The men's basketball team came into this year with loads of expectations and the squad has only added Bullievers through two games.
Sophomore guard Jarod Oldham is providing reliable play at the point (he's only turned the ball over three times this year); senior forward Mitchell Watt is stepping up, blocking shots, and leading his comrades; and sophomore superstar forward Javon McCrea is doing what everyone expected him to do, averaging 18.5 points and eight rebounds.
The Bulls (2-0) will take their unbeaten record and noteworthy stat-lines to New Jersey to face the erratic Princeton Tigers (0-2) on Saturday.
Buffalo has won its first two games at home, inspired by strong hometown turnout.
"Our home crowd is not only a boost to us, but it's tough on our opponents, and that's what we see when we're on the road," said head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "When students show up, we get a buzz beyond belief. It's distracting for our opponents. [The students] bring atmosphere, electricity, energy, and enthusiasm. Those are big things."
The Tigers – led by the experienced two-headed monster of junior big man Ian Hummer and senior guard Douglas Davis – dropped their season-opener in embarrassing fashion before bouncing back and coming improbably close to shocking an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent on its home floor.
"They're one of the bigger teams we'll play all year and they're experienced," Witherspoon said. "They run their stuff very well."
Witherspoon said he looks for senior forward Dave Barnett and sophomore guard Aurum Nuiriankh to defend Davis, while he plans on utilizing Watt, McCrea, and senior forward Titus Robinson to slow down Hummer.
Princeton started the season off against under-the-radar Wagner (2-1), a squad that recently put a scare in UConn. The Seahawks completely rattled the Tigers, forcing 28 turnovers and defeating Princeton on its home floor, 73-57.
Following their disappointing start at home, the Tigers traveled to Raleigh to take on the NC State Wolfpack (3-0). Princeton only committed 11 turnovers in this one, leading the majority of the game but falling on a free-throw line jump shot with four seconds remaining, 60-58.
This will be Buffalo's first road test of the year. The Bulls struggled on the road last year, going 7-11 away from Alumni Arena and 13-3 at home. Witherspoon is looking to correct those struggles this year.
"We were getting in between 3 and 6 a.m. two nights a week," Witherspoon said. "We're going to try to stop making a bed out of a bus."
The Bulls will need to neutralize Hummer and Davis if they plan on fixing things on the road. Hummer is a 6-foot-7-inch forward who is averaging 17 points and six rebounds per game. Not to be outdone, Davis is putting up 16.5 points. The 5-foot-11-inch guard is an outside threat, having hit seven 3-pointers so far this year. The two averaged double figures in 2010-11. Davis made a name for himself when he hit a buzzer-beating shot that won the Ivy League playoffs and sent his team to the NCAA Tournament, where the 13th-seeded Tigers nearly knocked off 4th-seeded Kentucky in an exhilarating first round matchup, 59-57.
Princeton had four players – including Hummer and Davis – finish with more than 11 points in that game. But Princeton doesn't offer much of a scoring threat outside of the duo this year. The squad's next-leading scorer is forward Will Barrett, who averages 6.5 points.
Conversely, the Bulls are fueled by balanced scoring, with three players averaging double-figures and Oldham following closely behind with eight points per game.
The Bulls defense was one of their strongest points last year, holding teams to just 65 points per game. They've brought even more defensive intensity so far this year. Led by Watt (three blocks per game) and Barnett (2.5 steals per game), the Buffalo defense has allowed an average of 62 points per game this year.
Witherspoon, however, believes there's a lot of room for improvement.
"We need to get better defensively," Witherspoon said. "We're big and long and we need to use that to improve, because teams are going to try to use their quickness on us."
The game will get underway at 12:30 p.m.
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