Big 4 Hoops Blogger

Buffalo comes in at 6th in preseason Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. A very respectable spot for the Bulls. Toledo (17th) and Ohio (24th) were the only other MAC teams ranked.

At this point, that’s probably the way I’d go as well. I was intrigued by realigning the divisions as referenced earlier but this suggestion makes more sense if WKU and MTSU are fine with the travel, which it appears they will be according to their fanbase.

Appreciate that info. Never knew that but it makes a ton of sense. So it essentially seems like they’re running this event out of obligation and not to reward Buffalo basketball fans. That’s disappointing because I do think this is something that could draw a good crowd if they put it together right but it appears our local schools don’t have any interest or the budgets to do so.

The MAC would almost certainly realign their divisions. Instead of East/West, I think they would switch to North/South. This is how I would do it: North: Buffalo, Akron, Kent State, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois South: Ohio, Miami, Western Kentucky, MTSU, Bowling Green, Toledo, Ball State You could obviously swap Akron/Kent with Toledo/Bowling Green. Thought about having Ball State in North but I think it’s only fair to have BGSU and Toledo in same division if you’re going to switch things up.

Reports continue to trickle out. Seems this will be finalized soon.

Not to be a debbie downer but what a pathetic slate of games. How is that supposed to grow these programs and sell tickets to casual Buffalo sports fans? I understand that St. Bonaventure was probably reluctant but they are a MUST for these type of events. Have them schedule a bigger name opponent or play Niagara/Canisius. They are a Top 25 team this year with a diehard fanbase. You want 10,000 fans, have them and Buffalo play relevant games. Worst case scenario, you can't and Buffalo plays Canisius like they will this year. That way you can actually sell tickets and build interest. Literally no one cares about Canisius or Niagara right now and Daemen is even lower on the radar though I'm happy for their program to be a part of this. Downtown games should be a big event. Not just something you do for the sake of doing it. There won't be more than 3,500 people there.

Things seem to be progressing quickly. I think there's a high chance this gets done.

Please merge if needed. Pete Thamel reports the MAC is indeed looking at Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State as possible expansion candidates. WKU would instantly upgrade basketball for the conference. They have one of the best resumes of any non-power conference program based on their history. Football wise, they’d be competitive right away. MTSU would bring a solid market and expand the MAC southward. Not a ton of history but a decent decade run under Kermit Davis in men’s hoops.

Buffalo with another matchup against a struggling MAC East team when they faceoff with Bowling Green. Falcons shocked the nation at the beginning of the season with their upset win over Minnesota. That was a GREAT victory but BGSU has fallen off since. Their defense was a force in non-conference play but is currently allowing 37 ppg in MAC contests. Bowling Green offense is pass heavy, throwing for 237 yards per game but they only average 81 rushing yards on 2.9 yards per carry. This is a team that lost to Akron. Buffalo should win comfortably. My prediction: UB 38-24

Right now, it still is because Miami and Kent State are both 2-1. If the RedHawks defeat the Flashes later in the season and Kent loses an additional game, Miami could take the lead in the division. In that scenario, Bulls could win the East by running the table. It’s not likely but we can readdress in a few weeks if UB defeats Akron and Bowling agree.

Another must-win for Buffalo this week to keep their MAC East hopes alive. Bulls taking on an Akron team that struggles on both sides of the ball but especially on defense. Zips are 125th out of 130 teams in scoring defense, allowing 38 points per game. Their stats are a little distorted since they played Auburn and Ohio State but make no mistake, Akron is a bad team. They’ve been okay in MAC play, defeating Bowling Green but they also lost by 17 to Ohio. I have Buffalo winning 31-21.

Interesting read from Brett McMurphy: https://www.actionnetwork.com/ncaaf/college-football-conference-realignment-scenarios-sun-belt-conference-usa?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=BrettMcMurphy

I think the Sun Belt could end up being the big winner from this next wave of conference expansion. The American went from being as close to P5 without the title to becoming the new Conference USA. CUSA is the biggest loser and the Mountain West and MAC are pretty much status quo. This is how I would rank the G5 conferences post expansion based on how it looks like it’ll play out: 1. Mountain West 2. Sun Belt 3. American Athletic Conference 4. MAC 5. Conference USA (If it still exists)

I think the most likely scenario is Marshall and Southern Miss jumping to the Sun Belt. Conference USA is on life support. They’re trying to court Liberty and James Madison. Sun Belt also wants JMU. If CUSA misses out on Liberty and JMU, they’d need to look at FCS programs to stay alive or merge with another conference. That potentially leaves Middle Tennessee State, Western Kentucky, Old Dominion, UTEP, FIU and Louisiana Tech looking for a conference. WKU and MTSU make the most sense for the MAC geographically and have decent basketball programs. I had tweeted about wanting the MAC to pursue Temple and Marshall. I still believe they should check in with both schools but don’t think either is a strong possibility at this moment from what I’m gathering online.

I think that’s highly probable. Ohio has one of the worst defenses in the country allowing over 240 yards per game on the ground. McDuffie, Cook and Marks should all go off on Saturday.

A look at the Ohio Bobcats:

Kevin Massare and I preview the upcoming Ohio game here:

I’m confident Buffalo will win but I think it’ll be closer than expected. This game is always hell for me. I grew up a UB fan but attended Ohio University. The Bobcats looked awful during non-conference play but have started to put a few things together the past few weeks. If I had to guess, this will be a 27-24 type game.

Kent State game preview:

No threads yet so I figured I’d get it started. I think this game is a toss-up. Dustin Crum is great but the Golden Flashes are a largely unproven team. They’ve had a brutal non-conference schedule (Texas A&M, Iowa, Maryland) and opened up MAC play with a close win over Bowling Green. I’m going to go out on the ledge and pick a close UB victory tomorrow night.

Buffalo just announced their game against Kent State on 10/9 has been moved to 7pm on ESPNU. Huge news for a game with massive MAC East implications.

According to Tim Graham of The Athletic, the Buffalo Bills are open to sharing their proposed stadium with UB but the Buffalo athletic department isn’t interested unless the stadium is built in Amherst which seems unlikely. UB Stadium right now is subpar and less than ideal for the university. The issue is that the Bulls don’t draw enough to warrant going across town to play in Orchard Park and the Bills don’t have enough incentive to build in Amherst. Unless something crazy happens, I think UB will remain at UB Stadium for a long time. That said, Mark Alnutt addresses potentially exciting news for the stadium. He says that there are plans in place to build a separate track and field facility. As a result, UB can remove the track at UB Stadium and potentially lower their field down the line. Alnutt also said the university is looking to upgrade their current scoreboard. https://theathletic.com/2847449/2021/09/24/pegulas-invite-university-at-buffalo-to-play-in-bills-new-stadium-but-bulls-prefer-to-stay-on-campus/?source=user_shared_article