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Kent St. @ Buffalo (1/24 @ 6:30 pm)


Jeseph

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After a hot start Kent is coming in riding a 3 game losing streak including their most recent loss at-home to NIU (something we begrudgingly share...).

There's no doubt that the Flashes are going to come into this game hungry for a win. The Bulls are going to have to stay focused and play as a team against a usually physical, team that can't afford a 4 game losing streak.

Is Graves back? Will we see the star potential of 'Nate continue to rise? Which Johnson will we get?

I'd like to see an all-out defensive effort that limits the streaky scoring ability of Kent's guards.

GO BULLS

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Kent is a pretty good team who is reeling coming off of 3 straight poor performances.  If the hype from all of UB's other opponents this season is any indication, UB is still - rightly or wrongly - viewed as a final boss in the conference.  The Flashes will come out hyped and desperate, with veteran senior leadership, and will most likely punch UB in the mouth early. 

No question that it's a winnable game, but UB will need to be on their game to do so.  I could certainly see it coming right down to the wire.  These are the kinds of games they need to win if they want any shot at a bye to Cleveland in March.

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1 hour ago, Jeseph said:

I'd like to see an all-out defensive effort that limits the streaky scoring ability of Kent's guards.

Defense leads to offense. Getting back to back stops and converting on the other end in transition is how last years team had so much success. Starting to see glimpses of that now as the players buy more into the defensive mindset

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One thing I know about Kent St is that under Rob Senderoff they play physical. At times bully ball. I expect it. So it will be interesting to see how we respond to that type of play from an opponent, because it been a while (Bona game comes to mind). Other than that I just want to see us continue to improve on defense. Both individually (on ball defense) and collectively (switching, helping and rotating). I hope given the Friday night 6:30 start time that alumni is more packed and loud.

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9 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

 I hope given the Friday night 6:30 start time that alumni is more packed and loud.

I'd be very surprised if it is either "packed" or "loud". Students are still out of school, so they likely won't be there. The early start time might keep people away also, especially on a Friday. Hopefully I'm wrong though.

Yesterday was one of the quietest first halves I've seen, especially considering that 86 points were scored. It was dead in the arena. The loudest it got was when the refs kept blowing the whistle and fans were getting frustrated with the over the top number of calls!

I haven't seen nor heard too many promotions for the game outside of the general one at the Alumni Arena and UB twitter, so I'm guessing that it will be similar to yesterday's game attendance-wise. 

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1 hour ago, skrabukes said:

I'd be very surprised if it is either "packed" or "loud". Students are still out of school, so they likely won't be there. The early start time might keep people away also, especially on a Friday. Hopefully I'm wrong though.

Yesterday was one of the quietest first halves I've seen, especially considering that 86 points were scored. It was dead in the arena. The loudest it got was when the refs kept blowing the whistle and fans were getting frustrated with the over the top number of calls!

I haven't seen nor heard too many promotions for the game outside of the general one at the Alumni Arena and UB twitter, so I'm guessing that it will be similar to yesterday's game attendance-wise. 

Honestly, loudest part of the game was when the guy hit the half-court shot to win 12 medium pizzas.  Literally the only thing that got the crowd on its feet where I was sitting.

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4 hours ago, UB85 said:

Great memories. And after that buffoonish pre game demonstration where they were more concerned with the cheerleaders than playing the game it made it all the sweeter. 

I feel a bit bad for them, though.  For those on the team who graduate from that school, they have to tell everyone they "went to Kent State".  Imagine lugging that around for the rest of your life.  Kent State (except maybe in one or two areas) is kind of like a multi-campus community college.

Have a bit of mercy...

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I have liked what I have seen from the coaching staff and the team over the last handful of games.  Things seem to be coming together.  I am trying to stay away from reacting after each game.  We will know a lot more about this team after the next three games versus the top 3 teams in the conference.  This team will be a tough out if they continue to defend as they have recently.  I am a bit concerned with our shooting percentages bt am hopeful they can turn around.  Limiting the turnovers as we have the last few games has really helped in this area. 

I am a huge fan of the lineup with both Mballa and Hardnett on the floor with Williams.  There is no team in the conference that can deal with that athleticism and length.  At this point Hardnett deserves more minutes and I will stick to my position that Grant does not deserve minutes off the bench.  I will give him that his defensive effort has been much improved but his shot selection and ability to move the ball have been horrible.  I look at the bench and I see all of the guys cheering on their teammates and I see Grant sulking.  He has not been the senior leader that this team needs and his selfish play does not warrant minutes.

I need to apologize for my early season reactions to Johnson.  I was the one screaming he needed to be benched.   I admit I was wrong.  Unlike Grant, he has proven he is willing to commit to the defensive effort required to play for Buffalo.  He has reduced the number of poor shots he is taking and he has adjusted his shooting form to up his shooting percentages.  He has shown he can be tough and physical and is willing to put it all on the line for his team.  This team needs him to play this way and if he continues to do so, this team will be a much stronger unit. 

I feel really good about where this team is at currently.  If we continue in this direction we are going to have a fun season.  As I said above we will know a lot more about this team after the next 3 games.  We face the best of the best and I for one cannot wait to see how we fair against them.  Go Bulls!

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9 minutes ago, clodney said:

The fact that our student section is non-existent during break seems to indicate that the only students that give a $hit about this program are from outside of WNY. One Buffalo!

Students care about free stuff and ESPN games (+/- senior night).

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14 minutes ago, clodney said:

The fact that our student section is non-existent during break seems to indicate that the only students that give a $hit about this program are from outside of WNY. One Buffalo!

That is how it seemed when I was in college at UB too. I'm hoping the kids in Buffalo who are growing up watching the teams of the last few years will start to change that when they are college age.

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1 hour ago, UB85 said:

Nice TBN article about tonight’s game. It points out that UB is only team in country with all five starters averaging double figures in ppg. That’s unique and a good thing. 
 

https://buffalonews.com/2020/01/24/big-4-ub-going-for-fifth-straight-victory-friday-niagara-canisius-also-play/

Nice plug.  Interesting comments about the starting five scoring, and that they are the only five to start every game.  I don't think to check TBN from the sunny south....thanks for posting.  I'll be watching the game, as usual.

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6 hours ago, UB85 said:

Nice TBN article about tonight’s game. It points out that UB is only team in country with all five starters averaging double figures in ppg. That’s unique and a good thing. 

Segu is just under 9 points per game. If he can average 11-12 ppg over the 2nd half of the season, he would move up to double figures as well. Balanced scoring is a good thing, as the opponent can't just key on one or two guys. Our points can come from anywhere, much like last year. The difference with this year's group being that there is a huge drop off in offensive scoring beyond these 6. A win tonight would be big. There's no easy games on the schedule from this point forward, so we need to have our A-game running on both ends. See you at the AA tonight!

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