Buffalo MBB Preview

Just 6 years ago, UB had a historically great season.  Since then......well, not so much.  Nate Oats left, Jim Whitesell came in, had 4 years and was fired.  Next up is George Halcovage III, a long-time assistant at Villanova.  He is committed to building his program with younger players and is enduring some Loeffleresque suffering.  

Last year, they were 4-27, 3-27 in D1 games and 2-16 in the MAC.  This year, they were picked last again, and are 3-10 this year in D1 games and 0-3 in the MAC.  They last won a D1 game the Monday before Thanksgiving and have lost 6 straight.

In the MAC, they haven't had the easiest start. They were @Miami, and then Ohio and Kent at home, all losses. They lost to Kent by 19.

They are not in last place based on Kenpom.  They are #331 and NIU is #355.

UB has won 6 of the last 10 against BG and 3 of the last 4.  BG won last year's meeting 87-73 at the Stroh. Kenpom gives BG a 73% chance of winning and ESPN 87%.  BG is a 6.5-point favorite. 

They play fast, at 71 possessions a game. Beyond that, they have the numbers of a 3-10 team. They are #326 in offense and #334 in defense.  BG is #192 and #296.

On offense, UB tries a lot of 3FGs...43%, which is #90 in the country.  Unfortunately, they only make 30%, which is #301.  They are actually decent on 2FGs (52%).  They turn the ball over, and they get only 21% of offensive rebounds, only 8 teams are worse, including NIU. They are decent getting to the line, but make only 69%.  

The defense is not much better.  They are ranked under 300 on EFG%, 3FG%, defensive rebounding and forcing turnovers.  One thing...they don't give up very many free throws.

Their leading scorer is Ryan Sabol, scoring 16.5 PPG.  He is a good 3FG shooter, making 42% is #3 in 3FGs per game in the MAC.  He's a SO in his 2nd year at UB.

Tyson Dunn is scoring 12.6 PPG on 56% 2FG and 32% 3FG. He is a senior who transferred from Wesrern Ontario.

Noah Batchelor is their leading rebounder with 5.5 RPG. He's 6'8" and a transfer from Maryland.  

A couple roster notes.

• They are relatively tall, #99 in height.
• They are the least experienced team in the MAC.
• They have 4 Canadians, 2 Englishmen, 1 Australian and 1 Latvian on their roster.

So look, a wounded BG team looks across the floor and thinks this looks like a win.  UB is doing the same thing.  At home, BG needs to put this one away.