The Big Picture: Bulls improve to 9-1 in the MAC (17-5 overall) by putting the defensive clamps on Eastern Michigan (1-9, 3-21) to win 58-49 at Ypsilanti. While beating an Eagles squad that’s been pretty terrible all season wouldn’t normally be that big a deal, but with both Miami (7-3, 14-8) and Ohio (5-5,12-11) being ambushed by MAC West teams this week, the win on EMU’s floor seems pretty big. Not only did the Bulls extend their winning streak to nine, but they’ve also opened up a two-game lead in the East.
The Good: It’s become all about the D for Coach ‘Spoon’s 2008-09 Buffalo Bulls, and tonight’s game was no exception. An aggressive and energetic UB defense limited Eastern Michigan to 36% shooting from the floor and forced 15 turnovers. This was the third time in four games that UB held an opponent under 50 points. In their last four games, Buffalo is giving up an average of about 48 points. When you hold teams to 48 points, you’re going to win a lot of basketball games, which helps to explain the Bulls’ nine-game winning streak as much as anything.
Of course it also helps when you have a highly efficient and skilled player like Rodney Pierce that you can count on for 16-to-18 points a game. And it also helps when you can count on just about every player on the roster making a positive contribution each and every time they take the court. Pierce finished with 16 points tonight while 10 Bulls scored. Greg Gamble’s 8 boards paced a collective rebounding effort that was absolutely dominant, as they out-rebounded the Eagles 35-26.
And I do want to talk about just how much I love EMU’s live stats app. It’s so wondrous that I think the NCAA should make it mandatory for every team to use. Props to the folks at Internet Consulting Services and Sidearm for having the insight to include individual efficiency ratings for each player as part of the live stats package.
The Bad: 14 is too many turnovers against an Eastern Michigan team that certainly isn’t one of the better defensive sides in the MAC. Vadim Fedotov had four turnovers, the only blemish in another impressive all-around outing by the senior, and Max Boudreau had two so I’m wondering if the Bulls bigs were just trying to do a bit too much tonight. If that’s the case, I’m glad they did so tonight and not next Wednesday when Bowling Green (7-3, 14-9) comes calling.
The Ugly: The attendance was so sparse that I’m betting all the fans could’ve carpooled — in a Mini or Prius even! — to EMU’s Convo Center tonight. Only 467 lonely souls attended tonight’s game, and it sounded like even less on the streaming audio.
Who’s Got Next: Buffalo finishes their swing through the MAC West by visiting Muncie, Indiana to take on Ball State (5-5, 10-12) this Sunday. The Cardinals are probably the best team in the West this season, but that’s really not saying much. However, the Cardinals have lost only once at home in conference play so this isn’t a game UB will win just by virtue of showing up.
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