Western New York’s men’s basketball teams begin postseason play Tuesday
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — March Madness is here.
Three of Western New York’s four men’s college basketball teams qualified for the postseason, which begins for them on Tuesday.
Entering postseason play, here’s how they each fared this season and the outlook heading into the conference tournaments.
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St. Bonaventure
Record: 18-12, 9-9 Atlantic 10
Leaders: Chad Venning (14.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG), Mika Adams-Woods (13.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 3.6 APG)
The Bonnies were in the middle of the pack in the Atlantic 10 all season and earned the No. 7 seed in the league tournament, good enough to earn them a first round bye in Brooklyn. Venning and Adams-Woods have been the leaders on the roster all year but Bryant transfer Charles Pride has also been strong, averaging 11 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Bona will see the winner of 10th-seeded La Salle and 15th-seeded George Washington at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Niagara
Record: 15-15, 11-9 MAAC
Leaders: Ahmad Henderson II (11.9 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 1.9 APG), Braxton Bayless (11.5 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.4 APG)
The Purple Eagles were once in good position to finish in the MAAC’s top five and earn a first round bye but stumbled down the stretch, losing four of their final five regular season games and dropping to sixth in the league after a 10-5 league start. Harlan Obioha is third in the league with 8.0 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Henderson was named to the league’s all-rookie team on Monday. Niagara will face 11th-seeded Siena in the first round on Tuesday night in Atlantic City around 9:45 p.m. The Purple Eagles and the Saints split the season series.
Canisius
Record: 13-17, 8-12 MAAC
Leaders: Tre Dinkins (15.1 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 3.6 APG), Siem Uijtendaal (13.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG), Frank Mitchell (12.4 PPG, 11.7 RPG)
The Griffs have dealt with the injury bug all season long. Only four players have appeared in all 30 of Canisius’ games this season. Tahj Staveskie was supposed to be a major part of the team’s plans but only played two games in November, while grad transfer Joe Jones III was lost to a knee injury in the first game of the season. Still, the Griffs found a way to 8-12 and earned the No. 9 seed. Mitchell’s 11.7 rebounds per game leads the conference and is fourth in the country. Mitchell was named all-MAAC second team, while Dinkins was named to the third team. The Griffs will see Mount St. Mary’s on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. Canisius lost to the Mountaineers in the same 8-9 first round game last season. They split the season series.
Buffalo did not finish in the top eight of the MAC, meaning it did not qualify for the league tournament in Cleveland. The Bulls went a league-worst 2-16 while finishing 4-27 overall. That was the worst mark for the Bulls since the program’s first season in Division I in 1991-92, when it went 2-26, and 27 losses also set a record for most losses in one season in the program’s history.
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Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.
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