Buffalo @ Western Kentucky

[DooleyBull06]

In know the wound of the Bonaventure game is still fresh but I just wanted to get a few WKU game thoughts out.

I watched the final 4 minutes of their game today. I heard on the broadcast that they might be without their leading scorer bc of covid.  Also noticed they have a 7 footer who is a rim protector and pick and roll/alley type player. Also noticed they play a mix of man and 2-3 zone defense. Wonder if they deploy that against us. 

[dutchcountry7]

They are a good team.  A nice win to get back on track. 

[Jeseph]

Still considering making the drive from Evansville even though I’m just a complainer who hates the program and wants it to fail.

[mikescherrer8]

2 minutes ago, Jeseph said:

Still considering making the drive from Evansville even though I’m just a complainer who hates the program and wants it to fail.

God forbid you have standards and hold them high. Shame on you. 

[UBminicre]

50 minutes ago, mikescherrer8 said:

God forbid you have standards and hold them high. Shame on you. 

At least a few of those people quit the board… they can’t possibly take the criticism from fans willing to travel 100s of miles to see the team lol

Edited December 5, 2021 by UBminicre

[mikescherrer8]

6 minutes ago, UBminicre said:

At least a few of those people quit the board… they can’t possibly take the criticism from fans willing to travel 100s of miles to see the team lol

People don’t get it, the ones who are complaining are the ones who sat through Cohane and Witherspoon. The ones who say through that DO NOT want to go back there. That’s why we are critical. That is why we hold high standards. 

[MuchMany]

3 hours ago, Erie County said:

I bet i predict it! not play for 30 minutes, show up for the last 10, and win/lose by 3.

Western Kentucky is better than SBU (without Lofton) 

How's WKU better than SBU without Lofton? 3/4 D1 wins this year are against Alabama St, Alabama A&M, and UT Martin, all in the mid 300s nationally. All their wins are at home. We'll maybe be 2-point favorites there, vs. 4-point dogs vs Bona. Vegas knows much more than you or I.

On the contrary, the North Texas team that we defeated and some diminished as a nothing mid-major, is ranked 88th on BartTorvik, just beat a good Drake team, and stayed with Kansas and Miami (FL). That was a really solid road win for us, which we knew at the time.

[dutchcountry7]

1 hour ago, MuchMany said:

How's WKU better than SBU without Lofton? 3/4 D1 wins this year are against Alabama St, Alabama A&M, and UT Martin, all in the mid 300s nationally. All their wins are at home. We'll maybe be 2-point favorites there, vs. 4-point dogs vs Bona. Vegas knows much more than you or I.

On the contrary, the North Texas team that we defeated and some diminished as a nothing mid-major, is ranked 88th on BartTorvik, just beat a good Drake team, and stayed with Kansas and Miami (FL). That was a really solid road win for us, which we knew at the time.

You act like they have bad losses.  Their losses are Minnesota, South Carolina, and Memphis.  
 

WKU is expected to be good this year and are performing where they are expected to be performing.  
 

They have won the games they have been expected to win. 
 

Too early to say how good they are but they are going to be a good game. 

[MuchMany]

1 hour ago, dutchcountry7 said:

You act like they have bad losses.  Their losses are Minnesota, South Carolina, and Memphis.  
 

WKU is expected to be good this year and are performing where they are expected to be performing.  
 

They have won the games they have been expected to win. 
 

Too early to say how good they are but they are going to be a good game. 

I think they're a fine team and if we're indeed favored by 2 that means a close game. They have a crazy 7'5" center which is interesting. I just said their wins aren't really impressive. Our road North Texas win is better than their home Eastern Kentucky win. I don't think they have bad losses, but losses to Minnesota and S. Carolina were QII and QIII, respectively, so who knows?

A loss will be disappointing for sure and people will be freaking out. Big game.

[BrooklynBull]

6 hours ago, mikescherrer8 said:

People don’t get it, the ones who are complaining are the ones who sat through Cohane and Witherspoon.

Youngster.  What about the Richardson, Hughes, Pope years, although Hughes did get the Bulls to the NCAA tournament.

Edited December 6, 2021 by BrooklynBull

[mikescherrer8]

2 hours ago, BrooklynBull said:

Youngster.  What about the Richardson, Hughes, Pope years, although Hughes did get the Bulls to the NCAA tournament.

Would you care to describe what it was like to witness the transition from horse and buggy to the Model T? 

[BrooklynBull]

6 hours ago, mikescherrer8 said:

Would you care to describe what it was like to witness the transition from horse and buggy to the Model T? 

Sort of like people today who say that we need to keep running cars and other items on oil based products rather than seeing the future using the same products on renewable energy sources.

[DocCas86]

19 hours ago, Erie County said:

I bet i predict it! not play for 30 minutes, show up for the last 10, and win/lose by 3.

Western Kentucky is better than SBU (without Lofton) 

No doubt that the game with WKU will be close as you give away 3.5 points being on the road.   However, I hope that you are wrong about the not playing for 30 minutes part.  Maybe I am in minority, but I think that the Bulls didn't play for roughly first 10 minutes of the second half (not 30 minutes).  In the first half, we didn't shoot well, but the team played hard and missed some open looks but kept the game close throughout the half.  The start of the second half was the problem - we hit first two buckets to pull within two, but things spiraled downward from there.  I give some credit to the Bonnies for clamping down on 'D".  Let's hope the Bulls keep the droughts to a minimum during WKU game.

