UB men's basketball had a slump this year, what happened?

After having undergone the most losses in a single season In program history and having missed the Mid-American Conference (MAC) postseason tournament, UB men's basketball (4-27, 2-16 MAC) finds itself in a difficult position.

With almost an entire starting lineup needing to be replaced, due to departures via the transfer portal and graduating seniors, first-year head coach Greg Halcovage III basically has to rebuild the program.

But how did we get there?

Coaching changes, poor defense and poor three-point shooting doomed the team this season from the start.

Whitesell raises his last horns!

It all started with the firing of former men's basketball coach Jim Whitesell Last spring. Whitesell finished with a 70-49 overall record and 45-27 conference mark in four seasons with UB. Despite his winning record, Whitesell was fired due to his inability to produce playoff appearances.

Several key players left soon after, including freshman guard Curtis Jones, now entering his first year at Iowa State (29-8, 13-5 BIG 12). Starters like Zid Powell left for UTEP (18-16, 7-9 C-USA) and LaQuill Hardnett left for Arkansas State (20-17, 11-7 SBC). Center Isaac Jack also said goodbye to the Bulls, leaving for Dayton (25-8, 14-4 A10).

Halcovage then a coach associated with Villanova was hired a few weeks after Whitesell was fired, marking his first year as head coach.

With several key players, including fifth-year forward Sy Chatman and senior forward Jonnivius Smith, deciding to stay with us, the team seemed to be heading in the right direction. A new roster with additions like sophomore guard Shawn Fulcher from Ellsworth Community College and freshman guard Ryan Sabol seemed to seal the deal.

But there were warning signs of a less than ideal season ahead.

In the first exhibition game of the season, Buffalo hosted Daemen University, a Division II program. Despite their strong talent advantage, the Bulls struggled, narrowly coming back with a 71-67 victory.

Victories, even narrow ones, would be rare in the months to come.

After a close victory against D-II opponent Roberts Wesleyan, the team began a nine-game losing streak, leaving its overall record at 1-11 and 0-11 against DI opponents.

UB ended that streak by beating Central Michigan (18-14, 12-6 MAC) 76-64 in the first conference game of the season, but victory remained elusive. What followed was another nine consecutive matches in MAC reading.

As their chances of making the playoffs grew slimmer, the team seemed to be losing hope. The Bulls were the first MAC team to be eliminated from the playoffs, and they finished with one of the worst records in the country at 4-27.

The numbers behind the madness

UB ranked 345th best team out of 362, according to EvanMiya. The Bulls had the second-worst three-point percentage in the country at 27.5% according to Team rankingsonly before IUPUI Jaguars (6-26, 2-19 HLC).

Despite this, they shot 24.6 threes per game, top 20% in the country. That's almost double the Jaguars' 13.4 three-pointers made per game, the lowest in the country.

Second, the Bulls defense was Swiss cheese. UB has given up 79.6 points per game, meaning UB has lost its games by an average margin of 12.3 points per game, the 13th worst differential in the country. The Bulls have allowed their opponents to make nearly 30 shots per game, 10th worst across the country.

As if that wasn't enough, UB struggled a lot at home. The Bulls have only managed to win one game against DI opponents at Alumni Arena, going 1-13.

It all resulted in a season to forget for UB.

And now?

It’s an understatement to say that Halcovage will have to rebuild the program.

The head coach will have to replace his two top scorers, Chatman and senior forward Isaiah Adams. Chatman has no years of eligibility left after averaging 18.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, while Adams entered the transfer portal averaging 12.8 points and four rebounds per game.

Also in the portal are junior guard Kanye Jones and Smith, who have both averaged 8 points per game this season. Smith was the team's leading rebounder, with 8.3 per game. That means Halcovage will have to replace four of the team's top six scorers; those four combined average 47 points per game.

Halcovage will need to find plenty of scorers through recruiting and the transfer portal to make up for what they lose. Bringing in a center who can rebound will also be crucial. Adding defense can't hurt either.

Even though Halcovage faces an uphill battle, this season should also be a fresh start for the former Villanova coach. He will be authorized to freely recruit his own players after having coached a team mainly recruited under the previous regime.

The jury is still out on whether the Bulls will be able to bounce back after this season, but there is still hope for UB even if things didn't go as planned in Halcovages' first season.

Henry Daley is assistant sports editor and can be reached at [email protected]

Evan Hilbert is an associate sports editor at the Spectrum and can be reached at [email protected]

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