# 2017–18 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team represented Bucknell University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by third-year head coach Nathan Davis, played their home games at Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania as members of the Patriot League. They finished the season 25–10, 16–2 in Patriot League to win the Patriot League regular season championship. They defeated Loyola (MD), Boston University, and Colgate to win the Patriot League tournament championship. As a result, they received the Patriot League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Michigan State.

## Previous season

The Bison finished the 2016–17 season 23–8, 15–3 in Patriot League play to win the regular season championship, their third straight title and sixth in seven years. In the Patriot League tournament, they defeated Army, Navy, and Lehigh to win the tournament championship. As a result, the Bison received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 13 seed in the West region. There they lost in the first round to West Virginia.

## Offseason
### 2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Jimmy Sotos PG | Elk Grove Village, IL | Conant | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| John Meeks SF | Burlington, NC | The Burlington School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Paul Newman F | Philadelphia, Pa | St. Andrews School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017. ||||||
Source

## Preseason

In a preseason poll of league head coaches and sports information directors, Bucknell was picked to win the Patriot League, receiving all 18 first-place votes. Senior center Nana Foulland was named the preseason Patriot League Player of the Year. Senior forward Zach Thomas was also named to the preseason All-Patriot League first team.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Oct 28, 2017* 1:00 pm | | at Towson | L 86–93 | | SECU Arena (434) Towson, MD |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 8:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Monmouth | L 78–79 | 0–1 | OceanFirst Bank Center (3,159) West Long Branch, NJ |
| Nov 12, 2017* 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Arkansas | L 73–101 | 0–2 | Bud Walton Arena (6,477) Fayetteville, AR |
| Nov 15, 2017* 8:00 pm, ACCN | | at No. 9 North Carolina | L 81–93 | 0–3 | Dean E. Smith Center (13,941) Chapel Hill, NC |
| Nov 18, 2017* 8:30 pm, BTN | | at Maryland | L 78–80 | 0–4 | Xfinity Center (13,303) College Park, MD |
| Nov 20, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Siena | W 115–92 | 1–4 | Sojka Pavilion (2,053) Lewisburg, PA |
| Nov 22, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Ball State | W 87–83 | 2–4 | Sojka Pavilion (2,217) Lewisburg, PA |
| Nov 26, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Stony Brook | W 85–76 | 3–4 | Island Federal Credit Union Arena (2,367) Stony Brook, NY |
| Nov 29, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Saint Joseph's | L 73–80 | 3–5 | Hagan Arena (3,783) Philadelphia, PA |
| Dec 2, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Vermont | W 81–77 | 4–5 | Sojka Pavilion (3,044) Lewisburg, PA |
| Dec 5, 2017* 7:00 pm, NESN+ | | at Northeastern | L 64–82 | 4–6 | Matthews Arena (779) Boston, MA |
| Dec 16, 2017* 6:00 pm | | at VCU | L 79–85 | 4–7 | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Richmond | W 86–78 | 5–7 | Robins Center (5,501) Richmond, VA |
| Dec 22, 2017* 7:00 pm | | La Salle | W 88–81 | 6–7 | Sojka Pavilion (2,553) Lewisburg, PA |
| Patriot League regular season ||||||
| Dec 29, 2017 7:00 pm | | American | W 84–55 | 7–7 (1–0) | Sojka Pavilion (2,782) Lewisburg, PA |
| Jan 2, 2018 7:00 pm | | Boston University | L 79–84 | 7–8 (1–1) | Sojka Pavilion (2,018) Lewisburg, PA |
| Jan 5, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Army | W 83–66 | 8–8 (2–1) | Christl Arena (1,073) West Point, NY |
| Jan 8, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Lafayette | W 80–75 $^{OT}$ | 9–8 (3–1) | Kirby Sports Center (986) Easton, PA |
| Jan 11, 2018 7:00 pm | | Lehigh | W 78–65 | 10–8 (4–1) | Sojka Pavilion (2,404) Lewisburg, PA |
| Jan 15, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Colgate | W 63–51 | 11–8 (5–1) | Cotterell Court (819) Hamilton, NY |
| Jan 17, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Loyola (MD) | W 78–70 | 12–8 (6–1) | Reitz Arena (1,024) Baltimore, MD |
| Jan 20, 2018 12:00 pm | | Holy Cross | W 77–56 | 13–8 (7–1) | Sojka Pavilion (3,031) Lewisburg, PA |
| Jan 24, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Navy | W 87–67 | 14–8 (8–1) | Alumni Hall (1,634) Annapolis, MD |
| Jan 28, 2018 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Boston University | W 91–79 | 15–8 (9–1) | Case Gym (900) Boston, MA |
| Jan 31, 2018 7:00 pm | | Army | W 83–71 $^{OT}$ | 16–8 (10–1) | Sojka Pavilion (2,243) Lewisburg, PA |
| Feb 3, 2018 7:00 pm | | Lafayette | W 74–59 | 17–8 (11–1) | Sojka Pavilion (3,509) Lewisburg, PA |
| Feb 5, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Lehigh | L 89–92 $^{OT}$ | 17–9 (11–2) | Stabler Arena (1,126) Bethlehem, PA |
| Feb 12, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Colgate | W 65–64 | 18–9 (12–2) | Sojka Pavilion (2,395) Lewisburg, PA |
| Feb 14, 2018 7:00 pm | | Loyola (MD) | W 94–53 | 19–9 (13–2) | Sojka Pavilion (2,208) Lewisburg, PA |
| Feb 17, 2018 12:00 pm | | at Holy Cross | W 68–67 $^{OT}$ | 20–9 (14–2) | Hart Center (1,818) Worcester, MA |
| Feb 21, 2018 7:00 pm | | Navy | W 85–61 | 21–9 (15–2) | Sojka Pavilion (2,869) Lewisburg, PA |
| Feb 24, 2018 2:00 pm | | at American | W 80–61 | 22–9 (16–2) | Bender Arena (1,298) Washington, D.C. |
| Patriot League tournament ||||||
| Mar 1, 2018 7:00 pm, PLN | (1) | at (8) Loyola (MD) Quarterfinals | W 83–78 | 23–9 | Sojka Pavilion (2,492) Lewisburg, PA |
| Mar 4, 2018 2:00 pm, CBSSN | (1) | (5) Boston University Semifinals | W 90–59 | 24–9 | Sojka Pavilion (2,925) Lewisburg, PA |
| Mar 7, 2018 7:30 pm, CBSSN | (1) | (2) Colgate Championship | W 83–54 | 25–9 | Sojka Pavilion (3,946) Lewisburg, PA |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 16, 2018* 7:10 pm, CBS | (14 MW) | vs. (3 MW) No. 5 Michigan State First Round | L 78–82 | 25–10 | Little Caesars Arena (20,314) Detroit, MI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||
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