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University at Buffalo
Ball State
Pivotal MAC Matchup In Store Tuesday Night Against Ball State
2/17/2020 2:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Buffalo (16-9, 7-5 MAC) vs. Ball State (14-11, 7-5 MAC)
February 18, 2020
Alumni Arena (Buffalo, NY) - 7:00 pm
Radio
Buffalo - ESPN 1520
Rochester - Fox Sports 1280
Hornell - 1480 WLEA
Television
ESPN+
10 Things To Know About Today's Game
1. The Bulls return home Tuesday night to host Ball State in a game between two teams fighting for byes in the upcoming MAC Tournament. Both teams enter Tuesday's game with a 7-5 record in league play. Buffalo is coming off an 83-67 win at Toledo, while the Cardinals lost to Bowling Green on Saturday, 77-71.
2. This will be the second meeting between the Bulls and Cardinals this season as Ball State won the first meeting, 88-68, on Jan. 7 in Muncie. Senior Antwain Johnson led Buffalo in scoring in that game with 16 points, one of three UB players in double figures. The Cardinals were led by Tahjai Teague, who had 25 points and nine rebounds.
3. For the second straight game, Buffalo assistant coach Angres Thorpe will coach against a MAC program he used to coach at. Thorpe was an assistant coach at Ball State for two seasons. including a 23-12 record in 2001-02 when the Cardinals went to the NIT. That season included upset wins over UCLA and Kansas at the Maui Invitational.
4. Senior Davonta Jordan is one of only four players in the nation averaging at least 5.0 rebounds per game, 5.0 assists per contest, and 2.0 steals per game. He joins Tyrese Haliburton of Iowa State, Malik Johnson of Canisius and Grayson Murphy of Belmont.
5. Buffalo is currently second in the nation in rebounding at 42.44 per contest, behind only North Carolina, who is averaging 42.92 boards per game. They are also second in the country in offensive boards at 14.84 behind only West Virginia. Over the last five games, the Bulls are averaging 47.0 rebounds per game. Over the last 15 games, Buffalo has only be outrebounded once (Northern Illinois - 1/4/20).
6. The 42.92 rebounds per game by the Bulls right now would be their most since the 1987-88 season when they averaged 46.2 boards per game.
7. Over the last three games, the Bulls are holding opponents to an average of just 64.3 points per game. It is the first time this season UB has held three straight opponents under 70 points.
8. Junior Jayvon Graves finished just shy of his career high on Friday night with 27 points in the win at Toledo. That helped him inch closer to the 1,000 point mark for his career as Graves enters Tuesday night's game with 948 career points, the most amongst all active players on the Bulls. The Malvern, OH native is currently sixth in the MAC in scoring.
9. UB is tied for the fewest road losses in the MAC this season with three. Couple that with Buffalo's 3-1 record in neutral sites and the Bulls have the best record in the league away from home at 8-4.
10. Tuesday marks UB's last regular season game against a MAC West opponent. UB is currently 4-3 against the MAC West this season, having won their last two games against cross-division opponents.
Pivotal MAC Matchup In Store Tuesday Night Against Ball State
The Bulls return home riding a two-game winning streak when they host Ball State at Alumni Arena on Tuesday night. Both teams enter the contest with a 7-5 record, currently in a three-way tie for fourth place in the league standings with the conference tournament just weeks away.
Buffalo is coming off an 83-67 win at Toledo on Friday night, led by 27 points from junior Jayvon Graves. UB had one of its most dominant first halves of the season, outscoring Toledo, 52-28, over the first 20 minutes of action. Offensively, UB shot 62.9% from the floor, while holding the Rockets to just 30.4%. Overall, the Rockets shot a season-low 12.5% from three point range.
Ball State is coming off a 77-71 loss to Bowling Green in its previous contest on Saturday, but has won three of its last five games.
You Get A Win, And You Get A Win
Since the start of the 2017-18 season, the University at Buffalo men's basketball team has won 75 games, tied for 14th most nationally. Gonzaga leads the way nationally with 91 victories over that time. As for MAC programs, the second most wins over the last two plus seasons comes courtesy of Toledo, who has 60, which is tied for 66th. Bowling Green is third amongst MAC schools with 57 wins over that time.
Dance Dance Revolution
The Bulls have reached the NCAA Tournament four times in the last five years (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019). UB is one of just 28 teams that have played in four NCAA Tournaments over the last five seasons. Of those 28 teams, UB is one of just five to have earned their league's automatic bid each time joining Gonzaga (WCC), Kentucky (SEC), Iona (MAAC), and New Mexico State (WAC).
