With only hours remaining before tonight's 7 p.m. tip off against Kent State, excitement is finally building in Alumni Arena.
Whether that excitement can continue to course through the halls of UB and the veins of its students remains to be seen.
In honor of the Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team's first winning mark at this point in the season since its inception in the Mid-American Conference, The Spectrum decided to chat it up with some figures involved in the situation.
Point guard Turner Battle, fan favorite Mark Bortz, head coach Reggie Witherspoon, Director of Student Relations Rob Suglia and senior "Mighty Maniac" Anthony Brozier were asked a series of questions regarding the state in which Buffalo basketball is in.
DR: Is this really a 12-11 (7-7 MAC) team? Does this record indicate the true potential of the team?
Turner Battle: Not really. I think we are better than 12-11, we just didn't start playing well until later in the season. But we have to deal with it, that's what we have now. Just got to keep going.
Reggie Witherspoon: Probably not. We're probably still a little better than our record, but the biggest thing for us is to keep pushing forward. We still got to have a mindset that we got to get better every day.
Anthony Brozier: I think so, considering there are no seniors on the team and most of the team consists of sophomores and juniors. I think they pretty much worked their way up and now they're reaching their potential and I think next year they'll be even better.
Rob Suglia: We're better than what the record shows,, and on Wednesday, with over 1,000 students there, we'll be much better as they all wear blue, get in for free and get bags of prizes at the door. They're hardcore, you can't stop the students from showing up, and you can only hope to contain them.
Right now what do you think the possibility is of winning the MAC?
Mark Bortz: I think it's very possible right now with the way we're playing. We are very confident we can go all the way through the MAC tournament, but right now we're worried about Kent State. If we keep playing the way we're playing, we really feel we can make it to Cleveland and beyond.
AB: I think it's very possible with the way they've been playing. They've won seven of their last nine games. So coming into the end of the season with four more to go, say they win three out of four there, I think everyone in the conference tournament should look out.
Would the season be considered a failure if you do not make it to Cleveland?
TB: I wouldn't say a failure but it would be a big disappointment for our program because we feel as though we have the talent to make it to Cleveland and the talent to go further.
RS: No season is ever a failure and the students will come to the game and propel the team to victory wearing blue as they all get in for free and get a bag of prizes at the door.
RW: I have not thought about that and I probably won't. What I'm really thinking about is getting better every single day and if we take care of that, the big things will take care of themselves.
AB: No. I think the drastic improvement they made over last year's 5-23 record is huge; it's a tremendous difference. I think it's a successful season already.
Any teams that you would like to see or not see in the playoffs?
RW: No, I have not really thought about who we would like to see or not to see. I think our biggest challenge is going to be as good as we can possibly be down this stretch run and lock it in, mentally.
AB: I'd like to see them knock out Kent State.
If not already, what does this team need to do to get over the hump?
MB: We need to stay focused on and off the court. We need to focus on the little things that it takes to win, we can't think coming into a game and thinking of blowing a team out or worrying about things that are not really important, we just need to focus as a team.
TB: Just play our basketball, which means getting offensive, defensive rebounds and loose balls.
RW: We need to do all the little things a little bit better; we need to do them more consistently and to do them for longer periods of time.
AB: I think free throw shooting has been a big problem for the team. If they can get that going a little more they might be able to win those close games.
RS: What hump are you talking about? They're on a streak, there is no hump-they're winning and we'll continue to win. Last time Kent State was here we lost at the buzzer in a thriller and then a couple of weeks ago we lost by only a couple points and they were number one. What this means is that it's revenge time because Kent State is going down. Kent State doesn't know what to expect when they come into Alumni Arena with a thousand fans supporting UB.
What would you like to see in Alumni Arena as far as fans go?
TB: For me personally it's getting better and better every year. I would love to see fans increase and show us support.
MB: Same thing, I would love to see a sell out every game, but we got to do our part and provide an exciting atmosphere for the fans and we've really seen an improvement. I just hope they keep coming out.
AB: I think I'd like to see what everybody else would like to see: a packed house. As it is, we only get 2,000 people a game sometimes if we're lucky. It'd be nice to have 6,000 or 7,000 people screaming.
RS: We are going to get every single Mighty Maniac wearing their blue shirt, which is almost over 2,000. Then we are going to get every other student here wearing a blue shirt of some kind and then we are going to break the student attendance record that was set at the home opener this year. We are going to break that record because our team needs us.
DR: What has been the difference maker for this year's team compared to last year's team?
TB: I say team basketball pretty much - sticking together as a team, playing team basketball, getting loose basketballs and just trusting each other.
MB: We just trust each other so much this year. We are a tight group; everybody that is here is really dedicated to the program on and off the court. They do everything necessary to win which is really important.
RW: I think it's the development that is taking place. You go through stages when you're on that journey, not a destination - it's a journey filled with highs and lows and development. I think our guys have developed a mindset that has caused improved play but I think our physical skills have developed a little bit too. We need to continue to do that, that's what this conference is about - development.
AB: Just the extra year of experience. Last two years there were a lot of sophomores and freshmen, now there is a lot of sophomores and juniors. That extra year of experience makes a huge difference. Obviously it's being shown in the record this year.
RS: The fans and the students. The student section has been crazy, its been growing and its been active.
Photo: Courtesy of SUNY
