VILLANOVA -- Jay Wright found himself in a reflective mood Monday night as fourth-ranked Villanova (4-0) headed to Lewisburg for today’s 7 p.m. showdown with Bucknell (5-0) at sold-out Sojka Pavilion.That was to be expected. The Villanova coach is a 1983 Bucknell graduate.

"It’s funny, but with the Oklahoma game, I really haven’t had much time to think about it until now," Wright said. "I was a kid when I was up there and now I’m going to go against one of my great friends (Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery) and a guy who was my mentor."

This will be Wright’s first trip to his alma mater since his 15th-year reunion and his first as a head coach, even though he is 3-0 lifetime against the Bison. Two of those games were played at Hofstra. The third was an 89-51 Villanova romp last season at the Pavilion.

The Bison, though, are no pushover. Bucknell is 5-0 with road wins against over two Big East teams, Sryacuse (74-69) and DePaul (57-52), and have all five starters back from a team that won the Patriot League title and shocked Kansas, 64-63, in the first round of the 2004-05 NCAA Tournament.

"It’s going to be a tough game," Wright said. "The toughest thing we’ll have to deal with is the atmosphere. The game is sold out and we have to face a good team on their home court. It’s going to be a very difficult environment."

"It’s very similar," Wright said. "That was the first time that two top five teams played at Villanova and I’m sure this is the first time a top five team has played at Bucknell. The roles are reversed. It’s going to be a difficult environment, but that’s OK. That’s what makes it a challenge and our kids look forward to a challenge."

"I thought we played with great confidence and composure," Wright said. "That’s something I wasn’t sure we would have this early in the year without Curtis (Sumpter). I knew we would get it because we have so many seniors. But when we were down 10 in the first half, I didn’t see any panic in there eyes. They knew they were going to come back.

"I also saw a lot of areas where we can improve. Jason (Fraser) can get better. Will (Sheridan) and Dante (Cunningham) have to do a better job on the boards because Oklahoma hurt us on the glass. And even though we forced a lot of turnovers with our press we also gave up a lot of easy baskets."

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