Monday night against Northern Illinois, the Buffalo Bulls entertained a crowd of 8,971 with a game that can be best described as masterful.
The first half was anything but lackluster. With the Bulls coming from behind to take the first half lead 43-38, it was made clear that freshman center Yassin Idbihi is a legitimate force in the Mid-American Conference.
Idbihi entered the locker room at halftime with 15 points; and by game's end he had a career high of 23 points along with an ear-to-ear smile. While his game may not be pretty, he gets the job done while amazing the fans.
It's hard to believe that this is the same number 45 out on the court that was seen against Canisius back in November. In Idbihi's first game, the 6-foot, 10-inch center from Tangier, Morocco only played eight minutes with only one field goal attempt. Idbihi finished the game with no points and three turnovers, all travels.
Idbihi looked more nervous then a freshman pledge walking through the Student Union.
"My first game I wanted too much at the same time," said Idbihi about his debut with the Bulls. "I wanted to play good and do everything at the same time."
Idbihi has slowly moved from a player off the bench to a key ingredient in Buffalo's starting five.
"Every game I get more confident," said Idbihi on the transition of his style of basketball. "Now I'm just playing calm and letting the game come to me."
While Idbihi scored the majority if not all of his points within 15 feet on Monday night, what makes him an even deadlier threat is his perimeter game which is used to draw out opposing big men into uncomfortable territory.
Anyone who witnessed the Kent State game saw Idbihi light up Alumni Arena with four bombs from downtown. Every day after practice you can find him working on his shot from 3-point land.
His athletic ability has also allowed him to play solid defense. His last test was against NIU's Marcus Smallwood. Smallwood was not only a 2002-2003 first team All-MAC but also this year's leading scorer for the Huskies. After Monday night's game, UB head coach Reggie Witherspoon noted that Idbihi had an obstacle to clear and that was Smallwood.
"It was a tremendous challenge for him to chase around [Marcus] Smallwood the whole game and then on top of it to be able to get to what he did," said Witherspoon.
With Idbihi just shy of 10 points and six rebounds a game, it's fair to say that secret is out about him.
This lanky freshman may be the future of Buffalo basketball after the Battles, Gilberts and Birds graduate. But for now, the Bulls will need his presence in the MAC Tournament, and could parlay his continuously growing game into a MAC Championship and a dance in the NCAA Tournament.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
