Today's Game: Bucknell (11-1 / 0-0) vs. Princeton (4-6 / 0-0)
Location: Jadwin Gym - Princeton, NJ
Time: 7:00 pm ET
Radio: 103.3 fm WPRB
TV: N/A
Internet: goprincetontigers.com
Series History: Princeton leads 10-4.
Last meeting: Bucknell 62 Princeton 56 - 11/25/11.
| Bucknell | Princeton | |
| 5-0 | Home Record | 1-3 |
| 4-1 | Away Record | 3-2 |
| 2-0 | Neutral Record | 0-1 |
| 30 | RPI | 223 |
| 40 | Sagarin | 157 |
| 42 | Pomeroy | 101 |
| 69.2 | Points / Game | 58.3 |
| 58.2 | Points Allowed / Game | 57.4 |
| .459 | FG% | .439 |
| .758 | FT% | .678 |
| .369 | 3PT FG% | .322 |
| 36.8 | Rebounds / Game | 30.0 |
| 8.5 | Off. Rebounds / Game | 7.9 |
| +5.9 | Rebounding Margin | -1.3 |
| 12.6 | Assists / Game | 14.4 |
| 9.8 | Turnovers / Game | 14.2 |
| 4.5 | Blocks / Game | 2.4 |
| Muscala: 18.8 | Points | Hummer: 15.3 |
| Muscala: 10.8 | Rebounds | Hummer: 6.3 |
| Muscala: 2.8 | Assists | Hummer: 4.9 |
| Willman: 0.8 | Steals | Bray: 2.2 |
| Muscala: 2.5 | Blocks | Hummer: 1.0 |
| Muscala: .535 | FG% (Min: 10 FGA) | Brase: .583 |
| Fitzpatrick: .857 | FT% (Min: 10 FTA) | Koon: .882 |
| Johnson: .429 | 3PT FG% (Min: 10 3PTA) | Barrett: .500 |
American vs. Georgetown - 12:00 pm ET - ESPN+
Fairfield vs. St. Joe's - 2:00 pm ET
MCCC vs. Bronx - 3:00 pm ET
George Mason vs. Richmond - 3:00 pm ET - Governor's Holiday Hoops Classic
San Diego vs. Oregon State - 9:00 pm ET - Pac-12 Network
Dartmouth vs. Bryant - 1:00 pm ET
Cornell vs. Boston University - 1:00 pm ET
Holy Cross vs. Harvard - 2:00 pm ET
Elon vs. Columbia - 4:00 pm ET
There was some great conversation in the forum for the Rider game. Keep it going tonight when the Tigers face Bucknell!
Four notes on the Bison in lieu of a proper preview:
1. 6'11" senior center Mike Muscala is a special player who shoots the ball well both inside and out, plus draws 6.8 fouls/40 minutes. He's going to be a difficult assignment for all three (four?) Princeton big men who might check him defensively.
2. Bucknell may be the worst team in the nation in forcing turnovers and second-worst in creating steals but teams are shooting a very poor 41.5% from the floor against them. The Bison also protect the offensive glass exceptionally well. Their opponents' possessions usually end with a miss more than any other outcome.
3. As a team, Bucknell rarely turns the ball over and is very good at the line (76.6%). Too much attention to Muscala then opens the floor for a squad shooting 37.0% from deep. There's a reason the Bison are 11-1.
4. Notable victories include triumphs over #65 Purdue on the road, #91 George Mason at home, #103 New Mexico State on a neutral floor and #66 La Salle at home. I still don't understand how Bucknell lost to #192 Penn State in State College after the Nittany Lions lost guard Tim Frazier for the season.
The Hans Brase gamble paid off for Princeton in the Tigers' last contest.
There's a piece on the Rider game on the Mid-Majority.
Rush The Court checks in on the Ivy League.
Stanford edged Northwestern (8-4) by two in Evanston. After falling down 18 the Wildcats rallied on more than one occasion but both times they pulled even in the second half the Cardinal hit a three. A potentially tying runner and tip follow in the waning seconds did not drop for Bill Carmody's team.
Denver (4-6) easily handled Southern Utah, 72-47.
Games throughout the day begin with Georgetown hosting American, Fairfield visiting St. Joe's, Richmond and George Mason meeting at the Richmond Coliseum and finally Oregon State testing out the new home of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas by playing San Diego.
Around the Ivy League: Playing without three starters and five players total who were all suspended for a violation of team rules, Penn (2-8) lost for a second time this season to Delaware. On this occasion the final was 83-60.
