Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Wrap Regular-Season Slate at Navy Saturday, Seeking 5th PL Title in 6 Years
2/26/2016 11:50:00 AM | Men's Basketball
What: Bucknell (16-12, 13-4 PL) at Navy (18-12, 9-8 PL)
Where: Alumni Hall, Annapolis, Md.
When: Saturday, Feb. 26, 2016, 4 p.m.
Webcast: Patriot League Network
Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 FM WEGH)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Statistics: NavySports.com
Bucknell Probable Starters
G: Stephen Brown (9.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 5.2 apg)
G: Ryan Frazier (8.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.8 apg)
G: Chris Hass (17.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
F: Dom Hoffman (6.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
C: Nana Foulland (11.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg)
With a Win over Navy, Bucknell Would ...
• ... finish the regular season 17-12 overall and 14-4 in Patriot League play.
• ... go wire-to-wire and win the outright Patriot League regular-season title for the fifth time in the last six years.
• ... secure the No. 1 seed for the Patriot League Tournament for the seventh time.
• ... be assured of a postseason bid (NCAA or NIT) for the fifth time in the last six years.
• ... sweep the season series and defeat the Midshipmen for the fifth straight time.
• ... improve to 9-6 on the road this season.
Headlines
• The final day of the regular season is upon us, and the top eight seeds out of 10 for the Patriot League Tournament are still to be determined. Bucknell enters Saturday's finale at Navy with a one-game lead over Lehigh. The Bison are assured of at least a share of the Patriot League regular-season title and a top-two tourney seed. A win over Navy locks up the outright title, which would be the team's fifth in the last six years, but even with a loss the Bison have other pathways to the No. 1 seed. An Army win over Lehigh, a Boston University win over Holy Cross, or a Lafayette win over Colgate would put the Bison in the No. 1 spot. The only way for Bucknell to fall to the No. 2 seed would be for Navy, Lehigh, Holy Cross and Colgate all to win on Saturday.
• Navy has a lot riding on Saturday's game as well. The Midshipmen enter the weekend in a three-way tie for fourth place with Colgate and Army at 9-8. Depending on Saturday's outcomes, Navy could finish anywhere from third to seventh.
• The Bison had a three-game lead reduced to one after back-to-back losses to Lehigh and Colgate earlier this month. But Bucknell responded with three straight wins to maintain sole possession of first place over the Mountain Hawks, who have won eight games in a row. The Bison put an emphatic end to that two-game losing streak by routing Loyola (87-52) and Boston University (80-59) at home last week, and then they scratched out an 86-83 double-overtime win at Lafayette on Wednesday.
• Head coach Nathan Davis will be going up against his old team on Wednesday. Davis was an assistant coach under Don DeVoe at Navy from 1998-2003. He was also an assistant for one season under current Navy assistant Emmett Davis at Colgate in 2008-09.
• Defense has been the difference for Bucknell in Patriot League play. In their 13 conference wins, the Bison have allowed 64.8 points per game while holding the opposition to 37.8% shooting overall and 29.2% from 3-point range. Meanwhile, in the four Patriot League losses, opponents have scored 81.0 points per game while shooting 52.3% from the field and 43.4% from 3-point range. After allowing 171 points in the back-to-back losses to Lehigh and Colgate, the Bison regrouped on defense and conceded only 111 in the consecutive wins over Loyola and Boston University last week.
• Bucknell is 13-4 after 17 Patriot League games. That comes on the heels of a seven-game losing streak to close out the non-league slate. The Bison have never had a winning season in which it endured a downturn of that length. Prior to this season, Bucknell had 14 losing streaks of seven or more games — 12 coming prior to 1971 — and finished below .500 in each of those seasons.
• The Bison have scored 80 or more points 16 times and 90 or more four times, and they lead the Patriot League in scoring at 79.2 points per game. Back on Jan. 9 they had a 98-point showing against Holy Cross — their most points in a league game in 22 years — in which they knocked down 16 3-pointers. Bucknell made 40 field goals and tossed in 94 points against Army West Point on Jan. 30. The Bison rank 43rd nationally in points per game.
• Including his 40-point game at Army West Point on Jan. 2 and a 30-point effort at Lafayette on Wednesday, senior Chris Hass is averaging a team-best 17.5 points per game. That is the second-best mark in the Patriot League behind Army's Tanner Plomb. Hass canned a career-high seven 3-pointers in a 29-point performance against N.C. State on Dec. 5. Hass also had 26 against Wake Forest on Nov. 15. Hass became Bucknell's 39th all-time 1,000-point scorer in the game against Columbia, and he now ranks 12th on Bucknell's career scoring list (1,357).
• Sophomore point guard Stephen Brown has been sensational in Patriot League play, averaging 11.2 points per game on 56.5% shooting with 92 assists, 24 steals and just 33 turnovers and 28 fouls. After scoring a career-high 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting in the win at Boston University on Jan. 23, Brown was named the Lids Team Sports Patriot League Player of the Week for the first time in his career. He had a 10-assist game against the Terriers last Sunday, and then tallied 16 points and a career-high eight rebounds in the win at Lafayette on Wednesday.
