Men's Basketball Kicks off New Season Wednesday at St. Bonaventure in Clash of 2018 NCAA Teams

Men's Basketball Kicks off New Season Wednesday at St. Bonaventure in Clash of 2018 NCAA Teams

11/6/2018 3:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

What: Bucknell (0-0) at St. Bonaventure (0-0)
Where: Reilly Center, Olean, N.Y.
When: Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018, 7 p.m. (ET)
TV/Internet: ESPN+ ($)
Local Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 FM WEGH)
Listen Live: BucknellBison.com and Eagle107.com
Live Stats: GoBonnies.com

• COMPLETE GAME NOTES

Bucknell Probable Starters (2017-18 stats)
G: Jimmy Sotos (4.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.0 apg)
G: Kimbal Mackenzie (8.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.5 apg)
G: Avi Toomer (4.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.0 apg)
F: Bruce Moore (5.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.8 bpg)
C: Nate Sestina (6.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.9 apg)

With a Win over St. Bonaventure, Bucknell Would ...

... improve to 80-44 all-time in season openers.
... snap a four-game series losing streak to the Bonnies and improve to 2-5 all-time against them.
... win at the Reilly Center for the first time (0-3).
... win its third straight game against the Atlantic 10.
... improve to 69-33 under head coach Nathan Davis.

Headlines

Bucknell begins its 124th season of basketball on Wednesday night at St. Bonaventure. This (Nov. 7) is the earliest date that the Bison have ever opened a season, surpassing the Nov. 8, 2014 lid-lifter at Stanford.
The Bison and Bonnies have a lot of similarities entering the 2018-19 season. Both were NCAA Tournament teams last season, and the two teams graduated three-man senior classes that combined for 8,514 career points. Bucknell's trio of Nana Foulland, Zach Thomas, and Stephen Brown racked up 4,801 total points, while St. Bonaventure's Jaylen Adams, Matt Mobley and Idris Taqqee logged 3,713.
Despite the heavy graduation hit, four of Bucknell's five projected opening-night starters managed to start at least 10 games last season. And the only one that didn't — senior center Nate Sestina — was a Preseason All-Patriot League selection.
Speaking of Sestina, this will be somewhat of a homecoming for him. Sestina is a native of Emporium, Pa., which is located about 50 miles south of Olean. Sestina played some AAU ball in Olean and in past years has worked out over the summer with St. Bonaventure players.
Bucknell was picked a close second to Lehigh in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. The Bison did pick up one more first-place vote (8) than the Mountain Hawks (7).
Since the end of last season, this Bison group has played quite a bit together. The team took a 10-day European tour in August and went 3-0 against clubs from The Nethlerlands, Belgium and France. Bucknell also conducted closed scrimmages against Penn and Binghamton.
The St. Bonaventure game kicks off a tough non-conference schedule for the Bison. Not including the field at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic in December, Bucknell's nine non-league foes combined for a 193-108 (.641) overall record and a 112-48 (.700) mark within their respective leagues. Six of the nine teams won at least 21 games, and seven of the nine had winning records. And then Bucknell's first-round opponent in Hawaii will be Rhode Island, which went 26-8 overall and 15-3 in the A-10 last season.
Last season, Bucknell finished 25-10 overall and 16-2 in the Patriot League. The Bison swept Loyola, Boston University and Colgate — with the latter two wins coming by a combined 60 points — to win the Patriot League Tournament crown. Bucknell's eighth NCAA Tournament appearance resulted in a narrow 82-78 first-round loss to third-seeded Michigan State in Detroit.
St. Bonaventure won a school-record 26 games (26-8) and went 14-4 in the Atlantic 10 last season. The Bonnies, who are on a run of three straight 20-win seasons, received an at-large bid to the 2018 NCAA Tournament, where they defeated UCLA 65-58 in a First Four game in Dayton before falling 77-62 to Florida. Sixth-year senior Courtney Stockard is a Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team selection. He scored 26 points in that win over UCLA.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-St. Bonaventure game will be available online via ESPN+.
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.
Live statistics can be accessed via GoBonnies.com
The audio feed is available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Preseason Prognostications
Prior to the start of preseason, the Patriot League's head coaches and sports information directors predicted the league standings and all-conference team.

