Monday, November 3
Buffalo, N.Y.
6:30 p.m.
University at Buffalo
vs
Southern Mississippi
Photo by: Dani Fey | UB Athletics
Bulls Host Southern Miss. in Season Opener on Monday
11/2/2025 1:33:00β―PM | Men's Basketball
BUFFALO, N.Y. β The University at Buffalo men's basketball program (0-0, 0-0 MAC) is set to open the 2025-26 season in Alumni Arena on Monday evening as they host the Southern Miss. Golden Eagles (0-0, 0-0 SBC). The game will be part of the third annual MAC-Sun Belt Challenge as teams from across both leagues will play.
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A reminder to all fans, UB men's basketball has shifted their weekday tip-off time to 6:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Brian Koziol and Tony Watson on the call. Josh Whetzel and Bob Gaughan will be on the radio call on Buffalo 1520/Rochester 1280 and on the Varsity Network App.
Β
The first 1,000 fans at tomorrow's game will receive an ice scrapper presented by Niagara's Choice FCU.
Β
LAST TIME OUT
In their lone exhibition game, the Bulls fell to the Syracuse Orange at KeyBank Center, 76-66. In his first Division I game since his time at Air Force in 2021, Ezra McKenna finished with a game-high 18 points. On the night he was 4-for-6 from three-point range finishing 7-of-9 from the floor. Noah Batchelor had a solid outing with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double. Derrick Talton Jr. added five points, four assists and three steals for the Bulls.
SERIES HISTORY
The Bulls and Golden Eagles have only met once in their history. In their lone meeting, they met at the Utah State Classic in Logan, Utah on Dec. 28, 1995. The Golden Eagles came away with a 77-71 win.
Β
ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES
β’ Southern Miss. Head Coach Jay Ladner is in his sixth year at the helm of his alma mater. He brought in 14 new players and an entirely new assistant coaching staff.
Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β
β’ The Golden Eagles bring back four players in Brewer Carruth (0.9 ppg), Jett Montgomery (3.4 ppg), Dalyn Brandon and Tegra Izay (2.5 ppg).
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β’ The Golden Eagles were selected 12th in the 14- team league in the SBC Preseason Poll.
Β
β’ Jay Ladner (Southern Miss., '88) was the head coach at Southeastern Louisiana from 2014-19 prior to his tenure at Southern Miss. At Southeastern Louisiana, he guided the program to a 22-12 record in 2017-18 and a trip to the NIT. His best season at Southern Miss. was in 2022-23 when the Golden Eagles went 25-8 including a 14-4 Sun Belt record. The Golden Eagles made an appearance in the NIT that season.
Β
THE BULL-ETIN BOARD
β’ Buffalo enters its third season under Head Coach George Halcovage III. The Bulls look to build on last year's improved win total as they won five more games than in his first season.
Β
β’ The Bulls return their top scorer and rebounder from last season in junior Ryan Sabol (14.4 ppg) and Noah Batchelor (6.1 rpg). Sabol led the Bulls in scoring in 14 games in 2024-25 including scoring in double figures 25 times. Batchelor led UB in rebounds 16 times with four performances with 10+ rebounds. He finished the season with a pair of double-doubles. The Bulls also bring back starter Tim Oboh and Omar Migues-Hibeljic.
Β
β’ Unlike last year when the Bulls had eight freshmen on the roster, they brought in six transfers to Buffalo. Ezra McKenna (Mobile), Derrick Talton Jr. (Oklahoma Wesleyan) and Angelo Brizzi (Longwood) are all grad transfers. Kyle Jones (St. Thomas Aquinas) is a red-shirt junior as Mikhail Pocknett (King) and Daniel Freitag are a junior and sophoΒmore, respectfully. In total, they've scored a combined 4,908 points in their college careers.
Β
β’ Ryan Sabol, who posted 14.4 points per game and knocked down 79 3-pointers, comes back to Buffalo as Head Coach George Halcovage III's only third-year player. During his sophomore campaign, Sabol became the fastest player in program history to 100 made 3-pointers as he did so in just 42 games. He's currently eighth all-time in made threes with 141.
Β
β’ UB lost to Syracuse in their lone exhibition, 76-66, on Saturday, Oct. 25th. Ezra McKenna finished with a game-high 18 points. On the night he was 4-for-6 from three-point range finishing 7-of-9 from the floor. Noah Batchelor had a solid outing with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Β
β’ The Bulls and the Miami RedHawks are the only MAC programs to return their leading scorers and rebounders from last season.
