On Tuesday night, the Bucknell Bison will take on the Colgate Raiders in the Patriot League championship game, with the winner earning a spot in the big dance. These 2 teams split the regular season series with each team protecting their home court. The Bison won 84-81 at home, and the Raiders won 75-64 in the game at their place.
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Both Teams Coming Off Strong Wins
Bucknell is coming off a 97-75 win over Lehigh in their semifinal game. The Bison put up 52 points in the second half to pull away from Lehigh. Kimbal Mackenzie led the way for the Bison with 25 points on 8 of 12 shooting to go along with 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Nate Sestina tallied 23 points on 9 of 16 shooting to go with a team-high 14 rebounds and 4 assists. Avi Toomer added 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting and Bruce Moore added 10 points on 2 of 3 shooting. Jimmy Sotos tallied 9 points and 7 assists.
Colgate is coming off an 80-70 win over Navy in their semifinal game. Rapolas Ivanauskas led the way for the Raiders with 22 points on 8 of 11 shooting to go along with 4 rebounds and 1 assist. Jack Ferguson tallied 19 points on 5 of 7 shooting to go with 3 rebounds. Tucker Richardson added 15 points on 4 of 9 shooting, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists. Will Rayman chipped in 13 points on 4 of 12 shooting and a team-high 9 rebounds. Jordan Burns led the team with 5 assists.
Mackenzie Leading Bucknell
Bucknell is led by Kimbal Mackenzie, who is averaging 17.5 points per game to go with 2.8 rebounds and 3 assists each game. Nate Sestina is the only other Bison averaging double figures with 15.7 points a game and is leading the team in rebounds with 8.6 a game. Bruce Moore chips in 9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest. Jimmy Sotos is the leading assister with 6 per game to go with 8.3 points and 4.1 rebounds. The Bison average 76.7 points a game on 45% shooting and are allowing opponents to score 72.6 points per game.
The Raiders are led by Rapolas Ivanauskas, who is averaging 16.5 points per game to go along with a team-high 7.9 rebounds a game and is shooting 43.6% from 3-point range. Jordan Burns is averaging 15.1 points per game and is leading the team in assists with 5.8 per game. Will Rayman is chipping in 13 points per game to go with 6.5 rebounds and is shooting 43.4% from deep. The Raiders are averaging 75.3 points per game on 47.7% shooting and are holding opponents to 69.7 a game.
Take Bucknell
Colgate comes in at -3.5. These teams are both evenly matched with each team protecting their home courts this season. I think Bucknell is the more experienced team and that will play a factor in this one. The Bucknell program has some experience in March and will not be rattled by this atmosphere while Bucknell is in uncharted territory. I like Bucknell to win this one outright and punch their ticket to the big dance. Take Bucknell +3.5.
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