Big 4 Hoops Blogger

LINK: Buffalo dominates Ohio, returns to NCAA Tournament

It was a great weekend for the UB women's basketball program. I have my game story with interviews and instant reaction attached above.

As most of you already know, I'm down in Cleveland covering the MAC Tournament for From the 300 Level. I've been doing some video content on social media in addition to posting online recaps.

Here's my two stories from Friday:

1. Women take down Central Michigan

2. Men survive scare to advance to 4th MAC Championship in five years

I hope to run into some of you on Saturday. I'll be at the Q covering both championship games. Make sure to say hello if you see me typing away or walking by.

16 minutes ago, UBFan99 said:

I could see a 5. The 5-12 matchup tends to be tricky, but your draw in round 2 tends to be easier because you’d likely see a 4 seed instead of a 3. 

They'll be taking on a solid team in the first round regardless of if they're a five or a six-seed but you're absolutely right. Ultimately, Buffalo just needs to take care of their own business and not worry about where they're seeded.

LINK: Not much movement expected for UB in polls

I’m not expecting much movement by Buffalo this week. The only team that’s guaranteed to drop beneath them is Marquette after losing a pair of games.

At this moment, I’m predicting Buffalo to be ranked 18th in the AP Poll on Monday.

LINK: Big 4 Update: Buffalo has chance to move up to 5-seed with strong week in Cleveland

NCAA Seed/Poll Watch:

I believe a five-seed is still in play for Buffalo if they win out in Cleveland.

The Bulls have an impressive NET ranking (#16), have a winning record vs. Top 75 NET opponents (4-1) and have been on fire heading into tournament play.

Most bracketologists currently have them listed as a six-seed. That makes sense for now but you have to figure there’s room to play with depending on what happens next week.

LINK: Bulls seniors leave a lasting legacy at Alumni Arena

Guys,

We're all well aware of how much this Bulls senior class has meant to the UB program. They've left a lasting legacy that will be remembered for ages to come.

Yesterday, I wrote a column on how they deserved to go out in style and that's exactly what took place last night at Alumni Arena. I have numerous videos from the game in my special edition of the Big 4 Update.

Among the videos are postgame speeches from the players, the pregame intros and the final substitutions for Jeremy Harris, Nick Perkins and CJ Massinburg.

Enjoy!

LINK: Let's send the UB seniors out in style!

My article today is a pretty simple concept! Let's enjoy what tonight represents by soaking everything in.

This senior class has been special. Nick Perkins was the first one to join the Bulls with CJ Massinburg committing shortly after Nate Oats became head coach. They're the ones that helped pave the way for Buffalo to get to the next level but it wouldn't have been possible without Dontay Caruthers, Jeremy Harris and Montell McRae joining along the way.

Congratulations to all of them tonight on their final home games at Alumni Arena!

11 hours ago, bull_trojan said:

sad what's happening in Ohio... all I read at BA is how the once great atmosphere has died off. How does that happen so quickly? Just wrong coach at wrong time?

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.

6 hours ago, BullsFan14 said:

I like that you called out your Ohio University degree. I hope you enjoyed your time there but welcome back to the light side. 

Were you part of the Ozone while you were there? Your time there was the DJ Cooper days.

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.

8 hours ago, ed said:

 

eh. RPI is the only argument we deserved to be an at large team.  tough to make the argument we were so "snubbed" for the dance when we were only a play-in to the nit. 

we were an ok 23-10 overall, but only 11-7 in conference.  we had a better record than one team in the mac east (yes, that's cherry picking conference results to showcase the worst, but still).  our best ooc win was against a 20-10 niagara. 

 

 

 

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

4 hours ago, ed said:

Yup. We all remember the end (having the center take the last shot in regulation of a tied game, when we had battle and cage on the team), but we tend to forget we lost a 19 point lead in like 5 minutes. Killer. 

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.

On 3/2/2019 at 8:00 PM, UB85 said:

Ohio fans laying down the gauntlet. http://www.bobcatattack.com/messageboard/topic.asp?FromPage=1&ForumPID=1&PID=276966

im sure their players are feeling a renewed sense of belief and confidence too. It’ll be important to get all over them on defense again. 

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 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