Armed with five returning starters and a No. 1 preseason ranking in the Patriot League, Bucknell opens its 110th season of basketball this week in the Syracuse region of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Bucknell and Princeton officially become the first two teams in the country to tip off when they battle in the opening round Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse and Northern Colorado meet in game two, with a ticket to Madison Square Garden awaiting the winner of the bracket. The Bison, who dispatched run-and-gun Indiana (Pa.) 83-55 in an exhibition tilt on Saturday, were 14-15 overall and 9-5 in the Patriot League last season. They fielded one of the nation's youngest starting lineups a year ago with three freshmen and two sophomores, along with a fourth freshman serving as sixth man. Nine lettermen and all five starters return, including Preseason All-Patriot League selections Kevin Bettencourt, Charles Lee and Chris McNaughton. Pat Flannery, in his 11th season at Bucknell, is now the Patriot League's longest-tenured coach.
about the CVC field
Bucknell joins Princeton, Syracuse and Northern Colorado this week for first and second-round games of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. PRINCETON, Bucknell's opening-round foe, won the Ivy League last season and finished 20-8, including a loss to Texas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers are led by new head coach Joe Scott, who guided Air Force to a remarkable run to the NCAA Tournament last season. SYRACUSE, led by veteran head coach Jim Boeheim and preseason Naismith Award candidates Hakim Warrick and Gerry McNamara, begins the season ranked sixth nationally. The Orange followed up their 2003 national championship with a 23-8 ledger and a trip to the Sweet 16 last year. NORTHERN COLORADO, under the direction of sixth-year head coach Craig Rasmuson, is beginning its second year as a member of the Division I ranks. The Bears, 6-22 in 2003-04, will play as an independent and could actually face the Bucknell twice this season. Northern Colorado and Bucknell will also appear at the Iowa State Cyclone Challenge later this month, although they will not be first-round opponents.
early birds
Not only are Bucknell and Princeton the first teams in the country to open up their 2004-05 seasons, but the Nov. 11 lidlifter is the earliest in Bucknell history.
last time out
Charles Lee scored 23 points to lead Bucknell to an 83-55 victory over Indiana (Pa.) in an exhibition contest Saturday in Sojka Pavilion (see boxscore, page 15). Donald Brown added 15 points for the Bison, who shot 72.2% from the floor in the second half. IUP, the defending champions in the Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, played an un-Princetonlike up-tempo game, but the Bison forced 24 turnovers and held the Indians to 37.0% shooting.
bucknell against the CVC field
The Bison are 3-8 all-time against Princeton, with the most recent meeting a 50-48 Tigers win in 1999-2000. Bucknell's last win over Princeton was a 74-62 overtime decision at Jadwin Gym in December 1996. That loss was one of only four all season for the Tigers (the others were Indiana, North Carolina and California). Bucknell is 0-8 against Syracuse, with the last Bison-Orange hookup coming in the first round of the 1989 NCAA Tournament in Dallas. Led by 27 points from Billy Owens and 19 from Sherman Douglas, Syracuse prevailed 104-81. The only other teams in the entire Coaches vs. Cancer field that Bucknell has faced are George Mason (2-6), Fairfield (0-2) and St. Mary's (0-1).
experimental rules in use
As is the case in all of the early-season "exempt" tournaments in Division I basketball, several experimental rules will be in use. Most notably, the 3-point line moves back to 20 feet, 6 inches from the regulation 19-9. Similar to the recent NBA rule change, an arc will be placed under the basket, and defenders will not be permitted to draw charging calls while inside or touching the arc. Also, the free-throw line will be widened by 18 inches on both sides.
Pat Flannery now dean of patriot league coaches
Now in his 11th season as head coach at Bucknell, Pat Flannery became the longest-tenured head coach in the Patriot League when Navy's Don DeVoe retired at the end of last season. Flannery's 149 wins at BU rank second in school annals, trailing only the legendary Charlie Woollum, who won 318 games from 1975-94. Woollum notched many of those wins with Flannery as his point guard in the late-1970s.
