John

6 minutes ago, ed said:

What Couch is doing doesn't help that though - Duke replacing a good Texas Tech home game to play Sourthern on the road doesn't help the issue you're talking about, but he'd apparently rank them because of that.  A few of you seems to think Couch is trying to get the blue bloods to schedule better games, including with mid majors.  He's not.  He wants them to play any road game.  How's that help a solid mid major that nobody wants to play at their house? They'll still not play there. 

Saying that you need a true road game to evaluate a team is nonsense. If Gonzaga had no road games and 'only' beaten Duke on a neutral court, his argument is you can't evaluate them.   He wants to penalize teams that don't have the "courage" to play road games.  Not good road games against good teams.  Any road games.  And he doesn't even seem to care if they lose.  He ranked Michigan State 1 after they lost to Rutgers; say they had beat Duke at home instead? Unranked! Duke losing at BC only dropped them from 1 to 2.  

And of course the flip side of a mid major playing on the road is there's added notice and credit given for a road win against a tough team. Looking at that WVU win, how many of the stories made a huge deal about it being on the road? Like every one? And it theoretically explicitly counts more come tourney time.

Just keep winning, and top tier programs will come play you ((minus a couple blue bloods) see Gonzaga). Don't make what Couch is doing into something it's not.

These are all good discussions and different opinions give different perspectives on what should be scheduling of games by teams. There have been many articles about scheduling especially on the mid major level. I do not agree with your statement that if you keep winning the top tier programs will play you. But where are thy going to play you?? My opinion is that the power conferences want to totally dictate who they play and where. Many of them don’t want to risk their status and play a very competitive mid major. Again it is power, influence and the almighty$$$$. Please let’s call a spade a spade. In the meantime our family will continue to enjoy these exciting years and support our team and enjoy basketball for what it is. Go Bulls!!!!!

9 minutes ago, mikescherrer8 said:

No point in arguing with someone who has outdated opinions on the ranking system and doesn't like change and goes with whatever opinion AP ballot voters have.

Agree and I meant fun not drunk in my post!!!! On to the Toledo game and hope for a sellout. Go Bulls!!!!

16 minutes ago, TML1000 said:

I would like to see Adeyeye get a bit more time. Clearly she is raw and will make some mistakes but she could be a big part of the solution on the rebounding front. UB gave up too many 2nd and 3rd chances against Ohio who finally took advantage in the 3rd quarter. Morrison has been decent when on the floor but has gotten into foul trouble a fair amount. I would much rather see Adeyeye spell her in the post than Wilkins...Wilkins just isn't a paint presence and is particularly suspect defensively. When Morrison and Wilkins both fouled out and Coach was forced to go to her, I felt Adeyeye played admirably late in the 4th and in OT given she hadn't stepped on the floor the entire game. On multiple occasions, Hooks drove right around Wilkins as the last defender with ease...at least Adeyeye would likely challenge the shot.

Even with Dillard struggling from the field, UB was still in position to win the game but let many opportunities on the offensive end go begging. Onwuka seemed particularly nervous/rushed when she had the ball in her hands in the 2nd half in this game.

This team still has the talent to win the conference but has to play more to their strengths on a consistent basis.

Good analysis. Do agree Adeyeye should be getting more playing time. Wilkins should not be playing down low at all. She is not a physical presence, no quickness or a good rebounder.  Onwuka plays rushed and out of control especially the last few games. As I said before the coaching staff has their work cut out for them. Morrison has always been foul prone and a very inconsistent foul shooter. When you don’t have the type of players like we had last year the coaching strategy needs to change. You cannot have 20-30 turnovers and inconsistent shooting and be successful. Keeping the faith and Go Bulls!!!!

3 minutes ago, ed said:

Again, Couch isn't shining a light on or criticizing any of that. He'd be happy as a clam and rank them if they played a single can with a name in a p5 on theroad. He's just got a hard on about road games. Doesn't care who it is. That doesn't help scheduling at all.

Again you are entitled to your opinion but you cannot see the forest for the trees. It’s not a problem if you only favor the power conferences but our family will follow our UB and local teams and always tout our mid major teams. Go Bulls!!!!

1 hour ago, ubfan75 said:

Agree with all you say, especially about the officiating - it was as bad as I can remember - bordering on shameful. Felicia Young in particular is way out of her element, calling contact fouls where none exist game after game.

 

 

I thought there used to be or is someone from the conference,NCAA or whoever is in charge of officials at each game to critique the officials or am I wrong? Is there someone or some organization we as fans can write or email to?? I fully intent to talk to UB administration about my concerns. Go Bulls!!!!!

