RocChiTown

Would love this series to be a H&H each year. I know Bona wouldn’t do it now with so many other scheduling commitments, but they should honesty dump the Canisius series and opt for Buffalo. For the better part of the last decade, this game is a Q2 or sometimes Q1 for the visiting team. IMO, both programs could use more of those games on their OOC slate. Not to mention it’s usually the best drawing crowd pre-conference play. Niagara and Canisius hover around a Q3/4 annually and there does not seem to be much interest in those series any more. CC couldn’t sell out a weekend game against SBU a few weeks back.

I'm not sure how I'd categorize SMU Hoops. They are not a top-tier program, but they really aren't a mid major either. There's no reason why SMU can't be a great hoops program. Dallas is one of the best and fastest-growing hoops recruiting areas in the country. Add in the fact they have a nice arena and great practice facility, and you could see why they have the ability to be better than they have been in the past. SMU spends more on hoops than Rutgers, Seton Hall, Dayton, Xavier, Georgia Tech and Oklahoma State to name a few. I have to imagine SMU will be amongst those invited to the Big 12 should they expand again 5-10 years down the road. They have all the intangibles you want in a program, but for whatever reason the results haven't been there.

Not sure what the spread is now, but I'd expect it to be <3.5. Holmes or possibly Quadry Adams will be running point during Lofton's extended absence. Adams is a transfer from Wake Forest. Does not appear to be an offensive threat, but very athletic and great defender. You could also see Linton Brown fill in more at the 2 if Holmes runs point. Brown was a JUCO-AA, but has played sparingly thus far. Was a great shooter in college, but has not found his rhythm in his limited minutes.

I'm not sure what your definition of relevant is, but Bona got back to relevance in 2012. Have that sustained that? Yes and no. 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2021 were good years. Same can be said for the Bulls. Making the tourney gets you back to the national stage and winning big games on TV throughout the year helps you stay on the mind of fans, recruits and people that make important decisions about scheduling and invites to good MTEs. Hopefully more NCAA bids are on the horizon for both the Bulls and Bonnies.

What do you gain by posting something like this? You make Bona fans look bad and insecure.

Every time I watch basketball I think of the injuries. Such a violent game on your joints. Hope he’s ok, but doubt he’s at full strength for Saturday. HATE seeing these young guys get hurt, however minor.

Lofton leaves game with ankle injury. Did not look pretty

Buffalo seems to be a good matchup for the Bonnies. Mballa seemed to outclass OO the last time they played, and I expect that again Saturday. Oddly enough, I think their backup big is a better matchup with JM. Lofton V. Segu should go the BONNIES way IMO, so it’ll come down to if they can contain Williams. I assume Welch or Adaway will be on JW. If SBU can hold Jeenathan to ~15, I think the Bonnies will win. If not, I’ll go with UB.

They’re a tough team to read. They smoked Marquette, beat Clemson and Boise, but have played their worst games against some of the worst teams in Division 1. No idea what to think

It's like the Bona nut that tweets at EVERY national beat writer to say Bona is NOT in Olean. Odd hill to die on...

It really makes no sense. Duquesne, UB, Dayton, SJU, etc. all sell beer.

UNI is a pretty good program. I hope you know that.

Bonnies schedule for the A10 is pretty rough this year, too. It's early, but they could have nine total games against Q1/Q2 clubs. I'll be shocked if Bona loses less than five games in conference.

The better you are and the more $ you have, the easier it is to schedule. When UB is scheduled to be a Q1 game for a team like SDSU, I bet they would agree to be bought if the $$ was right. UB obviously doesn't have enough cash to make that happen presently. That's why an additional buy game could bridge that gap.

That is obviously the biggest part of the equation. Not asking for more road games than already scheduled.

Depends if it was on the road or not and who was paying. I'm saying more years three true road games is enough. If UB is playing three, four or five road games OOC and Clemson, Dayton, etc are playing one. Road games are typically harder to win (obviously). Look at the records of bubble teams road records.

Noted, I am not privy to Monmouth's scheduling details. I never saw a return trip so figured it was a buy. STILL, I wouldn't agree to scheduling more than three games that I thought would be a loss.

