Boston University (9-4, 0-0 PL) vs. Bucknell (3-9, 0-0 PL)
Date & Time: Saturday, Jan. 1 | 1 p.m.
Venue: Case Gym – "The Roof" | Boston, Mass.
Twitter: @BUGameDay | @TerrierMBB

BOSTON – After claiming its most non-conference regular season wins in 39 seasons, the Patriot League preseason favorite Boston University men's basketball team will host Bucknell in the conference opener for both teams on Saturday at Case Gym with tip-off slated for 1 p.m.

Winner of the Jax Bracket trophy at the Jacksonville Classic, the 9-4 Terriers will enter the matchup ranked No. 24 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll following their 84-79 overtime defeat to Marist back on Dec. 18. Seeking their first road win, the 3-9 Bison will be seeing their first action since an 81-50 defeat at Richmond on Dec. 22.

TERRIER TIDBITS

• BU went 4-1 in the month of December with wins over George Washington, Binghamton, Dartmouth and UMass Lowell. The Terriers are 4-1 at The Roof with wins over UML, Binghamton, Merrimack and Gordon College.
• The Terriers are playing on New Year's Day for the first time since visiting Penn in 1968.
• Graduate student and PL Preseason Player of the Year Javante McCoy ranks fourth in the conference at 17.2 ppg and ranks eighth in the program record book at 1,544 points, just 15 away from former teammate Max Mahoney ('20).
• Owner of five double-doubles this season, graduate student Sukhmail Mathon leads the PL at 9.5 rpg while averaging 13.0 ppg. He's appeared in all 129 BU games played since the start of the 2017-18 season and just needs Saturday's game to set the program record for appearances in the scarlet and white.
• Senior Jonas Harper has hit a combined 11 3-pointers over the last three games while adding six steals and is currently averaging 8.8 ppg.
• The Terriers rank 48th nationally in rebound margin (6.5) with senior Walter Whyte (13.8 ppg) averaging 6.4 rpg and classmate Fletcher Tynen (6.4 ppg) averaging 4.6 rpg.   
• BU is averaging 69.2 ppg and 44.6 FG% while holding teams to 64.2 ppg and 42.8 FG%. 

SCOUTING BUCKNELL

• All three Bison wins came at home against La Salle (82-70), Siena (65-56 OT) and Rider (81-74).
• Bucknell is 0-6 on the road with a 105-100 OT loss at Illinois State and 88-70 defeat at NC State.
• 6-foot-5 guard Andrew Funk leads Bucknell at 17.3 ppg while averaging 3.0 made 3-pointers per game at 37.1 3FG%.
• 6-foot-9 center Alex Timmerman nearly averages a double-double at 10.8 ppg and 7.0 rpg with 7-foot-0 center Andre Screen close behind at 9.9 ppg and 6.8 rpg.
• Overall, the Bison are averaging 72.3 ppg and 44.3 FG% while holding teams to 81.1 ppg and 44.6 FG%.

SERIES HISTORY

• Bucknell leads the all-time series, 13-8, as the teams meet for the first time since BU won the 2020 PL semifinal matchup, 64-61, in Case Gym.
• BU returns 40 points from the PL semifinal win, including 16 from Whyte and 12 from McCoy, while Bucknell only has four points back.
• The Terriers swept all three games in 2020 and have won four of the last five contests.

UP NEXT

• The Terriers will visit Navy on Tuesday (Jan. 4) with tip-off set for 7 p.m. in a rematch of the 2020 Patriot League quarterfinals.
• Navy is the lone PL team with a top-100 NCAA NET ranking at No. 90 (BU - 140) with a highlight victory at Virginia.