Undefeated Buffalo heads to Jadwin Gym tomorrow afternoon. Right before the deadline after which this exchange wouldn't serve any purpose, I traded emails with Timothy Riordan (not pictured above) of UB Bull Run for the third Know! Your! Foe! preview in as many games this season.
If you cover a team the Tigers will face down the line, let us know.
Any Elon writers out there? Hello?
What was different for Buffalo in the second half against Cornell compared to the first half?
There really was no difference. In both frames UB played its ball motion offense to build up a huge lead before making substitutions. Whenever the Bulls went to the bench Cornell was able to rally to close the lead. Then, when UB went back to their starters they pulled away.
Javon McCrea is a player who was lauded in several places his freshman year for being incredibly efficient. How well has he performed in increased minutes as a sophomore? It sounds like he's an extremely difficult matchup for opponents.
So far so good. He could still use just a little touching up on defense but the two biggest worries coming into this season were his free throw shooting and his propensity to take early fouls. Thus far neither has been an issue.
When McCrea is on his game it's easy to see why he gets so much press. He plays taller than he is and tends to take over games when needed.
Who is a player people should be watching tomorrow in addition to McCrea?
Mitchell Watt is a solid defensive forward, he's also playing some smart offensive ball this season. Between him and McCrea, Buffalo has one of the better guard pairs among the mid major schools.
Do the team's perimeter shooting numbers (9-34, 26.5%) concern you after two games? The Bulls seem to guard the arc well but can't hit consistently from behind it.
It's been the most disappointing aspect of this season. The guy we need to step up is Zach Filzen but he has been very inconsistent. Filzen is a very streaky player. When he is on he can cover a lot of ground on the scoreboard.
Has this edition of Buffalo surprised you in any way?
The free throw shooting has been very impressive. UB fans spent a good portion of last season screaming for the team to practice free throws until their hands bled or they managed to better 60% at the line. No bloody hands this year but everybody is shooting the free throws well, so far.
How close do you think Reggie Witherspoon is to getting Buffalo into the NCAA Tournament for the first time?
It's going to be really hard to pull it off this year. Akron and Kent are stacked and the weakness in the MAC West will pull the East down far enough to prevent a multi-bid. Next year the Bulls have three more outstanding players coming in when Will Regan (a Virginia transfer), Stan Wier and Jarryn Skeete all are ready to play.
In my view Witherspoon's recent recruiting has bought him a couple of years. 2013 McCrea and Regan will be seniors, Weit and Skeete will be sophomores. If he can't do it with that I don't know what it will take.
There are blanks and they must be filled in! The Bulls stay unblemished come Saturday evening and reach 3-0 for the first time if...
They keep their turnovers under 19 and their shooting percentage over 45%. Really if Filzen can get hot, even for a stretch, they can give Princeton a huge challenge.
The Tigers enter the win column for 2011-12 if...
If Buffalo's free throw shooting, or propensity for turnovers return to 2010 form. This is a team that lost to Youngstown, on the road last year because of poor performance at the charity stripe.
Before you go, please plug what you do and where you do it!
Anyone who reads the site knows I am not writer. I'm an engineer and a rabid sports who does this in my spare time with the blessing of my goodly wife.
Life as a mid major fan is hard, more so if you're a mid major fan without tradition. In the early 70's UB Students voted to put a stop to nearly seven decades of football tradition by getting rid of scholarship athletics. Ten years later the Bulls emerged as a Division III team in a university system (SUNY) which was openly hostile to the idea of any of it's schools going back to Division I.
So UB coverage, even in the Western New York area, was really wanting. When I moved to the midwest I got fed up with poor coverage so I decided to start my own site. In the summer 2009 Bull Run was born and one year later picked up by SBNation. Today we cover UB Football, Baskaball, and occasionally the schools ACHA hockey team.
Phew! Finished with 15 hours to spare until tipoff. Thanks for your time, Timothy.
