The Big Picture: Wow! I still can’t believe this. Buffalo (10-4, 18-9) erases a 10-point deficit in the final three minutes of the game to beat Ohio (7-7, 14-14) 68-66 and remain in the hunt for the MAC East title and number one seed in the MAC. It was an epic comeback; nearly the UB basketball equivalent of the Bills coming from 32 points down to upend the Houston Oilers in that classic 1993 playoff game forever known as “The Comeback.” While the analogy may seem a bit overstated, consider that much like that game, which was missed by most folks in Western New York since the game was not a sellout so was not available on local TV. Today’s game was supposed to be available on national TV. Yet, ESPNU inexplicably halted it’s broadcast about halfway through the second half and instead began showing something called “Organizing the Madness,” which was little more than a bunch of pasty-faced ESPN hacks fellating BCS schools. Great.
When I realized that the UB-Ohio game wasn’t coming back on TV, I quickly fired up the laptop and picked up the audio webcast from WECK-AM. When Ohio opened up a nine-point lead, the WECK webcast went dead. Not such a big loss I thought at the time since Buffalo seemed irrevocably on it’s way to a disheartening loss at Ohio.
Suddenly, the webcast came back and through the fuzz, I heard Josh Wetzel say that Ohio was up 66-64 with about a minute left. Holy shit!!!! I had missed the entire comeback. Just as I was trying to figure out what might’ve happened, Rodney Pierce nailed a triple with 27 seconds left to put UB up 67-66. A Calvin Betts freebie provided the final margin.
Bowling Green’s 50-46 victory at Akron (9-5, 18-11) today means that the Falcons (10-4, 17-11) are atop the MAC East since they hold a tie-breaker edge over Buffalo. But that can’t put a damper on things today. This was the sort of win that should provide the Bulls with plenty of momentum and confidence as they get ready to take on Kent State (8-5, 16-12) and Miami (8-5, 15-11) —- who are playing each other today and are currently tied at 30 at the half) —- down the stretch.
The Good: Not only did this win snap the four-game losing streak, but it was also the Bulls’ first ever win at The Convo. The way they won, making 59% of their shots in the second half, could very well be a sign that the shooting slump that has plagued Coach ‘Spoon’s side for the past several games is over.
Like usual, Rodney Pierce was the truth, scoring 27 points, grabbing 7 boards, and making the game-winning triple. More importantly, perhaps, was the fact that Rodney, who has been struggling from the charity stripe, was 8-for-8 from the line at one point. I’m not sure how he finished, but it’s a good sign.
The Bad: Let’s go with the technical difficulties that prevented me from cheering my hairy ass off during most of this monumental comeback. Better believe that ESPN wouldn’t have so cavalierly dropped the feed if this was an ACC or Big East game.
The Ugly: In a way, ESPNU dropping the feed was almost a gift since the announcing team of Cedric Toney and some empty suit was basically clueless about Buffalo, Ohio, and the MAC in general. Mitchell Watt was “Mitchell Wyatt.” Andy Robinson was “Anthony Robinson,” and in their discussion of Reggie’s ties to Michigan coach John Belein they missed the obvious point that Belein made his name while coaching Canisius, which is in Buffalo.
Who’s Got Next: It’s another must-win game for the Bulls, as they hit the road to take on Kent State this Thursday. Should UB ride the good vibes and positive energy from today’s epic comeback win to victory over the Golden Flashes, the first round bye for the MAC should be secured. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Rodney Pierce and company need to take care of business Thursday.
Sphere: Related Content
on Mar 1st, 2009 at 9:26 pm
ESPN U didn’t drop the feed, solar interference killed the satellite link. There was nothing that could be done.