Men's Basketball Starts Busy Thanksgiving Week at Syracuse on Saturday

Saturday, November 23

Syracuse, N.Y.

12 p.m.

Bucknell University

Syracuse

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Men's Basketball Starts Busy Thanksgiving Week at Syracuse on Saturday

11/22/2019 10:46:00 AM | Men's Basketball

The holiday periods are typically a busy but fun time for college basketball programs around the country, and that is certainly the case again this year for Bucknell. Two seasons ago the Bison spent Thanksgiving in Las Vegas; last year it was Christmas in Hawai'i; and now Bucknell is preparing for three Thanksgiving-week games in four days as part of the NIT Season Tip-Off. The Bison play a campus-site game at Syracuse on Saturday before departing for Orlando to meet up with Seattle, Yale and Western Michigan in the "mid-major" portion of the bracket on Monday and Tuesday.

Since posting a 15-point win over Hofstra on Nov. 13 -- the same Hofstra team that won by 10 at UCLA on Thursday night -- the Bison have dropped back-to-back contests on the road against Canisius (83-81) and Penn State (98-70). The Penn State game on Tuesday was just a three-point margin at the half, but the unbeaten Nittany Lions pulled away with a couple of big runs in the second half.

Bucknell is 1-9 all-time against Syracuse, but there are some significant dates in the series. The two teams met in the 1989 NCAA Tournament, which at the time was just the second-ever NCAA appearance for the Bison. Bucknell's win over No. 17 Syracuse at the Carrier Dome on Nov. 22, 2005 was the team's most recent victory over a ranked opponent. And the last meeting between the Bison and the Orange on Dec. 20, 2011 was also the last time Bucknell played the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.

On Saturday, Bucknell's Nathan Davis will go up against Syracuse's legendary Jim Boeheim for the first time as a head coach. Davis was on the bench as an assistant to Pat Flannery when the Bison beat Syracuse in 2005. This year's Orange team has won three straight after a season-opening conference loss to defending national champion Virginia.

Here are more facts & figures for Saturday's game ...

What: Bucknell (2-3) at Syracuse (3-1)
Where: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y. | TICKETS
When: Saturday, Nov. 23, 12 p.m.
TV: ACC Network
Internet: WatchESPN
Local Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 FM WEGH)
Listen Live: BucknellBison.com and Eagle107.com
Live Stats: C use.com

COMPLETE GAME NOTES

Bucknell Probable Starters
G: Jimmy Sotos (12.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.8 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (11.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.8 apg)
G: Avi Toomer (10.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.0 apg)
F: Bruce Moore (11.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.0 apg)
C: Paul Newman (5.8 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 0.6 bpg)

With a Win over Syracuse, Bucknell Would ...

... improve to 3-3 overall and 2-2 on the road this season.
... improve to 2-9 all-time against the Orange and 2-1 in the last three meetings.
... defeat an ACC team for the first time since the 1960-61 season (Virginia 99-81), and for only the third time ever.
... give head coach Nathan Davis his 92nd win as Bucknell's head coach.

Headlines

Bucknell and Syracuse get together for the first time in eight years when the two teams square off on Saturday afternoon at the Carrier Dome.
Just like Bucknell's most recent game at Penn State, this is a campus-site game in the NIT Season Tip-Off. Following the game, the Bison will fly to Orlando for the mid-major portion of the event along with Seattle, Yale and Western Michigan. Penn State, Syracuse, Oklahoma State and Ole Miss will meet in Brooklyn on the Wednesday and Friday surrounding Thanksgiving.
The Bison are looking to shake a two-game losing streak after falling on the road to Canisius and Penn State. Bucknell trailed by just three at the half at Penn State on Tuesday, but the Nittany Lions pulled away over the final 15 minutes to remain unbeaten on the season.
Through five games, the Bison have been very impressive in some areas, and at the same time they are looking for improvement in other areas. Two big positives are 3-point shooting and rebounding. The Bison are shooting 38.5% (50-130) from downtown while making 10.0 treys per game. At the same time they have held opponents to 26.7% (23-86). On the glass, Bucknell is +9 on the season and is rebounding 32.0% of its own misses, the second-best mark in the Patriot League. On the negative side, Bucknell has shot 50 fewer free throws than its opponents and has turned the ball over 23 more times than its foes.
Bucknell has had some big offensive performances in the early going, highlighted by back-to-back games with 15 3-pointers against Hofstra and Canisius. The Bison will face a stiff challenge in this game, however, as Syracuse is typically one of the better defensive teams in the nation. In four games this season the Orange have held opponents to 35.5% shooting from the field and 26.3% from 3-point distance. Earlier this season against Patriot League preseason favorite Colgate, Syracuse limited the Raiders to only five made 2-point baskets in 19 attempts. Colgate did hit 13 3-pointers, but they came from 41 attempts. Syracuse held defending national champion Virginia to 48 points (albeit in a 48-34 loss) on opening night, and the Orange are conceding only 55.5 points per game thus far.
Bucknell was picked second to Colgate in the Patriot League preseason poll. Those two teams played in the 2019 Patriot League Tournament final, with the Raiders prevailing 94-80 to thwart Bucknell's hopes of a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Bucknell and Colgate shared the 2019 Patriot League regular-season title with 13-5 conference records. It was Bucknell's fifth straight PL regular-season crown and eighth in the last nine years. The run of five regular-season titles in a row is the second-longest current streak in the nation, behind only Gonzaga (7).
Syracuse has bounced back from that season-opening loss to Virginia with consecutive wins over Colgate, Seattle and Cornell. Elijah Hughes leads the team in scoring at 16.3 ppg. Buddy Boeheim (12.5) and Joseph Girard III (10.3) also score in double figures for the Orange, who shoot 44.8% as a team and 32.3% from 3-point range.
Bucknell's Walter Ellis and Syracuse's Buddy Boeheim were teammates at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., in 2017-18. They helped the team to a 26-7 record and the NEPSAC AAA regular-season championship.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Syracuse game will be televised on the ACC Network. Jon Meterparel and Malcolm Huckaby will call the action. The ACC Network is available through many cable and satellite outlets, and ACCN games also stream on the ESPN digital platform.
The game can be heard in the Susquehanna Valley on the radio on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM). Doug Birdsong handles the play-by-play duties. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off.
Live statistics can be accessed via Cuse.com.
The audio feed is available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com and Eagle107.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Last Time Out

