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Game 1: vs St. Francis (PA)


Kevin

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Should be a good test to tip the season.  St. Francis is predicted by some to win the Northeast Conference.  They return their top two scorers so this will be an early test for our defense.  Hopefully we shoot better from 3 but after tonight's display there isn't much to criticize.  

https://bustingbrackets.com/2018/09/18/ncaa-basketball-predicting-32-regular-season-conference-champions-2018-19/22/

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On 10/27/2018 at 12:26 AM, ChubbyHubby said:

Segu is quick, but short.  He needs to not get himself stuck with the ball in the middle of a bunch of guys that are 8-10" taller than him.  With time, he's going to be fun to watch.

St. Francis is a much smaller team, heavily rely on guard play, and playing the perimeter. D

But I think we see Rondo more of a play maker this game. And we might see some flashes of him slashing toward the basket for a few layups. And maybe a few 3 point attempts. I also want to see his perimeter defense displayed.

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21 hours ago, MillenniumBull said:

I know we have WVU coming up but I’ve never heard of a season opener referred to as a trap game before. Just not a thing.

It is. 

This team is super solid and returning everyone including everyone from their normal 8 man rotation. It isn't a normal game 1 opponent. They'll win the NEC. 

UB is trying to get in a really good OOC for the RPI. 

You have WVU in 3 days constituting it as the rare week 1 trap. 

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Things that I'm looking for in today's game are:

1. Offense and pace. Can we repeat the same scoring pace at around 85 points per game? UB finished 7th in country in scoring at 84.8 PPG. Let's see if that will carry over this year.

2. Hold teams in the low 70's or under 70 points per game. Can we improve defensively and hold teams under 70 points per game? UB finished last season allowing 76.2 PPG, 274th in the country. This is definitely an area that will need improvement.

3. Making the free throws. Buffalo last season was 241st in free throw % at 69.7%. This season, I'd like to see a step forward in this area. Be somewhere in the top 100 which is typically around 73-74% at least. These easy buckets have to be made.

4. Forwards. Being that UB is not very deep at the 4 or 5 spot, I'd like to see today if we get any significant forward contributions outside of Perkins. I'd like to see McRae, Fagan, or Bertram step up. It'll be interesting at the season progresses, which one of those 3 rises to the occasion. 

5. Who replaces Wes Clark? Wes Clark was obviously a huge reason for UB's success in the MAC Championship game and in the win against Arizona. But, who fills that role? Caruthers? Jordan? It'll be interesting to see what adjustments are made moving on from a leader like Clark.

6. Rondo Segu and Jeenathan Williams. I think I can speak for everyone, I cannot wait to see these 2 guys play. I am curious to see how many minutes each guy gets and to see how they both contribute further in the season.

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30 minutes ago, mikescherrer8 said:

Things that I'm looking for in today's game are:

1. Offense and pace. Can we repeat the same scoring pace at around 85 points per game? UB finished 7th in country in scoring at 84.8 PPG. Let's see if that will carry over this year.

2. Hold teams in the low 70's or under 70 points per game. Can we improve defensively and hold teams under 70 points per game? UB finished last season allowing 76.2 PPG, 274th in the country. This is definitely an area that will need improvement.

3. Making the free throws. Buffalo last season was 241st in free throw % at 69.7%. This season, I'd like to see a step forward in this area. Be somewhere in the top 100 which is typically around 73-74% at least. These easy buckets have to be made.

4. Forwards. Being that UB is not very deep at the 4 or 5 spot, I'd like to see today if we get any significant forward contributions outside of Perkins. I'd like to see McRae, Fagan, or Bertram step up. It'll be interesting at the season progresses, which one of those 3 rises to the occasion. 

5. Who replaces Wes Clark? Wes Clark was obviously a huge reason for UB's success in the MAC Championship game and in the win against Arizona. But, who fills that role? Caruthers? Jordan? It'll be interesting to see what adjustments are made moving on from a leader like Clark.

6. Rondo Segu and Jeenathan Williams. I think I can speak for everyone, I cannot wait to see these 2 guys play. I am curious to see how many minutes each guy gets and to see how they both contribute further in the season.

Well said. Really good synopsis of this season/game. 

as for number 5. Jordan/Dontay/Segu is quite the PG trio to have behind Clark. 

Let's not forget Graves, who is pretty much a starter now. 

This is as deep as any team we've seen at UB. Maybe in the MAC ever?

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First half thoughts:

Like
11-12 from the free throw line and drawing a bunch of fouls. 14 fouls for St Francis in the first half.

Dislike
3 point shooting in the first half was bad, forcing too many of those shots, despite our ability to make those types of shots. Need to adjust and win this game in differ

Like
11 assists on 14 baskets made. The unselfish play of UB has returned. I really enjoy the unselfishness that is distilled into Nate Oats' players.

 

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This is a bit off-topic, but I was looking through some of the scores of the D1 games last night.

UNC went to Wofford (a team they lost to on their home court last year) and won (though the game was tied in the second half).  Kudos to UNC for playing a true road test against a regional team in a small gym as their opening game.

Double kudos to UNC...they travel to Elon on Friday to play in their HS-sized gym.   Before November is out, they even travel to Michigan for another true road test.    

We all hear how hard it is for mid-majors to get top teams to play in their gyms, so UNC should be acknowledged for this.   Contrast that with Syracuse...who will never travel to a small program and only go to someone else's gym sparingly in OOC (Columbus this year, Georgetown last year, Wisconsin two years ago, etc.)

