Sunday, December 1
University Park, Pa.
2 p.m.
at
Penn State
Photo by: Paul Hokanson / UB Athletics
Bulls Travel to Happy Valley for First Time Since 2004
11/30/2024 1:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo men's basketball team (4-3, 0-0 MAC) will travel to State College, Pa. to face the Penn State Nittany Lions (6-1, 0-0 Big Ten) for a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. The action can be seen on the Big Ten Network. Josh Whetzel can be heard on the Varsity Network or on the radio on Buffalo 1520/Rochester 1280.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bulls are coming off an 82-81 victory over the North Carolina A&T Aggies on Monday. Buffalo shut the door on North Carolina A&T as they outscored the Aggies 5-0 in the final 26-seconds of the game. Sophomore guard Ryan Sabol scored a team-high 22 points as he was 3-for-6 from three-point range. He has now made 25 threes on the season to go with his third 20-point game of the year. Anquan Boldin Jr. scored 14 points with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Tyson Dunn almost had his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Dunn, one of the national leaders in assists, is up to 49 on the season. Ben Michaels rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Bulls with 13.
Defensively, Boldin Jr. and Brayden Jackson had a pair of blocks apiece.
ABOUT THE SERIES
This will be the seventh all-time meeting between the Bulls and Nittany Lions. The last time the programs met, the Bulls pulled off a 72-70 road win on Dec. 21, 2004. Buffalo Hall of Famer Turner Battle nailed a mid-range jumper at the buzzer to beat the Nittany Lions. The series dates back to the 1920-21 season.
The Bulls are 5-26 (.161) all-time against teams from the Big Ten. Buffalo last played a Big Ten opponent on Dec. 30, 2022, at Michigan State. The Spartans won the contest, 89-68. The Bulls' only wins against the Big Ten have come against Penn State (2-6) and Rutgers (3-3). They beat Rutgers on Dec. 10, 2005, 62-53.
THE BULL-ETIN BOARD
The Bulls are 9-6 (.600) in games played on Dec. 1st in the program's history. Buffalo's last game and win on this date came against the San Francisco Dons at the Belfast Classic in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The #21 Bulls defeated the Dons, 85-81, for the Belfast Classic Title.
A Buffalo win would give the Bulls a 5-3 start to the season. Their last win in the month of December against a Division I opponent was on Dec. 3, 2022, in an 83-66 home win against Big 4 rival St. Bonaventure. Their last overall win was against SUNY Canton on Dec. 21, 2022, in a 129-62 victory.
On Monday, Buffalo set season-highs in free throws made and attempted as they went 22-for-28 (78.6%). The Bulls have four games this season where they've attempted 10 or more free throws than their opponents. That is the most such games since 2021-22 when they finished the season with four games. Buffalo hasn't had five games when attempting 10 or more free throws since the 2015-16 season. Since 2004-05, the Bulls are 103-10 when shooting at least 10 more free throws than their opponents.
Sunday's game at Penn State will mark the team's first day game of the season. It'll also be the first Sunday game since the Bulls played at West Virginia on Dec. 18, 2022.
The Bulls are 4-0 on the season when they score at least 80 points.
Buffalo heads into December with a 4-3 record, their best start to a season since 2021-22 when they started 4-2.
Sabol has made a conference-high 25 three-pointers on the season that ranks him 11th in the country. His 3.57 three-pointers per game is 24th in the country and first in the MAC. He is shooting 48.1% from deep on the season, good for 47th in college basketball and the top mark in the MAC.
Sabol has scored a team-high 130 points on the season, good for the top mark in the conference and 52nd in the nation. His 18.6 points per game leads the MAC and is 66th in the country. In his collegiate career, he is up to 381 career points, just 19 points shy of 400. He's currently 131st in points scored in program history. Sabol needs 22 points to pass UB great Wes Clark's 402 points he recorded in Buffalo's NCAA run in 2017-18.
Dunn's 49 total assists is fourth in the country and first in the MAC. His 7.0 assists per game is ninth in all of college basketball. In just seven games, he is over halfway to last year's leader in assists in Isaiah Adams who had 95.
The Bulls' game at Penn State will mark their first weekend game of the season. Three of Buffalo's five games in December will be on the weekend.
The Bulls will open and close the month of December with games in Pennsylvania. On Dec. 1, they'll play at Penn State and then will play at Temple on Dec. 29.
Buffalo has made a three in 314 straight games. They have made at least 5 three-pointers every game this season. Their 8.0 three-pointers per game is 162nd in the country and seventh amongst MAC programs.
UP NEXT
The Bulls will have their lone home contest in the month of December on Tuesday, Dec. 3 against Pitt-Bradford (5-0, 0-0 AMCC) at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
For all the latest on UB men's basketball, follow @UBuffaloMBB on Twitter/X, @ubuffalo_mbb on Instagram and like the UB Men's Basketball Facebook page.