Lamar Stevens scored 21 of his game-high 27 points in Penn State's big second half, as the Nittany Lions pulled away for a 98-70 victory over Bucknell on Tuesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Andrew Funk led four Bison in double figures with 15 points, but Penn State broke open a three-point game at the half with a couple of big runs after the break.
Funk hit 7 of 12 shots from the field on the way to his 15 points. Bruce Moore added 14 points, Jimmy Sotos had 10 points and six assists, and Paul Newman just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Stevens' own personal 8-0 run to start the second half sparked his big night, helping Penn State outscore Bucknell 53-28 over the final 20 minutes. Mike Watkins followed with 18 points, Myles Dread had 12 and Jamari Wheeler 10 for the Nittany Lions, who attacked the basket aggressively all night. Penn State shot 60% overall despite a 5-for-16 showing from 3-point range. The hosts logged 58 points in the paint, 25 fastbreak points, and outscored Bucknell 15-3 from the free-throw line.
The Bison got a nice lift off the bench from Ben Robertson late in the first half. He scored seven quick points on two hard drives to the basket and a press-beating 3-pointer from the right wing. His reverse layup pulled Bucknell within 31-27 and forced a Penn State timeout with 5:56 to go in the half.

Bucknell vs. Syracuse Series Notes

Bucknell is 1-9 all-time against Syracuse, with the first meeting dating all the way back to March 3, 1915 (a 37-20 Syracuse win).
This will be Bucknell's first meeting with Syracuse since the Orange moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference, and it is Bucknell's first game against Syracuse under head coach Nathan Davis.
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 first 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% (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.
The two teams have met once more since then, an 80-61 Syracuse win on Dec. 20, 2011. The Orange were ranked No. 1 in the country at the time, and that is Bucknell's most recent game against a No. 1 team. Mike Muscala led Bucknell with 14 points and seven rebounds. Kris Joseph paced Syracuse with 17 points.

Bucknell vs. The ACC

Bucknell has an 11-53 record against the 15 teams that now make up the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Bison are 9-18 against Pittsburgh, 1-2 vs. Virginia, 1-9 vs. Syracuse, 0-8 vs. Wake Forest, 0-3 vs. Notre Dame, 0-3 vs. Duke, 0-2 vs. Boston College, 0-2 vs. Clemson, 0-2 vs. Miami, 0-1 vs. North Carolina State, 0-1 vs. North Carolina, 0-1 vs. Virginia Tech and 0-1 vs. Florida State.
Bucknell has two all-time victories against teams that were in the ACC at the time of the game. The Bison defeated Virginia 99-81 on Jan. 27, 1961 and South Carolina 67-65 on Dec. 30, 1958.

Notable Numbers

Center Paul Newman's minutes have been limited due to some foul trouble this season, but his rebounding numbers have been stellar. Newman is averaging 8.6 rebounds per game, 0.5 rebounds per minute, and 18.9 rebounds per 40 minutes. Newman has grabbed 26.0% of all available rebounds during his time on the floor thus far.
Turnovers have been an issue for the Bison in the early going. Their 24 turnovers at Canisius last Saturday were their most since committing 24 at Army in February 2008. Bucknell has logged 81 turnovers thus far compared to just 58 for their opponents.
Another trend the Bison will look to correct is a free-throw disparity. Opponents have attempted 120 free throws to just 70 for Bucknell through five games. In the Nathan Davis era the Bison are 57-15 when attempting more free throws than their opponent, but just 28-31 when attempting fewer.
Bucknell held its first three opponents (Fairfield, Vermont, Hofstra) to a combined 37.6% shooting from the field. But the last two (Canisius, Penn State) have shot 59.8%.
Bucknell's 3-point defense has been terrific thus far. Opponents are just 23-for-86 (.267) from downtown, and Bucknell ranks 49th nationally and first in the Patriot League in 3FG defense. The Bison have outscored opponents 150-69 from the arc this season.
Bucknell's bench has been a big story in the early going. The Bison reserve unit has combined for 142 of the team's 368 points (38.6%) so far. Junior forward John Meeks has been the catalyst. Meeks is averaging 13.6 ppg coming off the bench, highlighted by a career-high 19 points against Fairfield. Meeks is the team's leading scorer, and he is averaging 24.3 points per 40 minutes. Another key player off the bench has been sophomore Walter Ellis, who ranks fifth in the Patriot League with a .579 3-point percentage (11-19).
Bucknell is averaging 15.0 offensive rebounds over its last three games.

Who's Got Next?

Bucknell has a quick turnaround after flying from Syracuse to Orlando on Saturday evening. The Bison will play Seattle on Monday at 2 p.m. in Orlando as part of the NIT Season Tip-Off. Western Michigan and Yale will play at noon on the other side of the four-team bracket, and then the winners and losers will meet on Tuesday.
There is no admission charge to the games in Orlando. The games will be played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, and all games will be televised on ESPNU.