Kentucky Wildcats

UB hangs tough with No. 1 Kentucky

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By Nick Veronica

UB led No. 1 Kentucky at halftime Saturday at Rupp Arena but was overmatched in the second half on the way to an 71-52 loss.

ublogoJunior guard Jarryn Skeete kept Buffalo in the game early and led all players with 16 points, including 4 of 6 from three-point range.

Skeete’s jumper with 14:21 to go put UB ahead 45-43, but the Bulls (1-1) went cold shortly after and were outscored 28-7 the rest of the way. The halftime score was 38-33 Bulls.

Kentucky was led by freshmen Tyler Ulis and Trey Lyles, who each scored 12 points off the bench. Kentucky’s bench outscored its starters, 45-26. Rebounds were 46-27 in favor of the Wildcats.

Kentucky spends nearly nine times more on its men’s basketball program than UB does. According to the Department of Education, Kentucky spent $16,198,525 last year to UB’s $1,848,705.

UB’s Justin Moss threw down a huge dunk over Kentucky stud Willie Cauley-Stein late in the first half. Deadspin’s headline was “Willie Cauley-Stein Gets Posterized By Some Dude From Buffalo.”

Starters: UB – Will Regan, Justin Moss, Jarryn Skeete, Lamonte Bearden, Shannon Evans. Kentucky – Willie Cauley-Stein, Alex Poythress, Karl-Anthony Towns, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison.

Next: UB goes to UT-Arlington for an 8 p.m. contest on Tuesday.

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UB announces 2014-15 nonconference basketball schedule, Bulls visit two Final Four teams

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By Nick Veronica

ublogoUB announced its nonconference basketball schedule Wednesday morning, including games at Kentucky and Wisconsin, Final Four teams a season ago. Both are big pulls for second-year coach Bobby Hurley.

As agreed upon last year, UB and Canisius will play another game downtown at the First Niagara Center, on Nov 29. UB travels to Big 4 rival St. Bonaventure on Dec. 3 and hosts Niagara Dec 19.

This year’s opponents combined to finish 217-212 in 2013-14.

Full nonconference schedule
(“vs.” games are home, “at” games are away, last year’s record in parenthesis)

Nov. 14 vs. South Dakota State (19-13, 10-4 Summit)

Nov. 16 at Kentucky (29-11, 12-6 SEC, national runners-up)*

Nov. 18 at Texas-Arlington (15-17, 9-9 Sun Belt)*

Nov. 21. vs. Montana State (14-17, 9-11 Big Sky)*

Nov. 25 at Grand Canyon (15-15, 10-6 WAC)*

Nov. 29 vs. Canisius at First Niagara Center  (23-13, 14-6 MAAC)

Dec. 3 at St. Bonaventure (18-15, 6-10 Atlantic 10)

Dec. 7 at Robert Morris (22-14, 14-2 Northeast)

Dec. 16 vs. Drexel (16-14, 8-8 Colonial)

Dec. 19 vs. Niagara (7-26, 3-17 MAAC)

Dec. 28 at Wisconsin (30-8, 12-6 Big Ten, Final Four participant)

Dec. 30 at Binghamton (7-23, 4-12 America East)

Jan. 3 vs. Cornell (2-26, 1-13 Ivy)

*Part of a tournament

Steve Masiello can return to Manhattan once he graduates

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By Nick Veronica

Manhattan College announced Monday that coach Steve Masiello will be allowed to return to the team once he earns his college degree.

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Masiello signed a contract to become the head coach at South Florida in late March, but the deal fell through when USF uncovered that Masiello never officially graduated from Kentucky, as his bio indicated. The deal would’ve been worth at least $6.06 million over five years.

According to Manhattan’s press release, Masiello took part in graduation at Kentucky but didn’t complete necessary summer courses to finish his degree requirements. Masiello majored in communication.

“Mr. Masiello executed poor judgment but did not intentionally misrepresent himself in applying to the College,” Manhattan president Brennan O’Donnell said in the release. “After participating in graduation ceremonies at the University of Kentucky, he enrolled in summer courses with the intention of completing his degree, but never followed through to make sure that the degree was awarded.”

Masiello will remain on unpaid leave and associate head coach Matt Grady will become the interim head coach. Manhattan won the 2014 MAAC championship and also advanced to the championship game in 2013.

“I made a mistake that could have cost me my job at an institution I love,” Masiello said in the release. “Details matter. Manhattan College has shown me a great deal of compassion and trust during this process, and I will do everything in my power to uphold that trust. I understand that I am very fortunate to have the chance to remain here at Manhattan.”