Β
β’ Noah Batchelor finished last season 10th in the MAC in rebounds per game at 6.1.
β’ In the Blue Ribbon MAC Preseason Forecast, sophomore transfer Daniel Freitag was named MAC Newcomer of the Year.
Β
β’ With the transfers that Halcovage and his staff brought in, they have combined for a 352-158 overall record and a .690 win percentage.
Β
β’ The Sun Belt leads the overall Challenge with a 26-22 (.542) record. In the February matchups, the MAC went 8-4 against their Sun Belt foes.
Β
β’ The Bulls are 14-24 (.368) against Sun Belt programs all-time. Under Halcovage, the Bulls are 2-4 against the SBC.
Β
β’ A Buffalo win would give the Bulls a 1-0 start in consecutive seasons including three of the last four. The Bulls won in dramatic fashion to open the 2024-25 season at Old Dominion as Tyson Dunn buried a buzzer beating three-pointer to give Buffalo the 83-82 road win.
Β
β’ Since their return to Division I in 1991, Buffalo is 17-17 (.500) in season openers. All-time, the Bulls are 60-48 (.556) in season openers in their previous 108 seasons.
Β
β’ Since their return to Division I in 1991, Buffalo is 24-10 (.706) in home openers. All-time, the Bulls are 73-35 (.676) in home openΒers in their previous 108 seasons. In the last 12 home openers, the Bulls are 10-2 (.833).
Β
β’ UB is just 10 wins away from reaching program win no. 1,300.
Β
β’ Junior guard Ryan Sabol is Halcovage's longest tenured player. Sabol has played in every collegiate game during his time with the Bulls, including 57 starts.
Β
β’ Ryan Sabol has scored a team-high 445 points last year. In his collegiate career, he is up to 696 career points. He's currently 62nd in points scored in program history. With 9 points, he will pass former teammate Isaiah Adams.
Β
β’ Headed into last season, the Bulls only had 188 collegiate games of experience played as they welcomed eight freshmen. This year the Bulls have 600 games played in college, good for a 412-game difference. The only other program with a biggest difference in games played was San Diego as they went from 425 games played in 2024-25 to 900 this season, a difference of 475.
Β
For all the latest on UB men's basketball, followΒ @UBuffaloMBBΒ on Twitter/X,Β @ubuffalo_mbbΒ on Instagram and like theΒ UB Men's BasketballΒ Facebook page.
ClickΒ hereΒ for ticket information.
ClickΒ hereΒ for information on the Bulls Championship Fund and how you can help UB Athletics.
Β
A reminder to all fans, UB men's basketball has shifted their weekday tip-off time to 6:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Brian Koziol and Tony Watson on the call. Josh Whetzel and Bob Gaughan will be on the radio call on Buffalo 1520/Rochester 1280 and on the Varsity Network App.
Β
The first 1,000 fans at tomorrow's game will receive an ice scrapper presented by Niagara's Choice FCU.
Β
LAST TIME OUT
In their lone exhibition game, the Bulls fell to the Syracuse Orange at KeyBank Center, 76-66. In his first Division I game since his time at Air Force in 2021, Ezra McKenna finished with a game-high 18 points. On the night he was 4-for-6 from three-point range finishing 7-of-9 from the floor. Noah Batchelor had a solid outing with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double. Derrick Talton Jr. added five points, four assists and three steals for the Bulls.
SERIES HISTORY
The Bulls and Golden Eagles have only met once in their history. In their lone meeting, they met at the Utah State Classic in Logan, Utah on Dec. 28, 1995. The Golden Eagles came away with a 77-71 win.
Β
ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES
β’ Southern Miss. Head Coach Jay Ladner is in his sixth year at the helm of his alma mater. He brought in 14 new players and an entirely new assistant coaching staff.
Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β
β’ The Golden Eagles bring back four players in Brewer Carruth (0.9 ppg), Jett Montgomery (3.4 ppg), Dalyn Brandon and Tegra Izay (2.5 ppg).
Β
β’ The Golden Eagles were selected 12th in the 14- team league in the SBC Preseason Poll.
Β
β’ Jay Ladner (Southern Miss., '88) was the head coach at Southeastern Louisiana from 2014-19 prior to his tenure at Southern Miss. At Southeastern Louisiana, he guided the program to a 22-12 record in 2017-18 and a trip to the NIT. His best season at Southern Miss. was in 2022-23 when the Golden Eagles went 25-8 including a 14-4 Sun Belt record. The Golden Eagles made an appearance in the NIT that season.
