Big 4 Hoops Blogger

There's a ton that went into it from John Groce leaving for Illinois to Jim Christian deserting the Bobcats for Boston College to Saul Phillips dealing with a plague of injuries and poor recruiting. The main theme, regime turnover can be problematic and is a huge hurdle for growing mid-major programs. That's why I was so impressed with Nate Oats when he took over at Buffalo. He became head coach during a pivotal time in UB's history, where they were hoping to carry over the momentum from their first NCAA Tournament. Making it back right away kept the program afloat, keeping recruiting at a high level and maintained a small level of continuity. Ohio had some bad luck along the way that was out their control. Hopefully the UB administration has taken some notes of the Bobcats mistakes so they don't end up falling down the same path if Oats eventually decided to move on.

I definitely enjoyed my time in Athens but I'm glad to be back home covering the Bulls! I was a member of the Ozone during DJ Cooper's four years at Ohio and still believe he was one of the best players to ever wear the Green & White. Those Bobcat teams were special, reaching the Second Round in 2010 and the Sweet 16 in 2012. I originally thought they were a good comparison for what UB was building last season but believe this years team has easily eclipsed them. As I said in my post, the Bulls right now are the best MAC squad I've ever seen, which is saying something. I grew up rooting for Buffalo and became an Ohio fan in college so I can honestly say I wish the best for both programs.

I understand where you're all coming from but you probably don't remember UB being including on many bracketologists' final brackets in 2005. RPI was supposed to be a MAJOR factor back then but there were several teams with less than stellar resumes that made it in over the Bulls. I followed ESPN's bubble watch the entire year. UB was definitely in the at-large discussion. Snub might be a strong word but here's Bull Run breakdown of it a decade later: https://www.ubbullrun.com/2014/7/24/5858016/buffalo-loses-the-2005-mac-basketball-championship-to-ohio

Even with them blowing the lead, UB still deserved to be an at-large team that year. I remember seeing Dick Vitale enraged that the Bulls didn't make it.

Just to be upfront with everyone on here, I graduated from Ohio University in 2013. I grew up a big UB fan and was devastated when the Bobcats came back to defeat the Bulls in the 2005 MAC Championship. I support both programs equally and remain neutral when they take on one another. The one thing I will say about Ohio fans, none of them actually think they have a shot vs. Buffalo on Tuesday. They're having an abysmal season, only recently putting together a few solid games against Bowling Green and Akron. Most of their fanbase is currently fighting between wanting Saul Phillips fired and sticking up for him as a person. They might have a good atmosphere at the Convocation Center on Tuesday due to hosting a ranked opponent but they don't really stand much of a chance against UB.

Poll Watch/Seed Watch: There’s bound to be some movement in the polls this week. Several teams in front of Buffalo lost, leaving some room for the Bulls to move up in the rankings. Among those teams include No. 12 Nevada, No. 16 Kansas State, No. 17 Maryland and No. 19 Wisconsin. I wouldn’t expect UB to jump everyone of those schools but it’s certainly possible for them to surpass at least two or three of them. I’ll be very interested to see how far Nevada drops after suffering their second loss in their last four games. With that said, I’m projecting Buffalo to rise to 18th in Monday’s AP Poll. LINK: Big 4 Update: UB primed to move up in polls

LINK: Big 4 Update: 30-win season in the cards Guys, We've been waiting for March all season and it's finally here! We're only a few weeks away from the MAC Tournament, my favorite time of the year. Before UB gets there, they'll need to take care of business against Ohio and Bowling Green. I'm confident they will and I'm fairly certain they'll enter the NCAA Tournament with 30+ wins. That's a crazy number when you think about it and a record that'll be hard to break moving forward! LINK: Big 4 Update: 30-win season in the cards

LINK: Big 4 Update: Buffalo primed to make leap in AP Poll They’re definitely moving up, that’s a guarantee. A bunch of teams in front of them suffered multiple losses including No. 17 Villanova, No. 18 Louisville and No. 19 Iowa State. Buffalo should jump all three of those programs. In addition to those schools, Virginia Tech (Virginia), Iowa (Maryland) and Florida State (UNC) all lost as well. I don’t think the Bulls will pass all three of them but I definitely think it’s possibly they could jump at least one them. With that said, I’m projecting Buffalo to be ranked 22nd in the country in Monday’s AP Poll.

LINK: Big 4 Update: Buffalo cruising into March! Guys, What a week for the UB Bulls! Nate Oats has repeatedly said that Buffalo needs statement wins in order to gain the attention of the national media and the NCAA Tournament selection committee. If road wins over Akron and Toledo weren't going to get the job done, UB had to resort to the next best thing... dominating teams. That's exactly what they did against Ohio and Kent State and I expect much more of the same moving forward heading into Cleveland. I detail the Bulls recent play and, make poll predictions and more in this week's Big 4 Update!

