How players from other MAC teams treat playing UB

[UB85]

This article from the Akron paper shows how players view playing UB this year. See quote from Jimond Ivey of the zipsin this article. https://www.ohio.com/sports/20190204/university-of-akron-basketball-mac-east-shows-potential-to-get-very-interesting

Even though they play at Toledo tonight, a game they’ll likely lose, Ivey and his mates are already looking at our game there next Tuesday as a bigger game than other MAC games. Instructive for a whole host of reasons. Clearly having won the MAC 3 of the last 4 years we are the team everyone wants to beat. Secondly with how well we’ve played this year and the recognition that has been heaped on Coach Oats and the team not to mention the sheer remote possibility of any MAC team playing a top 25 team at home you know each and every player/team/MAC coach wants nothing more than to beat us. It means we get everyone’s best shot. Which is human nature and great for us. We will be the most battle tested team come the theee days in March when we have to be at our best. But it is also shows how important it is for our guys to be 100% prepared mentally and ready to go for each and every MAC game. Lastly I think it’s a safe bet Toledo beats Akron tonight given Ivey and his teammates looking past an excellent Toledo squad to next Tuesday. Go Bulls!

[DooleyBull06]

Nothing surprising about it. We’ve been saying this since conference play started. Every team wants a court storm. As you said it forces us to raise our level of focus and play. And it’s tough to play like that every game especially when teams are admitting we don’t care about one game but we are looking ahead to you. It’s going to be a tough road to the end of conference play and I hope this hardens us. Not mentally drains us for March.