Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Opens 116th Season at No. 6 Villanova, Marquette this Weekend
11/9/2010 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 9, 2010
WHAT: Bucknell at No. 6 Villanova
WHERE: The Pavilion, Villanova, Pa.
WHEN: Friday, Nov. 12, 8 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN3.com
RADIO: Eagle 107 (107.3 WEGH FM) and SportsJuice.com
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
"In the Herd" with Bison Men's Basketball 
About this Weekend
• Bucknell begins its 116th season of varsity basketball this weekend with a pair of road games against Big East competition.
• The Bison open up against Bucknell alum Jay Wright and his sixth-ranked Villanova Wildcats on Friday night at The Pavilion.
• On Saturday the team will fly directly from Philadelphia to Milwaukee, where they will meet Marquette for the first time on Sunday at the Bradley Center as part of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic.
A Tough Start
• This will be the first time in the modern era that Bucknell has played its first two games of a season against major conference competition.
• The last time the Bison played a season opener against a ranked team was 2003-04, when it fell 64-52 at No. 3 Michigan State.
• Villanova and Marquette both played in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, and last season the two teams combined for a 47-20 record.
Meeting an Old Friend
• Jay Wright, Bucknell Class of 1983, is in his 10th year as Villanova's head coach. A co-captain of Bucknell's 17-11 team in 1982-83, Wright was the team's leading scorer as a junior (11.9 ppg). A three-year letterman, Wright averaged 6.4 ppg in 74 career games.
• As a freshman in 1979-80, he played on the Bison junior varsity squad while former Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery captained the varsity squad.
• Wright, who previously built Hofstra into one of the powers of the America East conference, is 5-0 against his alma mater as a head coach. He led Hofstra to a 69-55 win over the Bison at the Fairfield Tournament in 1997-98 and has won four times against Bucknell while at Villanova, 69-45 in 2001-02, 89-51 in 2004-05, 79-60 at Sojka Pavilion in 2005-06 and 70-64 in 2007-08.
• This will be the first meeting between Wright and Bucknell's current head coach, Dave Paulsen.
Philly Kids
Bucknell will have two Philadelphia-area natives in the rotation for the season-opener at Villanova.
• Junior guard Bryan Cohen is from Huntingdon Valley and attended Abington Friends High School. Bryan's brother, Aron, played in the Big 5 for Penn.
• Freshman guard Cameron Ayers is from Blue Bell and went to Germantown Academy, where he was a two-time Inter-Ac MVP as well as a Philadelphia Inquirer Second Team All-City selection. Cameron's father, Randy, is the former head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers and Ohio State Buckeyes, and he is currently an assistant coach with the New Orleans Hornets.
• Bucknell has had Philadelphia natives fare well in The Pavilion in recent visits. In 2007-08, John Griffin hit six 3-pointers and scored a team-high 22 points against Villanova. In 2001-02, Philly native Chris Rodgers came off the bench to lead the team with 12 points, four assists and three steals.
Bucknell vs. Villanova
• This will be the 24th meeting between the Bison and Wildcats in an all-time series that dates back to 1908. Villanova holds a 14-9 series lead, including four victories since 2001. The previous 19 meetings all came prior to 1949.
• Bucknell's last win over Villanova came on Dec. 8, 1945 by a 43-32 score.
• The most recent Bucknell-Villanova meeting came on Nov. 18, 2007 at The Pavilion. The 23rd-ranked Wildcats prevailed 70-64, but not without a fight. The Bison connected on a school-record-tying 15 3-pointers and led for more than 30 of the 40 minutes. Bucknell led by eight at halftime and by as many as nine in the second half, and the game was tied at 57 before Scottie Reynolds buried a 3-pointer from the left corner with 3:25 to play to give the Wildcats the lead for good. Shane Clark led Villanova with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Philadelphia native John Griffin had 22 for the Bison.
• G.W. Boon, Darryl Shazier and Stephen Tyree are the only active Bucknell players who have played against Villanova. In that 2007 game, Boon scored 11 points in 14 minutes off the bench, hitting 3 of 5 3-pointers on the way. Tyree started and finished with three points, four rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes. Shazier had four points and four assists in 17 minutes off the bench.
Bucknell vs. Marquette
• Bucknell has never faced Marquette in men's basketball. In fact, this will be the team's first-ever trip to the state of Wisconsin.
• The Bison have played only one game in their history against a team from Wisconsin, and that was the University of Wisconsin in the second round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Just after 14th-seeded Bucknell upset Kansas in the first round, the Bison lost to the Badgers 71-62.
