2017–18 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team

2017–18 Bucknell Bison men's basketball
Patriot League tournament champions
Patriot League regular season champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
ConferencePatriot League
Record25–10 (16–2 Patriot)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Paul Harrison
  • John Griffin
  • Joe Meehan
Home arenaSojka Pavilion
Seasons
2017–18 Patriot League men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Bucknell † 16 – 2   .889 25 – 10   .714
Colgate 12 – 6   .667 19 – 14   .576
Navy 11 – 7   .611 20 – 12   .625
Lehigh 11 – 7   .611 16 – 14   .533
Boston University 10 – 8   .556 15 – 16   .484
Holy Cross 8 – 10   .444 12 – 19   .387
Lafayette 7 – 11   .389 10 – 21   .323
Army 6 – 12   .333 13 – 17   .433
Loyola (MD) 6 – 12   .333 9 – 22   .290
American 3 – 15   .167 6 – 24   .200
† 2018 Patriot League tournament winner

The 2017–18 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team represented Bucknell University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by third-year head coach Nathan Davis, played their home games at Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania as members of the Patriot League. They finished the season 25–10, 16–2 in Patriot League to win the Patriot League regular season championship. They defeated Loyola (MD), Boston University, and Colgate to win the Patriot League tournament championship. As a result, they received the Patriot League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Michigan State.

Previous season

The Bison finished the 2016–17 season 23–8, 15–3 in Patriot League play to win the regular season championship, their third straight title and sixth in seven years.[1] In the Patriot League tournament, they defeated Army,[2] Navy,[3] and Lehigh to win the tournament championship.[4] As a result, the Bison received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 13 seed in the West region.[5] There they lost in the first round to West Virginia.[6]

Offseason

2017 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jimmy Sotos
PG 		Elk Grove Village, IL Conant 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg)  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
John Meeks
SF 		Burlington, NC The Burlington School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 240 lb (110 kg)  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Paul Newman
F 		Philadelphia, Pa St. Andrews School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (110 kg)  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.

Source[7]

Preseason

In a preseason poll of league head coaches and sports information directors, Bucknell was picked to win the Patriot League, receiving all 18 first-place votes.[8] Senior center Nana Foulland was named the preseason Patriot League Player of the Year.[8] Senior forward Zach Thomas was also named to the preseason All-Patriot League first team.[8]

Roster

2017–18 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
C 0 Paul Newman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr St. Andrews School Philadelphia, PA
G 1 Kimbal Mackenzie 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr John Carrol Oakville, Ontario
G 2 Stephen Brown 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Sr Christ Chapel Manassas, VA
G 3 Jimmy Sotos 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Fr Conant Elk Grove Village, IL
F 4 Nate Sestina 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 247 lb (112 kg) Jr Cameron County Emporium, PA
G 5 Jordan Sechan 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 168 lb (76 kg) Fr Northfield mount Hermon New Canaan, CT
G 11 Avi Toomer 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 188 lb (85 kg) So Grady Atlanta, GA
F 12 John Meeks 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr The Burlington School Burlington, NC
F 13 Bruce Moore 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 213 lb (97 kg) So McDonogh Randallstown, MD
G 14 Ben Robinson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So High Point Christian High Point, NC
G 15 Nate Jones 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 209 lb (95 kg) Jr Radford Radford, VA
C 20 Nana Foulland 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Berks Catholic Reading, PA
G 22 Matt O'Reilly 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Prolific Prep Academy Moraga, CA
F 23 Zach Thomas 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Oakdale Ijamsville, MD
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: Nov 9, 2017

