Big 4 Hoops Blogger

Starting posts like this is why this message board has become polarizing. It’s okay to state differing opinions but starting a response like that isn’t the way to do so.

Totally agree with you regarding Toledo. Time will tell if they made the proper adjustments to win in Cleveland or if they’ll continue the Rockets disappointing March play. I completely agree with your final paragraph. As much as it sucks battling Kent/Akron in Cleveland, I’d much rather avoid UB if I were the top seed. There’s a reason why runs like what UB pulled off, winning four MAC Tournaments in five years never happens. It’s tough to win this conference tournament.

This is a very legitimate post. I agree with Brooklyn Bull that there’s no point being worried about their seeding. It is what it is and you just have to play the schedule in front of you. Buffalo would likely play a similar combination of teams regardless of where they’re seeded. BUT… It’s asking a lot of this team to win three games in three days against three of the top 5 teams in the conference. Buffalo has the talent and ability to pull it off but they haven’t shown the consistency to play a solid 40 minutes of basketball in three consecutive nights. It’s going to be a tall task asking a lot of our starters to carry UB to a MAC Championship in Cleveland. They’re going to have to elevate themselves to a level we’ve rarely seen this year outside of a few stretches.

We can keep saying that and we might be right but there’s no rational reasoning behind that logic other than pointing to past results which aren’t relevant to this year. I hope you’re correct but I think this Rockets squad is a notch above everyone in the MAC.

One other thing to add to the conversation, if you asked Nate Oats, Bryan Hodgson, Jeenathan Williams and Rondo Segu about where this current UB squad is at, what do you think they’d say? I spoke to everyone of them except for Oats before the year. Williams and Segu mentioned winning a regular season title with Williams adding the words “Sweet 16.” The people that are critical right now are upset because the team put those type of expectations out there. Now, things don’t always play out the way you want and you have to re-adjust your goals during the course of a season. To the positive posters out there, there’s still a lot to play for. You guys are all correct. But this year is what it is, pretty meh with some hope of a run in Cleveland. Just gotta hope for the best!

While it wasn’t realistic to expect them to remain at the level they were during Oats’ final two seasons, I think many were hoping for more than what they’ve shown during the past three years. There have been numerous programs over the past two decades that have elevated themselves after special seasons and tournament runs. Jim Whitesell has done well based on previous UB standards but many saw potential for growth in the program and that’s why they’re critical. I honestly understand both perspectives and think the positive and negative posters are equally biased and flawed in their approaches.

Good job for UB to battle adversity and come away with a win. They were clearly the more talented team today but had some rough stretches overall. Jeenathan came up big with Rondo, Skogman and Mballa stepping up when needed in the 2nd half. With the way the standings are shaping up, unless UB can get themselves the 3-seed, they can expect a difficult game like this in the quarterfinals in Cleveland against most likely, Kent State or Akron. This is what MAC Tournament games are like. They passed the test today but will have many more to come.

Attendance was 3,014. Decent for this season but nothing like past years. Normal crowd showed for tip-off. Students trickled in later.

Pretty even first half. I think UB is the much better team but they haven’t really shown it through 20 minutes.

Early look appears to be a pretty average crowd for this season. Not many students here.

I tweeted this the other day and believe there’s some relevancy to this: Toledo is the top team in the MAC. All of the metrics support this. They’re 3-0 against Ohio and UB. The Bobcats are the most consistent team though. They rarely elevate or play down to their competition. They’re consistent and a top 80-110 team. Buffalo is the wildcard. They have the ability to be the best team in the MAC but they’re also capable of losing to teams like Miami. I believe it’ll be one of these three teams that wins it all in Cleveland.

As far as last night, a lot of encouraging signs. Most complete game of the season. Gotta hope the Bulls keep beating up on their weak schedule moving forward. We’ve been saying they have the ability for the past few years. They made a run last year and can do so again now. Just can’t afford letdowns in big contests. Right now, UB is 0-3 against the top 3 teams in the MAC. Can’t wait to see what they do hosting Toledo. If they can take down the Rockets, things are going to appear much better heading into Cleveland.

That’s what is going to make the MAC Tournament so difficult and why seeding matters. Defeating Ohio and Toledo on back-to back nights wouldn’t be an easy task for any mid-major. Buffalo has the talent to do so but they’ll need to bring their A-game to Cleveland.

That’s for high school only. You can click on overall class which includes incoming transfers. https://247sports.com/Season/2022-Football/OverallTeamRankings/?Conference=MAC

This is what we were all hoping for when Coach Mo was hired. We knew he might be a little raw in the beginning but expected him to make up for it with his ability on the recruiting trail. This is how you build a program. You bring in talented ballers. UB has a huge increase in natural ability on the gridiron. Now, they have to put it together during the offseason.

According to KenPom, UB will be favored in every game down the stretch except for Toledo so it’s likely they’ll be hot heading into Cleveland. The question will be whether that’s due to a weak schedule or a team figuring things out. The MAC is having a down year as the 19th ranked conference so it really doesn’t matter what you do against the bottom teams. What we do know is that UB is 0-3 against the top three schools in the league. That’s who they’ll need to defeat to make a run in the MAC Tournament.

I can admit when I’m wrong and I was clearly off when it came to my assessment of North Texas. I thought they were a decent but not great team. In hindsight, that win has been the high point of the Bulls season to this point.

Both teams are close in the metrics despite their records and the game is at Buffalo. Makes sense that UB would be favored but it could go either way.

Defeating Ohio is a must for UB to have a chance at the 2-seed. It might be needed to have a chance at the 3-seed with Buffalo already losing to Akron. I’m not sold on the Zips but 4-4 with losses to Ohio and Akron in their only games against them would put UB in a tough spot in the standings. That said, I think Friday will be a good game that could go either way. I give Buffalo a slight edge over the Bobcats.

My thoughts:

Another big time transfer is coming to Buffalo! Arizona wideout Boobie Curry had 21 receptions for 233 yards and three touchdowns last year. He’s a former 4 star recruit and was ranked in top 200 nationally. His list of offers was staggering.

Rumor on the street is that Dwight Wilson III is out for the year but will get an injury exemption and return next year. There’s also rumblings that BVP could possibly comeback using his COVID year. Sounds like Carter was dealing with extreme cramps and should be fine. It was an issue he dealt with earlier in the season. Toledo was lights out shooting last night. Hard to carry that over into Cleveland but they’re the best team for now. I really think it’s a coin flip between UB/Ohio/Toledo.