Jan. 27, 2012

• Game Notes | Navy All-Access | Listen Here | Listen Here | Gametracker | Twitter Updates

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Navy (3-17, 0-6 PL) vs. Bucknell (16-6, 6-0 PL)
Saturday, January 28, 2012 • 7:00 pm (ET)
Annapolis, Md. • Alumni Hall (5,710)
Radio: WNAV (1430 AM, 99.9 FM, wnav.com), WFED (1500 AM, federalnewsradio.com)
Announcers: Pete Medhurst, Michael Heary
Video Streaming: NavySports.com (Navy All-Access)
Gametracker: NavySports.com
Tickets: At the Alumni Hall box office one hour prior to tip.
Series / Streak: Navy, 34-27 / Bucknell, win-2
Last Meeting: February 5, 2011 (Bucknell 75, Navy 49)

SECURITY REGULATIONS
Fans are reminded that only those vehicles with a Department of Defense sticker affixed to it will be allowed to drive onto the grounds of the USNA. All other visitors to The Yard have the option of either finding parking in downtown Annapolis and walking through the Academy's gates, or else parking at nearby Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium's blue side ($5 per vehicle) and riding the free shuttle bus to and from Alumni Hall.

GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS
Meet The Navy Baseball Team - The 2011 Patriot League Champion Navy Baseball team will sign autographs for all fans on the main concourse before the game!

Air Elite Dunkers Halftime Performance - The high flying, Air Elite Dunkers will perform at halftime! Visit them at www.AirEliteOnline.com(.)

Navy Closes Out First Half of League Play By Hosting Bucknell
• The Navy men's basketball team closes out the first half of Patriot League play on Saturday as it hosts league-leader Bucknell on Saturday night at Alumni Hall, tipping off at 7:00 pm. After this game, Navy gets a week off for the second "go-around" of league play, beginning Feb. 4 at Lafayette.
• Navy enters the game with a 3-17 overall mark and an 0-6 record in the Patriot League. The Bison are 16-6 overall and 6-0 in league play, two games clear of second-place (American, Lehigh and Lafayette). Bucknell has won 16 straight games against Patriot League foes, dating back to last year.

How to Catch The Game
• Pete Medhurst and Michael Heary will handle the radio call on WNAV (1430 AM, 99.9 FM, wnav.com), WFED (1500 AM, federalnewsradio.com) and SIRIUS (Ch. 93) and XM (Ch. 191) Satellite Radio, beginning with the Navy basketball pregame show at 6:45 pm.
• The contest will be streamed online as part of the Navy and Patriot League All-Access packages. • Live stats are available on NavySports.com and as always, fans can receive text message updates via the Navy Athletics' official Twitter page at twitter.com/NavyAthletics(.)

Meet The Bison
• Bucknell has dominated the Patriot League so far this year, showing no signs of slowing down after winning last year's Patriot League regular-season and tournament championships. Since the start of last year, Bucknell is 22-1 against Patriot League opposition and 19-1 in regular-season play.
• The Bison are led by the 2011 Patriot League Player of the Year, junior Mike Muscala (15.8 ppg, 9.4 rpg). Sophomore Cameron Ayers chips in at 11.9 ppg and junior forward Joe Willman averages 10.4 ppg and 4.5 rpg. Senior guard Bryan Cohen is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year honoree.
• Bucknell has won their six league games by an average of 15.0 points per game and opponents are shooting just 35.5 percent from the field. Just two games have been decided by single-digits.

The Series
• This will be the 62nd meeting between the two teams, with Navy holding a 34-27 advantage. The Bison swept the season series last year against Navy (71-64 in Annapolis; 75-49 in Lewisburg), but Navy won each of the previous four encounters. Eight of the last nine meetings have been decided by eight or fewer points, including a string of five consecutive games decided by four points or less.

Navy Notebook
• Seven of the 13 losses during the skid have come by single digits, including four by four points or less (Elon, Monmouth, Lafayette and Holy Cross), with another coming in overtime to Colgate after Navy led by four with 27 seconds left. Navy's six losses in league play have been by a combined 48 points, with three of them by seven points or less and one more coming by 11 in overtime.

• Navy has at least been competitive as seven of its last 13 losses have come by single-digits. Over their respective last 13 losses to match Navy's streak, Binghamton has four single-digit losses, UC Davis has three, Towson and South Carolina State each have two.

