WASHINGTON – After playing five games in eight days to end the regular season, American University men's basketball is back in action to open the 2021 PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Men's Basketball Championship on the road at Army Saturday afternoon.
 
QUICK INFO

• Date/Time: Saturday, March 6, 3 p.m.
• Site: West Point, N.Y. (Christl Arena)
• Series History: AU leads, 31-14
• TV: ESPN+
• Talent: Rich DeMarco (pxp)

INSIDE THE SERIES

• American has won four straight matchups in the series against Army, including a 72-62 win on Senior Day and Hall of Fame Day in Bender Arena last February.
• In games played at West Point, N.Y., the Eagles hold a slim 13-8 advantage all-time. Army has won the only two postseason games played at Christl Arena.
• The last time AU faced Army in the postseason was in 2017 when the Black Knights topped the Eagles, 74-58, in the first round. Overall, AU is 4-2 against Army in the PL Tournament. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN

• AU had an impressive showing in the Patriot League postseason awards considering how few games the Eagles got to play. Johnny O'Neil became the first Eagle to be named Rookie of the Year since 2016. Jamir Harris was named First Team All-League after a breakout campaign and Stacy Beckton Jr. was named Patriot League All-Defensive Team for the second year in a row.
• Connor Nelson was named to the Academic All-Patriot League, an honor reserved for the players in the league that best exemplify both academic and athletic success.
• AU is coming off its best offensive performance to date in an 81-68 win over Bucknell, and finally gets some time to rest after playing five games in eight days to close out the regular season. The Eagles look to continue that positive momentum into postseason play.
• From three-point line to three-point line, AU is as good as anyone in the league. The Eagles shoot 37.3 percent from beyond the arc (2nd in PL) while holding opponents to just 27.7 percent from that distance (2nd in PL).
• Although not quite as tall as some other teams in the league, AU finds a way to stop opponents at the rim, blocking 5.1 shots/game to lead the PL. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT ARMY

• Josh Caldwell was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league in steals during his junior season. He's the first Black Knight to win the award since 2009. Army prides itself on its defense, holding opponents to 69.4 ppg, good for third in the Patriot League.
• Lonnie Grayson found himself on the All-Patriot League Second Team thanks to a productive senior season, and Jalen Rucker was named to the PL All-Rookie Team.
• Army has played the most games of any Patriot League team so far this season (19). Due to their service academy status, they were able to play some non-conference games before the PL slate began in January.

PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• American joined the Patriot League starting in the 2001-02 season.
• CHAMPIONSHIPS - 2008, 2009, 2014
• FINALS - 2002, 2003, 2004, 2015
• SEMIFINALS - 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016
• AU is 24-16 in the PL Tournament, including 5-10 on the road.
• The Eagles are looking for their first tournament win since 2016.
• Mike Brennan is 6-6 in the Patriot League Tournament as head coach at American.

OTHER NOTABLES

• Jamir Harris has been exceptional scoring all season, particularly from beyond the arc. The senior has eclipsed 20 points in five of nine games this season. He leads the nation by draining 4.0 three-point FGs/game and ranks eighth in three-point percentage (45.0). In the triple-overtime win against Loyola last month, Harris played 53 minutes, which is the most for an AU player since Donald Grant also played 53 minutes against UNC-Wilmington on Jan. 20, 1992. Harris leads all of Division I by averaging 39.1 minutes/game.
• With the addition of Lorenzo Donadio (Rome, Italy) and Christian Lorng (Paris, France) to the roster this season, AU continues its legacy of international-born ballers as 11 different players from 10 different countries have now played for Coach Brennan. Most recently, Yilret Yiljep (Nigeria) and Mark Gasperini (Russia) carried the torch as international players. The legacy of international players continues all the way back to the Jeff Jones era as an international player has been an Eagle for at least 20 straight seasons.
• When play tipped off in the season-opener against Navy, the Eagles became the second-to-last NCAA D-I men's basketball program that hadn't officially opted out of competition to open its season. Loyola Maryland tipped off a few hours later at 4 p.m. and was the final program to open play. Both programs went on pause prior to the first scheduled weekend of play due to a positive COVID-19 test within its Tier 1 personnel.
• In his eighth season at AU, head coach Mike Brennan looks to make moves on the all-time wins list. He is two wins away from becoming the fifth AU skipper to reach 100 wins. Four more wins this season will put Brennan in fourth place on the all-time wins list.
• From three-point line to three-point line, AU is as good as anyone in the league. The Eagles shoot 37.3 percent from beyond the arc (2nd in PL) while holding opponents to just 27.7 percent from that distance (2nd in PL). AU has hit at least 10 three-pointers in three of its last four games and five times so far this season. At one point in Sunday's win over Bucknell (2/28), the Eagles hit eight straight shots from beyond the arc. 

POSTSEASON PLANS

• Teams in the conference are split into three mini-conferences: South (American, Loyola, Navy), Central (Bucknell, Lafayette, Lehigh) and North (Army West Point, Boston University, Colgate, Holy Cross). Teams will play multiple games within those mini-conferences with other games in the league serving as crossovers.
• As announced by the Patriot League on Thursday, Feb. 25, the tournament has expanded to once again include all programs who are able to participate.
• Each of the three mini-conference winners earns a spot into the tournament field and hosts a quarterfinal game. Those teams are seeded (one through three) by their overall League record winning percentage. Navy finished as the South champion and earned the No. 1 seed due to a 12-1 record in PL Play. Colgate finished as the No. 2 seed with an 11-1 mark as the North champion. The Central was won by Lafayette, who earned the No. 3 seed with a 9-5 record in PL play. 
• The fourth through 10^th seeds are determined by overall league winning percentages. The fourth seed will host a quarterfinal game on Saturday, March 6 and the seventh and eighth seeds will host a first-round game on Wednesday, March 3.

VIRTUALLY "PHIL BENDER" ARENA PRESENTED BY GEICO

• American University Athletics has announced a new virtual ticket campaign in an effort to sell out Bender Arena this coming basketball season. This new season-long initiative, presented by "TEAM AU" partner GEICO, will challenge Eagles fans and alumni to sell out each seat in Bender Arena for the 2020-21 basketball schedule. The "AU Founder" ticket price of $18.93 commemorates the year AU was founded. Click here to support AU Athletics by buying virtual tickets. 

HOW TO WATCH ESPN+

• A subscription to ESPN+ is available for purchase via ESPN.com, ESPNPlus.com, or the ESPN App. Fans can access ESPN+ content only after they have subscribed. To subscribe, click here. It costs $5.99/month or $59.99/year.

KEEP UP WITH US

• For the latest on American University Men's Basketball, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_MBasketball), Facebook (/AU.MBasketball) and Instagram (@au_mbasketball).