WASHINGTON – Back home in the friendly confines of Bender Arena, the American University men's basketball team will host Bucknell at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11, for the annual Elementary School Day game sponsored by Potomac Pizza. Youths from schools around the DMV area are expected to attend to cheer on the Eagles, and the team will sign postgame autographs for all fans.
Quick Info
- Date/Time: Saturday, January 11; 4 pm
- Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
- Series History: Bucknell leads, 48-30
- TV: ESPN+
- Talent: Dan Laing, Gordon Austin
Inside the Series
- Bucknell leads American 48-30 in the all-time series, but the teams are tied 20-20 in games in D.C.
- The Eagles have won three of the last four games, but most recently lost 80-57 to the Bison at home in the quarterfinals of the 2023-24 Patriot League Tournament after AU had won both regular-season meetings.
- Despite several key players being out with injuries, AU rallied for a 75-66 OT win against Bucknell at home last season. The Eagles got a late three-pointer from Elijah Stephens to tie the game in regulation, and then out-scored the Bison 12-3 in OT. Lincoln Ball grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds in the win.
What to Know About American
- American is coming off another Patriot League road loss, but the Eagles are certainly not alone. Of the 15 games played in the PL so far this season, every single one has been won by the home team, including two in overtime. One of those OT wins was by Bucknell, 65-52 over Lafayette on Wednesday.
- Graduate student Matt Rogers, the Patriot League's Preseason Player of the Year, recently dropped a career-high 33 points vs. UMBC, hitting 15-of-20 from the field. It was also his first double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. Rogers' efforts moved him into 10th place all-time at AU in career scoring, and with his 18-point effort against Holy Cross, he passed the 1,500-point milestone. He now has 1,528 points to rank ninth all-time.
- AU snapped a four-game losing streak with a 75-64 victory over Holy Cross on Jan. 5, a team that had come in on a four-game win streak. The Eagles hit 12 three-pointers including eight in a 45-point second half, getting four each from Rogers and sophomore Matt Mayock. Prior to the losing streak, American had won five straight including a 3-0 performance at the Puerto Rico Clasico.
- Rogers currently ranks in the top 10 in the Patriot League in scoring (4th, 16.1 ppg), rebounding (8th, 5.8 rpg), and field-goal percentage (6th, 52.6). Sophomore Greg Jones ranks second in the PL in free-throw shooting at 88.2 percent, with senior Elijah Stephens right behind him in third at 85.7 percent. Grad student Colin Smalls is eighth in that same category at 77.1.
- American has drained 10 or more three-pointers five times this season, with all five coming in the most recent eight games. The Eagles made a season-high 13 triples in an OT win over GW on Dec. 4, and made 12 treys in the Holy Cross win on Jan. 5. Last year, AU had 12 games with 10 or more three-pointers, but that number was only five total in 2022-23 prior to the arrival of head coach Duane Simpkins.
What to Know About Bucknell
- Picked to finish fourth in the Patriot League this year, Bucknell is off to a solid start in conference action, going 2-1 with wins over defending champion Colgate as well as Lafayette.
- The Bison beat Lafayette 65-62 in overtime, which was also Bucknell's national-leading sixth overtime game of the season, which has already tied the school record and is just two shy of the NCAA mark.
- The Bison played a very challenging non-conference schedule, visiting such national powers as Kentucky, Maryland, Gonzaga, and Syracuse. They lost all of those games, but won a pair of contests against teams out of the Atlantic-10, Saint Joseph's and Richmond.
- Junior center Noah Williamson was named to the Preseason All-Patriot League team and is putting together a worthy season. He is scoring 14.3 points per game to go along with team highs of 6.9 rebounds per game and 18 total blocks. Senior guard Josh Bascoe leads the team with 14.9 points and 3.7 assists a contest.
- Bucknell has held its three PL opponents to 39.1 percent shooting from the field and 27.3 percent from 3-point range. Both of those figures are second-best in the league.
- John Griffin III is in his second year at the helm at his alma mater. As a player, he scored over 1,000 points and helped the Bison to first-round upsets of Kansas and Arkansas in the 2005 and 2006 NCAA Tournaments.
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