LINK: Buffalo shakes off sluggish start, rolls past Kent State Hey guys, I had the opportunity to cover the UB game on Friday evening against Kent State. It was an incredible atmosphere at Alumni Arena. It took the Bulls a little while to get flowing but once they did, they cruised over the Golden Flashes. I'm starting to do some joint content with Kevin Massare. We did a Twitter recap video for @Bulletpoints716. As you can probably guess, both myself (@Mike_Bundt) and @KevinMassare tweet a lot about UB basketball. We're hoping to increase the Bulls exposure beyond the "traditional media." If you're ever looking for more engaging Buffalo content, make sure to check us both out on Twitter and continue the conversation in real time.

I’m planning on covering the final two days of the MAC Tournament. I’m very excited! I’ve covered the event once in the past and attended twice as a fan in college. It’s one of my favorite weeks of the year!

LINK: Graves leads Buffalo past Ohio during record-setting night Jayvon Graves has the makings of a future star. I mentioned that earlier during the season and I believe I'm one of many that feel that way. His performance against Ohio only scratches the surface of what he can do on the court. He's a well rounded player that has the ability to do almost anything asked of him. I'm looking forward to see what he develops into once the Bulls seniors depart following the season. I've attached a link to my UB/Ohio game recap with video from the postgame presser with Nate Oats, Jayvon Graves and CJ Massinburg included above. LIST OF UB RECORDS SET VS. OHIO Points vs. a D1 Opponent: 114 3-Pointers: 19 Margin of victory vs. MAC opponent: 47

LINK: Big 4 Update: UB shifts into "lock" status Poll Watch: It’ll be interesting to see where Buffalo ends up in the polls this week. They dropped two spots in the AP Poll last week after coming back to defeat Central Michigan at home. This week, they put together two impressive road performances. That has to count for something, right? I’m not sure it will. There wasn’t a ton of meaningful results by teams ahead of them in the rankings. My expectation is for the Bulls to leapfrog Maryland, moving up to 24th in the AP Poll.

LINK: Big 4 Update: UB solidifies "lock" status I believe Buffalo's victory over Toledo solidified their NCAA Tournament resume, shifting them into “lock” status. Buffalo was already on the right side of the bubble conversation prior to their pair of road wins last week. Their season sweep of Toledo only strengthens an already impressive resume. The Bulls entered Friday ranked 22nd in the NET, the new NCAA formula replacing RPI moving forward. Their victory over the Rockets should give them a minor boost in that metric. UB is also grading out well in the KenPom rankings, sitting at 23 as of Saturday evening. The Bulls are making the NCAA Tournament regardless of what happens in Cleveland. The only question now is, what type of seed is UB looking at? At this moment in time, I believe Buffalo is looking at a six-seed. They’ll have an opportunity to improve or cement that seed with a strong finish to the regular season.

LINK: The UB Bulls just win Guys, I’m really excited to announce the addition of Kevin Massare to the From the 300 Level team. Kevin has been around the UB program for over a decade. He used to write for Bull Run in the past and is currently a Trainwreck Sports and Bulletpoints 716 contributor. He’s one of the most knowledgeable people around when it comes to UB sports. Make sure to check out his first article for us linked below. In addition to his UB coverage, Kevin is also great with the Bills and Sabres. Make sure to be on the lookout for his work moving forward. LINK: The UB Bulls just win

Big 4 Update: UB primed for HUGE weeks (Akron, Toledo) Buffalo has two quality opponents awaiting them this week. Akron is a tough team to play against at the JAR while Toledo has been on fire, winning eight of their last nine following their 30-point loss versus the Bulls in January. With a pair of wins, UB’s resume will be looking very sharp heading into the stretch run of their season. That’ll be easier said than done though. On paper, Akron and Toledo are Buffalo’s most difficult games remaining on their schedule outside of their season finale versus Bowling Green. The Rockets intrigue me. They're sitting at 20-4 and would be the MAC favorites during a typical season. However, the one time they took on UB, the Bulls obliterated them. I think it'll be much closer this time around.

Big 4 Update: UB primed for HUGE week (Akron, Toledo) There shouldn’t be too much movement at the bottom of the polls this week. The only team that might’ve played their way into the rankings is Kansas State following their victory over Kansas. Outside of the Wildcats potentially entering the rankings, things should look pretty similar surrounding for the Bulls in my opinion. I’m projecting Buffalo to be ranked 23rd in the AP Poll once again next week.

