Men's Basketball Resumes Schedule Sunday at Home vs. Merrimack

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- After taking 12 days off to focus on final exams, the Bucknell men's basketball team gets back at it on Sunday against an unfamiliar opponent. The Bison welcome Merrimack, a fourth-year Division I program from the Northeast Conference, on Sunday at 2 p.m.

It will be Non-Profit Appreciation Day at Sojka Pavilion. Local non-profit organizations are eligible for discounted tickets. For more information, contact Todd Newcomb at 570-577-1771 or tnewcomb@bucknell.edu.

Bucknell brings a 6-4 record into Sunday's game, which is the best 10-game start in six seasons. The Bison had won four of five games before suffering a 10-point loss at La Salle in the most recent game on Dec. 6. Andre Screen (20 points, 11 rebounds) and Ian Motta (18 points) both logged career scoring highs against the Explorers, but La Salle became only the second team all season to shoot better than 40 percent from the field against Bucknell.

Xander Rice continues to lead the Bison in scoring at 16.4 points per game, which is third-best in the Patriot League. Rice has scored in double figures in every game this season and is in the midst of a 50/40/80 shooting season.

The Warriors are the preseason favorites in the NEC. They made headlines four years ago by winning 20 games along with the NEC regular-season title in their very first Division I season. Merrimack was not eligible for postseason play that year, but it has finished .500 or better in league play in each of its first three seasons in the NEC. This year's squad is off to a 2-11 start against a challenging schedule, but the Warriors do feature one of the NEC's top players in Jordan Minor, who averages 17.7 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 63.3 percent from the field.

GAME DIGEST
What: Merrimack (2-11) at Bucknell (6-4)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Sunday, Dec. 18, 2 p.m.
Streaming: ESPN+
Local Radio: WKOK (1070 AM)
Internet Audio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
TICKETS
COMPLETE GAME NOTES
DIGITAL GAME PROGRAM

With a Win over Merrimack, Bucknell Would ...

... improve to 7-4 on the season, which would be its best 11-game start since 2016-17.
... improve to 4-1 at home this season and 204-71 all-time at Sojka Pavilion.
... improve to 3-0 on the season against first-time opponents (Austin Peay, NJIT).

Headlines

With final exams in the rear-view mirror, Bucknell resumes its non-conference schedule on Sunday afternoon against Merrimack. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Bison and Warriors, a fourth-year Division I program that is the preseason favorite in the Northeast Conference.
Prior to the 12-day break for finals, the Bison had won 4 of 5 before dropping an 82-72 decision at La Salle in their most recent outing.
The 6-4 start is Bucknell's best 10-game record since the 2016-17 team started 7-3.
Bucknell has shot 50% or better from the field seven times in 10 games this season. The Bison are shooting 50.5% on the season, which ranks eighth nationally. Bucknell also ranks eighth in Division I in effective field-goal percentage (.581), which is an adjusted rate that accounts for the added worth of a 3-pointer, and ninth in 3-point percentage (.406).

NCAA Leaders, FG% NCAA Leaders, Effective FG%* NCAA Leaders, 3FG%
Team FG%   Team Eff. FG%   Team   3FG%
1. Arizona   .547   1. Arizona .616    1. Utah State .437
2. Denver .532   2. Cornell .592   2. Jacksonville State .434
3. Indiana .511   3. Colorado State    .589      3. N.C. Central .427
4. Colorado State .511   4. Utah State .585 4. Western Kentucky   .423
5. Idaho   .507   5. Florida Atlantic   .584 5. Stephen F. Austin .421
6. Xavier .507   6. Liberty .582   6. Pepperdine .419
7. Missouri    .507   7. Idaho .581    7. UC Irvine .412
8. Bucknell     .505   8. Bucknell .581 8. Xavier .408
9. UCLA .504   9. Missouri .579 9. Bucknell .405
10. James Madison .504   10. Colgate .577 10. Belmont .405

* Effective FG% = (FG + 0.5 * 3P) / FGA

Bucknell ranks fifth nationally in most games this season shooting 50% or better from the field. Denver has done it nine times, while Butler, Colorado State, and UMass Lowell have done it eight times each. Bucknell is one of eight teams with seven games at 50%.
Bucknell also ranks 24th nationally in opponent field-goal percentage (.381), and the Bison are one of only four teams in the nation shooting over 50% while holding opponents under 39%.

NCAA Teams Shooting > 50% and Holding Teams <>
Team FG% Opponent FG%
1. Indiana .511 .384
2. Bucknell .505 .381
3. James Madison .504 .386
4. UMass-Lowell .504 .366

Xander Rice has upped his scoring output in his senior season and comes into Sunday's game as the Patriot League's third-leading scorer at 16.4 ppg. Rice has scored in double figures in every game this season and 11 straight dating back to last year.

