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Buffalo @ EMU (2/4 - 7pm)


Jeseph

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That was bad. Only 1 player who played more than a handful of minutes who shot over 50%. 28 - 3 point shots and only 5 made? That's never going to get it done. Not sure what positives can be drawn from this one, and I usually can find some. It's not a season end-er, but damn if it's not close. Again, as crazy as it seems, this team still could win against any team, including the MAC tourney. At the same time, they could be 1 game and out. The saying of "good teams win the close ones" makes me worry though, as we've lost a whole lot of close ones. I have many questions that come to mind about a lot of different things regarding this team so I wouldn't know where to even begin at this point.

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1 minute ago, skrabukes said:

That was bad. Only 1 player who played more than a handful of minutes who shot over 50%. 28 - 3 point shots and only 5 made? That's never going to get it done. Not sure what positives can be drawn from this one, and I usually can find some. It's not a season end-er, but damn if it's not close. Again, as crazy as it seems, this team still could win against any team, including the MAC tourney. At the same time, they could be 1 game and out. The saying of "good teams win the close ones" makes me worry though, as we've lost a whole lot of close ones. I have many questions that come to mind about a lot of different things regarding this team so I wouldn't know where to even begin at this point.

Unless things change drastically I don’t see how they can win 3 or 4 games in a row, just to inconsistent and poor shooting will be their downfall. Hope I’m wrong and they clean the mess we saw tonight up. 

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2 minutes ago, skrabukes said:

That was bad. Only 1 player who played more than a handful of minutes who shot over 50%. 28 - 3 point shots and only 5 made? That's never going to get it done. Not sure what positives can be drawn from this one, and I usually can find some. It's not a season end-er, but damn if it's not close. Again, as crazy as it seems, this team still could win against any team, including the MAC tourney. At the same time, they could be 1 game and out. The saying of "good teams win the close ones" makes me worry though, as we've lost a whole lot of close ones. I have many questions that come to mind about a lot of different things regarding this team so I wouldn't know where to even begin at this point.

We can’t win the Mac tourney. That will require us to play 4 good games in a row. Not possible w this team, sorry but tired of hearing this talk about we can still win in tourney. I was optimistic like you most of the way, but I’m done this team just not good.

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4 minutes ago, SGBull said:

I will keep watching for the young guys. I hope Mballa, Williams, Rondo, and Hardnett continue to grow.

After looking at the poor outside shooting tonight will they be looking to the transfer portal for a guard who can shoot the three  don't know what we are getting in Skogman and it is likely too much to expect a lot from Chanse and Josiah as freshman. Not only did this game make me less optimistic for this year...I am starting to be a little concerned about next.

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31 minutes ago, DocCas86 said:

After looking at the poor outside shooting tonight will they be looking to the transfer portal for a guard who can shoot the three  don't know what we are getting in Skogman and it is likely too much to expect a lot from Chanse and Josiah as freshman. Not only did this game make me less optimistic for this year...I am starting to be a little concerned about next.

Definitely support a grad transfer shooter. I wouldn't write off the freshmen though - especially Josiah in terms of shooting. He'd probably be the best shooter on the team today. Plus plenty of freshman who are relatively unheralded perform in the MAC, such as the midget from Western, and the kid Zeigler from BG got solid minutes.

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In 14-15, UB was 6-6 in league, rattled off 6 straight to close the season, followed by a MAC championship (only had to win 2 games due to the triple bye of the time). Prior to the 6-6, the team had lost 3 straight in league. Without going back to the old posts of the time, I'd wager that they look a lot like tonight's thoughts. While not disagreeing with most of what's been said about tonight's game, I'm still far from ready to throw in the towel on the season. This team has been in every league game right to the final buzzer (with the exception of one blowout win and one blowout loss) and just gets a bounce here or there and bingo, it's another big run. Are the rosters the same? Not exactly, but there isn't a reason to write this team completely off. As much as we probably should've won this game (and several others this season), we just need it to click down the stretch. As some people were saying earlier in the season "only 3-4 games in March matter" and while I dismissed it at the time, it's got some merit. This team still has a 6-12% or so chance to win the league (figure a 50-50 shot to win a single game x 3 or 4 games). Unlike last year, where the team was probably 50% or so to win (around 80% x 3). Would you give any team more than a 15-20% chance to win? I surely wouldn't bet any team in this league at 4-1 or worse odds and I'd gladly take UB at 10 or 12-1. 

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Didn’t see the game, and after reading the comments here and looking at the box score I don’t plan to watch it. Trying to squeeze some positives out of another loss: Bulls won yet another battle on the boards. Grant had a good game - at least on offense. Mballa is going to be a really special player. If he ever develops an outside shot, he is going to be an absolute beast. Got to get ready for Friday and bounce back in convincing fashion.

