Nelson, American host Bucknell
Bucknell (7-10, 3-1) vs. American (6-9, 2-2)
Bender Arena, Washington; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Two guards will be on display as Jimmy Sotos and Bucknell will take on Sa’eed Nelson and American. The junior Sotos is averaging 11 points over the last five games. S. Nelson, a senior, has scored 21 percent of the team’s points this season and is averaging 15.4 over his last five games.
SENIOR STUDS: American’s S. Nelson, Jamir Harris and Mark Gasperini have collectively accounted for 50 percent of the team’s scoring this season, including 59 percent of all Eagles points over the last five games.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS: The Eagles have given up only 67.5 points per game across four conference games, an improvement from the 74.4 per game they gave up to non-conference competition.
FUELING THE OFFENSE: S. Nelson has directly created 49 percent of all American field goals over the last three games. The senior guard has 19 field goals and 17 assists in those games.
WINLESS WHEN: Bucknell is 0-5 when scoring fewer than 63 points and 7-5 when scoring at least 63.
ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Eagles have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Bison. American has an assist on 46 of 74 field goals (62.2 percent) over its past three contests while Bucknell has assists on 36 of 77 field goals (46.8 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Bucknell is ranked first among Patriot League teams with an average of 70.6 possessions per game.