skrabukes

14 minutes ago, Kevin said:

Yeah, good stuff Conrad. I enjoy reading these, I think its more important than a lot of people think.

Caruthers and Graves were pretty bad against Kent and your splits prove that. 

I felt that Caruthers shut Walker down quite well in the 2nd half of the Kent game, so I respectfully disagree with that assessment. Walker did put 2 moves on him in the 1st half that were pretty crazy however. It's no often that Dontay gets shaken like that. Walker is one impressive dude out there. I wonder who taught him that in high school???

A UB home game is necessary travel!

I'll be there no matter what the weather is. Planning on leaving right when I get home from work. Let's get to game time. Go bulls!

1 minute ago, weareub46 said:

I’m feeling a big win tomorrow too. Ball state won’t be any pushover but alumni should be rocking, we are still ranked top 20, it’s time to give the crowd a good show. 

Anybody know exactly what’s wrong with graves? Sucks he won’t be good to go but I’d rather he get healthy because we will definitely need him down the line. As Dooley said this is a great time to get those younger guys minutes. It’s not that they’re bad but they’re young and the better they can get will really help out our depth and take us to new heights 

Graves got his ankle rolled under in the 1st part of the Kent game on Friday. I assume that is what the problem is.

These guys will be ready to rock tomorrow. No game is easy, but I just anticipate a big win tomorrow. I don't have individual numbers, but I'll go with a 22 point win.

4 minutes ago, Kevin said:

Correct!

This is the way it went. He was fouled shooting prior to the half ending. The ball was not released in time, so it would just be like if he missed while being fouled in the act of shooting. This is a normal 2 shot foul. Jordan, shooting 32.1% on the year (less than his 32.4% from three), didn't convert either anyways.

This was for once the right call by the zebras. I thought they were fine in this game (a few ticky tack calls in the 2nd after letting everything go). I mean a massive upgrade to the 50 foul NIU crew which could have had any top 25 team go down. 

Yes, best officiated MAC game for the season thus far, in my opinion.

The way I saw it, the foul occurred with 0.2 on the clock, thus stopping the clock. The fact that the shot actually took place after the buzzer went should be moot, since the foul should stop the clock. That's why I feel it should be a basket plus one shot. If he was fouled and the shot (was considered to have take place after the buzzer) didn't count, wouldn't it be 1-and-1 foul shooting, instead of 2 shots? I am quite flummoxed by this one and I am not sure if there are specific examples that are referenced to in the rule book regarding a play like this. I don't grasp the "The ball was not released in time, so it would just be like if he missed while being fouled in the act of shooting", because the clock should stop once the foul takes place, therefore there should be time on the clock.

Thankfully the boys put a nice 2nd half together and the point was moot, but I am still in disagreement with the call at this time.

1 hour ago, 121Merrimac said:

Since 2002, the top three are; 4417 in '05, 4280 in '06 and 3791 in '17.  I haven't found any earlier stats.

Prior to 2002, the attendance figures were much lower than those, that's for sure.

Just now, UBigbobby said:

I would counter that, though, by saying the modern players they're up against are fairly clearly better.  Young and Martinho were the best players on some very bleh-bad Mid-Con teams.  Mitchell Watt was a MAC player of the year and an honorable mention All-American and played in the Reese's College All Star Game.  While I'm sure you have fond memories of guys like Young  but it's tough to argue that he was better than Watt.  

Well, in that case, players from the current era are far better than the "bleh-bad" (I don't disagree with your description of them) teams of old. Of course the current players are better. We are in a bigger and better league, which allows UB to recruit better, and have better coaching staffs and much higher budgets. The way I voted was based on how good I felt the player was for their career versus the time from which they played. If we just want the best 5 basketball players, we might have 5 guys from the the Hurley days-present (plus possibly Watt). All players are bigger/faster/stronger now than many years ago. Training has improved, budgets have increased, recruiting has gone global. I mean, the current teams aren't putting Zaid Alkhas and Leonard Tangishaka out there. Those guys wouldn't even sniff this team. Watt was great by the end of his career at UB (and beyond), but Young was a big contributor over his entire career. Is a 6'3 guy who scored many of his points in the paint in the Mid-Con going to truly compare to a 6'10 star in the MAC? It's just nice to consider the "old" guys for their eras with regard to the voting.

