The Big Picture: Bulls waste a great opportunity to cement lead in MAC East by blowing layups, missing freebies, and committing needless fouls on offense down the stretch. The end result was a 62-57 loss to Akron that allowed the Zips to catch the Bulls atop the MAC East with a 9-4 league record. (UB is now 17-9 overall and Akron 18-10). Bowling Green (9-4, 16-11) held serve against Kent State (8-5, 16-12) at home, beating the Golden Flashes 67-66, which allowed the Falcons to turn the MAC East into, well, a five team clusterfuck with Ohio (7-6, 14-13) looking like a possible darkhorse after their 75-56 demolition of Miami (8-5, 15-11) tonight.
UB is falling apart mentally at exactly the wrong point in the season. The loss was their fourth in a row and with the next game being a Sunday trip to Athens, Ohio to take on the Bobcats — a place they’ve never won at — there seems to be a strong possibility of the losing streak extending to five games. Not surprisingly, opposing coaches are sensing the Bulls vulnerability and weakness right now, as they were a non-entity during a media conference call with MAC coaches this week when the question of who the best team in the MAC East is right now came up.
And, to be perfectly honest, they aren’t the best team in the MAC East. Hell, they probably wouldn’t even be considered the best team in the MAC West at this point in the season.
The Good: Nothing. This was a must-win game and the Bulls were oddly flat during most of the first half, and came apart with the game on the line.
The Bad: How much time do you got? I don’t have to get to work until about 10 AM tomorrow morning and I know that I spend the next 12 hours writing about everything that’s bad with Buffalo right now. Yet, I’m going to have stop myself because I’m about 99% certain that I could beyond the 12-hour window. So let’s be brief about what’s bad. The Bulls are as effective on offense right now as the hapless Bobby Jindal was during his response to Obama’s speech on Tuesday night. If they aren’t turning the rock over, then they’re clanking layups, or committing foolish offensive fouls. Yet, it extends beyond offensive woes.
In his quest to right the listing O, Coach ‘Spoon has literally thrown everything and everyone but the student manager out there in haphazard fashion. There is no rhyme nor reason to the Bulls rotation at this most important juncture in the season. After being buried on the bench for most of the season, Byron Mulkey got burn again tonight. He traveled twice in seven minutes of play. John Boyer got the bulk of the minutes at the point and responded by going 1-of-5 from the floor, turning the rock over three times, and getting schooled by Zips’ frosh guard Humpty Hitchens.
Meanwhile, Andy Robinson, who, admittedly, didn’t impress tonight, remains buried on the bench as does Sean Smiley, the team’s best pure shooter. A-Rob was a 13 PPG scorer last season and the Bulls best on the ball defender. Somehow, he can’t get off the bench these days.
I don’t claim to know Buffalo’s roster and what goes on at practice more than Coach ‘Spoon. I just know that Buffalo has two senior guards with the type of skills and experience in the MAC dogfights that really seem to be needed right about now.
The Ugly: Attendance was a pathetic 2,257 tonight. Way to turnout and support your team, UB students. And, while I’m at it, congrats to the good people of Western New York who have rather sit at home bitching about Marshawn Lynch’s latest driving difficulties then get out of the house and support local college athletics.
Who’s Got Next: Even under normal circumstances, Buffalo vs. Ohio is a game that every Bulls fan circles. This Sunday’s match takes on even more importance, as UB has three games to get things turned around. That three game stretch starts this Sunday when UB visits Athens to square off with the Bobcats. It’s must-win number game number two in a row of what is really (at least) a seven-game stretch of must-win games. That overfed blowhard Chris Berman likes to say that nobody “circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills.” Being that the Bills haven’t been to the playoffs since the 1999 season, I think it’s fair to say that they haven’t been “circling the wagons” so well recently, which means that it could be time to pass that phrase onto another team from Buffalo.
In this case, that team is the University of Buffalo Bulls basketball team. They need to circle the wagons like they’re 19th Century polygamists looking for Utah. This season is still salvageable. It’s time for UB to make another statement by rolling into Athens and knocking off Ohio in an ESPNU-televised game this Sunday.
The showdown is at High Noon.
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