Bucknell Bison Heavily Favored

Where: Quarterfinals and semifinals, Lewisburg, Pa., and Worcester, Mass. Final at higher seed.

Favorite: Bucknell. Despite two other strong contenders in the field, it would be a monstrous surprise if the Bison didn't win the tournament title for the second consecutive year. Consider: They were the first Patriot team to earn a national ranking and the first Patriot team to go undefeated in league play; they have won 24 straight against league opponents at home, where they would play all of their tournament games; only four league games were decided by fewer than 10 points; their only losses came on the road against No. 1 Duke, No. 4 Villanova, Santa Clara and nationally regarded Northern Iowa in two overtimes.

Dark Horse: Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks missed an opportunity to clinch the No. 2 seed -- and home-court advantage in the first two rounds -- by losing at Holy Cross last weekend. But if the 2004 champions can avenge that defeat in a likely semifinal meeting in Worcester, they could give Bucknell a hard time in the final after losing to the Bison by a respectable 16 combined points in two regular season meetings.

Local Angle: Without a senior in its regular rotation, American has proven it has a bright future. As for the present, the Eagles should be able to handle Lafayette for a third straight time before having to face Bucknell, which beat them by eight in Washington and 17 in Lewisburg. Navy, loser of four straight and 12 of 16, probably won't pose much threat to Holy Cross unless sophomore guard Greg Sprink (60 three-pointers, 86 percent free throw shooting) can find his shooting touch.

-- Steven Goff

Schedule

Quarterfinals, Friday: At Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa. -- No. 4 American (11-16) vs. No. 5 Lafayette (11-16), 5:30, and No. 1 Bucknell (23-4) vs. No. 8 Army (5-21), 8; at Hart Center, Worcester, Mass. -- No. 3 Lehigh (18-11) vs. No. 6 Colgate (10-18), 5:30, and No. 2 Holy Cross (18-11) vs. No. 7 Navy (10-17), 8.

Semifinals, Sunday: AU-Lafayette winner vs. Bucknell-Army winner, 1, in Lewisburg; Lehigh-Colgate winner vs. Holy Cross-Navy winner, 1, in Worcester.

Final, March 10: Semifinal winners, 4:30 (ESPN2).