Bucknell Bison men's basketball

Last updated
Bucknell Bison
Basketball current event.svg 2024–25 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team
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UniversityBucknell University
Head coach John Griffin III (2nd season)
Conference Patriot
Location Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Arena Sojka Pavilion
(capacity: 4,000)
NicknameBison
ColorsBlue and orange [1]
   
Uniforms
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Home
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Away


Pre-tournament Premo-Porretta champions
1901
NCAA tournament round of 32
2005, 2006
NCAA tournament appearances
1987, 1989, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2018
Conference tournament champions
ECC: 1987, 1989
Patriot League: 2005, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2018
Conference regular season champions
ECC: 1979, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989
Patriot League: 1992, 1993, 1995, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

The Bucknell Bison men's basketball team represents Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania in NCAA Division I competition. The school's team competes in the Patriot League and plays home games in Sojka Pavilion. [2] John Griffin III was appointed the program's 22nd head coach on March 21, 2023. [3]

Contents

Bucknell began varsity intercollegiate competition in men's basketball in 1896. [4] The Bison were retroactively recognized as the pre-NCAA tournament national champion for the 1900–01 season by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. [5] In the tournament era, the Bison have appeared eight times in the NCAA tournament, most recently in 2018.

Postseason

Bucknell has appeared in 11 postseason tournaments, with three wins in total. In 2005, Bucknell defeated #3 seed Kansas in the first round as a #14 seed, in the biggest upset of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. They received the award for "Best Upset" at the 2005 ESPY Awards. The following year, they received a #9 seed (highest in Patriot League history) and defeated the #8 seeded Arkansas in the first round.

NCAA tournament results

The Bison have appeared in eight NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 2–8.

YearSeedRoundOpponentResult
1987 #16First Round#1 GeorgetownL 5375
1989 #15First Round#2 SyracuseL 81104
2005 #14First Round
Second Round
#3 Kansas
#6 Wisconsin
W 6463
L 6271
2006 #9First Round
Second Round
#8 Arkansas
#1 Memphis
W 5955
L 5672
2011 #14First Round#3 UConnL 5281
2013 #11First Round#6 ButlerL 5668
2017 #13First Round#4 West VirginiaL 8086
2018 #14First Round#3 Michigan StateL 7882

From 2011–2015 the round of 64 was known as the Second Round

NIT results

The Bison have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) three times. Their record is 1–3.

YearRoundOpponentResult
2012 First Round
Second Round
Arizona
Nevada
W 65–54
L 6775
2015 First RoundTempleL 67–73
2016 First RoundMonmouthL 80–90

Seasons

Records

Award winners

Conference Player of the Year

Nana Foulland2.jpg
Zach Thomas Bucknell.jpg
Nana Foulland (left) and Zach Thomas (right) won back-to-back Patriot League Player of the Year awards as teammates in 2017 and 2018.
YearPlayerConference
1985 Jaye Andrews East Coast Conference
1992 Patrick King Patriot League
1993 Mike Bright Patriot League
2006 Charles Lee Patriot League
2011 Mike Muscala Patriot League
2013Mike Muscala (2)Patriot League
2014 Cameron Ayers Patriot League
2017 Nana Foulland Patriot League
2018 Zach Thomas Patriot League

Conference Coach of the Year

YearPlayerConference
1984 Charlie Woollum East Coast Conference
1985Charlie Woollum (2)East Coast Conference
1987Charlie Woollum (3)East Coast Conference
1993Charlie Woollum (4)Patriot League
1995 Pat Flannery Patriot League
1997Pat Flannery (2)Patriot League
2006Pat Flannery (3)Patriot League
2011 Dave Paulsen Patriot League
2012Dave Paulsen (2)Patriot League
2016 Nathan Davis Patriot League
2017Nathan Davis (2)Patriot League

Retired numbers

The Bison have retired three jersey numbers in program history. [6]

No.PlayerYears
22 Al Leslie 1977–1981
31 Mike Muscala 2009–2013
44 Hal Danzig 1956–1959

NBA draft

Bucknell has had three players drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA). Mike Muscala is the only current active Bison playing in the NBA.

PlayerDraftRoundPickTeamNotes
Al Leslie 1981 237 Indiana Pacers Highest drafted in program history
Jaye Andrews 1985 7169 Philadelphia 76ers
Mike Muscala 2013 244 Atlanta Hawks Only Bison to play in the NBA

Bisons in international leagues

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References

  1. "Bucknell University Brand Guidelines" . Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  2. Bucknell Bison men's basketball 2007-08 media guide Archived April 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine . Accessed April 19, 2008.
  3. "John Griffin III ’08 Named Men’s Basketball Head Coach at Bucknell," Bucknell University Athletics, Tuesday, March 21, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  4. "Bucknell Bison". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  5. ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York, NY: ESPN Books. p. 529. ISBN   978-0-345-51392-2.
  6. "Bucknell to Retire Jerseys of Former Basketball Stars Hal Danzig, Al Leslie". CBS Sports . February 6, 2006. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.