For better or worse, college basketball looks a lot different than it did when C.J. McCollum led 15th-seeded Lehigh to one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history against second-seeded Duke in the 2012 tourney.
The allowance of NIL, seemingly unlimited free transfers and the explosion of entries into the transfer portal each offseason makes roster turnover almost invisible as many teams look unrecognizable from year to year. Longtime Lehigh coach Brett Reed, who led the Mountain Hawks to their improbable upset 14 years ago, continues to assemble rosters that are the outlier in that trend in the modern-era of college basketball.
Reed believes in that process and knows that it’s a big reason why his team is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since Lehigh’s 75-70 win over the Blue Devils more than a decade ago.
“At Lehigh University, we really value development. Our kids grow within our program. They come in year after year, they grow in their responsibilities, their leadership, and because we’ve been able to have that type retention that is anchored around one of the top academic schools in the country, it’s allowed us to have continuity,” Reed said. “Continuity builds success, and familiarity, and chemistry, and those are the things that we’ll be looking for in this postseason play.
“In some ways, it can be an advantage, but we’re already in March. So, whatever team that was formulated, even if they have a bunch of new faces, they’re going to have played a lot together,” Reed said. “I think there’s something about being battle tested together. I think there’s something about understanding roles, accepting roles and being appreciated for their roles, which we kind of have in our program because we develop players and they get better.
“But when it comes to it, who knows? That’s why they call it March Madness. Anything can happen.”
Lehigh (18-16) will be hoping to provide another stunner and found out its path to do so during the team’s selection show watch party at Lehigh’s Clayton University Center on Sunday night. The Patriot League Tournament champions will face Prairie View A&M in Dayton, Ohio at 6:40 p.m. on Wednesday with the winner playing No. 1 Florida in Tampa, Florida on Friday.
“I have tremendous pride. For us to be able to represent Lehigh University in the national tournament is absolutely awesome,” Reed said. “To be able to do it with these young men and these coaches is phenomenal, because they’ve been wonderful people to be around, and it’s a joy to come and get better every single day.”
The best thing the Mountain Hawks could do ahead of another NCAA Tournament is hone in on what made the upset from more than a decade ago possible. Upon taking a deeper look at this year’s squad, there’s several similarities that are worth considering before filling out your bracket.
The Lehigh men’s basketball team huddles up Sunday after learning their opponent for the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Lehigh will play Prairie View A&M on Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio. (Derek Bast/Special to the Morning Call)
“There is a lot of chemistry. These guys have deep relationships that are bonded on real things, and anytime you have that type of interpersonal connectedness, it can make a major difference for them,” Reed said. “The faces are different, but the mission’s still the same, and I think the pride of Lehigh University, and the pride of what we do, and even some of the championship DNA of togetherness, sacrifice and unselfishness, is still there.”
It all starts with the star of the show. It’d be difficult to replicate McCollum’s performance against the Blue Devils, but junior guard Nasir Whitlock is made for the moment, which was never more apparent than his viral half-court buzzer-beater to knock off Holy Cross in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament.
That shot is just a glimmer of what Whitlock has done in big moments this year for the Mountain Hawks.
From a game-tying 3-pointer with 11 seconds left against UC Santa Barbara to his heroic heave against Holy Cross, Whitlock has delivered a go-ahead or game-tying shot eight times in the final 30 seconds, including twice in an overtime win over Colgate in late January. Whitlock’s efficiency in late-game moments, as well as his killer mentality in the middle of them, make him one of the last players a team will want to see in the kind of do-or-die scenarios that define what makes March Madness so great.
“It’s just a great experience sharing the floor with him. From freshman year, sophomore year and now our junior year together, it’s just been a fun time being on the same floor as him,” Joshua Ingram said. “It’s no surprise why he’s been so good. If I have the ball or a teammate has the ball, we’ll give him the ball for the last second shot. We have that much faith in him.”
