Bucknell University Athletics
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Bucknell Men’s Basketball Non-Conference Schedule Announced
8/4/2021 10:26:00 AM | Men's Basketball
2021-22 Bucknell Men's Basketball Non-Conference Schedule
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell men's basketball team will play 13 non-conference games this November and December, starting with a Nov. 9 date at North Carolina State. A Thanksgiving-week trip to the Cancun Challenge highlights the 2021 non-league slate, and the Bison will play home games against Penn, Rider, Siena and La Salle.
"We are very excited about the return of college basketball season, and as usual we have put together a very challenging non-conference schedule that will prepare us for the rigors of Patriot League play," said head coach Nathan Davis. "We have four home games against quality opponents along with some tough games on the road. We had a very productive summer with the whole team on campus for several weeks, and we can't wait to get everyone back to prepare for our 2021-22 schedule."
Bucknell opens its 127th men's basketball season on Tuesday, Nov. 9 against an N.C. State team that finished 14-11 in 2020-21 and advanced to the second round of the NIT. It will be Bucknell's second-ever date with the Wolfpack, with the other a 99-86 N.C. State win in Nathan Davis' debut season in 2015-16. The Bison held a 73-72 lead late in that game, but the hot-shooting Wolfpack pulled away late despite 29 points from Chris Hass and 25 from Zach Thomas.
Five days later, the Bison make their 2021-22 home debut against Penn at Sojka Pavilion. That will be a 2 p.m. tip on Sunday, Nov. 14. The Ivy League did not participate last year due to COVID-19, so Bucknell will be taking on a Quakers team that will be back in action for the first time since a strong 2019-20 campaign. Penn went 16-11 that season, including non-league wins over the likes of Alabama, Providence, Central Florida and Temple. Bucknell and Penn have not met since Dec. 1, 2004 at The Palestra. The Quakers won that game 65-52, but the Bison followed with an 11-game winning streak and later went on to win the Patriot League championship and stun Kansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Former East Coast Conference rival Rider follows Penn into Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday, Nov. 17. The Bison are 30-25 all-time against the Broncs, but Rider captured the most recent meeting, 89-69, in Lawrenceville, N.J., two seasons ago.
Next up is Bucknell's first-ever appearance in the Cancun Challenge. The Bison were scheduled to play in the event last season, when it was recast as the Space Coast Challenge and moved to Florida due to COVID-19. This time around, Bucknell will play a campus-site game at Illinois State on Saturday, Nov. 20, before heading to Cancun for games on Nov. 23-24.
The Bucknell-Illinois State game is slated for 3 p.m. ET in Normal, Ill. The two teams have met twice previously, with both coming in holiday tournament action in the early 1990s. Bucknell defeated Illinois State 79-61 in the 1991 Lobo Invitational at New Mexico, and two seasons later the Redbirds returned the favor with an 89-76 win at the Music City Classic in Nashville.
The two games in Mexico will be held at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya. Bucknell is playing in the Mayan Division of the tournament, along with Mercer, Middle Tennessee and Rider. The Riviera Division includes Illinois State, Buffalo, Saint Louis and Stephen F. Austin.
Bucknell will open with Mercer at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 23, with the Middle Tennessee-Rider game tipping off at 12:30 p.m. The winners and losers will meet on Nov. 24, again at 12:30 and 3 p.m. All games from the Mayan Division will be broadcast by FloHoops.
The Bison have played just one previous game against both Mercer and Middle Tennessee, and once again both came in early season tournament action. Bucknell opened the 2009-10 season with an 89-80 loss to Mercer at the World Vision Invitational, hosted by Providence. In December 1977, the Bison fell to Middle Tennessee 77-65 at the Senior Bowl Tournament in Mobile, Ala.
Bucknell will be taking on a Mercer team that is coming off a stellar 2020-21 campaign. The Bears finished 18-11 overall, including a win over Georgia Tech, and they made it all the way to the Southern Conference Tournament final before losing to UNC Greensboro.
"It was disappointing for everyone that the circumstances did not allow us to take part in the Cancun Challenge last year, but we are really excited that they invited us to return this year," said Davis. "We have been able to go to some great destinations for holiday tournaments in recent years, and this is another one that our guys are very much looking forward to."
After Thanksgiving, the Bison return home to face a good Siena team on Sunday, Nov. 28. The Saints played only Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference foes last season and finished 12-5. They were the No. 1 seed in the MAAC Tournament but were upset by eventual-champion Iona in the quarterfinals. The last time the Bison and Saints met in Sojka Pavilion was in 2017-18, and Bucknell exploded for 115 points in a 23-point victory. But that is Bucknell's only win against Siena in six all-time meetings. The Saints won 81-71 in Albany two seasons ago.
Bucknell starts the month of December with three straight road games at Saint Francis (Pa.) (Dec. 1), Hofstra (Dec. 4) and Princeton (Dec. 7). The Bison and Red Flash have squared off 29 times previously, but not since Bucknell's 72-50 win at Sojka Pavilion in 2013-14.
