Men's Basketball Begins 32nd Season of Patriot League Play with New Year's Day Clash at Boston University

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell men's basketball team is all set to bring in the new year when it travels to preseason-favorite Boston University on Saturday for the first round of Patriot League play. Both teams will be well-rested. The Bison will be in action for the first time in 10 days after Wednesday's game at UAlbany was called off due to COVID protocols within the UAlbany program. It will be a full two-week layoff for the Terriers, who saw their five-game winning streak come to an end on Dec. 18 at home against Marist.

It has been nearly two years since Bucknell and Boston University last met on the hardwood, when the Terriers clipped the Bison 64-61 in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals on March 8, 2020. Boston University would go on to beat Colgate to win the league title later that week, but the following day the sports world began to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last season, the Bison and Terriers were placed in different divisions during the modified Patriot League schedule and did not meet at all, so this will be the teams' first clash since that postseason game in March of 2020.

This is the first time that Bucknell has played Boston University in the Patriot League opener, and the two teams will not meet again until the regular-season finale in Lewisburg on Feb. 26.

Bucknell turned in its best all-around performance of the season in an 82-70 home victory over La Salle on Dec. 18, but the Bison followed that up with an 81-50 setback on the road against a very talented and very experienced Richmond team on Dec. 22. Bucknell is 3-1 at home this season but 0-6 on the road. Including two neutral-site games in Cancun during Thanksgiving week, the New Year's Day game in Boston will be Bucknell's ninth of 13 away from home this season. The Terriers are 4-1 at home, with the lone loss coming in overtime to Marist in their most recent outing.

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

GAME DIGEST
What: Bucknell (3-9, 0-0 PL) at Boston University (9-4, 0-0 PL)
Where: Case Gym, Boston, Mass.
When: Saturday, Jan. 1, 1 p.m.
Internet Stream: ESPN+
Local Radio: The Valley WVLY 100.9 FM
Internet Audio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: GoTerriers.com

Bucknell Tentative Starters
G: Xander Rice (12.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.8 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (17.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.4 apg)
G: Elvin Edmonds IV (6.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.6 apg)
F: Jake van der Heijden (7.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.3 apg)
C: Alex Timmerman (10.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 0.8 apg)

With a Win over Boston University, Bucknell Would ...

... win its Patriot League opener for the seventh time in the last eight years. The lone exception came last season, when the PL opener was also the season opener.
... win on the road for the first time in seven tries this season and snap a seven-game road losing streak dating back to last year.
... snap a three-game losing streak to the Terriers.
... improve to 14-8 all-time against the Terriers and 5-3 in Case Gym.
... improve to 307-138 all-time in Patriot League regular-season play.

Headlines

Bucknell was scheduled to wrap up non-conference play on Wednesday at UAlbany, but the game was postponed due to COVID protocols within the UAlbany program.
The Bison have now turned their attention to the Patriot League portion of the schedule, which tips off Saturday at preseason favorite Boston University.
This is the Patriot League's 32nd season, and the Bison are seeking their 14th Patriot League regular-season title and seventh PL Tournament crown. Bucknell is 306-138 (.689) all-time in Patriot League regular-season games.
Bucknell will be playing on New Year's Day for just the second time in team history. The other New Year's Day game came in 1960, when Bucknell lost to The Citadel, 95-73, at the Poinsettia Tournament in Greenville, S.C.
The UAlbany postponement means that Bucknell will be playing for the first time in 10 days, dating back to an 81-50 loss at Richmond on Dec. 22. The Bison couldn't continue the momentum from a stellar performance in a home victory over La Salle, falling on the road to a talented and veteran Spiders team. That game was much closer than the final score indicates. Bucknell led for much of the first half, and Richmond's lead was just 10 with eight minutes to play. The Spiders hit six consecutive 3-pointers as part of a 28-5 run that blew the game open late.
The Bison have logged some road miles this season, with eight of their 12 games coming away from home. Bucknell has yet to win on the road, dropping six true away games and two neutral-site games in Cancun. The difference has been defense, where they have conceded 89.5 points per game on the road compared to 68.2 ppg at home. Bison opponents have shot 38.1% from the field in Sojka Pavilion, but 49.3% in their home arenas.
Boston University was selected as the Patriot League preseason favorite by just one point over defending-champion Colgate. The Terriers backed up that prediction by posting a league-best 9-4 non-conference record. Boston University had won five games in a row until dropping its most recent contest at home to Marist, 84-79 in overtime. That is the Terriers' only home loss in five games at Case Gym this season.
Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year Javante McCoy leads the team in scoring at 17.2 points per game. McCoy, a senior guard, has shot the ball very well this season, hitting at a 51.6% clip from the field and 50.9% (29-57) from 3-point distance. Walter Whyte, another Preseason All-Patriot League pick, has missed the last eight games with an injury but was scoring 13.8 ppg before being sidelined. Senior center Sukhmail Mathon tallies 13.0 points and a league-best 9.5 rebounds per game. As a team, the Terriers are +6.5 on the glass, the best rebound margin in the league.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Boston University game can be seen on ESPN+, with Doug Brown and Brian Maurer on the call.
Doug Birdsong is in his 22nd year as "The Voice of the Bison", and he will be courtside for Bucknell's local radio broadcast on The Valley, WVLY 100.9 FM.
The audio feed is also available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com.
Live in-game statistics can be accessed at GoTerriers.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Last Time Out

