UB85 Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Nice article with good pub for UB. http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/insider/story/_/id/25560720/giant-killers-buffalo-turned-giant You need a subscription to read. But it talks about cutting down turnovers and getting more shots up as important factors after team lost to Canisius and Robert Morris a few years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeseph Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Quote There's at least one drawback to profiling Buffalo as part of ESPN.com's Giant Killers feature. The problem is the Bulls might not really be a Giant Killer. Strictly speaking, Nate Oats' team may turn out to be too good for classification as a true GK. Remember your definitions here: A Giant Killer is a team that beats an opponent seeded at least five lines higher in the NCAA tournament. Well, UB is currently being projected as a No. 5 seed by Joe Lunardi. That's pretty lofty status for a team that has won one NCAA tournament game in its entire history as a Division I program. And yet -- what a win. Deandre Ayton was soon to be selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft, but he and his Arizona teammates were no match for the Bulls in the round of 64 this past March. Buffalo drained 15 3-pointers, Wes Clark led all scorers with 25 points, and Jeremy Harris and CJ Massinburg combined to score 42 more on 16-of-31 shooting from the field. Sean Miller's team was overwhelmed after halftime, and Oats' men recorded a shockingly easy 89-68 win. UB's thrashing of the Wildcats was one of the last games played on the tournament's first Thursday night, and, for exactly 24 hours, it seemed like a really big deal. Then a certain unprecedented and historic event occurred during the late window on Friday night and, well, maybe people kind of forgot about what Buffalo did to Arizona. The Bulls have rectified that oversight by sprinting out of the gate to start 2018-19. Clark is gone, but Massinburg and Harris have returned along with Nick Perkins, Jayvon Graves and Davonta Jordan. UB is 10-0 heading into its visit to Syracuse (8 p.m. ET Tuesday, ESPN2), a record that includes a road win in overtime at West Virginia. Oats classifies himself as a big fan of podcasts and books on tape, and, in particular, he's a firm believer in Urban Meyer's book, "Above the Line." Indeed, he credits the soon-to-be-retired Ohio State football coach's ideas with contributing toward a turnaround in his tenure at Buffalo. "We weren't where we needed to be," Oats says of the stretch, just two short years ago, when the Bulls lost back-to-back nonconference games to Canisius and Robert Morris. "We dropped two games we shouldn't have dropped, but we absolutely deserved to lose." Taking a page from Meyer, Oats developed what he calls a culture playbook. "We went all in, and the idea is, once that's squared away, you're not going to have to fight your players on effort." One tangible basketball result from Oats' culture of effort has been a significant drop in turnovers. Buffalo began charting each turnover that occurs at practice on a whiteboard, and this itemization of mistakes has coincided with a measurable reduction in their occurrences. As a 15 percent turnover rate has combined with a healthy (though hardly elite) number of offensive boards, the result has been an exceptionally high volume of shot attempts from the field for Buffalo. When you record a high number of attempts and they're the right kind of shots, you're going to score points. In fact, per hoop-math.com, just four teams nationally devote a lower percentage of their attempts to inefficient 2-point jumpers than do the Bulls. Massinburg in particular has proven to be a tough cover for opposing defenses. Nominally a somewhat undersized wing, the 6-foot-3 senior has in fact demonstrated a notable inclination toward scoring from either side of the arc. Just ask Bob Huggins: Massinburg scored 43 points in 41 minutes In Buffalo's OT win against the Mountaineers in Morgantown, West Virginia. The UB defense has made strides as well. Oats keeps a close eye on how many attempts his team allows opponents to record at the rim, and he draws inspiration from the best defenses he sees on tape (with Michigan and Texas Tech earning particular praise). Part of the Bulls' success on that side of the ball has been built on missed 3s by opponents, and, granted, opposing offenses are unlikely to continue shooting just 27.5 percent from beyond the arc. Nevertheless, Buffalo is solid more or less across the board on D, with Jordan recording a fair number of takeaways and Perkins supplying good rim defense. Maybe Oats saw this kind of balance on both sides of the ball coming before it happened and scheduled accordingly. Be that as it may, he and UB certainly haven't shied away from tough games in 2018-19. In addition to the win at WVU and the upcoming game against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, the Bulls will also visit Marquette later this week. In other words, no, Buffalo may not run the table in the regular season, or even be the last undefeated team still standing. Still, UB is the team to beat in the Mid-American Conference, and it's beginning to look like this group could earn a very nice seed come March. If that's the case, look for the Bulls to appear in this space after Selection Sunday as a Giant doing its level best not to be brought down by a scrappy Giant Killer. Not bad for a program seeking just its second ever NCAA tournament win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UB92 Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 That bit about turnovers...I've noticed the decrease in the numbers as well. Whatever he has said or has done, it has worked. Turnovers were the killer for UB for many, many years. Now it hasn't been as much of an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeseph Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Something that i love about this staff is that they do sweat the small stuff. They held a preseason "bonding" retreat. They made sure there was a learning experience involved with this year's MTE. They tally blue collar points (that my not otherwise show up on the stat sheet). The fact that they chart TOs in practice is such a great level of both attention to detail and accountability. And to top it all off they've got a roster of players that have 100% bought into this. The ceiling for Oats n' Co.'s tenure at UB is high! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubmae86 Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 This was a great article and such a shock to see at the top of the NCAAM tab on ESPN. I love seeing our Bulls doing well and gaining national attention. Let's ride this as long as we are able! I hope we do become the next Gonzaga! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big 4 Hoops Blogger Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 1 hour ago, ubmae86 said: This was a great article and such a shock to see at the top of the NCAAM tab on ESPN. I love seeing our Bulls doing well and gaining national attention. Let's ride this as long as we are able! I hope we do become the next Gonzaga! It's amazing seeing all of the exposure they've been getting lately. I had the same reaction as you when I saw Nate Oats headlining the NCAAM tab on ESPN. It's a great time to be a UB fan! Hopefully, they can keep it up and pick up another win tonight at Syracuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 It was great to see the culture get better post-Hamilton . We should be on a 4-peat if that team decided to care and not lose in the quarterfinals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
121Merrimac Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 7 hours ago, Jeseph said: Something that i love about this staff is that they do sweat the small stuff. They held a preseason "bonding" retreat. They made sure there was a learning experience involved with this year's MTE. They tally blue collar points (that my not otherwise show up on the stat sheet). The fact that they chart TOs in practice is such a great level of both attention to detail and accountability. And to top it all off they've got a roster of players that have 100% bought into this. The ceiling for Oats n' Co.'s tenure at UB is high! I think the addition of a psychology coach was also a great move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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