Leaderboard

Possible but this is fun and I’m going to enjoy while it lasts. I cannot praise Hardnett enough, he is playing fantastic this year and showing true leadership. He’s not trying to do too much or be “the man”, just making good decisions.

The Bulls controlled this one from start to finish. Unlike the last one, they came out of the gates fast with a couple three's and other than a point in the second half where NIU pulled to within 10, that's as close as they were going to get. The passing was outstanding today! Except for a few that were overly ambitious. NIU tried a zone and UB moved it around fast enough and hit outside shots, it blew it apart. That one sequence near the end of the first half, it moved quick between 3 or 4 players and got Jack cutting underneath for a layup, that was one of the prettiest setups we've seen in a while. Rebounding - the Bulls destroyed them 50-28 on the boards. 19 offensive rebounds. The 3's were dropping today, that helped a lot. The only thing was the foul shooting was poor, for a team that was doing that well earlier in the season. 15 turnovers on some plays they got too fancy or were getting sloppy when they were up 15+. The activity and intensity was there on defense again. 2-0 start in MAC play - we'll see what they can do with the next challenge, which is to show they can win on the road. Curtis - I keep reminding myself he's just a sophomore. He's been that dead-eye outside shooter that this team has been missing for a couple years. But he's good at rebounding too - developing into an all-around player. Jack - I've noticed that he's getting minutes ahead of Jo Smith. His offensive movement is great, he's getting smarter under the basket on rebounds and is reacting quicker, which means he isn't fouling as much. Possibly his best game so far. Adams - shot better today than on Tuesday. He's very active at keeping the ball alive for rebounds. Foster - I thought he had a strong game, other than that he's in a funk at the line. He's tougher underneath the basket for rebounds than his stature would suggest. Zid - this was a good game to get him back in the swing of things. He's forceful - the kind of player who will take as many charges as he draws. And yet has a creative eye for passes. He scores in spurts. Hardnett - another solid game, building one on another. Almost another double-double. He has so much more confidence with the ball than he used to. Jo Smith - he's been a little fumbly with the ball, I think he's pushing to play tougher and more assertive. Blocker - he's playing a lot of minutes off the bench, which shows the depth this team has right now. Only hit one of his shots but he's like the rest, he has a lot of potential. NIU - for the fact that I thought they battled well underneath and got more put-backs than I liked...UB destroyed them on rebounds. They got behind and didn't have the ability to shut UB down and grind back into it. My brother noted that NIU tended to drive to the left side of the basket, then try to kick it back the other way. I wonder if that's something they saw on tape that UB was vulnerable to, and if that's something other teams will try. I have noticed that for some veteran-heavy teams, if there's a bad stretch the coach will let it ride and let the players figure it out. I feel like Whitesell has been doing the opposite this season - when he sees something wrong, or maybe 2 bad possessions, he's calling timeout or pulling that person off to correct them. This team is a lot better than they were 2 months ago. They really brought their game this week and there's just so much potential there, individually and collectively. I hope more of you get to the arena because they are fun to watch.

Good start. Been some excellent ball movement on quite a few possessions. Been watching the body language and everyone, especially Hardnett, seems to be enjoying themselves. i think the challenging OOC games are making a difference

Different skills sets, but Jack is superior as a freshman so far to what Skogman brought. He is a good fit with our outside guys to have a true big man has been a great thing.

Foster and Jack have a chemistry the last few games. He just seems to know where he is going to be. Great first half!

Excited to attend a second game this week and see us stack another MAC win. OT but I didn't want to start a new thread about it. I acquired this ticket in good condition from a 1972 Aud doubleheader - UB vs. Niagara and Canisius vs. Manhattan. A friend's bookstore has a stash of old pro and college tickets and programs (and an amazing selection of rare Buffalo books and ephemera - Fitz Books on Ellicott downtown, highly recommend stopping in.) Does anyone know anything about those games or teams? UB was 12-12 that season under Ed Muto. Student ticket, only $1.25!

A TCB kinda win. Good to see them string two games back to back and not let winning go to their heads. 2-0 to start conference play, we’d all sign up for that. Team is trending upwards. Now let’s see how they handle life on the road.

Madding was on the sideline to come in for about 2 minutes at the end of the half, but there was never a stoppage. We may see them the last last 3 minutes to mop this up

Good team basketball. The ball movement and extra pass has been great today. Still have the wildness and turnovers but it’s coming from a place of unselfishness. I think this team’s identity will be one where they don’t depend on any one player to carry them but the low key offensive leader is Curtis Jones.

I’m not comparing skill sets. I’m simple saying the growth and development equaling domination. Hardnett is what 21/22? His maturity both IQ and physically is what you hope and expect from a senior. My point is…this is what you would want from a 4 year player. Except in todays CBB players portal like Skogman. And we could hope to see Jack for 4 years, but probably not?

His growth is what you expect of a player who stays in college for 4 years. And stays in a system also. Good health doesn’t hurt either. Imagine if we see Jack stay for 3-4 years! Much like we hoped Skogman would stay.

Northern Illinois wants nothing to do with the amount of running UB is doing this afternoon. They looked gassed and it's only half time

Foster's looked great so far. His passing and finishing around the rim have been on point. Hope he keeps it up!

Passing looks great!

I love/hate that I'm starting to really like this team This team just needs more playing time together and confidence If they can cut down on the stretches where they get chaotic and sloppy. There is something here

NIU assistant handing out pills to the players on the court just before start of game