UAlbany Men's Basketball Begins America East Conference Play Against Hartford on Saturday

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

West Hartford, Conn. -- UAlbany begins America East Conference play against Hartford on Saturday, Jan. 3. Tip-off is 2:00 p.m. Fans can listen to the game on Fox Sports 980, WOFX-AM. Rodger Wyland and Jon Phelps will call the play-by-play from Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion.

The Hawks, who have played a rugged non-league schedule, are coming off a pair of road losses to Baylor and Stanford. Hartford (4-9) was picked to finish third in the conference preseason poll. Head coach Dan Leibovitz guided his team to its first-ever conference championship appearance and a Division I program record 18 wins last year. Joe Zeglinski leads the team in scoring (15.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.5 pg). The first-team All-America East guard is expected to return after missing the last three games with an ankle injury. Jaret von Rosenberg adds 11.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists. He joined Zeglinski on the 2008 conference all-championship squad.

UAlbany (8-5) has matched its best 13-game record as a Division I program and own eight non-conference wins for the first time since moving to this level in 1999. The Great Danes lost to defending national champion Kansas in their last outing on Dec. 30. Tim Ambose (12.0 ppg) and Anthony Raffa (11.8 ppg) are the top scorers, while Will Harris averages 10.0 points and 4.7 rebounds. UAlbany has allowed less than 60 points against five opponents this season. Head coach Will Brown, who is in his eighth season at the helm, is seeking his 100th career win.