Bucknell University Athletics
2005-06 Bucknell Men's Basketball: an Encore Performance
3/22/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 22, 2006
Final\ Season\ Statistics
Press Clippings
Patriot League Championship Photo Gallery
NCAA Tournament Photo Gallery
Postseason Celebration Photo Gallery
A year ago, Bucknell was the "darling of the dance." The prestigious private school with an enrollment of about 3,400 that stunned perennial power Kansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The victory made national headlines as the first-ever NCAA triumph for the Bison, or any Patriot League school for that matter. The team earned an ESPY award in the "Best Upset" category and spent the summer reliving the biggest win in the 111-year history of the program.
As the 2005-06 campaign started, with virtually the entire roster returning intact, everyone wanted to know what Bucknell could do for an encore. And despite heaping expectations, both internal and external, all the Bison did was fashion their finest season yet.
Even with a large "bulls-eye" on its back every night, Bucknell shattered the school victory record with a fancy 27-5 ledger, repeated as Patriot League champion and made a return trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after a thrilling 59-55 win over Arkansas.
The Bison carried the sixth-best record in the nation - and the highest graduation rate (100%) -- entering the NCAA Tournament. Among its impressive non-conference victories were road wins at then-No. 17 and recent Big East champion Syracuse and DePaul, as well as a home victory over Atlantic-10 finalist Saint Joseph's.
The Bison really made their mark in Patriot League play, becoming the first team in the 16-year history of the conference to run the table, going a perfect 14-0. Three more double-digit wins in the Patriot League Tournament -- capped by an impressive 74-59 win over Holy Cross -- brought them a second straight league title. Then they earned a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament, by far the highest in school and league history.
Once in the field of 65, the Bison made sure their weekend in Dallas would be a long one. With co-captains Charles Lee and Kevin Bettencourt combining for nine 3-pointers and 42 points, Bucknell knocked off Southeastern Conference power Arkansas in the first round, validating last season's Kansas victory.
In the round of 32, Bucknell ran into top-seeded Memphis, and the Conference USA champ wore down the Bison with its speed, strength and depth. Bucknell whittled a 19-point deficit down to nine in the second half, but the Tigers just had too much down the stretch, and the magical season that nobody wanted to end did just that on a rainy Sunday in Dallas.
Of Bucknell's five losses in 2005-06, three came at the hands of No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament - Memphis, Duke and Villanova. Northern Iowa, which topped Bucknell in double overtime in a BracketBusters classic, earned an at-large bid out of the highly respected Missouri Valley Conference and was also nationally ranked at times this season.
Speaking of national rankings, this season Bucknell also achieved its first-ever listing in a national poll. On Feb. 13 the Bison were ranked 24th in both the Associated Press Poll and the ESPN/USA TODAY Coaches' Poll. Bucknell was also ranked 25th in the final Coaches' Poll of the season.
While not without star power, Bucknell's greatest asset this season was its depth and its unselfish team play, particularly on defense. Armed with a tricky matchup zone defense, the Bison entered the NCAA Tournament ranked second nationally in scoring defense (55.3). In 31 games this season they have allowed 60 or more points only nine times and 70 or more only five times, while on nine occasions they have kept teams under 50.
Bucknell's entire starting five from last year's Kansas returned this season, and only two of them were seniors. Bettencourt and Lee will ultimately be remembered as two of the program's all-time greats, and they were terrific leaders as well. Lee, a do-it-all 6'3" wing, is the 2006 Patriot League Player of the Year and the first two-time PL Tournament MVP in league history. Bettencourt, a former PL Rookie of the Year and a three-time all-leaguer, finished with a school-record 294 3-pointers. Eleven of them came in two clutch back-to-back performances, first hitting six against Holy Cross in the Patriot League championship game, then knocking down five against Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament.
Another highly decorated performer was 6'11" junior center Chris McNaughton, a two-time first team all-conference pick who is best known for hitting the game-winning shot against Kansas last March. He also saves some of his most prolific performances for the biggest games. He scored a career-high 29 points against Villanova this season, and now in 12 career postseason games he is 69-for-102 (.676) from the field.
