It seems like a lifetime ago, but it was actually less than a year. The University at Buffalo's men's basketball team defeated Kent State in front of a record audience at Alumni Arena and turned its 2003-2004 season around.
The Bulls have been able to maintain the momentum they gained following the now-famous Kent State game throughout the rest of last season and through much of the beginning of this season.
The Bulls do not get this match-up on their home court, nor they do need their season to be turned around, but they do need a victory against Kent State (11-6 overall, 3-3 MAC) to reach the top of the Mid-American Conference East Division standings, which is a spot the Bulls (10-4 overall, 3-3 Mid-American Conference) were projected to be holding since the beginning of the year.
The Bulls have seemed unable to find their stroke shooting the ball recently, scoring fewer than 70 points in each of their last three games.
"I think that our shooting hasn't been awful, just that the pace has been a little slow," said Bulls' head coach Reggie Witherspoon.
During this drought, the Bulls are shooting just 39.5 percent from the field, which includes 26 percent shooting from beyond the arc. In their last game, against Miami (Ohio), the Bulls were able to shoot 6-for-11 from three-point land, but in the previous two games Buffalo hit just two treys while putting up 11 and 16 shots respectively in the two contests.
Witherspoon was impressed by the Bulls' progression against Miami, and expects that to be the level at which the Bulls perform in games to come.
"You know the last game we shot 11 threes and we got shots that were good shots for us, and I think that comes with poise, we're certainly working on that," he said.
The Bulls will have to focus on two very strong players from Kent State: Jason Edwin and Kevin Warzynski. Edwin is currently averaging 11.6 points per game and is shooting 43 percent from the land of plenty. UB will also have to keep an eye on Kevin Warzynski, who is averaging 12.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
"They (Kent State) do so many things well, but they really shoot the ball well from three," said Witherspoon. "We're really going to have to pressure the ball well, and rebound the ball well."
The post play for the Bulls has been impressive so far this season, with both Yassin Idbihi and Mark Bortz leading the team in rebounds, both averaging just over 5.5 boards per game.
The Bulls have been able to out-rebound their opponents in the last couple of games and will need to continue that success if they hope to be effective against Kent State.
With their last victory over Miami, UB reached 10 wins on the season. The men's basketball team has never won 20 games in Division I play. The Bulls, at the halfway point of their schedule, are on track to do that this year.
"It passes through my mind, but I try not to really lock in on (20 wins)," Witherspoon admits. "I still try to stay locked in on 'Let's get better.' Let's be better today than we were yesterday and let's be better tomorrow than we were today."
Being halfway through the season, the Bulls are able to look back and identify what it is that they need to improve on for the second half of the year.
"We're really trying to work on being stronger with the basketball and having some poise defensively," said Witherspoon. "What we've done is we've gotten better at not turning the ball over, which means we'll have more possessions, we'll have enough possessions to be able to score points but we've got to set the pace."
Buffalo is going to have to show that poise, and ability to set the pace of the game to defeat the Golden Flashes tonight, but it might not take too much effort to outlast Kent State. With just one day off in between their last game and the game tonight, the Flashes will need to dig deep to be able to stay with the Bulls as they attempt to run the floor and play a more open style of offense.
"I know that our natural pace is to have a lot of possessions and get up and down the court," said Witherspoon. "We haven't been doing that, but we want to get back to doing that."
Last year, the Bulls split their match-ups against Kent State, with each team winning on their home floor. So far this year, the Flashes have yet to lose on that home floor, and their home court advantage is just another factor that the poised Bulls are going to have to overcome.
Tip off is set for 7 p.m. tonight in Kent, Ohio.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