1 hour ago, UB92 said:

I disagree wholeheartedly.  He is trying to make a point and has done this for several weeks in a row.  Once they play on the road, he puts them back in and evaluates them.

Duke is the ONLY team of 353 schools that have not played a true road game.  We are about 1/2 through the season.  That's crazy.  Graham is shining a light on this issue.

Here is the deal...imagine if UB played Marquette the second game of the season and lost by the same score..and all of the other results were the same.  I believe that UB would not be ranked at this time.   But because they won early, they get that benefit of starting from a higher position and the inertia it creates.   Duke....because they haven't played a road game yet..has all of that inertia from playing only home/neutral games already.  It gives them an unfair advantage.  Graham is calling them out for it.   Nothing else is...Duke is #1 in the AP poll and #2 in the NET.

Agree with mikescherrer8 and UB92. Couch is just shinning a light on an isssue that many fans are thinking and talking about. The polls are dictated in many instances by brands not strictly by basketball. What drives many of the opinions especially by the major media types is power, influence and the almighty $$$$$. The majority of the media want to talk only about the major power conferences. Do you think anyone in power and influence is going to criticize Duke for their scheduling. At any rate it is exciting and drunk to have UB on the national stage and let’s all enjoy the ride. Go Bulls!!!!

1 hour ago, UB85 said:

Without Johnson, I can certainly see the “Ive done all I can do at UB and rather come back with a reviving corps not at the same level I’ll declare for the draft” thought process. Wish him well. But he hit a real rough patch in his last 3 or 4 games so I say let’s move on and see what the next man up can do. 

Hope Tyree has success and gets drafted. But he can turn out like so many quarterbacks with physical tools but not the other intangibles that make a good quarterback. That list is very long  when you cannot have touch on your passes, cannot go through your progressions and cannot stay in the pocket. The last 3/4 games were bad but I attribute that to the coaches and their game plans along with the players. We will see which incoming quarterback can continue our success. Go Bulls!!!!

4 hours ago, zigo230 said:

The team doesn’t seem as clutch as last seasons club.  I’m sure they will get better as the season progresses.  Plus Ohio is now in the mix as a MAC power to go along with CMU. If UB women can win the MAC this season they will have really earned it.

UB is just a totally different team from the last four years and we have no player in the backcourt to take some of the pressure off of Dillard. All of the this year’s recruits are not close to being ready to play and contribute. Wilkins, Jones, Hamilton are not impact players that will give you consistent games. Unless you can hit on some new players that can come in and play right away the team will struggle. This coaching staff has their work cut out for them. Go Bulls!!!

A tough first MAC game against an Ohio team that we should of blown out in the first half. One reason we did not is the suspect officiating. I have seen these officials before and do not understand how they still have jobs. We are going to have a tough time winning games when we commit 29 turnovers and when Dillard shoots 3-14 from the field and 3-11 from the 3 point line. One positive has been the improvement of Hanna Hall. You can see what the other teams blueprint will be - hound Dillard, double/triple team her, don’t let her breathe and UB will have a hard time winning games. Foul trouble will be a problem this year and I believe the officiating or lack thereof is going to be a concern this year and it does not appear we have the players to overcome that. Still keeping the faith and will continue to support the team’s effort. Go Bulls!!!!

An exciting game against a very very good Stanford team but a loss  nevertheless.  The positives: UB played a great game on the defensive side with relentless defense causing 19 turnovers and held their own on the rebounding side even though Stanford’s frontline was 6’3, 6’3 and 6’4. A nice crowd of 3400 that was into the game. The minuses: Shooting woes continue shooting 27% from the field, 20% from the 3 point line and 64% from the free throw line. With no other big scorer other than Dillard it will be tough to beat any team even in the MAC. Dillard needs to play the entire game and only shor 2-10 from the 3 point line and did seem to run out of gas in the last 5 minutes of the game. Other than than Hemphill and Morrison there are no other players on the front court. Wilkins a woeful 1-8 and 1-6 from 3 point line. Other than Alanna Smith with 30 points and the inside presence of Nadia Fingall the rest of the Stanford players were kept in check. But a loss is a loss and unless UB starts to hit more shots it is going to be a tough season. Keeping the faith Kane continue to support the team. Go Bulls!!!!

3 minutes ago, pottier25 said:

Any 20 point road win in conference is good to me.

100% agree. Any win especially on the road is a good win. As coach has said that your shooting can be off but your defense should always be there. Good defense pressure can lead to good offense. This team just seems to be able to sustain good defensive pressure and they have the mental makeup to keep at it. Go Bulls!!!!

