We Can Do It

This is what being a fan is all about: Bucknell, the tiny private liberal arts university in central Pennsylvania with only 2 NCAA tournament wins, facing off against UConn, the Big East heavyweights with 2 national titles in the past 15 years. It is a match-up that 9 out of 10 times will be won by UConn. It is a match-up that based on talent should be won by UConn. In terms of athleticism and pure skill, no one on the Bucknell team should even be holding Kemba Walker's jock strap. And that is what makes this so perfect.

Six years ago we exploded onto the national scene with a one point win over 3-seed Kansas. It was an amazing game that still to this day ranks as my best sports memory. Ultimately we did not make the Sweet 16 that year, but for a team that had never won a tournament game; for a league that had never won a tournament game and for a school that everyone expected to roll over and played scared it was a watershed moment. The following year was even better as the Bison finished the regular season at 23-4, earned themselves a 9 seed and again beat a higher ranked opponent, Arkansas. Two straight years of beating the big boys with inferior talent.

Here we sit again. Five years later, getting even less respect than before. To be fair, it's not because people think less of the Bison, but simply because they think very highly of UConn. This is a team that amidst low expectations won the Maui Invitational by beating highly-ranked Michigan St and Kentucky. This is a team that was 17-2 on Jan 25. This is a team that just won 5 games in 5 days to win the Big East Tournament, a tournament that some say was more difficult a test than what they face in the NCAA Tournament. Simply put, this is a team that should beat Bucknell.

With all that being said, being a fan is about believing that above all odds, your team can get the job done. When it comes to Bucknell, I am that fan who can rationalize reasons why we can win (hell, we did it before, why not again?). Here are the reasons I have come up with as to why we CAN win:

1. History is on our side. The last team to win at least 4 games in 4 days to win the Big East Tournament was Syracuse in 2006. Led by an amazing individual performance by Gerry McNamara, Syracuse entered the conference tournament as a 9 seed (7-9 in conference) and a solid bubble team for the NCAA Tournament. Four days later they won the conference and were given a 5 seed that in hindsight was WAY to high. In the first round they were sluggish and lost to 12th ranked Texas A&M. UConn can certainly come out sluggish and underestimate the Bison.
2. One area that Bucknell has the advantage is in foul shooting where we rank 3rd nationally at 78.6%. If it is a close game look for BU to have the advantage.
3. There is a huge drop-off between Walker (23.5 ppg) and the team's second leading scorer, Jeremy Lamb (10.8 ppg). If Bucknell is somehow able to make Walker uncomfortable; if they are able to contain him; if for some reason he just has a bad day, I have to wonder where the scoring will come from.
4. The Huskies are just as inexperienced as Bucknell. After Walker (JR), the next 5 players in terms of minutes per game are all Sophomore's or Freshman. While UConn is always a powerhouse, it's not like any of their current players were around for those big games. They will be no better served for the NCAA Tournament than we will be.
5. We are familiar with playing Big East opponents - Nova and Marquette in 2011, Notre Dame in 2010. Sure all three games were losses, but all three were on the road in an environment that is way more hostile than what they will see in DC where geographically they will be the home team.
6. UPDATED - We are 7th in the nation in 3-point shooting (40.2%) while UConn is 226th (33.2%). This is another area of strength that we can hopefully take full advantage of.
   

So there are 6 reasons why we CAN win. Now the reason why we WILL win:

1. Belief. I believe in this team. T-Wetz, C-Steb, Stollercoaster, Gorman, The Wife, Mikey MLF and all of my fellow Bison believe in this team. All my non-Bison (D-Lib, Hopper, J-Will, The Mayor, Irish Mike) believe in this team. It is going to happen. We are going to shock UConn.