The Bucknell Bison and the American Eagles meet Tuesday in Patriot League Tournament college basketball action from Bender Arena. Bucknell enters this one at 12-19 overall. The Bison beat Lafayette in their last game. As for American, they’re sitting at 15-14 on the year after a Saturday loss to Loyola MD. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Bucknell Bison
Bucknell posted a 9-15 run over their first 24 games this season. The Bison would then hit a 3-4 stretch over the next seven, falling to Navy, Colgate, Boston U and Lehigh with wins otherwise versus Army, American and Lafayette.
In the Lafayette game on Saturday, the Bison were up 34-32 going into the second half. Bucknell hit a 41-33 stretch from there for a 75-65 win. Alex Timmerman (10 rebounds), Jack Forrest and Andre Screen each posted 16 points.
American Eagles
Over on the Eagles’ side, they managed a 14-8 stretch to kick off the season. The Eagles are a sketchy 1-6 since then, and they’ve taken losses to Boston U, Holy Cross, Bucknell, Lehigh, Navy and Loyola MD in the last half-dozen outings.
Back on Saturday versus Loyola MD, the Eagles scored 33 points in the first half, 38 in the second and six in overtime for a tough 83-77 loss. Matthew Rogers was the team’s leading scorer, doubling up on 24 points and 16 rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll probably stick with Bucknell here. The Bison are a sketchy 2-4 in their last six games, however they’ve posted 73 or more points in two of the last four (both wins). Bucknell won both previous installments of this matchup, 78-71 back on February 1 at Bender Arena and 73-51 on February 13 at home. The Bison are going to need to get off to a good start here but I think they’ll be fine cover-wise. American is on a rough-six game losing streak and they’ve given up a combined 153 points over the last pair. Bucknell will have some opportunities in this one.