Bucknell making headlines beating big-name opponents

Perhaps it shouldn't be considered an upset any more when Bucknell beats a big-name opponent.
This small private school has developed a reputation for knocking off some of college basketball's big guns over the last couple of seasons. Last year, it scored a regular-season road victory over Pittsburgh and shocked Kansas in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The latest ranked opponent to fall to the Bison is Syracuse, which was No. 19 when Bucknell scored a 74-69 win on Nov. 22 at the Carrier Dome.
"Whether or not it's a surprise to some people or a lot of people, none of these games are going to be a surprise to us," said Bucknell point guard Abe Badmus, beads of sweat dripping from his face after taking a breather during a recent practice at Bucknell's home court.
But Badmus and his teammates know there's more work to be done, especially with more tough games on the schedule, including a home contest this coming Tuesday against No. 4 Villanova and a trip in January to top-ranked Duke."We haven't proven anything yet, to say that we picked it up from last year," said Badmus, one of five starters and 12 players overall back from last year's 23-10 squad. "We're not at the point where we were doing good things last year."
That's the kind of attitude Bison coach Pat Flannery likes to hear after hammering the phrase "No Entitlements" into his players during preseason. Flannery has instilled confidence in his team but doesn't want his players to rest on last season's accomplishments.
So far, so good, though Bucknell has had some nail-biters.
The Bison needed an off-balance 17-foot jumper from Kevin Bettencourt with 1.2 seconds left to beat Rider 56-54 in the season opener. Against Syracuse, they used a late 13-2 run and hit their free throws to rally to a 74-69 victory.
"We were excited to play a Big East team to see where we measured up," said Bettencourt, who hit 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch against Syracuse. "But we weren't thinking about statements or anything like that."
On the road against Niagara, another NCAA tourney team last season, Bucknell erased a nine-point halftime deficit and held the Purple Eagles to 3-of-22 shooting in the second half on the way to a 63-60 win.Bucknell received 73 votes in the latest Associated Press poll, placing it just oustide the Top 25 and ahead of schools such as Stanford, Kansas and defending national champion North Carolina.
Bucknell's win over the Jayhawks last season was the first NCAA tournament win for a team from the Patriot League, which only started to allow member schools to award basketball scholarships in 1998.
"It's crazy. We're still a Patriot League school and getting all this national attention," center Chris McNaughton said while sitting in the stands underneath the banner commemorating last year's NCAA appearance. "I don't think anyone could have thought that."
Badmus was the Patriot League's defensive player of the year, and teammates say they're confident the 6-foot-10 McNaughton can alter shots if an opponent gets into the paint. But it's McNaughton's offense, and one shot in particular, that stands out for Bucknell fans.
On a banner near the main entrance to Bucknell's home court, Sojka Pavilion, is a picture of a menacing McNaughton putting up the hook shot over Wayne Simien's outstretched arm with 10.5 seconds left in the win over Kansas."In the past, we could play a really, really fine game and change some things in our game plan to compete with some people," Flannery said. "(Now) we are able to go and do some things that we want to do, as opposed to holding the tail and trying to hang on."
Flannery also knows it will be tougher to schedule opponents, especially to come to Lewisburg, with each big win. Convincing Villanova to come to Bucknell was easy, though, because Wildcats coach Jay Wright, like Flannery, graduated from Bucknell. The Bison lost at Villanova, 89-51 last season and go back to Villanova next year.
Bettencourt, one of the team's captains, put his team's success in perspective.
"It's pretty special. It's fun," he said. "But we all realize, one bad game and all the attention goes away."