 

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31 minutes ago, UB92 said:

This is a bit off-topic, but I was looking through some of the scores of the D1 games last night.

UNC went to Wofford (a team they lost to on their home court last year) and won (though the game was tied in the second half).  Kudos to UNC for playing a true road test against a regional team in a small gym as their opening game.

Double kudos to UNC...they travel to Elon on Friday to play in their HS-sized gym.   Before November is out, they even travel to Michigan for another true road test.    

We all hear how hard it is for mid-majors to get top teams to play in their gyms, so UNC should be acknowledged for this.   Contrast that with Syracuse...who will never travel to a small program and only go to someone else's gym sparingly in OOC (Columbus this year, Georgetown last year, Wisconsin two years ago, etc.)

 

Off topic, indeed.

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Good win at home. While watching the game, I always felt the game was closer than it was. I thought we didn't play as well as we did last year. I think the dust needs to settle for the new additions and change in point guard. I believe it will get better with time.

This game made me nervous for how we play against the zone. Right now, we face Syracuse and EMU in the zone but I can see some teams switching over to it against us.

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18 minutes ago, BullsFan14 said:

Good win at home. While watching the game, I always felt the game was closer than it was. I thought we didn't play as well as we did last year. I think the dust needs to settle for the new additions and change in point guard. I believe it will get better with time.

This game made me nervous for how we play against the zone. Right now, we face Syracuse and EMU in the zone but I can see some teams switching over to it against us.

If we hit the open threes, the zone won't work...we had plenty of them yesterday. Finally hit a few in a row in the 2nd half and that put the game away. St Francis is good guard based team. While we may not have looked as polished offensively yet, the defense already looked improved on a possession to possession basis and the pace of play is still there. There were multiple instances where St Francis hit a contested three or drive and we pushed the ball right back up the court and scored.

All in all, a satisfying opener, especially considering we have 11 guys that can provide legit minutes and lineup combos take some time to sort out.

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29 minutes ago, BullsFan14 said:

Good win at home. While watching the game, I always felt the game was closer than it was. I thought we didn't play as well as we did last year. I think the dust needs to settle for the new additions and change in point guard. I believe it will get better with time.

This game made me nervous for how we play against the zone. Right now, we face Syracuse and EMU in the zone but I can see some teams switching over to it against us.

I actually disagree. If we take away the abysmal 3 point shooting, compared to last year in the first game against Canisius, I thought we played much better. 

Defensively, we played pretty darn good. Really eliminating St. Francis' ability to get comfortable, turning the ball over, and preventing them from gaining any sort of momentum, especially in the second half. St. Francis is a damn good team too, and for us to hold them to 67, could have even been less, that's very impressive.

Mind you, last season, Buffalo really didn't become the ultra consistent team until about the Ball State game, game #15, that's when we saw guys like Jeremy Harris come alive. And from what I saw yesterday, this team is going to find itself well before game #15 this year. 

It's still early on in the season and it'll take time before the true talent and potential bleeds out. It'll take adjustments, changing up game plans, and just each player finding their role on the roster. 

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I think I was most impressed by Davonta Jordan this game. He had a really complete game, 3 steals, 3 blocks, took 2 charges, held their best scorer to 4-14 shooting and 6 turnovers, but most importantly, knocked down two 3's. If he can consistently make open 3's this year, that's going to help a lot with our spacing

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Not a bad first game. Loved the FT shooting. That's how good teams put games away. The 3 was terrible but that will come eventually. I like the potential for some of the new players but it'll take a little time for everyone to get in sync with each other. 

If the 3 starts to fall against WV I think we have a chance...if not I don't think it's going to go too well. Fingers crossed

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2 hours ago, cheese_66 said:

I think I was most impressed by Davonta Jordan this game. He had a really complete game, 3 steals, 3 blocks, took 2 charges, held their best scorer to 4-14 shooting and 6 turnovers, but most importantly, knocked down two 3's. If he can consistently make open 3's this year, that's going to help a lot with our spacing

Same here...tremendous defensive presence all game, just made it a chore for St Francis to bring to ball up all game.

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1 hour ago, weareub46 said:

Not a bad first game. Loved the FT shooting. That's how good teams put games away. The 3 was terrible but that will come eventually. I like the potential for some of the new players but it'll take a little time for everyone to get in sync with each other. 

If the 3 starts to fall against WV I think we have a chance...if not I don't think it's going to go too well. Fingers crossed

The flashes were there for Williams...huge block in the first half, just missing on a few dunks but keeping with the plays. He is a different type of talent than we have ever really had and the good news is he basically has a season to figure everything out with all of the veterans we have this year.

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A good test for the first game. Do agree it will take some time to see how all the pieces will fit. Both Graves and Carruthers looked much improved from the free throw line. Still concerned with Graves not being able to knock down outside shots and McCrea not helping on the defensive or rebounding side. If Fagan and Bertram can help in the front court at all it will be a plus. I think Jordan could be the key on how the offense goes.  Segu and Williams show promise but time will tell when they come up against more athletic quick players. Yes we did not shoot well from 3 point line but the shots were there. I agree we won the game because of our defensive pressure especially in the last 15  minutes of the game. Looking forward to the next two games and to see how the team responds to the defensive pressure. Go Bulls!!!

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Nick Perkins was quoted as saying that they’re not always going to shoot well but they can play defense and rebound. This was a team (St Francis) without 3 of their top players which still managed to out-rebound the Bulls. It’s still early. Hopefully they can shoot better today and knock off the Mountaneers. 

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