2022-23 Patriot League Scoring Leaders
1. Gerrale Gates, Holy Cross 17.8
2. Tucker Richardson, Colgate 16.5
3. Xander Rice, Bucknell 16.4
4. Chris Mann, Army 15.1
5. Walter Whyte, Boston U. 14.5

Rice was named Tournament MVP of the Ocean Bracket at the Sunshine Slam during Thanksgiving Week. Rice has averaged 17.9 ppg over the last seven games, and he currently ranks in the top 10 in the league in six different statistical categories.
Andre Screen turned in one of the best games of his career at La Salle just before the break. Screen logged a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, tying his career scoring high in the process. He was injured late in the contest, however, and is expected to sit out the Merrimack game.
Ian Motta also set a new scoring high at La Salle with 18 points, bettering his previous best of 12. Motta hit 8 of 16 shots from the field and 2 of 3 from the arc. He continues to lead the Patriot League in 3-point accuracy at .556 (15-27).
The Bison were picked eighth in the Patriot League preseason coaches' poll, ahead of Holy Cross and Lafayette. Defending-champion Colgate was the preseason No. 1 pick.
Bucknell is looking to bounce back from a 9-23 season a year ago. The Bison were playing well at the end of the season, however, with an overtime win at Lafayette in the Patriot League Tournament first round capping a 3-1 stretch. Bucknell was eliminated by Colgate in the quarterfinal round.
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. Now Bucknell is trying to rebound from a rare run of three straight sub-.500 seasons, something that has not happened since 2007-08 to 2009-10, although the Bison did win conference tournament games in each of the last three years.
Merrimack is 2-11 overall and 0-11 against Division I opponents. The Warriors have played a challenging schedule, however, and they are expected to contend for the Northeast Conference title again this season. They were picked first in the NEC preseason poll after finishing 10-8 in league play last season.
Merrimack had little trouble adjusting to the Division I level when it moved up in 2019-20. The Warriors went 20-11 overall and 14-4 in the NEC that season. Their first DI win came on the road at Northwestern, and they went on to win the NEC regular-season title. However, as a transitioning DI program, Merrimack was not eligible for postseason play.Merrimack is led by senior forward Jordan Minor, a Second Team All-NEC selection last season. Minor averages 17.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while shooting 63.3% from the field. He has two 20-point games this season, including a 25-point effort against Vermont and a 21-point showing against Boston University.

How to Get the Game

Sunday's game will stream live on ESPN+, with "The Voice of the Bison" Doug Birdsong and former assistant coach Terry Conrad on the call.
Kevin Foedinger will have the radio call on WKOK (1070 AM) in the Susquehanna Valley.
The audio feed is also available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com.
Live statistics can be accessed via BucknellBison.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Bucknell vs. Merrimack Series Notes

This is the first-ever meeting between Bucknell and Merrimack.
The Bison are 2-0 against first-time foes this season, with the wins coming against Austin Peay and NJIT.
Bucknell has faced one other Northeast Conference opponent this season. The Bison defeated Saint Francis (Pa.) 89-65 at Sojka Pavilion on Nov. 30.

Notable Numbers

Through 10 games in 2022-23, Bucknell has been much-improved defensively over last season, when the Bison struggled to get stops. Bucknell ranks No. 1 in the Patriot League in field-goal percentage defense, and No. 2 in scoring defense and 3-point defense.

Scoring Defense Opp. FG% Opp 3FG%
2021-22 79.4 .466 .373
2022-23 64.9 .381 .319

Bucknell's streak of six straight games holding opponents under 40% shooting from the field. came to an end at La Salle last time out. Saint Peter's (.516) and La Salle (.500) are the only two teams to hit better than 40% against the Bison this season.
Bucknell shot 50% or better from the field nine times last season and has already done so seven times this year. The Bison are currently one of only five teams in the nation shooting better than 50% from the field and 40% from 3-point distance.

NCAA Teams Shooting > 50%FG and >40% 3FG%
Team FG%   Opponent FG%
1. Colorado State   .511    .401
2. Xavier   .507    .408
3. Bucknell .505     .406
4. Florida Atlantic  .502    .402
5. Louisiana .502    .402

The Bison have a +4.0 rebounding margin on the season, but they would like to improve on the defensive glass. Opponents have 117 offensive rebounds to Bucknell's 86, and that area was particularly costly in the four losses to Saint Peter's, Georgia, Marist, and La Salle, which combined for a 62-16 edge in second-chance points.
Bucknell's 21 made 3-pointers against Lebanon Valley are the fifth-most by any Division I team so far this season.

Last Time Out

Andre Screen matched his career high with 20 points to go along with 11 rebounds, and Ian Motta surpassed his personal best with 18 points, but Bucknell dropped its first-semester finale 82-72 at La Salle on Dec. 6.
Xander Rice also hit double figures with 11 points. La Salle had five double-digit scorers and received 37 points from its bench. Reserve guard Andres Marrero, who had 14 points all season, led the Explorers with 16 in this one.
La Salle shot an even 50% from the field against a Bucknell team that had been holding opponents to 36.6% on the season. The Bison shot a solid 47.5% overall and hit 7 of 14 from 3-point range.

Who's Got Next?

Following the Merrimack game, Bucknell will have two tough non-conference road games before starting Patriot League play at Holy Cross on Dec. 30.
Bucknell visits Richmond on Wednesday and Rutgers on Friday before taking a few days off for Christmas.