Eastern Michigan
Buffalo Welcomes Eastern Michigan To Town Thursday Afternoon
1/20/2021 1:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Buffalo (5-5, 3-3 MAC) vs. Eastern Michigan (4-5, 1-4 MAC)
January 21, 2021
Alumni Arena (Buffalo, NY) - 2:00 pm
Bulls on the Air
Buffalo - ESPN 1520
Television
ESPN+
10 Things To Know About Today's Game
1. The Bulls continue a stretch of three games in five days on Thursday afternoon as Buffalo hosts Eastern Michigan at Alumni Arena. This game is a makeup from Jan. 5, a contest that was postponed while Buffalo was on COVID pause. UB is looking to snap a two-game losing streak.
2. Buffalo has won the last seven meetings with Eastern Michigan at Alumni Arena. The Eagles have not won in Western New York since the 2003-04 season. Overall, the Bulls lead 17-11 in the all-time series with Eastern Michigan. The Eagles did win the meeting last season in Ypsilanti. These two team meet against at Eastern Michigan on Feb. 13.
3. The Bulls are in the midst of quite a busy schedule since coming back from pause on Jan. 9. UB is playing six games over a 14-day period. Beginning on Tuesday at Kent State the Bulls are in the midst of playing three games in five days.
4. Over the last two games, the Bulls have had to overcome large second half deficits. On Friday, UB nearly overcame an18-point deficit pulling within one. On Tuesday night at Kent State, Buffalo trailed by 21 points at the half, only to come back at take a six point lead. UB scored 55 points in the second half against the Golden Flashes.
5. After leading the nation last season in rebounding per game, the Bulls are again first nationally in that category as UB is averaging 44.20 rebounds per contest. Josh Mballa leads the team at 9.4 per game, while Jeenathan Williams is second at 8.4 per game.
6. Junior Ronaldo Segu has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games, including five straight. He is averaging 15.0 points per game during those last four contests. Segu is amongst the MAC leaders in 3pt field goal percentage at .465 and he is also tied for sixth in the league in free throw shooting at .826.
7. In the latest set of NET rankings released by the NCAA, Buffalo was listed 104th in the rankings, the first time it has been outside of the Top 100. Eastern Michigan checked in at 308th in the rankings on Jan. 20.
8. Junior Jeenathan Williams has recorded at least 15 points and six rebounds in all 10 games this season, just one of seven players in the nation to record those totals at least 10 times this year.
9. Senior Brock Bertram hit double figures in points for the first time in his career on Tuesday at Kent State as Bertram finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks in the game.
10. According to KenPom, the Bulls are one of the fastest teams in the country. UB is ninth in adjusted tempo and fifth in average possession length at just 14.2 seconds per possession. They trail only Winthrop, The Citadel, Coppin State, and Gonzaga.
Buffalo Welcomes Eastern Michigan To Town Thursday Afternoon
The University at Buffalo men's basketball team will continue a stretch of three games over five days when they host Eastern Michigan at Alumni Arena on Thursday afternoon. The Bulls are looking to snap a two-game losing skid following their most recent defeat an 84-81 setback at Kent State on Tuesday night.
The Bulls got down 22 points in the first half before coming back to take a six-point second half lead. Junior Josh Mballa led the Bulls with 22 points and had seven steals, tied for fourth most in school history in a single game. Fellow junior Jeenathan Williams added 20 points and eight rebounds.
Eastern Michigan has not played since this past Saturday, a 75-64 loss to Central Michigan. The Eagles had their most recent game against Western Michigan on Tuesday night postponed. EMU has four wins on the season, but three of those have come against non-Division I opponents, however the Eagles do own a big 71-59 victory over Akron.
Bienvenidos A Miami
WELCOME TO MIAMI...OHIO THAT IS! The Bulls had quite the welcome to Millett Hall on Tuesday night with a 90-62 victory over the Miami RedHawks. The victory for UB was their largest in a MAC game since Feb. 19, 2019 when Buffalo defeated Ohio, 114-67 and their largest road win since a 100-70 win at Bowling Green on Mar. 2, 2018.
For the RedHawks, the 28-point loss was a margin hardly seen in Oxford. It was the largest home loss for Miami since Nov. 28, 2001, an 87-58 loss against Xavier. In MAC games, it has been 52 years since the RedHawks have lost by as many as 28 at home and that came on Feb. 3, 1962 with a 94-61 loss against Bowling Green.
