Bucknell University Athletics
No. 24 Bucknell Tries for Lucky 13th Straight Win Saturday at Northern Iowa in BracketBusters Tilt
2/17/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2006
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No. 24 Bucknell and Northern Iowa headline ESPN's "BracketBusters presented by eBay" showcase on Saturday morning in Cedar Falls. Despite the fact that more than 900 miles separate the two campuses, the Bison and Panthers have a lot in common. Bucknell and Northern Iowa both played in Oklahoma City in last year's NCAA Tournament, and they came very close to squaring off in the second round. Just prior to Bucknell's upset victory over Kansas, the Panthers dropped a close 57-52 decision to Wisconsin. The Badgers then defeated the Bison 71-62 in the round of 32. Both teams returned all five starters in 2005-06, both teams now have 21 victories and both teams recently entered the national top-25 rankings for the first time in school history. Further, both teams rely on excellent defenses. The Bison rank third nationally in scoring defense, allowing 55.0 ppg, while the Panthers are tied for 10th at 58.4 ppg. One difference between the two squads is their current streaks. While the Bison have won 12 games in a row -- their longest winning streak since 1919 -- UNI is looking to snap its first two-game losing streak of the season. The Panthers are 11-5 in the ultra-competitive Missouri Valley Conference, despite back-to-back losses to Missouri State and Indiana State. Ben Jacobsen leads the team in scoring at 14.2 ppg, while Grant Stout (12.6 ppg, 9.0 rpg), Eric Coleman (12.2 ppg, 7.3 rpg), Erik Crawford (9.8 ppg), John Little (7.6 ppg) and Brooks McKowen (6.1 ppg) make up the rest of coach Greg McDermott's primary rotation.
with a victory over northern iowa, bucknell would ...
• ... go to 22-3, which would equal the best 25-game start in school history (1983-84).
• ... win its 13th straight game, which would be the longest winning streak since 1919.
• ... win its eighth straight road game, which would tie a school record (1974-75; 1918-19 to 1919-20).
• ... break the school record with its 12th road win of the season.
• ... go to 2-0 all-time against the Panthers.
last time out: bison rout leopards in first game as a ranked team
About 48 hours after receiving its first national ranking in school history, No. 24 Bucknell went to Easton, Pa., on Wednesday and raced past Patriot League rival Lafayette 69-49. The Bison overcame a season-high 23 turnovers by shooting 57.8% from the field and playing their usual strong defense. Lafayette managed to shoot only 30.0% and had 16 turnovers, 14 coming in the first half. With the game tied at 17, the Bison closed the first half on an 18-3 run and led by double digits the rest of the way. With the victory, Bucknell became the first team in Patriot League history to start 12-0, and the Bison won their 16th straight game against PL foes with their sixth straight win over Lafayette.
inside the boxscore
Charles Lee produced his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds ... Chris McNaughton, Kevin Bettencourt and Donald Brown all went 5-for-7 from the field and scored in double figures ... Brown added eight rebounds and a career-high three assists off the bench ... Bettencourt was 4-for-6 from 3-point range, making him 11-for-16 from the arc in his last two games at Kirby Sports Center ... he is 35-for-69 (.507) from the arc in nine career games against the Leopards ... the Bison dominated on the glass, owning a 44-23 rebounding edge ... they did not give up an offensive rebound in the first half and allowed only four all night ... more than half of Lafayette's field goals (8 of 15) and field-goal attempts (26 of 50) were 3-pointers.
busting brackets
Saturday's game will mark Bucknell's first-ever appearance in the "BracketBusters" event, which is now in its fourth year. The Bison are also the first Patriot League team to make an appearance in the showcase.
the last bucknell-northern iowa meeting
• Nov. 24, 1990 in San Juan, P.R.: Bucknell and Northern Iowa have meet just once previously, that coming in the 1990 San Juan Shootout. The Bison won that one 71-57 behind 25 points from Bill Courtney, 10 from Mike Bright and eight each from Patrick King, Paul Olkowski and Keith Fenton. Maurice Newby led the Panthers with 13 points and Dale Turner had 10.
in the heartland
Bucknell is making it's first trip to the state of Iowa since ... last season. Just after Thanksgiving last year the Bison went to Ames for Iowa State's Cyclone Challenge. Bucknell went 1-1 in that tournament, defeating Stephen F. Austin 62-49 before falling to ISU 62-55 in the championship game.
bucknell vs. the missouri valley conference
The Bison are 2-4 all-time against current members of the MVC: 1-0 vs. Northern Iowa, 1-1 vs. Illinois State, 0-1 vs. Wichita State, 0-1 vs. Drake and 0-1 vs. Evansville.
musical notes
At last year's NCAA Tournament in Oklahoma City, Bucknell was unable to bring it's pep band on the trip. The Northern Iowa band was gracious enough to fill in, donning orange shirts while quickly learning "`Ray Bucknell". On Saturday, the Bucknell band will be making the trip to Cedar Falls, and the Orange & Blue contingent is planning to say "thank you" to the UNI band by playing the Panthers fight song at halftime.
under the lights
The Bison are making their fourth national TV appearance of the season on Saturday. Previously, Bucknell lost at Duke on ESPN and defeated both Holy Cross and Lafayette on College Sports Television (CSTV). Should they advance that far, the Bison will also play on CSTV in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals, on ESPN2 in the Patriot League championship game and on CBS in the NCAA Tournament.
bracketbusters schedule
Matchup Network Date Time (Eastern) Albany at Virginia Commonwealth ESPNU Feb. 17 7 p.m. Akron at Nevada ESPNU Feb. 17 9 p.m. Bucknell at Northern Iowa ESPN2 Feb. 18 12 p.m. Buffalo at Iona ESPN360 Feb. 18 12 p.m. Butler at Kent State ESPNU Feb. 18 12:30 p.m. Missouri State at Wisconsin-Milwaukee ESPN2 Feb. 18 2 p.m. Northern Arizona at Western Kentucky ESPNU Feb. 18 2:30 p.m. Marist at Old Dominion ESPN2 Feb. 18 4 p.m. Louisiana Tech at Southern Illinois ESPN2 Feb. 18 6 p.m. George Mason at Wichita State ESPN2 Feb. 18 8 p.m. Samford at Ohio ESPN360 Feb. 18 8 p.m. Northwestern State at Utah State ESPNU Feb. 18 10 p.m. Fresno State at Creighton ESPN Feb. 19 12 a.m.
hot starts
Bucknell has become the very first Patriot League team to start 12-0 in conference play.
Best Starts in Patriot League play Bucknell, 2005-06 Started 12-0 Finished ?-? Fordham, 1990-91 Started 11-0 Finished 11-1 Navy, 1997-98 Started 9-0 Finished 10-2 Holy Cross, 1992-93 Started 7-0 Finished 12-2 Bucknell, 1994-95 Started 7-0 Finished 11-3 Lafayette, 2003-04 Started 7-0 Finished 9-5
in good company
Bucknell is one of 18 Division I men's basketball teams to have a winning percentage of .800 or better, and the Bison have the 8th-best record in the nation (through Wednesday's games). The list: 1. Duke 24-1 .960 2. George Washington 21-1 .955 3. Memphis 23-2 .920 4. Connecticut 22-2 .917 5. Villanova 20-2 .909 6. Texas 22-3 .880 7. Florida 22-3 .880 8. BUCKNELL 21-3 .875 Gonzaga 21-3 .875
Bucknell's current 11-game winning streak is the second-longest in the nation (through Wednesday's games). George Washington has won 13 games in a row, while Bucknell, Gonzaga and Memphis have all won 12 in a row.
