The Columbia men’s basketball team will try to repeat its performance against Longwood when it takes on Bucknell Tuesday night. A win against the Bison would give the Lions (1-1) momentum heading into their colossal matchup with No. 9/10 Syracuse on Friday.
Bucknell (3-2) is riding a three-game win streak, with its most recent victory coming over Saint Francis (of Pennsylvania) on Saturday. The Bison held the Red Flash to just 20 first-half points en route to a 70-58 victory.
Senior forward Patrick Behan led Bucknell with 23 points and 12 rebounds. For the season, Behan is shooting 50 percent from the field and averaging 12.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.
Another senior forward that has been shooting the ball well for the Bison is Stephen Tyree. Tyree, who had five points and three assists against Saint Francis, is 8-for-13 from the field on the season.
“Their forwards really shoot the ball well,” said Columbia head coach Joe Jones. “I would say that would be one of the things that we really have to watch out for. They’ll be really good offensively and their forwards can really shoot.”
Bucknell’s offense has benefited from new head coach Dave Paulsen. Paulsen came to Bucknell from Williams College, where he won the Division III national championship in 2003.
“I think the guy they have now is going to do a great job,” Jones said of Paulsen. “He’s a very good coach, a very good offensive coach.”
In order to slow down the Bison offense, the Light Blue will need to contain Behan and junior guard Darryl Shazier. Shazier currently leads Bucknell with 13.2 points and 3.8 assists.
Sophomore guard Bryan Cohen could cause problems for the Lions as well, as he looms larger than Columbia’s starting guards at six-foot-five. While it is likely that Columbia senior Niko Scott or sophomore reigning Ivy League Player of the Week Noruwa Agho will match up against Cohen, the Light Blue will need a strong team defense if it wants to quell any of Bucknell’s top scorers.
“We’ve always been a team that, if we’re going to hold someone down, we do it by committee,” Jones said. “We don’t do it with just one guy.”
Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. tonight at Levien Gymnasium.
After facing off against Bucknell, the Lions will take on arguably their most difficult opponent of the season when they travel to Syracuse to play the nationally ranked Orange.
Syracuse (4-0) is also on an impressive streak, winning all four of its games so far this season in convincing fashion. Highlighting this streak were double-digit wins over then-No. 12 California and then-No. 4 North Carolina. The Orange beat the Golden Bears 95-73 on Thursday before defeating the Tar Heels on Friday by a score of 87-71.
Leading Syracuse is junior forward Wesley Johnson, a transfer from Iowa State, with 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds on the season. Against the Golden Bears, Johnson posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. The next night he led his squad with 25 points and eight rebounds against the Tar Heels.
Johnson is not the only scorer Syracuse has, as the Orange have five players averaging 10 or more points this season.
One of those players is sophomore guard Scoop Jardine, who led the Orange with 22 points against Berkeley. Not only is Jardine averaging 11.5 points, but he is also leading his team with 5.8 assists.
Syracuse has won all four of its games this season by an average margin of 27.5 points, thanks to solid offense and a strong defense. The Orange has shot 54.6 percent from the field while holding its opponents to 35.7 percent.
Even though they will be the underdog, the Lions are going to play for the win.
“I think we’ve played some teams down to the wire a little bit at that level,” Jones said. “And we hope that we can do it again, and hope this time we’re able to come away with a win. We’re going down there to play for a win, not to try and keep it close.”
The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Syracuse, N.Y.
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