With a free pass to Cleveland on the line Thursday night, the men's basketball team was hoping to beat a conference rival on the last day of the season for the second-straight year.
Opening day came and went for the baseball team over the weekend, and though its bats were hot, the Charlotte sticks were just plain scorching.
With March looming over every college basketball team in the country, the pressure surely must be building in Alumni Arena as Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon prepares his team for another run at the NCAA Tournament. The first test for the Bulls (16-10, 8-6 Mid-American Conference) will be at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, where the team will compete in the annual MAC Tournament. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the big dance. After a crushing loss to rival Akron (21-8, 11-3 MAC) on Wednesday night, Buffalo has to tighten up numerous aspects of its game. I've compiled a list of five keys for the Bulls to make it to the tournament for the first time in school history. 1. The Bulls have to bring maximum intensity to every game they play the rest of the way. As was evident against the Zips, it's very difficult to go down big early and make your way back into the game. This falls on the shoulders of the players, as they ultimately have to find the motivation to go hard from the opening tip and sustain that effort throughout the game. 2. Sophomore forwards Mitchell Watt and Titus Robinson have to be at their best in every game. These two youngsters are so important for the Bulls, because their defense and offensive production helps take so much pressure off the seniors. Watt has shown signs of brilliance as of late and needs to continue to play with a chip on his shoulder. Robinson is so versatile on the offensive end, but he really needs to have more confidence in himself and his abilities. 3. Rodney Pierce has to shine. I've been hot and cold on Pierce since I first saw him play at the start of last season, but I have come around. He is a scoring assassin. In some games this year, he has put the Bulls on his back and led them to victory. He needs to be at his best and not only score the basketball, but get his teammates involved, too. The game against Akron showcased how dangerous Pierce can be. After being absolutely shut down for zero points in the first half, the senior came out in the second and took over. He finished with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field in the second half. If he can play at this level the rest of the way, the Bulls are going to be a tough team to handle. 4. Defense has to be a priority. This team has gone through its ups and downs this year on the defensive end of the floor. In order to succeed during postseason play, Buffalo has to play together on defense. The Bulls are 3-9 this season when they allow the opponent to score 70 points or more, and are 13-1 when they hold their opponent to 70 or less. 5. Finally, John Boyer and Calvin Betts have to provide senior leadership. Both players have been great this season for the Bulls, but they have to take it to the next level. This team will count on them in close games and Boyer needs to trust himself on offense. He is a dynamic threat for the Bulls and can fill up the stat line in a hurry. Betts needs to continue his hardnosed attack on the glass and on the defensive end of the floor. It's not going to be an easy road to the big dance, but if the Bulls buckle down and focus on these five key points, I'm convinced they'll reach the NCAA Tournament. E-mail: matt.parrino@ubspectrum.com
The road to the Mid-American Conference Tournament is reaching its conclusion and the women's basketball team is hoping to recreate the magic it experienced just a season ago. Before the Bulls (7-19, 3-10 MAC) get a chance to play at Quicken Loans Arena, they first have to close out the regular season. Up next are the Bowling Green Falcons (21-6, 11-2 MAC) at Alumni Arena on Wednesday. The Falcons are the best team in the MAC this season and dominated the Bulls in their first meeting this year, 78-60. Head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald knows how good of a team Bowling Green is, but has confidence in her squad. She felt the performance of her team in the first half of the first meeting needs to happen for the entire contest this time around. 'We played [Bowling Green] very tough, particularly in the first half,' Hill-MacDonald said. 'Although they won that game. they had to work hard to do it. It's our home court and we hope to take what we've learned the first time we played them and correct some of the things we could have done better for the entire 40 minutes.' Ringing through the halls of Alumni Arena are the memories of last season, when the Bulls surprised everyone by making it to the semi-finals of the MAC tournament before falling to Ball State, the eventual winner. Recapturing that drive and focus is essential for the Bulls down the stretch and Hill-MacDonald welcomes the change; however, she expected it sooner. 'We certainly talk about the way we finished last season,' Hill-MacDonald said. 'Each game presents a new opportunity and players have to come into each game with that mindset. We don't want to wait until the MAC tournament to finally play the way we're capable of playing.' The three games left on the schedule for the Bulls will gauge how far the team has come this season. Even though they have played poorly at times, they have a lot of talent and need to finish on a high note to have success in Cleveland. Hill-MacDonald attributes the Bulls' struggles to inconsistent play and the inability to put forth a 40-minute effort as a team. 'If we could play 40 minutes like we play three-quarters of the game, that would have made a difference in a lot [of our losses],' Hill-MacDonald said. 'That's the biggest problem – the lack of consistency in our performance.' An essential component to the Bulls' success is contributions across the board. The Bulls got beat down by the Miami RedHawks on Saturday afternoon, 67-52, in part because of the lack of support for junior forward Kourtney Brown. She scored 20 points in the game and grabbed 10 rebounds for her 15th double-double this season. The play of junior forward Jessica Fortman was solid as she scored nine points and grabbed nine boards, but she shot 3-for-14 from the field. Hill-MacDonald knows that to end their current three-game losing streak, the Bulls will have to show up on the defensive end against the Falcons. 'We need to get out and defend,' Hill-MacDonald said. 'We know we have to defend the perimeter, as they have some great shooters.' At the end of the day, this is still a very young team. The Bulls have five freshmen and four sophomores and the team is still learning how to win. 'We would have liked to see some lessons learned a bit sooner,' Hill-MacDonald said. 'But I think what we've been through this year and the playing time some of our young players have received has great potential to pay great dividends for us next year.' Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. against the Falcons. E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com
So far this season, the men's basketball team has played the role of both Jekyll and Hyde. The team started off the year playing at a high level, but has struggled recently, losing five of their last seven games.
