ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany men's basketball team travels to the middle of the country to take on Power Five opponent Kansas State University on Wednesday night. The game is set to tip at 8:00 p.m. EST, and will be streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast on ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team in Albany.
 
Game Info
Wednesday, Dec. 1 - at Kansas State
Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas
8:00 p.m. EST, 7:00 p.m. CST
ESPN+ | ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team | Live Stats
 
Head Coach Dwayne Killings on K-State
"We are excited to take our program and compete against another Power Five opponent. KSU is a well-coached, tough, and hard playing team that presents a great test of our mental and physical abilities as we continue our growth process."
 
Leading the Pack

• Two Great Danes are averaging double figures this season, with De'Vondre Perry leading the way with 12.7 ppg and Matt Cerruti coming in with 11.3 ppg. Perry is shooting 48.3% from the field, Cerruti is shooting 44.1%.
• Cerruti leads with 2.0 three-pointers made per game, followed by Trey Hutcheson with 1.7 per contest. Cerruti is shooting a team-leading 46.2% from beyond the arc, Hutcheson is shooting 41.7%.
• Jamel Horton is averaging 4.0 assists so far this season, totaling 24 on the year. He also leads the team in steals with 11.
• Perry and freshman Justin Neely have both collected 31 rebounds this year, leading the team.
• The team is shooting 39.1% from the field and 29.7% from three.

 
Scouting K-State
The Wildcats come into Wednesday's game with an overall record of 3-2, picking up wins against Florida A&M (67-57), Omaha (79-64), and North Dakota (84-82) and falling to Arkansas (64-72) and Illinois (64-72). The team is led by Nijel Pack, who is averaging 15.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, and shoots 50.9% from the field and 44.8% from three. Mark Smith controls the boards for the Wildcats, averaging 7.0 rpg. Ismael Massoud leads the Wildcats in time on the court, averaging 29.4 minutes each contest.
 
Last time out, K-State was able to pick up a blowout win against North Dakota, 84-42. Five Wildcats scored in double figures for the first time this season led by a game-high 18 points from junior reserve Markquis Nowell, who collected double-figure points for the fourth straight game. Nowell, who hit on 8-of-12 field goals, also added a game-high five assists and five steals in 22 minutes. Sophomore Nijel Pack, who has double figures in all five games, scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-8 from three-point range, while junior Kaosi Ezeagu and senior Mike McGuirl each added 15 points.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes picked up their first win of the season, and first of the Killings era last Wednesday against Eastern Illinois in thrilling fashion.

• Justin Neely's game winning three was his first of the season, and his collegiate career. The freshman finished with eight points and four rebounds.
• Matt Cerruti led the team with 14 points. He finished with three rebounds, two steals, and an assist. He was named to the EKU Invitational All-Tournament Team for his performance.
• De'Vondre Perry (10) and Trey Hutcheson (12) also finished in double figures. Perry went 3-6 from deep, with Hutcheson going 3-7. Perry also grabbed five rebounds and had two assists.
• UAlbany shot 44.2% (23-52) from the field, and 38.1% (8-21) from three. EIU shot 40.3% (25-62) from the field and 53.9% (9-17) from three.
• EIU out-rebounded UAlbany 35-30.
• UAlbany led for 25:29 throughout the game, EIU led for 12:08 – all of which was in the second half.

 
Back-to-Back Rookie of the Week Honors
After hitting the game-winning three against EIU, freshman Justin Neely was named the America East Rookie of the Week for the second-consecutive week. He had eight points and four rebounds in the win. On the week, he averaged six points and three rebounds. Neely will only have one shot this week to impress the conference, with the Great Danes playing K-State on Wednesday night and not playing again until the following Tuesday.
 
Drive the Lane with UAlbany Hoops
It was recently announced that UAlbany had expanded its partnership with ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team and City Line Bar & Grill. Coaches Dwayne Killings and Colleen Mullen, along with select student-athletes, will join ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team's Charlie Voelker and Dan Bahl every Monday from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. live from City Line Bar & Grill for a weekly segment entitled 'Drive the Lane with UAlbany Hoops'. 
 
Fans are invited to come out to City Line Bar & Grill to join Coach Killings, Coach Mullen, student-athletes and the ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team crew. Food and drink specials will be available on a weekly basis as the teams embark on their new seasons and talk hoops every Monday. 
 
Meet Coach Killings
Dwayne Killings, a native of Amherst, Mass., begins his journey as Head Coach of the Great Danes after previously serving at Marquette University, where he spent the previous three seasons. While at Marquette, Killings served under Head Coach Steve Wojciechowski. In Killings' three years in Wisconsin, the Golden Eagles posted two winning seasons and made one appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In 2020, his recruiting class ranked in the top-20 nationally and he coached 2019-20 BIG EAST Player of the Year and AP All-American Markus Howard.
 
Roster Changes
The coaching staff isn't the only thing that's new for the Great Danes. The roster has had a complete transformation from last year's squad, which made it to the America East Quarterfinals as the No. 5 seed. Nine new student-athletes are suiting up in the purple and gold for 2021-22 - De'Vondre Perry, Matt Cerruti, Gerald Drumgole Jr., Paul Newman, Ny'Mire Little, Justin Neely, Aaron Reddish, Luke Fizulich, and Tairi Ketner. Returning for UAlbany is Will Amica, Trey Hutcheson, Jarvis Doles, Jamel Horton, Sam Shafer, and Chuck Champion.
 
Along with the coaching staff, these 22 men officially make up the 2021-22 UAlbany Great Danes. In total, 16 of these individuals are new to UAlbany.
 
Coaches' Poll
A completely new team, the Great Danes were picked to finish seventh in this year's America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving 34 points. Stony Brook came in atop the list with 77 points and five first-place votes, just ahead of Vermont with 74 points and four first-place votes. New Hampshire rounded out the top three with 64 points and a single first-place vote.
 
Defending champion Hartford placed fourth with 56 points, UMBC placed fifth with 49 points, and UMass Lowell placed sixth with 43 points. Following the Great Danes' seventh-place spot was NJIT (23 points), Maine (16 points) and Binghamton (14 points).
 
America East Lineup
Conference action kicks off after the new year with the great Danes traveling to face Vermont on Jan. 2. The team plays their first America East game at home that same week with a matchup against Binghamton slated for Jan. 6. Other home conference matchups include UMass Lowell (Jan. 12), NJIT (Jan. 15), Stony Brook (Jan. 22), UMBC (Feb. 2), Maine (Feb. 9), Vermont (Feb. 12), New Hampshire (Feb. 19), and Hartford (Mar. 1).
 
Secure Your Tickets
This year marks a new chapter in history for the Great Danes, don't miss out! Season tickets for UAlbany basketball can be purchased by calling the UAlbany Ticket Office at (518) 442-DANE or by visiting UAlbanySports.com/Tickets.
 
FREE with your ID
UAlbany students are welcome to SEFCU Arena and get in FREE with their student ID! Coach Dwayne Killings and the entire hoops team encourage the UAlbany student body to come out and support the Great Danes all season long.
 
Social Central
Stay up to date with UAlbany men's basketball by following the team on Twitter (@UAlbanyMBB) and Instagram (@ualbany_mbb) for all of the latest news and highlights throughout the season.