Bulls host Ball State in nationally televised showdown

For the first time in school history, the UB men's basketball team will be showcased under the watchful eye of a national audience in a game on Saturday that will be televised on ESPN 2.

The Bulls will try to take advantage of the positive momentum gained following Tuesday's road win over Mid-American Conference West division top seed Western Michigan, as they go up against the only other team in the last two and a half years that has defeated Western Michigan on its home court, the Ball State Cardinals.

Bulls head coach Reggie Witherspoon is optimistic following the crucial victory.

"I hope that we can really springboard from that and start to really play well," said Witherspoon.

Team scoring leader Turner Battle had a great game against the Broncos, stacking up a team high 18 points and 5 assists, with Daniel Gilbert grabbing 8 boards.

The Cardinals come into Alumni Arena riding a two game losing streak, which the Bulls will attempt to extend.

One major area that the Bulls (14-7 overall, 7-6 MAC) plan to exploit is the Cardinals' lack of depth on the bench. Ball State has only 10 players on its roster, as compared to the 15 who play for the Bulls. Additionally, Ball State plays its starters for an average of eight minutes more per game than the Bulls do. Buffalo will look to its bench, especially in the second half, to take advantage of a thin and perhaps fatigued Cardinal lineup.

"We've been playing more guys," explained Witherspoon. "When it gets to this time of year the guys have a lot of miles on their legs and we hope that our depth and our balance really help us against Ball State. We've got to, at the same time, understand that if they only play five guys we have to work just as hard as if they played 10 guys."

Rebounding, on the other hand, is a much bigger area of concern. The Cardinals have used their prowess on the boards to their advantage. 6-foot-6-inch forward Terrance Chapman has led Ball State, averaging just less then half a rebound shy of a double double each game. In fact almost four of Chapman's rebounds per game are on the offensive side of the floor.

For the Bulls to be successful, big men Mark Bortz and Yassin Idbihi will have to use their size and strength to dominate the paint. Coach Witherspoon knows this and has focused greatly on this over the past week in practice.

"Rebounding is always a focus for us, on both ends of the floor, along with execution and timing. It takes a while to get to that so we're really trying to improve in those areas," said Witherspoon.

While some might be worried about the added pressure of the national audience, it certainly hasn't bothered the Bulls.

"Our guys have been on television before, and I think that we will play just as hard as if nobody were here," said Witherspoon. "I hope that our students take advantage of the opportunity to be on national TV as well. This is a great opportunity to come out and show the nation just how powerful our Mighty Maniacs are."