Feb. 29, 2008

WHAT: Bucknell (11-17, 6-7 PL) vs. Army (12-15, 5-8 PL)
WHERE: Christl Arena, West Point, N.Y.
WHEN: Saturday, March 1, 2008, 2:30 p.m.
SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius 126
RADIO: Eagle 107 and SportsJuice.com
LIVE VIDEO: Patriot League All-Access
COMPLETE PRESS NOTES

Probable Starters
Bucknell:
G, 11 John Griffin, Sr., 13.5 ppg
G, 13 Darryl Shazier, Fr., 3.0 ppg
F, 15 Stephen Tyree, So., 7.0 ppg
F, 31 Patrick Behan, So., 6.4 ppg
C, 1 Darren Mastropaolo, Sr., 7.3 ppg

Army:
G, 15, Jon Sizemore, So., 2.0 ppg
G, 32 Jarell Brown, Sr., 18.7 ppg
G, 23 Josh Miller, So., 7.7 ppg
F, 3 Cleveland Richard, So., 5.6 ppg
F, 50 Doug Williams, Jr., 7.4 ppg

With a Victory over Army, Bucknell Would ...
-- ... improve to 12-17 overall, 7-7 in the Patriot League.
-- ... remain alive for a top-4 seed and a home game for at least the first round of the Patriot League Tournament.
-- ... finish with at least a .500 Patriot League record for the 16th time in 18 years.
-- ... gain a split of the season series with Army.
-- ... win its seventh in a row at Christl Arena.

About the Game
Remarkably, with only one game remaining in the regular season, Bucknell can still finish anywhere from third to eighth in the final Patriot League standings, while Saturday's opponent, Army, can end up anywhere from fourth to eighth. With every Patriot League Tournament game played on the home court of the higher seed, finishing in the top four will be on both teams' agendas on Saturday afternoon. Playoff scenarios aside, the Bison would just like to start playing better heading into the postseason. They have dropped seven of their last nine games, and last time out at Lehigh the Bison recorded their lowest point total (39) in more than nine years. John Griffin, Darren Mastropaolo and Stephen Tyree have been the main catalysts in league play. Meanwhile, Army snapped a four-game losing streak with a much-needed 65-60 victory over Lafayette on Wednesday. The come-from-behind win kept the Black Knights alive for a top-four seed. Senior guard Jarell Brown is the Patriot League's No. 2 scorer at 18.7 points per game.

How to Get the Game
The Bucknell-Army game will not be televised, however live video can be purchased through the Patriot League All-Access package. The game can be heard locally on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM), with Doug Birdsong and Doug Byerly on the call. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off. The audio feed is available free of charge via BucknellBison.com and SportsJuice.com. Also, the game can be heard on Sirius Satellite Radio on Channel 126.

Army Game Time Changed
Please note, the start time for Saturday's Bucknell-Army game at West Point was recently changed to 2:30 p.m. It was originally a 1 p.m. start.

So Many Questions ...
Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, none of the eight Patriot League Tournament seeds have been determined. American and Navy are tied for the lead at 9-4 (Navy holds the tiebreaker with a season sweep of American); Bucknell, Lafayette, Lehigh and Colgate are tied for third at 6-7; and Army and Holy Cross are tied for seventh at 5-8. On Friday night, Lehigh hosts Holy Cross, then on Saturday it's Bucknell at Army, Navy at Colgate (2 p.m.) and Lafayette at American (2 p.m.). Here are some of the postseason scenarios pertaining to Bucknell and Army:
-- Heading into the weekend there are 16 possible combinations of outcomes, and Bucknell can be a top-4 seed and host a first-round PL Tournament game in six of those scenarios.
-- To have any shot at a home game, the Bison must defeat Army ...
-- ... however, a victory over Army does not guarantee a top-4 seed.
-- If Lehigh loses at Holy Cross on Friday, then Bucknell can clinch a top-4 seed with a win at Army.
-- There is one scenario (wins by Bucknell, Lehigh, Colgate, Lafayette), where Bucknell and Lafayette would need to go to RPI to determine the No. 4 and No. 5 seed. Through Thursday's games, Lafayette's RPI was 172, while Bucknell's was 212.
-- If the winners are Holy Cross, Navy, American and Army, there would be a six-way tie for third place. Bucknell would be the No. 8 seed in that mind-boggling scenario. In fact, any scenario in which Holy Cross wins and the Bison lose results in Bucknell becoming the No. 8 seed.
-- Bucknell's first-round opponent could be any other team except Lehigh.
-- The only situation in which Army could rise as high as the No. 4 seed would be if this weekend's winners are Lehigh, Navy, American and Army. In that situation, Bucknell and Army would meet again on Wednesday in Christl Arena.

