Thursday, March 18
Los Angeles, CA
7 p.m. (ET)
Bucknell University
at
USC
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
No. 10 Men's Water Polo Takes on No. 4 USC in NCAA Opening Round
3/17/2021 10:14:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The No. 10 Bucknell University men's water polo team will face its toughest opponent to date when it travels to Los Angeles to take on No. 4 USC at the Trojans' home pool for the NCAA Tournament opening round on Thursday evening.
Bucknell, now 4-1 on the season after an 11-3 win over La Salle in the MAWPC Championship game, will face the Trojans for the second year in a row after advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinal round last season.
In this year's edition of the tournament, the winner of the MAWPC automatically moves on to the quarterfinal round. The winner of Thursday's contest will take on No. 2 California in the semifinals.
Setting the Scene
What: No. 10 Bucknell (4-1, 3-1 MAWPC) vs. No. 4 USC (6-8, 3-7 MPSF)
Where: Uytengsu Aquatics Center, Los Angeles, Calif.
When: Thursday, March 18, 7 p.m. (ET)
Watch: NCAA LIVE
Tournament Central
About the Bison
Bucknell, now 4-1 on the season after an 11-3 win over La Salle in the MAWPC Championship game, will face the Trojans for the second year in a row after advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinal round last season.
In this year's edition of the tournament, the winner of the MAWPC automatically moves on to the quarterfinal round. The winner of Thursday's contest will take on No. 2 California in the semifinals.
Setting the Scene
What: No. 10 Bucknell (4-1, 3-1 MAWPC) vs. No. 4 USC (6-8, 3-7 MPSF)
Where: Uytengsu Aquatics Center, Los Angeles, Calif.
When: Thursday, March 18, 7 p.m. (ET)
Watch: NCAA LIVE
Tournament Central
About the Bison
- Bucknell returns to its second straight NCAA Quarterfinal appearance. The Bison finished 23-9 last season overall, and reached the quarterfinal after defeating Harvard in the NCAA Play-In game.
- Bucknell dropped a 15-9 decision to USC last season in the same round. The Bison led 3-2 after one quarter after a goal by Andu Vlasceanu with 22 seconds remaining in the period.
- However, USC used a 4-0 run in the second quarter to take a three-goal advantage. Bucknell would get no closer than three, as USC ended the third on another 3-0 run to pull away late.
- The run to the tournament capped off one of Bucknell's finest seasons in program history. The Bison have now made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament in the past five seasons under Head Coach John McBride, with its last appearance before McBride's arrival coming in 1985. Bucknell appeared in four NCAA Tournaments from 1977-1985, earning at least one win in each of those appearances.
- McBride has accumulated 172 wins on the men's side, the second most in program history, and has led the Bison to nine straight winning seasons.
- McBride was also named the MAWPC Coach of the Tournament on March 7.
- Adrien Touzot has excelled this season for the Bison in the cage. The sophomore from Beirut, Lebanon has helped keep the opposing team to seven goals or less in each of the past three games, and made a season-high 12 saves in Bucknell's MAWPC Championship victory.
- For his efforts against the Explorers, Touzot was named the MVP of the Tournament.
- Doruk Ozar, Vlasceanu, and Matt Blackwell each garnered recognition from the MAWPC for their roles in Bucknell's win.
- Ozar, a first year from Istanbul, Turkey, scored a season high four goals in the win over La Salle. Ozar has scored in all but one of Bucknell's games this season, and he was named the MAWPC Rookie of the Tournament.
- Blackwell, who has returned to the fold after missing last year's postseason run, has instantly slotted into the center position while making an impact for the Bison as a senior.
- The native of Davis, California has scored seven goals this season, the second most on the team, and has started each of Bucknell's five games this year. Blackwell has contributed 27 goals and 20 assists in his career.
- Vlasceanu, the 2019 MAWPC Rookie of the Year, leads all scorers for the Bison with eight goals, and will be one of three Bucknell starters returning from last season's quarterfinal along with Touzot and Jared Stanley.
- Josh Yardley, a transfer from George Washington, has made an immediate impact in his first season in the Orange and Blue. The native of Sellersville, Pennsylvania will be making his second NCAA Tournament appearance after the Colonials advanced to the quarterfinal round in 2018.
- Stanley, one of Bucknell's most experienced players, has started all 61 games for the Bison each of the past two seasons, and also contributed 11 starts as a first year. The native of Palo Alto, California has scored two goals this season, including a goal in the Championship game.
- Jack Lewis and Mitchell Scott are experienced options for the Bison after having spent time as key reserves during last season's postseason run. Lewis featured in both of Bucknell's NCAA contests in 2019 as a key reserve, and has also scored six goals this year. Scott gained valuable experience against both Harvard and USC last season and drew a big first half ejection in Bucknell's win in Cambridge.
- Seniors Scott Little and Kyle Poland each managed to get on the scoresheet in the win over La Salle. Poland scored from five meters with seconds remaining, while Little added two goals late to give the Atherton, California native 18 for his career.
- Bucknell is 0-5 all-time against the Trojans. Last season's 15-9 defeat was the closest margin of victory for USC in the series between the two schools.
- USC also managed victories against the Bison in 2009 (21-4), 2004 (14-3), 1992 (20-7), and 1987 (17-5).
- USC has won ten national championships, most recently in 2018, and will host for the first time since 2017.
- Jacob Mercep leads the Trojans in goals with 36 to date this season, which is double Jake Ehrhardt's 18 goals that are next on the list. Five players have managed at least ten goals this season for USC. Mercep will enter the game in a tie for 13th on USC' all-time scoring list with 148 career goals.
- Nic Porter has made 136 saves for USC, and averages 11.6 saves per game.
- The winner of Thursday's game will take on No. 2 California, which earned its first berth to the NCAA Championships since 2017.
Players Mentioned
ATK
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ATK
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UTL
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Center
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CD
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C
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ATK
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GK
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ATK
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ATK
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