• Bison head coach Dave Paulsen is a native of Wausau, Wis., and attended Wausau East High School.
Bucknell vs. The Big East
• The Bison are 30-92 (.246) against current members of the Big East (9-14 vs. Villanova; 9-18 vs. Pittsburgh; 8-22 vs. Rutgers; 2-9 vs. Georgetown; 1-8 vs. Syracuse; 0-8 vs. West Virginia; 0-5 vs. Seton Hall; 0-2 vs. Connecticut; 0-3 vs. Notre Dame; 1-0 vs. DePaul; 0-1 vs. Providence, 0-1 vs. South Florida and 0-1 vs. St. John's).
• Bucknell has, however, won three of its last eight games against the Big East. The 69-66 upset of then-No. 7 Pittsburgh in January 2005 was Bucknell's first win over a Big East team since Jan. 11, 1975 (also Pitt, 72-66). The Bison also defeated Syracuse and DePaul early in the 2005-06 season.
Bucknell in Season Openers
Bucknell is 75-40 (.651) all-time in season openers. Last season the Bison dropped their opener 89-80 to Mercer at the World Vision Invitational in Providence, R.I. The last opening-night win came in 2007-08, a 55-52 home victory over Albany.
Bucknell Last Season
In 2009-10 the Bison won four of their first seven games, but then really struggled in December and the early part of January. They lost six straight and nine out of 10 in one stretch, but then Bucknell got hot in Patriot League play. A terrific 7-1 stretch led to a 9-5 league finish, good for second place in the regular-season standings. But then the season ended on a disappointing note, as No. 7 seed Holy Cross upset Bucknell 67-64 in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament. The Bison finished 14-17 overall.
Muscala Named to Preseason All-Patriot League Team, Bison Picked No. 2
• Sophomore center Mike Muscala was named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team, while Bucknell was picked to finish second in the preseason poll of coaches and sports information directors.
• Last season Muscala was a Second Team All-Patriot League selection and a Patriot League All-Rookie Team pick. He is one of only four freshmen in league history to make one of the all-league teams.
• The preseason poll was the closest in league history, with the top five teams all receiving multiple first-place votes, and only 10 points separating the top five. American was picked first with 79 points, while Bucknell was a close second with 76.
Tyree Injured in Preseason
• For the second time in the last three years, Bucknell co-captain Stephen Tyree suffered an ACL injury in his left knee during preseason workouts.
• Prior to his junior year in 2008-09, Tyree was injured and missed the entire season.
• Tyree returned to the lineup last season and started every game. He averaged 26.4 minutes per game, led the team in rebounding (5.2) as a 6'3" guard, shot 48.2% from the field and scored 5.7 points per game. After the season he was given the team's Malcom E. Musser Award for leadership.
• In 2010-11, Tyree returned to Bucknell as a graduate student to use his NCAA-approved fifth year of eligibility. He was elected co-captain for the second year in a row and once again figured heavily to the team's plans. But he re-injured his knee in practice on Nov. 2. Tyree is rehabbing the knee in order to get back on the floor this season, but for now he is out indefinitely.
Bison Have Plenty of Experience Back
The Stephen Tyree injury not withstanding, Bucknell has plenty of experience returning in 2010-11.
• Including Tyree, the Bison return their top three and nine of their top 10 scorers from a year ago.
• The Bison return 86.4% of their scoring, 86.8% of their rebounding, 94.1% of their assists and 89.1% of their minutes played from last season.
• The only regular not returning from last season is forward Patrick Behan, who played in 30 games, starting 21, and averaged 9.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Behan finished the year coming off the bench, meaning Bucknell this season returns all five starters from its 2009-10 stretch drive.
Cohen Honored for Defense
• Junior Bryan Cohen captured the 2009-10 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year award, and he was also named to the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Defensive All-America Team.
• Cohen is routinely assigned to the opposition's top offensive player, and so far in his career he helped save three wins with last-second defensive stands.
• Cohen is the third Bucknell player to win the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year honor in the five-year history of the award, joining teammate Stephen Tyree in 2008 and Abe Badmus in 2005.
Who's New?
Bucknell has four newcomers to the roster in 2010-11, three of whom are eligible to play this season:
• Guard Cameron Ayers comes in after a stellar career at Germantown Academy. Last year he averaged 22.9 ppg, was an Associated Press All-State honoree and earned Inter-Ac MVP honors for the second year in a row.
