Bulls edge closer to MAC playoff berth

By Budd Bailey

The task was simple, but not easy.

If the University at Buffalo men’s basketball team wanted to qualify for the Mid-American Conference playoffs on Tuesday night, two results had to happen. The Bulls had to beat Eastern Michigan, while Massachusetts had to lose to Ohio University.

Buffalo did its part. It defeated the Eagles, 72-67. But UMass spoiled the party, beating Ohio at home. We’ll have to wait until Friday before we know what eight teams in the MAC will go to Cleveland for next week’s conference tournament. (Six were set going into Tuesday’s games.)

To be more specific, the Bulls have a 7-10 MAC record. The Minutemen are 7-11, and Central Michigan and Ball State are 6-11. Two of the four teams will go to Cleveland. If UB beats Toledo on the road on Friday night, it wraps up one of those spots. If the Bulls lose to the Rockets, then we’d have to see what Central Michigan and Ball State do. It would come down to some tiebreakers before determining what teams should pack for the tournament and what teams should schedule locker cleanout day.

There will be a test on all of this.

At least the task for UB has become even more simple. Win again and end the drama.

“Now we control our own destiny,” Buffalo coach George Halcovage said. “Now we can go and advance by getting it done Friday. You always want to prepare for the most difficult situation, and that is to win to get in. That’s what we’ve got to focus on. There are other scenarios. But this was huge for us to be able to control our own destiny.”

Tuesday night’s game, played in Alumni Arena before 1,386, probably shouldn’t have been particularly dramatic. The Bulls were playing a team in Eastern Michigan that was tied for last in the MAC, and had lost 10 of its last 11. The Eagles still had a mathematical chance at qualifying for the playoffs, but the odds were slim. But Buffalo ended up with its hands full.

“That was a gutty performance,” Halcovage said about his team. “So many things happened in that game.”

For a half, UB was in control. Ryan Sabol had 13 points in the first 14 minutes, and a nice 15-4 run in the middle of the half provided a good cushion. The Bulls were ahead, 43-27, at intermission.

But this was Buffalo, which hadn’t won a home game in exactly two months. It was easy to guess that the second half might feature some struggles, and it did. EMU scored the first eight points of the half. Noah Batchelor looked like he was in a boxing match, as he suffered a cut from a stray elbow that led to some good-sized bleeding that featured not one but two trips to see the medical staff.

“It’s attitude – we talk about it, that all you can control is your attitude and effort,” Halcovage said. “Your energy needs to be right, and put it back into the team. You realize that we can get this done.”

The Eagles got as close as three points on three separate occasions, but Buffalo answered each time to keep CMU out of striking distance.

Sabol finished with 27 points, including a 5 for 9 shooting night from three-point range. Batchelor added 13 points, and Tim Oboh came down with 10 rebounds. Mohammad Habhab led Central Michigan with 18 points.

From a UB perspective, the night wasn’t completely devoted to the playoff particulars. It was Senior Night, and Batchelor, Angelo Brizzi, Ezra McKenn and Derrick Talton Jr. all took a bow in a pregame ceremony. None of the four players spent the traditional four years in Buffalo, but they did play their last home game in a Bulls’ uniform on Tuesday night. It was a good time to reflect on their contributions to a team that has been trying to make some progress in the past two years after being at Ground Zero in 2023-24.

“We had a nice moment last night where they all spoke,” Halcovage said. “The words they gave, the wisdom they gave the young guys, their appreciation for being on this team – it’s special. They are incredible men. They are better men than they are players, and they are all really good players. They embody it.”

The outcome will be a good memory for those seniors. Now we’ll see if there are more memories to come for them.

(Follow Budd on X.com via @WDX2BB)