Men's Basketball Opens 2021-22 Season Tuesday at N.C. State

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell men's basketball team makes its 2021-22 debut on Tuesday night on the road at North Carolina State. The Bison are thrilled to be back playing a non-conference schedule for the first time in two seasons, and head coach Nathan Davis will be testing his young squad early and often against a tough schedule.

Here are some links to get you up to speed on this year's squad.

• 2021-22 Season Preview
• Complete Game Notes
• 2021-22 Media Guide
• Digital Game Program

GAME DIGEST
What: Bucknell (0-0, 0-0 PL) at North Carolina State (0-0, 0-0 ACC)
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh, N.C.
When: Tuesday, Nov. 9, 8 p.m.
Internet Stream (U.S.): ACC Network Extra
Local Radio: The Valley (WVLY 100.9 FM)

Bucknell Tentative Starters (2020-21 Stats)
G: Xander Rice (10.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.3 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (12.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.5 apg)
G: Josh Adoh (1.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.3 apg)
F: Jake van der Heijden (3.3 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.8 apg)
C: Andre Screen (7.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.5 bpg)

With a Win over North Carolina State, Bucknell Would ...

... improve to 82-45 all-time in season openers.
... defeat an ACC team for the first time since the 1960-61 season (Virginia 99-81), and for only the third time ever.
... defeat a team from a Power 5 conference for the first time since the 2016-17 season (Vanderbilt 75-72).
... give head coach Nathan Davis his 109th victory as Bucknell's head coach and bring him within one of Malcolm Musser for fourth on the program's all-time wins list.

Headlines

Bucknell tips off its 127th season of men's basketball on Tuesday night at North Carolina State. This will be Bucknell's first non-conference game in 682 days. The Bison played a COVID-abbreviated, Patriot League-only slate after New Year's last year, so the Wolfpack are Bucknell's first non-league foe since Dec. 28, 2019, a 71-59 loss to La Salle at The Palestra.
The Bison finished 5-7 in that modified schedule last year. The Patriot League went to a three-division format to reduce travel, with teams playing weekend home-and-home series on Saturdays and Sundays. Bucknell finished second in the Patriot League Central Division and advanced to the Patriot League Tournament semifinals before falling to eventual-champion Colgate.
Bucknell won eight Patriot League regular-season titles in a nine-year span from 2011-19, and the Bison went to the NCAA Tournament in 2011, 2013, 2017 and 2018 during that stretch. This year Bucknell is trying to rebound from rare back-to-back sub-.500 seasons, although the Bison did get as far as the conference tournament semifinals in both years.
Head coach Nathan Davis is looking forward to playing a full non-conference schedule, as this year's squad is short on experience. Andrew Funk is the only senior on the roster and the only player on the squad who has appeared in more than 46 games. Funk has played in 78 career contests, with junior Xander Rice, Funk's fellow co-captain, next at 46.
Rice's parents are familiar with Tobacco Road. His father, King Rice, starred as a guard at North Carolina and is now the head coach at Monmouth. His mother, Summer, was a volleyball player for the Tar Heels.
This will be a homecoming for Bucknell junior Jake van der Heijden, who is a Raleigh native and a graduate of Ravenscroft School.
Bucknell and North Carolina State have a common bond in that both teams were once coached by Jim Valvano. "Jimmy V" was Bucknell's head coach for three seasons from 1972-75. He later coached at Iona and then for 10 years at N.C. State, where he took the Wolfpack to the 1983 NCAA title.
N.C. State defeated Elizabeth City State 87-68 in an exhibition game last Monday. Jericole Hellems led five Wolfpack players in double figures with 16 points. Hellems averaged 12.9 ppg last season and is the team's top returning scorer. The Wolfpack finished 14-11 overall and 9-8 in the ACC last season. After losing to Syracuse in the second round of the ACC Tournament, N.C. State defeated Davidson and then fell to Colorado State in the NIT. The Wolfpack were picked ninth out of 15 teams in this year's ACC preseason poll.