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I kind of bailed after the Kent State game, so I appreciate those who are still dedicated and post on a Tuesday night road game..and have lived/died with these close games.

The thing is...I don't really like this team.    I don't like ...

  • how we are now back to turning it over so often (this is a call-back to the RW era) 
  • that it often seems guys are playing for themselves out there
  • guys chuck up ill-advised 3s at an alarming rate
  • that we aren't running the same incredibly up-tempo offense we ran for the last several years
  • that guys...AFTER A LOSS...post about their stats with various emojis on social media
  • that no player has really stepped up to be a leader
  • how the coach admitted that his team didn't take other teams (e.g. Army) seriously which is why they lost

I know last year's team was legendary, but the turnaround has been so drastic.  The team this year just isn't fun to watch at most times.  And I am not very optimistic for the future with this coach and the players on this team.  I am sad about this because I BLEED BLUE.  

 

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2 hours ago, UB92 said:

I kind of bailed after the Kent State game, so I appreciate those who are still dedicated and post on a Tuesday night road game..and have lived/died with these close games.

The thing is...I don't really like this team.    I don't like ...

  • how we are now back to turning it over so often (this is a call-back to the RW era) 
  • that it often seems guys are playing for themselves out there 
  • guys chuck up ill-advised 3s at an alarming rate
  • that we aren't running the same incredibly up-tempo offense we ran for the last several years
  • that guys...AFTER A LOSS...post about their stats with various emojis on social media
  • that no player has really stepped up to be a leader
  • how the coach admitted that his team didn't take other teams (e.g. Army) seriously which is why they lost

I know last year's team was legendary, but the turnaround has been so drastic.  The team this year just isn't fun to watch at most times.  And I am not very optimistic for the future with this coach and the players on this team.  I am sad about this because I BLEED BLUE.  

 

1. Bulls are turning it over 13.5 times per game in conference thus far vs 12.4 per game last year in conference for the entire regular season.
2. Playing for themselves - totally subjective.
3. Agree that they chuck them - air balls, clunkers, and to be fair - several in and outers. They rely on the 3, but are poor shooters. They lack height - they are a short team, and yet they convert over 50% of their two point attempts. But they continue to take more than 34% of their field goal attempts from 3 in conference (hitting 28.6%). Not good.
4. Bulls are ranked first after 10 games per kenpom in tempo in conference. Perhaps they should consider slowing it a bit because uptempo is chaos for them so far in a bad way.                                                                                                                                                                                                           
5. Totally unacceptable.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
6. Agree. Hope Mballa fills the void.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
7. I would give Whitesell one, at most two more years to straighten the ship. Another coaching change at this point would inevitably mean another major shake up of the roster. Alnutt’s indecisiveness in the transition process handicapped Whitesell in his his ability to recruit and stymied any chance of stemming the exodus of recruits who had already committed to UB.

 

 

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6 hours ago, squire17 said:

1. Bulls are turning it over 13.5 times per game in conference thus far vs 12.4 per game last year in conference for the entire regular season.
2. Playing for themselves - totally subjective.
3. Agree that they chuck them - air balls, clunkers, and to be fair - several in and outers. They rely on the 3, but are poor shooters. They lack height - they are a short team, and yet they convert over 50% of their two point attempts. But they continue to take more than 34% of their field goal attempts from 3 in conference (hitting 28.6%). Not good.
4. Bulls are ranked first after 10 games per kenpom in tempo in conference. Perhaps they should consider slowing it a bit because uptempo is chaos for them so far in a bad way.                                                                                                                                                                                                           
5. Totally unacceptable.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
6. Agree. Hope Mballa fills the void.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
7. I would give Whitesell one, at most two more years to straighten the ship. Another coaching change at this point would inevitably mean another major shake up of the roster. Alnutt’s indecisiveness in the transition process handicapped Whitesell in his his ability to recruit and stymied any chance of stemming the exodus of recruits who had already committed to UB.

 

 

Part of it is how the game feels as you watch it.  Here are some in-conference stats compared to last year.

This year:   75.7 pts/g   (3rd in league)
Last year:   85.5 pts/g   (1st in league)

This year:  11th in the league in turnovers
Last year:  6th in the league in turnovers

This year:  11th in the league in 3P %
Last year:  4th in the league in 3P %

They don't score as much, they turn the ball over more and the don't shoot as well...as last year in conference.  

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7 minutes ago, UB92 said:

Part of it is how the game feels as you watch it.  Here are some in-conference stats compared to last year.

This year:   75.7 pts/g   (3rd in league)
Last year:   85.5 pts/g   (1st in league)

This year:  11th in the league in turnovers
Last year:  6th in the league in turnovers

This year:  11th in the league in 3P %
Last year:  4th in the league in 3P %

They don't score as much, they turn the ball over more and the don't shoot as well...as last year in conference.  

