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People point out positives and negatives throughout the ebbs and flows of games (and seasons). It's a forum, people are going to disagree... and that's fine. There's no reason for it to always turn into a "who is the right kind of fan" discussion here...

After being at the game and coming home to read what was written, you'd think we lost by 20. Some of you have such little faith in the players, coaches and team as a whole. Some of you critique the hell out of the coaching decisions and condemn the players relentlessly so frequently. From being at the game, I saw a lot of effort from every player at all times. Were there defensive breakdowns over 40 minutes? Absolutely. Were there bad shots taken? Yes, but fewer than some of the earlier games this season. Did UB take care of the ball? Most definitely. Did UB turn the other team over often, transitioning into instant offense? Yep. Did the officials over-officiate, causing chaos to the normal rotation in the first half? Yes, it was foul city out there, and inconsistently done. You'd have no idea this team has won 4 straight league games, with the last two in double figures and now face a Kent State team that has lost 3 straight, including a loss to NIU at home, one of which UB was flamed for big time on this board. It's hard to win games in this league. I know that some people have come to expect to win every night after last year's performance, but come on, winning isn't easy and these teams are relatively close in talent, at least to the point where any team can win on a given night, even if some teams are invariably more likely to win versus others. Overall, this team's energy has been much more positive, both on the floor and on the bench. The hanging heads are not shown outwardly. The support for each other appears better. The ball movement and extra pass that we've come to know and love was seen this evening, and I can't say that I've seen it much prior to tonight this season. The defense to offense that we've been able to enjoy in the past few years was also seen tonight. Hopefully this team has turned a corner and can continue to build upon these last 4 wins. All I know is that this team does have talent and is absolutely capable of winning the MAC. Are they a lock to do so? Nope, but they definitely have the roster to do it, and at a much better rate than the other MAC teams.

We are seeing Hardnett starting to get comfortable. 12 minutes, 8 points and 6 rebounds. Talk about production and making the most out of what’s given to him. He’s being more physical bringing in the rebound too. And to think he’s only a freshman still. I was a fan of the Hardnett/Mballa combo and that’s something we may see a lot of in the future.

This is the Johnson that I was so positive about based off of the summer practices. Just like last year, when a player is having a down game (Williams) someone else steps up in a big way (Johnson)

It's eerie how K and Country are the only two posters to begin sentences with "I mean". It's funny that one started just after the other left.

Hardnett has been a low key solid role player this year.

Six turnovers for the whole game! Nicely done! Also 75% FT shooting. Both are big improvement over earlier in year. Still need together the D, although 19 turnovers is a positive. Also Hardnett had a nice night 8 points on 4-4 shooting and 6 rebounds. The Bulls need to be ready, Kent St should be motivated.

Nice win, not great defense in first half but came out strong in second and finished the deal. Finally we are seeing the potential we we’re hoping for at beginning of season w Johnson, he’s playing solid all around and not forcing. Really difficult stretch coming up, Kent state been struggling lately and I think that’s the one we need to take advantage of at home. Win that and we will be in good shape going into Akron.

Remember when everyone was saying he isn't even a D1 quality player?

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.

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

Stick around and keep having fun.

While I generally prefer to post positives and when I do post feedback for improvement, I avoid singling anyone out and talk more in terms of what the team needs to do. However, I agree 100% with you. If I don't like a post, I simply move on and think... hmmm, I would not have said that. My only suggestion, for what it is worth, is to think about if that person were you or a friend / family member, would you want your comment to be said about you.

Hardnett has been extremely efficient in his minutes. He plays so much better at the 4 lets hope he stays there. Jeenathan had an off game scoring but still got 4 assists so was productive. Johnson seemed much more confident and was taking better shots. Maybe it took him a little while to get in his groove but better late than never! This game looked like a step back for Brock. While he was never expected to be a big minute player, the past few games he contributed a solid couple of mins with some points and rebounds. Here, he struggled to get position and use his size to his advantage at all. Lets hope he can play some meaningful minutes next game. Overall there were some lapses on defense for layups, and they shot lights out from 3 in the first half. Free throw shooting was much improved (shoutout to Johnson as he was 7/7). Way too many fouls called on both sides which hurt game flow. This was a must win conference game at home against a week opponent and while it wasn't the overall great performance they had against Central Michigan, they came away with a double digit point win. Go Bulls

I think Whitesell has done a good job recently of making halftime adjustments which is nice to see.

I guess I just don’t understand why people run here to spew negativity at the first sign of anything not going perfectly. The most we were down by yesterday was like 5 points, and it was from atrocious reffing and western being on fire shooting. You’d think we were getting blown out based on your incessant complaining. Then as soon as we take over in the second half it’s sunshine and rainbows. Maybe you use this as an outlet to vent your frustrations, and maybe I shouldn’t let it bother me. But as someone who comes here for objective discussions about the team and players, the plot gets old and annoying real quick. Bulls losing: everything terrible! Everyone suck! Bulls winning: everything great! Go team!

Win # 400!

Some nights I don't care what the records are, it's a conference game and it's going to be tough. I thought the Bulls competed really well again tonight, we've seen them lose focus for stretches of games (and down the stretch) and that didn't seem to happen tonight. Western shot really well in the first half but the Bulls played well enough to be tied at the half, and UB kept getting better as the second half wore on. I'm impressed by the workrate overall (which shows up in the rebounding numbers), they're not as slick and skilled as the past two years but they're competitive. A much more complete game tonight than in most others this season. Assist to turnover rate was awesome tonight. Even when the 3's weren't dropping, they were finding the wide open man. If anything to work on, it's the inside motion to the hoop, they got burned a few times tonight on that. But I expect guys like Mballa will get experience and won't get burned someday. Mballa - battled so well underneath, and he runs the floor with and without the ball well for a big guy Jordan - a truncated first half due to two quick fouls, but Segu picked up the slack Graves - a quiet first half, followed by a really strong second half at both ends Antwain - credit when credit is due, he's picked up his defensive intensity and he's picking his shots better on offense. Showing what he can do, hitting his free throws, growing in confidence Grant - by all that we saw, should've earned a charge in the first half, but these guys weren't going to call anything on Brandon Johnson Brock - still doesn't use his size well underneath. Has to move quicker, has to get position and box out if he's going to be effective Segu - not a ton of points but a lot of solid minutes running the show Williams - I wonder if Western made a point to focus on him defensively tonight Hardnett - as others said, some solid minutes and made some nice put-backs underneath Western - Hawkins is still there. They looked a lot tougher tonight than their record said. Johnson is good anywhere on offense, but he doesn't get dirty on defense, even towards the end when he had fouls to use. Flowers often just chucks up shots to try to get to the foul line. They use a lot of screens to try to open up shots and bang around defenders. Crowd - a light crowd on a cold January weeknight. A few students are trickling back and made some noise down there. Hopefully more of them on Friday. Say what you want about the execution at times, this team is trying, and they're an interesting group to watch.

I like your enthusiasm. It certainly seems like the team is starting to come together. Let's take it one game at a time. Need to take it up a notch against Kent State.

If we had hit a couple more of our open 3s we could’ve won by 20. Very encouraging game, Im not sure any of us could’ve hoped for more after starting 0-2 in conference

Have you ever had a positive post?

God the officiating is horrible, western player was out of bounds on last possession and then passed it to guy who got blocked clearly. Have to beat western and the zebras.

Okay the streak continues with Johnson, he is finding his groove finally. What a first half.