On The Rebound
The Bulls are second in the nation in rebounds per game at 42.44 and second in the country in offensive boards at 14.84. Only once this season has Buffalo failed to hit double figures in offensive rebounding, which was at Vanderbilt. Sophomore Josh Mballa is 11th in the nation in offensive boards, averaging 3.88 per game. Sophomore Jeenathan Williams had a career best seven offensive boards against Northern Illinois. UB had a season high 53 rebounds in the win over DePaul, its most in a game since last year's MAC Quarterfinal win over Akron when they finished with 55 rebounds. The Bulls had 50 rebounds against Central Michigan and 52 boards in back to back games against Akron and Bowling Green which now marks the fifth time UB has had at least 50 boards in a game.. In the win over Niagara, UB held the Purple Eagles to just 23 boards, the lowest by an opponent this year and the fewest by the opposition since Le Moyne had 22 on Dec, 5, 2018. UB has recorded more rebounds than its opponent 18 times this year, including in 12 of the last 14 games. UB outrebounded Akron, 52-31, led by a career best 17 boards from Mballa and outrebounded the Falcons, 52-40. Junior Jayvon Graves tied his career high with 12 boards against Central Michigan.
Whitesell Back In Charge
For the first time since the 2010-11 season, UB head coach Jim Whitesell is back in charge of a basketball program. Whitesell, who served the last four years as associate head coach for the Bulls, was named the 14th head coach in program history this past April.
Whitesell brings a long and accomplished resume into the season. His previous head coaching job was at Loyola (Chicago) where he was in charge of the Ramblers' program from 2004-11, finishing with a 109-107 record in seven seasons in charge. He is one of only five coaches in the history of Loyola Basketball with more than 100 wins. Prior to his time at Loyola, Whitesell also served as head coach at Elmhurst College and Lewis University, where he had his most success, going 214-126 in 12 seasons. Recently he was inducted into the Lewis Hall of Fame.
Following his time at Loyola, Whitesell made assistant coaching stops at Saint Louis and St. John's where he worked for a pair of legendary head coaches in the late Rick Majerus and Steve Lavin before joining Nate Oats in Buffalo. Whitesell picked up his first career UB win on Nov. 11 against Nazareth and he hit a professional milestone on Jan. 21 against Western Michigan when he secured his 400th career victory. Whitesell now has a career record of 403-309 in his tenure as a head coach. The 403 wins are 51st amongst all active head coaches.
Air Jordan
The Bulls look to the veteran presence of senior point guard Davonta Jordan who is in his fourth year with the program and has played in 126 career games.
Jordan has been named the MAC's all-defensive team each of the last two seasons as he has recorded 93 steals over the last two year. In each of his three seasons, Jordan as constantly increased his scoring, capped off by averaging 7.4 points per game last year. In the season opener, Jordan led the Bulls with 17 points, 13 of those coming over the final 12 minutes of the game. He tied his career high with four three-pointers, while adding six rebounds and four steals.
In the Charleston Classic, Jordan had a double-double with 10 points and tied his career high with 10 assists in the win over Towson. In the final game against Missouri St., Jordan set a then career high in scoring with 25 points, hitting 5-of-6 shots from three point range. Jordan had seven steals against William & Mary, fourth in school history in a single game and tied for the most by a player this year. In the victory over DePaul, Jordan became just the fifth player in school history to surpass the 400-assist mark for his career. He also finished just shy of a triple-double with 12 points, a career high nine rebounds, and eight assists. It was the first of two straight games where he flirted with a triple-double, adding 14 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.
Jordan notched a new career high with 26 points in the win over Canisius, tying his career high with nine rebounds. He had eight assists in the win over Niagara as he was named the MAC East Player of the Week for the first time in his career. He recorded a new career high in rebounding in the win at Miami with 10 boards, notching his second double-double of the year. With six assists against Kent State, Jordan moved into third place on Buffalo's all-time assist list, surpassing Turner Battle (2001-05). His assist total is now first in Buffalo's modern era, which began in 1991-92, when UB returned to Division I athletics. He's 20th in MAC history with 480 career assists.
From Beyond The Graves
Junior Jayvon Graves was named to the preseason All-MAC East Division team as he is coming off a sophomore season where he started in 35 games and averaged 9.7 points per game. He added 4.2 rebounds per contest and 67 assists. He scored in double figures 17 times last season, including a career high 26 points against Ohio. He finished with 17 points in the MAC Championship win against Bowling Green and added 13 points in Buffalo's NCAA Tournament First Round victory over Arizona State.
Graves is a native of Malvern, OH where he played his high school at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, the same school as Lebron James. He opened the 2019 season with 15 points against Dartmouth and added 17 more against Nazareth. Graves had 17 points in the win over Harvard, including a buzzer-beating three. He had his best night in Charleston against Towson where the junior finished with 25 points and eight rebounds. Graves added 24 points on a career-best 10 made field goals against William & Mary and added 21 points against DePaul. He added 22 points in the win over Niagara and set a career high with 28 points in the win over St. Bonaventure. Graves, who added 25 points in the win over Miami and 23 against Western Michigan, has scored in double figures in 22 of 25 games this season and he leads UB in scoring at 16.6 points per game after chipping in 27 points at Toledo. He had his first double-double of the year with 11 points and 12 rebounds against Central Michigan.
No Sophomore Slump
The Bulls are relying on a pair of sophomores this season, who both saw action in all 36 games last year, but played limited minutes. Both Jeenathan Williams and Ronaldo Segu have already set career highs in all offensive categories.
