Bucknell University Athletics
Red-Hot Bison Battle No. 7 Pittsburgh Sunday Night
12/31/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 31, 2004
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In the midst of its best out-of-conference stretch in more than a decade, Bucknell rings in the New Year on Sunday night against Pittsburgh (No. 7 USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Poll; No. 10 AP Poll). The Bison won their fifth straight game last Tuesday at St. Joseph's, knocking off the defending Atlantic 10 champs 69-62 for the Hawks' first loss at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse in two years. Sunday's game, which will be Bucknell's last outing before starting conference play against Holy Cross next weekend, is the Herd's first against a nationally-ranked opponent this season. The Panthers improved to 10-0 with a 72-68 victory over South Carolina on Wednesday. Under the direction of second-year head coach Jamie Dixon, the 2004 Big East Coach of the Year, Pittsburgh is is averaging 77.7 ppg while only yielding 56.1 ppg. The Panthers, who finished 31-5 last season and advanced to the NCAA "Sweet Sixteen," have beaten the likes of Memphis, Richmond and South Carolina thus far, although eight of their 10 contests have come at home. Among Pitt's key players is senior forward Chevon Troutman (14.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg), a native of Williamsport, Pa., which is just a 25-minute drive north of Bucknell on Rt. 15. The Panthers also rely on guard Carl Krauser (16.3 ppg, 5.5 apg) and burly forward Chris Taft (13.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg). While Pittsburgh holds an 18-8 series lead, this will be Bucknell's first trip to the three-year-old Petersen Events Center. Bucknell's last series win came in Davis Gym on Jan. 11, 1975 in a game coached by Jim Valvano. The teams have met only twice since then, with Pittsburgh winning both at home in 1979-80 (83-65) and 1997-98 (74-67).
about the bison
Bucknell is playing some of its best basketball during the Pat Flannery era as the Patriot League slate looms just around the corner. The Bison have triumphed in varying ways on its current five-game winning streak. First came late-game heroics at Yale when they erased a six-point deficit with 45 seconds to play before winning in overtime. With suffocating defense, Bucknell yielded a combined 89 points in back-to-back wins over Robert Morris and Cornell. Then came victories over two of the toughest teams on the schedule. On Dec. 22 the Orange & Blue won a classic, 76-74 over MAAC favorite Niagara on Charles Lee's last-second shot. And this past Tuesday, Bucknell went into sold-out Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse and knocked off St. Joseph's 69-62.
with a victory over pittsbugh, bucknell would ...
• ... improve to 9-4, matching its best 13-game start since 1992-93.
• ... defeat the Panthers for the first time since Jan. 11, 1975.
• ... beat its highest-ranked opponent in school history.
• ... have its first six-game winning streak, in which each game was a non-league game, since 1958-59.
• ... have its fourth straight road win and improve to 4-2 on the road this season.
a tough test
Bucknell has played a challenging non-conference schedule against the likes of Iowa State, St. Joseph's, Niagara, Princeton and Penn, but Sunday's game at seventh-ranked Pittsburgh will likely be the toughest test thus far. The Panthers are defending Big East regular season champions and have won 25 straight regular season non-conference games (48 straight at home) and 19 of their last 22 overall. Pittsburgh is 43-2 all-time at Petersen Events Center.
streaking
Bucknell's current five-game winning streak matches the third-longest streak in Pat Flannery's 11-year tenure as head coach. The longest run under Flannery's watch was an eight-game streak in 1995-96. Longest Bucknell Winning Streaks Under Pat Flannery (Since 1994-95):
8 1/13/96 - 2/7/96
7 1/30/04 - 2/22/04
5 1/11/97 - 1/25/97
5 1/9/99 - 1/23/99
5 1/31/99 - 2/17/99
5 1/15/00 - 1/26/00
5 2/9/00 - 2/23/00
5 12/4/04 - pres.
road warriors
In winning its last three road contests, Bucknell has already surpassed its road victory total from all of last season. The Bison were 2-11 on enemy hardwood a year ago, but now stand 3-2 in 2004-05. The three-game road winning streak is the team's first since the 1998-99 season, when it topped Colgate, Lehigh and Army.
poll watching
Pittsburgh is the first ranked foe the Bison have battled since meeting No. 3 Michigan State in last year's season opener in East Lansing. The Spartans are the highest-ranked team the Bison have ever faced. Bucknell nearly pulled off a stunner in that game, taking the lead inside five minutes to play before Michigan State rallied late for a 64-52 victory. Were it not for a 1-for-17 showing from the free-throw line, the Bison might have scored the upset.
last time out
On Tuesday at sold-out Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse in Philadelphia, Kevin Bettencourt scored 21 points and Charles Lee added 17 points and eight rebounds in Bucknell's 69-62 victory at St. Joseph's (boxscore). In beating the Hawks for the first time since 1979, the Bison were dead-on from long range, connecting on 10 of 15 3-point attempts, including 7 of 8 in the second half. After St. Joe's whittled an 11-point deficit to two with 7:38 to play, Bettencourt hit back-to-back treys, and John Clark and John Griffin followed with threes to spark a 14-2 run. The Bison led 69-55 in the final minute before the Hawks closed within seven with a last-ditch run.
inside the boxscore
Of the nine Bison that played in the game, all nine had at least one assist and eight of them shot at least 50% from the floor ... as a team, BU shot 63.6% from the floor and 66.7% from 3-point land ... the starting five finished 24-for-36 from the field ... Abe Badmus had a career-high eight assists ... Bucknell outrebounded St. Joseph's 29-27, despite allowing 15 offensive boards ... defensively the Bison forced 16 turnovers and held the Hawks to 37.0% shooting ... 12 of SJU's 20 field goals were 3-pointers.
the last bucknell-pittsburgh meeting
On Nov. 17, 1997 at Fitzgerald Field House, Pittsburgh native J.R. Holden scored 27 points and added seven assists for Bucknell, but the Bison couldn't hold on to a two-point halftime lead and fell 74-67. Pittsburgh, who was coached by current Holy Cross mentor Ralph Willard, got 21 points from Ricardo Greer and 20 from Vonteego Cummings. Valter Karavanic added 11 points for the Bison, who outrebounded the Panthers 40-28 but were hurt by 27 turnovers. Pittsburgh went on to finish 11-16 that season, while the Bison were 13-15.
free admission for saturday's holy cross game
Bucknell opens its Patriot League slate on Saturday against Holy Cross at Sojka Pavilion, and as part of Community Day festivities there will be no admission charge. The game will be televised live to a national audience on College Sports Television (CSTV). Tipoff is at 2 p.m.
sharpshooters
Bucknell is coming off one of its best shooting performances in school history in Tuesday's win at St. Joseph's. In hostile territory at the Hawks' jam-packed bandbox, Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, the Bison shot a sizzling 63.6% from the field (28-44) and made 10 of 15 from 3-point range. The Bison were 7-for-8 from beyond the arc in the second half, with the lone miss a desperation 30-footer as the shot clock was expiring that was credited to John Griffin's ledger.
• During their five-game winning streak, the Bison are shooting 47.1% from the field.
20-20 vision
Kevin Bettencourt has scored 21 points in each of the last two contests, marking the second time in his career that he's accomplished the feat. Last season he tallied 29 against Holy Cross and 20 against American in succession.