16 minutes ago, pottier25 said:

I agree preseason predictions dont always mean much but they returned I think 3 starters and have 4 seniors and were 11-7 last year in conference so they should be pretty good. But even at home they were no match for UB.

Also agree and that’s why on paper EMU appeared like it could be a tough game. Predictions and forecasts are just that. Look what Harris did last year and how he has struggled with his shot all year and Reese of Canisius with the season he had last year was the pre season pick for MAAC player of the year. He has had so far just a terrible year shooting and still has not found his shooting touch. With UB’s maturity and this coaching staff we can overcome some off games by players so again let’s enjoy this ride and Go Bulls!!!!

16 minutes ago, pottier25 said:

So Eastern is supposed to be good in the MAC, and UB goes there, doesnt play great and wins by 20. Pretty impressive.

Many times the pre season predictions for teams don’t turn out the way the experts think. That’s why they have to play the games. Not really sure what your will get from teams after a long time between games. Another good team win with different players having good games. McRae has quietly been shooting the ball better and his rebounding has improved. He still has a tendency to get into foul trouble though. Harris had another tough shooting night but always seems to help in other aspects of his game. Agree not a great game overall but still shot 50% from the field and only lost the rebounding battle 42-39. Still concerning was the 3 point shooting and only 59% from the free throw line. Looking forward to a big, boisterous, enthusiastic and sellout crowd against Toledo on Tuesday.

1 minute ago, UB92 said:

I love this team, too! For 30 years!!!

The bandwagon is big enough for all comers.

I hope that ticket is cashed.

 

Right there with you UB92!! The bandwagon sure is getting bigger and bigger and welcome to all the new members. Let’s enjoy the ride and Go Bulls!!!!

4 hours ago, BrooklynBull said:

I really do not think that Spectrum would be able to televise a game without buying the rights from ESPN or CBS., and why would they pay for at least a CBS Sports Network Game when it is already on their system.  With the move to ESPN+ they are also unlikely to give a game away.

Also Spectrum would  take away a game from everyone who has Directv or Dish Network, reducing the amount of people who could watch the game from where it is streaming.

What I meant was games that were not on the other major networks and stations. I know Spectrum can not compete against those networks. Go Bulls!!!!!

12 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

Been saying it for awhile the heads of the conference need to raise the profile of the conference as a whole.  That means continuing the uphill battle of scheduling better in the non conference.  There is no reason why EMU should have 4 wins against non D1 schools.  The conference heads also have to try to get some agreement with another conference for an annual head to head.  Even if its only for 2 seasons (one home and home). And yes each individual school has to do better in terms of scheduling. If we can become a multi bid league that would be great.

Do 100% agree. With what is happening with especially the power conferences with increasing conference games all the mid major conference heads have to come together and schedule non conference games against other high mid majors and tell the power conferences to jam their non conference schedule. I know this is for another time to discuss better alternatives to scheduling but something has to be done. Go Bulls!!!!!

5 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

The MAC is taking center stage tonight.  There are really no other games on the slate and we are the only ranked team playing tonight.  Good scheduling by the conference.  Lets go boys!

Amazing what can happen when you have a winning successful team or teams and a conference that is on the upswing this year. Hope to get more interest from the CBSSN’s , NBCSN’s and ESPN. Now if only Spectrum would consider some future game but I know it comes down to $$$. Go Bulls!!!!!

10 minutes ago, Jeseph said:

Was this moved to 9 for CBSSN? Maybe it doesn't effect players much but I've always assumed a "typical" start time is preferred?

CBSSN has the Ball St at Toledo game on at 7PM and then the UB game. I will watch some of the Toledo game to take a look at both teams. Should be an exciting night of basketball. Go Bulls!!!!

12 hours ago, yussi1870 said:

A lot of fans were fine making the CBI or CIT year in and year out. Now that we’ve tasted the big leagues it would be tough to go back.

Yes it would be tough to go backwards. Let’s face it with the mid major level for a lot of teams they can be very good for a number of years. When they lose a number of their impact players and are not able to replace them with more impact players they can take a step back. Case in point is both Niagara and Canisius lost their impact player or players and have not been able to overcome that sometimes for a variety of reasons. As far as Reggie years at UB it is hard sometimes to separate emotions from reality and facts when making judgements on a coach or a team. We had some successful and exciting years but he could not get us to the next level. He was not a good game day coach who would not make adjustments during a game. We still talk about the Ohio MAC game in Cleveland when Ohio made a big time comeback and Reggie never called a timeout until it was too late. His offense has really not changed over the years and he still does to this day take a hot player out of a game and sometimes does not put him in for many many minutes. Again not a Reggie hater at all but it was just time for a change and here we are today. Again hope for success for all our local teams but especially for our Bulls. Go Bulls!!!!

