Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Men's Basketball to Battle No. 1 Syracuse Tuesday Night on ESPNU
12/19/2011 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2011
WHAT: Bucknell (7-4) at No. 1 Syracuse (11-0)
WHERE: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
WHEN: Tuesday, Dec. 20, 7 p.m. ET
TELEVISON: ESPNU 
RADIO: Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM) and GameTracker 
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
With a Win over Syracuse, Bucknell Would ...
• ... win its third straight game and improve to 8-4 on the season.
• ... defeat the No. 1-ranked team in the nation for the first time in program history.
• ... defeat any ranked team for the first time since Nov. 22, 2005 (at No. 17 Syracuse).
• ... snap an eight-game losing streak against ranked opponents.
• ... defeat the Orange for the second straight time and improve to 2-8 all-time against them.
• ... improve to 4-2 against teams that played in the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
• ... improve to 3-4 on the road this season.
Headlines
• Bucknell returned from the final exam break with a solid 79-65 home win over Richmond on Saturday night. That was the team's second straight victory and improved the Bison to 7-4 on the season.
• The Bison are playing the nation's No. 1 team for the second time in program history. The other came on Jan. 2, 2006, when Bucknell lost at top-ranked Duke 84-50. That Bison squad would go on to finish 27-5 and would later be ranked in the top 25 themselves.
• Syracuse improved to 11-0 on the season with an 88-72 road victory over North Carolina State on Saturday. Kris Joseph, who leads the Orange in scoring at 14.4 ppg, had 21 against the Wolfpack. Syracuse is outscoring opponents by an average of 80.8 to 58.6 on the season.
• Cameron Ayers has taken the lead in a very tight race for the Bucknell scoring lead. Ayers (13.2 ppg) now has two more points than Mike Muscala (13.0), with Joe Willman (11.0) and Bryson Johnson (10.3) not far behind. Ayers scored 23 points and Muscala 22 last time out against Richmond.
• Muscala continues to lead the Bison in rebounding (9.2) and blocked shots (1.9). He leads the Patriot League in rebounding by a wide margin, and he has five double-doubles this season, including a 22-point, 12-rebound performance in Saturday night's win over Richmond.
• Bryson Johnson missed the Binghamton game with an injury, his first DNP in three seasons at Bucknell. Johnson returned against Richmond, but came off the bench for the first time since his freshman season. The was hardly bothered by the reserve action, however, as he scored 18 points, all in the second half, in 30 minutes of court time.
• Freshman Steven Kaspar, who has played very well of late at the point guard spot, has started the last two games.
• The Bison were unanimously picked as the preseason favorite in the Patriot League by the league's head coaches and SIDs.
• The Bison returned four starters from last year's team that finished 25-9 overall and 13-1 in the Patriot League. Bucknell went on to capture the Patriot League Tournament title, but the 14th-seeded Bison were ousted by red-hot Connecticut, the eventual national champions, in their NCAA Tournament opener.
• Bucknell head coach Dave Paulsen is no stranger to the Syracuse area. He was the head coach at Le Moyne from 1997-2000 and had a 20-win season there in 1997-98. In addition, Bison assistant coach Aaron Kelly is a Syracuse native.
How to Get the Game
• The Bucknell-Syracuse game will be televised live on ESPNU, with Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play), Tim Welch (analysis) and Eamon McAnaney (sideline reporter) on the call.
• The game can be heard in the Susquehanna Valley on the radio on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM), with Doug Birdsong and Terry Conrad describing the action. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off.
• The audio feed is available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com and SportsJuice.com.
• Live statistics are available at suathletics.com.
Bucknell vs. Syracuse
• Bucknell is 1-8 all-time against Syracuse, with the first meeting dating all the way back to March 3, 1915 (a 37-20 Syracuse win).
• Bucknell and Syracuse met in the opening round of the 1989 NCAA Tournament, in a Midwest Regional game at Reunion Arena in Dallas. Syracuse, a No. 2 seed, topped 15th-seeded Bucknell 104-81. The Orange scored 52 points in each half and were led by 27 points from Billy Owens, 21 from Stevie Thompson and 19 each from Matt Roe and Sherman Douglas. Bucknell received 22 points from Mike Butts, 14 from Mike Joseph and 11 from Ted Aceto. The game would mark Bucknell's last NCAA appearance until 2005.
• In the only meeting since the 1989 NCAA Tournament, Bucknell upset the 17-ranked Orange 74-69 at the Carrier Dome on Nov. 22, 2005. Kevin Bettencourt scored 20 points and Chris McNaughton added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Bison, who shot a blistering 82.4 percent (14-17) from the field in the second half used a late 9-0 run and excellent free-throw shooting to score its first win over Syracuse in nine tries. Demetris Nichols scored 19 points and Gerry McNamara scored 18 despite a 6-for-19 shooting performance for Syracuse.
