Raiders opened CBI at San Francisco Wednesday
Colgate makes first national postseason appearance in 22 years
Colgate made its first national postseason tournament appearance in 22 years as the Raiders took on San Francisco out of the West Coast Conference Wednesday in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational at San Francisco’s War Memorial Gym.
Historic season
The Raiders have accomplished several key feats this season including:
- Program-record 19 wins
- First national postseason appearance since a pair of NCAA Tournament showings in 1995 and 1996
- 13 home wins ties program record and marks the most in 91 years (1926-27)
- First Patriot League Championship game appearance since 2008
- 17 regular-season wins and 12 Patriot League wins both tie program records
- First overall winning season since 2007-08
How they got here
The Raiders are making their first national postseason tournament appearance in 22 years thanks to a record-setting 2017-18 campaign. Colgate is 19-13 overall heading into the opening round of the CBI Wednesday. The 19 wins marks a program record and bests the previous record of 18 that was set by the 2007-08 and 1992-93 teams. Colgate finished Patriot League play at 12-6 to earn the No. 2 seed in the league tournament, marking the team’s highest league finish since 2014-15. The Raiders took down Lafayette (76-54) in the Patriot League Quarterfinals before defeating Holy Cross (62-55) in the Semifinals to advance to their first Patriot League Championship game since the 2007-08 season. Top-seeded Bucknell earned an 83-54 victory in the championship game to secure its second-straight league title. Sophomore Will Rayman led the Raiders through the three postseason games to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team. He averaged 18.3 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in the Patriot League Tournament.
Scouting the Dons
San Francisco carries an 18-15 overall record into Wednesday’s matchup. The Dons earned the No. 4 seed in the West Coast Conference Tournament with a 9-9 conference mark. San Francisco took down fifth-seeded Pacific in the WCC Tournament quarterfinals before falling to top-seeded Gonzaga in the semifinals. Four Dons finished the season averaging double-digit points, led by first team All-WCC selection Frankie Ferrari’s 11.4 points per contest. Colgate and San Francisco have met twice before, but not since the 1993-94 season.
Against the WCC
Colgate is 1-5 all-time against current members of the West Coast Conference. The Raiders lone win against a WCC team came in the form of an 82-77 victory over Saint Mary’s during the 1997-98 season. Colgate’s history against current WCC members is listed below:
Loyola Marymount – 0-2 – 2003-04, 2004-05
San Francisco – 0-2 – 1981-82, 1993-94
Santa Clara – 0-1 – 2006-07
Saint Mary’s – 1-0 – 1997-98
The Patriot League
The Patriot League is in its third decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.