UBlearns

I don't disagree.

Truthfully fellas, I'm not particularly optimistic. I understand that in this transfer portal era it's entirely possible that the team has 10 new players next year, but the sad fact remains that this team was not competitive for the vast majority of the season. They lost 20 games by double-digits, including 13 (!) conference losses. They had no semblance of a cohesive coaching/gameplan scheme. Coach will get a second season and I accept that, but the entire staff should be on the hot seat as of the beginning of training camp. I haven't figured out my benchmark yet for next season. I want to say .500 overall and .500 in the MAC, but this team was not remotely close to either of those benchmarks this season.....and let's be honest, those aren't exactly lofty goals to begin with.

Awesome story, congrats to him and good luck against whoever they play in the final.

Amen

For what it's worth, Torvik shows trendlines for the reason that shows the team's averages over the season, moving averages over the last 5 games, etc. According to the metrics, UB is playing slightly better basketball, on average, as the year has gone on. That said, those metrics are very bleak and UB is still ranked 346th in the rankings. Edit - whoops, this has already been posted above. I didn't realize there was a second page of this thread, so I didn't see it before posting. My bad.

On paper it seems like a great move for everything except football. Their basketball program (while no, it's not Gonzaga) will raise the overall tides of the conference and they'll compete at a high level. Academically it seems like a slam dunk and gives UB an academic peer in the conference. Football doesn't move the needle much, but overall I think this is a pretty nice get for the MAC.

Watching Kent vs Akron - Enrique Freeman is just so good.

I don't doubt that this is the case, but you know what else will cause a hole in the athletics budget due to loss of income? Dwindling results on the court and on the field because you haven't been able to keep up with the changing NIL times.

With all due respect, if you're referring to a window of true national relevance (i.e. frequent NCAAT appearances in mens and womens basketball, frequent bowl games, frequent conference championships, upgraded conference, somewhat regular national top 25-50 rankings), the window is long closed. You could argue whether the window was ever open at all. UB does not have the donor base, the state funding support, the student support, the brand recognition/media market, the athletics cachet of a program that can sustain success and move up the ranks. The "Haves" in college athletics are consolidating, and UB (along with every other G5 school, and truthfully many of the bottom-feeder P5's) is on the outside looking in. That doesn't mean we shouldn't strive for success. UB should absolutely have an NIL collective and solicit donations, and UB should have the resources to be a contender in the MAC in all sports. But the Tilman Fertittas and T Boone Pickenses and Phil Knights of the world don't grow on trees.

For what it's worth, UB is 4 games back of going to Cleveland (WMU is 5-7 in the 8-spot, with UB at 1-11). Western is home to Miami on Tuesday, with UB home against Eastern. If Western wins and UB loses, I'm not sure how the tiebreakers work but UB would be 5 games out with 5 to play. It's conceivable (though again, I don't know how the MAC tiebreakers work) that UB could be eliminated from postseason play on Tuesday night.

I mean.....looking at the results? I would.

Down to 348 on Kenpom and 349 on Torvik. Here are the teams that UB is better than: LIU-Brooklyn, Lindenwood, Alabama A&M, VMI, Siena (not sure what's happened to them), Stonehill, St. Francis PA, IUPUI, Southeast Missouri State, Detroit Mercy, UMES, Coppin State, and Mississippi Valley State. These are our peers now, fellas. What a complete and unmitigated disaster.

Chatman didn't play last year - he missed the entire season with a torn ACL. Frankly, he could've been the missing piece that the team needed to get over the hump last year.

Dismissed from the Old Dominion basketball team today. He's their leader in ppg, rpg, and apg, averaging 17.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg, and 3.1 apg in 19 games, as a freshman.

Can't say I have a strong opinion about the hire, but on the surface I don't hate it. Onward and upward.