Trailing a veteran Richmond team by just 10 points with eight minutes remaining, Bucknell fell victim to a staggering run from Nick Sherod and the Spiders, who pulled away for an 81-50 win last Wednesday afternoon at the Robins Center.
Sherod was 0-for-6 from 3-point range and scoreless in the game with nine minutes to play, but the sixth-year graduate student splashed five straight threes in just over five minutes to spark Richmond's game-changing 28-5 run.
Xander Rice led Bucknell with 10 points, while Alex Timmerman had nine to go with six rebounds.
Grant Golden recorded 22 points and 10 rebounds for Richmond, which won its sixth straight to improve to 9-4. Sherod and Tyler Burton scored 15 apiece, while NCAA career steals leader Jacob Gilyard had five thefts along with 11 assists. Golden and Sherod played against Bucknell all the way back in 2016 at Sojka Pavilion, and those two along with Gilyard and Nathan Cayo were key players in the 2017 game here in Richmond.
Bucknell shot 38.2% for the game, finishing 13-for-44 after an 8-for-11 start. The Bison went 6-for-19 from 3-point range.
Richmond finished at 53.1% overall — 57.6% in the second half — and went 9-for-28 from downtown.

Bucknell vs. Boston University Series Notes

Bucknell and Boston University have met 21 times previously in men's basketball, and the Bison have a 13-8 lead in the series.
This will be the first meeting between the Bison and Terriers since the 2020 Patriot League Tournament semifinals, when Boston University won 64-61 at Case Gym. The two teams did not play in the COVID-abbreviated 2021 season.
Bucknell is 6-4 at home in the series, 6-4 on the road and 1-0 at neutral sites. In games played in Boston, Bucknell is 2-1 at Agganis Arena and 4-3 at Case Gym. The Bison were once 4-0 at Case Gym, but have since lost three straight there.
The two teams met for the first time at the 2005 Cable Car Classic at Santa Clara. The Bison won that one 63-57.
In that PL semifinal game in 2020, the Terriers jumped out to a 30-13 lead, but the Bison closed the gap to three in the final minutes before coming up just short, 64-61. Senior Avi Toomer scored a career-high 23 points in his final collegiate game. Max Mahoney paced Boston University with 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Notable Numbers

Senior guard Andrew Funk was leading the Patriot League in scoring going into the Richmond game, but he dropped to third (17.3 ppg) after being held to six points by the Spiders. Funk is still enjoying his best season to date, with a scoring average, FG% (.431) and 3FG% (.371) all well above his previous career bests.
Funk has two 30-point games this season, including a career-high 38 at Illinois State on Nov. 20. Funk is one of only 13 Division I players to hit six or more 3-pointers in a game at least three times this season, and his 38 points are tied for ninth-most in the nation.
Funk's 38 points against Illinois State tied the Cancun Challenge tournament scoring record. Norris Cole, who later played in the NBA, scored 38 against Florida A&M in 2009.
Josh Adoh has scored 35 points in 55 minutes over his last four games. In that span, he is 10-18 FG, 6-10 3FG and 9-9 FT.
Jake van der Heijden is 14-32 (.438) from 3-point range over his last seven games, and he has moved up to seventh in the Patriot League in 3FG% at 42.6% on the season.
Bucknell has made 35.9% of its shots from 3-point range this season, compared to 33.5% by the opposition.
That shooting advantage has been undermined by a wide disparity in turnovers, however. The Bison have a -5.4 turnover margin on the season, and their opponents have 113 steals to only 51 for Bucknell. Opponents have attempted 124 more shots this season.
Junior center Alex Timmerman emerged when Andre Screen missed three games due to an ankle injury and then a fourth due to illness. Screen returned to the lineup against La Salle, and now the Bison have a nice duo in the pivot. Timmerman (.609) and Screen (.583) are shooting a combined 59.9% from the field on the season.
Bucknell has been excellent at the free-throw line thus far, hitting at an 80.7% clip. That is the best mark in the Patriot League and fourth-best in all of Division I basketball.

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).

Who's Got Next?

Bucknell returns home on Tuesday to face Army at 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion.

Men's Basketball Begins 32nd Season of Patriot League Play with New Year's Day Clash at Boston University

Players Mentioned

Josh Adoh

Elvin Edmonds IV

Andrew Funk

Andrew Funk

Xander Rice

Xander Rice

Andre Screen

Alex Timmerman

Alex Timmerman

Jake van der Heijden

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