History:
Colgate has romped through this conference, winning the last four titles by 66 points. Additionally, the Raiders have reached the title game for seven straight seasons. Unfortunately, their conference dominance hasn’t resulted in an NCAA Tournament win. The last Patriot League team to win a main bracket game was Lehigh in 2012, where they knocked off Duke in a 15-vs-2 contest.
Army and Loyola Maryland have never won the conference tournament. While Loyola has reached the NCAA Tournament twice (while playing for a different league), Army has zero NCAA Tournament appearances.
Returning Champion:
Colgate reached the NCAA Tournament as a #15 seed, succumbing to Baylor by 25.
Format:
All ten squads make the field, with the top six squads receiving a first-round bye.
Contenders:
Bucknell and American compiled the best seasons, with Bucknell making a late surge (6 straight wins) to take the #1 seed. Four teams (Boston University, Army, Colgate, Navy) went 10-8 in conference play, giving this tournament the most wide-open look in many years.
The widest average margin of victory is 1.0 (Bucknell) while the widest average margin of defeat is 2.3 (Holy Cross).
Sleeper:
Navy defeated American on the road late in the season, perhaps boosting their confidence heading into the conference tournament.
How it should play out:
The Patriot League was one of the easiest leagues to handicap in recent seasons, but that isn’t the case in 2025. Would it shock me if Colgate continued dominating, despite a down season? Nope. Matt Langel has coached them to four straight conference championships and it is hard to ignore that pedigree.
However, I won’t go in that direction. Army is the sentimental favorite, but they fell apart late.
Winner:
This one is tough. I will pick Navy, as they boast the league’s best scorer (Austin Benigni) and rebounder (Aidan Kehoe).