Behind three Patriots in double-figures, George Mason men’s basketball head coach Dave Paulsen recorded his 400th career victory with a 63-44 rout over Penn Saturday night at EagleBank Arena.
Paulsen is in his first season at George Mason, prior to that, he spent seven seasons at Bucknell. During his tenure there, the Bison became the first team in Patriot League history to record three straight regular season titles, having amassed four outright regular season championships in the last five years. He has led the Bison to four postseason berths – two NCAA appearances and two NITs – during that span.
Paulsen’s 134 victories are third-most all-time in Bucknell history, behind only Charlie Woollum (318) and Pat Flannery (234), and Paulsen’s .590 (134-94) winning percentage is the highest in program history among coaches with 40 or more games. In a three-year period culminating in 2013 the Bison earned a program –topping 78 wins, including a school-record 28 victories (28-6) in 2012-13.
In 2013 Bucknell was awarded a No. 11 seed at the NCAAs, the second-highest seed in program history.
The 2015 Patriot League Coach of the Year guided a young Bucknell squad to a 13-5 record and a first-place finish in the conference this season, earning an automatic bid to the NIT for the second time. In 2012 the Bison upset top-seeded Arizona on the road before falling at Nevada.
Paulsen won the 2011 and 2012 Patriot League Coach of the Year awards, making him only the third coach in league history to receive the honor in consecutive years. He was also named the 2013 NABC Co-District 13 Coach of the Year alongside Harvard’s Tommy Amaker.
During Paulsen’s tutelage, the Bison recorded six Academic All-Patriot League honors, three Academic All-District II recognitions and one Academic All-American in the last five years.
He has been named as one of 16 finalists for the 2015 Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, presented annually by CollegeInsider.com to those who not only achieve success on the basketball court but who also display moral integrity off the court.
Paulsen, a two-time National Coach of the Year who led Williams College to the 2003 Division III national championship, was named the head men’s basketball coach at Bucknell on May 20, 2008.
