There is madness in the air today.
March's zealotry has officially begun, as collegiate squads across the country share a common objective this week: a conference championship, and thus an automatic NCAA bid.
And as the Mid-American Conference Tournament is set to get underway tonight, the secret is out about the team that has won 11 of 13, including a conference best seven straight.
"Buffalo is the most improved team in the league," said Miami of Ohio head coach Charlie Coles prior to Feb. 28's 87-73 loss to UB. "From January until now, no other team has improved like Buffalo."
"They have been waxing teams, so I was happy were able to be there at the end," said Akron head coach Dan Hipsher after Saturday's 68-60 loss to the Bulls.
"They are, by far, the hottest team in the league and certainly are going to be a formidable team in the MAC tournament," said Ohio coach Tim O'Shea after his team's 77-49 embarrassment in Alumni Arena on March 3.
Over the past 13 games, UB (16-11, 11-7 MAC) has averaged 77.9 points per, while holding opponents to just 67.2. Saturday's victory over Akron marked the fourth straight game in which the Bulls connected on over 50 percent of their field goals, further coaxing their fans into forgetting their mid-January record of 5-9 (and 1-5 in the conference.)
"I think we've been through a lot as a team, and we've grown through the adversity that we've gone through," said Bulls head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "We're still a young team that has fought through a lot, and we've had the help of students who've been there every step of the way with us."
Tonight, Witherspoon's young team will take to the court as the fifth seed against the No. 12 seed Northern Illinois Huskies (10-19, 5-13) to play undoubtedly their biggest game in their blue and whites.
It is the university's first ever men's MAC home playoff game, harvesting foreign emotions in both the students and the players. Just ask their formidable leader Turner Battle, and he'll agree that this is his biggest collegiate game to date.
"First off, all our hard work that we've done in the past has paid off, and just to see all those fans supporting us is great," said Battle. "So now we have the situation where we have a home playoff game, and you're not really supposed to lose at home. And we've never been to Cleveland before since we've been in the MAC, so I think this is a real huge game for us."
And while everybody loves to talk about the shooting clinics that Calvin Cage, Jason Bird, Daniel Gilbert, Battle and the rest of the Bulls have been putting on of late, the ever fundamentally minded Witherspoon will be the first to credit another aspect of his team's game.
"I think defense is an area that we can't lose sight of or can't lose focus of," said Witherspoon "That makes the game flow, and certainly it has helped us. It's something we've worked on all season long."
"As far as defense, that what really gets it done for us, getting all those lost balls," added Battle. "Our defense creates easy shots for us."
And recently those shots have been coming from all over the court. From 3-point bombs to inside lay-ups, UB's opponents must game plan for all phases of the game.
"Buffalo is playing as well as anybody in the league," stated NIU head coach Rob Judson on his team's Web site. "They have a real inside presence, and that helps their outside attack."
Or, in a sharp shooter such as Cage's case, it is the other way around.
"Teams have to honor the three-point line," said Cage. "And by doing that, we can get easy buckets inside from our big men. I could penetrate and maybe kick it to them, and then they could maybe have the whole paint to work with."
Tip-off for tonight's game is 7 p.m. An unprecedented crowd is expected, as fans hope to brusquely cheer the Bulls into the quarterfinals in Cleveland this week.
"I hope to see the stands full of UB blue," said Bulls forward Mark Bortz. "I want to see everyone cheering like nothing this school has ever seen before."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
