Following a statement win over Arkansas, the newly ranked No. 6 Virginia Cavaliers return to JPJ for another “buy” game, as the Bucknell Bison pay a visit on Tuesday night. This contest is slotted for the ACC Network with a 9 pm opening tip, marking the first of five late-night tips for the Wahoos this season, as currently scheduled.
This will be the fourth all-time meeting between these two programs. UVA is 2-1 in the series, with the most recent contest being a 99-49 Cavaliers victory in 2000-01.
The Bison may be facing a similar fate 26 years later.
What to know about Bucknell
With a KenPom ranking of 344th, Bucknell is the second worst team Virginia will face all season (Loyola MD is 352nd). Led by fourth-year head coach John Griffin, the Bison were picked to finish 6th out of 10 in the preseason Patriot League poll. They have suffered two blowout losses to start their season — a 96-67 final against Maryland, who the Cavaliers will visit on Friday, followed by a 82-62 drubbing at the hands of Old Dominion.
Against Maryland in particular, Bucknell was dominated in the paint, allowing 27-of-40 (67.5%) field goals around the rim, compared to just 9-of-18 (50%) themselves. Virginia features significantly more size than the Terps and should be even more of a mismatch in this respect.
So far, the bright spot for the Bison has been 6-foot-5 guard Alexander Pachucki, who is primed for a breakout in his second full season. He scored 23 and 11 points in Bucknell’s first two respective games, and is known to be a dangerous shooter off the catch. 5-foot-10 guard Jaydin Williams slots in as Griffin’s highest scoring returner from last year’s team, but he has struggled from the field so far.
The outlook for Virginia
The sentiment is simple: keep the train rolling and do not mess around. Bucknell is a team that Virginia should physically overmatch no matter what version of themselves they bring, but it will be important to keep the confidence high headed into a rivalry game over the weekend.
Turnovers were a minor concern in UVA’s contests against Drexel and Northeastern, but they righted the ship when it mattered, giving the ball up just 9 times on 68 possessions against an exceptionally athletic Arkansas squad. Another number in the single digits against Bucknell would be a welcomed sign.
In a long-term sense, rotations will be the most important thing to continue to monitor in these types of games. Ryan Odom has basically played seven in the Arkansas game, with Elijah Gertrude and Kalu Anya getting significant workloads off the bench.
While this may be the group that Odom is most comfortable with as we stand in early November, there is still reason to believe that depth is a strength of this UVA team. Jurian Dixon is perhaps the most surprising omission, given his production at UC Irvine and seamless fit in Odom’s system. Dixon remains the most likely candidate to push his way into a larger share of minutes.
Favour Ibe and Christian Harmon are the other two to keep a close eye on. Ibe got a little bit of run early in Sunday’s contest with Thijs De Ridder off the court, but the 7-foot-1 freshman still has plenty to work on before he can be fully trusted, and this is the type of game for him to do so.
Harmon, who had nursed an injury throughout the preseason, has been buried alongside the walk-ons. His fit may still be unknown as a high-volume but not overly-efficient shooter at Arkansas State last season. It will be interesting to see if he gets a bit more of an opportunity in these upcoming buy games.
Prediction
The Cavaliers will overwhelm Bucknell with on-ball pressure and continue their 90+ point scoring streak to start the season.
Prediction: ‘Hoos 98, Bison 65
