Big 4 Hoops Blogger

That’s strange. I can tell you for a fact that they did not have that number originally listed when they first posted the box score. They had a bit more than 13,000 for the Wagner game originally. I’m not sure why they would change it though. Maybe they originally had people actually in attendance and then updated it to the total tickets sold. Either way, we all know there wasn’t 17k for the opener. There were more people at the Coastal Carolina game with a lower attendance listed.

Attendance was announced at 16,739 so about 3,700 more than the home opener vs. Wagner.

Game preview with picks from the Bullet Points crew.

Interviews with Isaiah King and Quian Williams:

The Bullet Points team had the opportunity to live stream an extended podcast with UB head coach Maurice Linguist on Wednesday evening. We discussed everything from community support and his current squad to what he likes the most about Buffalo. Enjoy!

That’s the most important question. There’s no doubt UB has the potential to be a great athletic department but the funding part from the state has always been their greatest hurdle. It’s crazy to think that UCF and UB both began their D1 transitions around the same time and both played in the MAC simultaneously in the early 2000’s. Obviously they went on much different paths afterwards.

You can’t move into the big world of college athletics without taking risks. Sure, the American could eventually blow up but UB’s profile would dramatically improve in the eyes of many with the step up in competition. The increased tv money would help with travel expenses. It would almost become a necessity to upgrade facilities up to the standard of the AAC. From a basketball perspective, the AAC is loaded. Games like Memphis, Temple, Wichita State would be tremendous attendance draws. Even Memphis, SMU, Navy and Tulane from a football perspective would be fun to play and UAB sounds like a lock for expansion with their new stadium. It’s risky but you can’t move up to the big time unless you make baby steps first. UB isn’t jumping to a P5 conference anytime soon so better to make a small leap, improve the program and see if any of the big boys want Buffalo included down the line.

Sure, Marshall leaving for CUSA turned out to be a disappointment compared to what they were expecting but they’ve still had plenty of success in football and basketball since with many in their fanbase looking down on the MAC. I’m sure they would make the move again knowing what we know now.

Here’s a look at our Bullet Points preview for Nebraska including official predictions from the crew!

Will also have a game preview later in the week with predictions from the Bullet Points staff.

Let’s hope that’s the case. Like you said earlier, the Coastal Carolina game will be more telling. I can tell you though that there are some concerns within the program that even with Coastal being a ranked opponent, their lack of name recognition may be difficult draw.

Covid isn’t an excuse for the Buffalo community when they already sold out the entire Bills season and reached their season ticket cap of 60,000 for only the second time ever. I obviously understand that it makes an impact but to have a crowd of 13k is a disappointment no matter how you look at it. the mask mandates made a huge impact even though the majority of people inside the stadium weren’t wearing them. I say this as a fully vaccinated person who has followed all of the mandated rules without complaint.

For comparison sake, Buffalo had 18,142 in 2019 for a Thursday night home opener against Robert Morris. There’s no justifying the poor turnout from the Buffalo community last night.

Student turnout was unbelievable! Overall crowd though was disappointing. 13k for a home opener following Top 25 season with a new coach and fans allowed for the first time in two years is not acceptable whether it’s against a no name opponent or not. My belief is that the mask mandates and $30 tickets scared many families away on a Thursday night. It’ll be better against Coastal Carolina but that crowd should’ve been 17-18k based on normal circumstances.

Here's the link: UB Bulls 2021 Season Preview I wanted to share this video here. As many of you know, I used to be a sports anchor and news reporter for five years. I left the broadcast industry in 2018 but have been contributing to Bullet Points and Trainwreck Sports. The UB Athletic Department has been very accommodating to us throughout the past few years and we decided to put together a season preview video for the football team this fall. Please check it out. We have interviews with Coach Maurice Linguist, Kyle Vantrease, Kevin Marks, Jake Fuzak, Kadofi Wright, James Patterson and Taylor Riggins. In addition to the few stories we have, I also look into their marquee games, provide my three keys for their season and our Bullet Points team posts their season predictions. Only thing I was bummed about was our microphone struggling in the wind but I think you'll enjoy the video regardless. Just one of the things we have to deal with cheaper equipment.

Same here! I always root for the MAC to be strong because I think it benefits UB in terms of seeding and building a resume.

Great information, unfortunately 247 is missing a few things. Ohio signed a 247 3-star, Top-250 player earlier this year, AJ Clayton. He reclassified from 2022 to 21' and was getting looks from all of the big Ohio schools despite being from the middle of nowhere. https://247sports.com/player/aj-clayton-46102825/ The transfer portal also plays a big role in this and it's often hard to quantify a newcomer's value. Take for instance, Jason Carter from Xavier to Ohio. He was a star in the MAC but an average contributor at Xavier. What will he be like back on the Bobcats? One last tidbit after not seeing this mentioned anywhere, Ohio also added a Rivals Top-150 (#135) verbal for 2022 in Aidan Hadaway who chose the Bobcats over Georgia. Right now, it appears to be a two-way recruiting battle in the MAC between UB and OU. https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2022/aidan-hadaway-276103 Neither has a distinct advantage over the other as long as Boals and Whitesell remain.

You have the right to that opinion but I also have many connections to the program as well and know multiple people that have admitted multiple times to me that the coaching search was botched from the beginning. Maybe Hodgson wasn’t ready for the job at that moment but I can promise you they didn’t enter their coaching search thinking Jim Whitesell would be their guy. All of that said, I’m fine with Jim Whitesell leading the way and excited about the future of the program.

Also, there’s more to the story about how everything went down with Hodgson when Oats bolted for Alabama. He wanted the UB job but was basically told he wasn’t being considered so he did what the majority of assistants do, followed Oats to Bama. He shouldn’t of made it known that he was already contributing to Bama when he was still technically on the UB staff but everyone involved in the situation knew what was happening. This board knows my preference was for UB to hire Hodgson. Whitesell is alright but I believe UB would be just as good as they are now with Hodgson as head coach. Everyone questioning how Hodgson would do during in-game situations forgets how weak UB has been in crucial moments in late game situations the past few years so I don’t think there’s definitive proof that Whitesell is necessarily better in those situations. We don’t know how it would be with Hodgson because we’ve never had the opportunity to watch how he would handle it.

Hodgson isn’t coaching Blue Collar U because he had other Alabama obligations that he needed to figure out and he didn’t know if he would be able to attend their first game in Columbus. That’s why he handed off coaching duties. Hodgson was originally listed as their head coach and is leading the way in practice. He was also responsible in recruiting everyone to join Blue Collar U.

Obviously you guys know I'm biased given my attachment to Ohio and Buffalo but I don't see that being the case. I thought BOTH the Bobcats and Bulls were the favorites going into the offseason and still believe that. Look at Mark Sears numbers when Jason Preston missed games due to Covid protocols last year. He's going to be a force. Averaged 8.5 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds in 19 minutes per game for the season and averaged 14 points, 7.5 assists and 5 rebounds in five starts. Sears is a more than capable starter and will be on an All-MAC team within a few years. Losing Preston is definitely a HUGE loss for OU but more-so from a depth perspective. Both teams should be co-favorites. Especially with the Bobcats returning Dwight Wilison, Ben Vander Plas and Jason Carter transferring back from Xavier. UB is probably the most talented team in the MAC but they need to put it all together under Whitesell. Last years tourney run was encouraging but they haven't had a complete season since Nate Oats left.

Hey guys, It's an exciting time to be a UB fan with their season tipping off tonight against Dartmouth. Despite all their new faces, I think it's safe to say that the majority of us are pumped about the talent on their roster and what they could develop into moving forward. As most of you already know, I created a bunch of content for 'From the 300 Level' last year. I enjoyed it but decided to move on to Bullet Points. We have a bunch of connections and want to become a go-to source for UB athletics. I published my Bulls season preview earlier this morning: 2019 UB Bulls season preview I encourage you guys to check it out. It includes our Bullet Points season preview podcast, a one-on-one interview with Jim Whitesell and my in-depth breakdown of the UB roster and their expectations for this season. Enjoy!

They're a much better team than what the preseason prognosticators predicted. Losing Kirk was addition by subtraction. Jordan Dartis is back and finally healthy. Preston and Vander Plas will be solid for the Bobcats as well. Imo, they're not a threat to win the MAC East but a team you can't take for granted any given night. Jeff Boals (Ohio alumnus) is an up and coming coach and recruited two top-250 players (Ben Roderick, Marvin Price) within a month of getting hired. Give him a few years and the Bobcats will be one of the top threats to UB in the conference. But for now, it's the Bulls conference to lose.