March 8, 2006
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Bucknell-Holy Cross, The Rematch
Just as it was last weekend in the semifinals, the 2006 Patriot League Championship will be a rematch of the 2005 contest - with Bucknell and Holy Cross facing one another again with the Patriot League crown and automatic NCAA Tournament berth at stake.
The main difference this time around is Bucknell enters as the No. 1 seed and the contest will be played at Sojka Pavilion, a location where the Bison have won 12-straight against Patriot League foes (including three-straight over the Crusaders).
This will be the third time that Bucknell and Holy Cross will play one another with the Patriot League title at stake and 11th time in League history that the top two seeds meet in the championship game. The No. 1 seed has only won six of those meetings, four on its home court.
New Look
Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion will play host to the Patriot League Championship game for the first time in 2006. Prior to the title game, Sojka served as one of two host sites for the 2005 and 2006 quarterfinal and semifinals.
Lewisburg, Pa. serves as the host for the Patriot League title contest for just the second time, with the previous time coming 13 years ago in 1993.
Bucknell has never won a Patriot League banner on its on floor.
Sojka Pavilion this season becomes the 9th site in 16 years to bear witness to the crowning of the Patriot League Champion.
Holy Cross' Hart Center has hosted the Patriot League title game a record four times.
No. 1 Bucknell (25-4, 14-0) vs. No. 2 Holy Cross (20-11, 11-3)
2005-06 Regular Season Meetings
Jan. 14; @ Bucknell 56, Holy Cross 42
Feb. 11; Bucknell 57, @ Holy Cross 52
All-Time Patriot League Tournament (PLT) Meetings
2004-05 Championship; No. 2 Bucknell 61, No. 1 Holy Cross 57
2003-04 Quarterfinals; No. 4 Bucknell 66, No. 4 Holy Cross 60
2002-03 Semifinals; No. 1 Holy Cross 75, No. 5 Bucknell 50
2001-02 Semifinals; No. 2 Holy Cross 64, No. 3 Bucknell 57
1998-99 Quarterfinals; No. 3 Bucknell 76, No. 6 Holy Cross 52
1997-98 Quarterfinals; No. 3 Bucknell 60, No. 6 Holy Cross 56
1993-94 Quarterfinals; No. 4 Holy Cross 96, No. 5 Bucknell 91
1992-93 Championship; No. 2 Holy Cross 98, No. 1 Bucknell 73
1991-92 Semifinals; No. 2 Bucknell 86, No. 3 Holy Cross 77
PLT Records
Bucknell 20-14 (1-4 Championship); Holy Cross 21-11 (4-3 Championship)
Bison Notes
The Bison enter the championship game riding a 26-game Patriot League winning streak (including this postseason) at Sojka Pavilion ... It's been a quiet playoffs in terms of the individual Tournament Record Book, with only Abe Badmus tying the quarterfinal record for steals with five against Army last week ... Bucknell's 91.7 performance from the charity stripe (11-of-12) against American in the semifinal did set a new Tournament mark ... Three Bison are averaging double digits in scoring in the Tournament - Chris McNaughton (fifth overall, 15.0 ppg), Kevin Bettencourt (7th, 14.5) and Charles Lee (11th, 13.5) ... Bucknell has recorded an amazing 20 steals through the quarterfinals and semifinals - the record is 40 by Navy in 1998 ... Bettencourt jumped into third all-time in career free-throw shooting in Patriot League history after the first two games (85.0) ... He is one of only three players all-time to scored at least 1,500 points and shoot better than 85 percent from the stripe in League lore ...
Crusaders Notes
Holy Cross is making its record-eighth Patriot League Championship game appearance ... Navy is second all-time with six title game cameos ... Head Coach Ralph Willard has been at the helm of four of the Crusaders' Championship game appearances, winning the first three before falling to Bucknell last season ... Willard is first all-time in career winning percentage in Patriot League Tournament (.800, 12-3) ... With a win in the title game, Willard can tie Navy's Don DeVoe for second all-time ... Holy Cross has won both championship road appearances - 1993 at Bucknell and 2002 at American ... Keith Simmons is tied for the Tournament lead in scoring, averaging 19.5 ppg through the first two rounds ... Simmons averaged 16.1 ppg during the Patriot League regular season ... Simmons is also tied for first in Tournament rebounds (8.0) and tied for third in field-goal percentage (66.7) ... Kevin Hamilton is third in Tournament scoring, averaging 18.5 ppg ... Surprise, Hamilton is tied for first with 3.0 steals per game and is currently fourth in the nation with 3.3 thefts per contest ...
