Bucknell has a Devilish flavor

When Terrapin men's basketball player Dave Neal thinks about what Bucknell's offense will look like in tonight's season-opening game, a familiar foe comes to mind.

"It's a lot like Duke," the senior forward said, citing a similar motion offense.

With new head coach Dave Paulsen coming from Division III Williams College, Bucknell's approach may be difficult to initially detect. But when adding tendencies from the Bison's old team with those from their new coach, the Terps can see a little bit of the Devil in Bucknell's potential offensive strategy.

"They step out people; their so-called four and five positions, they're not afraid to step out those guys, and they might be taking threes," Terp coach Gary Williams said. "[It's like] when you play [Duke], if a [forward Kyle] Singler steps out and shoots a three. The biggest guy on the other team usually doesn't do that. It can be a different look and a tough look."

Neal went so far as to project the Bison to chuck up 30 three-pointers in tonight's 8 p.m. game at Comcast Center.

Thirty may be a little extreme, as the Bison attempted 620 total during last season. Though being on the road against a team they aren't supposed to beat might cause them to be more trigger-happy behind the recently moved back three point line.

"A team with nothing to lose can come in loose and just fire away," Williams said. "And if they're hitting their shots, it can be a tough game."

Bucknell has won more tournament games in the past three seasons (two) than the Terps (one). But with the losses of head coach Pat Flannery and leading scorer John Griffin, the Bison are projected to finish in the bottom half of the Patriot League.

Regardless of how well Bucknell plays, the Terps realize it's up to them to come out and play quality basketball to assure their first victory of the new season.

"The whole squad knows that they're pretty good, but we just go out there and play our game, and play hard, and just be tough," guard Greivis Vasquez said. "If we do that, then we'll be OK."

The Terps' entire playbook isn't installed yet, but forward Landon Milbourne said that having actual game tape from last weekend's exhibition game is a big help in self-assessment.

For the first time this week, the Terps have gotten to practice with their entire roster, now that freshman forward Jin Soo Kim is active and freshman guard Sean Mosley is healthy.

Williams plans on using a nine-man rotation, but has not disclosed his starting lineup.

"It'll be Eric Hayes, Greivis Vasquez, and Landon Milbourne ... and whoever practices well [Thursday]," he said.

Williams must still decide if he wants to surround the aforementioned three returning starters with a pair of big men or employ a smaller, more speedy starting set. He praised sophomore guards Adrian Bowie and Cliff Tucker for the improvements they've shown in preseason practice.

All of that work in the preseason has led up to tonight, when the Terps' season begins and the numbers on the scoreboard actually begin to matter. It may not be Duke, but it's still an exciting time for the Terps.

"I just can't wait to step out there and get that feeling again, playing on my court with my fans," Vasquez said after a busy offseason which included ankle surgery and a trip to Venezuela to visit his ailing father.

Added Milbourne: "We're definitely amped up for it."

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