2025 Patriot League Conference Tournament

We’re entering some uncharted waters with the 2025 Patriot League conference tournament. The Colgate Raiders have won four consecutive Patriot League tournaments — and five of the last six — but Matt Langel’s squad isn’t the betting favorite to make it five in a row. That distinction belongs to the Bucknell Bison, who are 17-14 overall and 13-5 in conference play this year. Having said that, quite a few teams will feel good about their chances this year. That includes the American Eagles and Colgate, as well as the Boston University Terriers, Navy Midshipmen and Army Black Knights. And honestly, compared to most conferences, there’s more upside for some of the dark horses here than there is elsewhere. With that in mind, let’s get into a Patriot League conference tournament betting preview, which includes analysis on the favorite, one potential sleeper team and some of the players to watch. I’ll also give you my pick to win.

How to Watch the Patriot League Conference Tournament

When: March 4 – 12

 

***Top College Basketball Betting Resources***

*Join thousands of other sports bettors and unlock access to picks, public betting splits data, & the VSiN live video broadcast by upgrading to VSiN Pro. Grab your first month for less than $10.*

Where: Campus sites

Format: Seeding based on record in conference; top-six seeds get a bye in the opening round

Watch: ESPN+ and CBSSN; Championship Game on CBSSN at 8:00 pm ET on Mar. 12

College Basketball Odds | College Basketball Betting Splits | Greg Peterson’s Daily Lines | Steve Makinen’s Power Ratings

Patriot League Conference Tournament Bracket

Coming soon.

Patriot League Conference Tournament Seeds, Teams and Odds

1. Bucknell Bison (+110)
2. American Eagles (+270)
3. Colgate Raiders (+400)
4. Boston University Terriers (16-1)
5. Navy Midshipmen (16-1)
6. Army Black Knights (30-1)
7. Lafayette Leopards (50-1)
8. Loyola Greyhounds (100-1)
9. Lehigh Mountain Hawks (75-1)
10. Holy Cross Crusaders (200-1)

(Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook accurate at time of publish)

Favorite To Win Patriot League Conference Tournament

Bucknell is going to be expected to win this tournament. While the Bison and the Eagles both finished 13-5 in Patriot League play this year, Bucknell is the top seed and has the stronger statistical profile. The Bison are the top-ranked Patriot League team in our VSiN Power Ratings, and they’re also at the top of the conference in efficiency with KenPom, Bart Torvik and EvanMiya. The Bison are 62nd in the nation in 2PT% (54.4) and 64th in EFG% (53.8%). They’re also the best defensive team in the conference. On top of that, a good argument can be made that center Noah Williamson is the best player in the Patriot League. The big man averages 17.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game, and he’s a matchup nightmare for opponents. Between the team’s connectivity on defense and Williamson’s ability to take over games, it’ll take a great performance for one of these teams to knock off the Bison — especially with Bucknell playing at home all tournament.

Patriot League Conference Tournament Darkhorse

If you’re not rolling with Bucknell or the team I picked to win this tournament below, Boston University might represent the best value play. The Terriers lacked consistency throughout the course of the season, and they’re weirdly only eighth in the conference in Bart Torvik’s efficiency rankings. However, Kyrone Alexander, Miles Brewster and Michael McNair make up a strong trio in the backcourt, and this team turned in some impressive performances in conference play. Boston beat Bucknell when the Terriers hosted the Bison, and they also scored home wins over American and Colgate. So, while the Terriers would have to play those teams on the road in the tournament, they’ll at least do so knowing that they’re capable of winning. Boston’s road loss to American also happened to be a four-point loss, so it’s not like the team didn’t hang around. Luckily for the Terriers, two of those teams are on the same side of the bracket. Boston only needs to worry about Bucknell. The problem there is that the Bison dominated the Terriers during the regular season. That’s ultimately why I’d lay off, and there might not be a true “darkhorse” in this conference.

Players to Watch in Patriot League Conference Tournament

I mentioned it in the tournament favorite section, but Bucknell’s Williamson might be the best player in this conference. His traditional numbers are excellent, but he’s also fourth in the conference in Bart Torvik’s BPM and fifth in EvanMiya’s BPR. He’s an awesome two-way contributor with a diverse skill set and an extremely high basketball IQ.

Matt Rogers is the go-to player for second-seeded American. The senior forward is averaging 17.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Rogers is actually ranked higher than Williamson in both of the previously mentioned metrics, and he’s first in the Patriot League in BPM. However, Williamson significantly outplayed him in their two meetings this season, making it hard to make the sweeping statement that Rogers is the better player. But Rogers is a highly efficient scorer that can really shoot the 3-ball (40.9% on 4.4 attempts per game). American will be hoping to ride him all tournament.

For Colgate, it’s Jeff Woodward that stirs the drink. The big man has the highest BPR in the conference this year, and he’s also third in the conference in BPM. Woodward averages 14.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game for the Raiders, and he also blocks 1.0 shots per game. If you squint really hard — and then squint even more — there’s a little Nikola Jokic to Woodward. Colgate feeds him in the post regularly. He’s good at carving out space and scoring himself, but he’s also great at finding cutters and kicking to open shooters. Woodward has been a big part of Colgate’s championship teams in the past, and he’ll now look to lead his team to one as the program’s best player.

Another player that’s right in the conversation with the three players above is Lafayette center Justin Vander Baan. The big man is second in both the BPM and BPR rankings this year, and he’s averaging 12.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.9 blocks per game. The former Boston College player is an effective low-post option, and he deletes shots at the basket on the other end of the floor. He’s a big part of the reason Lafayette is one of the best defensive teams in the Patriot League.

Two other players that are worth mentioning are Navy’s Austin Benigni and Army’s Jalen Rucker. Benigni is the conference’s leading scorer at 18.3 points per game, and Rucker is right behind him at 17.7 points per game. Both service academies will be hoping to make runs this week, and it’s not out of the question that one of them will. But it would take a scorching hot shooting week from one of those guys. Army’s a little more intriguing with Josh Scovens (16.0 points per game) being another top-five scorer in the conference.

Betting Pick to Win The Patriot League Conference Conference Tournament

While Bucknell has been the best of the bunch this year, it’s hard to suggest the Bison at +110. Bucknell didn’t exactly dominate the rest of the conference, so that’s not a good enough price for the Bison to win three games. I’d rather Colgate at +400 or so. This Raiders team isn’t nearly as good as the last four Patriot-winning Colgate squads. However, Langel knows what it takes to get the job done. He also has a few rotation pieces back from those teams. On top of that, Colgate and Bucknell are on opposite sides of the bracket, so there’s a real shot the Raiders will take on the Bison in the finals. If that happens, hedging will be an option. But you could also let the play ride at that point. Colgate won 87-80 when the team hosted Bucknell on January 20th, and the Raiders had chances to beat the Bison when they played them at Sojka Pavilion. That game was tied at 54-54 with 4:20 remaining. That shows that Colgate has what it takes to hang around — and possibly win — in Lewisburg. The Raiders are the best offensive team in the conference, according to T-Rank. That’s valuable at this time of year, as every team begins to ratchet up the intensity on defense in the postseason.

Makinen Power Ratings for Patriot League

Coming soon.

  • The quarterfinal round of the Patriot League tourney has trended Over on totals, 29-11 (72.5%) in the last 40.
  • Patriot League tourney games with totals above 139 have trended sharply Over recently, going 31-10-1 Over the total (75.6%) since 2014. Only one of the nine games from 2024 met the criteria, and it won.

More Steve Makinen Conference Tournament Betting Trends.

Check out the other previews in our 2025 College Basketball Conference Tournament Betting Guide.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR