Bulls are all about defense

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Paul Peck: Hey Murph, I want to do a story on U.B. hoops, but I don't want to show any made baskets.

John Murphy: Why would you do that?

Peck: Because the Bulls are all about defense. Reggie Witherspoon's got them shutting teams down.

University at Buffalo Bulls Center Vadim Fedotov said, "The moment you step on campus and your coach is Witherspoon, you understand that defense is going to be an important part."

Witherspoon said, "I think what our guys are realizing is that if we stop people, we can get points off our defense. We can't get defense off our offense. We've got to stop people and that will help everything that we do."

Peck: It's working. They've won eight in a row, and their 16-5 start is the best in school history.

They've held two of their last three opponents under 50 points.

Murphy: But how did he get these guys to buy-into playing D?

Peck: They figured it out for themselves.

Bulls Forward Max Boudreau said, "That's how you win championships. They say offense wins crowds. To play defense you win championships. That's what we take pride of, that's what we do every day in practice."

Fedotov said, "We know that defense won't get you on SportsCenter Top 10 plays, we're aware of that. At the same time, winning, we embraced winning. So if that's what it takes to win, we as a team decided this is what we have to do. This is what we'll keep on doing and we'll make sure we finish the season strong playing good defense."

Murphy: Okay. Do the story without showing any baskets.

Peck: I just did.

U.B. tries to keep that defense going, and tries to win its' ninth in a row, Thursday night at Eastern Michigan.