Bucknell vs. The Big East
• The Bison are 30-95 (.240) against current members of the Big East (9-15 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; 0-3 vs. Connecticut; 0-3 vs. Notre Dame; 1-0 vs. DePaul; 0-1 vs. Marquette; 0-1 vs. Providence, 0-1 vs. South Florida and 0-1 vs. St. John's).
• Bucknell has, however, won three of its last 11 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 was 0-3 against the Big East last season, falling to Villanova (68-52), Marquette (72-61) and Connecticut (81-52).
Last Time Out
• On Saturday night at Sojka Pavilion, the Bison broke open a close game with 10 minutes to play and defeated defending Atlantic-10 champion Richmond 79-65.
• There were nine consecutive lead changes in the middle portion of the second half, but Bucknell opened up some breathing room with a 10-2 run, highlighted by a 4-point play from Bryson Johnson. Bucknell ended up shooting 70.0% from the field (14-20) in a 52-point second half.
• The Bison had been struggling from the free-throw line in recent weeks, but they went a perfect 21-for-21 at the line against Richmond. Bucknell was 19-for-19 in the second half and 12-for-12 in the final 2:08 to put the game away. The Bison just missed the school record for most free throws without a miss in a game. On Feb. 1, 1989, Bucknell went 22-for-22 against Lafayette. This was the third time in program history the team made at least 20 free throws without a miss.
• Sophomore Cameron Ayers had one of the best games of his young career, equaling his personal best with 23 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the field and 6-for-6 from the foul line. He also had three steals and two assists with no turnovers in 39 minutes of action.
• Mike Muscala recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Muscala was 8-for-10 from the field and 6-for-6 from the foul line.
• Johnson was scoreless at halftime, but after the break he exploded for five 3-pointers -- one of which he turned into the 4-point play -- and scored 18 points.
• Bucknell continued its strong rebounding, finishing with a 34-19 edge on the glass against the Spiders.
• The Bison have now beaten Richmond two years in a row. The Spiders were an NCAA Sweet Sixteen participant a year ago.
• The win was Bucknell's 18th in a row at home, which is tied for the 10th-longest active home-court winning streak in the nation.
Stats Worth Noting
• In its last two games Bucknell is shooting 60.2% (53-88) from the field as a team.
• Bucknell has been dominant on the glass of late. After going -15 in rebound margin against Minnesota and Vanderbilt to start the season, the Bison are +91 since then and have outrebounded every opponent. Bucknell's +6.9 rebound margin for the season is by far the best in the Patriot League.
• A big part of Bucknell's rebounding success has been limiting opponents' second chances. The Bison have held 10 of their last 11 foes to eight or fewer offensive rebounds. That has been a key strength, as Bucknell is also holding opponents to 38.8% shooting on the season, the best mark in the Patriot League. Bucknell has not let an opponent shoot 50% in a game this season.
• Cameron Ayers is Bucknell's leader in both minutes played (349) and fewest turnovers (8) among starters. Ayers has just three TOs in his last seven games.
• Bucknell ranked third in the nation in free-throw shooting last season at 78.8%, but this year the Bison are shooting just 71.8% as a team, and that figure includes Saturday's 21-for-21 performance against Richmond.
• Bucknell has four players scoring in double digits: Cameron Ayers (13.2), Mike Muscala (13.0), Joe Willman (11.0) and Bryson Johnson (10.3).
• Bucknell has gotten a big lift so far from newcomers Brian Fitzpatrick and Steven Kaspar. Fitzpatrick, a junior forward in his first eligible season after transferring from Penn, is 16-for-24 from the floor and is averaging 4.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per game. Kaspar, a freshman point guard, has not scored much yet, but he leads the team and ranks fourth in the Patriot League in both assists (36) and steals (14).
• Eight Bison have had at least one double-digit scoring game this season, and 10 of the 14 on the roster have done it at least once in his career.
• Kaspar's seven assists against West Alabama were the most by a Bison freshman since Abe Badmus had eight against Navy in 2003-04.
• Johnson's 15 3-pointers in the wins over West Alabama and Morehead State were a school record for most threes in consecutive games. Bucknell's 17 treys in the West Alabama game set a school record.
Milestone Watches
• Junior Mike Muscala has 946 points and 497 rebounds in his career. He is close to becoming Bucknell's 17th player with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
• Senior Bryan Cohen has 923 career points, leaving him 77 shy of 1,000.
• Junior Bryson Johnson has 193 career 3-point field goals. He is trying to become the fourth player in program history to reach 200. He also has 795 points.
What's Next?
• After the Syracuse game the Bison will head directly to Boston to take on defending America East champion Boston University.
• The Terriers are 4-7 this season against a very difficult schedule. BU has been off since a Dec. 13 loss at Villanova (68-43).
