Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Battles Unbeaten No. 15 Wake Forest Saturday Night
12/4/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2008
WHAT: Bucknell (1-5) vs. #15 Wake Forest (7-0)
WHERE: Joel Coliseum, Winston-Salem, N.C.
WHEN: Saturday, December 6, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
RADIO: Eagle 107 and SportsJuice.com
TV: None
STREAMING VIDEO: None
LIVE STATISTICS: GameTracker
COMPLETE PRESS NOTES 
With a Victory over Wake Forest, Bucknell Would ...
About the Game
Bucknell's difficult early season schedule continues on Saturday, as the Bison make a long bus trip to Winston-Salem, N.C., to play No. 15/17 Wake Forest at Joel Coliseum. The Bison come in with a 1-5 mark, although each of their last four losses have been close (two in overtime, one by four points and one by three points) and the victory was a good one over a strong Old Dominion team. Most recently Bucknell dropped a 68-65 decision at La Salle on Tuesday. Justin Castleberry, who had 20 points in that game, leads the team in scoring at 14.8 points per game. Patrick Behan (12.7 ppg) also tallies in double figures and leads the team on the glass with 6.2 rebounds per game. Point guard Darryl Shazier has 39 assists (most in the Patriot League) against 12 turnovers. Wake Forest is off to a terrific start at 7-0 after Wednesday's 83-58 pummeling of Indiana. The Demon Deacons are outscoring foes by an average of more than 22 points per game. They are shooting 52.9% as a team and have been just as good defensively, limiting opponents to 63.9 ppg on 34.9% shooting. Jeff Teague leads the Deacons in scoring at 19.9 ppg, followed by James Johnson at 15.9 ppg and freshman Al-Farouq Aminu at 13.3 ppg and 9.4 rpg. This week Wake Forest is ranked No. 15 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 17 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll.
How to Get the Game
The Bucknell-Wake Forest game will not be televised or carried on a video webcast. The game can be heard locally on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM), with Doug Birdsong on the call. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off. The audio feed is available free of charge via BucknellBison.com and SportsJuice.com.
Bucknell vs. Wake Forest Series Notes
Bucknell vs. The Atlantic Coast Conference
Against the 12 teams that currently make up the Atlantic Coast Conference, Bucknell owns an all-time record of 1-23. The lone victory came at Virginia (99-81) on Jan. 27, 1961. The Bison are 1-2 against Virginia, 0-7 vs. Maryland, 0-4 vs. Wake Forest, 0-3 vs. Duke, 0-2 vs. Clemson, 0-2 vs. Miami, 0-1 vs. Virginia Tech, 0-1 vs. Florida State, 0-1 vs. Boston College.
Bucknell vs. Ranked Teams
Bucknell has beaten three nationally ranked teams since January of 2005. The Bison are 3-6 against ranked foes over that span, including top-10 wins over Pittsburgh and Kansas (NCAA Tournament) in the 2004-05 season. Below is a list of Bucknell's games against ranked opponents since January 2005: Date Opponent Result 1/2/05 at #7 Pittsburgh W, 69-66 2/15/05 at #25 Villanova L, 89-51 3/18/05 vs. #10 Kansas^ W, 64-63 3/20/05 vs. #20 Wisconsin^ L, 71-62 11/22/05 at #17 Syracuse W, 74-69 12/6/05 vs. #4 Villanova L, 79-60 1/2/06 at #1 Duke L, 84-50 3/19/06 vs. #4 Memphis^ L, 72-56 11/18/07 at #23 Villanova L, 70-64 ^ NCAA Tournament
Last Time Out
La Salle broke open a close game with an 18-2 second-half run, then withstood a furious Bucknell rally to prevail 68-65 on Tuesday night at Tom Gola Arena. Justin Castleberry scored 20 points and G.W. Boon added 14 for the Bison, who led 35-32 two minutes into the second half before a 1-for-14 shooting stretch proved costly. The Explorers led 58-42 with 7:14 left, but the Bison rallied within 64-60 with 29 seconds left. Kimmani Barrett, who led La Salle with 15 points, hit 3 of 4 free throws to ice it. For complete recap and boxscore, please see Page 25.
Inside the La Salle Boxscore
Putting the “Free” Back in Free Throw
Bucknell had a difficult time from the free-throw line in its first three games of the season, when it made only 30 of 60 (.500) as a team. In the last three games, however, the Bison have made 37 of 45 (.822).
Shazier Leads League in Assists ...
Point guard Darryl Shazier is averaging 6.5 assists per game, tops in the Patriot League and tied for 14th-best in the nation. In 229 minutes this season, he has 39 assists against 12 turnovers. He is the first Bison to record 39 assists in the first six games of a season since Russell Peyton had 44 in the first six games of the 1991-92 campaign. Since the assists statistic became official in 1975-76, no Bucknell player has recorded a triple-double, but Shazier almost achieved the feat against ODU when he had 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. He had another nine-assist game against La Salle on Tuesday.
... and Castleberry in Steals
Justin Castleberry has nine steals in his last two games and 17 on the season. Castleberry now owns the Patriot League lead in that category at 2.8 per game, and he ranks 28th nationally in that category.
Taking Care of the Rock
Bucknell committed 39 turnovers in its first two games of the season, but in the last four it has turned the ball over an average of only 11.8 times and has a 58-to-47 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Who's Got Next?
Bucknell has one more game prior to the final exam break, a home game against Binghamton on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion. The Bearcats are 3-2 on the season after Monday's 74-58 road win at Quinnipiac. Binghamton plays at Rutgers on Saturday afternoon before traveling to Lewisburg.
