If you have not noticed, the Buffalo Bulls basketball team is not the same team that left fans with a sense of accomplishment before leaving for winter break.
Three weeks and four losses later, the Bulls (5-7, 1-3 Mid-American Conference) are "that" team again. The team that we all saw lose the first three games of the season, two of which could have been won.
However that is in the past and right now the Bulls have the opportunity to start over - again.
Buffalo faces Ohio University (3-10, 0-3 MAC) Wednesday night in Ohio. The Bobcats are also on a four game slide and are looking to garner some sort of momentum going into their three game road trip (all MAC games) to get right back into the thick of the MAC race.
Earlier in the year it was noted that in order for the Bulls to get the sense of winning on a regular basis, the team would have to first learn how to win. They did so, by going on a five game winning streak that ended against Fairleigh-Dickinson. Since that loss, the Bulls have tacked on another three losses and seem to have forgotten how it feels or to even be in contention to win.
So what exactly has propelled UB into this funk? Shooting a poor 35 percent from the field, while opponents are consistently knocking down shots at a rate of 49 percent is a pretty telling statistic over the last four games.
Buffalo has also had trouble getting the ball into their big men. With freshman Yassin Idbihi and Mark Bortz, the Bulls have an inside presence that is yielding some positive results. Idbihi leads the team in individual field goal percentage (.538) and is also the leading rebounder with almost seven a game while chipping in 9.9 points a game. The Bulls are hoping that the presence of junior forward BJ Walker, who sat out all of December with a back injury, will give them more options down low.
With that said however, they need to get down low on a more consistent basis.
Turner Battle, the sophomore point guard is the team's leading scorer with 12.4 points a game but at times he has seemed hesitant to actually score. While the point guard's responsibilities include distributing the ball, which he is generally good at (3.2 assists a game), Battle needs to realize that he is a scoring guard. His trademark floater that made everyone at Niagara sick is what makes him this scoring guard. His ability to create opportunities in traffic makes him standout from just a normal point guard that shoots the occasional three.
On the other side of the court are the Ohio Bobcats who are in the same boat as Buffalo. They're on a four game slide and looking for any hope to salvage what seems to be a lost season. Jaivon Harris leads the Bobcats with 13 points a game while also leading the team in rebounds with 4.3 a game.
The Bobcats come into tonight's game shooting 39 percent from the field, which would be an advantage to Buffalo who will look to run and score via the fast break against Ohio.
While the Bobcats seem to be this year's cellar dweller in the MAC, however, Buffalo should not overlook them as an easy win to get back on track. OU has played competitive basketball all season and lost to MAC powerhouse Kent State by only nine points last Saturday night. With teams like DePaul, Duquesne and nationally ranked Wisconsin on the schedule, the Bobcats will be ready for Buffalo.
The key to victory for Buffalo will be to get the ball inside to Bortz and Idbihi. UB must take control of the paint if they are to get out of their four-game slide.
Tip off is set for 7p.m. tonight in Athens, OH.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