Bucknell is 20-10 all-time against former ECC rival Hofstra, including a good 86-71 home win two seasons ago. Former Hofstra star Speedy Claxton will be in his first season as the Pride's head coach. Bucknell is also returning a trip to Princeton after the Tigers prevailed 87-77 at Sojka Pavilion in 2019-20. Princeton went 14-13 overall and 9-5 in the Ivy League that season, but then did not compete last year.
The Bison welcome La Salle back to Lewisburg on Saturday, Dec. 18. The 2 p.m. start will be the first leg of a hoops doubleheader at Sojka, as the Bison women are slated to take on George Mason at 5 p.m. Bucknell had won two straight meetings against the Explorers prior to 2019-20, when the Bison closed out non-league play with a 71-59 loss at The Palestra.
Bucknell travels to Richmond on Wednesday, Dec. 22 to take on a Spiders squad that returns 15 of its 16 players, including four 1,000-point scorers, from last year's team that went 14-9 and reached the NIT quarterfinals. The Bison are 4-3 all-time against Richmond, including a come-from-behind 86-78 win at Richmond in the most recent meeting in 2017-18.
The final non-conference game will be a road tilt at Albany on Wednesday, Dec. 29. The Great Danes have a new head coach in Dwayne Killings after finishing 7-9 overall and 6-6 in the America East last season. The Bison will see a familiar face in center Paul Newman, who is playing as a graduate student at Albany this season after wrapping up his four-year career at Bucknell last winter.
Bucknell's 2022 Patriot League schedule will be announced at a later date.
Bucknell Men's Basketball 2021-22 Non-Conference Schedule
Date Opponent Time (ET) Series Record
Nov. 9 at North Carolina State TBA 0-1
Nov. 14 PENN 2 p.m. 3-4
Nov. 17 RIDER TBA 30-25
Nov. 20 at Illinois State# 3 p.m. 1-1
Nov. 23 vs. Mercer^ 3 p.m. 0-1
Nov. 24 vs. Middle Tennessee or Rider^ 12:30/3 p.m. 0-1/30-25
Nov. 28 SIENA 2 p.m. 1-5
Dec. 1 at Saint Francis (Pa.) TBA 17-12
Dec. 4 at Hofstra TBA 20-10
Dec. 7 at Princeton TBA 4-15
Dec. 18 LA SALLE 2 p.m. 8-20
Dec. 22 at Richmond TBA 4-3
Dec. 29 at Albany TBA 7-2
# Cancun Challenge campus site game
# Cancun Challenge at Cancun, Mexico
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell men's basketball team will play 13 non-conference games this November and December, starting with a Nov. 9 date at North Carolina State. A Thanksgiving-week trip to the Cancun Challenge highlights the 2021 non-league slate, and the Bison will play home games against Penn, Rider, Siena and La Salle.
"We are very excited about the return of college basketball season, and as usual we have put together a very challenging non-conference schedule that will prepare us for the rigors of Patriot League play," said head coach Nathan Davis. "We have four home games against quality opponents along with some tough games on the road. We had a very productive summer with the whole team on campus for several weeks, and we can't wait to get everyone back to prepare for our 2021-22 schedule."
Bucknell opens its 127th men's basketball season on Tuesday, Nov. 9 against an N.C. State team that finished 14-11 in 2020-21 and advanced to the second round of the NIT. It will be Bucknell's second-ever date with the Wolfpack, with the other a 99-86 N.C. State win in Nathan Davis' debut season in 2015-16. The Bison held a 73-72 lead late in that game, but the hot-shooting Wolfpack pulled away late despite 29 points from Chris Hass and 25 from Zach Thomas.
Five days later, the Bison make their 2021-22 home debut against Penn at Sojka Pavilion. That will be a 2 p.m. tip on Sunday, Nov. 14. The Ivy League did not participate last year due to COVID-19, so Bucknell will be taking on a Quakers team that will be back in action for the first time since a strong 2019-20 campaign. Penn went 16-11 that season, including non-league wins over the likes of Alabama, Providence, Central Florida and Temple. Bucknell and Penn have not met since Dec. 1, 2004 at The Palestra. The Quakers won that game 65-52, but the Bison followed with an 11-game winning streak and later went on to win the Patriot League championship and stun Kansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Former East Coast Conference rival Rider follows Penn into Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday, Nov. 17. The Bison are 30-25 all-time against the Broncs, but Rider captured the most recent meeting, 89-69, in Lawrenceville, N.J., two seasons ago.
Next up is Bucknell's first-ever appearance in the Cancun Challenge. The Bison were scheduled to play in the event last season, when it was recast as the Space Coast Challenge and moved to Florida due to COVID-19. This time around, Bucknell will play a campus-site game at Illinois State on Saturday, Nov. 20, before heading to Cancun for games on Nov. 23-24.