14 hours ago, DooleyBull06 said:

Just goes to show you that if it wasn’t for an epic 3 point shooting performance (one that’s hard to duplicate) we would’ve had a chance. You just tip your cap but that game left me wanting another shot at them bc we all know Marquette can’t and won’t shoot 62% from 3 again. But onward we go. Play D and rebound and everything else should be alright.

That’s why they play the games and all the talk before a game really is just the hype for the game. Case in point CJ’s 43 against WVU. If he does not score that many points would we still have won or who else on the team would have come through for us. From a team standpoint you just have to keep winning games no matter who you are playing and let the rankings take care of themselves.

3 hours ago, DooleyBull06 said:

To your point they only have 2 wins against D1 schools. 2! We should win comfortably.  I’m not gonna put a number on how much we should win by as long as we look sharp. Anything can happen within the conference and on the road but this should be a tune up game.

Let’s make it a business trip and jump on them from the start and squash any hope they have.

I do agree that if we play our game we should win. Just need to keep their top scorers in check. They have no Marquette’s Howard!! Did anyone see what Howard did against St. John’s the other night. He scored 8 points and something like 2-14 or so. I seen some of the game and he was shooting bricks so you reall;y never know from one game to the next what a player does. On to the conference wars and Go Bulls!!!!

2 hours ago, MKBullsfan said:

I think the main difference between Cuse’s zone and EMU’s zone is the length plus overall athleticism of the Syracuse players. We should match up well or if not better with EMU height wise. Hope we can use this game to improve the offense against zones going forward. Go Bulls.

EMU has decent size up front - 2 players 6’11 and  6’10 and 2 players that are 6’9 and 6’7. They have 7/8 players that average double digit minutes. They are averaging 44% from the field, 26% from the 3 point line and 63% from the free throw line. They are giving up 70 points per game and averaging 70 points per game.  We beat them last year playing good defense and rebounding the ball with 48 rebounds. That should be the key again and being able to hit a decent amount of our 3’s. Go Bulls!!!!!

50 minutes ago, UB92 said:

Kent's OOC has been strong as well -- maybe stronger.  They lost to Louisville and, at home, to Liberty (NET 48).  They also have a few good wins (notably Vandy on the road).

While I think it is a long shot that the MAC gets two, the odds increase the more people talk about the MAC getting two!  

 

A number of MAC teams had decent OOC wins and records and on the other side the MAAC only had one team(Niagara) that had a winning OOC record. Just from one year to another it is amazing how conferences change their perception on how they are viewed. It could be a very interesting MAC season. Go Bulls!!!!

22 minutes ago, dutchcountry7 said:

Yes, there are fans.  In the same numbers as the local high schools which doesn’t move the needle. 

I am not saying people who go to all of the four colleges to see games don’t exist. I am saying they exist in insignificant numbers. 

They aren’t even the majority of the fans for any one fan base. 

What numbers are you talking about. Again you are so far off base comparing high school attendance to college. Our family has been to high school games and how many have you attended? Again this is mid major conferences and we are not talking about the major conferences and schools that are on the ESPN’s and other networks. Again the culture shift has changed drastically and it takes winning on a consistent basis to move the needle and get more fans interested. Go Bulls!!!!

13 hours ago, UB85 said:

Hell I’d be bothered too if I had to coach that team. Without Crumpton Reese and Molson have regressed to throwing up a high number of bricks. They both looked terrible last night. There were some Canisius fans yelling at Reggie during the game. And to be certain we certainly know that Reggie definitely wants to beat UB in every way because he was fired. It’s just human nature for a competitive person like Reg. And while he always preached Big 4 basketball and getting WNY  out to support each team he cannot be happy that UB has had the success they’ve had since he was fired because it abolishes the lame excuse and crutch so many  threw out there, that you couldn’t recruit to UB or consistently excel. Thanks to Oats, we see what can happen when you have the right people in place. The challenge now is to keep Nate around and grow the program further. Go Bulls!

Do agree. I have not seen too many losing coaches speak on an upbeat tone but Reggie seemed really downcast and it was even worse with losing to UB. You think he had trouble recruiting at UB it does have to be harder at Canisius. Go Bulls!!!!