The NCAA Tournament, where a team that stood 2-11 against Division-I teams on January 7th can go dancing.
Lehigh was 0-2 in Patriot League play with a home loss to eventual last-place Army at the time. Its only DI wins were against 5-24 Saint Francis and an overtime win against Texas State.
Since then, the Mountain Hawks have gone 14-5, and capped off a massive turnaround with a 74-60 win against Boston University in the Patriot title game.
So what changed? Lehigh was without key starter Edouard Benoit for seven of their losses, and his return at the 4-spot made a big difference. But most importantly, the team figured out its pecking order - playing through star point guard and big man duo Nasir Whitlock and Hank Alvey. Since Lehigh's surge on Jan. 7 began, its KenPom Game MVP share is as follows:
- Alvey, 7 times
- Whitlock, 6 times
- Benoit, 1 time
It also did not hurt that one of the worst two-way rebounding margin teams in the country played in a league with the second-lowest offensive rebounding rate as a whole. Lehigh is 11-4 when teams grab less than 29% of their misses against them, and 5-12 when opponents grab more. The Patriot on average grabs 27% of offensive rebounding opportunities.
Lehigh plays its first NCAA Tournament game since the famous CJ McCollum team that upset Duke in the Round of 64 in 2012, and given it will likely begin its journey in Dayton at the First Four, the rebounding prowess of its opponent may be the biggest factor.
Luck Strikes Twice for Lehigh
You can't talk about Lehigh's inclusion in the Field of 68 without mentioning that two lucky, unlikely events occured in order for them to make it there.
First, was perhaps the best shot we'll see during the entirety of college basketball's postseason play. Tied at 66 against 5-13 Holy Cross in the Patriot quarterfinals and inbounding the ball at three-quarter court, Whitlock absolutely nailed a 50-footer at the buzzer to send Lehigh to the next round.
NASIR WHITLOCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#GoLehigh #SCTop10 #PLTop3 pic.twitter.com/ynDgsn36zX
— Lehigh Men’s Basketball (@LehighMBB) March 6, 2026
Then, as Lehigh was in the midst of an impressive semifinal win against Colgate, its eventual finals opponent Boston University was in the process of perhaps the first week of conference tournament play's most surprising upset, taking down 17-1, and extremely heavy favorite Navy.
Of course, no luck or fortune was needed in the finals, with Lehigh leading nearly wire-to-wire on its home floor to secure the bid.
But it's reasonable to suggest whether Lehigh would have been in that position had Whitlock's prayer not been answered in the quarters, and had the finals been played at Navy rather than at home against Boston University.
Defensive Shot Profile
Though Lehigh's struggles on the boards have been highlighted, the Mountain Hawks are actually a better defensive team than on the offensive end.
That is largely because of the team's defensive shot profile. They do a spectacular job of denying threes, allowing just 70% of opponents' shots from beyond the arc. Only five teams in the entire country allow fewer.
Despite being a below average rim protection squad, the Mountain Hawks are a very good rim defense, largely because their drop coverage with a big presence in Alvey allows opponents into longer attempts in the paint, ranking 53rd in average 2-point distance allowed.
Elite offenses will be able to manipulate the lack of on-ball pressure that Lehigh's drop gives and find good looks. But offenses that struggle with shot selection will likely be baited into the poor mid-range attempts off the dribble that the Mountain Hawks hope to allow.
In a likely play-in contest against a fellow 16-seed, a matchup with a team with an inferior shot profile that cannot full expose them on the glass is how Lehigh plays its way into the main bracket.
Similar NCAA Tournament efficiency profiles
Tournament Index evaluation
As it stands, Lehigh is a projected No. 16 seed by our bracketology at Basket Under Review and on the Bracket Matrix.
Should that be the case, the Tournament Index rates the Mountain Hawks as second-weakest No. 16 seed (48th-strongest power rating out of 49 teams) compared to the last 12 NCAA Tournament fields. If the Mountain Hawks land above that projected seed, they would be the weakest No. 15 seed compared to the last 12 fields. The TI projects an average of 0.04 wins (excluding First Four) for Lehigh given its projected seed (No. 16) and strength.