Patriot League Preseason Poll
1.   Lehigh   145 (7 first-place votes)
2.   Bucknell   140 (8)
3.   Colgate   130 (3)
4.    Boston U.   121 (2)
5.   Holy Cross   109
6.   Army   71
7.   American   64
8.   Navy   52
9.   Lafayette   46
10.   Loyola   22

Preseason Player of the Year: Sa'eed Nelson (American)
Preseason All-League Team: Nate Sestina (Bucknell), Sa'eed Nelson (American), Will Rayman (Colgate), Jehyve Floyd (Holy Cross), Lance Tejada (Lehigh).

Bucknell vs. St. Bonaventure Series Notes

St. Bonaventure has a 5-1 lead in a series that dates back to 1988.
Bucknell's lone victory came on Jan. 4, 1990, a 95-82 verdict in Davis Gym. Hall-of-Famer Mike Joseph had 31 points and 10 assists in that game for the Bison.
The last meeting between the two teams came on Dec. 30, 2008. The Bonnies won that one 90-82 in double-overtime, behind 22 points, eight rebounds and nine blocked shots from future NBA first-round draft pick Andrew Nicholson. The nine blocks are still a Sojka Pavilion record.
Bucknell's last trip to Olean resulted in a 65-62 loss in 2007-08. That was current assistant coach John Griffin's senior year with the Bison.

Bucknell vs. the Atlantic 10

Bucknell is 39-76 (.339) all-time against the teams that currently comprise the Atlantic 10.
The Bison are 7-19 against La Salle, 3-18 against Saint Joseph's, 4-3 vs. Richmond, 4-7 vs. George Mason, 7-2 vs. George Washington, 5-8 vs. Fordham, 3-5 vs. Duquesne, 3-5 vs. Rhode Island, 1-5 vs. St. Bonaventure, 1-2 vs. Davidson, 1-0 vs. Saint Louis, 0-1 vs. VCU and 0-1 vs. Dayton. Bucknell has never played Massachusetts.
Last season, Bucknell went 2-2 against the A-10, losing to Saint Joseph's and VCU before rebounding with wins over Richmond and La Salle. The Bison will play La Salle later this season in Philadelphia, and they will face Rhode Island in the first round of the Diamond Head Classic.

7 Regular-season Titles in 8 Years Puts Bucknell in Elite Company

Bucknell has claimed the outright (no ties) Patriot League regular-season title in seven of the last eight years. Only Kansas can make a similar claim among all Division I programs.

Most Outright Regular-Season Titles, Last 8 Years
Bucknell   7
Kansas   7
Belmont   6
Gonzaga    5
Texas Southern   5

Patriot League Success

Over the last eight seasons, Bucknell has a Patriot League record of 106-26 (.803). That is the ninth-best conference winning percentage in the nation over that span.

Conference Winning %, Last 8 Seasons
Gonzaga   121-15   .890
Wichita State   124-20   .861
Belmont   116-20   .853
Stephen F. Austin   116-24   .829
Vermont   106-22   .828
Kansas   115-27   .810
St. Mary's   110-26   .809
Texas Southern   116-28   .806
Bucknell   106-26   .803

Bucknell is 281-117 (.706) all-time in Patriot League regular-season games, the best record of any league team. The Bison last season finished at least .500 in PL play for the 24th time in 28 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 are now the first to win four in a row, giving them seven of the last eight.
Bucknell has won 12 Patriot League regular-season titles in 28 years. No other team has more than five.
Bucknell last season made its ninth Patriot League Tournament appearance as the No. 1 seed.
Bucknell has won Patriot League Tournament titles in 2005, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2017 and 2018. The Bison have made it to the semifinals 21 times and to the championship game 11 times in the 28-year history of the league.
The Bison are the only team to go unbeaten in league play in a season (14-0 in 2006).
In 2017-18, Bucknell became the first team to win 16 Patriot League games. The league expanded to 10 teams and an 18-game schedule in 2013-14.

