On Saturday, the Bulls (2-3, 0-1 MAC) will try to get their first conference win of the Leipold era when they travel to face Central Michigan (2-4, 1-1 MAC) at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. It will only be Buffalo’s second time playing at Central Michigan since joining the conference.
On Tuesday, Buffalo was ranked 126th out of a possible 351 teams for Division-I basketball in the nation on CBS Sports’ preseason college basketball rankings. The reason detailing why the Bulls fell into the 126th spot, was based on the departures of former head coach Bobby Hurley.
The Bulls’ (5-5-3, 0-1 Mid-American Conference) top player Russell Cicerone endured a three-game stretch in early September where he did not record a point. But like star players does, he has rebounded and started to heat up toward the most important part of the season: conference play.
After playing in just two sets during the Buffalo’s first eight games, the freshman middle blocker has played in every set since Hatchett’s injury and is currently fifth on the team in kills with 63.
A breakdown of UB Athletics' weekend.
The women’s basketball team wants to continue to build off of last season. The Bulls finished 19-13 overall and 11-7 in Mid-American Conference play.
For sophomore defender Nick Forrester, the first month of his tenure at UB was nothing short of constant change. The New Zealand native who had transferred from Butler University was adjusting to a new school and playing with a new cast of teammates. But now Forrester, who was touted as one of the best new players on the 2015 squad, has finally adjusted and is one of more important members of the Bulls.
Based on the previous 89 minutes and 55 seconds, you couldn’t blame him. The men’s soccer team had played tough with the No. 8 team in the nation with stellar defensive play and an early goal in the first half, but it was still on its way to a defeat and 0-1 to start to Mid-American Conference play.
Alkins, from Brooklyn, New York, tweeted minutes later that he had not committed to Buffalo and that “people at his school [were] playing with [his] phone.” The tweet caused shock across social media during that small time span though, as Alkins has offers from schools like Kentucky and North Carolina, according to ESPN.
The Bulls will start MAC play hosting the No. 8 team in the country, Akron (8-2-1), on Friday at UB Stadium. Buffalo was in position to make the MAC Tournament last season after 1-0-2 start to conference play, but finished the season with two losses in which it was outscored 7-0. In Year Three of the Riddle era, Buffalo may finally be ready to take a step forward as a program.
The 2014-15 men’s basketball team entered the season without its top three players from the year before. The team wasn’t big. They didn’t have elusive scorers. They were bounced in the first round of the 2014 Mid-American Conference Tournament after some projected them to win it all. But alas, all the naysayers were silenced when the Bulls went on the shock the conference and win the MAC. Why can’t that happen again?
Of the eight freshmen Bulls, five have played in at least 11 games so far this season and two of the team’s top-3 scorers are first-year players. After losing integral parts of last year’s team like Katie Roberts, Courtney Mann and Sophie Therien to graduation, the Bulls are hoping are slowly fill the void with some help from underclassmen.
With most of Buffalo’s Division-I sports in the thick of Mid-American Conference play, each team is still in contention for their respective conference titles. Of course, it’s a whole team effort, including the coaching staff, to get a team in position to compete for a championship. But each squad has standout performers that have helped take it to the next level.
We’ll always remember the stars. In terms of Buffalo sports lore, you can’t have a conversation and not bring up former Bills like Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas and Bruce Smith. Same goes for the Sabres’ Dominik Hasek, Phil Housley and Ryan Miller. But there’s one player that is often overlooked in the history of Buffalo: Former Buffalo Braves forward Bob McAdoo.
Cohen, a life-long New York Giants fan, attended his first-ever game at “The Ralph” this past Sunday when the Giants faced the Buffalo Bills. He attended games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, but this experience was very different.
They were some of the most prolific players to ever wear the blue and white. They broke records, won championship and brought some prominence to Mid-Major program over the course of their careers. But what happens to these players after they walk for graduation? The Spectrum caught up with a few recent Bulls graduates from the past few years.
The Bulls completed their first official practice of the 2015-16 season Friday in Alumni Arena. Buffalo is the reigning MAC champion and is coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance, but have a host of new faces after the departure of former head coach Bobby Hurley and several key players. The Bulls have eight new faces with a mix of freshmen and transfers.
The everyday rigors of a Division-I college football player – even for a backup like Daniel – had come to an end in December of 2014. There were no more worries, no more stresses. Life was finally carefree again. Or so Daniel thought. On Nov. 30, 2014, Daniel received a frantic phone call from his sister Carley telling him their father Jack had suffered a heart attack earlier in the day and was rushed to the hospital.
Coming off two straight losses and a 0-1 start in Mid-American Conference play, the Buffalo football team’s bye week couldn’t have came at a better time. With a week off, the Bulls (2-3, 0-1 MAC) have a chance to rest and look at the film from the past two weeks to correct several areas, including penalties, turnovers and its defense.
It’s a new era under new head coach Lance Leipold and different circumstances but the Bulls (2-3, 0-1 MAC) came up short against Bowling Green again on Saturday, this time with a 28-22 loss at UB Stadium for homecoming. And again Buffalo showed it’s not quite ready to beat the best of the MAC.
Solutions by The State News
