Big 4 Hoops Blogger

22 minutes ago, DocCas86 said:

Agree - winning today could help from a confidence perspective. 

As for Cleveland, my money is on either Akron or Kent.  I just feel like defense wins when you get into conference championships.  Toledo's offense likely gets them wins against UB, Ohio and Ball State, but Akron and Kent have enough offense and much better d than Toledo, tipping scales in their favor.  To build upon this point, for UB to have a chance they will have to play better defense in Cleveland... they were talking d after the last game -- let's hope they continue that mentality.

While I understand your reasoning, I'm not sure I completely agree. Kent doesn't have a good track record in Cleveland under Rob Senderoff either.

I think winning the MAC Tournament is a combination of talent, getting hot at the right time and a little bit of luck. I've seen Ohio and Buffalo win the MAC Tournament seven times since I was a freshman at OU in 2009-10. Some of those teams were great but many just clicked when it mattered the most.

While defense is certainly important, the reason Kent/Akron win at a high level is because they have quality offenses to go along with their defensive ability. Toledo is very average defensively but they are ELITE offensively, 14th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency. No one in the MAC can touch their offense. The issue for the Rockets is if they have an off night, they're vulnerable. That doesn't happen often though.

At the current moment, I think there's five teams that have a shot at a run in Cleveland. Kent/Akron/Toledo are the favorites but Ball St. and Ohio could be sneaky. If UB wants to have any shot in the MAC Tournament, they'll need to continue their recent focus defensively like you mentioned.

It's never easy to win on the road in the MAC. UB's first game against Toledo was competitive but I think it'll be much more difficult this afternoon. Hope I'm wrong and watch Buffalo come out strong!

4 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

I mean how dumb can you be? As players. Especially one who is a lottery pick. As a coach to say what he said. And in saying what he said showed where his priorities are. And also that he doesn’t care to know what his players might be doing when off the court. 

What kinda questions here at UB??? Can’t just dangle that out there lol

It was wrong of me to throw that last part out there. I'll delete that because I don't want to go down that rabbit hole.

Nate Oats has handled this entire situation horribly. From getting Ray Lewis involved to letting Brandon Miller continue playing and now saying "wrong place, wrong time."

It's clear the only thing he cares about is winning and it doesn't matter at what cost. The moment Alabama found out about Miller's involvement, he should've been indefinitely suspended pending a review and investigation.

Now, it's clear that their program didn't truly care about the murder that took place. There's a valid argument to be made that Oats and Miller should be suspended the rest of the year. I doubt that'll happen but there's people calling for Oats to be fired.

I was always a huge supporter of Nate while he was in Buffalo. I've met him numerous times and got to talk to him following a few practices. He's a tremendous basketball coach but you really have to question him as a person now.

Very odd game but I'll take it any time UB holds an opponent to only 35 points! Next two games will be difficult tests at Toledo and NIU.

So, that was a tough week for UB... It wasn't unexpected but never good to get blown out in back-to-back conference games in mid-February. The Bulls are struggling and they don't exactly have freebies remaining on their schedule. Buffalo already lost to three of their four remaining opponents. Siting at 12-15 overall, it looks like they could have their first losing season since Reggie Witherspoon's final year with the program in 2012-13 when they went 14-20.

John and I addressed the current state of the Big 4 and if UB is capable of making a run in Cleveland. Fast-forward to the 17:30 mark for UB talk.

We took a look at the Bulls recent play and whether or not they're capable of making a run in the MAAC Tournament this year. While not directly addressing Jim Whitesell, we did discuss some of the problems UB is facing as a program starting at the 17:30 mark.

When opposing fanbases in your conference begin to look at your team with apathy, that's normally a sign that your program is regressing and should consider making a change.

From BobcatAttack (Ohio forum) regarding Jim Whitsell:

I appreciate the optimism of some of the posters above but I just don't see it. UB is likely to be a 6-8 seed which means they'll battle either Kent/Akron/Toledo in the first round. As Erie County stated, Buffalo is 0-5 against those teams. If they want any chance, they'll likely need to finish as the 5 seed and tip-off with Ball State in the first round.

The metrics are pretty revealing. UB is squarely in the middle of the pack in the MAC. There's five competitive teams at the top. There's five awful schools at the bottom. And then there's UB & NIU battling in the middle to likely see who will have the edge for the 6 seed.

16 minutes ago, Tee4three said:

Akron just doesn't miss against UB 

Some of that is Xavier Castaneda playing lights out but UB really needs to improve defensively.

UB doesn't have a traditional basketball rival in the MAC. Bulls fans probably dislike Ohio the most but that's not a mutual feeling. Many also hate Akron and Kent as well.

The problem when looking at MAC rivalries from a Buffalo perspective is that most of the schools already had someone they disliked long before UB joined the conference.

Ohio has Miami. Akron has Kent. Bowling Green has Toledo.

There's times when other schools will be heated with UB when there's something on the line but that's about it for now. What also makes it difficult is that outside of Akron, Kent, Ohio and recently Toledo, there really hasn't been many consistently decent programs in the conference which makes it difficult to have those intense moments that can create rivalries.

For now, I'd say Canisius and St. Bonaventure are Buffalo's true rivalry games even if they don't have the same level of significance as the Bulls conference opponents.

Hey guys, sorry for the few week hiatus! John's wife recently gave birth to their second child so we had to skip a few shows.

There was plenty to discuss on the show this week. Some encouraging and discouraging reactions from the Kent State loss. The Bulls played hard and can compete with anyone in the conference. That said, the sloppy play and poor defensive rebounding was tough to watch. Ohio will be a tough game on Tuesday that can go either way.

Fast-forward to the 21:00 mark for some UB talk. We also take a look at UB's roster construction in comparison to some other teams in the MAC. Hope you check it out!