2018 All-Patriot League Notes

Bucknell made some history in last year's All-Patriot League voting. Seniors Stephen Brown, Nana Foulland and Zach Thomas all earned First Team honors, marking the first time in league history that one team placed three players on the First Team. The three seniors combined for eight career All-PL citations.
Thomas was named Patriot League Player of the Year. He became the fifth Bison in the last eight years to receive that honor, joining Mike Muscala (2011, 2013), Cameron Ayers (2014), and Foulland (2017).
Foulland (First Team 2017, 2018; Second Team 2016) and Brown (First Team 2018; Second Team 2017; Third Team 2016) became three-time All-Patriot League selections, while Thomas earned First Team honors for the second straight year.
Foulland and Brown were both named to the Patriot League All-Defensive Team. It was the third straight selection for Brown and second straight for Foulland, who was the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year.
Foulland was also selected the 2018 Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and he was joined by Brown on the five-man Academic All-Patriot League Team. Foulland and Muscala are the only players in league history to win a Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year award over the course of a career. Muscala swept all three as a senior in 2013.
Foulland made his third straight appearance on the Academic All-PL Team. He is Bucknell's 11th Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year in men's basketball in the 28-year history of the league and the first since Muscala in 2013.
Bucknell has now had at least one first-team all-conference player in 32 of the last 35 seasons, dating back to the team's tenure in the East Coast Conference.

Home Cooking

Entering the 2018-19 season, Bucknell is 25-1 in its last 26 home games, with an average victory margin of 16.9 points in those 25 wins.
Since Sojka Pavilion debuted in 2003, the Bison are 170-53 (.762) overall and 122-26 (.824) against Patriot League foes.
Bucknell won a record 15 home games in 2016-17, and then it matched that figure last season. Over the last two years, Bucknell is 30-3 at home.

Who's Back?

Bucknell returns 11 lettermen from last year's championship team: four seniors, three juniors, and four sophomores.
Despite graduating one of the best senior classes in school history, Bucknell's 11 returnees have combined for 580 games played and 140 starts. Five Bison — Kimbal Mackenzie (56), Avi Toomer (32), Bruce Moore (22), Nate Jones (17) and Jimmy Sotos (13) — have all started games in their careers.

Bucknell's Returning Production in 2018-19
Points   38.4%
Rebounds   44.8%
Assists   46.5%
Blocks   38.2%
Steals   51.5%
3FG   54.6%

Who's Gone?

The three members of the class of 2018 — Stephen Brown, Nana Foulland and Zach Thomas — all earned First Team All-Patriot League honors, with Thomas garnering the Player of the Year award. That was the first time in league history that three players from the same team were named to the First Team.
This was the first class in Patriot League history to win four straight outright regular-season titles.
This class had an 87-48 overall record and a 58-14 mark in Patriot League play. They played in two NCAA Tournaments and two NITs.
This was the second class in school history to feature three 1,000-point scorers. Foulland (1,754), Thomas (1,738) and Brown (1,309) combined for 4,801 points and rank fourth, fifth, and 19th on Bucknell's all-time scoring list.
This trio accounted for the first time in school history that three different players scored 500 points in a season.
In addition to Thomas' Patriot League Player of the Year award last year, Foulland earned that honor in 2017. Foulland was the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2018, and Brown was the Patriot League Tournament MVP.

Who's New?

Three first-year players have joined the team this season: Walter Ellis (Granger, Ind.), Andrew Funk (Warrington, Pa.), and Kahliel Spear (The Colony, Texas).
All three freshmen were with the team on the European tour this summer and saw extensive playing time. Ellis was the team's second-leading scorer with 14.7 ppg.
Ellis spent three years at Adams High School in South Bend, Ind., before transferring to Brewster Academy in New Hampshire for his senior year.
Funk helped Archbishop Wood to a 28-3 record, its first-ever Philadelphia Catholic League title, and the Class 5A state championship during his junior season. He then earned PCL Player of the Year honors as a senior.
Spear was an All-District and Academic All-State selection at The Colony High School, which went 24-10 during his senior year.