• In Navy's three wins, the Midshipmen are shooting 52.5 percent from the field and have 56 assists against 46 turnovers for an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.22 while averaging 76.7 points per game. In the 17 losses, Navy is shooting 39.6 percent from the field, 26.9 percent from three-point range and is averaging just 57.5 points per game.

• Navy has had 11 different starting lineups already this year and has not started the same lineup since Dec. 6-10, vs. Monmouth and Missouri.

• Navy has outrebounded seven of its 20 opponents this year. Last year, Navy outrebounded just five opponents.

• The Midshipmen have not shot 45.0 percent in a game since Jan. 1 vs. Norfolk State. Navy has shot under 45.0 percent in six straight games.

• J.J. Avila, Worth Smith and Jordan Sugars have grabbed 347 of Navy's 621 rebounds, averaging 17.4 rebounds per game between them while grabbing 55.9 percent of Navy's rebounds. All three of them average at least 4.9 rebounds per game; next highest is Jackson (1.5 rpg).

• In the previous seven seasons (2005-11), Navy was 56-18 (.757) when attempting more free throws than its opponent. This year so far, Navy is just 3-7 (.300).

• Navy has failed to reach 70 points in a game since the second game of the season, when it scored 88 against Penn State Altoona on Nov. 13.

• When opponents shoot better than Navy, the Mids are just 1-17 with the lone win coming against Mount St. Mary's.

• Navy is just 3-6 when leading or tied at halftime. Navy has had at least a five-point lead in six of its 13 losses during its losing streak.

• Navy is shooting 50.1 percent (317-of-633) from inside the three-point line this year.

• Navy's 28.3 percent shooting from three-point range (114-of-403) would be the lowest mark in school history if the season ended today.

• Navy is shooting 41.6 percent from the field for the season. It would be the highest percentage for the team since the 2000-01 season (.441).

• Navy remains stuck on win No. 1,298 in program history, still needing two wins for 1,300. The Mids own a 1,298-932 record (.582).

• Navy has had 265 consecutive games with a three-pointer, dating back to Jan. 30, 2003 vs. Colgate (0-for-3).

• Navy has had 172 consecutive games in which a Texas native has played, dating back to Feb. 25, 2006 vs. Colgate.

• Navy has had 138 consecutive games in which a Texas native has started, dating back to Nov. 17, 2007 vs. Texas-San Antonio.

• Brandon Venturini leads the team in plus-minus (points for minus points against while on the floor / much like hockey) with a plus-52 total. The next highest total for a player that has played at least 170 minutes is Donya Jackson at minus-1.

• According to BBState.com, Navy ranks 308th nationally, and last in the PL, in possessions / game, which takes into account the pace of play that a team plays. It is a stark contrast to what Navy played under previous head coach Billy Lange. Under Lange, Navy ranked 13th (2011), 21st (2010), 55th (2009),ninth (2008), 270th (2007), 37th (2006) and fifth (2005) in possessions / game, averaging well over 70.0 possessions per game in those years. This year's team is averaging 64.0 possessions per game, compared to 74.2 possessions per game a year ago.

• J.J. Avila (19) and Jordan Sugars (12) have accounted for 31 of Navy's 52 double-figure scoring performances this year. The duo has scored 556 of Navy's 1,208 points this year (46.0 percent).

• The duo of J.J. Avila and Jordan Sugars have scored 196 of Navy's 368 points in four Patriot League games. The duo is averaging 32.7 points per game between them, and has accounted for 53.3 percent of Navy's scoring in league play. They have shot 68 of Navy's 106 free throws in league play (64.2 percent).

• The next highest scorer after Avila and Sugars during Patriot League play is Worth Smith with 47 points. In fact, it takes Navy's next three top scorers (Smith, Brandon Venturini and Isaiah Roberts) to combine for 106 points, while Avila has scored 111 points himself.

• Opponents have averaged at least 1.00 points per possession in 11 straight games and in 15 games overall. Over the last 11 games, opponents have scored 763 points on 666 possessions for an average of 1.15 points per possession. The standard average is about 1.00.

• Navy's freshmen (mostly Worth Smith, Brandon Venturini, Donya Jackson and Jared Smoot) are averaging 23.3 points per game over the last three games, accounting for 70 of Navy's 174 points during that span (40.2 percent). The group scored 32 points against Colgate, the most for the freshman class against a Division I foe this year. The group is shooting 29-of-61 (.475) from the field during that span.

# GO NAVY #