One team came into this weekend's men's basketball game unbeaten. The other entered winless.
The Bulls (2-1) – who had been dominant to date – looked like the latter on Saturday, getting off to a lethargic start and never recovering. They fell 61-53 in New Jersey to the Princeton Tigers (1-2).
This game wasn't as close as the score indicated. Rather, it was a classic case of too little, too late. The Bulls' eight-point deficit in the final score was the closest the team got since it trailed 10-4 early in the first half. Buffalo finished on a 20-10 run and outscored Princeton 37-24 in the second half, but the matchup was won in the first half.
Buffalo started 2-15 from the floor, an accurate symbol for a first half the Bulls would like to forget. They trailed 37-16 at the end of 20 minutes, shooting 6-for-30 in the first half, including 0-for-6 from three-point territory. Meanwhile, the Tigers hit five 3-pointers in the opening half. Buffalo committed only 15 turnovers in the game, but the Bulls turned the ball over 12 times in the first half.
"When you get down that big, you don't really have a large margin for error," Witherspoon said.
The Bulls – coming off a 68-59 win over Cornell (1-2) at home on Wednesday evening – took on a Princeton squad that had dropped its first two games to Wagner (2-1) and NC State (3-0). The Bulls came in knowing the two players they had to stop.
They couldn't do it.
Forward Ian Hummer and guard Douglas Davis have been the Tigers' clear-cut stars thus far this year and they didn't slow down against the Bulls. Hummer and Davis entered the matchup averaging 17 and 16.5 points per game, respectively. Hummer finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Davis added 16 points.
Princeton entered the game averaging 57.5 points per game. The Tigers scored 61. Buffalo came in averaging 70 points per game, but the squad finished with 53. That low scoring output was due largely to a horrific first half.
Witherspoon said the team's offensive struggles were due to impatience.
"We talked about it in the locker room and I think our guys had a mindset that we need a few passes before we got a shot, and when we realized that wasn't going to be the case, frustration set in," Witherspoon said. "I think our guys just haven't gotten to a point of poise where we can attack and make three or four or five passes and still be looking for what we want."
Senior forward Mitchell Watt and sophomore forward Javon McCrea have posed a matchup nightmare for opposing coaches in 2011, as the two forwards have formed a deadly duo. But Watt was saddled with foul trouble throughout this game, and he fouled out for the first time this season with 2:39 remaining. He was one of Buffalo's most consistent players in the first two games, but he only finished with nine points on Saturday.
While those stats might have been impressive for the Mitchell Watt of years past, he's been a completely different player this year. He has played stronger around the rim and has averaged 15.5 points per game. McCrea (who came in averaging 18.5 points) continued his strong play, finishing with 19 points.
The Bulls switched to a 1-3-1 zone late in the first half and utilized that defense for the remainder of the game. It proved to be effective, as the Tigers only mustered 24 second-half points. Though the teams finished with the same amount of rebounds (40), Witherspoon felt his squad needed to do a better job on the boards.
"The last 25 minutes, I thought we defended pretty well and were able to put them in some tough situations," Witherspoon said. "We still aren't rebounding well enough to rely on [the zone]."
McCrea was one of Buffalo's only bright spots in the opening half, as he went into the locker room with seven points – including six consecutive points midway through the half that snapped a seven-minute scoreless streak for Buffalo. Princeton had an answer even when McCrea tried to get something started, as the Tigers went on a 7-0 run of their own.
Senior guard Zach Filzen – one of the best three-point shooters in the nation last year – has struggled in the early stages of this year, as teams have keyed in on stopping him. Though he finished with 11 points versus Princeton, Filzen didn't score until the final minutes. Filzen – who has hit 133 career 3-pointers – is now fourth all-time in school history.
Buffalo was seeking its first 3-0 start since 1986-87 (when the team played in Division-III). The only prior meeting between these two teams came in 1925 (pre-shot clock era), when Buffalo won, 25-23.
The Bulls – who are now 2-0 at home and 0-1 on the road – will look to right the ship on Tuesday evening at Alumni Arena against Canisius (1-2). Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
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