Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball to Host Wake Forest in 2006-07 Home Opener
7/10/2006 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
July 10, 2006
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Fresh off back-to-back Patriot League championships and forays into the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Bucknell men's basketball team will open its 2006-07 home schedule against a distinguished opponent when traditional Atlantic Coast Conference power Wake Forest visits Sojka Pavilion on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.
The remainder of the 2006-07 men's basketball schedule, along with ticketing information, will be announced in the coming weeks.
Bucknell and Wake Forest have met twice previously, both times in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Demon Deacons won 83-56 on Jan. 2, 1974 and 83-67 on Feb. 6, 1991.
Wake Forest, which will become the first ACC team ever to play at Bucknell, finished 17-17 last season and advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. The Demon Deacons then lost at Minnesota in the first round of the NIT. Wake Forest has averaged 22 wins per season under sixth-year head coach Skip Prosser. His Deacon teams played in the NCAA Tournament four straight years from 2002-05, advancing to at least the second round each time, including a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2004. Wake Forest was ranked No. 1 in the nation as recently as 2005.
The Demon Deacons graduated their top four scorers from a year ago, but they do boast the nation's No. 10-ranked recruiting class, according to Rivals.com.
Bucknell has also seen its share of success on the hardwood through the years, particularly over the last two seasons, when the Bison have won a combined 51 games. In 2005-06 Bucknell won a school-record 27 games with only five losses, captured the Patriot League championship after an unprecedented 14-0 conference regular season, and defeated Arkansas 59-55 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2005 the Bison knocked off Kansas for the first NCAA Tournament win in school and league history.
Bucknell returns three starters in 2006-07, including two-time first-team all-league performer Chris McNaughton and three-year starting point guard Abe Badmus. The Bison will have a 13-game home winning streak on the line when Wake Forest comes to town. The Bison went 14-1 at home last season, with the only loss coming to No. 4 Villanova in early December. Bucknell is 26-2 at home over the last two campaigns and is 38-7 in Sojka Pavilion since the facility opened on Jan. 15, 2003.
The Bucknell-Wake Forest matchup will also feature something of a family rivalry, as Skip Prosser will coach against son Mark, who will be in his fourth year as an assistant coach under Pat Flannery on the Bucknell staff.
This year's contest will mark the beginning of a three-game series between Bucknell and Wake Forest. The Bison will visit Lawrence Joel Coliseum in 2007-08 and 2008-09.