Agree with all these points, one other thing they don’t have is a closer. When game on the line we’d give the ball to CJ and usually he’d make the right play or get it to someone who would. I think Graves has shown you he is clearly not that guy. When the game is on the line and it’s winning time, we just don’t have a playmaker to make the big play.

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5 minutes ago, Ubbulls84 said:

Agree with all these points, one other thing they don’t have is a closer. When game on the line we’d give the ball to CJ and usually he’d make the right play or get it to someone who would. I think Graves has shown you he is clearly not that guy. When the game is on the line and it’s winning time, we just don’t have a playmaker to make the big play.

We don't have a closer to physically make the shot. The real problem is we don't even seem to have somebody that WANTS to make the shot. CJ, Harris and Caruthers all wanted to win so bad that you could see it in their eyes. They locked in at the end of games (whether it be late in the half or in the final minutes). This team doesn't seem to have another gear. They just play. Mballa has been a bright spot but he absolutely waved at EMU's player on that go-ahead layup to end the game. A lot of this is on the players themselves but man do I feel like we have completely lost the mental edge which would probably be enough in the MAC this year.

I'm at a loss with this team and worried about the future.

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11 hours ago, DocCas86 said:

After looking at the poor outside shooting tonight will they be looking to the transfer portal for a guard who can shoot the three  don't know what we are getting in Skogman and it is likely too much to expect a lot from Chanse and Josiah as freshman. Not only did this game make me less optimistic for this year...I am starting to be a little concerned about next.

This is absolutely a concern for me.  This team needs shooters; I've been saying it a lot recently, this team takes a ton of 3s, which is how their offense is built, yet they're not a good 3-point shooting team.  They're 268th in the country in Team 3-point %.

Of the players who return next year, the only two real known commodity shooters are Graves and Segu.  Williams and Mballa have proven they can be double-digit scorers, which is great, but this team is going to need shooters sooner rather than later.  Hopefully some of the incoming players (I'm including Skogman and Gallion in that camp) can develop into that role, otherwise they'd better be looking on the transfer market.

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19 minutes ago, UBlearns said:

Hopefully some of the incoming players (I'm including Skogman and Gallion in that camp) can develop into that role, otherwise they'd better be looking on the transfer market.

I've heard great things about Skogman's shooting. I think Gallion will be a role-player throughout his time at UB but perhaps a offensive spark off the bench

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15 hours ago, DocCas86 said:

After looking at the poor outside shooting tonight will they be looking to the transfer portal for a guard who can shoot the three  don't know what we are getting in Skogman and it is likely too much to expect a lot from Chanse and Josiah as freshman. Not only did this game make me less optimistic for this year...I am starting to be a little concerned about next.

With them not hiring a replacement for jenkins right now and seemingly not recruiting , I assumed that the remaining scholarships would be through the transfer portal

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40 minutes ago, Tee4three said:

With them not hiring a replacement for jenkins right now and seemingly not recruiting , I assumed that the remaining scholarships would be through the transfer portal

Assuming all players currently on the roster stay, we would only have 1 spot remaining for next season. Still a lot of time left in this season before we worry fully about next season. If everyone remains in place, next year looks solid on paper. I still want to see a big jump this season. I appear to be in the minority on here, but no matter what happened yesterday or earlier in the season, this team is still capable of winning a lot of games this season. While we all would've loved to have seen more wins to this point, it is what it is, but until this season is over or they show that they are incapable of winning games, I will not give up on this season or the players and staff that comprise it. 

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As frustrating as this season as a whole...and particularly last night...has been, the conference as a whole has shown no consistency. Just about any team has a shot in Cleveland as it stands.

Not an excuse by any means for the stinkers the team has played at times this season but the season will be judged on what we do in Cleveland. If we somehow put together a run and win it again, all or most will be forgotten and forgiven...if not then most questions asked of this team will be valid.

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7 hours ago, UB92 said:

Part of it is how the game feels as you watch it.  Here are some in-conference stats compared to last year.

This year:   75.7 pts/g   (3rd in league)
Last year:   85.5 pts/g   (1st in league)

This year:  11th in the league in turnovers
Last year:  6th in the league in turnovers

This year:  11th in the league in 3P %
Last year:  4th in the league in 3P %

They don't score as much, they turn the ball over more and the don't shoot as well...as last year in conference.  

In other words, the Bulls play incredibly bad up tempo. Yes, I’m with you on that.

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4 hours ago, Tee4three said:

With them not hiring a replacement for jenkins right now and seemingly not recruiting , I assumed that the remaining scholarships would be through the transfer portal

It may be wishful thinking, but it would be great if they could land someone like Wes Clark.

 

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