Buffalo Preview

Today, assuming society has not broken down into tribal warfare due to the latest snowstorm, Bowling Green will play Buffalo at Anderson Arena. Here's a little idea of what to expect. (And here's a nice comparison of the two teams from statsheet.com)

Uh, defense. K? This is not the Buffalo team of a few years ago, when BG and Buffalo played a game where both teams got into the 90s. Rather, this is a defense-oriented team. This is also a very good team, with what probably amounts to the second best season this far in MAC play.

(Most stats here from kenpom.com). They are 8-4, but their losses are @UConn, @Siena, @Evansville, and Niagara, each top 80 teams by the statistical ranks this year. In 0ther words, no real bad losses. They have won twice on the raod so far this season. They beat Temple, and won a tournament in Hawaii.

Their defense is their calling card. Their points/possession is .92, second in the MAC only to Miami. (BG is fifth at .989.).

Teams do not shoot well against them (45.2% effective FG%) while BG is at 44%. They are also very, very good on their defensive boards, getting 71%, the second best in the MAC. Their turnover % is 22%, about 3% better than BG. Finally, they are 3rd in the MAC in limiting FT attempts, whereas BG is 10th and one of the worst in the nation.

On offense they are not so good. They are sixth in offensive efficiency, mostly because they don't get to the line all that often and they turn the ball over more than they should, too. They are very, very good on the offensive boards, though.

College Basketball Stats by StatSheet.com

Those stats sound very similar to ours, except, of course, they are generally a little better and Buffalo has played a tougher schedule.

It is a game that is going to come down to who can score. Points should be hard to come by, so every basket will be important. For Bowling Green, the question will be whether we can rebound against them.

If you believe college basketball is about guard play, you are going to like these guys, with Calvin Betts (11 points and 7 boards) and Rodney Pierce (15 points per game).

They also have similar depth to ours....10 players are averaging 10 minutes per game or more.

Their bigs are a slightly weaker point. They don't get numeric production out of them that they do out of the guards. If we get the ball inside, that could give us some opportunity.

This is the surprise team of the MAC and a big test for us early on. We need to defend our home court against these guys to show that we can play the best teams, at least at home. It will be an excellent chance to see where we are.