Where the Bison Could Finish
Bucknell would be the No. 3 seed if this weekend's winners are:
-- Holy Cross, Navy, American and Bucknell (Bucknell would host Lafayette in first round).
-- Holy Cross, Colgate, American and Bucknell (Bucknell would host Lafayette in first round).
-- Holy Cross, Colgate, Lafayette and Bucknell (Bucknell would host Holy Cross in first round).
Bucknell would be the No. 4 seed if this weekend's winners are:
-- Lehigh, Navy, American and Bucknell (Bucknell would host Lafayette in first round).
-- Lehigh, Colgate, American and Bucknell (Bucknell would host Colgate in first round).
-- Holy Cross, Navy, Lafayette and Bucknell (Bucknell would host Colgate in first round).**
Bucknell would be the No. 5 seed if this weekend's winners are:
-- Lehigh, Navy, Lafayette and Bucknell (Bucknell would visit Lafayette in first round).
-- Lehigh, Colgate, Lafayette and Bucknell (Bucknell would visit Lafayette in first round).**
-- Lehigh, Navy, American and Army (Bucknell would visit Army in first round).
Bucknell would be the No. 6 seed if this weekend's winners are:
-- Lehigh, Navy, Lafayette and Army (Bucknell would visit Lafayette in first round).
Bucknell would be the No. 7 seed if this weekend's winners are:
-- Lehigh, Colgate, Lafayette and Army (Bucknell would visit American in first round).
-- Lehigh, Colgate, American and Army (Bucknell would visit Navy in first round).
Bucknell would be the No. 8 seed if this weekend's winners are:
-- Holy Cross, Navy, Lafayette and Army (Bucknell would visit Navy in first round).
-- Holy Cross, Colgate, Lafayette and Army (Bucknell would visit Navy in first round).
-- Holy Cross, Navy, American and Army (Bucknell would visit Navy in first round).
-- Holy Cross, Colgate, American and Army (Bucknell would visit American in first round).

** Assumes Bucknell will finish below Lafayette in the RPI. Through Thursday's games, Lafayette's RPI was 172, while Bucknell's was 212.

Bucknell vs. Army
The Bison hold a 37-15 lead in a series that dates back to 1929. They had a 15-game series winning streak until the Black Knights won 68-52 at Sojka Pavilion on Feb. 3. Prior to that, Army's last series win came at West Point on Feb. 14, 2001. Bucknell had also won 12 straight at home against the Black Knights dating back to Army's 83-71 win in Davis Gym in 1996-97. Army won the first 10 series showdowns, nine of them coming prior to 1966. As Patriot League rivals, Bucknell has won 36 of 41 meetings, including 15 of 18 at Christl Arena.

Bucknell vs. Army Earlier this Season
On Super Bowl Sunday in Lewisburg, Jarell Brown scored 21 points and Army outscored Bucknell 43-24 in the second half en route to a 68-52 win. John Griffin hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points to lead the Bison, who led by three at halftime but did not score for the first 5:21 of the second half. Army led 37-36 midway through the second half, then used a 14-5 run to pull away. Army had never scored 50 points in seven previous games at Sojka Pavilion, but it shot 63.2% in the second half and 51.2% overall. Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery was not with the team at this game, as he was recovering from an illness.

Inside the Army Boxscore
-- Bucknell committed a season-high 24 turnovers, 15 coming in the second half.
-- John Griffin made 5 of 9 3-point tries and scored 17 points. Griffin also had 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
-- Stephen Tyree went 3-for-4 from the floor and finished with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists without a turnover in 27 minutes.
-- Bucknell outrebounded Army 28-24 but was outscored 18-8 from the free-throw line.
-- Bucknell hit six 3-pointers in the first half but wnet just 2-for-9 from the arc in the second half.

Griffin to Tie Games Played Record
Bison senior John Griffin will tie the school record for career games played on Saturday. Griffin will play in his 125th straight game, equaling the record set by Chris McNaughton last year. Griffin has never missed a game in four years.

Last Time Out
Bucknell endured its most frustrating offensive night of the season on Wednesday, when it was held to its lowest point total in more than nine years in a 50-39 loss at Lehigh. The Bison had a field-goal drought of more than seven minutes in the first half and one of more than 10 minutes in the second half. They shot only 33.3% from the field, 18.8% from the 3-point line (3-16) and 46.2% (6-13) from the free-throw line. Throw 17 turnovers into the mix, and it was a long night in Bethlehem.

Inside the Lehigh Boxscore
-- Bucknell went 0-for-5 from the free-throw line with three missed front ends of 1-and-1s in the first half.
-- Darren Mastropaolo led the team in scoring with eight points. John Griffin had seven on 1-for-9 shooting from the floor.
-- Freshman Todd O'Brien had a solid game with six points (3-5 FG) and nine rebounds. It was his second-highest rebound total of the season.
-- Bucknell outrebounded Lehigh 37-34 but had an 8-to-17 assist-to-turnover ratio.
-- Patrick Behan made his first start since Dec. 28.
-- Sophomore walk-on Matt Fiery tossed in a 3-pointer just before the final buzzer for his first career points.
-- Rob Thomas returned after a two-game absence due to an injured arch. He was scoreless in five minutes off the bench.
-- Defensively, Bucknell's 50 points allowed was a season-best. The Bison held the Mountain Hawks to 32.6% shooting, also their best mark of the season.
-- Rob Keefer scored a career-high 17 points to lead the Mountain Hawks.

Who's Got Next?
The Bucknell-Army game is the last Patriot League game to tip off this weekend, so by the final buzzer, the Patriot League Tournament picture should be coming into focus. The tourney begins Wednesday evening at the homes of the four highest seeds.