Playing the sixth man roll, Segu had 17 points against Nazareth and a career high 21 against Harvard. He has shot just under 87% from the floor in those two games as well. He had 12 assists and just two turnovers in those games. Segu had 14 points in the win over DePaul, including draining a pair of threes right before the half. He added 14 more points in the win over Canisius. Segu gave the Bulls a spark in the win over Miami as he had 16 points and six assists in a reserve role.
Williams has started in every game so far for the Bulls. Williams was named to the preseason All-Big 4 second team prior to the year. Williams scored 17 points in the victory over Missouri State as he went 6-of-12 from the floor, including a pair of three pointers. On the defensive end he chipped in two blocks and three steals. Williams had 13 points against Army West Point, including three offensive rebounds. He drained a huge three-pointer late in the win over Canisius and finished with 12 points against the Griffs. He notched his first career double-double with 19 points and a career high 10 rebounds against Niagara. Williams scored a new career high with 26 points in the win over Ohio, 24 of those coming in the second half. He was named MAC East Player of the Week on Jan. 20 after he added a game-high 18 points in the win over Central Michigan. He had a stretch of nine straight games in double figures snapped against WMU, but has scored in double figures in 14 of the last 16 games after a 20-point performance against Central Michigan and 12 points against Toledo.
Newish Faces Emerge
Two players that were a huge part of the team's success, but were unable to see action were senior transfers Antwain Johnson and Gabe Grant. Both players sat out the 2018-19 campaign due to NCAA Transfer rules, but served as valuable members of the scout team.
Now with their transfer year in the review mirror, both players are ready to give it their all for one final season.
Johnson, a transfer from Middle Tennessee State, started in Buffalo's exhibition win over Daemen and had 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Johnson lit it up from three against Harvard as he finished with 19 points, including going 5-of-7 from three point range. In two seasons at Middle Tennessee State, Johnson averaged 7.3 points per game, including 10.3 points per contest in 2017-18. His career high in scoring came on Feb. 3, 2018 at Charlotte when he scored 23 points. Johnson hit a pair of game-winning free throws in the victory over Missouri St., while also claiming the Blue Collar hard hat against the Bears. Johnson scored 18 points in the win over Ohio. He scored a new Buffalo career high with 21 points in the win against Western Michigan.
Grant, who came to the Bulls from Houston, was impressive off the bench in the exhibition opener, leading the Bulls in scoring with 19 points and six rebounds. Grant played in 24 games in his lone season at Houston, scoring a career best 12 points against East Carolina on Feb. 25, 2018. Grant hit the biggest shot of his career as he broke a 74-74 tie with just six seconds left at Akron, draining a three. Grant added 10 points at Eastern Michigan.
It's Still Brock And Roll To Me
Junior Brock Bertram readies for his third season of action this upcoming year. Bertram, who redshirted his first season, has continued to improve each year. Last season, the Apple Vally, MN native played in 20 games, averaging 1.1 points per contest. More impressive was the performance of Bertram on the scout team over the last three years, a big reason for the success of three-time MAC Sixth Man of the Year, Nick Perkins.
Bertram made his season debut in the MAC opener against Northern Illinois after missing the first 13 games due to a foot injury. He had three rebounds in limited action. In his second game against Ball State, Bertram had a career high three blocked shots, while also recording his first points of the season. He picked up his first start of the season at Akron and had a career high seven rebounds against Bowling Green.
We've Got Experience Too!
In all, this year's men's basketball team has five players who have been a part of another Division I institution during their careers.
- Antwain Johnson - Middle Tennessee St.
- Gabe Grant - Houston
- Josh Mballa - Texas Tech
- LaQuill Hardnett - Cincinnati
- David Nickelberry - Memphis
Mballa was a member of the Texas Tech squad in 2018-19 that finished as national runners up. Mballa and the Red Raiders met up with the Bulls in the NCAA Round of 32 in Tulsa. He played in 17 games at Texas Tech with his career high in scoring coming against the Kansas Jayhawks on Feb. 2, 2019. Mballa had 15 points against UConn and followed that up with his first double-double of the year, scoring 13 points and adding 11 rebounds against Towson. Mballa scored a career best 18 against Western Michigan. He had 14 rebounds at DePaul and 15 against St. Bonaventure. He had 17 rebounds against Akron and 15 more against Bowling Green. Mballa, who had double-doubles in three straight games, leads UB in rebounding at 9.2 per game.
Hardnett redshirted his freshman season at Cincinnati and he registered career highs with nine point and 11 rebounds against Canisius. He played solid minutes at Central Michigan, recording six points and five boards. and had eight points and six rebounds against Western Michigan. Hardnett , who has started the last two games, is shooting just over 81% from the floor this season going 35-of-43 from the field.
History On The Horizon
The Bulls are looking to accomplish something this season that has never been done in Mid-American Conference history as no MAC school has ever won five conference tournament titles in a six-year period. Last season, the Bulls became the first MAC team to win four conference titles in a five year period. The MAC Tournament dates back to the 1979-80 season.