• A year ago, the Bison captured the outright Patriot League regular-season title for the fourth time in the last five years before being upset by Lafayette in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals. Bucknell lost four players from last year's squad: point guard Steven Kaspar (graduation), forward Joshea Singleton (graduation), forward Cory Starkey (graduation) and guard J.C. Show (transfer to Binghamton).
• Navy is having an outstanding season and has been in the top half of the Patriot League standings all season. Bucknell routed the Midshipmen 88-58 at Sojka Pavilion in the Patriot League opener all the way back on Dec. 30, but immediately after that Navy won six games in a row. The Mids are currently on a three-game losing streak, but all three losses have been close (Lehigh 77-74, Army 80-78 2OT, American 72-65). Shawn Anderson leads four Midshipmen in double figures at 12.8 points per game. Tilman Dunbar (11.2), Will Kelly (10.4) and Jace Hogan (10.1) also score more than 10 per game. Kelly leads the Patriot League in field-goal percentage (.624). Navy's team field-goal percentage (.458) ranks second in the Patriot League behind Bucknell, and the Midshipmen lead the league in field-goal percentage defense (.412), one spot ahead of the Bison.
How to Get the Game
• The Bucknell-Navy game will not be televised, however it will be streamed live and free of charge on the Patriot League Network at PatriotLeague.TV.
• 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 also available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com, and for a small charge through the official Bison Athletics mobile app available in the Apple and Android marketplaces.
• Live statistics can be viewed at NavySports.com.
Bucknell vs. Navy
• This will be the 73rd all-time meeting between the Bison and Midshipmen, with Bucknell holding a narrow 37-35 edge in the series.
• Bucknell has won 12 of the last 13 meetings, including a season sweep last year.
• The Mids won 12 of 16 from the Bison prior to joining the Patriot League in 1991-92.
• As conference rivals, Bucknell leads 33-23, with the home team winning most of the time. Since Navy joined the league, Bucknell is 23-5 against the Mids at home but is only 10-18 against Navy in Alumni Hall.
• Bucknell is 4-3 all-time against Navy in the Patriot League Tournament, including the Midshipmen's 76-75 win in the 1997 championship game.
• In last year's meeting at Sojka Pavilion, John Azzinaro hit three consecutive 3-pointers in the final 2:11, including the tiebreaking shot with 11 seconds remaining, to lift the Bison to a dramatic 65-63 victory over then-first-place Navy. Azzinaro finished with a career-high 19 points, making 6 of 7 from the field, including all five of his 3-point attempts, along with a 2-for-2 showing at the foul line. Worth Smith scored 14 points and Edward Alade had 12 for Navy. In the rematch at Alumni Hall, it was Ryan Frazier's turn to score a career-high 19 points, leading Bucknell to a 52-51 win. Frazier hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2:53 to play, then added a critical rebound and three clinching free-throws in the final seconds.
• In the first meeting of this season on Dec. 30 at Sojka Pavilion, Chris Hass scored 22 points and Stephen Brown set career highs with 18 points and eight assists to lead Bucknell to a convincing 88-58 win. Hass also recorded five of Bucknell's 11 steals, as the Bison scored 30 points off 19 Navy turnovers. Shawn Anderson led the Midshipmen with 19 points.
Patriot League Success
• Bucknell is 249-112 (.690) all-time in Patriot League regular-season games, the best record of any league team. The Bison are guaranteed a .500 or better league record this season, and they have now finished at least .500 in PL play in 22 of the 26 Patriot League seasons.
• Bucknell won three straight outright Patriot League regular-season titles from 2011-13, becoming the first team in league history to accomplish that feat.
• The Bison went 13-1 in the league in 2011 and 12-2 in both 2012 and 2013, making them 37-5 over those three campaigns. Dating back to mid-2010, Bucknell has won 81 of its last 104 league games.
• Bucknell won Patriot League Tournament titles in 2005, 2006, 2011 and 2013. The Bison have made it to the semifinals 19 times and to the championship game 10 times in the 25-year history of the league.
• The Bison are the only team to go unbeaten in league play in a season (14-0 ten years ago in 2006).
Last Time Out
• Chris Hass scored 15 of his game-high 30 points after the end of regulation, leading the Bucknell men's basketball team to a critical 86-83 double-overtime win over Lafayette on Wednesday in Easton, Pa. Hass' deep 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining forced double overtime, and then he scored 11 of Bucknell's 13 points in the second OT session to keep the Bison one game in front of Lehigh for the Patriot League lead with one game to play in the regular season.
• The Bison had not been accustomed to playing close games this season. This was just the fifth game all season that was decided in the final minute or later, and just their second overtime game. It was Bucknell's first double-overtime game since Dec. 30, 2008, a home win over St. Bonaventure.