A Season Unlike Any Other
Due the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this season will go down as one of the most unique in college basketball history. The pandemic, which caused the cancellation of conference and national tournaments last season, has altered the way student-athletes and coaches get ready for each game.
It is suggested and widely implemented that, all Tier 1 individuals, which include student-athletes, coaches, and day to day support staff, must test for COVID-19 at least three times a week on non-consecutive days. At Buffalo, this test is a rapid antigen test. Should those tests come back inconclusive, a second PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test will be administered.
In addition to the testing done by players, all travel party members must wear face coverings for the duration of any and all bus trips. Face coverings are required for the travel party at all times unless in your own room or on the playing court during the game. Buffalo is coming off a three-week pause due to COVID protocols.
Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner
Buffalo continues to be one of the winningest programs in the nation over the last three seasons. Since the 2017-18 season, the Bulls have won 84 games, tied for 21st most in the nation during that time frame. Gonzaga leads the nation with 110 victories since 2017-18 season.
The Bulls have a seven-victory margin on any other team from the Mid-American Conference as Toledo is second in the league with 77 wins, good for a tie for 39th in nation.
The Bulls have won 20 or more games in five of the last six seasons, including a school and Mid-American Conference record 32 games during the 2018-19 season.
Bulls Look To Three-Peat
With last season's Mid-American Conference tournament being canceled due to COVID-19, the Bulls still hold claim to winners of the last two conference tournaments. UB enters this season with a MAC Tournament title in site and if they are successful, Buffalo would become the first program in MAC history to win three straight. The Bulls have also won four of the last five MAC Tournament titles.
In order to achieve this, the Bulls will play in a MAC that has a distinctive new look. Gone are the days of an East and West division as all 12 programs will be seeded from top to bottom. The MAC also moved their league schedule up to 20 games this year, the most UB has played in conference play since joining the league. The first round tournament games at campus sites have also been scrapped with the top eight teams going directly to Cleveland.
Graves Digger
The Bulls are led by senior Jayvon Graves who was named to the preseason All-MAC First Team and locally was named the preseason Big 4 Player of the Year. Graves led the Bulls in scoring last season, averaging 17.1 points per game. He was consistent through out the year, averaging 17.2 points per game in conference action. The highlight of his season came in a double overtime victory at Kent State where Graves scored a career high 33 points.
He begins the 2020-21 season 17th in school history in career scoring with 1,080 points, one of 23 players ever for UB to score 1,000 points in their career. Graves set the UB single-season record last year with 479 field goals attempted. Graves scored 20 points against Towson to open the year and finished with a game-high 23 points against Bowling Green. He finished just shy of a triple-double against Mercyhurst with 13 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. He added 22 points and seven assists at Syracuse and 17 against Bowling Green and now has 1,236 points for his career, moving into 15th place on Buffalo's all-time scoring list.
Slam-balla
Junior Josh Mballa had a breakout season last year in his first season with the Bulls after transferring in from Texas Tech. Mballa, who was named a preseason second-team All-MAC and second-team All-Big 4 selection, recorded 308 boards last season, the most in the Modern Era but a Buffalo player and the most by any UB player since Sam Pellom in 1977-78.
Mballa, who returned from a foot injury against Miami, had a career day at Syracuse leading the Bulls with 27 points, going 11-of-18 from the floor. He was even more impressive against Ball State as he finished with 19 points, 19 rebounds, and six assists in the win over the Cardinals. Mballa is one of only two players in the nation this year with that stat line joining Hayden Brown of The Citadel. Mballa is the only one to do it against a Division I opponent. Mballa added 15 rebounds against Bowling Green and he had 22 points and a career-high seven steals against Kent State, tied fourth in school history for steals in a game.
The Sixth Sense
Buffalo has had a knack for developing sixth men of the year something the Bulls have done for the last four years. After Nick Perkins became the first player in NCAA history to be named a league's sixth man for three straight years, the torch was passed last year as junior Ronaldo Segu was honored by the Mid-American Conference after coming off the bench for all 32 games.
Segu averaged 8.1 points per game last season having a breakout performance against Harvard where he scored a then career high 21 points. Segu also scored 20 points in the final game of last season against Miami (OH).
