Men's Basketball Faces Seattle in Monday Matinee in Orlando

Monday, November 25

Orlando, Fla. (HP Field House)

2 p.m.

Bucknell University

Seattle

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Men's Basketball Faces Seattle in Monday Matinee in Orlando

11/24/2019 3:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Just 48 hours after wrapping up a game in Syracuse, the Bison turn right back around and face Seattle on Monday afternoon in Orlando in a semifinal game in the mid-major portion of the NIT Season Tip-Off. The good news for Bucknell is that the games in Orlando provide a quick chance to put the Syracuse game in the rear-view mirror, after the Bison absorbed a 97-46 loss at the Carrier Dome.

Two of the three other teams in the field this week are unfamiliar foes. Bucknell has never faced Seattle or Western Michigan, and despite being two of the oldest teams in the nation, Bucknell and Yale have only met six times and not since 2006.

As the Bison look to get back on track, particularly on the defensive end of the floor, you can follow all of the action from HP Field House on ESPNU. And if you are in the area, come on over to Orlando ... there is free admission to the games!

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

What: Bucknell (2-4) vs. Seattle (2-4)
Where: HP Field House, Orlando, Fla.
When: Monday, Nov. 25, 2 p.m.
TV: ESPNU
Local Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 FM WEGH)
Listen Live: BucknellBison.com and Eagle107.com
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

COMPLETE GAME NOTES

Bucknell Probable Starters
G: Jimmy Sotos (11.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.8 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (9.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.8 apg)
G: Avi Toomer (8.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.7 apg)
F: Bruce Moore (12.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.8 apg)
C: Paul Newman (5.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 0.5 bpg)

With a Win over Seattle, Bucknell Would ...

... snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 3-4 on the season.
... advance to Tuesday's championship game against either Western Michigan or Yale.
... improve to 2-0 all-time against the Western Athetic Conference.
... give head coach Nathan Davis his 92nd win as Bucknell's head coach.

Headlines

Bucknell is in Orlando for the mid-major portion of the NIT Season -Tip-Off. The Bison take on Seattle on Monday at 2 p.m. in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Western Michigan (4-2) and Yale (3-3) start the day with a noon tip.
Bucknell is looking to shake out of a three-game losing streak dating back to a Nov. 13 win over Hofstra. The Bison were beaten on a last-second shot at Canisius, then saw Penn State break open a three-point game with a big second half, then had a long day in a 97-46 loss at Syracuse on Saturday.
In Orlando the Bison will be looking to get back to their defensive form from the first three games of the season, when they went 2-1 with wins over Fairfield and Hofstra and a three-point loss to a very good Vermont team.

Bucknell Defense First Three Games Bucknell Defense Last Three Games
PPG Allowed 67.0 92.7
Opponent FG% .376 .585
Opponent 3FG% .214 .424

One bright spot from the Syracuse game was the play of senior forward Bruce Moore, who scored 17 points in 21 minutes of action. Moore took over the team scoring lead at 12.2 points per game.
Bucknell has fared well in recent holiday tournaments. In 2016-17 the Bison went to Las Vegas and swept two games to win the mid-major bracket at the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational, after beating Vanderbilt on the way out. Last season Bucknell went 2-1 to finish in third place out of eight teams at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. The Bison beat Rhode Island, lost to nationally ranked TCU, and then routed UNLV 97-72 in the third-place game.
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).
Bucknell's first opponent in Orlando is the Seattle Redhawks, who come in with a 2-4 record. Seattle has been idle since a 65-52 loss at Ole Miss on Nov. 19. The Redhawks also have losses to Washington State (85-54), Eastern Washington (74-66) and Syracuse (89-67), whie the victories are against Pacific Lutheran (98-64) and Pacific (Ore.) (115-81). Terrell Brown leads the team in scoring at 21.7 ppg. Brown has taken 30% of the team's shots on the season. Myles Carter scores 13.5 ppg, and American transfer Delante Jones averages 8.0 ppg. Seattle shoots 41.8% as a team and 23.0% from 3-point distance.

How to Get the Game

Both of Bucknell's games in Orlando will be televised live on ESPNU. Chuckie Kempf and Robbie Hummel will call the action from HP Field House.
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 at nitorl.statbroadcast.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

It was a long afternoon for Bucknell on Saturday at the Carrier Dome, as Syracuse rode 22 points from Buddy Boeheim and 21 from Elijah Hughes to a 97-46 win over the Bison in a campus-site game of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
The Bison struggled to get anything going offensively against Syracuse's vaunted 2-3 zone, and at the other end the Orange shot 56% and went 14-for-29 from 3-point range.
Bucknell did receive 17 points from Bruce Moore, two shy of his career high. Moore made 6 of 9 shots from the field and 5 of 7 from the foul line. Jimmy Sotos added seven points, four rebounds and four assists.
Bucknell was held to 26% shooting overall and 3-for-24 from 3-point range. A big factor in Bucknell's season-low field-goal percentage was Syracuse's 13 blocked shots. The Orange also had 14 steals in the game.

Bucknell vs. Seattle and the WAC

This will be Bucknell's first meeting with Seattle, and its first against any team from the state of Washington.
Prior to the Seattle game, Bucknell has played only one of nine teams that currently comprise the Western Athletic Conference. On Nov. 17, 2013 the Bison defeated New Mexico State 62-49 at Niagara as part of the 2K Sports Classic.
As for the other two teams in the tournament, Bucknell is 4-2 all-time against Yale, and the Bison have never met Western Michigan.

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 8.0 rebounds per game, 0.4 rebounds per minute, and 17.5 rebounds per 40 minutes. Newman has grabbed 23.9% 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 104 turnovers thus far compared to just 73 for their opponents.
Another trend the Bison will look to correct is a free-throw disparity. Opponents have attempted 131 free throws to just 87 for Bucknell through six games, although the Bison did get to the line six more times than Syracuse on Saturday. In the Nathan Davis era the Bison are 57-16 when attempting more free throws than their opponent, but just 28-31 when attempting fewer.
Bucknell's bench has been a big story in the early going. The Bison reserve unit has combined for 162 of the team's 414 points (39.1%) so far. Junior forward John Meeks has been the catalyst. Meeks is averaging 12.0 ppg coming off the bench, highlighted by a career-high 19 points against Fairfield. Meeks is averaging 22.0 points per 40 minutes.
Bucknell is averaging 14.5 offensive rebounds over its last three games.