Bulls Begin MAC Tournament Action Thursday Against Akron

CLEVELAND, OH - The University at Buffalo men's basketball team returns to a familiar site, the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in downtown Cleveland for the 2022 Mid-American Conference Tournament. With the tournament being canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19, UB is looking to play in its fourth straight MAC Championship game, but first up in the quarterfinals is the fourth-seeded Akron Zips. These two foes are no strangers as they meet for the sixth time in the conference tournament.

The two teams met just once this season on New Year's Day where the host Akron Zips overcame a 14-point first half deficit to win 88-76. The Bulls were without a number of pieces in that contest due to COVID protocols, including leading rebounds Josh Mballa, key reserve Tra'von Fagan, and head coach Jim Whitesell. Seniors Jeenathan Williams and Ronaldo Segu led the Bulls with 19 points each. Akron's Ali Ali had 32 points to lead all scorers, including going 16-of-22 from the free throw line.

The match-up will feature the last two MAC Defensive Players of the Year as Josh Mballa won the award last year and Akron's Enrique Freeman this year. The Bulls were well represented on the All-MAC awards as Jeenathan Williams became UB's first All-MAC First Team selection since 2019-20, while Mballa and Ronaldo Segu were named to the All-MAC second team, along with Akron's Freeman and Ali Ali.

Bulls Begin MAC Tournament Action Thursday Against Akron

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Players Mentioned

Josh Mballa

Ronaldo Segu

Jeenathan Williams

University at Buffalo Athletics