As far as what the Bonnies ranking is without Lofton,  we actually have a  couple of data points - while not perfect they provide some perspective.  So preseason, St. Louis was ranked #67.  Then after Javonte Perkins injury was reported, that dropped St. Louis to 115 (so initial estimate dropped rank 48 places).  St. Louis is currently ranked 87, a drop of 20 spots.  The 50 point drop expectation seems consistent with how the oddsmakers estimated impact of Lofton on Bonnies, as they set spread at +3.5 (= home court advantage or ranking equal to Buffalo-> mid 80s).  My guess is the Bonnies are 60-70ish team without Lofton, still a very good team.  Western Kentucky is currently ranked around 130, so I would say Bonnies are still a much better team than WKU even without Lofton.

[DocCas86]

2 minutes ago, Erie County said:

Bonnies are 88th net. I think Lofton means as much to them as any midmajor. Without him they are certainly in the same range as WKY. 

So you are are saying the  Bonnies without Lofton drop roughly 100 spots to WKU ranking of 185? Per most ranking sites St. Louis dropped 20 without Perkins and spread suggested they were even with us?  Spread with WKU suggests independent view is we are better.  I will agree to disagree with you.

[UBlearns]

Never mind - site link I was using is not updated.

Edited December 6, 2021 by UBlearns

[Jeseph]

Will be in attendance

[DocCas86]

5 minutes ago, Jeseph said:

Will be in attendance

Hope your travels are rewarded!

[MuchMany]

Saw us open as 3-point favorites which seems just about right to me. Bulls are my bet to cover and bounce back, 78-71.

[DocCas86]

17 minutes ago, MuchMany said:

Saw us open as 3-point favorites which seems just about right to me. Bulls are my bet to cover and bounce back, 78-71.

Certainly looking for a W after tough Bonaventure loss.   Most sites I see this is closer to a toss up. 

Reading a little about WKU last game, they shut down 2 PT shooting by EKU, so hoping the 3 is falling early.

[MuchMany]

Line is moving WKU's way, not a great sign. Anyone know if they're getting back the two key guys who missed last game? 

[clodney]

WKU has a pulse so barring any miracles where we somehow sink 9 shots in a row, I expect a close loss. 

[Shadow_Son]

Hello all, WKU fan here with a Hilltopper perspective for the game.  5th year senior forward Josh Anderson will not play tonight. He is still in quarantine from Covid and should be cleared by Friday .  Anderson is a 6'6 human highlight reel and a menace on the defensive end who is averaging 10 a game for us this year.  If you have some time and are bored, just do a quick youtube search of his dunks.  He's been on SC top 10 more times than I can count. Big miss. We are hopeful to get Maryland transfer Jairus Hamilton back tonight after he missed the EKU game with a back injury, though nothing has been reported yet that he will play.  Hamilton is a 6'8 wing/forward who can shoot the lights out and bang in the paint.  He's our leading scorer on the year with 19 a game.  If he cant go, it will be a tough one for the Tops to pull out.  We are also waiting on the NCAA to clear Cincinnati transfer Keith Williams eligible to play. The 6'5 combo guard averaged 15 a game for the Bearcats in a second team all-AAC season last year.  Top 50 freshman PG Zion Harmon has also yet to dress for the Tops this season due to personal reasons.  We are pretty short-handed and nowhere near the team we could be at full strength.  As for play style, the Tops are a prototypical "Stans-ball" team.  Defend 2's, make you shoot more 3's than normal, and kill you at the FT line. We have routinely MADE more free-throws than our opponents ATTEMPT for 4 seasons running now. We simply do not foul on the defensive end and we draw a ton of fouls the other way.  If Hamilton cant go tonight, look for this to be even more of a point of emphasis as we will only have 7 players available.  We will likely play zone to protect guys from getting in foul trouble.  We defend 2's well with college ball's tallest player in 7'5 Jamarion Sharp patrolling the paint.  Sharp is averaging 5 blocks per contest and alters many more. Again, we want you to kick out to shooters.  Stans doesn't believe anyone can hit enough three's to beat us (though it has happened a ton of times) so we will let you shoot as many threes as you wish.  If you hit them, good chance you run away with it. We currently turn it over at an alarming rate, but are also forcing more turnovers than any Stansbury team since he's been here.  We want to play a quick pace and get up and down the floor in transition.  If you can slow us down and beat us up in the halfcourt - good things will come your way.  This game will come down to 2 factors: rebounding and turnovers. Since you will be shooting longer shots, WKU has to make sure the Bulls don't get the long rebounds and second chance points.  Whoever wins those two categories will likely take the contest.   I have so much respect for the Buffalo program and so happy to start a mini series with you.  Looking forward to a good game tonight and think the Tops fans will show up to the tune of 5-6k, but expecting a Bulls win by about 5-10. Cheers. 

Edited December 8, 2021 by Shadow_Son

[UBlearns]

Any road game at a school like WKU shouldn't be taken lightly.  They may be down a bit this year, but it's not like they're Canisius or something.  Vegas line aside, I view it as a toss-up and expect it to come down to the wire.

[Shadow_Son]

9 minutes ago, UBlearns said:

Any road game at a school like WKU shouldn't be taken lightly.  They may be down a bit this year, but it's not like they're Canisius or something.  Vegas line aside, I view it as a toss-up and expect it to come down to the wire.

I would only say we are "down" this year so far because we have yet to see 2 sure fire starters in uniform and could be without an additional 2 starters tonight due to covid and injury.  Diddle arena is one of the best mid major arenas in the country. Only 7,300 capacity but can get rocking and feel as if the fans are right on top of you.  We are 28-4 in non conference home games since Stansbury has taken charge.  Still think the depth and experience of the Bulls will be too much for us tonight. 

Edited December 8, 2021 by Shadow_Son

[Tee4three]

So if wku plays 7 guys, pushing the pace will be more important than ever

 

How did wku finish their last game(strong or did they hold on)? Eastern Kentucky likes to run and press

 

Edited December 8, 2021 by Tee4three