Bucknell University Athletics
Men's Water Polo Set for NCAA Matchup with Harvard on Saturday
11/23/2016 4:10:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
Setting the Scene
Who: No. 12 Bucknell (23-4) at No. 10 Harvard (25-6)
What: NCAA Championship
When: Nov. 26 | 1 p.m.
Where: Cambridge, Mass. | Blodgett Pool
Live Video: Ivy League Digital Network
About Saturday's Game
• Bucknell and Harvard will square off in the first NCAA play-in game Saturday at 1 p.m. at Harvard's Blodgett Pool. A free live video broadcast of the contest will air on the Ivy League Digital Network free of charge.
• Bucknell earned the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Championship. The top-seeded and host Bison defeated second-seeded George Washington 11-5 in the title game on Sunday.
• Harvard earned the Northeast Water Polo Conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Championship. The third-seeded Crimson defeated MIT, Princeton and Brown on their way to the title.
• The winner will move on to face UC Davis at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 1. That game will take place at the University of California's Spieker Aquatics Complex.
About the NCAA Championship
• Bucknell and Harvard are two of the seven teams to qualify for the NCAA Championship.
• USC and UCLA earned the top two seeds in the field. The other teams (Bucknell, Cal, Harvard, Pomona-Pitzer, UC Davis) have to go through play-in games to advance to the final four, which is held Dec. 3-4 at the University of California's Spieker Aquatics Complex.
2016 NCAA Championship
All games at Spieker Aquatics Complex except for Nov. 26 play-in game
Saturday, Nov. 26 - Play-In Game (Cambridge, Mass.)
Harvard (24-6) vs. Bucknell (23-4), time TBA
Thursday, Dec. 1 - Play-In Games
UC Davis (23-5) vs. Harvard/Bucknell winner, time TBA
California (20-4) vs. Pomona-Pitzer (21-8), time TBA
Saturday, Dec. 3 - Semifinals
USC (23-1) vs. UC Davis/Harvard/Bucknell winner, 6 p.m.
UCLA (25-2) vs. California/Pomona-Pitzer winner, 8:12 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 4 - Championship
Semifinals winners, 6 p.m.
Bucknell Returns to NCAAs
• Bucknell has qualified for the NCAA Championship for the first time since 1985.
• This is the sixth time the Bison have qualified for NCAAs. They also qualified in 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1985.
• Bucknell's best-ever finish at the NCAA Championship was a fifth-place showing in 1979.
Bucknell vs. Harvard
• Bucknell owns a 20-9 edge in the all-time series against Harvard that began in 1981.
• Bucknell has won nine of the last 11 meetings, including an eight-game winning streak from 2004 to 2012.
• Harvard won the only meeting this year by a 13-11 score at Blodgett Pool. The Bison trailed 7-1 at one point in the first half.
• Each of the last five meetings have been decided by two goals.
• This is the first time Bucknell and Harvard have faced each other multiple times in one season since the Bison swept the 2012 season series 3-0.
20-Win Seasons
• Bucknell is 23-4 this year, marking its most wins since going 25-9 in 1985.
• This is just the ninth time in the 40-year history of the Bison program they have reached the 20-win plateau.
• Bucknell last posted a 20-win campaign in 2007 (20-13).
Winning Streaks
• Bucknell enters Saturday's game with a nine-game winning streak.
• It is the second nine-game winning streak this year for the Bison. Bucknell also won nine in a row from Sept. 16 to Oct. 1.
• Nine games is tied for the sixth-longest streak in program history.
Bucknell's Longest Winning Streaks
1978: 21
1979: 20
1980: 19
1977: 15
1983: 12
1977, 1984, 1985, 2016 (twice): 9
All-Conference Selections
• Bucknell had three players named to the All-Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Teams. Freshman Rade Joksimovic was named to the First Team, while senior Sean Daley and junior goalie Charlie Niehaus were named to the Second Team.
• Joksimovic was also named conference Player and Rookie of the Year, become the first player from an East Coast water polo conference to accomplish that feat.
All-Tournament Selections
• Bucknell had three players named to the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference All-Tournament Team. Rade Joksimovic and Charlie Niehaus were first-team selections, while Jeff Hagen was a second-team choice.
• Joksimovic was also named MVP and Rookie of the Tournament after scoring 24 goals in the three games.
Offensive Output
• Freshman Rade Joksimovic has etched his name into the Bison record books and his rookie season is not yet complete.
• The Serbia native has totaled 148 goals and 177 points this season, placing him third on the program's single-season goals list and tied for fifth in points.
• Joksimovic has scored at least one goal in every game this season. He has scored at least five goals in a game 17 times.
• Joksimovic has three double-figure goal games, including netting a program-record 14 goals against Connecticut College in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Championship quarterfinal.
High-Scoring Team
• Bucknell has totaled 376 goals in its 27 games this year for an average of 15.7 goals per game.
• The only Bison team to average more goals per game was the 1977 squad that was the first year the program was at varsity status. That team averaged 17.2 goals per game.
• Bucknell has posted three games with at least 20 goals this season, its most since 2010.
National Rankings
• Bucknell has been in the national rankings all year. The Bison opened the season ranked 18th nationally and climbed to as high as No. 9.
• The No. 9 ranking marked the highest national ranking in program history.
• Bucknell is currently ranked 12th nationally.
Hot Start
• Bucknell won 11 of its first 12 games this season.
• The 11-1 start was the best for the Bison since the 1980 squad went 15-1 to open its campaign.
Strong Goalie Play
• Bucknell junior Charlie Niehaus has started all 27 games in cage for the Bison.
• Niehaus has posted 15 double-figure save performances, including 15 in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Championship title game vs. George Washington.
• Niehaus has a career-high 276 saves this season, putting him seventh on the program's single-season list, just one behind recent CWPA and Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Tony Paxton.
McBride Reaches 100 Wins
• Sixth-year Bucknell head coach John McBride won his 100th game at Bucknell on Nov. 5 when the Bison defeated Wagner 11-6.
• McBride is now 104-61 (.630) as men's water polo coach at Bucknell, placing him third on the program's all-time wins list, behind only Dick Russell (223) and John Zeigler (134).
• McBride also has 68 victories as the head women's water polo coach at Bucknell.
Odds & Ends
• Bucknell is outscoring opponents 201-117 in the first half this year.
• The players on Bucknell's roster have combined for 785 career goals.
• Bucknell's Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Championship was its first conference title since winning the CWPA Southern Championships in 2012.
• Bucknell's men's water polo program has an all-time record of 674-473-4 (.587).
• Bucknell's team captains are seniors Ratimir Babic, Sean Daley, Nate Hunter and R.J. Moore.
• Bucknell last played on a date later than Nov. 26 back in 1985. The Bison faced Loyola (Ill.) on Dec. 1 at the NCAA Championship.