• Ben Brackney is a sharp-shooting guard from Lincoln, Ill. At Lincoln High School he was a Class 3A Second Team All-State selection and the Lincoln Courier Co-Player of the Year last season.
• Point guard Ryan Hill is another in-state recruit from Steelton-Highspire High School near Harrisburg. He was a 1,000-point scorer in high school, averaging 16.3 ppg as a senior.
• Forward Brian Fitzpatrick has transferred to Bucknell after playing one season at Penn. As a freshman last season he played in 17 games off the bench for the Quakers and averaged 2.4 ppg and 1.5 rpg. Fitzpatrick must sit out this season under NCAA transfer rules.
Fantastic Frosh now Sophs
Last year Bucknell became the first team in Patriot League history to place three players on the conference's All-Rookie Team. Bryson Johnson, Mike Muscala and Joe Willman all made the team, and all three are projected starters this year.
Shazier Lends Helping Hand
• Senior point guard Darryl Shazier had a stellar 118-to-50 assist-to-turnover ratio last season. Among the Patriot League leaders he ranked third in assists and second in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• As a sophomore in 2008-09, Shazier became the first Bucknell player to win a Patriot League assists title. Shazier averaged 4.6 assists per game that season and had six or more assists 13 times. He also led the Patriot League in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.06).
• Entering his senior year, Shazier already ranks seventh on Bucknell's career assists chart with 313.
Balanced Attack
Bucknell had incredible offensive scoring balance last season. The final scoring leader, Darryl Shazier, finished at 10.1 points per game. Shazier was one of four Bison to score better than 9.0 ppg and was one of eight to score at least 5.6 ppg. Only 40 points separated the team's top five point-producers, and nine different players produced at least one 10-point game.
From Way Downtown
• Guard Bryson Johnson set a Bucknell freshman record with 67 3-pointers last season. That is tied for seventh-most in a season at Bucknell.
• Three active Bison rank in the top 20 on Bucknell's career 3-point field goal list: G.W. Boon (10th, 119), Darryl Shazier (17th, 89) and Bryan Cohen (18th, 86).
Bingo!
The NCAA instituted the 3-point shot in 1986-87, and since then Bucknell has played 708 games. The Bison have failed to make at least one 3-pointer in only five of those 708 games (1/30/89 at Cornell, 1/16/93 vs. Lafayette, 2/5/00 at Navy, 12/22/00 at Penn State and 2/29/04 at Colgate). Bucknell has converted a trifecta in 189 straight games.
Patriot League Success
• The Bison are 175-91 (.658) in Patriot League regular-season games, the best record of any league team. They have finished at least .500 in PL play in 16 of 20 seasons.
• The Bison won a league-record 23 straight contests against conference foes from Feb. 23, 2005 to Jan. 12, 2007.
• Bucknell had a streak of 35 straight wins at home against conference opponents come to an end in 2008.
• Bucknell has an all-time record of 24-18 in 20 Patriot League Tournaments. Bucknell has beaten every team in the league at least once in the postseason. The Bison have reached the championship game six times, including wins in 2005 and 2006, and reached at least the semifinals in 15 of 20 years.
Bison Scholar-Athletes
The Bucknell basketball program has also enjoyed tremendous success in the classroom in recent years. Among the highlights:
• Chris McNaughton in 2007 became the first player in league history to win Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors three times. The electrical engineering major who was also a three-time first-team all-league player, was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team in 2006.
• In the Patriot League's 20-year history, the league's men's basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year has come from Bucknell nine times.
• Bucknell drew national acclaim at the 2006 NCAA Tournament for its perfect 100-percent men's basketball graduation rate.
• The Bison men's basketball program easily met the national standard in the NCAA's Academic Performance Rate (APR) study, released last spring. The men's basketball APR is 994 (out of 1,000), which is in the top 10 percent nationally and earned the Bison program an NCAA APR Public Recognition Award.
• Bucknell Athletics as a whole ranks No. 7 among all Division I schools in student-athlete graduation rates, factoring a four-class average from those who entered between 2000-01 and 2003-04. The men's basketball team has a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 91 percent, one of the highest in the nation.
• Bucknell has claimed 118 national Academic All-Americans since 1970, including eight from men's basketball. The total of 118 ranks fifth among all Division I institutions, trailing only Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State and Stanford.
Who's Got Next?
After this weekend's road trip, the Bison play their 2010-11 home opener on Wednesday, Nov. 17 against Binghamton. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion.