LINK: Big 4 Update: Buffalo facing first dose of adversity this season Hey guys, In this week's Big 4 Update, I address the Bulls recent loss vs. Bowling Green, where I expect them to land in the polls and why it's important for them to battle some adversity heading into March. It's never fun to lose but these games will help UB entering tournament play. Players like Dontay Caruthers have stepped up with Jeremy Harris and Nick Perkins struggling. If anything, I expect the Bulls to be a stronger unit moving forward as a result. As far as the polls are concerned, I'm not sure what to expect on Monday. Buffalo will most likely drop out of the rankings. Despite that, I still think they're safely on the right side of the bubble conversation with Joe Lunardi having them easily in. I address their recent stretch of games and more in this week's Big 4 Update! LINK: Big 4 Update: Buffalo facing first dose of adversity this season

Dontay Caruthers has always had the scoring touch, it just wasn't his role. He was a tremendous playmaker in high school. It just wasn't necessary for him at Buffalo with guys like CJ Massinburg, Nick Perkins and Jeremy Harris besides him. He embraced becoming a defensive stopper in order to pick up playing time. Now, with 2/3 of the Bulls "Big 3" struggling, UB has needed him to step up and that's exactly what he's done. For anyone that has attended a UB practice, it's easy to see he possesses the skills. It's always been about having the opportunity, which he now has.

LINK: Big 4 Update: Buffalo Poll Watch Speculation MAC fans know how difficult it is to win on the road. They also know that the Falcons are having their best season in forever. It was never going to be easy for UB to leave the Stroh Center with a victory but I’m not sure AP voters will understand that. They were very forgiving following Buffalo's loss to Northern Illinois last week, dropping them only four spots to 18th. I’m not so sure they’ll be as understanding this time around. It would be a different scenario if they hadn’t dropped conference games in back-to-back weeks. For that reason alone, I have the Bulls dropping out of the AP Top 25, becoming one of the first few teams out. That said, I still think they’re safely on the right side of the bubble conversation. One more regulation season loss and things will get a bit dicey moving forward but they’re still in good shape at the moment.

You're definitely right about where Ball State ranks in terms of support in Indiana but I'm not sure that's why they're struggling as much as they have recently. In Ohio, you have Ohio State, Cincinnati, Xavier and Dayton. That's some strong competition. It might not equal Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame and Butler but it's awfully close. Despite that, Ohio University and Akron have both recruited 3 and 4-star guys in the past. Ball State has a TON of solid players in their own backyard! (I lived an hour away. It's insane how many talented players come from Indiana.) Indiana and Purdue battle for the top guys in the state. Notre Dame and Butler go after "their type of guys" while Ball State battles with the in-state schools (IUPUI, Purdue-Fort Wayne, Valpo, Indiana State, Evansville) and the rest of the MAC for the remaining players available. There's more than enough talent for them to recruit. I'm not sure why they haven't been better for a long time.

I lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana for two years and was able to catch a few Ball State games while I was there. (My wife went to Ball State) I'm honestly not sure why they aren't a better MAC program. They have a great recruiting base with Indianapolis and Fort Wayne nearby. Sure, the top guys in the state go to P5 programs or remain in-state at Indiana/Purdue/Notre Dame/Butler but there's a ton of great leftover talent, 3-star caliber players there for the taking. Ball State has a great arena, nice tradition and play in a weak division. They should be much better. In fact, the thought was that they'd be solid this year. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case but I believe they'll be a better program moving forward.

LINK: Big 4 Update: UB rebounds following first MAC loss The headlines says it all. My Big 4 Update this week is focused on the Bulls response following their loss at Northern Illinois. I was very impressed by their ability to battle adversity on the road against Kent State. I've included videos from the past week of Nate Oats mic'd up, the amazing passing sequence leading to Jeremy Harris' dunk in transition and the unfortunate game-winning layup by Noah McCarty. I also congratulate Cierra Dillard on reaching the 1,000 point milestone at UB and make my prediction for where I expect to see the Bulls ranked on Monday. Make sure to check it out and let me know your thoughts! LINK: Big 4 Update: UB rebounds following first MAC loss

LINK: Big 4 Update: UB rebounds following first MAC loss Buffalo’s loss against Northern Illinois will be judged more harshly than a Power-Five school losing to another P5 program but it shouldn’t be enough to drop them outside of the rankings with plenty of other programs slotted near them also suffering losses last week. If I were to guess, I’d predict the Bulls to be ranked 22nd in Monday’s poll.

This is tremendous! It's always more fun when Alumni Arena is packed. Nice to see the community finally give UB the support they deserve.