The Ohio Bobcats are hoping to ride a two-game home winning streak all the way from Athens, Ohio to Alumni Arena Wednesday night.
They will face a streaking Bulls team that is coming off a win over Eastern Michigan. The Bulls (13-5 overall, 6-4 MAC) find themselves in a great position to extend their current winning streak to four games while pushing Ohio (10-7 overall, 5-4 MAC) back to the .500-mark in the MAC.
Behind their leading scorer, Turner Battle, the Bulls have worked their way to the second seed in the MAC East division. The Bulls are tied with Akron in the East, one game behind Miami of Ohio (7-2 MAC).
The men will look to their defense to take advantage of Ohio's poor ball control. The Bobcats turn the ball over three times for every two successful assists.
Behind big men Mark Bortz and Yassin Idbihi, both of whom are averaging over 10 points and five boards per game, the Bulls must be aggressive on the boards against an undersized Ohio team whose tallest starter, Leon Williams, stands at 6-feet-7-inches. If the Bulls can contain Williams, they will also be containing the lone Bobcat averaging more then eight rebounds per game.
In addition to rebounding, tempo will definitely be a major aspect of Wednesday's showdown. Bulls' head coach Reggie Witherspoon has been drilling the Bulls to be more aggressive in order to dictate the speed of the game. Both teams are very active and athletic; both Buffalo and Ohio are expected to run the floor for the entire 40 minutes of the game.
Coach Witherspoon is also focused on making sure the Bulls play mistake-free ball and capitalize on Ohio's high turnover to assist ratio. In fact two Bobcats, Williams and Clay McGowen, are averaging more then four giveaways for every dish.
In contrast, the Bulls' leading scorer and passer Turner Battle only turns the ball over once for every 2.6 assists.
"We need to force them into making mistakes," said Witherspoon.
Ohio scored 19 points off turnovers in its last game against Bowling Green, points that the Bulls cannot afford to give up in tonight's game.
If Buffalo can win the turnover battle, utilizing Calvin Cage and Battle, who each average nearly two steals per game, the Bulls will put themselves in a great position to win the game.
Like UB, the Bobcats take advantage of their depth by playing many different lineups throughout the game. While Ohio may be strong off the bench, UB can boast the same, if not better, depth than the Bobcats can. The Bulls have seven players averaging over 20 minutes a game, including Jason Bird, who is coming of a season-high 20-point performance in Buffalo's win over Eastern Michigan.
One major aspect that the Bulls need to be concerned with is defending against the perimeter shooting of the Bobcats. Guards Jeff Halbert and Mychal Green are both shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc. Green was also the first ever player from Ohio to be named MAC East player of the week after averaging 15 points and 4.5 boards last week.
"This is a team that can make difficult shots," said coach Witherspoon. "We can't give them any easy looks."
Home court advantage will definitely provide an advantage for the Bulls, according to Witherspoon.
"We're going to really need the Maniacs to come out and show their support," he commented.
Ohio is only 2-7 on the road this year while the Bulls are 9-1 at home this year.
Tip off is set for 7 p.m. tonight at Alumni Arena.
