WASHINGTON – Back-to-back Patriot League road games are on the slate for the second and final time for American University men's basketball this season, as the Eagles (14-9, 8-2) take their seven-game win streak to Bucknell (10-13, 6-4) on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. AU has not lost in nearly a month, and has a two-game lead atop the PL standings ahead of Bucknell and Army.
Quick Info
- Date/Time: Wednesday, February 5; 7 pm
- Site: Lewisburg, Pa. (Sojka Pavilion)
- Series History: Bucknell leads, 48-31
- TV: ESPN+
- Talent: Doug Birdsong, Terry Conrad
Inside the Series
- Bucknell leads American 48-31 in the all-time series, but the Eagles have won four of the last five games.
- This season's first meeting in Bender Arena saw AU come back from an 11-point halftime deficit to win 68-58, starting what has become a seven-game win streak for the Eagles.
- Last year, the Bison ended AU's season, handing the Eagles an 80-57 home loss in the quarterfinals of the 2023-24 Patriot League Tournament after AU had won both regular-season meetings.
What to Know About American
- The Eagles are in the midst of their longest Patriot League win streak in 10 years, since the 2013-14 team started conference play at 10-0 before going on to win the program's third PL title. After making a flurry of free throws to come from behind at Lafayette last Wednesday, AU then held off Army on Saturday for its seventh straight win. The Eagles are alone in first place in the Patriot League at 8-2, two games ahead of Army and Bucknell at 6-4.
- With the exception of their 19-point win at Loyola Maryland, all of the wins in AU's streak have been close (within 10 points) including three decided by four or fewer points. The Eagles came back from an 11-point deficit to win 68-58 the last time they faced Bucknell, which was the win that started their streak back on January 11.
- Graduate student Matt Rogers, the Patriot League's Preseason Player of the Year, was named the PL's Player of the Week last week for the fourth time in his career. Rogers scored a game-high 26 points against Colgate, and ranks third in the PL with 16.8 points per game. He is just the fourth player in program history with both 1,500 points and 500 rebounds, now with 1,656 points (sixth all-time) and 699 rebounds (10th all-time).
- AU leads the Patriot League and ranks 38th in NCAA DI in free-throw percentage at .762, a number that would break a 60-year-old program record, with the 1964-65 team currently holding that mark at .750. In PL games, AU has hit an impressive 142-of-177 free throws (.802). Greg Jones ranks second in the PL in free-throw percentage at .881, Elijah Stephens is fourth at .847, Colin Smalls is seventh at .794, and Matt Rogers is ninth at .783.
- Senior guard Elijah Stephens is the fourth player in program history to eclipse both 1,000 points and 400 assists. He ranks 30th with 1,082 points, and seventh with 428 assists. Stephens had zero turnovers in three of the last six games, and only one at Lafayette on Jan. 29. In PL games only, Stephens ranks third with 4.5 assists per game and fifth with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.1.
What to Know About Bucknell
- Bucknell enters Wednesday's game tied for second in the Patriot League along with Army, with both teams sitting two games behind the Eagles. The Bison have capitalized on their home court advantage at Sojka Pavilion, where they have gone 7-3 overall this year and 5-0 in Patriot League action. Their last loss at home came on Dec. 4 against St. Bonaventure.
- Junior center Noah Williamson, the reigning Patriot League Player of the Week, leads the team with 16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Senior guard Josh Bascoe is adding 15.0 points per game and dishing out 4.2 assists a contest, good for second in the Patriot 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.
Best Patriot League Start in 10 Years
- The Eagles' 8-2 start to Patriot League play is their best in 10 years, since the 2013-14 team won 10 straight games to open league play. That team finished 13-5 overall in the PL and went on to win the program's third Patriot League Championship.
- It has been a strong turnaround since AU started the PL season this year at 1-2, including a 23-point loss at Navy in the Eagles' conference opener on January 2.
- With its win at Lafayette on Jan. 29 and extending with its win over Army on Feb. 1, AU has its longest conference win streak since that 2013-14 season.
Make Your Free Throws
- AU's team free-throw percentage of .762 leads the Patriot League, ranks 38th in NCAA Division I, and would break the previous program record of .750 from 1964-65 if it held through to the end of the season.
- The Eagles went 9-for-9 at Virginia, 15-for-17 against Holy Cross, 12-for-13 at BU, 14-for-16 on the road at Holy Cross, and 16-for-17 at Lafayette on Jan. 29. AU's shooting at the line was crucial in its win at Lafayette, as the Eagles hit 12-for-12 in the final minutes to help erase a seven-point deficit.
- Sophomore Greg Jones (2nd, .881), senior Elijah Stephens (4th, .847), grad student Colin Smalls (7th, .794), and grad student Matt Rogers (9th, .783) all rank in the top 10 in the Patriot League in free-throw percentage.
- Greg Jones hit 24 free throws in a row from Nov. 23 to Jan. 2, including an 8-of-8 performance in the OT win over GW on Dec. 4.
Big Man Can Shoot
- While a player like Matt Rogers would often be dominant primarily inside, Rogers has made himself versatile to the point that he leads American in three-pointers made this season with 42.
- His 1.8 three-pointers made per game rank 10th in the Patriot League, and that number shoots up to 2.6 threes per game for PL games only, ranking him third.
- Rogers' overall three-point field-goal percentage of .438 ranks fifth in the PL, while his conference-only percentage of .553 ranks fourth.
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