Euro Bison

This past August, the Bison men's basketball team spent 10 days in Europe, visiting The Netherlands, Belgium and France.
Bucknell played one game in each country, winning all three. The Bison topped Apollo Amsterdam (94-58), the Ghent Hawks (107-90) and Bretigny Select (95-61).
As a team, the Bison shot the ball extremely well in the three games. Bucknell shot 48.8% from the field and hit 45 of 98 (.459) 3-point attempts. Nate Jones (4-4), Jimmy Sotos (6-11), Walter Ellis (8-15) and Andrew Funk (8-16) all hit at least 50% of their 3-point tries.
Kimbal Mackenzie was the leading scorer on the tour, averaging 16.0 ppg. Ellis (14.7), Paul Newman (13.3) and Avi Toomer (10.7) also scored in double figures.
Newman was one of the breakout stars. Getting most of the minutes at center with Nate Sestina not available due to injury, Newman went 15-21 FG and 10-12 FT in the three games.
For the players and staff, the cultural experience was just as important as the basketball. Among the highlights were a visit to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, and a day in Normandy, with visits to Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery and Memorial. The group will get to experience another side of World War II in December with a visit to the Pearl Harbor Memorial in Honolulu during the off-day at the Diamond Head Classic.

Bison Scholar-Athletes
The Bucknell basketball program has also enjoyed tremendous success in the classroom in recent years. Among the highlights:

Bucknell won the "academic national championship" in both 2017 and 2018, according to Inside Higher Ed, which completed a full NCAA Tournament bracket based on the 68 competing teams' academic performances.
Bucknell annually ranks among the national leaders in student-athlete graduation rates and has even led the nation on several occasions. Bucknell ranked fourth nationally in the 2017 report with a four-class average of 90 percent. In the NCAA's Graduation Success Rate (GSR) formula, Bucknell was also highly ranked last year at 95%. Fifteen Bison sports programs had perfect 100% GSR ratings. The Bison men's basketball team was one of 59 out of 351 Division I programs to boast a GSR of 100.
The Bison men's basketball program posted a perfect score of 1,000 in the NCAA's Academic Performance Rate (APR) study, released last June. That earned the Bison program an NCAA APR Public Recognition Award. The APR awards have been given since 2007, and the Bison men's basketball program has been honored in all 12 years.
The Bison men's basketball team combined for a 3.32 grade-point average in the spring 2018 semester, one of the highest in the country. Bucknell had combined GPAs over 3.0 in both semesters in 2017-18, the ninth straight year the team has accomplished that. Leading the way was Nate Jones with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
Bucknell has claimed 135 national Academic All-Americans since 1970, including nine from men's basketball. The total of 135 ranks among the nation's best.
In the Patriot League's 28-year history, the league's men's basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year has come from Bucknell 11 times, including Nana Foulland last season.

Mike Muscala now with Philadelphia 76ers

Mike Muscala '13 is now in his sixth season in the NBA. Muscala, who is Bucknell's all-time leading scorer, is the first and only Bison ever to play in an NBA game. In 2013 he became the third Bison to be selected in the NBA Draft, when he was taken 44th overall by the Dallas Mavericks and then traded on draft night to the Hawks.
Muscala started out playing in Spain's top division in 2013-14, while the Hawks retained his draft rights. When the Hawks suffered some injuries in their frontcourt, they purchased Muscala's contract from Rio Natura Monbus Obradoiro, where he had been averaging 14.6 points and a league-high 7.8 rebounds per game.
Muscala's NBA debut came on March 2, 2014 in Phoenix, and he recorded four points and five rebounds that night in a loss to the Suns. He went to log 3.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in 20 games, with a high of 15 points in a win over Milwaukee.
After five successful seasons with the Hawks, Muscala was dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers in a three-team trade this past offseason. After missing the first few games of the season with an ankle injury, Muscala is one of the team's top reserves.

Who's Got Next?

Bucknell welcomes Fairfield to Sojka Pavilion for the 2018-19 home opener on Saturday at 7 p.m. Prior to the game, the team will unfurl its 2018 Patriot League championship and NCAA Tournament banners.