ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany men's basketball team returns to SEFCU Arena on Saturday for the team's Senior Day, as well As United Way Kids Day. Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN3 and broadcast on ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team in Albany.
Game Info
Saturday, Feb. 19 – vs. New Hampshire
SEFCU Arena in Albany, N.Y.
4:00 p.m. EST
ESPN3 |
ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team |
Live Stats |
Tickets
Senior Day
Saturday's matchup with the Wildcats will mark the team's Senior Day! Make sure to arrive to SEFCU Arena early, as the Great Danes will be honoring
Jamel Horton,
Jarvis Doles,
Paul Newman,
Matt Cerruti,
Chuck Champion,
De'Vondre Perry, and team managers Charlie Rock and John Mhilli!
United Way Kids Day
Thanks to our partners at United Way of the Greater Capital Region, four FREE kids tickets will be given out with every purchase of one (1) adult ticket! Coach
Dwayne Killings and the senior student-athletes look forward to hosting kids from all across the Capital Region on the team's special day.
Season Standings
The America East standings are extremely tight, with seven teams all within two game of each other. The Great Danes currently sit in a three-way tie for fourth with New Hampshire and Binghamton – all three teams having a conference mark of 7-7. Vermont has secured the regular season title at a mark of 13-1, while UMBC sits in second with a record of 8-6. Stony Brook, ineligible for postseason play, sits in third with a record of 7-6 before the three-way tie for fourth takes shape at 7-7. Hartford rocks the same .500 mark at 6-6, followed by NJIT (6-8), UMass Lowell (5-8) and Maine (2-12).
Leading the Pack
- The Great Danes are averaging 62.3 ppg, with opponents averaging 66.0 ppg. The team is shooting 41.7% from the field, 32.1% from three, and 71.5% from the charity stripe.
- In conference-only games, UAlbany sits second in the league defensively – allowing just 65.0 ppg. On the offensive side, the Great Danes sit in eighth place with 65.5 points scored per game.
- Matt Cerruti and Jamel Horton lead the team in scoring. Cerruti is averaging 11.3 points per game, shooting at a clip of.468 from the field and .447 from beyond the arc. Horton is averaging 11.8 per game, shooting .419 from the field and leading the team in assists with 103 on the year.
- Justin Neely, now a six-time America East Rookie of the Week, leads the team in rebounds with 117 on the season – averaging 4.9 per contest.
Last Time Out
The Great Danes won on the road against Binghamton on Wednesday night in dramatic fashion. The team scored nine-straight points, trailing by eight, in the final three minutes to secure a one-point win, 68-67.
Jarvis Doles hit the game-winning three with just over 40 seconds remaining.
- Doles finished with 21 points, going 8-11 from the field and perfect 5-5 from three-point range. Doles also led the team in rebounds, picking up five.
- Joining Doles in double figures was Matt Cerruti (16), Jamel Horton (13), and Paul Newman (11).
- Horton led the team with six assists, and tied with Cerruti to lead the team in steals – both collecting three.
- UAlbany shot 48.1% (26-54) from the field and 55.6% (10-18) from three. Binghamton shot 51.1% (24-47) from the field and 50.0% (9-18) from three.
- UAlbany won the rebounding war, 28-26, including nine offensive boards.
- The Great Danes only maintained a lead for 21.4% of the game in a matchup that featured 15 lead changes and seven ties. UAlbany's largest lead all game was five, Binghamton's was eight at the very end of the game.
Scouting UNH
The Wildcats come into Saturday's game with an overall record of 12-11, having gone 7-7 in conference play. The team is averaging 68.6 ppg offensively while allowing 65.7 ppg on the defensive side. The Wildcats have three different student-athletes averaging double-figures in Jayden Martinez (10.0), Nick Guardarrama (12.5), and Blondeau Tchoukuiegno (11.7).
The team had won two in a row over Binghamton and UMBC before falling to Vermont at home on Wednesday night, 50-71. In that game, senior forward Jayden Martinez led the Wildcats offensively with 13 points, while sophomore guard Blondeau Tchoukuiegno added 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting with nine rebounds and six assists in a solid all-around game. Sophomore Nick Johnson and senior Nick Guadarrama each added 10 points apiece in the losing effort for the Wildcats.
Last Time Against UNH
The Great Danes traveled to New Hampshire all the way back on January 8. In that game, UAlbany battled back from being 15 points down to take the lead in the final minute of the game, but eventually fell short to the Wildcats, 62-64.
- The Great Danes shot 37.0% (20-54) from the field and 25.0% (2-20) from three. New Hampshire shot 46.7% (21-45) from the field and 52.6% (10-19) from three.
- UAlbany hit 17-of-20 from the charity stripe, compared to UNH going just 10-of-19 from the line.
- UAlbany won the rebounding war, 31-30, collecting 10 offensive boards.
- The Great Danes defense forced the Wildcats to commit 15 turnovers. Coming into the game, UNH led the entire country with just 7.9 turnovers a game.
- Jamel Horton led the way with 22 points, his second consecutive game scoring 20+. He finished with two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
- Freshman Justin Neely led with 12 rebounds, also scoring five points and nabbing a steal.
- De'Vondre Perry finished with eight points, three rebounds, and two steals.
#AEHoops Notes (2.14.22)
- Vermont is off to a 12-0 start in #AEHoops play and has won 14 straight games overall. That win streak is tied for the longest in the nation.
- The Catamounts rank 68th in the country in NET ranking, the best among regional peers (AE, CAA, Ivy, MAAC, Patriot, Ivy).
- Vermont received a vote in the AP Top 25 Poll this week.
- UVM is ranked 11th in the latest Mid Major Top 25.
- America East announced a change in #AEPlayoffs dates on Feb. 9 - Link
- America East teams beat two ACC squads in non-league play. UMBC trounced Pittsburgh, 87-77, on Nov. 27 while UAlbany beat Boston College, 61-57, on Dec. 13.
Rookie Madness
Freshman
Justin Neely has been named the America East Rookie of the Week six times this year, earning back-to-back titles on Nov. 22 and Nov. 29, on Dec. 13, on Dec. 27, on Jan. 31, and most recently on Feb. 14. The rookie is averaging over 17 minutes per game and leads the team in rebounds.
Postponements
UAlbany has had two games postponed this season due to COVID-19, a Dec. 28 matchup against Bucknell and a Jan. 2 matchup against Vermont, which has been made up. The Bucknell game has yet to be rescheduled.
To view all America East schedule adjustments,
click here.
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 Drumgoole 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).
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.
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.
