# 2018–19 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team represented Bucknell University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by fourth-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 21–12, 13–5 in Patriot League play, to earn a share of the Patriot League regular season championship. As the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League tournament, they defeated Holy Cross and Lehigh before losing to Colgate in the championship game. They were not selected for postseason play.

## Previous season

The Bison finished the 2017–18 season 25–10, 16–2 in Patriot League play, 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.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Stephen Brown | 2 | G | 5'11" | 160 | Senior | Manassas, VA | Graduated |
| Nana Foulland | 20 | C | 6'10" | 235 | Senior | Reading, PA | Graduated |
| Zach Thomas | 23 | F | 6'7" | 195 | Senior | Ijamsville, MD | Graduated |

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Walter Ellis #72 SG | South Bend, IN | Brewster Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Apr 8, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 72 ||||||
| Andrew Funk SG | Warminster, PA | Archbishop Wood High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Sep 4, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Kahliel Spear SF | The Colony, TX | The Colony High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | N/A | Apr 9, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| 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: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 22, 2018. ||||||

### 2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Alex Rice #53 PG | Jersey City, NJ | The Patrick School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | N/A | Sep 12, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Malachi Rhodes PF | McDonough, GA | Wheeler High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Sep 19, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Jake van der Heijden PF | Raleigh, NC | Ravenscroft School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | May 2, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Alex Timmerman C | Crystal Lake, IL | Crystal Lake Central High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 250 lb (110 kg) | Apr 24, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| 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: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 7, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | at St. Bonaventure | W 88–85 $^{OT}$ | 1–0 | Reilly Center (4,668) Olean, NY |
| November 10, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | Fairfield | L 58–60 | 1–1 | Sojka Pavilion (3,183) Lewisburg, PA |
| November 13, 2018* 7:00 p.m., WQMY | | Canisius | L 73–82 | 1–2 | Sojka Pavilion (2,237) Lewisburg, PA |
| November 25, 2018* 2:00 p.m. | | at Vermont | W 69–61 | 2–2 | Patrick Gym (2,446) Burlington, VT |
| November 28, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | Northeastern | L 78–96 | 2–3 | Sojka Pavilion (2,121) Lewisburg, PA |
| December 1, 2018* 7:00 p.m., Stadium | | Monmouth | W 65–43 | 3–3 | Sojka Pavilion (2,579) Lewisburg, PA |
| December 4, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | at La Salle | W 92–79 | 4–3 | Tom Gola Arena (1,321) Philadelphia, PA |
| December 15, 2018* 12:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 15 Ohio State | L 71–73 | 4–4 | Value City Arena (14,241) Columbus, OH |
| December 19, 2018* 10:00 p.m. | | at Saint Mary's | L 56–85 | 4–5 | McKeon Pavilion (2,622) Moraga, CA |
| December 22, 2018* 10:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | vs. Rhode Island Diamond Head Classic quarterfinals | W 84–82 | 5–5 | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI |
| December 23, 2018* 10:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. TCU Diamond Head Classic semifinals | L 65–82 | 5–6 | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI |
| December 25, 2018* 6:30 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. UNLV Diamond Head Classic third-place game | W 97–72 | 6–6 | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI |
| Patriot League regular season ||||||
| January 2, 2019 7:00 p.m., Stadium | | at Army | W 64–63 | 7–6 (1–0) | Christl Arena (958) West Point, NY |
| January 5, 2019 1:00 p.m., Stadium | | at Boston University | L 80–87 | 7–7 (1–1) | Case Gym (841) Boston, MA |
| January 9, 2019 7:00 p.m. | | Colgate | W 84–81 | 8–7 (2–1) | Sojka Pavilion (2,788) Lewisburg, PA |
| January 12, 2019 12:00 p.m. | | American | W 55–54 | 9–7 (3–1) | Sojka Pavilion (3,092) Lewisburg, PA |
| January 14, 2019 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Holy Cross | W 93–78 | 10–7 (4–1) | Sojka Pavilion (2,514) Lewisburg, PA |
| January 19, 2019 12:00 p.m. | | at Lehigh | W 85–83 | 11–7 (5–1) | Stabler Arena (1,558) Bethlehem, PA |
| January 23, 2019 7:00 p.m. | | Loyola (MD) | W 71–68 | 12–7 (6–1) | Sojka Pavilion (2,243) Lewisburg, PA |
| January 26, 2019 4:00 p.m. | | at American | L 68–76 | 12–8 (6–2) | Bender Arena (1,172) Washington, D.C. |
| January 30, 2019 7:00 p.m. | | Navy | W 69–57 | 13–8 (7–2) | Sojka Pavilion (2,154) Lewisburg, PA |
| February 2, 2019 2:00 p.m. | | at Lafayette | W 94–66 | 14–8 (8–2) | Kirby Sports Center (1,487) Easton, PA |
| February 6, 2019 7:00 p.m. | | at Loyola (MD) | W 84–72 | 15–8 (9–2) | Reitz Arena (730) Baltimore, MD |
| February 9, 2019 12:00 p.m., WQMY | | Boston University | W 82–76 | 16–8 (10–2) | Sojka Pavilion (3,052) Lewisburg, PA |
| February 11, 2019 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Lehigh | W 87–75 | 17–8 (11–2) | Sojka Pavilion (2,793) Lewisburg, PA |
| February 16, 2019 7:00 p.m. | | at Holy Cross | L 71–72 | 17–9 (11–3) | Hart Center (1,564) Worcester, MA |
| February 19, 2019 7:00 p.m., Stadium | | at Colgate | L 64–75 | 17–10 (11–4) | Cotterell Court (643) Hamilton, NY |
| February 24, 2019 2:00 p.m., WQMY | | Lafayette | W 118–76 | 18–10 (12–4) | Sojka Pavilion (2,968) Lewisburg, PA |
| February 27, 2019 7:00 p.m. | | at Navy | L 53–64 | 18–11 (12–5) | Alumni Hall (1,822) Annapolis, MD |
| March 2, 2019 12:00 p.m. | | Army | W 62–61 | 19–11 (13–5) | Sojka Pavilion (2,982) Lewisburg, PA |
| Patriot League tournament ||||||
| March 7, 2019 7:00 p.m. | (2) | (10) Holy Cross Quarterfinals | W 77–65 | 20–11 | Sojka Pavilion (2,107) Lewisburg, PA |
| March 10, 2019 2:00 p.m., CBSSN | (2) | (3) Lehigh Semifinals | W 97–75 | 21–11 | Sojka Pavilion (2,718) Lewisburg, PA |
| March 13, 2019 7:30 p.m., CBSSN | (2) | (1) Colgate Championship | L 80–94 | 21–12 | Cotterell Court Hamilton, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Source: