UBigbobby

Did not deserve this.  As bad an effort in all areas of the game as I've seen in the last few years.  Just putrid.  Team has been trending down in their last few games.  We all knew it was going to bottom out at some point.  Extremely disappointing that it happened to NIU which will go down as a BAD loss for tournament purposes.  This team just hasn't seemed to care very much in conference.  Too big for their britches?  Oats needs to get them back in line.

12 hours ago, rma said:

In terms of ranking, Ohio is still 100ish spots lower than us (USNWR).  If we're comparing R&D, UB might be more than the rest of the MAC combined (NSF site is down unfortunately).

Yea, but Ohio is a major research university.  They aren't amazing academically, but they're a major university center with like 27,000 students.  While they lag far behind UB in academics, in terms of overall profile, they're closer to UB than a directional Michigan or regional Ohio school like Kent or Akron.

UB has simply not shown up.  At all.  Not there mentally, not fighting physically.  The look like ghosts out there.  Terrible.

Meh.  Most of the negatives for UB are borne out of the University historically not investing money in athletics (formerly due to SUNY rules, more recently due to administration).

Statistically as an institution of higher education, UB is a Big Ten or American Conference school.  Not a MAC school.  With the exception of UB, Miami, and Ohio, the MAC consists of academically middling regional 2nd and 3rd tier publics.  

UB's peer institutions are schools like Michigan, Rutgers, UCONN, Wisconsin, WVU, Pitt etc.  I'm not pulling this out of thin air. https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/peers-network

Keep in mind that data is from 2012 and UB has grown in size and improved measurable in academics since then.

Athletically, UB is a MAC school.  As an institution, it is not.  If there is ever an investment in athletics, the school could and should be in a larger conference simply due to the university profile.

In the latest WSJ/Higher Ed Times rankings of national public universities UB was #28.  25-30 went like:

25 - Penn State
26 - Virginia Tech
27 - Minnesota
28 - Buffalo
29 - Illinois - Chicago
30 - NC State

The only MAC school in the top 100 was Miami at #78

After the 2nd half of the season that Jackson put up, he almost has to stay at UB.  I don't think he's draftable anymore.  He has the raw tools and potential to be drafted, but he shit the bed pretty bad at key times and honestly, in some areas have regressed.  Declaring for the draft would be a massive mistake on his part.  

It's cool to see, but I have little doubt the committee will use it the same way they use RPI.  They'll use it as evidence to get a bubble team in they like from a P5 conference and just ignore it when it doesn't work in their favor.

8 minutes ago, rma said:

We beat 8-4 Temple

Yes. And scandal ridden 5-7 Maryland beat Big 12 finalist 9-4 Texas too. I said blow out though.  They beat Temple by a touchdown.  Good win for sure, but when this team faced real tests that would take them to the next level, they pretty consistently choked.  Army.  Ohio, NIU, Troy.  Listen, I'm not making this up.  I was on a flight a few days after the MAC championship loss with Lance Leipold.  A few passengers and I were talking to him on the jetbridge waiting for our bags for a bit and he brought up how his team needs to a find a way to be more resilient and learn how to play up for big games.  He pointed out himself without prompting how they had a chance to be ranked, then looked like dogshit (my words) vs Army to blow that chance.  Again were getting votes and could have been ranked and got their shit handed to them (my words again) vs. Ohio.  Similar thing vs NIU.  This team needs to borrow some of that grit and resliency that the hoops team has because when their backs are up against the wall, they run away crying.

Honestly I think this game is what SHOULD have happened.  UB is a fantastic team and SHOULD dominate the MAC and finish with just 2 or 3 losses total on the season.  They should get a good seed and have the ability to make a sweet 16 run.

As good as we all know they are, I think #14 was also a bit generous.  I think they're definitely a borderline top 25 team but in overall quality, UB is not #14 (they're worse) and Marquette is not #20 (they're better).  

I think Howard going off skewed things a bit, but I also think the better team won.  My feeling is if they play on a neutral court, Marquette squeaks out a win and if this game is in Buffalo, the Bulls win a close one.  They are not as good as Marquette, but they're also not that far behind overall. 

The MAC went 1-5 in bowl games.  This conference is an absolute embarrassment at football.  

Congrats to us for being the 2nd best team in clearly the worst conference in college football. 

Also, Jackson's regression throughout the year has been absolutely staggering.  This team is a soulless paper tiger like their coach.  

For as much as I love the basketball team and their heart, and attitude, and collection of personalities (and coach), I dislike this football team just as much.  Blow out crap FCS and MAC teams and when they face anything resembling a real test the wheels fall off.

