After finishing last week with a heartbreaking loss to Ohio (19-8, 9-5 Mid-American Conference) at home, the men's basketball team rebounded with a big 96-90 win at home against Akron and a 78-69 victory at Kent State (15-12, 6-8 MAC), its first ever in 17 chances at the MAC Center.
Here is The Spectrum sports staff's breakdown of the Bulls' (16-8, 10-4 MAC) performances from last week.
Three-point shooting: A
After a horrid performance from beyond the arc against the Bobcats, the Bulls were much more successful against Akron and Kent State. They shot 66 percent from the three-point line in the first half and 54 percent overall on Wednesday and carried that momentum into Saturday, shooting 46 percent from deep against the Flashes.
Junior forward Will Regan was four for six on the week, while senior guard Josh Freelove hit five of 11 from beyond the arc.
Foul shooting: B+
Buffalo took advantage of its opportunities at the charity stripe this week, shooting 72 percent on Wednesday and 80 percent on Saturday.
Senior forward Javon McCrea hit 13 of 16 Saturday - when he broke Buffalo's all-time scoring record - and freshman guard Shannon Evans had a 5-for-5 performance Wednesday.
Ball control: B+
This would have been an A if we were grading just Wednesday's game. The Bulls put on probably their best ball control performance of the year, assisting on 21 baskets and turning the ball over only eight times.
But Saturday was mediocre in terms of ball control. Buffalo had 12 turnovers and assisted on only 16 buckets. Those 12 turnovers included a few key errors down the stretch that allowed Kent State to stay in the game.
Overall offense: A-
It was hard not to give the Bulls an A in this category after they scored 96 points against a defensively competent Akron team on Wednesday, but the beginning of Saturday's game was brutal.
The Bulls scored just seven points in the game's first 11 minutes before going on a 10-0 run to get back in the game. Still, the team scored 174 points this week. That's impressive.
Rebounding: A
The Bulls continued to do well on the boards this week, particularly on the offensive glass. Buffalo outrebounded both opponents by double digits and grabbed 23 offensive rebounds.
Those offensive boards led to 25 second-chance points.
Defense: C+
Buffalo was successful this week because of its offensive performance. Wednesday's game was a shoot out from the beginning, and the Bulls allowed the Flashes to get out to hot start on Saturday as well.
It is worth noting that the defense stepped up in the second half of each game, forcing key turnovers, but it's rare to win while allowing 90 points.
Bench production: B
It's tough to call Evans a bench player with the minutes he's playing, which leaves the bench production to two sophomores: forward Justin Moss and guard Jarryn Skeete. Skeete still doesn't look right since coming back from his injury, and while Moss has had moments of dominance, he has also struggled at times.
Moss was efficient on Saturday, scoring 12 points in 12 minutes and grabbing five rebounds. Skeete played more minutes than he has recently on Saturday but scored only three points. He filled up the rest of the stat sheet, however, with six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Coaching: B
Head coach Bobby Hurley coached a solid game against Akron on Wednesday, although his temper did seem to bother the refs at more than one point throughout the contest.
Saturday featured a scary moment late in the game when Bowling Green cut a 10-point Bulls' lead to five points. Hurley didn't call a timeout to regroup, but the Bulls were able to hold on and pull away again.
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Photo: Paul Hokanson/UB Athletics