Β
THE BULL-ETIN BOARD
β’ Buffalo enters its third season under Head Coach George Halcovage III. The Bulls look to build on last year's improved win total as they won five more games than in his first season.
Β
β’ The Bulls return their top scorer and rebounder from last season in junior Ryan Sabol (14.4 ppg) and Noah Batchelor (6.1 rpg). Sabol led the Bulls in scoring in 14 games in 2024-25 including scoring in double figures 25 times. Batchelor led UB in rebounds 16 times with four performances with 10+ rebounds. He finished the season with a pair of double-doubles. The Bulls also bring back starter Tim Oboh and Omar Migues-Hibeljic.
Β
β’ Unlike last year when the Bulls had eight freshmen on the roster, they brought in six transfers to Buffalo. Ezra McKenna (Mobile), Derrick Talton Jr. (Oklahoma Wesleyan) and Angelo Brizzi (Longwood) are all grad transfers. Kyle Jones (St. Thomas Aquinas) is a red-shirt junior as Mikhail Pocknett (King) and Daniel Freitag are a junior and sophoΒmore, respectfully. In total, they've scored a combined 4,908 points in their college careers.
Β
β’ Ryan Sabol, who posted 14.4 points per game and knocked down 79 3-pointers, comes back to Buffalo as Head Coach George Halcovage III's only third-year player. During his sophomore campaign, Sabol became the fastest player in program history to 100 made 3-pointers as he did so in just 42 games. He's currently eighth all-time in made threes with 141.
Β
β’ UB lost to Syracuse in their lone exhibition, 76-66, on Saturday, Oct. 25th. Ezra McKenna finished with a game-high 18 points. On the night he was 4-for-6 from three-point range finishing 7-of-9 from the floor. Noah Batchelor had a solid outing with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Β
β’ The Bulls and the Miami RedHawks are the only MAC programs to return their leading scorers and rebounders from last season.
Β
β’ Noah Batchelor finished last season 10th in the MAC in rebounds per game at 6.1.
β’ In the Blue Ribbon MAC Preseason Forecast, sophomore transfer Daniel Freitag was named MAC Newcomer of the Year.
Β
β’ With the transfers that Halcovage and his staff brought in, they have combined for a 352-158 overall record and a .690 win percentage.
Β
β’ The Sun Belt leads the overall Challenge with a 26-22 (.542) record. In the February matchups, the MAC went 8-4 against their Sun Belt foes.
Β
β’ The Bulls are 14-24 (.368) against Sun Belt programs all-time. Under Halcovage, the Bulls are 2-4 against the SBC.
Β
β’ A Buffalo win would give the Bulls a 1-0 start in consecutive seasons including three of the last four. The Bulls won in dramatic fashion to open the 2024-25 season at Old Dominion as Tyson Dunn buried a buzzer beating three-pointer to give Buffalo the 83-82 road win.
Β
β’ Since their return to Division I in 1991, Buffalo is 17-17 (.500) in season openers. All-time, the Bulls are 60-48 (.556) in season openers in their previous 108 seasons.
Β
β’ Since their return to Division I in 1991, Buffalo is 24-10 (.706) in home openers. All-time, the Bulls are 73-35 (.676) in home openΒers in their previous 108 seasons. In the last 12 home openers, the Bulls are 10-2 (.833).
Β
β’ UB is just 10 wins away from reaching program win no. 1,300.
Β
β’ Junior guard Ryan Sabol is Halcovage's longest tenured player. Sabol has played in every collegiate game during his time with the Bulls, including 57 starts.
Β
β’ Ryan Sabol has scored a team-high 445 points last year. In his collegiate career, he is up to 696 career points. He's currently 62nd in points scored in program history. With 9 points, he will pass former teammate Isaiah Adams.
Β
β’ Headed into last season, the Bulls only had 188 collegiate games of experience played as they welcomed eight freshmen. This year the Bulls have 600 games played in college, good for a 412-game difference. The only other program with a biggest difference in games played was San Diego as they went from 425 games played in 2024-25 to 900 this season, a difference of 475.
Β
For all the latest on UB men's basketball, followΒ @UBuffaloMBBΒ on Twitter/X,Β @ubuffalo_mbbΒ on Instagram and like theΒ UB Men's BasketballΒ Facebook page.
ClickΒ hereΒ for ticket information.
ClickΒ hereΒ for information on the Bulls Championship Fund and how you can help UB Athletics.
Players Mentioned
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