Forgive Pat Flannery if he does not sound thrilled about Bucknell’s BracketBusters game Saturday.

Flannery realizes this is tremendous exposure for his program and a great experience for his team. A tough matchup against a team the caliber of Northern Iowa is the type of challenge his ballclub has thrived on the past two seasons. Flannery likes the idea of having a quality team like UNI coming into Sojka for a payback will boot next season’s schedule. Make no mistake, the guy understands the benefits of this whole BracketBusters thing.

Then why is he not smiling?

Well, for starters, the game could not have come at a worse time on the Bison’s schedule. Riding a 12-game unbeaten streak in conference play, with the next league game one that could determine the regular season championship, the last thing a coach wants right now is a hiccup.

As important as this game might be for Bucknell – for exposure, for possible NCAA seeding, for national rankings – it could mean nothing if the Bison don’t win the Patriot League title. Despite all the hype, there is no guarantee that Bucknell will be inside the bubble when it bursts if they don’t win the Patriot League.

When Flannery agreed to participate in the BracketBusters, he didn’t imagine his team being nationally ranked and flying two-thirds of the way across the country to play in the middle of the conference schedule.

“I thought we’d be getting on a bus and going to play someplace like Manhattan or Iona,” Flannery says.

In other words, a step up and out of the league, but without a break in the rhythm and routine of the conference schedule.

The Bison are chartering to Northern Iowa to minimize the disruption to their class schedule and to allow them to get back to Lewisburg Saturday night following the game.

Even by charter, it’s a long trip, the better part of the day spent on buses and planes. Not that the Bison need hurry to get to Cedar Falls. To accommodate the game, UNI moved a track meet that was scheduled for Saturday up a day. That means Bucknell can’t get on the court at the UNI Dome for a shootaround until 9 p.m. local time. By then the Bison’s body clocks will be reading 10 p.m., a late hour for a practice after a tiring day of travel.

Flannery does not expect to get much done other than to get a feel for the game ball UNI uses and the background in the dome.

“We will shoot around for about 20 minutes, then try to get there early Saturday morning to shoot some more,” Flannery says
Flannery is not too worried about his team shooting in the cavernous dome. The Bison won earlier in the season in Syracuse’s Carrier Dome, where most of the team also played twice last season. They have played in a number of other big arenas, too.

“It will be 10-foot baskets and a 94-foot court,” said Flannery, sounding a little like Gene Hackman.

Flannery is not worried about the dome, his focus is on preparing for its tenants.

Northern Iowa (21-6, 11-5 Missouri Valley Conference) has lost two in a row and three of its last five. But the losses have all been in the mucho-tough MVC. Even though the Panthers are a little banged up and tired, they are a very good team.

UNI has spent all season in the Mid-Major Top 25, where they were No. 5 last week. Before their recent slide, it was the Panthers who were ranked in the Top 25.

Flannery says Northern Iowa reminds him of his own team. That is not just because both teams played tough in losing to Wisconsin in Oklahoma City last March.

“They play good defense and they have kids who can really shoot the ball,” Flannery says.

“It’s a similar matchup. We’ll have to see how the quickness is when we get on the floor.”

Flannery says at times UNI goes with a four-guard lineup, spreading the floor to open things up inside for 6-8 Grant Stout, who averages 12.6 points per game. Stout also helps open the floor with his perimeter shooting. His range extends to the arc.

“He can shoot from the perimeter or drive to the basket,” Flannery says.

Senior guard Ben Jacobsen (6-3) leads the Panthers with 14.2 points per game. Flannery says he is “a real legitimate scorer.”

“They spread you out and have good, quick post kids who can hurt you,” Flannery says.

From watching tape of the Panthers, Flannery can’t really say they remind him of anybody Bucknell has played so far. “Ask me after the game,” he says.

NORTHERN IOWA LINKS:

Official site

PantherMania.com (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)

DesMoines Register UNI page

Panther Nation (message board)