ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany men's basketball team returns home for two home games, starting with a Wednesday night matchup against America East rival Maine. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The game will be available on ESPN+ and broadcast on ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team in Albany.
Game Info
Wednesday, Feb. 9 – vs. Maine
SEFCU Arena in Albany, N.Y.
7:00 p.m. EST
ESPN+ |
ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team |
Live Stats |
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.
Coach Dwayne Killings on Maine
"It's a great opportunity to have two home games at SEFCU Arena this week against two really good teams. I think with Maine, they're good. They shoot threes, they have some foreign guys and a little bit different of a rhythm with what they do offensively. I think if they make threes they can be dangerous."
Leading the Pack
- The team currently sits in fourth place in the conference with an AE mark of 6-5.
- The Great Danes are averaging 62.0 ppg, with opponents averaging 65.2 ppg. The team is shooting 41.1% from the field, 31.8% from three, and 71.6% from the charity stripe.
- In conference-only games, UAlbany leads the league defensively – allowing just 63.1 ppg. On the offensive side, the Great Danes sit in seventh place with 65.7 points scored per game.
- Matt Cerruti and Jamel Horton lead the team in scoring. Cerruti is averaging 11.2 points per game, shooting at a clip of.459 from the field and .434 from beyond the arc. Horton is averaging 11.8 per game, shooting .427 from the field and leading the team in assists with 88 on the year.
- Justin Neely, now a five-time America East Rookie of the Week, leads the team in rebounds with 106 on the season – averaging 5.0 per contest.
Last Time Out
The Great Danes found their rhythm once again this past Saturday, taking down the defending champion Hartford Hawks in their own building by a score of 71-52.
- Matt Cerruti (15) and Jamel Horton led the way in scoring for the Great Danes. Cerruti finished going 7-11 from the field and 1-3 from deep. Horton finished 6-11 from the field and 2-3 from three, leading the team with five assists.
- Aaron Reddish, a catalyst in the second half, finished with nine points and two steals
- Trey Hutcheson led the team in rebounding with eight total, three of which came on the offensive glass.
- 10 different Great Danes scored.
- UAlbany finished shooting 58.0% (29-50) from the field and 50.0% (8-16) from three. Hartford shot 40.4% (21-52) from the field and 33.3% (6-18) from three.
- UAlbany won the rebounding war, 29-25
- The game featured 11 different lead changes, with UAlbany holding the largest lead at 21 points late in the game.
- Both teams committed 14 turnovers.
Scouting Maine
The Black Bears come into Wednesday's matchup with an overall record of 4-18 and an America East record of 1-10. The team has dropped its last five games, having last won on Jan. 24 against New Hampshire, 71-64 at home. The last time the Black Bears hit the court was this past Saturday with an 60-69 defeat to Binghamton on the road. In that game, Ja'Shonté Wright-Mcleish dropped a career-high 20 points in the losing effort. Stephane Ingo (16 points, 5 blocks, 2 steals) and Vukasin Masic (10 points, 6 assists) were key contributors for the Black Bears.
On the year, the team is averaging 60.5 ppg offensively while allowing 70.0 ppg defensively. The Black Bears are shooting 40.4% from the field, 29.5% from three, and 71.8% from the free throw line. Vukasin Masic leads the team in scoring with 9.4 ppg, followed by Maks Klanjscek (8.5) and LeChaun DuHart (8.5). Stephane Ingo, a 6-9 redshirt junior, leads the team in rebounding with 5.6 per game on average.
#AEHoops Notes (2.7.22)
- Vermont is off to a 10-0 start in #AEHoops play and has won 12 straight games overall. That win streak is the third-longest in the country behind only Auburn and Wagner.
- The Catamounts rank 68th in the country in NET ranking behind only Iona among regional peers.
- UVM is ranked 11th in the latest Mid Major Top 25.
- Binghamton is winners of four of its last six games.
- The Bearcats' seven league wins are the most since the 2009-10 season.
- After a 1-4 start, UMBC has won five-straight #AEHoops games.
- 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 five times this year, earning back-to-back titles on Nov. 22 and Nov. 29, on Dec. 13, on Dec. 27, and most recently on Jan. 31. 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.