4 hours ago, John said:

I do agree with many of the opinions on the popularity of the basketball programs. It took the last 4/5 years of success to start getting more people interested in UB sports.  The media interest has increased. 1270 the Bucky and Sully show is talking about UB on a consistent basis. WGR is still just a Bills and Sabres show especially with one of the morning guys wanting to talk about Syracuse basketball instead of UB because he went to Syracuse!!!! The UB admin. Has to continue to keep their foot on the gas on promoting UB sports and hope the sports culture starts to change in our favor. We have to exercise patience and in the meantime enjoy the ride. Go Bulls!!!!!

Jeremy White is a tool.  Howard Simon thankfully will at least acknowledge there is a good D1 program in Amherst from time to time.  

3 hours ago, dutchcountry7 said:

Last year:

Kansas State - 8,711

California - 7,375

Miami - 7,117

Virginia Tech - 7,678

So a little less than double UB.

6 hours ago, mikescherrer8 said:

5 years, okay, again, look at where we are located, man. We don't live in an area where there is college sports culture and tradition. UB is not known for being a sports school. The first time in school history that we are ranked in basketball and now some more people are paying attention, that's great. You talk about "well if the Bonnies can do it, so can we". Okay, but, how long have they been competitive in basketball for? Since the 70's? A real near 50 year head start in Olean. 

It's going to take more time.....5 years of success is nothing. You have to grasp that. This is Bills and Sabres country. Always has been. Oats' Bulls might be the first program to change that, change the culture around here. 

You're just not getting the big picture....at all.

Understand your point, but don't give Bona's nearly that much credit.  They haven't been good since the 70s.  Program is below .500 in the A10 the last 20 years.  They have a culture because there is a fuck all else to do in Olean but drink and go to basketball games.  

4 hours ago, xDerekRx said:

Who cares. Ive told you before, this isn't even a hockey town. They ride the Sabres if they are playing well. I dont care what the paper or WGR reports on.

In my circles the UB ranked buzz is very real. My extended family as been going nuts this year. We even have a massive group text going for each game.

There are even a lot of fans that only came back when UB basketball football starting playing well a couple years back. Everyone but the Bills has the bandwagon effect, even UB. Those of us who are always here just keep moving forward. I enjoy the national coverage, which we get more of honestly.

I just honestly am having too much fun with this season to get upset about local media who aren't worth the time any way.

Unfortunately it does matter Derek.  We talk about how the program gets tepid support because there's no culture of supporting the program and they're seen as "minor league" because they have traditionally been bad and play in a mid major conference.  However, building that culture is a combination of winning (which the team has done the last 5 years) AND getting buy in from the local community.  Like it or not, the only exposure most people in WNY will get to the program is through the local media outlets like the Buffalo News, local telecasts, and WGR.  It doesn't help that most games can only be watched on subscription ESPN+ online.  If the team is going to truly grow the fanbase and generate real local buzz they need the local media to realize this is a big deal and important for the WNY sports scene.  Like it or not, WGR and company ARE local trendsetters when it comes to sports in WNY and if these outlets don't treat this like a big deal, the majority of WNY fandom won't either.  

Like you, I'm tickled pink over what's happening but the lack of knowledge about what's happening around WNY is downright frightening.  We all want the program to move up to bigger and better things, and a better conference, but this year suggests that even if they somehow moved to the Big Ten it might not matter to Joe Bill's Fan, and that's a problem for the long term viability of the program to compete on a high level.

You are right about your Sabres point, and I agree.  Buffalo as a sports town is a complete myth.  Buffalo is a BILLS town and occasionally Sabres when they do something worth noting.  Otherwise, we might as well be Miami or Atlanta for the overall support of athletics in WNY.

#14, and the only peep you'll hear in the Buffalo sports media is when WGR does a scoreboard update.  I'm a born and raised Buffalonian, and I'm continually embarassed by this supposed "sports town".  This is a Bills and Sabres town, and that's it.  A city of losers (I'm feeling very salty today)

16 minutes ago, MillenniumBull said:

The shit MAC has a longer history than the A10.  Tournament wins by current members while also in the conference is closer than you’d think.  A10 is trending down while the MAC with more football money coming in now and more investment on the BBall side is trending up.  UB, Toledo and Ball State all could win the A10 this year.  Check the rankings, the MAC is the better conference this year.  Yes, the A10 has been the better conference for 2 decades running, but check back in 10 years.

ehhhhhh.  Listen some years the MAC has a good showing and can rival the A10 in quality.  This may be one of those years.  But the MAC is a perennial one bid league and is usually in the middle of the top half of mid-major conferences.  A10 is usually better and maybe more importantly gets much more respect nationally.  There's nothing wrong was admitting that the MAC just isn't a very good conference in general.  Makes what UB is doing even more impressive.

