Quick update…. The Bulls are now 4-3 after losing a nail-baiter to St. Bonaventure. They hit a jump shot with about six seconds left in the game, causing us to race down the court and take a heavily contested jumper that didn’t fall. That now brings our road record to 2-3.
If you have been following us this entire season, you can see that we have obviously had some struggles on the road. Don’t worry though, you know Coach Witherspoon and the coaching staff are fixing that and now paying more attention to the little things than ever before. However, life on the road is like no other. If you haven’t done the math yet, our last four games have been away making 5 out of our 7 games so far this season on the road (including Canisius). So you ask, what’s the big difference, it’s still basketball, it’s still the same size court, and a ten foot high rim, contrarily those who have played high level sports can testify, it’s a whole different story.
First of all, travelling to wherever the game is; just travelling takes a toll on the body and hydration is a must. Long bus rides have caused us to sometimes arrive to our destination at irregular times and maybe knocking us off our normal sleeping patterns. Next preparation for the game is key, as far as scouting reports and knowing the other team’s personnel. These sessions can make or break a team’s chances of winning. Than finally, the game, where we are in a gym with thousands of fans rooting against us. With thousands of fans and students chanting against you could startle you, and on the other hand energize the home team more than you know. So, with all that, our task at hand is a little tougher. Now, by any means, don’t think I’m looking for excuses or want you to feel sorry for us and if we want to be a great team, we have to get our road-game-mindset situated. This is what we signed up for!
But what I am saying is that, we have our own set of home games coming up, starting with Niagara University Wednesday night. And we are doing our best to learn from our past games and come out heads up and focused on doing the little things excellent. Also, I’m asking every UB fan to come out and support us and put the same if not more pressure on the opposing team as the other schools have done to us. Until next time, that’s Wats’ Up!