Great start for UB jumping out to a quick 12-3 lead at first media timeout!

I think we're at the point where the results speak for themselves. Akron is good but they're not talented to the point where they should be handling UB on the road.

NIU is about to pull off the upset. That school always gives the best MAC teams problems despite never being good themselves lol

Incredible performance tonight! Curtis Jones and Armoni Foster were fantastic. This was a pivotal game to see how UB stacked up against the 2nd tier of the MAC. They now have wins over Ball State and Ohio which is encouraging heading into Kent State later this week.

This week on the show, we discussed if we believe UB can contend in the MAC this year. John believes anything is on the table. We also got into UB's upcoming MAC slate which features the top teams in the conference.

Please fast-forward to the 45:00 mark. Appreciate any comments and opinions!

7 minutes ago, DaBulls99 said:

I’m glad I’m not in a foxhole with some of y’all. “Life support”. Get the hell outta here. We just had arguably the best Fall in UB Athletics history. We are 3-2 and 3-1 in hoops. Get in real. 

Is this sarcasm? 2018 UB football went 10-4, UB mens basketball went 32-4. UB women's basketball went 23-9 and made it to the second round. This isn't even close to the best fall in UB athletics history.

I'm actually really excited for the football program moving forward but lets not talk up MBB and WBB when they're clearly going through rebuilding seasons.

It's okay to be critical without being on life support. The criticisms of the men's program are completely valid. I still think the program has a bunch of potential. That's why I want them to make a change in the first place. It's the same reason I was fine with them firing Reggie Witherspoon back in the day. It's not that I don't love the program, I'm hoping for them to better themselves.

This team is completely different at home than on the road. That's the case for most squads but their W/L splits are wild.

8-1 at home, 1-8 on the road/neutral sites

They now start their toughest stretch of conference play (TOL, @Ball St, @Kent St, Akron). How they do their next four games will go a far way in determining what we think about this squad moving forward.

6 hours ago, UBinMD said:

I'm not sure the infatuation with Hodgson, I could be completely wrong and he may be a great head coach, but I also feel like being a great recruiter doesn't necessarily mean you will be a great HC, there are different skills sets. This is not unlike an OC or DC in the NFL becoming a HC and flopping. He has been an assistant for 11 years. Has he had options as a HC at lower level or low end D1 program and he has turned it down or has he not really been approached as a HC. He wasn't even selected as the HC for Blue Collar U (no idea how that was decided and may not apply). Becky Burke is a bit of a different animal. She has proven herself as a HC at multiple locations (granted lower level) but has built from literally nothing, became Coach of the Year in her conference, etc. and seems to be able to recruit (I also think her assistants are good recruiters as well from the Twitter feeds I have seen on current and future players). She also has street cred for being a top level D1 player that I'm sure helps.

If the Hodgson reasoning is that we are going to catch lightning in a bottle twice (ala Oats) I guess I understand that, but that also feels like you want to resuscitate the past, which is usually a bad option for moving to the future. If we do end up replacing JW, I would prefer an up and comer with HC experience and there have to be some men's BB versions of Burke out there. Much like you, I like JW as a human and give him more leeway due to that I'm sure and really want him to succeed, but if we do move on, I will completely understand and will get behind the next person 100%.

I'm not sure if Hodgson would make a good head coach or not because we've never seen him running his own team. He does offer an elite skillset as a recruiter. When it comes to mid-major coaches, you're looking for someone that offers high end potential. There's no doubt he brings that to the table.

That said, I don't think UB will ever approach him in the future.

As far as Blue Collar U, he was supposed to be their head coach when they first organized the team and stepped down when it became obvious it would be a schedule conflict. The players would confirm that. I was at their first practice when they started their TBT team.

As to why he hasn't taken lower level head coaching jobs... Why would he when he has a comfortable living as a high paid assistant at one of the best programs in the country? He can enjoy that lifestyle as long as he wants with Nate Oats or until an opportunity presents itself. Of course, if he really wants to be a head coach, he can take a lower level job but I don't see that happening.

All of this just to say, things have worked out well for him. I'm sure Hodgson has no regrets about how it all played out. Everyone wishes things would've worked out better for Whitesell. There's still time this year to turn things around but if they don't, I hope UB does a national search and brings in young blood that can bring some energy into the program once again.

3 hours ago, BullBoy said:

I have been a strong proponent of Coach Whitesell and I think he is a great man that any school would be proud to say is their head coach, but you are al correct in that the results just aren't there. 

I think we would all be kidding ourselves if a change was made in season, I just don't see that happening.

But I do think a change is coming at the end of the season...And I will stay adamant in my opinion that Coach Hodgson is not the answer!!

That’s part of what makes this difficult. I do believe Jim Whitesell is a great person and I’ve been hoping he could turn things around.

I’m not sure what direction UB will go. I could even see the program holding onto him for another year or two.

I’m a fan of Bryan Hodgson but I don’t believe he’ll ever be the head coach at UB. That said, I do hope Buffalo targets a young coach with strong recruiting ties when they eventually do make a change down the line.

We opened the show discussing Buffalo's past two losses and dove deeper into Jim Whitesell's future in the program. I've always been a firm believer in hiring young, up & coming assistant with solid recruiting ties to lead mid-major programs. Feel free to comment.

I addressed my thoughts regarding Jim Whitesell and his future at UB in our latest episode of 'Talkin Big Four Hoops'

Please fast-forward to the 17:21 mark.

Just now, DooleyBull06 said:

It’s funny that ppl are complaining we are losing to teams ranked in the high 200s of kenPom when we ourselves are one of those teams.

UB entered today ranked 202 in KenPom. The regression over the past four years is pretty apparent now. Buffalo hasn't finished with a Sub-200 KenPom ranking since 2003.