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Oct 28, 2017*
1:00 pm 		at Towson L 86–93 
SECU Arena (434)
Towson, MD
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
8:30 pm, ESPN3 		at Monmouth L 78–79  0–1
 OceanFirst Bank Center (3,159)
West Long Branch, NJ
Nov 12, 2017*
6:00 pm, SECN 		at Arkansas L 73–101  0–2
 Bud Walton Arena (6,477)
Fayetteville, AR
Nov 15, 2017*
8:00 pm, ACCN 		at No. 9 North Carolina L 81–93  0–3
 Dean E. Smith Center (13,941)
Chapel Hill, NC
Nov 18, 2017*
8:30 pm, BTN 		at Maryland L 78–80  0–4
 Xfinity Center (13,303)
College Park, MD
Nov 20, 2017*
7:00 pm 		Siena W 115–92  1–4
 Sojka Pavilion (2,053)
Lewisburg, PA
Nov 22, 2017*
7:00 pm 		Ball State W 87–83  2–4
 Sojka Pavilion (2,217)
Lewisburg, PA
Nov 26, 2017*
2:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Stony Brook W 85–76  3–4
 Island Federal Credit Union Arena (2,367)
Stony Brook, NY
Nov 29, 2017*
7:00 pm 		at Saint Joseph's L 73–80  3–5
 Hagan Arena (3,783)
Philadelphia, PA
Dec 2, 2017*
7:00 pm 		Vermont W 81–77  4–5
 Sojka Pavilion (3,044)
Lewisburg, PA
Dec 5, 2017*
7:00 pm, NESN+ 		at Northeastern L 64–82  4–6
 Matthews Arena (779)
Boston, MA
Dec 16, 2017*
6:00 pm 		at VCU L 79–85  4–7
 Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
Dec 19, 2017*
7:00 pm 		at Richmond W 86–78  5–7
 Robins Center (5,501)
Richmond, VA
Dec 22, 2017*
7:00 pm 		La Salle W 88–81  6–7
 Sojka Pavilion (2,553)
Lewisburg, PA
Patriot League regular season
Dec 29, 2017
7:00 pm 		American W 84–55  7–7
(1–0) 		Sojka Pavilion (2,782)
Lewisburg, PA
Jan 2, 2018
7:00 pm 		Boston University L 79–84  7–8
(1–1) 		Sojka Pavilion (2,018)
Lewisburg, PA
Jan 5, 2018
7:00 pm 		at Army W 83–66  8–8
(2–1) 		Christl Arena (1,073)
West Point, NY
Jan 8, 2018
7:00 pm 		at Lafayette W 80–75 OT 9–8
(3–1) 		Kirby Sports Center (986)
Easton, PA
Jan 11, 2018
7:00 pm 		Lehigh W 78–65  10–8
(4–1) 		Sojka Pavilion (2,404)
Lewisburg, PA
Jan 15, 2018
7:00 pm, CBSSN 		at Colgate W 63–51  11–8
(5–1) 		Cotterell Court (819)
Hamilton, NY
Jan 17, 2018
7:00 pm 		at Loyola (MD) W 78–70  12–8
(6–1) 		Reitz Arena (1,024)
Baltimore, MD
Jan 20, 2018
12:00 pm 		Holy Cross W 77–56  13–8
(7–1) 		Sojka Pavilion (3,031)
Lewisburg, PA
Jan 24, 2018
7:00 pm 		at Navy W 87–67  14–8
(8–1) 		Alumni Hall (1,634)
Annapolis, MD
Jan 28, 2018
12:00 pm, CBSSN 		at Boston University W 91–79  15–8
(9–1) 		Case Gym (900)
Boston, MA
Jan 31, 2018
7:00 pm 		Army W 83–71 OT 16–8
(10–1) 		Sojka Pavilion (2,243)
Lewisburg, PA
Feb 3, 2018
7:00 pm 		Lafayette W 74–59  17–8
(11–1) 		Sojka Pavilion (3,509)
Lewisburg, PA
Feb 5, 2018
7:00 pm, CBSSN 		at Lehigh L 89–92 OT 17–9
(11–2) 		Stabler Arena (1,126)
Bethlehem, PA
Feb 12, 2018
7:00 pm, CBSSN 		Colgate W 65–64  18–9
(12–2) 		Sojka Pavilion (2,395)
Lewisburg, PA
Feb 14, 2018
7:00 pm 		Loyola (MD) W 94–53  19–9
(13–2) 		Sojka Pavilion (2,208)
Lewisburg, PA
Feb 17, 2018
12:00 pm 		at Holy Cross W 68–67 OT 20–9
(14–2) 		Hart Center (1,818)
Worcester, MA
Feb 21, 2018
7:00 pm 		Navy W 85–61  21–9
(15–2) 		Sojka Pavilion (2,869)
Lewisburg, PA
Feb 24, 2018
2:00 pm 		at American W 80–61  22–9
(16–2) 		Bender Arena (1,298)
Washington, D.C.
Patriot League tournament
Mar 1, 2018
7:00 pm, PLN 		(1) at (8) Loyola (MD)
Quarterfinals 		W 83–78  23–9
 Sojka Pavilion (2,492)
Lewisburg, PA
Mar 4, 2018
2:00 pm, CBSSN 		(1) (5) Boston University
Semifinals 		W 90–59  24–9
 Sojka Pavilion (2,925)
Lewisburg, PA
Mar 7, 2018
7:30 pm, CBSSN 		(1) (2) Colgate
Championship 		W 83–54  25–9
 Sojka Pavilion (3,946)
Lewisburg, PA
NCAA tournament
Mar 16, 2018*
7:10 pm, CBS 		(14 MW) vs. (3 MW) No. 5 Michigan State
First Round 		L 78–82  25–10
 Little Caesars Arena (20,314)
Detroit, MI
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[9][10]

References

  1. ^ "Patriot League Men's Basketball Notebook (2.22.17)". Patriot League. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  2. ^ "Army vs. Bucknell – Game Recap – March 2, 2017 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  3. ^ "Navy vs. Bucknell – Game Recap – March 5, 2017 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  4. ^ Miller, Stephen. "Bucknell beats Lehigh to win Patriot League men's basketball tournament title". themorningcall.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  5. ^ "Bison Earn 13 Seed in NCAA Tournament, Will Play WVU in Buffalo on Thursday". BucknellBison.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  6. ^ "Bucknell vs. West Virginia – Game Recap – March 16, 2017 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  7. ^ "Verbal Commits | Bucknell Basketball Recruiting Scholarship Chart: Roster, Offers, Commits, Targets, Rankings". www.verbalcommits.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  8. ^ a b c "Patriot League – Bucknell Selected as Preseason Favorite; Nana Foulland Picked as Preseason Player of the Year". patriotleague.org. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  9. ^ "Men's Basketball – Schedule – BucknellBison.com – The Official Site of Bucknell Bison Athletics". www.bucknellbison.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  10. ^ "Bucknell Bison Basketball 2017–18 Schedule – Bison Home and Away – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.