Just now, trueblue32 said:

To be fair we don't know how much the ankle injury lingered for Graves. That can be a killer for a player so reliant on his athleticism.

For sure, hence my disgust when reading that the team was "without effort and focus". Both teams played very hard out there and both teams are very good. UB winning by 9 on the road there, is more than solid. The turnovers were better too, other than the many travelling violations, but surely would love to be sewn up.

1 minute ago, UBigbobby said:

I thought the defensive effort was slow, poor and unfocused for most of the game.  You can disagree, that's fine.  Neither of us know, because we're not them.  

I will agree with it in regard to Graves and Harris tonight, they were clearly not on their game, on either end of the floor. The others looked pretty tough out there. Kent made many contested shots throughout, just have to tip the cap when they defend for 29 seconds and Walker makes a fade-away 3 from 26 feet with a hand up on D.

29 minutes ago, UBigbobby said:

Yes sure...however you have to admit the last couple games they simple haven't played up to par.  Admitting that doesn't make you a bad fan.

I'm not going to say the games were perfect, missed FT, some poor rebounding at times, less than stellar games from Graves and Harris, but it's a 40 minute game and the guys did more than Kent to get it done. Kent was channeling Markus Howard early in the game, but beyond that, UB  won by 20 or so over the final 33-34 minutes. Winning at Kent State on the road is not a guarantee, for anyone, regardless of whether or not we have a # in front of the team name on the scoreboard. Walker had some sick shots off the dribble that no one was stopping. I just find it degrading to question their effort, because I think that it was pretty strong throughout. Dontay and Davonte were running their behinds off on Walker and whoever their 2nd option was at all times when they were out there. CJ had some beautiful D at times getting hands on the ball. Just because they blow by a guy (only a couple of times over a 40 minute game) who gets caught flat footed or is having an off night doesn't make me think that the team as a whole isn't focused or playing without effort.

5 minutes ago, eanyills said:

 

Alright, I guess I should be thrilled with four minutes of good ball against mediocre competition.

 

 

 

 

I guess the Tennessee fans  probably figure their team sucks too, since they got taken to OT vs. 150+ ranked Vandy the other day, a "mediocre competition" team that beat them at their place earlier in the year. When Nevada lost to a 150+ team, did they just get considered to suck too? C'mon, these games aren't going to be all one sided. The other team is trying to win too, and these teams are neot nearly as bad as some of you think they are. We're not playing Canisius/Niagara/Marist, the MAC is a very solid league. Is it Big East or ACC? No, but it's not one where you can just expect to go out and rout teams every game. 

This team is good. Can they be better at times, of course, so can Duke, Virginia and everyone else. We have our flaws, but over 40 minutes, I'll gladly take this team versus any other in our league and they can go toe-to-toe with the non-"mediocre competition" in the NCAA.

2 minutes ago, UBigbobby said:

Ok cool.

Looking like no focus/effort now too I'd imagine  

4 minutes ago, UBigbobby said:

Well I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.  

These guys are playing with lots of effort,  yes I wholeheartedly disagree when you say they aren't. 

1 minute ago, UBigbobby said:

Was anything we said inaccurate?  

Yes. "No focus, no effort "...way wrong.

Man, you guys are tough...knocking everything that we do. Based on the comments,  you'd think we were down 30, as opposed to a 1 possession game on the road against a darn good team.

We were cost 2 points at the end of the half. If it was a 2 shot foul, the basket should've counted. They only had 9 team fouls, so if it was no shot, it would've been 1-and-1. VERY costly error on the refs part.

33 minutes ago, admin said:

Tight match between Young/Watt and Martinho/Hamilton.

Right now both number 1 seeds look like they will fall.
Tough to compare eras, but Young and Martinho were a dynamic duo.

Battle crushing his backcourt running mate Cage.

Hence the skewing of the voting, with most voters probably only having watched the more recent guys. While I enjoyed Big Shot Blake, he certainly shouldn't be beating Martinho, as he was a scoring machine back in the Mid-Con days, as was Rasaun Young.