Up for Auction Patriot League Championship game tickets were up on eBay this week, getting bids at $100 for a pair ... This was the second time this season eBay and Bucknell have been associated with one another, as the Bison played in the fourth annual BracketBusters presented by eBay on Feb. 18.
Season of Firsts The Bison became the first team in Patriot League history to earn a Top 25 ranking, as Bucknell cracked the Top 25 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll on Feb. 13 with a No. 25 ranking ... Bucknell was 1-1 as a ranked team.
Putting Down an Exclamation Point When Holy Cross' Kevin Hamilton breaks a record, he really breaks a record. Needing just one steal to tie the Patriot League's all-time record, Hamilton recorded seven picks against Colgate on Jan. 25 ... He currently is 42 ahead of second-place Jave Meade's 246 career picks.
"It's All About Survial" Lehigh Head Coach Billy Taylor said after his Mountain Hawks just got past Colgate, 48-44, in the Patriot League quarterfinals.
A Long Time Ago Six weeks ago to be exact when Bucknell set a new program mark for its best start in Patriot League history (8-0) ... The previous best start the Bison enjoyed was in 1994-95, when it started the campaign at 7-0 in League games.
Different Levels Navy Head Coach Bill Lange describing Holy Cross during the postseason - "I think there is a level of toughness and then there is a championship level of toughness, Holy Cross has the level of championship toughness."
Down to the End It took all 56 Patriot League regular season games to finally decide postseason seedings for the 2006 Tournament, as Holy Cross's win over Lehigh in the regular-season finale tied the Crusaders with the Mountain Hawks for second place in the standings ... Holy Cross received the second home seed by virtue of the third tiebreaker - higher RPI.
Magic Number Bucknell has held opponents to 50 points or less in 10 games this season, including its last three ... The Bison were at its stingiest on Jan. 18 when it held Lafayette to just 32 points ... Holy Cross has held foes to 50 or less six times.
Golden Age of Patriot League Basketball The argument could be made as seven scholar-athletes recorded their 1,000th-career points this season ... In addition, Holy Cross' Kevin Hamilton became the Patriot League's all-time leader in steals, teammate Keith Simmons the all-time leader in three-point field-goal percentage and Bucknell's Chris McNaughton the all-tie leader in field-goal percentage.
Almost There Holy Cross' Kevin Hamilton is on pace to become the first Patriot League scholar-athlete in nine years to lead the League in scoring and rebounding ... Colgate's Adonal Foyle was the last, which he did twice in 1996-97 and 1995-96.
Fountain of Youth Two of the youngest head coach's in Division I call the Patriot League home ... Lehigh's Billy Taylor is the fifth-youngest head coach at 32 years of age, while Navy's Billy Lange has the distinction of being the elderstatemen of the duo clocking in at 33 years.
There Can Be Only One American's Derrick Mercer was the only Patriot League rookie to start in each one of his team's games this season - 29.
Not One, But Two Two of the most-contested rivalries in college sports happens in the Patriot League with Army-Navy and Lehigh-Lafayette ... The Mids and Cadets split their season series, with each taking a game on the other's hardwood ... Lehigh swept Lafayette
Don't Get Defensive Four of the Patriot League's teams are holding opponents to 62.2 points or less in games this season, with 6.6 points separating the quartet - Bucknell is second in the nation in scoring defense (55.1), followed by Holy Cross (26, 60.2), Lehigh (27, 60.4) and Colgate (38, 62.2).
Bread Cost Five Cents When Bucknell won its 11th consecutive contest at Holy Cross on Feb. 11, it was the program's longest winning streak since the Bison won 11-straight in 1919.
Still Standing When the smoke cleared on all 32 Division I men's basketball conference regular-season campaigns, only three teams survived unscathed with perfect-league records - No. 7 George Washinton (16-0), No. 5 Gonzaga (14-0) and Bucknell (14-0).
Sitting on Top For Now Holy Cross version 2004-2005 holds the Patriot Leagu scoring defense record with 56.8 ppg allowed last season ... Bucknell is attempting to break that mark, entering the championship game allowing opponents a miserly 55.1 ppg this season.
