Men's Basketball Takes on No. 25 Iowa Saturday in Des Moines

GAME DIGEST
What: Bucknell (3-9, 0-0 PL) at RV/25 Iowa (9-2, 1-1 Big Ten)
When: Saturday, Dec. 20, 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. local)
Where: Casey's Center, Des Moines, Iowa
Watch: Big Ten Network
Listen: Eagle 107 and BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
COMPLETE GAME NOTES

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell comes out of an 11-day break for final exams with a trip to Des Moines to take on RV/#25 Iowa in the final non-conference game of the regular season on Saturday evening. The neutral-site game, which is just the second-ever meeting between the two teams, will be played at Casey's Center and will be televised on the Big Ten Network. Opening tip is set for 6 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Central in Des Moines).

Saturday's contest continues what has been a very challenging first-semester slate for the Bison, with injuries and quality opponents a big part of the storyline. The Hawkeyes will be Bucknell's third Power 5 foe, in addition to Pittsburgh and St. John's, and they are the ninth opponent in the last 10 games with a winning record. The schedule has included three reigning conference champions in St. John's, Akron, and Mount St. Mary's, as well as close losses to Hofstra, which has ACC wins over Pitt and Syracuse, and Bowling Green, which won handily at Kansas State.

This will be a homecoming for Bison senior Ruot Bijiek, who hails from the Des Moines suburb of Waukee. Bijiek attended Valley High School, where he earned Second Team Class 4A All-State and First Team All-Conference honors as a senior. That year, the team finished 21-4 and captured the league title. Bijiek has been a four-year contributor and three-year starter for the Bison, primarily at the power forward spot. He was off to a strong start this season before a shoulder injury sidelined him for five games. He returned at Rider in the last game before finals and tallied six points and four rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench.

The 6'9" Bijiek returns to the starting lineup on Saturday, and he is expected to start at the 3 spot along with 6'10" Grgur Brcic and 6'11" Amon Dörries in the frontcourt. This would be the first time Bucknell has ever started a game with three players 6'9" or taller.

Bucknell won that game at Rider in a defensive struggle, 51-38, to snap a nine-game losing streak. The Bison had been suffering a bit defensively, giving up 83.6 ppg during that nine-game stretch, but they turned in one of their best defensive efforts in years in that one. The 38 points were the fewest allowed by the Bison since a 66-38 win over Binghamton on Nov. 17, 2010. It was the fewest on the road since a 56-23 win at Army on Jan. 23, 2004. Bucknell's 51 points were the fewest in a victory since a 48-45 win over Holy Cross on Feb. 9, 2007, when then-player John Griffin III hit a clutch three-pointer with about a minute left.

The Bison saw a 15-point lead dwindle to two in the second half as Rider rallied with a 14-1 run, but the Bison responded to the chaotic atmosphere by outscoring the Broncs 17-6 in the last 7:42 to pull out the win. Achile Spadone was the only double-figure scorer for either side with 14 points to go with three steals and three assists. The Bison forced 15 turnovers and held the Broncs to 34.0% shooting overall, including a 3-for-13 mark from 3-point range. Rider's five starters went just 7-for-27 from the field. Bucknell had an off shooting night as well, finishing at 37.7% overall and 5-for-24 from downtown, but Bison got plenty of defensive stops. Of Rider's 38 points, 14 came in that six-minute stretch in the second half.

Freshman Amon Dörries continues to lead the Bison in scoring at 13.5 ppg. Dörries recorded his second 20-point game of the season with 22 against Bowling Green, and he is shooting 49.6% from the field and 80.0% from the foul line. Three Bison who have taken advantage of increased playing time over the last few weeks are senior Quin Berger, junior Grgur Brcic, and sophomore Aleksander Pachucki. Berger made his first career start against Cornell and tallied a career-high nine points, then he doubled that mark with 18 on 6-for-8 3-point shooting at Akron. He added 11 more against UMBC and is averaging 10.0 ppg in his four starts. Brcic has started the last six games, and in that span he has totaled 47 points, 46 rebounds, and five blocked shots while shooting 21-for-30 from the field. The Toledo transfer had a monster effort against UMBC, when he tallied 14 points and 16 rebounds. Pachucki, in his first season at Bucknell after transferring from Fordham, hit five treys on the way to a career-high 17 points against Cornell, and then he followed it up with 15 at Akron.

The Hawkeyes are under the direction of first-year head coach Ben McCollum, an Iowa native who led Northwest Missouri State to four Division II national championships and then guided Drake to a school-record 31 wins and a Missouri Valley title in 2024-25. McCollum has a career record of 434-97, fifth-best among all collegiate coaches. Iowa is 9-2, with the only two losses coming on the road to No. 4 Iowa State (66-62) and No. 7 Michigan State (71-52). Most recently, the Hawkeyes blasted Western Michigan 91-51 on Sunday. It was a 52-16 game at the half, as Iowa held the Broncos to 29.8% shooting on the night.

Bennett Stirtz, who starred for McCollum at Drake, is averaging 17.5 ppg and 4.9 apg while shooting a robust 44.4% from 3-point range. He scored a season-high 29 points in a win over Ole Miss and now has over 1,800 career points. Stirtz, who is one of five Drake transfers on the roster, is the only Iowa player scoring in double figures this season, but eight others score between 5-9 ppg on a balanced squad. The Hawkeyes have been terrific defensively, allowing just 61.8 ppg (8th-best nationally) while forcing nearly 15 turnovers per game.

Bucknell and Iowa have met just once previously, a 91-52 Hawkeyes win in Iowa City on Dec. 29. 1997. Iowa was ranked No. 15 at the time. Valter Karavanic led the Bison with 13 points. This will be Bucknell's fourth trip to the state of Iowa. In addition to the 1997 loss to the Hawkeyes, the Bison fell 65-61 in double overtime at Northern Iowa in an ESPN BracketBusters game in Cedar Falls in 2005-06, and they played two games in the AFI Cyclone Challenge at Iowa State in 2004-05. Bucknell defeated Stephen F. Austin 62-49 before losing 62-55 to Iowa State in the final.

After the Iowa game, Bucknell will have another 11-day break before opening Patriot League play on New Year's Eve at Holy Cross. It will be a 2 p.m. tip at the Hart Center. After playing 12 games in the first 36 days of the season, the Bison now have just one contest in a span of 20 days.

Men's Basketball Takes on No. 25 Iowa Saturday in Des Moines

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Players Mentioned

Quin Berger

Ruot Bijiek

Grgur Brcic

Aleksander Pachucki

Achile Spadone