Men's Basketball Travels to Face No. 1 Daemen in NCAA East Regional on Saturday

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – A marvelous month of March continues this weekend for the University of Bridgeport's men's basketball team as the Purple Knights get set for the NCAA East Regional in Amherst, N.Y. Bridgeport, as the No. 8 seed, will face undefeated and top-ranked Daemen (27-0) in the first round on Saturday night (5 p.m.). A full bracket can be found here.

CACC CHAMPIONS
The Purple Knights are dancing into this weekend's regional thanks to a 67-57 win over Post on Sunday in the CACC championship game. UB's triumph signified their first ever CACC title and the program's first conference championship since 2015 (which came as part of the ECC).

THE TOURNAMENT RUN
Bridgeport's journey to the CACC championship will be remembered for a long time at UB. The Purple Knights defeated a trio of higher-seeded teams, including wins over top-seeded Dominican (91-78) and second-seeded Post on back-to-back days in Philadelphia.

Additionally, UB's victories over the Chargers and Eagles featured a bit of revenge as both teams beat the Purple Knights twice during the regular season. Bridgeport's run also saw them tally an 85-81 win at Chestnut Hill in the quarterfinals.

ALL-TOURNAMENT SELECTIONS
A trio of Purple Knights earned All-Tournament honors following the conclusion of Sunday's championship game. Aliou Cisse was tabbed as the MVP of the tournament while Malikai Delgado and Caleb Jacobs were also recognized.

Cisse served as Bridgeport's leading scorer (15.7 ppg) in the three tournament wins.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Daemen, which has been ranked No. 1 in the NABC National Poll over the last four weeks, enters the regional as the only undefeated team (27-0) left across all divisions of college basketball.

The Wildcats' most recent win came against STAC on Sunday for the ECC championship. Daemen defeated the Spartans, who are seeded fifth in the upcoming regional, for the third time this season.  

Daemen's standout campaign features a dominant run through the ECC in addition to non-conference wins over three teams that were nationally ranked at the time (California (Pa.), Charleston, Gannon).

The Wildcats won 13 of their 16 conference games by at least 20 points. They are currently ranked fourth in the country in points per game allowed (62.8) this season.

Individually, Daemen boasts the ECC Player of the Year in Benjamin Bill along with three other All-Conference performers in Justin Hemphill, Justin Glover and Zach Philipkoski.

PEAKING PURPLE KNIGHTS
UB's three tournament wins last week are the latest in an extremely hot stretch. The Purple Knights closed out the regular season by winning seven of their last nine games and now have won 10 of their last 12 contests.

Over their last 12 games, UB is allowing 76.7 points per game which is well below their season average (82.2).

Additionally, UB has outrebounded its last 12 opponents by 10.6 boards per game while averaging over seven more field-goal attempts. 

POINTS, POINTS, POINTS
Bridgeport led the CACC in scoring this season by a wide margin. In fact, UB's scoring average of 85.6 points per game currently ranks 27th in the country.

The Purple Knights have registered at least 90 points in 12 games this season while seeing the century mark on five occasions. UB has attempted the most shots per game of any team in the east region this season.

ALIOU CISSE
Aliou Cisse was named the CACC's Player of the Year after a sensational junior season for the Purple Knights.

Cisse currently has the 32nd highest scoring average (19.7 ppg) in the country while shooting an incredibly efficient mark (53.3%) from the floor (7^th, CACC). He also boasts averages of 6.0 boards per game and 1.7 steals.

Cisse, who attempted at least 20 shots in a game just three times this season, has scored in double figures in 28 of his 29 games. He has reached the 20-point mark on 11 occasions.  

BALANCED ATTACK
In addition to Cisse, the Purple Knights have five players averaging at least seven points per game and five different players recording at least four rebounds per contest.

Jacobs joins Cisse in double figures at 10.7 points per game.

Jason Edokpayi, meanwhile, serves as UB's top rebounder at 6.6 boards per outing while also averaging 9.8 points per game. He is shooting a team-best 54.7 percent from the field.

Jacobs and Nick Traill are both currently ranked in the top-five of the CACC in both assists and steals per game.

Jacobs is tallying 3.7 helpers and 1.9 takeaways per contest while Traill holds respective averages of 3.8 and 2.0.

Amadou Traore has also been terrific down the stretch for Bridgeport. He registered back-to-back 17-point games (season high) in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

REBOUNDING AND STEALS
The Purple Knights' scoring numbers have been aided by sensational rebounding and an aggressive defense.

UB led the CACC in almost every rebounding category this season, including total boards per game (44.5), offensive rebounds per game (16.1) and rebounding margin (+5.3).

The Purple Knights also ranked second in the conference in both steals (10.3) and forced turnovers (18.1) per game.

RECENT NCAA HISTORY
The Purple Knights are making their first NCAA appearance since 2018. UB was a regular participant in the Big Dance under former head coach Mike Ruane. Bridgeport earned bids into the NCAA East Regional 11 times from 2000-2018.

UB's current head coach, Krunch Senadhi, served as an assistant under Coach Ruane for four of those selections into the Big Dance and 184 total wins during his time on staff.

In 2019-2020, Senadhi served as UB's associate head coach (9^th season overall) and helped guide UB to one of its most successful seasons. The Purple Knights finished 24-4 overall and were set to host the NCAA Division II East Regional, which was canceled due to COVID-19.  

Bridgeport's last tournament victories came in 2013 when they took down both Saint Anselm and Assumption before falling to Franklin Pierce in the regional final.

FOLLOW ALONG
No. 8 Bridgeport vs. No. 1 Daemen | Saturday, 5 PM | Regional Central | Live Stream | Live Stats