When the Bulls face off against the Northern Illinois Huskies on Thursday night at 7 p.m., they will have a chance to do something they haven't done since Dec. 11.
Win.
The Bulls (3-14, 0-8 MAC), who have dropped 10 straight games, will have their hands full when the teams take the court at Alumni Arena. The Huskies (10-9, 6-3), who are one of the Mid-American Conferences top teams on the road, are also one of the league's hottest.
Northern Illinois hasn't lost a road game to a MAC opponent all season, an accomplishment that is almost unheard of.
Additionally, they have won six of their last seven games overall. Their only loss was a 101-100 double overtime heartbreaker to Akron. That means trouble for the Bulls, who are in dire need of a win.
The Huskies are led by Marcus Smallwood, a 6'6" forward who has been on fire recently. Smallwood, who ranks 14th in the country in rebounding, has won two MAC West Player of the Week awards in three weeks. He is averaging 10.4 rebounds a game. He has also chipped in 13.1 points a game to place him second on the team in scoring.
"That fact that Marcus' rebounding effort has coincided with our record in January is directly related," NIU head coach Rob Judson said. "Marcus is playing his role as hard as he can and in turn that leads everyone else to playing their role as hard as they can. As a result we've been playing more consistent basketball."
In the conference, Smallwood's numbers are even better. Against the MAC he is averaging 15.6 points and 11.8 rebounds a game. He is also a quality defender, with 23 blocks and 23 steals on the season.
All of that means that UB's big men are going to have to step up to try and control Smallwood. Most of the load will fall on sophomore center Mark Bortz, who has played well of late. Bortz is looking forward to playing against one of the conference's premiere players.
"I played against Smallwood last year," said Bortz. "It's a really good match-up, we're both really competitive and both really good rebounders. I've been playing against quicker guys all season, so I'm used to it. The key is getting a body on him and keeping him off the boards. I always enjoy a good challenge, and he's a good player."
Buffalo will also have to contend with guards P.J. Smith and Jay Bates, who average 14.1 and 10 points per game respectively. The two are also excellent defenders, each has more than 30 steals for the season. While the play of Smith, Bates and Smallwood has been impressive, the Bulls feel that they have to concentrate on their own play, rather than tailor their game plan to stop the trio.
"We'll do some special things (to contain Smallwood)," said Coach Reggie Witherspoon. "But we've got to continue to attack the ordinary things and try to do them extraordinarily well."
While UB has lost 10 games in a row, they have continued to improve each game and believe that if they can continue to work hard they can get a few wins and finish the season on a high note.
"It really doesn't matter what any of the other teams do," said Bortz. "It's just that we usually beat ourselves. I think the key will be not doing that to ourselves this game."
UB has the youngest team in the conference, and that may be one reason why they have made so many mistakes. Four freshmen and four sophomores have seen significant playing time this season. That is the most out of any team in the conference.
In fact, freshmen or sophomores have played 79.8 percent of all the minutes played this season. All five of the Bulls' current starters are sophomores or younger, and they feel that the experience they are getting now will pay off later on.
"I don't think (the losing streak) is wearing on us at all," said sophomore guard Turner Battle. "We're a young team, and we keep on competing. Sooner or later good things are going to happen."
Buffalo seems to be relishing the role of the spoiler. The Bulls believe that their games against Kent State and Miami have scared some of the teams in the conference. They feel that they have played very well against good teams and have shown that they can contend.
"We're right there," said Bortz. "With the last game against Miami it just shows everyone how close we are. I think it's really putting fear in some teams in the league. We're so close, and they don't want to be the team to lose to us."
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
