By Mike Garrity
BUFFALO — Western New York’s four Division I men’s basketball programs all tip off their seasons on Monday, Nov. 2. Going by the preseason polls, none of them is expected to do much winning.
The University at Buffalo was picked 10th of 12 in the Mid-American Conference. Canisius and Niagara were picked 11th and 12th in the 13-team Metro Conference, the league formerly known as the MAAC. St. Bonaventure, with a new coach and almost a new roster, was picked last of 14 in the Atlantic 10.
Preseason polls are often wrong. Still, a region that lists college basketball among its winter habits enters November with all four of its programs ranked in the bottom third of their leagues. That raises a fair question about what these schools are building, and who is paying for it.
The Bonnies start over
The biggest change is in Olean. Mark Schmidt left after 19 seasons and a program-record 340 wins. His replacement is Mike MacDonald, a 1988 St. Bonaventure graduate who comes from Division II Daemen with a 522-312 record over 29 seasons.
The Atlantic 10 preview notes that the Bonnies lost their top six scorers, including guard Darryl Simmons II and forward Frank Mitchell. In the A10 coaches’ and media poll, the Bonnies drew 33 points, 26 behind 13th-place La Salle.
MacDonald brought three Daemen players with him: center Benjamin Bill and guards Zach Philipkoski and Ryan Heath. Those Daemen teams went a combined 61-3 over the last two seasons.
“What was important to me is they are people who can speak our language and they know what I’m talking about,” MacDonald said in the league’s team preview. “If I start talking too fast, they can kind of slow everything down and help the other 13 guys fit in and figure out where I’m going with it and what we need to do.”
Bill, a 6-foot-10 center, nearly went to Division III Alfred out of high school. He averaged 17.0 points a game for Daemen last season.
“I’m feeling really excited for this team and I think we can go a long way and get a lot of wins and do very well,” Bill said in the preview.
MacDonald describes the plan in plain terms. “We’re going to try and play fast and be very unselfish on offense and defense,” he said. The Bonnies open at home in the Reilly Center against Youngstown State.
Two Metro rebuilds
In the Metro Conference, only the top 10 teams qualify for the March tournament in Atlantic City. That leaves the coaches’ poll projecting Canisius and Niagara to miss it. Canisius drew 34 points and Niagara 31, with only Rider below them.
Niagara coach Greg Paulus remade his roster again, adding 12 players over the summer. His starting five in an Oct. 24 exhibition at Syracuse came from five countries, according to an account by Sam Federman published on Yahoo Sports. Niagara lost 71-58 after trailing by 17 in the first half.
Wright State transfer Logan Woods scored a team-high 12 points and is the lineup’s only American starter.
“We just brought them in like family,” Woods said after the game, according to that account. “The whole team helped us help them adjust to it.”
Paulus credited Woods for steadying the team. “I thought the first couple of shots he hit there allowed us to take a deep breath,” Paulus said. Niagara opens against West Virginia.
Canisius coach Jim Christian also rebuilt his roster through transfers. The Griffs finished their exhibition schedule Tuesday night with an 87-74 loss at Robert Morris. Canisius shot 60 percent from the field but turned the ball over 24 times, 16 of them in the first half, according to the school’s game recap.
Junior Michael Wilson Jr. scored 30 points on 11-of-13 shooting. Canisius opens at Penn State, then plays its home opener against St. Bonaventure on Nov. 7 at the Koessler Athletic Center.
UB’s $31.75 million bet
UB enters the season with the most money behind it. In March, the university and Broadview Federal Credit Union announced a 15-year deal valued at $31.75 million. It renamed Alumni Arena as Broadview Arena and UB Stadium as Broadview Stadium. UB called it the largest such agreement in the MAC.
The university said $29.5 million of that total is naming-rights revenue for athletics and student-athletes. The rest, $2.25 million, goes to campus-wide scholarships and the student emergency fund. Both the UB Council and the SUNY Board of Trustees approved the deal.
“This transformative campuswide partnership allows us to successfully compete at the highest level through a sustained investment into our Athletics program,” athletic director Mark Alnutt said when the deal was announced.
In July, Alnutt extended coach George Halcovage III through the 2029-30 season, after a 17-win year that included an 8-0 start.
“We know our best days are still ahead and are committed to making Buffalo Basketball a source of pride,” Halcovage said in the school’s announcement.
The MAC’s coaches were less convinced, picking only Ball State and Central Michigan below the Bulls. UB beat Mercyhurst 71-66 in its only exhibition, the first game played under the Broadview name. Guard J.J. Starling had 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists. The Bulls open at Marshall in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge.
What to watch
Preseason rankings are guesses, and last season showed how wrong they can be. Fordham, an A10 school, was picked 14th and finished eighth. The questions for Western New York are more specific.
Can MacDonald’s Division II formula hold up in a multi-bid league? Can Niagara and Canisius, both relying on transfers, hold onto enough players to build something lasting? And can UB, now holding the MAC’s richest naming-rights deal, turn that money into a finish that justifies it?
Fans won’t have to wait long for a local matchup. The Bonnies visit Canisius five days after opening night.
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