Bison Face Tough Test Wednesday at 8-1 Kent State

12/3/2013 2:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: TBD

What: Bucknell (3-4) at Kent State (8-1)
Where: Memorial Athletic & Convocation Center, Kent, Ohio
When: Wednesday, Dec. 4, 7 p.m.
Internet Video: MAC Digital Network
Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 WEGH)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: KentStateAthletics.com

With a Win over Kent State, Bucknell Would ...
• ... improve to 4-4 on the season.
• ... improve to 3-3 on the road this season.
• ... defeat the Golden Flashes for the second straight year and improve to 2-0 all-time against Kent State.

Headlines
• After a strong start to the 2013-14 season, the Bison took a step back last week with a 69-64 defeat at Mount St. Mary's followed by a 66-53 home loss to Princeton. Things do not get any easier on Wednesday, when Bucknell heads back out on the road to face 8-1 Kent State.
• Bucknell entered Saturday's game against Princeton ranked third nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.471) but shot just 1-for-11 from the arc against the Tigers.
• Senior Cameron Ayers continues to lead the team in scoring at 15.0 ppg. Brian Fitzpatrick is making the most of his increased role this season. After serving as Mike Muscala's backup for the last two years, Fitzpatrick is averaging 11.1 ppg and shooting 62.3% from the field. He scored a career-high 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting at Mount St. Mary's
• Bucknell used only two different starting lineups all of last season. The Bison have already had three different starting fives this year and have yet to use the same starting lineup in consecutive games.
• This is a “new-look” Bison squad, as three standout players from last year's NCAA Tournament team have graduated (Mike Muscala, Bryson Johnson, Joe Willman). Three Bucknell players made their first career starts at Stanford (Brian Fitzpatrick, Dom Hoffman, Ben Brackney), Ryan Frazier started for the first time in his career at Penn State, and Chris Hass did the same against Saint Francis.
• Bucknell returns two starters and 11 lettermen from last year's squad that won a school-record 28 games, captured Patriot League regular-season and tournament titles, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in program history.
• Kent State is off to a fast 8-1 start, with the only loss a 78-76 setback at Seton Hall on Nov. 13. The Golden Flashes have won six in a row since then, with all six of those games coming at home. They have now won 13 straight home contests, including all seven this season. Most recently Kent State topped Kennesaw State 68-51 on Sunday. The Golden Flashes are averaging 80.0 points per game, led by Derek Jackson at 12.0 ppg. Seven players score at least 6.6 ppg for Kent State, which is averaging 19.6 made free throws per game (compared to Bucknell's 9.1).

How to Get the Game
• The Bucknell-Kent State game will not be televised. A live web stream will be available at mac-sports.com.
• The game can be heard in the Susquehanna Valley on the radio on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM), with Doug Birdsong calling the action. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off.
• The audio feed is available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com.
• Live stats can be accessed at KentStateSports.com.

Bucknell vs. Kent State and the Mid-American Conference
• This will be just the second meeting between Bucknell and Kent State in men's basketball. The first came last year at Sojka Pavilion, where the Bison defeated the Golden Flashes 76-60.
• In last year's game, Mike Muscala scored 27 points and Cameron Ayers spearheaded a strong defensive effort to help the Bison get to 8-1 on the season. Bucknell led 32-31 at the half, and then outscored the Golden Flashes 44-29 in the second half. Ryan Frazier netted a career-high 13 points off the bench for the Bison, while Kent State was led by Devareaux Manley's 15 points off the bench.
• Bucknell has not had much experience — or success — against the Mid-American Conference through the years. The Bison are 3-15 against the 12 active members of the MAC, although their 1-8 record against Buffalo all came prior to 1965, before the Bulls joined the MAC.
• Besides Kent State and Buffalo, Bucknell's only other MAC win came in 2006-07, a 77-59 victory over Northern Illinois in the consolation game of the Pepsi-Marist Classic. The Bison are 1-0 against Kent State, 1-0 against Northern Illinois, 0-1 against Eastern Michigan, 1-8 against Buffalo and 0-2 against Ball State, Akron and Ohio.

Last Time Out
• On a night when both teams shot under 40% from the field, Princeton was able to knock down enough long-range shots and pulled away late in a 66-53 win over the Bison on Saturday at Sojka Pavilion. The Tigers finished 10-for-25 from 3-point distance — half of their made field goals came from beyond the arc — while the Bison shot 1-for-11.
• It was a four-point game with eight minutes to play, but Princeton took command with a 12-4 run, keyed by two 3-pointers by T.J. Bray.
• Chris Hass scored a career-high 15 points to lead the Bison. Hass made 7 of 14 attempts from the floor and also collected five rebounds and two assists in a career-high 32 minutes. Hass made his third start of the season.
• Cameron Ayers added 14 points and Brian Fitzpatrick had nine, but the Bison shot a season-low 35.7%.
• Dom Hoffman led the team with seven rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench. The Bison outrebounded Princeton 36-35.
• Bucknell held Princeton to 38.5% shooting.

Worth Noting
• Steven Kaspar (12, 25), Ben Brackney (13, 16) and Brian Fitzpatrick (10, 13) all set career scoring highs in the opener against Stanford, and then re-set them in game No. 2 at Penn State.
• Bucknell has struggled to get to the free-throw line in recent games. After going 24-31 at the line in the win at Penn State, the Bison are a combined 32-for-42 in the five games since then. That includes the Saint Francis game on Nov. 16 when the Bison did not attempt a single free throw. They rank last in the nation in free-throw attempts (11.7 per game) on the season.
• When the Bison do get to the line, they usually convert. Bucknell ranks No. 11 nationally in free-throw percentage (.780).
• Bucknell has typically ranked among the very best in the nation in fewest turnovers under coach Dave Paulsen, and this year has been no different. The Bison are averaging only 9.9 turnovers per game to rank 19th nationally.
• Bucknell's center combo of Fitzpatrick and Dom Hoffman are shooting a combined 62.2% from the field (61-98) while averaging 19.6 ppg.
• Last season Bucknell featured one of the nation's most prolific shot-blockers in Mike Muscala. So far this season the Bison have blocked only three shots in seven games, compared to 32 by their opponents.
• Through seven games the Bison are shooting 48.4% from the field and 43.4% from 3-point range. They rank second to Colgate in the Patriot League in FG% and 3FG% and rank 16th nationally in 3FG%.

Who's Got Next?
• Bucknell closes out the first semester with a home game against Columbia on Saturday at 7 p.m. That will be the nightcap of a hoops doubleheader at Sojka Pavilion, as the Bison women take on Penn at 4 p.m.
• Bucknell won a thriller at Columbia last year, rallying from 17 points down in the first half to win 65-57 at Levien Gymnasium. Mike Muscala logged 29 points and 19 rebounds in one of the best performances of his career.
• Columbia is 4-4 on the season heading into Wednesday night's home game against Army. Earlier in the year the Lions put a major scare into Michigan State, which is currently the No. 1 team in the country. Columbia led by as many as seven early in the second half, and it was just a two-point game with 90 seconds left before the Spartans eventually won 62-53.