Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men’s Basketball Invited to 2023 Duke Blue Devil Challenge
5/9/2023 10:01:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell men's basketball team will participate in Duke's Blue Devil Challenge during the opening month of the 2023-24 season, tournament organizer The Gazelle Group announced on Tuesday. Duke will host Bucknell, La Salle, and Southern Indiana at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and the latter three teams will play round-robin games at home sites.
The invitation to Duke's multi-team event is another in a long line of exciting early season events for the Bison. In recent years, the team has appeared in tournaments at destinations such as Honolulu, Cancun, Las Vegas, Orlando, and Daytona Beach.
"Our philosophy is to build a non-conference schedule that aligns with the storied history of our program while providing our players with both memorable experiences and the opportunity to grow as a team as we prepare for Patriot League play," said head coach John Griffin III, who was a sophomore at Bucknell the last time the Bison faced Duke. "Cameron Indoor Stadium is one of the premier college basketball venues in the country, and I'm excited that our guys will have a chance to play there. The La Salle game will also be a great trip for us early in the season; with such a strong alumni presence and the basketball-rich tradition in the city of Philadelphia, we're going to look to play there as much as possible. And we're excited that our home fans will have the chance to check out an up-and-coming program in Southern Indiana, which won a lot of games in their first year in Division I last season."
Bucknell's game in Durham will be played on Friday, Nov. 17. It will be the Bison's first trip to Duke since the 2005-06 season, when the Blue Devils were ranked No. 1 in the nation in both major polls. Duke won that game 84-50, handing Bucknell a rare setback in what became a record-setting 27-5 season.
Duke finished 27-9 (16-0 at home) in 2022-23 and won the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title under first-year head coach and alum Jon Scheyer. Led by 2023 ACC Rookie of the Year Kyle Filipowski, the Blue Devils are ranked No. 1 in ESPN's Early Preseason Top 25.
Bucknell's home game in the Blue Devil Challenge will be against Southern Indiana on Monday, Nov. 20. The Screaming Eagles are coming off their first season at the Division I level, and they finished a respectable 16-17 overall and 9-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference. USI earned a postseason bid to the College Basketball Invitational, falling to San Jose State in Daytona Beach. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Bison and Screaming Eagles.
La Salle is a much more familiar foe for Bucknell, and the Bison will visit Tom Gola Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 14. With the exception of the COVID-abbreviated 2020-21 season, the Bison and Explorers have met in each of the last six full campaigns, with each team winning three times in that stretch. La Salle won 82-72 in Philadelphia last season, avenging an 82-70 setback at Sojka Pavilion a year earlier.
Game times and broadcast schedules for the Blue Devil Challenge will be announced at a later date. The remainder of Bucknell's 2023-24 non-conference schedule will also be released in the coming weeks.
2023 Blue Devil Challenge Schedule
Tuesday, Nov. 14
Bucknell at La Salle
Friday, Nov. 17
Bucknell at Duke
Southern Indiana at La Salle
Monday, Nov. 20
Southern Indiana at Bucknell
Tuesday, Nov. 21
La Salle at Duke
Friday, Nov. 24
Southern Indiana at Duke
The invitation to Duke's multi-team event is another in a long line of exciting early season events for the Bison. In recent years, the team has appeared in tournaments at destinations such as Honolulu, Cancun, Las Vegas, Orlando, and Daytona Beach.
"Our philosophy is to build a non-conference schedule that aligns with the storied history of our program while providing our players with both memorable experiences and the opportunity to grow as a team as we prepare for Patriot League play," said head coach John Griffin III, who was a sophomore at Bucknell the last time the Bison faced Duke. "Cameron Indoor Stadium is one of the premier college basketball venues in the country, and I'm excited that our guys will have a chance to play there. The La Salle game will also be a great trip for us early in the season; with such a strong alumni presence and the basketball-rich tradition in the city of Philadelphia, we're going to look to play there as much as possible. And we're excited that our home fans will have the chance to check out an up-and-coming program in Southern Indiana, which won a lot of games in their first year in Division I last season."
Bucknell's game in Durham will be played on Friday, Nov. 17. It will be the Bison's first trip to Duke since the 2005-06 season, when the Blue Devils were ranked No. 1 in the nation in both major polls. Duke won that game 84-50, handing Bucknell a rare setback in what became a record-setting 27-5 season.
Duke finished 27-9 (16-0 at home) in 2022-23 and won the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title under first-year head coach and alum Jon Scheyer. Led by 2023 ACC Rookie of the Year Kyle Filipowski, the Blue Devils are ranked No. 1 in ESPN's Early Preseason Top 25.
Bucknell's home game in the Blue Devil Challenge will be against Southern Indiana on Monday, Nov. 20. The Screaming Eagles are coming off their first season at the Division I level, and they finished a respectable 16-17 overall and 9-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference. USI earned a postseason bid to the College Basketball Invitational, falling to San Jose State in Daytona Beach. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Bison and Screaming Eagles.
La Salle is a much more familiar foe for Bucknell, and the Bison will visit Tom Gola Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 14. With the exception of the COVID-abbreviated 2020-21 season, the Bison and Explorers have met in each of the last six full campaigns, with each team winning three times in that stretch. La Salle won 82-72 in Philadelphia last season, avenging an 82-70 setback at Sojka Pavilion a year earlier.
Game times and broadcast schedules for the Blue Devil Challenge will be announced at a later date. The remainder of Bucknell's 2023-24 non-conference schedule will also be released in the coming weeks.
2023 Blue Devil Challenge Schedule
Tuesday, Nov. 14
Bucknell at La Salle
Friday, Nov. 17
Bucknell at Duke
Southern Indiana at La Salle
Monday, Nov. 20
Southern Indiana at Bucknell
Tuesday, Nov. 21
La Salle at Duke
Friday, Nov. 24
Southern Indiana at Duke
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