Rules Research Continues

Research on changes to the collegiate basketball court and playing rules will continue during certified events and preseason games this fall. The Men's Basketball Rules Committee is examining three experimental rules: the three-point line extended to 20 feet, 9 inches, the lane widened by one foot on each side, and a restricted-area arc. In the women's game, the three-point line will be extended to 20 feet, 6 inches, and the 10-second backcourt rule will be utilized.
The same three experimental rules with different dimensions were examined last fall by the Men's Basketball Rules Committee. This year the three-point line is extended 12 inches from its current distance of 19 feet, 9 inches, and the lane is extended by one foot on each side instead of 1 ½ feet. The restricted-area arc will be three feet from the center of the basket instead of two feet.
"We thought the feedback from last year's experimental rules was positive, but we need to make sure we've done all of our homework before we make any significant changes," Larry Keating, chair of the Men's Basketball Rules Committee and senior associate director of athletics at the University of Kansas, said. "Making these changes, which we think are necessary to keep our game current and growing, will mean updating every college court in the country, all three divisions. It is not a decision we're taking lightly."
Participating institutions are asked to track three-point field goal percentages, three-second violations, rebounds from free-throw attempts by lane space, and fouls following free-throw attempts. Last year, data was collected from a 134 games, including 117 from Division I, 14 from Division II and three from Division III.
The 2004 information showed that lengthening the three-point line did not create a significant difference in the number of three-point shots made, shots attempted, or shooting percentage during the experiment. In studying the lane, the percentage of offensive (21 percent) and defensive rebounds (79 percent) per game was consistent with the random sample of regular-season games tracked by the committee. There was no significant difference in the number of three-second violations or fouls after free-throw attempt either.
Coaches' support for changing court dimensions has grown. When asked last season to describe the level of support for adopting the widened collegiate lane and the extended three-point line, 65 percent of participating coaches were either greatly or somewhat in favor of the change.
The women will be experimenting for the first time with the three-point line extended and the 10-second backcourt rule, which is currently one of the primary rule differences between the men's and women's games.
"The men have been looking at court changes for many years, and we are just at the beginning of examining this possibility," Ronda Seagraves, chair of the Women's Basketball Rules Committee and associate athletics director at Southwestern University (Texas), said. "We believe our players are more than capable of utilizing the three-point line nine inches further from the basket. We need to decide if this is good for our game or not."
Data will be collected to look at the number of 10-second violations called during games using the experimental rules and the three-point shooting percentages. Coaches' feedback about the experiences will be sought.
The experimental rules are required to be used during games which have been certified by the NCAA. The men's certified events include: America's Youth Classic, BCA Classic, BCA Invitational, Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout, Coaches vs. Cancer, Colonial Athletic Association Basketball Classic, CoSIDA Classic, EA Sports Maui Invitational, Guardians Classic, Hispanic College Fund Basketball Classic, Jim Thorpe Association Classic, John Thompson Foundation Basketball Classic, Las Vegas Holiday Classic, Las Vegas Holiday Invitational, NABC Classic, National Catholic Basketball Tournament, Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic, Preseason NIT, San Juan Shootout, South Padre Island Invitational, Top of the World Classic, and the University of Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.
The women's certified events are the Ala Moana Hotel Paradise Classic, Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout, Hawaii Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic, North Star Invitational, Preseason Women's NIT, San Juan Shootout, University of the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, WBCA/Basketball Travelers Classic, Waikiki Beach Marriott Invitational, Women's Hoops Fall Classic, and the Women's Sports Foundation/Basketball Travelers Challenge.
Institutions are asked to utilize the rules during preseason games and scrimmages during at least one of two preseason to help bolster the data collection, especially in Divisions II and III.

Struckhoff Named Officiating Coordinator

Mary Struckhoff has been named NCAA National Coordinator of Women's Basketball Officiating, the NCAA announced today.
Struckhoff, has served as assistant director of the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) since 1999, after three years as an assistant executive at the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). As assistant director of the NFHS, Struckhoff serves as editor and national rules interpreter for basketball and softball; staff liaison for the NFHS Officials Association; coordinator of the NFHS Officials Education Program and workshop organization for the NFHS summer meeting and National Athletic Administrators' Conference.
"Mary is a knowledgeable and committed educator who has balanced experience in education, officiating and administration," said Sue Donohoe, vice-president for Division I women's basketball. "Her core values align with the NCAA's strategic plan and the vision for women's basketball officiating. She is sure to bring women's basketball officiating to a new level."
Struckhoff replaces Marcy Weston, who is retiring from the position. Weston is senior associate director of athletics at Central Michigan University.
Struckhoff will coordinate the NCAA's women's basketball officiating program. The program helps promote better communication between officials, conference coordinators of officials, coaches and the NCAA, and helps provide consistency in the interpretations of NCAA women's basketball rules and officiating mechanics. Additionally, Struckhoff will assist the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee in the identification, training, selection and evaluation of officials for the Division I championship.
Struckhoff has officiated NCAA women's basketball in seven Division I conferences. She has worked several post-season tournaments including conference championship finals, the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship and the WNIT.
Struckhoff serves on several committees and boards, including the Officiating Development Alliance; Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Directors; Amateur Softball Association's Council; and the Equipment Standards Committee.
Prior to joining the IHSA staff, Struckhoff was involved in teaching, coaching and athletic administration at high schools in St. Louis and Chicago for 10 years. Her teaching background includes physical education, health, mathematics and computer science courses. Struckhoff has coached softball, basketball, volleyball and tennis.
"I am excited to build on the program and legacy that Marcy (Weston) started," Struckhoff said. "The student-athletes, coaches, administrators and officials involved in the women's game are passionate groups. Our goal is to work together to make the women's game the best it can possibly be. I'm thrilled to be a part of that endeavor."
Struckhoff earned a bachelor's degree in 1982 from Benedictine College (Kansas) in physical education and a master's degree in athletic administration in 1991 from Western Illinois University. While an undergraduate, she played on the tennis and softball teams.
A native of St. Louis, Struckhoff currently resides in Indianapolis.

How NCAA basketball rules could change

THE 3-POINT LINE RULE
Potential change: For the men, lengthening the distance from 19 feet, 9 inches to 20 feet, 9 inches. For the women, lengthening it to 20 feet, 6 inches.
The skinny: Supporters say the change would not dip 3-point shooting percentage, simply keep bad shooters from taking 3-pointers. "Make these guys make some shots," said Charlie Coles, the Miami University men's basketball coach.
THE LANE/3-SECOND RULE
Potential change: For the men, widening the lane by one foot on each side.
The skinny: This change would likely hurt teams that have dominant inside games, keeping the big men further away from the basket. Some say the bodies have just become too big to keep the lane as it is.
10-SECOND RULE FOR WOMEN
Potential change: For the first time, limit women to 10 seconds to advance the ball past the half-court line. The men already have this rule.
The skinny: Coaches say this would need to coincide with a shot-clock increase from 30 seconds to 35 seconds, where it is for the men. Many teams already utilize the press, but this rule would put more pressure on the ball-handlers.