• Bucknell shot 41.2% on the night and hit 10 of 32 shots from the 3-point arc. The 32 attempts were two shy of the school record. Lafayette shot an even 40.0% and went 8-for-27 from the arc.
• The Bison outrebounded Lafayette 52-37, with four different players collecting eight rebounds apiece. Nana Foulland tallied nine points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots, and Hass, Stephen Brown and Zach Thomas also finished with eight boards each. Brown's rebound tally was a career high, and he also logged 16 points.
• Hass finished 8-for-18 from the field, 4-for-10 from the 3-point arc, and 10-for-12 from the foul line en route to his fourth career 30-point game.
Team Numbers Worth Noting
• Wednesday's double-overtime win at Lafayette was a rare example of a 2015-16 Bucknell game that wasn't decided until the final seconds. Of Bucknell's first 28 games, only five have been decided by five points or less (the Bison are 3-2 in those games). Three-point league wins over Lafayette and Boston University, along with non-league games against Robert Morris (81-76 win), Siena (83-81 loss in overtime) and Penn State (62-58 loss), are Bucknell's only games where the outcome was not decided until the final few seconds.
• Bucknell's average victory margin this season is 18.1 points per game, and its average loss margin is 9.8 points per game.
• Bucknell ranks 37th nationally (out of 346 teams) in field-goal percentage (.472) and 43rd in scoring offense (79.2).
• Bucknell is attempting to average 80 points in a season for the seventh time in program history. The last time the Bison finished a season with a scoring average better than 80 was 1993-94 (83.1). The team record is 83.3 in 1987-88.
• Bucknell has done an excellent job getting to the foul line. The Bison rank 26th nationally in free throws made (502) and 30th in free-throw attempts (702).
• Whether it is a result of a more up-tempo offense or the reduction to the 30-second shot clock, Bucknell is playing at a much faster pace this season. Bucknell's first 28 games have seen an average of 73.2 possessions per game, compared to 65.1 for the full season in 2014-15. The Bison are averaging an efficient 1.08 points per possession so far.
• Bucknell last season averaged 4.1 steals per game to rank last (10th) in the Patriot League in that category. This season the Bison rank second in the league in steals at 6.6 per game.
• Only five teams have shot 50% or better from the field against Bucknell this season — North Carolina State (.544), Princeton (.545), American (.550), Lehigh (.526) and Colgate (.600) — but three of those have come in the last seven games.
• Bucknell has had 11 different players score 10 or more points and six different players score 20 or more in a game this season. Eight different players have led the team in scoring this year.
• The Bison have hit 10 or more 3-pointers in three of their last four games.
• Bucknell has a +38 rebounding margin in its last three contests.
Individual Numbers Worth Noting
• Bucknell plus-minus leaders: Chris Hass +152, Stephen Brown +124, Nana Foulland +107, Ryan Frazier +104, D.J. MacLeay +101. Every player on the roster has a positive or even +/- for the season.
• Dom Hoffman entered the season with one career made 3-pointer in five attempts. He has tried 52 shots from beyond the arc this season, making 20 (.385). Hoffman has hat a trey in five straight games and is 7-for-15 in that span.
• Point guard Stephen Brown has five or more assists in 15 of the 28 contests this season, including a pair of 10-assist games. Brown has assisted on 33.6% of the field goals made while he is on the floor. In Patriot League games he is averaging 11.2 ppg on 65-for-115 (.565) shooting from the field, 9-for-23 (.391) from the 3-point arc, 52-for-63 (.825) from the foul line, and he has 92 assists and 24 steals while committing just 33 turnovers and 28 fouls.
• Brown now has enough field-goal attempts to qualify for the Patriot League full-season FG% leaders, and he is currently fifth at 51.8%. He is the only guard ranked in the top 11 in the league in FG%. In league-only games, his 56.5 FG% ranks No. 4 behind three centers in Kevin Ferguson (Army), Will Kelly (Navy) and Tim Kempton (Lehigh).
• Brown has improved his free-throw shooting considerably thus far. Last year he shot just 47.5% from the line, but this year he ranks second in the Patriot League at 82.6%. Chris Hass leads the league in free-throw percentage (.847), giving Bucknell the top two foul shooters in the league.
• D.J. MacLeay leads the Bison regulars in rebounds per 40 minutes (11.6), and he is now shooting 62.0% from the field this season and 65.7% in Patriot League games. He is 39-for-58 (.672) from the field in his last 14 games, and he produced his career scoring high with 15 against Lafayette on Jan. 25. If MacLeay had enough attempts to qualify, he would rank No. 16 nationally in field-goal percentage.
• Hass has shot 37.2% from 3-point range on the road this season, but just 27.3% at home. Has averages 19.1 points per game away from home.
• Hass is 26-for-28 from the free-throw line in his last six games.
Who's Got Next?
• Bucknell will have a first-round bye in the Patriot League Tournament before hosting a quarterfinal game on Thursday, March 3. If Bucknell is the No. 1 seed, it will host the winner of the #8/#9 game. If the Bison are the No. 2 seed, they will get the #7/#10 winner.