I didn't have any problems this week, but sometimes if my internet freezes for a moment (or several), it will pick up where it leaves off. At least that way, I don't lose any game action, so I would consider it a plus...just have to stay off of twitter during the games so I don't get any spoilers!

22 minutes ago, rma said:

Morrison and Hamilton with a career high.  Defense wasn't great at times (though Akron was so bad they didn't take advantage of it), but we played well and had very balanced scoring.

Anybody catch what Coach Jack was yelling about before the double technical (both on Akron lol)?  I couldn't make out the words that she was saying because she scared the daylights out of me.  I have never heard AA that quiet.

It was 1 tech in addition to the personal foul that was already called before play was whistled. Cierra got elbowed in the head and no call, until she blew up and refs looked at the video.

Nice win. Keep it rolling on Saturday!

I'm looking forward to seeing the game tonight. Hopefully the attendance is decent. It was kind of light last week, after having a pretty solid crowd for a few games before that.

1 minute ago, rma said:

If anybody is burning their tickets (of this HUGE, TERRIBLE 2 point loss on the road) please PM me the codes so that I can list them on stubhub and donate the profits to the basketball excellence fund.

Hopefully it doesn't turn away the locals, who love jumping on and off bandwagons. If they can bounce back with a win on Friday against a tough opponent, the place should be packed against BSU. This is a critical stretch of games, with 5 out of 7 on the road (including tonight). This team is the best team in the league and needs to get back to playing a full 40 minutes, not just a few incredible stretches. We're no longer in 1st place in the MAC, so that should take a tiny amount of pressure off the team, although it could bring more onto them, considering their ranking. One game at a time and Friday's is a huge pendulum swinger for the rest of the season.

It's hard to win, no matter who you are. If you're a 90% favorite to win every game, you will lose 1 out of every 10 games, which equates to 2 league losses, in theory.  Bad shooting days, running into a hot shooter, it will happen in games during the season. Regardless, this wasn't one of our better games. Our shooting, bad turnovers, unimpressive defense at times were the cause of this loss. Hopefully this is simply part of that 10% and we don't see more than 1 more of these throughout the rest of the season. I have plenty of faith in this team and staff for a nice rebounding effort on Friday, although it surely is never easy at Kent.

#10 and 13 both go down tonight.

Teams are going to lose throughout the season. We just need to focus on our games. To be honest, as fun as it is to watch the other games (top 25 games more than I probably ever have in the past), in the end, it only matter if UB takes care of their own business. This is a tough couple of weeks, many road games, and no game is ever easy in league play. NIU is a veteran squad, with a star player. It's not going to be easy, especially on that God-awful court! I'm excited for the game. Let's get to 8pm already. Go Bulls!

16 minutes ago, squire17 said:

How can we compare UB to Gonzaga? It’s absurd. Look at next year. I don’t care who is coaching the team, UB is losing Perkins, Massinburg, Harris, Caruthers, and McRae: 62 points per game. Plus the defense that they give. And the leadership. Who will pick up the slack? I like Graves - he’s athletic and can shoot from three and get to the rim. I love Jordan - he’s a defensive stud and a real team player, but not a real scorer. Now we get to the current freshmen: Segu, Williams, and Fagan.

Segu is quick but short and light. Not much to go on so far from his body of work, but like his hustle and looking for the open man.

Williams is a rangy and raw talent. He’s got to be reigned in though. He’s a shoot first guy and when you’re 2 / 31 from three that’s bad. Too early to see what type of defense he’ll provide, but I haven’t been impressed.

Fagan - just have no idea.

The transfers and JCs: ?

Does anyone really think that the Bulls will dominate the MAC next year? If Oats remains to coach next year, they have a slim chance of returning to the dance. If Oats gets hired by one of the big boys for big bucks, God help his successor.

The returnees are good, 4 of whom are either playing big minutes this year or highly touted youngsters, who will have 1 full year of experience having practiced with and against a ranked team. The 2 senior transfers will provide instant experience. A couple of the JuCo guys have size and can provide some depth to the position. Do we think they'll as good as this year's team? It's hard for anyone to think that, but there's no reason to think that they aren't top end of the MAC with the current coaching staff in place.