Army Basketball Missed Huge Opportunity When Suffering Season Sweep Against Navy

Army is facing an uphill battle in the Patriot League after getting swept by Navy in the season series.

Army's Kendall Hailey / Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Army saw their three-game winning streak come to an end on Feb. 15 when they lost to Navy.

It was the second time they were defeated by their archrivals this season, something that is surprising when looking at how the Black Knights and Midshipmen have performed against virtually every other team in the Patriot League

For Army, the sting of losing this rivalry game hurt extra based on additional circumstances.

Had the Black Knights won that game, they would have entered their contest against American University on Tuesday with an opportunity to grab a share of first place in the conference with a win.

Now, sitting two games back, they'll need to win this game and get some help along the way.

Army has performed shockingly bad against Navy this season.

The Black Knights are averaging 75.1 points per contest, shooting 45.3% from the field and 33.2% from deep against their opponents.

That has not been the case against the Midshipmen.

In their two matchups this year, Army has been held to 53.5 points per game on 34.2% shooting from the field and 25.4% from 3-point range.

They were blown out at home on Jan. 26, and with a chance to get some revenge over the weekend, they could not take advantage of a Navy team that has been streaky throughout the season and is susceptible to losing at any given moment.

Army is 9-3 against everyone else in the Patriot League, but 0-2 against their rivals.

On the flip side, Navy is 5-7 against their conference foes, but won both of these matchups.

Not only is being swept in the season series a tough pill to swallow for the Black Knights, but their most recent defeat could also be a reason why they don't win the Patriot League to give themselves the best pathway possible to win the conference tournament to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

There's still time and games remaining for Army to make a late push.

But now their contest against American on Feb. 19 is a must win if they're going to have any shot at winning the regular season title.

Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET and will be broadcasted on ESPN+.

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