Bulls to Play Georgia Bulldogs for the First Time Since 1976

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo men's basketball team (5-5, 0-0 MAC) will travel to Athens, Ga. to battle the Georgia Bulldogs (9-1, 0-0 SEC) on Thursday evening after a 12-day hiatus. The action can be seen on ESPN+/SECN+ with Josh Whetzel on the radio call on the Varsity Network or on the radio on Buffalo 1520/Rochester 1280.

LAST TIME OUT
In their last game on Dec. 7, the Bulls fell to the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, 65-55. Sophomores Ryan Sabol and Bryson Wilson led the Bulls with 14 points apiece. Wilson made two three-pointers, setting a new career high. Off the bench, Brayden Jackson continues to be solid as he scored 11 points with 2 rebounds and 1 steal. Noah Batchelor and Ben Michaels led the team with 5 rebounds each. Tyson Dunn added 4 assists to his season total.

ABOUT THE SERIES
This will be the third all-time meeting between the Bulls and Bulldogs. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series, 2-0. The series dates back to Dec. 18, 1948, when the UB hosted Georgia at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Georgia won, 56-51. In their previous meeting on Dec. 11, 1976, the Bulldogs won in Athens, 108-77.

In their program history, Buffalo is 0-11 all-time against teams from the SEC. The last time they played a team from the SEC was on Dec. 3, 2019, at Vanderbilt. The Commodores won, 90-76.

THE BULL-ETIN BOARD
The Bulls are 8-3 (.727) in games played on Dec. 19^th in the program's history. Buffalo's last game on this date came against the Syracuse Orange in 2017 when the Orange defended the Dome, 81-74. Buffalo's last win was against Montana State in 2015 at home, 80-73.

Brayden Jackson has scored 10+ in the last three games, including four of the last five games. Ryan Sabol was the last Buffalo freshman to do so last season from Jan. 2-9. With another 10-point performance at Georgia, Jackson will become the first freshman since CJ Massinburg (2015-19) to score 10+ in four consecutive games. Massinburg's streak was eight games from Jan. 30 - Feb. 23 where he scored 146 points.

Bryson Wilson has shown that sophomore leap this season. After averaging 2.3 points last season, he's averaging 8.1 points through 10 games. He has also had five games with 10+ points including recording his first career double-double at Notre Dame with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Sabol shot .376 from three-point range last year, but it now up to .463 this season. He has jumped from 8.1 to a team leading 18.1 points per game this season. Sabol has scored in double figures in the last 11 games dating back to last season.

Sabol has made 99 career three-pointers in 41 games, good for 2.41 per game. He is climbing the all-time made three-pointers list as Sean Smiley (2005-10) is 10^th in program history with 132 made threes. With 1 made three at Georgia, Sabol would become the fastest Bull in program history to reach 100 career threes passing Zach Filzen (2009-12) who did it in 45 games.

This season, Sabol has made at least 3 three-pointers in nine straight games. He has made a three in 16 straight games dating back to last season. The last time he failed to make a three was against Akron on Feb. 17, 2024, when he went 0-for-5.

Sabol has made a conference-high 37 three-pointers on the season that ranks him 13^th in the country. His 3.70 three-pointers per game is sixth in the nation and first in the MAC. He is shooting 46.3% from deep on the season, good for 31^st in college basketball and second in the MAC behind Juanse Gorosito's 50.0% for Ball State.

Sabol has scored a team-high 181 points on the season, good for the top mark in the conference. His 18.1 points per game leads the MAC and is 66^th in the country.

Dunn's 59 total assists is 30^th in the country and first in the MAC. His 5.9 assists per game is 22^nd in all of college basketball.

The Bulls are 5-0 on the season when they score at least 80 points.

In Buffalo's four-game road stretch, they'll play in four different states: New York, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The Bulls average 15.70 fastbreak points per game and 28.30 defensive rebounds per game, first and second in the MAC, respectively. Those stats 25^th and 33^rd in the country.

Buffalo makes an average of 15.1 free throws per game, good for 2^nd in the MAC and 110^h in the nation.

Sabol has gone 34-for-36 from the free throw line, good for 94.4%. His free throw percentage is seventh in the country and first in the MAC.

The Bulls average just 14.3 fouls per game. This is good for the top mark in the MAC and 20^th in the country.

Sabol has started in 36 consecutive games for the Bulls since last season. He has the 26th longest consecutive start streak for the same school in the country. Steven Crowl from Wisconsin holds the longest streak with 116 games.

Dunn has tallied 946 career collegiate points in his career. The last three seasons at Western Ontario, he scored 824 points to go with his 122 this season.

UP NEXT
The Bulls will be off until Sunday, Dec. 29 at Temple. Their game against the Owls will air on ESPNU at 3 p.m.

For all the latest on UB men's basketball, follow @UBuffaloMBB on Twitter/X, @ubuffalo_mbb on Instagram and like the UB Men's Basketball Facebook page.

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Bulls to Play Georgia Bulldogs for the First Time Since 1976

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Players Mentioned

Tyson Dunn

Brayden Jackson

Ben Michaels

Ryan Sabol

Bryson Wilson

University at Buffalo Athletics