Michigan State Basketball: Getting to know the Bucknell Bison

Michigan State’s first-round opponent is a Bucknell team filled with experience and one that could provide a game too close for comfort Spartan fans.

Bucknell is a classic low-seeded, mid-major tournament team that has a roster filled with upperclassmen. One thing Michigan State can’t say about itself is just that. The main reason the Bison have nine losses is because they scheduled difficult in the non-conference. In Patriot League play, they’ve won 18 of their last 19 and absolutely cruised through the tournament winning in the semis by 31 points and the title game by 29.

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It was the same case last year when Bucknell took West Virginia to the wire in an 86-80 loss as a 13-seed. Yes, Bucknell was a better seed last year even though it didn’t lose anyone of significance. This season, the Bison started 4-7 because they scheduled incredibly difficult with nine of their first 12 on the road. While most of those resulted in losses, they led Maryland at halftime 50-35 and that came in College Park against a Terrapin team that still had Justin Jackson. Bucknell even kept things competitive at Chapel Hill against the Tar Heels.

The Bison have three main guys that can fill it up from deep, although none of them are better than 37.5 percent. That starts with leading scorer Zach Thomas, who does a little bit of everything and plays mainly as a stretch four at 6-foot-7. He averages 20.3 points and 9.2 boards per game and will likely draw a matchup with Jaren Jackson Jr. A big game from Thomas will be needed for the Bison to have a chance, although he scored just 11 points in the last two games (he wasn’t needed in those games).

Center Nana Foulland is the other player to know at 6-foot-10. He’ll be matched up plenty with Nick Ward and Gavin Schilling. He’s been a regular in the Bucknell lineup since a freshman and is averaging 15.4 points and 7.1 boards per game. No matter the matchup, Foulland has produced. He went a combined 23-of-37 for 53 points in the losses to Arkansas, Maryland and North Carolina.

In last year’s loss to West Virginia, he was 7-of-10 from the field for 18 points and three blocks. Basically, he gets his buckets no matter the opponent and no matter the situation. The question is if he can stay out of foul trouble on the other end of the court against Ward. Without Foulland on the court, Bucknell has no chance. The good news is that Foulland has a career-best 3.6 fouls per 40 minutes this season.

Point guard Stephen Brown is the third-leading scorer at 14.9 points per game and leading assister with 4.3 assists. He’s short at 5-foot-11, but that hasn’t mattered as the team’s starting point guard the last three seasons. And while his three-point shooting numbers are down this season (36.8 percent), he’s extremely efficient inside the arc and had the second-best true shooting percentage in the Patriot League at 63.9. Matched up with Jevon Carter in last year’s first round, he still managed 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. The kid will undoubtedly get his shots against the slower Cassius Winston.

There isn’t much else outside of those three, especially with Bruce Moore suspended. Kimbal Mackenzie is considered a shooter a la Matt McQuaid, but his numbers are down this season to 34.2 percent from three. He hasn’t often caught fire this season, but if that happens, watch out.

While all of those guys have great numbers, Foulland and Thomas won’t have an easy time trying to score in the paint and the same goes for Brown when he goes near Jackson.

Defensively, the Bison dominated the Patriot League, but also gave up 101 points to Arkansas and 93 to North Carolina. There isn’t a great matchup for them anywhere on the court and 6-foot-5 Nate Jones will be one of many players that tries to guard Miles Bridges. The other downfall to their defense is that they don’t force turnovers, which happens to be the worst thing about the Spartans.

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Bucknell may get buckets, but stopping Michigan State from reaching 80 or even 90 points will be difficult.