Big 4 Hoops Blogger

It's the rare non-conference home-and-home series within the same season. Southern Illinois has been solid this year. They're 7-3 overall, on a 5-game winning streak with wins over Tulsa, St. Louis and Colorado State. I believe we're looking at a 20-win Missouri Valley Conference contender. That'll carry some weight on the resume come March. Not as much as Syracuse and Marquette but a decent amount nonetheless. The Salukis also stand in the way of UB getting to 10-0 heading into the Carrier Dome. Make no mistake about it, this game is big. Let's hope the fans turn out at Alumni Arena. Here's my weekly Big 4 Update/Podcast: Bulls take down Bona, prepping for big game vs. Southern Illinois

I'll be there. I haven't had the chance to cover any games this season due to my work schedule and moving back into the area from out of town so it'll be nice getting back into the groove of things. I've always had a soft spot for the Koessler Athletic Center. I had Canisius season tickets one year when I was in middle school. It can be a really fun environment for Big 4 rivalry games.

Buffalo and St. Bonaventure are rivals, even if some fans disagree I felt the need to ask this. Growing up, I always assumed each of the local Big 4 schools considered themselves rivals. Obviously, I understood some of the matchups were more meaningful than the others but I still felt they were important games in the local hoops landscape even with UB being a D1 newcomer. I bring this up with Buffalo getting set to battle St. Bonaventure. I've seen many fans questioning if this truly is a rivalry game. I think it is and I definitely believe it can blossom into a much more heated game going forward if both teams sustain their recent success. Each time UB takes on SBU, WNY supremacy is on the line. Both schools recruit at a high level and despite conference affiliation, they're comparable talent wise and play an exciting brand of basketball. So what do you all think? Check out my column and let me know your thoughts!

Buffalo and St. Bonaventure are rivals even if some fans disagree There's been a lot of talk and references in this thread to posts on the Bonnies message board. To me, it signifies that the two programs are starting to build up some hate for one another. St. Bonaventure fans are used to being the premier basketball program in WNY. The last thing they want is for UB to be at their level. I've attached my column on why this has the makings of a budding rivalry, even if some may disagree.

I think UB will move to the 18/19 range this week. There were a bunch of teams in front of them that lost but it's always tricky projecting mid-majors rising or falling in the polls.

San Francisco impressed me. I heard many hyping the Dons going in but I didn't know what to expect. They give UB a solid battle. Regarding your side note, it's no big deal. I love posting about Big 4 basketball and I'm going to keep doing so. Sometimes, people will disagree with my opinions and when they do, I look forward to having a good debate.

Link: Big 4 Update: Perkins and Harris step up in Belfast Hall of Fame Classic Like many of you, I set my alarm and woke up nice and early on Friday and Saturday morning to watch Buffalo compete in the Belfast Hall of Fame Classic. It was impressive seeing the Bulls pick up a win over previously undefeated San Francisco but my biggest takeaway from the weekend was that Nick Perkins and Jeremy Harris are back! (Not that we didn't think they would eventually get rolling anyways!) Harris appears to have rediscovered his jumper after a slow start to the season while Perkins posted his first back-to-back 20-point games since his sophomore year. This week, UB will have a much tougher than anticipated matchup at St. Bonaventure. On paper, the Bonnies are only 3-5 but they've been rejuvenated by Courtney Stockard's return to their lineup. It'll be rocking in Olean on Saturday. I'm expecting a solid matchup. What are your thoughts?

It'll be exciting to see Dillard and the Bulls battle Stanford on the Friday before Christmas. Huge opportunity versus a top 10 team in the country. I'm hoping fans show up for that one despite its odd noon start time.

Can't wait to set my alarm and catch this game in 6.5 hours! I'm pretty sure I saw a tweet saying it'll be streaming live online.

For my Week Three episode of the Big 4 podcast, I did another edition of Stock Up, Stock Down! You can probably guess where I listed UB. One of the things I wrote in my article is that the Bulls need to continue stacking up wins. Their schedule is set up for them to do so. If they're going to compete for an at-large bid, it's paramount for them to avoid early season blunders. I'm confident they'll get to 10-0. Then it'll get interesting vs. Syracuse and Marquette. I'm not taking Southern Illinois or St. Bonaventure for granted but both should be UB victories if the Bulls show up. Here's the link to my week three update: Big 4 Update: Bulls undefeated heading into Ireland trip

Don't be scared off by the headline. My latest column reminisces on past UB teams and what it means for this squad to make it to the MAC Championship Game. I also want fans to know that this team is not content with just making it to Detroit. They want to and expect to win against NIU and follow it up with a bowl victory. I've seen too many people on Twitter congratulating UB. And while I'm ecstatic with how this season has gone, I realize just how important these next two games are for their future. Their goal before the season was to WIN the MAC Championship and there's still work left to be done. Here's a link to my article: UB Football: It’s not time to celebrate… Yet!

I saw Kevin Massare post on Twitter that CJ was out. Not sure if anyone inside told him but that was the first I saw about it. I have no inside information but it seems like it would be a precautionary measure. This UB squad should be able to take down Dartmouth at home with or without Massinburg. Good opportunity for Harris/Perkins to take on a larger scoring role tonight. Looking forward to see who steps up.

I appreciate the warm welcome! I've been following UB basketball closely since the days of Turner Batter and Yassin Idbihi. It's been amazing to watch the Bulls program grow over the years, especially recently under Hurley and Oats. I look forward to posting a bunch about them going forward and hope you enjoy the content I'll be providing.

Hey guys, I'm new to UB Fan but have been reading this message board for years. My name is Mike Bundt and I'm a former Sports Anchor who has worked for television stations in Ohio and Indiana. I'm originally from Buffalo and have covered UB athletics for Bull Run and QCS when I was in college. I recently decided to change careers and I wanted to get back into covering Big 4 Basketball. I'm credentialed to cover UB and Canisius basketball this season and I'm looking forward to posting a bunch about them. I'm starting a weekly Big 4 Basketball Update/Podcast that will recap each week, list some cool facts about each team and pump more interest into local hoops. I hope you check out my week two edition. Let me know if there's any questions you guys ever want me to bring up or if you have any suggestions to make the articles better. Here's a link: Big 4 Basketball Update: UB, Niagara pick up impressive wins