How to Get the Game

Tuesday's opener can be seen online via ACC Network Extra. Evan Budrovich and former N.C. State guard Chris Corchiani will call the action from PNC Arena.
Doug Birdsong is in his 22nd season as Bucknell's play-by-play announcer, and he will have the radio call on WVLY 100.9 FM in the Susquehanna Valley.
The audio feed is also available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com.
Live statistics can be accessed via GoPack.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Bucknell vs. N.C. State Series Notes

This is just the second all-time meeting between the Bison and Wolfpack. The other was a 99-86 N.C. State win at PNC Arena on Dec. 5, 2015.
The Bison had a big offensive day in that one, led by a 29-point performance from Chris Hass and 25 from Zach Thomas. Hass (7-14) and Thomas (4-5) combined to hit 11 of Bucknell's 13 3-pointers, and Bucknell shot 51.6 from the field.
Unfortunately for the Bison, the Wolfpack were even better offensively. They shot 54.4% from the field and hit 9 of 17 from the arc. Maverick Rowan (27), Anthony Barber (24) and Caleb Martin (21) all topped the 20-point mark.

Bucknell vs. the ACC

Bucknell has an 11-54 record against the 15 teams that now make up the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Bison are 9-18 against Pittsburgh, 1-2 vs. Virginia, 1-10 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.

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

Patriot League Preseason Poll
1. Boston U. 154 points (11 first-place votes)
2. Colgate 153 (9)
3. Navy 114
4. Army 89
5. American 79
6. Bucknell 73
Lafayette 73
8. Loyola 65
9. Holy Cross 53
10. Lehigh 47

Preseason Player of the Year:
Javante McCoy, Boston University, Gr., G

Preseason All-League Team:
Nelly Cummings, Colgate (Sr., G)
Gerrale Gates, Holy Cross (Sr., F)
Javante McCoy, Boston University (Gr., G)
Walter Whyte, Boston University (Sr., F)
Marques Wilson, Lehigh (Gr., G)

Patriot League Success

Bucknell is 306-138 (.689) all-time in Patriot League regular-season games, the best record of any league team. The Bison have finished at least .500 in PL play 25 times in 31 Patriot League seasons.
Bucknell won three straight Patriot League regular-season titles from 2011-13, becoming the first team in league history to accomplish that feat. The Bison had won five in a row and eight of the previous nine before finishing T-6th in 2019-20.
Bucknell has made nine Patriot League Tournament appearances as the No. 1 seed and seven as the No. 2 seed.
Bucknell won Patriot League Tournament titles in 2005, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2017 and 2018. The Bison have made it to the semifinals 24 times and to the championship game 13 times in the league's first 31 years.
The Bison are the only team to go unbeaten in league play in a season (14-0 in 2006).

Home Cooking

Since Sojka Pavilion debuted in 2003, the Bison are 193-64 (.751) overall and 142-32 (.816) against Patriot League foes.
Bucknell won a record 15 home games in 2016-17, and then it matched that figure a year later. Over the last five years, Bucknell is 53-14 at home.

Who's Back?

Two regular starters (Andrew Funk, Xander Rice) return from last year's squad, although Jake van der Heijden (4) and Andre Screen (2) did combine to start six games.
Bucknell lost six lettermen from last year's squad, including Third Team All-Patriot League selection John Meeks, who was limited to six appearances but averaged 25.3 ppg in those outings.

Bucknell's Returning Production in 2021-22
Points 54.3%
Rebounds 46.8%
Assists 53.5%
Blocks 50.0%
Steals 38.6%
3FG 48.9%

Who's Got Next?

After opening the season on the road for the fifth year in a row, the Bison play their next two at home.
Penn is the guest for Sunday's home opener, with a 2 p.m. tip-time on ESPN+. Rider then comes to Sojka Pavilion the following Wednesday.

Men's Basketball Opens 2021-22 Season Tuesday at N.C. State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Adoh

Andrew Funk

Andrew Funk

John Meeks

Xander Rice

Xander Rice

Andre Screen

Jake van der Heijden

Men's Basketball Opens 2021-22 Season Tuesday at N.C. State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Adoh

Andrew Funk

Andrew Funk

John Meeks

Xander Rice

Xander Rice

Andre Screen

Jake van der Heijden

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