Click here for ticket information.
Click here for information on the Blue & White Fund and how you can help UB Athletics.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bulls are coming off an 82-81 victory over the North Carolina A&T Aggies on Monday. Buffalo shut the door on North Carolina A&T as they outscored the Aggies 5-0 in the final 26-seconds of the game. Sophomore guard Ryan Sabol scored a team-high 22 points as he was 3-for-6 from three-point range. He has now made 25 threes on the season to go with his third 20-point game of the year. Anquan Boldin Jr. scored 14 points with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Tyson Dunn almost had his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Dunn, one of the national leaders in assists, is up to 49 on the season. Ben Michaels rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Bulls with 13.
Defensively, Boldin Jr. and Brayden Jackson had a pair of blocks apiece.
ABOUT THE SERIES
This will be the seventh all-time meeting between the Bulls and Nittany Lions. The last time the programs met, the Bulls pulled off a 72-70 road win on Dec. 21, 2004. Buffalo Hall of Famer Turner Battle nailed a mid-range jumper at the buzzer to beat the Nittany Lions. The series dates back to the 1920-21 season.
The Bulls are 5-26 (.161) all-time against teams from the Big Ten. Buffalo last played a Big Ten opponent on Dec. 30, 2022, at Michigan State. The Spartans won the contest, 89-68. The Bulls' only wins against the Big Ten have come against Penn State (2-6) and Rutgers (3-3). They beat Rutgers on Dec. 10, 2005, 62-53.
THE BULL-ETIN BOARD
The Bulls are 9-6 (.600) in games played on Dec. 1st in the program's history. Buffalo's last game and win on this date came against the San Francisco Dons at the Belfast Classic in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The #21 Bulls defeated the Dons, 85-81, for the Belfast Classic Title.
A Buffalo win would give the Bulls a 5-3 start to the season. Their last win in the month of December against a Division I opponent was on Dec. 3, 2022, in an 83-66 home win against Big 4 rival St. Bonaventure. Their last overall win was against SUNY Canton on Dec. 21, 2022, in a 129-62 victory.
On Monday, Buffalo set season-highs in free throws made and attempted as they went 22-for-28 (78.6%). The Bulls have four games this season where they've attempted 10 or more free throws than their opponents. That is the most such games since 2021-22 when they finished the season with four games. Buffalo hasn't had five games when attempting 10 or more free throws since the 2015-16 season. Since 2004-05, the Bulls are 103-10 when shooting at least 10 more free throws than their opponents.
Sunday's game at Penn State will mark the team's first day game of the season. It'll also be the first Sunday game since the Bulls played at West Virginia on Dec. 18, 2022.
The Bulls are 4-0 on the season when they score at least 80 points.
Buffalo heads into December with a 4-3 record, their best start to a season since 2021-22 when they started 4-2.
Sabol has made a conference-high 25 three-pointers on the season that ranks him 11th in the country. His 3.57 three-pointers per game is 24th in the country and first in the MAC. He is shooting 48.1% from deep on the season, good for 47th in college basketball and the top mark in the MAC.
Sabol has scored a team-high 130 points on the season, good for the top mark in the conference and 52nd in the nation. His 18.6 points per game leads the MAC and is 66th in the country. In his collegiate career, he is up to 381 career points, just 19 points shy of 400. He's currently 131st in points scored in program history. Sabol needs 22 points to pass UB great Wes Clark's 402 points he recorded in Buffalo's NCAA run in 2017-18.
Dunn's 49 total assists is fourth in the country and first in the MAC. His 7.0 assists per game is ninth in all of college basketball. In just seven games, he is over halfway to last year's leader in assists in Isaiah Adams who had 95.
The Bulls' game at Penn State will mark their first weekend game of the season. Three of Buffalo's five games in December will be on the weekend.
The Bulls will open and close the month of December with games in Pennsylvania. On Dec. 1, they'll play at Penn State and then will play at Temple on Dec. 29.
Buffalo has made a three in 314 straight games. They have made at least 5 three-pointers every game this season. Their 8.0 three-pointers per game is 162nd in the country and seventh amongst MAC programs.
UP NEXT
The Bulls will have their lone home contest in the month of December on Tuesday, Dec. 3 against Pitt-Bradford (5-0, 0-0 AMCC) at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
For all the latest on UB men's basketball, follow @UBuffaloMBB on Twitter/X, @ubuffalo_mbb on Instagram and like the UB Men's Basketball Facebook page.
Click here for ticket information.
Click here for information on the Blue & White Fund and how you can help UB Athletics.
Players Mentioned
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