2023-24 Patriot League Previews: Colgate Raiders

2022-23 Regular Season Result: 26-9 (17-1) 1^st in Patriot League

2023 Patriot League Tournament Result: Won Championship over Lafayette  

Coach: Matt Langel (13th season)

Key Departures: Tucker Richardson (Guard), Oliver Lynch-Daniels (Guard)

Key Additions: Jalen Cox (Guard), Kyle Carlesimo (Guard), Parker Jones (Guard)

For the fifth season in a row, Colgate won either the Patriot League regular season or Patriot League Tournament title. Last season the Raiders double-dipped on both titles just like in the 2021-22 and 2018-19 seasons. It was their most dominant campaign yet as they went 17-1 in the regular season and won all three of their home conference tournament games by a margin of 17 points or more. This league has run through Hamilton New York for the past half-decade and will continue to do so until somebody knocks them off in March, presumably on Cotterell Court.

Last season they ranked second in the nation in both effective field goal percentage and field goal percentage (both behind Gonzaga). The Raiders made an astonishing 51% of the shots they took. From three-point range, they led all 363 division one teams making 40.34% from behind the arc. Colgate is also second in the country in assist to turnover ratio. Simply put Colgate last season had arguably the best offense in all of college basketball.

What made them so effective? It was the inside-out style at which they played, recruiting the right personnel for their system, not turning the ball over, and having an array of quality shooters who do not allow defenses to hone in on just one or two players.

That was last year. For this year Colgate did lose two key pieces in reigning Patriot League player of the year Tucker Richardson and Oliver Lynch-Daniels, but still returns a ton of talent and experience. In my conversation with Matt Langel, he told me that his mindset is he views each season as its own entity. I think that mentality has probably contributed to the number of nets cut down and trophies acquired in upstate New York. However, at this point looking at Colgate just on a year-to-year basis for coverage does exclude some context because naturally when you are winning you are going to be able to attract and retain better talent which makes an upward cycle of success more easily attainable than if you start with no prior success. That is not to say that Langel has always had it cushy. He inherited a seven-win program when he took over. I view the job he has done as similar to what Porter Moser did at Loyola Chicago. Moser took over a struggling program and had an athletic director who was patient and stood by him even when the first six years were not tremendously successful, but then Loyola Chicago broke onto the scene and started winning the Missouri Valley year after year and became a team nobody wanted to draw on Selection Sunday. Similarly, Matt Langel did not have a winning overall record until year seven, but after making a CBI trip that season, he has not looked back winning the Patriot regular season and/or tournament every year since.

This season the Raiders will be without Tucker Richardson who graduated. He won the league’s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards. Richardson led the conference in assists and steals. Oliver Lynch-Daniels led the Patriot in three-point percentage and spaced the floor even more for Colgate because with him on the floor the defender who was guarding him had to always stay close by.

Colgate does still have an array of talent. Big men Keegen Records (First Team All-Patriot) and Jeff Woodward are both returning. 5th-year player Ryan Moffat is also back, and Patriot League all-rookie team member Braedan Smith returns. Those four will create problems for the other nine schools. Smith is the type of player that Langel told me could average 20 points and eight assists, but because of how many weapons their offense had he had 11.6 points per game and about four and a half assists per game. He had more assists than any freshman in the country. I think he will have an even larger role in his second year in Hamilton. Moffat has played a key role for Colgate. At 45% from three, he stretches the floor but is also efficient inside. The two big men Keegan Records and Jeff Woodward have been fantastic on a team that has been comprised of flashy wings and guards. Records was fifth in the nation in field goal percentage for individual players at 67.47%. I think he will be extraordinarily efficient again and could find himself contending for Player of the Year. He was also instrumental in Colgate’s rebounding grabbing six per game. Jeff Woodward has been the unsung hero of this dynasty. He comes off the bench and plays less than half the game minutes-wise, but he is the type of player that if you put him on any of the other nine teams, he would in most cases be the first or second-best player. He is a center who is great at passing and can suck a defense in and then either find an open teammate with great precision or go make a move to score for himself.

Matt Langel told me that he likely will start playing Records and Woodward together more this season. I think that will make for a super fun product to watch. In a league with an abundance of big man talent such as Rogers at American, Peterson at Army, Vander Baan at Lafayette, and Dike at Loyola we could see some incredible center matchups when these teams face Colgate and each other.

The other pieces for Colgate are less well known simply because the top guys play such heavy minutes in this program. Sam Thompson has been called upon at times before. In his fourth year, I expect him to see the court a little more than previously. Chandler Baker will probably also have a bigger role since Colgate likes to have sometimes upwards of four guys on the floor that are 40% three-point shooting threats. Guard Nicolas Louis-Jacques could also have an increased contribution.

This team is really strong. In a league that has seen an incredible amount of turnover, I don’t see any reason aside from injuries why Colgate doesn’t steamroll through the league again en route to another regular season crown.

I expect Colgate to finish 1^st

I’ve put a lot of effort into these previews. Many hours were spent researching, interviewing, and writing in depth previews for all ten of the Patriot League men’s basketball teams. I enjoy covering the conference and my goal is to provide the best national coverage of Patriot League Men’s Basketball. If you enjoyed the coverage and would like to support my work my PayPal username is @HappeningHoops while obviously not expected any and all donations are always welcomed. Thank you!

All Team Previews

1. Colgate
2. Lehigh
3. American
4. Loyola
5. Lafayette
6. Holy Cross
7. Navy
8. Bucknell
9. Boston
10. Army