4 minutes ago, Byron Mulkey said:

As much as I’d like to defend my Bonnies, it will just fall on deaf ears. There’s no convincing you guys. You guys think Bona is a middling program that hasn’t been relevant since the 1970’s. We think UB plays in a joke of a conference, has no history or tradition, and absolutely pathetic student/fan support for a school and city that size. To each their own.

Enjoy your win and newfound prosperity. I hope you guys continue to build your resume so that you don’t have to rely on winning it all in Cleveland. 

We're both right though.  

UB does play in a crappy conference, has no athletics history or tradition, and has poor support for being a 20,000 student school.  I'm a proud UB alum and all of those things as true.  Which isn't really surprising considering the program didn't even go D1 until 1994 and has been a mid-major since then.  Hopefully all of that changes, but as of right now, it's all true.

However it is also objectively true that the Bonnies have not been much of anything since the 1970s.  The program went from 1978-2000 without a single tournament appearance.  Since then, from 2000-today they've had as many as UB has had in the last 4 years alone.   The Bonnies coach is going to become the winningest in school history with a .556 winning percentage.  The Bonnies have been a middling A10 program since the 70s.  That's just objective fact.  Forget comparing them to UB even, just look at St. Bonaventure in a vacuum.  They play in a multiple bid conference, and have made the tournament 3 times since the 1970s.  3 times in the last 40 years.  In the last two decades the Bonnies are BELOW .500 in the A10 How can you even justify saying the Bonnies are anything but a middling A10 program?

See?  We're both right.  Bonnies fans overrate themselves today because of success in the 1970s, and UB fans are too few and far between with little history or tradition.  How about we work on building that winning tradition and gaining more fans and Bona's works on being more than a team that wins the A10 once every 20 years, and then both programs play each other every year, and develop a real rivalry.

9 minutes ago, enrique14150 said:

My brother and I made the trip down to Bona today.  A trip we've wanted to take for years, and while we had to go to Olean for soccer this summer, making the trip down 16 in winter is another story.  The weather looked good, so we got the tickets earlier this week.

I despise Bona.  The trip-wire attitude, misplaced arrogance, everything.  So this win was so, so sweet. After a couple bad shots, UB got serious.  Serious on defense, making Bona grind out possessions to the end of the shot clock.  Serious on offense, hitting shots from outside but not afraid to drive to the net, even if it didn't always work.  That got Bona in early foul trouble.  #32 for Bona is going to be interesting going forward.  His time was limited because of fouls (at one point, he got his third, Schmidt left him out there, and promptly got a fourth).  He was a matchup problem for UB and Perkins couldn't move on him under the basket.  Anyway, that suffocating defense led to a big UB lead at the half.  A fellow season ticket holder texted me "having fun yet?"  I replied "so far....but that's what we said at halftime during the football title game."  In basketball, you can go on a run and get some three's.  UB started okay but went cold from the field (including, frustratingly, layups) and Bona crept back.   But some timely shots, and defensive stops, put on a lid on any comeback ideas.  I'm in a tremendous mood after this.  I loved the intensity, and poise, that UB brought tonight.  This team has had a habit of getting sloppy when they're up 10+ points but they didn't do that tonight.  And in the second half, even as the momentum kept kinda shifting, they stayed firm and resolute.  I walked in wishing we had Wes Clark tonight; in the end, we managed just fine.

Gravy - he has the makings of CJ version 2.0.  An all-around good basketball player who can do it all, and looks like a determined competitor.
CJ - kinda quiet for him, but some great rebounds.
Harris - it seems like he's shooting well again.
Perkins - was ineffective inside for the most part, and clumsy in a way he can be at times.
Williams - hit a big three in there, and a couple big free throws
Segu - what a great quick first step on a defender in the first half, finishing with a reverse layup.  He and Williams hopefully got some good experience in an intense game.
Montell - some good minutes, and a big three in the second half
Davonta - wasn't able to sell those charges as well today

I left underwhelmed by the Reilly Center.  I kept hearing about how amazing the atmosphere was - meh.  It's as loud as Niagara gets when they're good.  It took less than a minute for some Bona bro's to give me the finger for making noise during one of their foul shots (I was happy to do so).  They have three cheers: "Let's go Bona", "defense", and "f--k UB".  They lost points for the jumbotron telling them to do something a few times and them doing it.  Loud and interested, sure, but don't tell me there's anything special going on there.  The security guy near us said "there isn't a bad seat in the house" - I raised my hand and said "right here" - I was against the wall, facing nothing, I spent the game tilted to see anything and couldn't see the lower corner.  The end zone consists of bro's in backwards hats, the kind who postgame by chugging Bud Light Limes while planning their next Dave Matthews concert trip.  That was the saddest band I've seen in a long time.  I mean Canisius and Niagara had some high school kids playing but they were better than this.

