The Big Picture: Bulls (11-5, 19-10) come from behind to knock off Miami (10-6, 17-12) in overtime 70-67 and claim a share of the MAC East regular season title and the all important MAC Tournament first round bye. Unfortunately and not surprisingly, Ohio (7-9, 14-16) did Buffalo no favors today, running for the bus against Bowling Green today and getting thrashed to the tune of 75-41. The Falcons (11-5, 18-12) rout enabled them to claim the top seed in the MAC tourney since they swept UB this season.
Even though they aren’t the top seed and could face Kent State (10-6, 18-13) in what would be a semis or even final-worthy quarterfinal, the regular season ended on a positive note for the Bulls. By going 2-1 down the stretch, with the sole loss coming in OT at Kent State and the two victories being the miracle comeback win at Ohio and today’s massive win over Miami, the Bulls head to Clevo with a measure of momentum and restored confidence.
The Good: On senior day, the Bulls’ two key seniors, point guard Greg Gamble and shooting guard/wing Andy Robinson, really came through. There were points in the second half where it seemed that Gamble, who played all 45 minutes, was keeping Buffalo in the game through sheer will. When he knocks down that mid-range jumper off the dribble, like he did today, the Bulls are very tough to beat. When Gamble runs the point with an efficiency that’s on the verge of being Turner Battle-esque, like he did today, UB is the best team in the MAC.
As for Andy Robinson, after being an honorable mention All-MAC pick last season, it’s been kind of a disappointing season senior. However, the Bulls getting their mojo back the last three games has coincided with A-Rob getting his back. He led the Bulls with 17 points today, which included a clutcher than clutch 6-of-6 performance from the free throw line.
If Gamble and A-Rob play like this in Cleveland, Buffalo will be a very tough out.
The Bad: Bulls dug themselves a deep hole again, falling behind 40-27 at the end of the first half. Don’t know exactly why it is that Buffalo has started flatter than a prairie in the Plains states the past several games, but Coach ‘Spoon has to figure out a way to put a halt to this trend, because you really can’t count on continually coming back from double digit deficits to win games.
The Ugly: Another embarrassing and pathetic “turnout” at Alumni Arena today. On Senior Day, with the MAC title on the line, only about 2300 were in attendance. And those who were, especially the UB student section, really need to learn how to act at a college basketball game. It wouldn’t be so bad if it was a raucous 2300 on hand, but for just about every game this season that I’ve seen, those on hand at Alumni have skewed sedate rather than loud or unruly. It’s too bad because when the fans were louder and more plentiful, the atmosphere at Alumni was rollicking and it was truly a tough place to play. That certainly isn’t the case now.
CORRECTION: Turns out that it’s Spring Break so there weren’t all that many students still on campus, which helps to explain why the atmosphere was not as nuts as it should’ve been. I still think the failure of folks in Western New York to embrace the UB athletic program is problematic, but that’s not something I think will ever change. What could and should change is student support for the program. Since they weren’t in Buffalo today, I can’t really fault them.
Who’s Got Next: Bulls get winner of 6 v 11 game — Kent State versus Northern Illinois (5-11, 10-19) — that takes place on Tuesday at 2PM. Obviously, Bulls will be routing for Huskies to knock off the Golden Flashes. Based on their only meeting this season, there’s a better chance of that happening — 10% or so — than one would otherwise think as the Huskies took Kent State to double overtime before losing 86-83. Regardless of who their opponent ends up being, I think UB, especially Greg Gamble, are happy having a few days off.
One thing to bear in mind is that only one MAC side this season has won three games over three consecutive days to claim a tournament title. That team is my Buffalo Bulls.
Sphere: Related Content
0 Comments on “UB Bulls Beat: Getting That Bye The Hard Way”
Leave a Comment