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USATSI

The Patriot League conference tournament tips off Tuesday, March 4 with 10 teams vying for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. According to Jerry Palm's latest bracketology update on CBS Sports, Bucknell is the lone Patriot League representative as a No. 16 seed, meaning this is a one-bid league. The Bison finished tied with American in conference play at 13-5, but won the league's tiebreaker to hold the No. 1 seed in this conference tournament. Here's a look at how the bracket sets up, with the semifinals and final airing on CBS Sports Network.

Patriot League Conference Tournament Schedule

First Round

No. 7 Lafayette vs. No. 10 Holy Cross
No. 8 Loyola Maryland vs. No. 9 Lehigh

Quarterfinals

QF1 - No. 1 Bucknell vs. No. 8 Loyola Maryland/No. 9 Lehigh
QF2 - No. 2 American vs. No. 7 Lafayette/No. 10 Holy Cross
QF3 - No. 3 Colgate vs. No. 6 Army
QF4 - No. 4 Boston vs. No. 5 Navy

Semifinals

SF1 - Winner of QF1 vs. Winner of QF4 - CBS Sports Network
SF2 - Winner of QF2 vs. Winner of QF3 - CBS Sports Network

Final

Winner of SF1 vs. Winner of SF2 - CBS Sports Network

Latvian center Noah Williamson anchors Bucknell with 17.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, but guard Josh Bascoe is heating up at the right time for the Bison. He's averaging 21.7 points per game over the last three games, shooting 52% from the field and 55.6% from 3-point range. If Bascoe can keep up this pace and take some of the pressure off Williamson, Bucknell will be tough to slow down. The Bison are +110 favorites at FanDuel to win the conference tournament.

American is tied for the best scoring defense in the league, and is second in opponent 3-point percentage allowed. The Eagles will rely heavily on Matt Rogers for offense but they are second-to-last in the league in points per game. They are priced at +270 to win the conference tournament. Colgate, the four-time defending champion in this tournament, went 10-8 in Patriot League action but just 13-18 overall. The Raiders did beat Bucknell this season, but it looks like they are priced at +370 due to their reputation in this bracket instead of their current form. Colgate has been to seven consecutive Patriot League conference tournament championship games. 

Army (+3000), who split two meetings with Colgate in the regular season, is an intriguing longshot pick. The Black Knights are essentially tied with Bucknell at the top of the league in points per game and commit the least turnovers per game. Jalen Rucker and Josh Scovens are two of the top five scorers in the conference, although Scovens hasn't played the last three games. Army split its two season meetings with both Bucknell and American. Navy (+2300) features the league's top scorer in Austin Benigni and has won its last three games heading into the conference tournament. The Midshipmen didn't beat Bucknell in the regular season but went 2-0 against American. They split two meetings against Boston (+1700), who they will face in the quarterfinal round. The Terriers have a similar profile to American, ranking last in the league in scoring offense but first in points allowed per game.

SportsLine expert Thomas Casale is backing American to win the tournament, as he thinks the Eagles match up well with Bucknell. But which teams are the experts backing in all the other conference tournaments? You can get the best bets for every conference tournament at SportsLine. You can also find the SportsLine Projection Model's simulations for every game.