You want UB?!  You got UB.  Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.  When you chant "You're a SUNY", that means your team's chances are dead and buried and you have nothing left to work with, so I couldn't help but laugh.

It was a very fine day.  Onwards from here.

Love the You're a SUNY chant.  Small private colleges like Bona's are dying slow and painful deaths and a school like UB provides a higher rated education than Bonas by far (as the Wall Street Journal, US News, or AAC&U).  Being a SUNY school is a point of pride.

2 minutes ago, xDerekRx said:

If a voter understands (and not many may), a road win at the RC against an improving SBU team is a very good win.

I fear most will not.  Take a look at the voters and the way they've voted.  Look at where most of them are from.  It also doesn't help that the Bonnies haven't been a truly good A10 program since the 70s.  This is far from a throw away win, but the USF and SIU wins move the needle more than 4-6 Bonas.  At the end of the day, I doubt many of the voters will do much more than look at UB and go, "oh they're stil undefeated, gotta find some room in my poll".

UB won't move up much this week unless teams 10-15 absolutely implode.  UB beat a D2 school and a fairly poor A10 school.  They did what they're supposed to do but nothing that will likely move the needle.  Maybe a spot or two but I doubt higher than 15.  Next chance to make a move will be Syracuse and Marquette, though SIU could be a speedbump.  They'll need to stay focused.  No one escaped the MAC unscathed, so they probably need to win all their out of conference games except either Cuse OR Marquette, and then only take one or two MAC losses to good MAC teams to remain ranked and have a good seed.  

Good news for UB is that finally pretty much all the AP voters have UB in their top 25 except some mouthbreather from Kansas City who has 4-3 Florida in his top 25.  

UB students used to.  When I was a student back in the late 2000s UB had a reputation of being a brutal place to play, largely because of the students who took things way past normal cheering.  I vividly remember some of the horrible shit many of us used to scream at the opposing bench (which was in front of the student section).  Not proud of it, but college kids are going to be college kids when they get passionate.  However it's an even worse look for Bona's being a Catholic school, but they probably have more pressing matters, like shifting around rapey priests and all.

It hasn't been.  It's been one sided in Bona's favor, and they've only played like 14 times ever.  Unlike Niagara and Canisius who UB plays just about every year, until a few years ago UB and Bona's hadn't.  If UB can build on this and Bona's can find a way to be relevant more than once every 40 years, I hope it turns into one.  There are a lot of Bonnies fans and alums in Buffalo that like to shoot their mouths off about being the only good program in WNY because they were pretty good in the 70s.  Well, that's becoming less and less relevant with age and with the rise of UB.

Seeing a LOT of extremely salty Bonnies fans on twitter and Facebook.  For a long, long time the Bonnies were seen as the only program in WNY approaching anything resembling quality, mostly because they were very good in the 70's.  They've mostly been rubbish since then, but so have Canisius, Niagara, and UB, so Bona's could ride on their 1970s accomplishments.  I think a lot of Bonnies fans are upset that the current trajectory is that UB is becomming the best program in WNY and has achieved more in the last 5 years than the Bonnies did in the last 2 decades.  I really, really want the Bonnies to be able to build a consistently relevant program again.  It would be great for both UB and Bona's to be able to count on a quality win or not bad loss each year because both programs are solid.  However Bonnie's fans will need to come to grips with the fact that right now, UB is simply better than Bona's in ever facet of the game and are better than any Bonnies team since the 70s.  

1 minute ago, UBminicre said:

You will also remember when we drove to Kent state and came back with a win. That was pretty epic for those days...

In my convertible freezing our asses off.

1 minute ago, UBminicre said:

Been a while for posting.. but I have been keeping up by reading the board a decent amount the last few years. 

Nonetheless, I remember the days where we would almost beat good teams like Pitt but always fall short. I am quite proud to say the least. Love when all my friends ask me about the team!!! 

I remember when Pitt used to be considered a good team!

6 hours ago, xDerekRx said:

17 years ago or whenever exactly it was when I saw my first UB basketball game I never would have thought we would be a ranked team. Now no matter what happens ever again, it's real. So awesome.

The 3 Mac titles in short span, winning a first round game in the tournament... Those were all dreams for so many years. But now being ranked... One of my last dreams on a UB bucket list was always to have an NBA player, even just a decent one, drafted in the modern era...

Hell I remember being so excited that they even made the damn NIT that Turner Battle/Bortz/Idbihi year that you and I drove to St. Joes in Philly to see them play.  Seeing both the football team (who should be ranked) do so well along with both basketball teams is just mindblowing.  I did not think UB could do this without joining a power conference which I still am skeptical of ever happening.  The next fight is trying to get the WNY sports community to care, which by and large...they do not.