The spring sports season is more than halfway done, and one thing is evident: Buffalo's spring teams are having more success than most teams did in the fall and winter.
Some of the teams that compete in the fall and winter might want to try some new ideas. Here are a few things those squads could try in an attempt to emulate the spring teams' success.
Play fewer home games
The poor weather and the baseball team's poor facilities have forced the Bulls to play the entirety of their season thus far away from home.
But this has not hampered the baseball team's play.
Through the Bulls' first four conference series, they have gone 8-4, good for second in the conference. The team has an 18-14 overall record - just six wins away from the school record.
Perhaps the football team could take a page from head coach Ron Torgalski's book and play three quarters of its season away from home before exiting the tunnel at UB Stadium.
Eight games away from Buffalo would surely make the football team eager to play on its home turf and give fans extra incentive to fill seats.
Similarly, if the basketball team didn't play a home game until February, it would prepare the Bulls for the Mid-American Conference Tournament - which is played mostly in Cleveland, Ohio.
Practice winning
The only team with an undefeated conference record on campus is the men's tennis team.
In an April 9 profile of head coach Lee Nickell,The Spectrum reported the Bulls practice by simulating the winning point of the MAC Championship match and storming the court.
Both head football coach Jeff Quinn and head basketball coach Bobby Hurley should implement this practice.
By giving their teams a taste of victory during practice, they will be more experienced and thus better prepared to handle it during a game against real competition.
The men's tennis team is one of the most successful on campus, having captured two regular season MAC titles in the past three seasons and aiming to clinch a share of another title with two matches this coming weekend.
Clearly the football and men's basketball teams should be following the example of a team that has won more MAC titles than they have combined.
Grow awesome hairstyles
Junior tennis player Yevgeniy Jason Shkodnik has arguably the coolest hair on campus, and he is also one of the team's top players.
It's time for other athletes on campus to follow in Shkodnik's footsteps.
Junior forward Javon McCrea was already one of the best players in the MAC last season - imagine if he had dread locks like Shkodnik's to distract opposing players as he went to the basket. He would be unstoppable.
Similarly, McCrea's counterpart sophomore forward Will Regan should do his best Robin Lopez impression and grow his hair out to look like a caveman. The raw, intimidating look will only help his performance on the court and will surely spell success for the Bulls.
There are so many things fall and winter teams can pull from spring teams; it would be a shame if they didn't take this opportunity to improve.
Email: ben.tarhan@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
Photo: Paul Hokanson / UB Athletics
