It's no secret that the Bulls are one of the best turnaround stories in the nation. From a 5-23 2003 season to a 14-11 record thus far is a pretty big leap. What makes the Bulls current standing as the hottest team in the Mid-American Conference even more impressive is that up until mid-January, UB was well on their way to yet another sub .500 year.
On Jan. 17, UB was just 5-9, having dropped some games that they should never have lost. They kicked the season off with a 58-60 loss to Canisius who is currently just 10-18 overall. They then dropped a 25-point loss to a decent Rutgers team and a three-point loss to 9-16 Penn State.
The Bulls then reeled off five wins against the cupcake part of their schedule, but again lost all momentum, as they proceeded to drop their next six, including a few games against MAC teams. That all stopped when UB beat the NIU Huskies in their gym and the Bulls began their current tear through the MAC.
So what's different between the "old" Bulls and the current Bulls? Well one of the biggest changes has been the emergence of UB's inside presence. In Buffalo's 11 losses, UB's "Twin Towers," Mark Bortz and Yassin Idbihi scored an average of just 15 points per game combined. In the wins, however, they have stepped it up, with 20 points per game between the two.
The two have matured quickly, especially Idbihi, who went from being stuck on the bench at the beginning of the year, to being third on the Bulls in scoring. Idbihi, who played high school ball in Germany, fits the mold of some other Europeans like Peja Stojakovic and Dirk Nowitzki. He's a big man who can bang down low and square up and shoot the ball from almost anywhere near the net.
Bortz, while still streaky at times (especially from the line), has emerged as both a strong contributor and great leader for the Bulls. The duo averages 11.9 rebounds per game and have combined for 53 blocks on the season.
Another difference that has helped the Bulls emerge, is that although they don't have as deep a bench as they would like numbers wise, they have gotten solid numbers from the role players on the bench.
Calvin Cage, for example, is averaging just 7.1 points per game, but against Kent St. and Miami (OH) this week, Cage dropped 18 and 22 points respectively. Likewise, against Kent St. Daniel Gilbert stepped up for a suspended Mario Jordan and led the game with 22 points.
Not to be overlooked is Turner Battle. The junior point guard has been nothing short of spectacular for UB this season. Battle is ranked near the top of the MAC in almost every major offensive and defensive category. He is No. 11 in scoring, No. 16 in rebounding and No. 6 in assists. The list goes on and on. In all, he is on the MAC leader board in eight of the 12 statistical categories.
Like Bortz, Battle has become an outstanding leader for UB. In the Kent St. game, Battle had a Jason Kidd-like performance with13 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists, while playing almost the entire game. The only time he came out of the game was the last few seconds, when he was taken off to a standing ovation. Wednesday, Battle was in total control of his emotions at all times. When KSU seemed like they were about to make a run Battle gathered the team and got everyone on the same page.
The credit for all this has to go to coach Reggie Witherspoon, who has suffered through some pretty rough years here in Buffalo. He took over in the midst of a recruiting scandal here at UB, just days before the UB-UNC game in 1999. Since then, Witherspoon has worked as hard as any coach in the nation trying to get the Bulls to the top of the MAC.