With the halfway point of the semester looming, students across campus start settling into their courses and begin preparation for exams and mid-terms. As I prepare for my first exam in Italian 101 in about a week, I can't seem to relinquish this feeling of anger in regards to the college system as a whole. I mean, I am a communication major with a focus on journalism and I have to waste my time learning how to conjugate verbs that I will never again use, or even think about, in a language I don't have any experience in. These frustrations constantly lead me to the ultimate question of what college is all about. This should be a time where we zero in on our goals and strengthen every area of expertise we will need for 'the real world,' but we are sidetracked by all of these general requirements that are, more often than not, forgotten 10 minutes after taking the final exam. This article is in no way meant as a blow to people in foreign language fields, because I have the utmost respect for my teacher and the people who choose to study these languages. But I feel as though my time would be better spent in a class that will further my English writing skills and help me get more experience in the field that I am going into. There is just way too much emphasis put on well-rounded students in today's society. Maybe if people spent more time entrenched in their field of study when attending college, we wouldn't have to deal with so much incompetency in the work force. With all this said, I am not naïve enough to think money has nothing to do with this scam. Every college wants to get every last cent out of every last student and the more general education classes they can cram into a major, the better. What really gets me is that an argument can be made for history, science and mathematics to a certain extent, but how can requiring a second language be so important? People rarely stick with these languages long enough to have a solid base for speaking it or even understanding the language. I bet if you polled a random group of 100 college graduates, 90 percent of them wouldn't be able to speak a sentence of the foreign language they studied in college. At least I can validate the reasoning behind some courses. Some of the time, courses may offer a new outlook on a subject that a person may have never thought of adding to his or her education. However, the only time I will ever need to speak another language is if I go on vacation, and even then it will only be for a week. I just think foreign languages should be optional to students instead of forcing it down our throats. But then again, who am I kidding? Anything that deals with common sense isn't a crowd favorite when it comes to higher education – especially when it cuts into the bottom line. E-mail: matt.parrino@ubspectrum.com
Every sport has its icon. Basketball has Michael Jordan; Hockey has Wayne Gretzky; Golf has Tiger Woods.
In the first half, the women's basketball team scored 15 points and shot just 15.6 percent from the field. But a poor start didn't result in Buffalo's fourth-straight loss. The Bulls (6-15, 2-6 Mid-American Conference) turned things around in the second and beat the Broncos (5-16, 0-8 MAC), 50-46. The win marked Buffalo's first-ever win at Western Michigan after going 0-for-6 in previous attempts. It was Buffalo's first road conference victory of the season for the Bulls. During the first half, the team seemed well on its way to another road loss at University Arena. Luckily for the Bulls, the Broncos didn't shoot the ball well in the first stanza. WMU went 7-for-24 from the field and held an 18-15 lead heading into the locker room. Head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald wasn't happy with the offensive production in the first half, but made key adjustments at halftime. 'We are a very capable scoring team and we just weren't scoring in the first half,' Hill-MacDonald said. 'With every shot we missed we seemed to get tighter and more tentative and that is what we talked about at halftime.' Buffalo stayed close in the first half by going 5-for-6 from the free throw line and played solid defense against the Broncos. After a 5-0 run by WMU to start the second half, the Bulls came alive and started their charge. With 16:28 left in the game, freshman guard Abby Dowd converted on a layup and started a string of nine-straight made baskets that gave Buffalo a 34-31 lead. The two teams battled back and forth for position until junior forward Jessica Fortman converted on a three-point play that gave the Bulls a 45-40 lead. She delivered the final blow to the Broncos on a free throw that gave Buffalo its largest lead of the day at 48-41 with 28 seconds remaining. Fortman was the high scorer for the Bulls in the game, finishing with 20 points to go along with six rebounds. Sophomore guard Brittany Hedderson contributed 10 points off the bench as well as two blocked shots. Bulls' standout junior forward Kourtney Brown was quiet offensively, scoring only eight points, but she grabbed 10 rebounds in the game. Hill-MacDonald was confident her team would break out of its first-half slump. 'We knew we were lucky to be down three with the way we shot [in the first half],' Hill McDonald said. 'We knew that if we ran that same offense and got those same shots that we would knock them down and be in good shape.' The Bulls outscored the Broncos 35-28 in the second half to secure the win. They also dominated in the paint, outscoring Western Michigan 22-12 in the game. Western Michigan got a solid contribution off the bench from forward Kemmy Dominique. She was the team's high scorer with 11 points. Broncos forward Ebony Cleary was a monster on the glass, bringing in 14 rebounds while chipping in seven points. For the Broncos, the loss completed an 0-8 January. The team has lost its last nine games. The Bulls hope to build on the win when they return home on Wednesday, Feb. 3 to battle the Eastern Michigan Eagles at 7 p.m. E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com
After giving up 188 points in two games, the men's basketball team returned home with hopes of tightening up its defense and breaking out of a slump.
'[The Ultimate Fighting Championship] will be the biggest sport in the world by 2020,' said UFC President Dana White in a press conference late in 2009.
Solutions by The State News