But, it’s not just clutch shots in crunch time that make Whitlock a contender for the next unforgettable March Madness star. The Plymouth, Minnesota native is averaging the most points per game (21.0) for the Mountain Hawks since McCollum in 2012 and is doing so on better percentages. Whitlock features shooting splits of 47/45/79 as opposed to McCollum’s 44/34/81 and is the seventh leading scorer in the NCAA Tournament field.
Lehigh head coach Brett Reed talks to his team during the NCAA Basketball Tournament selection show on Sunday night. The Mountain Hawks, who won the Patriot League to qualify for the tournament, will play Prairie View A&M on Wednesday in Dayton. (Derek Bast/Special to the Morning Call)
“It’s certainly a tremendous compliment that Nasir Whitlock’s name would be mentioned in the same sentence as C.J. McCollum, but he’s earned that. He’s been an excellent player for us. He’s somebody who scores the basketball extraordinarily well, and always has been able to, but he’s added so much to his game. And that’s one thing about C.J., throughout the course of his career, he was coachable and very hardworking. He was focused on what he needed to do,” Reed said. “I see some of those same characteristics in Nasir, because he’s added elements to his game every single year. He’s improved, he’s gotten better, and he’s really embraced coaching, and that’s what’s made him such a credible leader, and somebody that we can turn to and trust so much.”
Beyond the similarities between McCollum and Whitlock, Reed has put together a similar, more traditional roster that mirrors his team in 2012. B.J. Bailey was the only incoming transfer 14 years ago and this year’s squad also features just one transfer in starting guard Jalen Vazquez. Even Vazquez isn’t your typical transfer in the modern era.
The junior came to Lehigh from a community college in California and maintains the Mountain Hawks as the only team in the 68-team field without a transfer from a Division I program. That statistic feels impossible in the current state of college basketball and provides yet another reason why Whitlock and his team can do something special.
“It feels like a family for sure, you know? It happens by God,” Whitlock said. “Winning without transfers is hard, but it just shows the type of connection that we have.”
Confidence is only continuing to build for the experienced, battle-tested team which enters the tournament on a six-game winning streak and with a 14-5 record following a 4-11 start that hit its lowest point in a 72-65 loss to Bucknell where the Mountain Hawks blew a 13-point lead.
If it weren’t for such a slow start that included an 87-82 loss to fellow 16-seed Long Island, Lehigh would likely have a more favorable draw, but Whitlock and his team wouldn’t have it any other way.
That’s what could make them so dangerous.
“We were decimated by injuries in particular positions, and we had to do a lot of passport stuff with our lineups, but as we got healthier we got hot. If it weren’t for some of the struggles that we had earlier with injuries, we might be talking about a much higher seed,” Reed said. “I think we’re a dangerous team. I think we’re a very good team. And I believe that we have the opportunity to be hot and continue our momentum.”
There’s even more similarities between the two teams, from pushing top teams on the road during the regular season to experienced starting lineups who have built chemistry for years.
But, there’s one more significant constant that could mean even more than an experienced team with a sensational star player. A head coach who has not only been to the NCAA Tournament before but has been in those intense moments that so often get in the way of potential Cinderella stories.
Reed knows from experience what buttons to press, when to press them, and most importantly, what to say to his players if and/or when the tension and excitement begins to rise with a juggernaut on the ropes.
The Lehigh men’s basketball team celebrates its win over No. 4 seed Boston University 74-60 on Wednesday night, March 11, 2026, to win the Patriot League Tournament and clinch its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2012. (Courtesy Lehigh Sports Communications)
This experience, this team, and all of its growth throughout the season are making it feel like 2012 again on the campus of one of the greatest upsets in the history of March Madness.
Only time will tell if the Mountain Hawks can do it again.
“What matters most is the guys who are in the locker room, on the bench, and on the court,” Reed said. “Do they believe that they have the opportunity to win? And if they do, it’s amazing what the body will do when the mind believes something.”
Derek Bast is a freelance reporter who can be found on Twitter/X at @derek_bast or reached by email at derekbast11@gmail.com.