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Colgate Basketball: Revival of Raiders program and the future ahead

By Shea Irish

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 20: Jeff Woodward #55 of the Colgate Raiders slaps hands with teammate Jack Ferguson #13 during the first half against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome on November 20, 2021 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images)
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 20: Jeff Woodward #55 of the Colgate Raiders slaps hands with teammate Jack Ferguson #13 during the first half against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome on November 20, 2021 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Jordan Burns Colgate Raiders (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Jordan Burns Colgate Raiders (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Colgate Basketball’s NCAA Tournament history

Colgate is 0-5 in the school’s NCAA Tournament history, but don’t expect them to stay winless for long. Just ask Rick Barnes, Eric Musselman, or Greg Gard how much of a nightmare it is to see Colgate’s name revealed as a first-round opponent on Selection Sunday. The Raiders have had their fair share of recent opportunities to pull off the elusive first-round upset.

In 2019, after ending a 23-year tournament drought, Colgate gave 2 seed Tennessee all they could handle. Headed into the halftime break trailing by 12, they stormed back to take a 52-50 lead with under 11 minutes left. They were within one possession at the 1:45 mark before the Volunteers pulled away for a 77-70 victory.

Then in 2021, they drew a 14-3 matchup against Arkansas. Colgate had Razorback fans in a frenzy after starting the game with a 33-19 lead by the under four-minute TV timeout. Once again, they would have a lead with less than 11 minutes left, this time 54-50, but Arkansas would be too much down the stretch.

Finally, in this year’s NCAA Tournament, they drew a 14 seed for the second year in a row and would have the opportunity of facing Wisconsin. In a “neutral site” game at the Milwaukee Bucks Fiserv Forum, which is just 80 miles from the Wisconsin campus, Colgate had the 17,500 Badgers fans on the edge of their seats for much of the contest. Jumping out to a 9-2 start, they would lead for much of the first half. Oddly familiar, they would have another 52-50 lead, this time with just 8:30 left in regulation. Eventually, foul trouble and the play of Big Ten star Johnny Davis would lead Wisconsin to a 67-60 win.

In all three tournament matchups, the Raiders have dominated from beyond the 3-point line. They shot 51.7% against Tennessee, 44.4% against Arkansas, and 45.5% in the contest with Wisconsin. As we have seen year in and year out, any hot three-point shooting team has the ability to pull off a huge upset in the NCAA Tournament. Going forward, if Colgate can limit the turnovers ( they’ve averaged nearly 16 per game in the 3 contests), but continue to shoot at that scorching rate, their first ever tournament win will be inevitable.