Looking at the schedule, it would appear Bucknell will have had 13 days to prepare for Saturday night’s matchup against No. 13 Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash.
But that’s not really the case, because the Bison are dealing with final exams.
“Our players have three-hour exams, multiple 10-page papers … I think the entire Patriot League is feeling the academic fatigue right now,” Bucknell coach John Griffin III said. “The non-conference schedule comes in such a flurry, and it really, really challenges these student-athletes both academically and athletically.”
Griffin, a 2008 graduate who is in his second season of leading his alma mater, knows the feeling.
“You can see it on their faces, and being a graduate and having been in their shoes, my job when I can is to give them a little bit of a break,” he said.
Whether a trip to the Pacific Northwest to face Gonzaga qualifies as a break is debatable.
The Bison (4-7), who are seeking to snap a five-game losing streak, have already made stops this season at Kentucky (a 100-72 loss) and Maryland (a 91-67 defeat). They also played back-to-back double-overtime games at home last month, losing 93-89 to Mount St. Mary’s and beating Richmond 80-76.
Griffin described Saturday’s game as a “great opportunity for our program.”
“To play Gonzaga, such a storied basketball program right now and a team that’s predicted to be in the Final Four … it’s a (chance) for us to put our brand on display,” he said.
Josh Bascoe leads the Bison with averages of 14.1 points and 3.8 assists per game, with Noah Williamson adding 13.4 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds.
The Bulldogs (8-3) overcame last Saturday’s 77-71 defeat to No. 18 UConn in New York by returning home and defeating Nicholls 102-72 Wednesday. Braden Huff came off the bench to score 25 points, with Graham Ike adding 20 points and six rebounds and Ryan Nembhard posting a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists.
Nembhard, who leads NCAA Division I with 113 assists, uncharacteristically had five turnovers.
“This wasn’t one of his better games,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “He was a little loose with the ball, but he sets such an incredibly high standard. He is human. Up to this point, he’s been pretty super-human. Obviously, we lean into him pretty hard.”
Ike, Gonzaga’s leading scorer with 14.6 points per game, was limited to three against the two-time defending national champion Huskies last weekend.
“One bad game is not the end of the world. You have to come back to work the next day and just keep sawing wood, as coach says,” Ike said. “Listen to the game plan and just understand who we are as a squad and who I am as an individual, and what I bring to this team.”
After the game on Saturday, Gonzaga next will face UCLA on Dec. 28 in the West Coast Hoops Showdown in Inglewood, Calif., before opening West Coast Conference play Dec. 30 at Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif.
–Field Level Media