The MAC Sixth Man of the Year was first handed out following the 2002-03 season. Since then, the Bulls have won the award five times beginning with Mark Bortz in 2005. Segu had a game-high 18 points against Army West Point, while adding four pilfers. He recorded a new career best in scoring with 23 points at Bowling Green. Segu had 13 points and six assists against Syracuse, including a three that sent the game to overtime. Segu finished with 15 points against Bowling Green and has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games, including 19 points at Kent State.
Williams Ready For New Heights
Junior Jeenathan Williams had a career year last season as he finished second on the team in scoring at 11.6 points per game, increasing that to 12.8 in MAC play. Williams, who was named to the All-Big 4 Second Team this preseason, had a stretch of nine straight games in double figures last year. Williams scored a career high with 26 points against Ohio, scoring 20 of those in the second half.
A highly touted recruit our of Rochester, NY, Williams played at powerhouse Prolific Prep in Napa Valley, CA before coming to UB. This season, Williams is reunited with one of his teammates from Prolific Prep in walk-on sophomore Lucas Saleh who joined UB after playing last year at Feather River Valley CC.
Williams had a huge start to 2020-21 as he finished with a career high 28 points and a career best 12 rebounds in the win over Towson. He had a career high five assists against Army. Williams, who leads UB in scoring and rebounding, finished with 17 points and 12 boards in the win over Mercyhurst. Williams added a game high 21 points against Miami. He added 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists at Syracuse. Williams had 25 points and a career high 14 rebounds in the win over Western Michigan and he is third in the MAC in scoring and fourth in rebounding.
Brew Crew
Senior transfer Keishawn Brewton had his waiver approved by the NCAA and played in his first game of the season against Mercyhurst, where he had 11 points. He scored a career high 12 points in the win over Ball State, hitting three shots from behind the arc.
Brewton averaged 14.5 points per game last season at Coastal Carolina. Prior to that he played at Chipola CC under current UB assistant coach Brendan Foley.
Brock And Roll
The Most veteran player on this year's squad is fifth-year senior Brock Bertram, who has been a member of the UB basketball program since the 2016-17 season. Bertram redshirted his first season with the Bulls and has played in 63 games over his career.
Bertram missed all of conference play last year, but saw action in 18 games, making seven starts. He set a career best in rebounding last year, capped off by a career high seven boards against Bowling Green. Bertram also set his career best for blocked shots last year despite playing in only 18 games.
Bertram was impressive in the season opener on against Towson as he set new career highs in rebounds (12) and blocked shots (4). He had six points and four boards in the win over Ball State. He is tied for second in the MAC in blocked shots. He set a new career high in scoring with 10 points at Kent State.
Fagan Returns To Lineup
After missing all of last season due to a knee injury, redshirt junior Tra'von Fagan has returned to the Buffalo lineup and will look to provide immediate depth as one of the top options off the bench.
He knocked down his first career three pointer in the season opener to 2020-21 against Towson. He tied his career high with eight points against Mercyhurst and had a career best eight rebounds at Bowling Green.
David is Goliath
A pair of David's are looking to make a big impact this season in senior David Nickelberry and redshirt freshman David Skogman.
Nickelberry is one of the most versatile players on the UB roster and can play almost anywhere on the court, but at 6-7 he will be a huge mismatch for opposing guards. Nickelberry played in 18 games last season, scoring a career high six points against Nazareth. Prior to joining the Bulls, Nickelberry spent a year at Trinity Valley CC and his freshman season at the University of Memphis. Nickelberry had a career high 12 points against Miami (OH).
Skogman sat out his first season at UB as a redshirt, but is a versatile big man who can shoot the three. He made his debut against Mercyhurst and had four points and five boards. He knocked down his first two career three pointers against Miami.
Sophomores Look To Take Big Leap
UB returns a pair of sophomores who both had some big moments during their freshman campaigns in LaQuill Hardnett and Savion Gallion. Hardnett played in 30 games last year, starting five of them. He led the Bulls in field goal percentage at 76.1%, including a stretch where he made 26 of 27 shots from the floor. His biggest night came against Canisius where he finished with nine points and 11 rebounds. Hardnett had nine rebounds for the Bulls against Bowling Green, including five of those coming on the offensive end.
Gallion played in 17 games off the bench as a freshman. He had a career high six points against Army West Point.