The Bucknell-Illinois State game is slated for 3 p.m. ET in Normal, Ill. The two teams have met twice previously, with both coming in holiday tournament action in the early 1990s. Bucknell defeated Illinois State 79-61 in the 1991 Lobo Invitational at New Mexico, and two seasons later the Redbirds returned the favor with an 89-76 win at the Music City Classic in Nashville.
The two games in Mexico will be held at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya. Bucknell is playing in the Mayan Division of the tournament, along with Mercer, Middle Tennessee and Rider. The Riviera Division includes Illinois State, Buffalo, Saint Louis and Stephen F. Austin.
Bucknell will open with Mercer at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 23, with the Middle Tennessee-Rider game tipping off at 12:30 p.m. The winners and losers will meet on Nov. 24, again at 12:30 and 3 p.m. All games from the Mayan Division will be broadcast by FloHoops.
The Bison have played just one previous game against both Mercer and Middle Tennessee, and once again both came in early season tournament action. Bucknell opened the 2009-10 season with an 89-80 loss to Mercer at the World Vision Invitational, hosted by Providence. In December 1977, the Bison fell to Middle Tennessee 77-65 at the Senior Bowl Tournament in Mobile, Ala.
Bucknell will be taking on a Mercer team that is coming off a stellar 2020-21 campaign. The Bears finished 18-11 overall, including a win over Georgia Tech, and they made it all the way to the Southern Conference Tournament final before losing to UNC Greensboro.
"It was disappointing for everyone that the circumstances did not allow us to take part in the Cancun Challenge last year, but we are really excited that they invited us to return this year," said Davis. "We have been able to go to some great destinations for holiday tournaments in recent years, and this is another one that our guys are very much looking forward to."
After Thanksgiving, the Bison return home to face a good Siena team on Sunday, Nov. 28. The Saints played only Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference foes last season and finished 12-5. They were the No. 1 seed in the MAAC Tournament but were upset by eventual-champion Iona in the quarterfinals. The last time the Bison and Saints met in Sojka Pavilion was in 2017-18, and Bucknell exploded for 115 points in a 23-point victory. But that is Bucknell's only win against Siena in six all-time meetings. The Saints won 81-71 in Albany two seasons ago.
Bucknell starts the month of December with three straight road games at Saint Francis (Pa.) (Dec. 1), Hofstra (Dec. 4) and Princeton (Dec. 7). The Bison and Red Flash have squared off 29 times previously, but not since Bucknell's 72-50 win at Sojka Pavilion in 2013-14.
Bucknell is 20-10 all-time against former ECC rival Hofstra, including a good 86-71 home win two seasons ago. Former Hofstra star Speedy Claxton will be in his first season as the Pride's head coach. Bucknell is also returning a trip to Princeton after the Tigers prevailed 87-77 at Sojka Pavilion in 2019-20. Princeton went 14-13 overall and 9-5 in the Ivy League that season, but then did not compete last year.
The Bison welcome La Salle back to Lewisburg on Saturday, Dec. 18. The 2 p.m. start will be the first leg of a hoops doubleheader at Sojka, as the Bison women are slated to take on George Mason at 5 p.m. Bucknell had won two straight meetings against the Explorers prior to 2019-20, when the Bison closed out non-league play with a 71-59 loss at The Palestra.
Bucknell travels to Richmond on Wednesday, Dec. 22 to take on a Spiders squad that returns 15 of its 16 players, including four 1,000-point scorers, from last year's team that went 14-9 and reached the NIT quarterfinals. The Bison are 4-3 all-time against Richmond, including a come-from-behind 86-78 win at Richmond in the most recent meeting in 2017-18.
The final non-conference game will be a road tilt at Albany on Wednesday, Dec. 29. The Great Danes have a new head coach in Dwayne Killings after finishing 7-9 overall and 6-6 in the America East last season. The Bison will see a familiar face in center Paul Newman, who is playing as a graduate student at Albany this season after wrapping up his four-year career at Bucknell last winter.
Bucknell's 2022 Patriot League schedule will be announced at a later date.
Bucknell Men's Basketball 2021-22 Non-Conference Schedule
Date Opponent Time (ET) Series Record
Nov. 9 at North Carolina State TBA 0-1
Nov. 14 PENN 2 p.m. 3-4
Nov. 17 RIDER TBA 30-25
Nov. 20 at Illinois State# 3 p.m. 1-1
Nov. 23 vs. Mercer^ 3 p.m. 0-1
Nov. 24 vs. Middle Tennessee or Rider^ 12:30/3 p.m. 0-1/30-25
Nov. 28 SIENA 2 p.m. 1-5
Dec. 1 at Saint Francis (Pa.) TBA 17-12
Dec. 4 at Hofstra TBA 20-10
Dec. 7 at Princeton TBA 4-15
Dec. 18 LA SALLE 2 p.m. 8-20
Dec. 22 at Richmond TBA 4-3
Dec. 29 at Albany TBA 7-2
# Cancun Challenge campus site game
# Cancun Challenge at Cancun, Mexico
Players Mentioned
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