wearing the bulls-eye
With all five starters returning from a squad that finished 9-5 in the Patriot League and advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament a year ago, the Patriot League head coaches and sports information directors have tabbed Bucknell as preseason favorites. Defending champion Lehigh was picked second, followed by American, Holy Cross, Colgate, Lafayette, Navy and Army. The Bison also claimed three-fifths of the Preseason All-Patriot League Team in Kevin Bettencourt, Charles Lee and Chris McNaughton. Preseason MVP Andre Ingram of American and Kevin Hamilton of Holy Cross round out the team.
bettencourt, lee named captains
For the first time in his tenure as head coach, Pat Flannery announced that two underclassmen will serve as co-captains this winter. Juniors Kevin Bettencourt and Charles Lee, both returning All-Patriot League selections, were picked for the honor in a team vote.
the bison in season openers
Bucknell is 73-36 (.670) all-time in season openers, including 5-5 (.500) under head coach Pat Flannery. The Bison have dropped their last three season openers, falling 68-55 at Central Connecticut in 2001, 73-42 at Notre Dame in 2002 and 64-52 in a near-upset of third-ranked Michigan State last season.
long-distance connections
One area the Bison hope to improve this season is their 3-point shooting. Bucknell shot a Patriot League-low 29.0% from 3-point range last season, despite ranking second in the league in overall field-goal percentage at 46.1%. Inside the arc, Bucknell shot a very solid 54.6%.
cleaning the glass
Bucknell led the Patriot League in rebound margin a year ago at +4.6 per game, and the Bison return their top five rebounders from last season. In 2003-04 Bucknell was 13-4 when outrebounding its opponent but 1-11 when losing the battle on the glass.
youth is served
Bucknell's freshmen and sophomores accounted for 83.9% of the team's scoring in 2003-04. Bucknell started one of its youngest lineups in school history during the latter half of last season, with three freshmen and two second-year players taking the floor. In 14 of the last 15 games (Senior Day being the only exception), freshmen John Clark, Chris McNaughton and Abe Badmus started alongside sophomores Kevin Bettencourt and Charles Lee. It had been seven years since the Bison had as many as two freshmen starters in a game, and the last time they had three at once was late in the 1977 season, when Bob Barry, Steve Sigl and current coach Pat Flannery earned starting berths.
setting the standard of excellence
Bucknell garnered a 2003 USA Today Academic Achievement Award after leading the nation in graduation rates with a perfect 100% showing, and the Bison again ranked in the top 10 in the most recent graduation rates survey that was released last week with an 88% figure. Bucknell also ranks third among all Division I institutions (behind Nebraska and Notre Dame) in total number of Academic All-Americans, with 107 since 1970. Bison teams also get it done on the playing fields, winning the Presidents' Cup -- the Patriot League's all-sports crown -- in 11 of 14 years, including the last seven in a row.
patriot league powers
No Patriot League team has won more regular-season conference games than Bucknell since the start of league play in 1990-91. The Bison carry an impressive 118-64 (.656) conference ledger and have posted 12 winning or even conference records in 14 years.
sojka pavilion
Bucknell will be playing its second full season in its new 4,000-seat arena -- Sojka Pavilion (pronounced SOY-ka). The facility is a part of the new Kenneth G. Langone Athletics & Recreation Center, which also includes a 16,000-square foot fitness center, a state-of-the-art natatorium featuring a 50-meter-by-25-yard pool, a new sports medicine center and new office suites for coaches and staff. Bucknell went 10-2 at home last season, including a nine-game winning streak that remains intact heading into the 2004-05 campaign.
lights, camera, action
Bucknell is scheduled to appear on College Sports Television (CSTV) twice this winter, with both broadcasts originating from Sojka Pavilion. On Jan. 8, the Bison's Patriot League opener against Holy Cross will be televised. The start time of that contest moved to 2 p.m. to accommodate CSTV. Bucknell's Feb. 11 home game against American will also air on CSTV as part of the network's Patriot League package.
bison briefs
Bucknell director of athletics John Hardt served as director of NCAA compliance at Syracuse University from 1992-96 ... Chris McNaughton needs to make eight more field goals to become eligible for Bucknell's career field-goal percentage list -- when he does he will likely move right into the No. 1 position ... Kevin Bettencourt, only a junior, needs only 69 3-pointers to break Mike Bright's Bucknell career record ... Bettencourt tied the school record with 72 last season, and he needs 17 treys to catch Gordon Mboya for fourth on the BU career chart ... Bettencourt also needs 247 points to become Bucknell's 30th 1,000-point scorer.
