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The Bucknell Bison are the 31st team in our 2019 schedule preview series and the third team from the Patriot League. The Bison finished 11-4 in 2018 and 7-1 in Patriot League play. Bucknell was bounced in the Patriot League quarterfinals by Boston University and missed making the NCAA Tournament.
Here’s their entire 2019 schedule:
Bucknell’s 2019 Schedule
| Date | Road Team | Home Team | Special Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Road Team | Home Team | Special Notes |
| 1/19 | Bucknell | Virginia | Scrimmage |
| 1/26 | Bucknell | Towson | Scrimmage |
| 2/2 | Bucknell | Maryland | First meeting since 2006 |
| 2/10 | Bryant | Bucknell | |
| 2/16 | Richmond | Bucknell | |
| 2/23 | Bucknell | Ohio State | First meeting since 2010 |
| 3/2 | Bucknell | Navy | Patriot League |
| 3/9 | Holy Cross | Bucknell | Patriot League |
| 3/12 | Bucknell | North Carolina | First meeting since 2014 |
| 3/16 | Bucknell | Boston University | Patriot League |
| 3/23 | Loyola | Bucknell | Patriot League |
| 3/30 | Army West Point | Bucknell | Patriot League |
| 4/2 | Bucknell | Marist | |
| 4/13 | Bucknell | Lafayette | Patriot League |
| 4/20 | Bucknell | Lehigh | Patriot League |
| 4/26 | Colgate | Bucknell | Patriot League |
Who’s In?
- Maryland Terrapins (2/2)
- Ohio State Buckeyes (2/23)
- North Carolina Tar Heels (3/12)
Who’s Out?
- Penn Quakers (9-8 L)
- Yale Bulldogs (9-8 W/OT)
- Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers (14-9 W)
Average Winning Percentage From 2018 Teams
- Overall: .501
- Nonconference: .532
- Patriot League: .478
Circle These Dates
- 2/2 (at Maryland): What a way to start the regular season for the Bison. Bucknell starts things off with a trip to College Park to take on the Terps, who reload as they always do. THe matchup would be a lot better if it happened last year, but now the Bison will have to rely on guys such as Reed Malas and Tommy Sopko on offense with Christian Klipstein manning between the pipes. It’ll be very difficult to replace the production of Will Sands with just one player.
- 2/23 (at Ohio State): The Bison have a challenging nonconference slate of games, with the Buckeyes looking to return to the NCAA Tournament after a year absence. Bryant Boswell and Conor Shears are the only two returning players that made at least one start on defense last year. Bucknell might need to count on some of their younger players to play big roles early in the year.
- 3/12 (at North Carolina): Also back on the schedule are the Tar Heels, who had a very disappointing 2018 by going .500. There’s expectations that UNC can return back to the NCAA Tournament with guys like Justin Anderson and Tanner Cook back and hoping to take steps in their development. This game is a midweek game, which can be tricky for some teams, and North Carolina has experience in losing some midweek contests.
- 3/16 (at Boston University): It’ll be a revenge game of sorts for the Bison. If they defeated the Terriers in the Patriot League quarterfinals last year, there was a good chance they would have made the NCAA Tournament. Instead, the loss ended their season. BU has been a pesky team to deal with for the past few years as they got their program started, and will still be tough with Chris Gray on offense.
- 4/20 (at Lehigh): This game is moved up a week earlier than in the past few years. The teams have alternated wins the past three regular season meetings, but it could be Lehigh’s turn to win this time around with the amount of returning talent they have.
For other schedules and team rosters, check out our Men’s Division I matrix.