Often overshadowed by the McNaughton-Lee-Bettencourt triumverate, which accounted for 58.5% of the team's scoring, was junior point guard Abe Badmus. The 2005 PL Defensive Player of the Year, Badmus was not a high scorer (6.6 ppg), but he impacted the game significantly with his ability to quarterback the team's offense and prevent his counterpart from doing the same. Badmus had 11 assists and no turnovers in last year's Kansas win, then followed it up with seven assists and two turnovers in the Arkansas victory.
Other key players were sophomore Darren Mastropaolo and junior Donald Brown, who made up a very effective platoon at the "4" position, and reserve sharpshooters John Griffin and Jason Vegotsky, the league-leader in 3-point percentage (.547).
Along with Bettencourt and Lee, reserves Holland Mack and Tarik Viaer-McClymont will also graduate, leaving Bucknell with three starters and 10 lettermen with at least one year of NCAA Tournament experience next season.
2005-06 News & Notes
fÞ Bucknell shattered the school and league single-season victory record, finishing 27-5. The previous school record wins in a season was 24, set in 1984-85. It was the 8th 20-win season in school history.
fÞ Bucknell captured the Patriot League title for the second straight year and made its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance (1987, 1989, 2005, 2006). After defeating Arkansas and losing to Memphis, the Bison are now 2-4 all-time in the tourney.
fÞ The Bison earned a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the highest seed ever for a Bucknell or a Patriot League team. Bucknell's previous high seed was 14 in 2005, while the highest-seeded PL team had been the 1993 Holy Cross squad, which was a 13.
fÞ In 12 years at Bucknell, head coach Pat Flannery upped his record to 199-151. Overall, he is now 100 games over .500 (294-194) in his 17-year career.
fÞ The Bison posted winning streaks of 12, 6, 5 and 4 games this season. The 12-gamer was the program's longest since 1919.
fÞ Bucknell became the first team in Patriot League history to go unbeaten (14-0) in league play. The Bison joined Gonzaga (14-0 WCC) and George Washington (16-0 A-10) as the only teams in Division I to go undefeated in conference play this season.
fÞ Including Patriot League Tournament games, the Bison have won 21 straight games against league foes. They have also won 27 straight league games at home.
fÞ Bucknell went 14-1 at home this season, with the lone loss coming against No. 4 Villanova. The Bison will bring a 13-game home winning streak into the 2006-07 season. They are 26-2 at home over the last two seasons and 38-7 all-time at Sojka Pavilion.
fÞ The Bison are now 21-14 all-time in the Patriot League Tournament. They are tied with Holy Cross for the most tournament victories. Bucknell has made six championship game appearances and has made at least the semifinals in 13 of 16 years.
fÞ Senior Charles Lee became the first player in Patriot League history to be named Patriot League Tournament MVP twice. He is also one of only five players in league history to make three all-tournament teams.
fÞ Charles Lee was also named the 2006 Patriot League Player of the Year, becoming the third Bison to do so and the first since Mike Bright in 1993. Lee and Chris McNaughton were First Team All-Patriot League selections, Kevin Bettencourt was a second-team pick and Jason Vegotsky was named to the all-rookie team. Also, Pat Flannery was named Patriot League Coach of the Year for the third time.
fÞ Entering the NCAA Tournament, Bucknell had the nation's sixth-best record at 26-4. Only George Washington (26-2), Duke (30-3), Memphis (30-3), Connecticut (27-3) and Gonzaga (27-3) were better, and those were five of the nation's top six teams in the national polls.
fÞ Bucknell's senior class of Kevin Bettencourt, Charles Lee, Holland Mack and Tarik Viaer-McClymont amassed 78 wins in four seasons, second-most of any class in school history. The Class of 1987 won 82 games, while the Class of 1989 also won 78.
fÞ Bucknell made history on Feb. 13, when it was ranked 24th in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA TODAY polls. It was the first time a Bison team, or any Patriot League team, had been nationally ranked. Bucknell, which received votes in every poll in 2005-06, was also ranked 25th in the final ESPN/USA TODAY Coaches' Poll of the season.
fÞ Bison center Chris McNaughton earned a pair of mid-season honors. He was named to the NABC All-District 3 Second Team, as well as the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Team.
fÞ While Kevin Bettencourt had already topped the 1,000-point plateau coming into the season, Chris McNaughton and Charles Lee both surpassed the milestone this season. Bucknell now has 32 1,000-point scorers, and this was the first time since 1992 that three members of the club played on the same team.
fÞ Pat Flannery broke the record for career Patriot League wins this season. He now has a 105-51 career record in PL games. Navy's Don DeVoe formerly held the record with 93 wins from 1993-2004.
fÞ Bucknell entered the NCAA Tournament ranked second nationally in scoring defense, allowing a mere 55.3 points per game. The Bison finished the season allowing 55.6 ppg, which is the team's lowest mark since 1948-49, well before the advent of the shot clock and 3-point shot.
fÞ Bucknell held foes to 38.7% shooting in 2005-06, tied for the second-lowest mark under Pat Flannery and also one of the best in the nation this season.
fÞ Since the start of the 2004-05 season, a span of 65 games, the only teams to score more than 70 points against the Bison are Memphis (72), Duke (84), Villanova (twice, 79 and 89), Santa Clara (77) and Niagara (74).
fÞ Bucknell held 19 opponents under 40% shooting this season, and the Bison held all but five of their 2005-06 opponents below their season scoring average coming in to the game.
fÞ Bucknell led the Patriot League in home and road attendance this season, and they recorded the eight highest home attendances in program history, including a record 4,433 for the Villanova game in December. All told, 164,101 fans saw the Bison play this season.
fÞ The Bison were 20-1 this season and 51-6 over the last three seasons when leading at the half. Conversely, in 2005-06 Bucknell won seven times when trailing at the half.
fÞ Bucknell's 74-69 victory over No. 17 Syracuse on Nov. 22 marked the third time in the last two seasons it knocked off a nationally ranked team.
fÞ The Bison are now 142-68 (.676) in Patriot League regular-season games, the best record of any league team. They have finished at least .500 in PL play in 14 of 16 seasons.
fÞ Bucknell tied a school record with 11 road victories in 2005-06. The 1983-84 team also won 11 times on the road. This season the Bison were 11-3 on the road and 2-1 at neutral sites.
fÞ Kevin Bettencourt finished his magnificent career with 1,577 points. He ranks fourth on Bucknell's career scoring list and 10th on the Patriot League career list.
fÞ Kevin Bettencourt shattered his own Bucknell single-season record for 3-pointers made with 79. He also made 78 last season and 72 as a sophomore, giving him the three most prolific 3-point shooting seasons in school history.
fÞ Kevin Bettencourt finished with 294 career 3-pointers. No other Bison has ever made more than 206. Bettencourt just missed the Patriot League career mark of 300, set by Army's Mark Lueking from 1992-96.
fÞ Freshman Jason Vegotsky shot 54.7% (29-53) from 3-point range this season, the second-highest long-range percentage in school history. Mike Joseph broke the record by shooting 56.0% (65-116) in 1987-88.
fÞ Charles Lee wrapped up his career with 1,147 points, 21st on Bucknell's all-time list. Lee finished as the team's scoring leader this season at 13.2 ppg. Lee became only the 15th player in school history to top 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
fÞ Charles Lee finished with 70 steals this season, fourth-most in school history. Abe Badmus (169), Lee (167) and Kevin Bettencourt (157) rank third, fifth and sixth, respectively, on Bucknell's career steals list. The team's 279 steals were second-most in school history.
fÞ Chris McNaughton now has 1,158 career points, 20th on Bucknell's career chart. McNaughton shot 57.8% from the field this season the 10th-best percentage in school history. McNaughton also holds the No. 2 and No. 7 spots on that page in the record book.
fÞ Kevin Bettencourt never missed a single game in four years at Bucknell, and his 123 career games played set a new school record.
