There have been certain trends that take place when the UB men's basketball team plays outside the confines of Alumni Arena. They have a tendency to turn the ball over. They are the victims of hometown officiating. Most importantly, and most disturbingly, they lose.
The Bulls cool offensive display, showcased Saturday at home against Marshall, seemed like a distant memory Monday night as Buffalo dropped their fifth-straight road game, falling to the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks 78-68 at Millett Hall in Oxford, Ohio.
The loss puts the Bulls (12-16, 7-10 MAC) in a tight spot for the seeding in the MAC Tournament, as they now stand a half game behind Northern Illinois for the eighth seed. Teams seeded 4-8 receive first round home games, and the Bulls will need to win their regular season finale on senior night at Bowling Green - who are 7-1 at home this season - and get some help to earn an opening round home game on Monday, March 4.
A Bulls win tonight against the Falcons would force NIU to win both of their remaining games - each on the road - and eliminate Marshall from contention for the eighth seed.
Should Buffalo lose at Bowling Green, there is still a possibility Buffalo can sneak into the eighth spot using the back door. Northern Illinois would have to lose both of their remaining games and Marshall would need to lose one of their last two for UB to earn a home playoff contest for the first time since the school joined the MAC in 1998.
The Bulls were crippled by 23 turnovers, which led to 19 RedHawk points. They also committed a season-high 28 personal fouls, with big men Mark Bortz and Clement Smith both fouling out. As a result, Buffalo was more susceptible to interior defensive breakdowns where the Bulls were substantially softer.
"You're in a place where it seems like you're playing against eight guys," UB Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon told WWKB-AM radio after the game. "You cannot turn the ball over 23 times and we had 14 of those in the first half."
However, with the score 30-30 at the half the game was very much for the taking, similar to the contest the two teams played three weeks ago at Alumni Arena. Also reminiscent of the Feb. 6 encounter, Miami established their will in the second half. Buffalo got into foul trouble early and as a result every time Miami went to the line they were in the double bonus.
The RedHawks took advantage of their free throws in making 21-26 second-half attempts, where Buffalo was only 9-18 for a dismal 50 percent. The Bulls shot 63 percent from the line for the game, while Miami hit on 75 percent of their attempts.
Witherspoon noted that turnovers also played a part in Buffalo's failure to get to the foul line in the second half.
"[At halftime] it wasn't so much a feeling of disappointment, we were just feeling we had to take better care of the basketball, and see if we could keep them playing defense," Witherspoon said. "I thought if we would have done that we could have gotten to the foul line more often."
Miami held a five-point lead at the 8:58 mark of second half, when suddenly things went sour for the Bulls. The RedHawks blew the contest wide open on the heels of a 12-2 run before the Bulls finally stopped the bleeding with 4:41 remaining, trailing 62-47.
"When the other team makes a run, we have to sustain our poise," added Witherspoon. "There were times, particularly from out post players, we didn't sustain our poise."
Miami improved to 12-16 overall and 9-8 in the MAC. With the win the RedHawks clinched a first-round home game in the MAC Tournament.
Buffalo was led by senior Darcel Williams, who recorded his tenth double-double of the season, finishing with a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds.
"[Williams] moved pretty well without the basketball, we got a few lay-ups for him, and he made himself difficult to guard," said Witherspoon.
The closest thing to offensive support for Williams came from Louis Campbell, who finished with 11 points and five assists. No other Bull scored in double figures.
Miami had a more balanced attack where five players recorded double figures in scoring. Alex Shorts returned to the RedHawks' lineup and led the team with 19 points and seven rebounds. Shorts had been dismissed from the team last week by Miami Head Coach Charlie Coles, and missed Miami's loss Saturday to Ball State.
Buffalo's pivotal game against Bowling Green can be heard on WWKB-AM 1520 and also via the Internet by following the link on http://www.buffalobulls.com, tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
