On Tuesday, UB men’s basketball announced it will open the season against Towson and Army West Point as a part of “Bubbleville” at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.
UB was originally scheduled to face Vermont and Iona, but COVID related issues forced both schools to pull out of the tournament.
The only MAC school represented in Bubbleville, the Bulls will face Towson at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and Army on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Buffalo faced off against both Army and Towson last season. The Bulls lost to the Black Knights 89-76 at Alumni Arena, but defeated the Tigers in the Charleston Classic 76-73.
Without having played a game yet, the Bulls have already had one cancellation and two games rescheduled with different opponents this season.
UB was originally scheduled to face Division II opponent Gannon in its season opener, but the game was canceled due to positive COVID test results within Gannon’s program.
During a Mid-American Conference Zoom call last Thursday, UB head coach Jim Whitesell said the team was planning on attending Bubbleville, regardless of their newly scheduled opponents, after Vermont and Iona’s withdrawal.
“The opponents have almost changed daily, it might change, literally, before I go to practice this morning,” Whitesell said last Thursday. “I’ll have two teams that might be in there and then come back. Yesterday it was two other teams.”
With their first contest in Bubbleville just three days away, the Bulls will now prepare for Towson and Army on short notice.
Anthony DeCicco is the Senior Sports Editor and can be reached at anthony.decicco@ubspectrum.com and on Twitter @DeCicco42.
Anthony DeCicco is the Editor-in-Chief of The Spectrum. His words have appeared in outlets such as SLAM Magazine andSyracuse.com. In 2020, he was awarded First Prize for Sports Column Writing at the Society of Professional Journalists' Region 1 Mark of Excellence Awards. In his free time, he can be found watching ‘90s Knicks games and reading NFL Mock Drafts at 3 a.m.
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
