Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Announces 2010-11 Men's Basketball Schedule
9/28/2010 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 28, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Back-to-back games against Big East opponents kick off the 2010-11 Bucknell men's basketball schedule. On Friday, Nov. 12 the Bison open up against Bucknell alum Jay Wright and his Villanova Wildcats at The Pavlion in Philadelphia, followed two days later by their first-ever matchup with Marquette in Milwaukee as part of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic.
Bucknell lifts the lid on its Sojka Pavilion schedule on Wednesday, Nov. 17 against Binghamton at 7 p.m. That will be one of five non-conference home games for the Bison. The others come against Wagner on Nov. 29, Columbia on Dec. 1, Boston University on Dec. 4 and Dartmouth on Dec. 30.
After a Nov. 20 road contest at Saint Francis (Pa.), the CBE Classic continues with three games in three days Nov. 22-24 in Harrisonburg, Va. The Bison will square off against Presbyterian, Princeton and James Madison in the event. While it will be Bucknell's first-ever clash with Presbyterian, the Bison will be meeting James Madison for the first time since 1981 and Princeton for the first time since 2004.
Following a three-game homestand against Wagner, Columbia and Boston University to close out the first semester, the Bison will return from final exams with four straight road games in an 11-day span. Bucknell will go back to Philadelphia to face La Salle on Dec. 17, followed by games at Cornell on Dec. 20, Boston College on Dec. 22 and Loyola (Md.) on Dec. 28. The Bison will be facing Boston College for the first time since 1951, and it will mark the sixth time in the last six years they have played a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
On Dec. 30 the Bucknell men and women will play their only doubleheader of the year. The women kick things off at 4:30 against Cornell, followed by the men at 7 p.m. against Dartmouth in the Big Green's first visit to Lewisburg since 1905. Then on Jan. 2 the Bison close out the non-league portion of the schedule with a trip to Richmond. The Spiders, who were ranked No. 24 in the final Associated Press Poll of 2009-10, represent one of six games against 2010 NCAA Tournament teams on this year's schedule and are one of three teams on the slate that was seeded seventh or higher.
"We have really challenged ourselves with our non-conference schedule, and I am very excited about the opportunities in front of us," said Bison head coach Dave Paulsen. "Obviously, to have the chance to play Villanova in that atmosphere, against a great coach and Bucknell alum in Jay Wright, is a great way to begin the season. In the non-conference portion of the schedule we play four teams that went to the NCAA Tournament and two more that played in other postseason events last year, and two other teams went to the NCAA Tournament in 2009. I am also very excited about the five non-league home games."
Bucknell starts Patriot League play on the road at Navy on Saturday, Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. The first home Patriot League contest against Holy Cross on Sunday, Jan. 16 (2 p.m.) will be televised live on CBS College Sports.
In addition, the Feb. 20 game at Colgate and the Feb. 26 home game against Army are part of the league's "flex" scheduling dates. Either of those games could be selected no later than 10 days in advance for airing on CBS College Sports. The Army game on Feb. 26 will conclude the regular season.
Once again this season the Patriot League Tournament will be played entirely at home sites. The higher seeds will host quarterfinal games on Wednesday, March 2, followed by the semifinals on Sunday, March 6. The 2011 Patriot League championship game will be played on Friday, March 11 at 4:45 p.m. on ESPN2.
Season tickets are now on sale. Applications may be found HERE. Single-game tickets will go on sale on Nov. 1. For more information on tickets, please contact 570-577-1000.
Three fan bus trips are being planned for the coming season. Buses will connect from the Bucknell campus to Villanova (Nov. 12), Navy (Jan. 8) and Lafayette (Feb. 16), provided the seats fill. For more information on the bus trips, please contact Todd Newcomb at 570-577-1771.
The Bison men's basketball team went 14-17 overall and 9-5 in the Patriot League last season. Bucknell finished second in the Patriot League regular-season standings, and this season the team returns its top three and nine of its top 10 scorers.
