UB regains focus for CBI appearance
University at Buffalo basketball returned to the court Monday, the mood every bit as somber as one might expect. And therein lies the challenge that awaits the Bulls as they board a bus for Rochester this morning, fly to Wichita, Kan., via Chicago and prepare to play Wichita State on Wednesday night in the opening round of the two-year-old College Basketball Invitational.
“We met for a while [Sunday] to determine if we were going to be emotionally ready to do this,” coach Reggie Witherspoon said. “Emotionally, it’s a huge challenge because our conference tournament just ended on Saturday. A lot of conference tournaments, in particular the Missouri Valley, their conference tournament has been over for a while. So emotionally, they’ve had a chance to recover a little bit. It’s a big-time challenge for us to be able to recover.”
Sweeping away the lingering psychological damage might not be easy. Saturday night’s 65-53 loss to Akron in the Mid-American Conference final cost the Bulls an NCAA Tournament berth. Two regular- season losses to Bowling Green deprived UB of a guaranteed NIT berth. The College Basketball Invitational is the third place the Bulls would hope to be as March Madness unfolds.
But the CBI, although little-known, is gaining a reputation as a solid postseason event. This year’s field includes the likes of Stanford, St. John’s and Oregon State. The tourney’s run by the Gazelle Group, which also oversees the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. It’s certainly a notable step above the new CollegeInsider.com Tournament that has the appearance of a blown-out BracketBuster.
“It is a reward, no doubt, because there were a number of teams who weren’t asked this year and last year,” Witherspoon said. “So there’s no doubt it’s a reward. We talked to the guys. I wanted to know from them, are they looking forward to it? Is it something that they feel that they can kind of emotionally prepare themselves for? Because these teams are going to be good, especially at home.”
Wichita State paid $60,000 for the rights to a home game, a fee it’ll surely transform into a profit. The Shockers (16-16) average about 10,000 fans at Charles Koch Arena. Meanwhile, UB (21-11), which will bear little if any expense, regards the tournament as a chance to give its seniors an encore while preparing returning players for the future.
“Very excited,” senior guard Greg Gamble said. “Postseason is something we never achieved in the last four years here at UB and we’re excited just to get another chance to play this season.”
The Shockers have made some noise this season. They won versus Siena and topped the MVC’s NCAA representative, Northern Iowa. Their best efforts have come at Koch Arena, where they’ve fashioned an eight-game winning streak that includes a conquest of another NCAA team, Cleveland State.
Wichita State, like UB, spreads the workload with nine players averaging double-figure minutes. Guards Clevin Hannah and Toure’ Murry lead in scoring, both averaging 11.1 points.
The game, an 8 p. m. start, will be broadcast on HDNet.
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