Down the stretch, Where Buffalo Stands

With seven games left UB is in a position that they have not been for some time. In the middle of the pack trying to scratch and claw their way to a first round MAC tournament bye.

There are two words to describe this years team. Potental and Inconsistent.

They have played as well as anyone, they have also managed to play more poorly than most everyone. Often they do these two things in the same game, and the “poorly part” often comes in the late stages.

They beat Akron in their house, took MAC leading Bowling green into the half with a huge lead. They also managed to collapse late against EMU after getting their big to foul out and let Bowling Green wipe the floor with them.

It’s a direct TV / Cable season with a lot of games that are themselves equally schizophrenic.

All that has led to a 6-5 start to UB, heading into their final seven games

Currently UB would be the 7th seed in the MAC, They are tied with Kent but lose the tie breaker. They are also one game out of a tie with Ball state for the last by slot, though BSU has a tie breaker on Buffalo.

They get a crack at Both teams this year, also a shot against Akron at home. If the Bulls can pull these three games, and that’s a big if, then they are well set up for a top four finish. Their other games are against Toledo, Ohio, and Miami.

Take two of those, through in a loss to Bowling Green and UB is 11-7, and will be either the 3 or 4 seed in Cleveland, and as Nate Oats proved in 2016, anything can happen in Cleveland.

At this point in Nate Oats first season UB was 7-4 but they headed into a three game skid that put the season outlook in jeopardy. They rounded out MAC play 3-5 and managed to limp into the MAC tournament with a three seed.

Nobody much expected what happened. It was a new coach and new stars. But UB cut down the nets.

I have my doubts about this teams ability to get it done, but they have had moments that make me believe. The question is, can they start to play 40 minutes every night?