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Khalil Mack will be inducted into the UB hall of fame in 2024

Tipoff is actually at 4:20pm

The Lamonte Bearden Memorial Game.

That's all I want for Christmas.

Based on how they've been competing in some recent games, I really hoped they'd take a step forward today. The basic problem is: they lack size, so they need to be able to shoot from outside. But they're terrible at shooting from outside. So they get burned defensively, dig a deep hole, then keep trying and claw back a little second half by playing scrappy. They took 32 shots in the first half, 16 of them from three - and made one of those. Thus you're down 20. They're trying, they play hard to the end...they're just not very good. They can't match up well under the net. Some of them might be good someday. That's about the nicest way I can sum this up right now. Chatman - had a lot of points and yet I keep thinking he's not playing as well as he can. Fulcher - is it just me, or does it seem like they're a lot better defensively when he's not on the court? I suppose I have to watch him more out there. Sabol - he's trying. I think he's going to be good someday (hopefully here). But he's learning a lot of things the hard way right now. Boldin - probably his best game so far? Plays hard, goes to the hoop hard, willing to play with confidence. Like Sabol, a guy who I think might be good someday. McVeigh - I really liked most of his game today. He couldn't hit a shot, but he battled hard for rebounds. That combination of things reminded me of Dave Barnett today. I don't expect him to be a lights-out shooter yet but I wish a couple of them went. But he was willing to take them and play hard. Smith - man, take it to the net! I fear that he's as good as he's going to be, and this is it. WKU - I don't know, nothing stuck out. They did the same things/took advantage of the same things that most teams have so far against UB. Crowd - shout out to the band, cheerleaders, and a couple True Blue people who were there and are trying. Some guy in an Aaron Judge jersey and his meathead friends sat a section over from us, somehow he was a Hilltoppers fan today and started the game off by flipping off everyone between him and the UB bench. From there, tried to taunt everyone after WKU baskets...until he eventually realized that it was all old alums, parents with kids, or just generally UB fans watching a bad team who weren't going to waste time getting into it with some guy who is talking trash on behalf of a team he just bet money online on this afternoon. Dude if I didn't get in an argument with any low-class Bona fans last week, I'm not wasting a second on you. Please please please beat Niagara.

Truth be told, this board is rough, but what do you expect??? In a span of a few years the team has gone from our best years to our worst. I'm incredibly frustrated by it.

I love the Dave Barnett comparison. Someone who gives you their absolute best, but not great at anything.....but will absolutely grind.

This isn't the summer. I think we all had our expectations of what the first 10 games would look like. I would wager not a single person (even the most pessimistic) would have identified that one win was in the range of reasonable expectations. And it isn't like we are losing games in O/T. We are/were NET 360 for a reason. Also, "wait and see" and "too optimistic" isn't the comparison to make. We all have to "wait and see" since nothing is going to happen. I think what has to happen is we have to recalibrate what is reasonable/reality for the near future. Which I why I think even five wins, at this point, would surprise me (but in a good way). I have watched a lot of UB basketball these nearly 35 years. I would be hard pressed to think of a less competitive team, game in and game out. I mean, maybe some of those Cohane teams, but at least those young players would typically stay for a few years and develop a bit. Now...anyone who develops and is reasonable...leaves through the portal. So it makes it even harder. You have to be able to build a team through the portal now and have them gel quickly...and function like a team. As has been stated by a few on this board, the team gives vibes (at times) of looking like an intramural team that just shows up and plays together, not a team that has practices, develop plays, etc. and executes in game. Combine that with the poor shooting and you get 1 - 9. I wholeheartedly disagree that this forum is "toxic", by the way. Just long standing fans, supporters, boosters, alumni, etc., communicating their thoughts and opinions about the game, team, etc. What would be much, much worse is that if the game thread wasn't started or that no one bothered to talk about it.

During the summer, ‘wait and see’ was too pessimistic. Now, ‘wait and see’ is too optimistic. This forum is toxic.

It looks as though this might be a long year. Nothing that a few tweaks can’t correct: A 6’9” power forward who can rebound, shoot the rock, and defend. A 6’ 4” guard who can create his own shot and take it to the rim. A 6’ 11” 260 lb center with great court awareness, a deft touch from inside 10 feet, and a shot blocker, who intimidates down low. That’s not much to ask.

A random thought justifies labeling a person?

A UB classic the past few years: a sports center top 10 dunk at home down double digits

I think we need a better product on the field before we talk about tracks and scoreboards. Let’s actually win something.

My expectations are significantly more modest.....just don't get embarrassed.

Might be too high.

Yeah the defensive improvement in the last 3 games has been huge I think once Adams gets back the offensive numbers will improve as well Overall I'm optimistic with what I've seen game over game hopefully that trend continues

Would like the track to not be there for long

… will a banner cover the zenith?

Curious, is this something barttorvik.com publishes or you determined somehow. Thank you in advance for the info. The team has played better especially against JMU and Butler. Hopefully they continue that trend. It would be a significant step in the right direction, if they were able to pick up a win tomorrow. I will be cheering them on.

This got weird

Get bent.

Good contrast of Toledo and Ohio. I know I am going to sound like a broken record, but I attribute this to defense. Since 2012, if you compare, year in and year out Toledo has been a better offensive team, but Ohio is generally a better defensive team. I feel like less likely in a pressure situation that you are going to let up on defense, but possible to have a bad offensive day despite playing hard. Here is some additional information:

I initially thought that article was written by AI, but all the AI detection sites said it was human written. I don't know any human that would think Cole Snyder would start at Florida State so I'm going with really good AI.

I appreciate your perspective. With respect to your statement '...with the right coach and proper investment, they could’ve remained in the 60-90 range...'. This is certainly a lot easier said than done. While overall, I agree that it was time to move on from Whitesell, the choice initially had some merit, keep team together, an experienced coach (albeit an average past record). The team was even ranked in your desired range in his second year (77), but they were stopped short by a hot Ohio team led by Preston. My point is not to reopen discussion about the choice, as it proved not to work out, but to emphasize it is not a simple task to pick the right coach. There was certainly some carryover from the success of Oats into Whitesell years, but in the end Whitesell was not able to capitalize. To me the sweet spot of a MAC coach is one who keeps the team successful but stays put, Groce (Kenpom ranks between 80-110)? It will be interesting to see if Groce stay put. I would have said Kowalczyk but he has not delivered a MAC championship but has delivered rankings in 60-90 range. I struggle to see a scenario where you have a carousel of coaches and you remain consistently competitive. As for rankings, this team has had two very bad games which justify the net rank of 360, and two decent losses (JMU and Butler) that suggest a better ranking. Overall, I do think their true ranking is slightly higher, ~330. I think if the team brings effort on defense they will be competitive in more games and their rank will improve. As you say, it is in Halcovage's and the team's hands how much the rank changes from here. I wish them success in that effort.

I'd rather suck at basketball than have a degree from St Bonaventure.

Chatman: He has a ton of potential but doesn’t work hard enough. He has his moments but I also see him holding back for some reason. And he needs to stop playing with his damn mouth guard. Sabol: this kid works hard all game. Ton of motivation. I think he has the skills but is young and I get the sense he’ll work hard round the clock to get there