I get your reasoning, and agree that you don't want to sell games, BUT, so long as the budget is what it is, Buffalo likely needs another quality home game on this slate to make a realistic case at an at large. Get rid of UNT and replace them with Va Tech. Use that $ to get South Dakota State. I am very hesitant with agreeing to H&Hs with other mid majors programs. It's so hard to predict what the program will be the next year. Does the coach leave, the best player, do they graduate their best players and return to mediocrity? Top mid majors avoid H&Hs with lower mid majors for that reason. Just prefer to schedule year of instead of predicting what a team will be like the following season.

Monmouth was bought by Syracuse, South Carolina, Memphis and UNC, no? They then agreed to a H&H with Wagner, which helped them the first year and hurt them the following year when they weren't ranked highly. I want to upgrade the home slate, but that's not happening without a bigger MBB budget, which isn't happening right now. I don't care who the three teams are, so long as they are either Q1/Q2 and you get the buy money back. Buffalo right now does not have the money to buy a team like Colgate, South Dakota State or Murray State, correct? Playing top teams on the road likely means a loss, but that loss won't keep you out. Monmouth knew this, but never used the money to get good home deals. They beat very average clubs that did not secure them Q1/Q2 games that allow you to be in the mix for an at large bid. Using that money to UPGRADE your schedule would help the program. Use the money from Michigan to buy South Dakota State. You get a top 100 program like you want. I think playing thee buys, and 1 H&H (with Bona), and then getting 3 good buys is not a bad schedule. Most low mid majors play 5, 6, 7 road games OOC, which I don't want. Three isn't terrible.

What don't I know? How to get a team into the NCAAs? You're attacking me without proposing what you'd do. Monmouth won a bunch of games against poor competition, that much I do now. Drexel, SCST, Cornell, Holy Cross, Wagner, Army and Princton were their OOC games they won. Maybe one or two of those games were quality. Show me the schedule you think would merit at large consideration. The goal should be more home games. More home games means more wins. Which is good even if you're not a real at large contender. If UB does not have the budget to do that, then they'll have do something else to make that happen.

Where did I say UB should play FIVE road games OOC like Monmouth did? That Monmouth model is not what I am close to suggesting. I said play three against top competition that pays. Monmouth didn't sniff the NCAAs because they did not have any good teams at home or on a neutral site. They did not get into as good of an MTE as UB did this year. My philosophy does work, but it takes money to make happen. The goal should be maybe 1 H&H (Bona) and two or three buys against a top 25. You then use that money to get GOOD home buys. Something Monmouth did not do. It costs money to be a good hoops program consistently. That's why you see so many different teams in the mix outside of the top 10 conferences.

The Monmouth situation only happens because they had horrible luck. Monmouth had great "name wins" but those teams just happened to have the worst years in program history. They beat UCLA, USC, Notre Dame, Rutgers and Georgetown. It just so happens all of those teams stunk. Had they had that season in 2019, they would have made it as they would have benefited from the Quadrant system that was yet in place. I know you don't build an at large resume from top losses, like Michigan, but they are not a blemish on your resume. If UB were to add two other teams in the top 20 or 30 and lose to them, they would not be knocked for losing. So with that in mind, you use that buy $ to get a Q2 game in AA. I get the comparison to the WCC, but the MAC schools aren't close in budget or quality. Your scenario works if you have the money to buy decent games and have conference games that are Q1/Q2. Beating PP won't drop your NET, but also doesn't give you a chance at a good Quad1/2 win. If the choice is Point Park or Chicago State, then I agree you play PP because it is cheaper than getting Chi State, and doesn't drop your NET. In an ideal world, you don't play more than one or two road games. Like you said, you play as many at home or on a neutral site, but that takes money and an invitation to a good MTE.

I am very interested to see how Mballa v. Osunniyi round two goes. Two years ago at Alumni Arena, Mballa seemed to have his way with OO and got the Bona big man to foul out pretty early in the game.

Bona has the same issue to a lesser extent. How many road games should you play? I do get you don't put a schedule together to lose, but if you do 2-3 buy games that yield a return of ~90K, couldn't you then use that $$ to schedule good home games against Colgate, Yale, etc? A10 sets limits against the number of times you're bought, but I don't believe the MAC has the same rules. As we've seen many times on Selection Sunday, good losses don't really count/ hurt you, but you better have some good wins in there. While SJFC and PP don't hurt your NET rankings, they don't give you the Q1/Q2 wins that every mid major looking for an at large bid needs. While it's difficult, you could build an at large resume beating the top mid majors. It's much harder to project, but still possible.

Out of curiosity, why did the games with PP and SJFC come about? Did contracts with other schools fall apart at the last moment?