The men's basketball team (19-9, 13-5 Mid-American Conference) defeated Bowling Green (12-19, 6-12 MAC), 88-65, to win the MAC East Championship at Alumni Arena Saturday evening. Buffalo dropped its game at Akron (20-11, 12-6), 83-71, earlier in the week.
Three-point shooting: B
This hasn't been the Bulls' strong suit all season, but they've won regardless. UB's offense revolves around senior forward Javon McCrea inside (as it should) and a fast-paced, get-to-the-basket style of play.
But senior guard Josh Freelove's deep shooting is what kept Buffalo in the game against Akron during the start of the second half. After being held scoreless in the first 20 minutes, Freelove hit 4 of 7 from beyond the arc in the second half. He is the Bulls' go-to threat from deep. The rest of the team shot just 3 for 18 from downtown in the Akron loss. Buffalo responded by shooting 36 percent (8 for 22) in the Bowling Green victory.
Foul shooting: B
The Bulls have shot well from the line for the majority of the season. McCrea visits the charity stripe frequently and the daily statistics often revolve around his production.
McCrea shot 5 for 9 from the line Tuesday and the Bulls shot just 66.7 percent as a team. McCrea went 7 for 10 Saturday and Buffalo shot 78 percent. Senior guard Jarod Oldham shot 6 for 7 Saturday.
Ball control: A-
After Tuesday's 15-turnover to 13-assist performance, it seemed unlikely the Bulls could earn a grade higher than a C for this week. Saturday changed that.
The Bulls had 20 assists and only five turnovers against Bowling Green, worthy of an 'A++' (if there were such a thing).
Sophomore guard Jarryn Skeete, freshman guard Shannon Evans, Oldham and McCrea each had four assists in Saturday's victory. The four combined for five turnovers. On Tuesday, they combined for 11 assists and 13 turnovers.
Overall offense: B+
Despite Buffalo's 88-point outburst on Saturday, Tuesday cannot be forgotten. The Bulls scored 71 points and shot 44 percent on the road against the Zips. Buffalo won't return to Alumni Arena until next season, so the road game against a perennial top-MAC team ranks higher in priority.
Junior forward Will Regan was 1 for 6 in the loss. The bench didn't perform, but those criticisms will be addressed later. McCrea had only 15 points, which isn't typical for the forward. The big man did return to form in his final Alumni Arena game, however, putting up a career-best 34 points.
Rebounding: B-
Akron and Bowling Green outrebounded the Bulls. The Zips had 36 rebounds compared to the Bulls' 28. The Falcons had 35 on Saturday compared to Buffalo's 32.
Akron and Bowling Green combined for 18 offensive rebounds, but the Bulls scored more second-chance points than their opponents in both matchups.
Defense: B
Buffalo has allowed more than 80 points twice in MAC play. Both times have been to Akron. The offense outran the Zips in the first meeting, but it was unable to do so Tuesday. Getting into a shootout is always a risk, no matter how talented your team is offensively.
The Zips shot 51.8 percent against Buffalo and went to the foul line 28 times. But - as the trend continues to be in this recap - the Bulls had a better performance on Saturday. The Falcons scored 65 points while shooting 45.6 percent. They hit only four 3-pointers and went to the foul line 19 times. This is the defensive performance the Bulls will need in Cleveland.
Bench production: A-
This score is inflated because two Buffalo bench players pulled off an exciting play that earned the No. 1 spot on SportsCenter's Top Plays Sunday.
Evans and Moss combined for an alley-oop off the backboard that sent Alumni Arena into pandemonium Saturday. Moss only had four points in the game - both baskets coming on monster dunks.
Evans and Skeete combined for 20 points Saturday after struggling Tuesday. The duo shot 7 for 13 on Saturday compared to 6 for 18 at Akron.
It should be noted that because head coach Bobby Hurley started his five seniors Saturday, bench scoring numbers were higher than normal.
Coaching: B
Hurley has to stop with the untimely technical fouls. The Bulls trailed 51-50 with 12 minutes remaining before Hurley's tirade led to a technical foul on Tuesday. Akron outscored Buffalo by 11 for the remainder of the game.
But he did all the right things on Saturday. He started all five seniors on senior day - even those who haven't contributed many minutes. He also handled McCrea's playing time properly.
Buffalo's all-time leading scorer was flirting with surpassing 2,000 points for his career in his final Alumni Arena performance. Hurley, however, didn't let this impact his minutes. The Bulls led by double-digits the majority of the game and Hurley limited McCrea to 32 minutes rather than keeping him in and risking injury just for the record.
We all know McCrea will surpass 2,000 Thursday during MAC Tournament play.
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Photo: Paul Hokanson/UB Athletics
