Last season, the Lehigh men’s basketball team came four points short of securing a Patriot League title and clinching a NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2012. Its late-season success may have been a result of the high-major teams Lehigh battled in the beginning of the year.
During the non-conference portion of their schedule, the Mountains Hawks ranked second in the entire country in RPI, which measures strength of schedule, as they tested themselves with competition like Final Four qualifier Syracuse University, No. 12 University of Virginia, Purdue University and other top-tier schools. Coach Brett Reed has never shied away from scheduling top tier schools.
“The advantage of playing against tough competition is it exposes your weaknesses,” Reed said. “It’s our choice if we want to get better, or do we continue to find ways to take shortcuts, which you can’t do against good teams. Our internal benchmark is to play the highest level of Lehigh basketball that we can.”
Lehigh will continue its recent trend of scheduling as the Mountain Hawks will christen their 2016-17 campaign with a matchup No. 7 Xavier University on Friday. Along with Xavier, here are some key games to watch for non-conference:
Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. on 
Fox Sports College
Xavier will be Lehigh’s highest ranked regular season opponent since 2005. Fresh off a 28-6 season (14-4 Big East), the Musketeers have high expectations after finishing last year ranked top 10 in the country. Led by junior wing Trevon Bluiett and sophomore guard Edmond Sumner, Xavier could pose a difficult matchup for an undersized Lehigh team in the backcourt. Sumner is not a traditional point guard as he stands at 6-foot-6 compared to Lehigh junior point guard Kahron Ross, who stands at 5-foot-11. Junior Austin Price is no stranger to Bluiett or Sumner as he knows both players.
“I’m super excited, Bluiett is from Indianapolis so I grew up with him, and (Sumner), we played together in high school,” Price said. “I’ve worked out with Bluiett over the summer a few times, and I’ve met up with (Sumner) a couple times to play 4-on-4 games.”
The Musketeers graduated two big men in Jalen Reynolds and James Farr, so their inexperienced frontcourt could play to the Mountain Hawks’ advantage with two-time Patriot League Player of the Year Tim Kempton playing center.
N
ov. 17 at 7 p.m. on Ivy League Digital Network
Following Xavier, the Mountain Hawks’ road doesn’t get any easier as they’ll travel to Yale University. Yale became March Madness’ Cinderella team last spring when the Bulldogs upset Baylor University in the NCAA Tournament. The reigning Ivy League champions nearly pulled another upset against the powerhouse Duke University before the Blue Devils held Yale off to survive and advance. Yale came to Stabler Arena last fall and pulled away late in the game to capture a 79-67 victory over Lehigh.
Despite losing senior big men Justin Sears and Brandon Sherrod, Yale hoped to return star point guard Makai Mason. But Mason, who notched 12 points in the win over Lehigh and 31 points in the Bulldogs’ first round tournament game last year, suffered a broken foot in the team’s first scrimmage and will miss the rest of the season. Mason led the team in scoring and assists last year.
Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. on Patriot League Network
Princeton is arguably Lehigh’s toughest opponent after Xavier. The Tigers received two votes for the Associated Press top 25 and were tabbed as the favorites to win the Ivy League this season. They’re also ranked No. 36 by KenPom.com above high-major schools like Florida State University, UConn, and University of Maryland.
The team returns three All-Ivy League selections in seniors Henry Caruso, Spencer Weisz and Steven Cook. Caruso returns as the leading scorer from last year, averaging 15.0 points per game to go along 6.2 rebounds per game. The experience will likely bode well for the Tigers as they only lost two Ivy League games last year.
Nov. 25 at 8 p.m. on SEC Network
Lehigh will spend its Thanksgiving break down south prepping for an SEC opponent in Mississippi State University. Despite a 14-17 mark last season, the Bulldogs are led by former UCLA coach Ben Howland. Howland, who had three straight Final Four appearances with UCLA, lured the ninth-best recruiting class in the country according to 247Sports.com.
All-SEC second team honoree Quinndary Weatherspoon returns as the team’s leading scorer last season. I.J. Ready is the only senior player with a scholarship on the roster, so inexperience tends to be a recurring theme with Lehigh’s toughest opponents.
“We have a chance to win every single non-conference game,” Kempton said. “They’re all going to be a challenge, but we have enough talent on this team to beat anyone in the country.”
Lehigh will look to avenge losses from last year against Saint Francis University, Stony Brook University and Robert Morris University. The Mountain Hawks will also travel to Arkansas State for Ross’ homecoming game.
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