 in the Carrier Dome last season compared to 5-8 away from home. In this preseason, Syracuse has dominated Le Moyne and Florida Southern in exhibitions this November, winning 97-58 and 96-54, respectively.
Syracuse leads the all-time series, 3-0 with the last meeting coming back during the 1931-32 season. The Orange won that game, 34-17, while also winning in 1930-31 (51-23) and 1922-23 (28-16).
Following Friday's game, Lehigh will return to action on Monday when the Mountain Hawks travel to Canisius for a 7 p.m. tipoff. Lehigh then returns home next Thursday (Nov. 19) to host Yale at 7 p.m. Tickets are available and can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours.
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
| Date: | November 13, 2015 |
| Opponent: | Syracuse Orange |
| Tip-off: | 7:00 PM |
| Arena/Capacity: | Carrier Dome/34,616 |
| Location: | Syracuse, N.Y. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 0-0, 0-0 Patriot League |
| Syracuse's Record: | 0-0, 0-0 ACC |
| Series: | Syracuse leads, 3-0 |
| Radio: | Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon. Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:30 PM |
| Television: | ESPN3 |
| Internet Video: | ESPN3/WatchESPN |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | Syracuse Official Website |
Players Mentioned
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