After suffering Most losses in a single season UB men's basketball (4-27 MAC, 2-16 MAC) is in a difficult position after failing to make the Mid-American Conference (MAC) playoff tournament in the program's history.
The first-year head coach has had to replace almost his entire starting lineup due to departures through the transfer portal and graduating seniors. Greg Halcovage III You basically have to rebuild your program.
But how did we get here?
A coaching change, poor defense, and poor 3-point shooting sealed the team's fate from the start this season.
White Cell throws the final “Horns up!”
It all started with Former men's basketball coach Jim Whitesell fired last spring. Whitesell compiled a record of 70-49 overall and 45-27 in conference play in four seasons at UB. Despite his winning record, Whitesell was fired after failing to qualify for the postseason.
Several key players left soon after, including then-freshman guard Curtis Jones, now a junior at Iowa State (29-8, 13-0) 5 losses BIG 12). Starting pitchers such as Jido Powell left for UTEP (18-16, 7-9 C-USA) and Rakill Hardnett left for Arkansas State (20-17, 11-7 SBC). Center Isaac Jack also said goodbye to the Bulls and left for Dayton (25-8, 14-4 A10).
halcovage He was Villanova's associate coach at the time, but was hired a few weeks after Whitesell's firing and is in his first year as head coach.
Several key players, fifth-year forward Cy Chatman and senior forward Jonivious Smith, decided to keep going and the team appeared to be heading in the right direction. A new roster that included sophomore guard Sean Fulcher and freshman guard Ryan Sabol from Ellsworth Community College appeared to seal the deal.
But there were early signs of a less-than-ideal season ahead.
In the first exhibition game of the season, Buffalo hosted Demen University, a Division II program. Although the Bulls were blessed with talent, they struggled and narrowly won 71-67.
Even narrow victories will be rare in the coming months.
After a narrow win over D-II opponent Roberts Wesleyan, the team lost nine straight, leaving them with an overall record of 1-11 and 0-11 against DI opponents.
UB ended its winning streak by defeating Central Michigan (18-14, 12-6 MAC) 76-64 in the first conference game of the season, but victory remained a long shot.Then something else happened 9 consecutive losses With MAC play.
As the chances of making the playoffs dwindled, the team seemed to have lost hope. The Bulls became the first MAC team to be eliminated from playoff contention, finishing with the nation's worst record of 4 wins and 27 losses.
The numbers behind the madness
UB ranked 345th out of 362 teams as the best overall team. Evan Miya. The Bulls' 3-point percentage was 27.5%, the second-worst in the nation. Team rankingonly beyond the Ipui Jaguars (6-26, 2-19 HLC).
Despite this, they hit 24.6 threes per game, which placed them in the top 20% in the country. That was nearly double the Jaguars' 13.4 3-pointers per game, which was the worst in the country.
Second, the Bulls defense was swiss cheese. UB allowed 79.6 points per game, meaning UB lost games by an average margin of 12.3 points per game, the 13th worst margin in the nation. The Bulls are allowing nearly 30 shots per game to their opponents, 10th worst in the nation.
If that wasn't enough, UB struggled mightily at home. The Bulls only won one game against DI at Alumni Arena, going 1-13.
All of which made it an unforgettable season for UB.
What now?
It's safe to say that Halcovage needs to rebuild his program.
The head coach will need to replace his two leading scorers, Chatman and senior forward Isaiah Adams. Chatman averaged 18.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game with no eligibility left, while Adams entered the transfer portal averaging 12.8 points and 4 rebounds per game.
Junior guards Kanye Jones and Smith are also in the portal, with both players averaging eight points per game this season. Smith was the team's leading rebounder, scoring 8.3 points per game. That means Halkovage will have to replace four of the team's six leading scorers. These four combined for an average of 47 points per game.
Halkovage will have to find a number of high scorers through recruiting and the transfer portal to make up for his losses. Bringing in a center with rebounding ability will also be important. There's nothing wrong with adding defense.
Halkovage faces a tough battle ahead, but this season should be a fresh start for the former Villanova coach. He will be allowed to freely recruit his own players after primarily coaching a roster recruited under the previous regime.
The jury is still out on whether the Bulls can bounce back from this season, but even if things don't go as planned in Halcovage's debut season, there's still hope for UB.
Henry Daley is assistant sports editor and can be contacted at: henry.daley@ubspectrum.com
Evan Hilbert is Spectrum's assistant sports editor. Contact details are as follows: evan.hilbert@ubspectrum.com
Henry Daly is the next assistant sports editor. spectrum. His work has also been featured on other platforms such as Medium and Last Word on Sports. Outside of his newspaper, he enjoys running and watching sports (when he's not writing about sports).
Evan Hilbert is the next assistant sports editor. spectrum. He is also a student-athlete on UB's DI cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track teams for three seasons. He is a fan of the Milwaukee Bucks and Newcastle. He is a United FC and Buffalo Bills fan.