No. 16 Buffalo seeks full effort at Western Michigan

Buffalo coach Nate Oats knows his team will be tough to beat in the Mid-American Conference. He's trying to guard against complacency as the Bulls go through their conference schedule.

The No. 16 Bulls led by just four points at halftime against Miami (Ohio) on Saturday before pulling away to an 88-64 victory. He'd like more of a sustained effort when his team travels to Kalamazoo, Mich., to face Western Michigan on Tuesday.

"We've got to fix some stuff," Oats told the Buffalo News. "Our rebounding is priority No. 1. Our intensity for 40 minutes has to be fixed. If you're immature and people start talking about that and you get a big head, then you get popped.

"If you're mature and you realize what your ceiling is, you raise (your intensity) and you try to keep getting better. ... I'm hoping our guys are mature. The first 20 minutes (Saturday) made me question that a little bit. The second 20, they bounced back great, so hopefully we get a 40-minute effort at Western."

Senior guard Dontay Caruthers provided a spark off the bench with 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals.

"I wasn't happy with the way we started the game. I challenged our guys to go out there and perform for that great crowd and we did that in the second half," Oats said. "I really thought Caruthers set the tone for us and the rest of the guys followed."

The Bulls (15-1, 3-0 MAC) got out-rebounded 39-38 but committed just four turnovers, their fewest in over 20 years.

Buffalo's offensive execution has often been overwhelming for the opposition. The Bulls are averaging 85.4 points and shooting 46.5 percent from the field.

Senior guard Jeremy Harris is the team's second-leading scorer at 15.2 points per game. He's led the team in scoring in the past two games, pumping in a career-high 34 against Toledo, then directing a balanced effort with 17 points against the RedHawks.

Senior guard CJ Massinburg, who is scoring a team-best 17.2 points per game, averaged 23 points in two victories over the Broncos last season.

Western Michigan is seeking its first conference win. The Broncos (6-10, 0-3) were tied with Toledo with less than four minutes remaining on Saturday. The Rockets finished on a 15-7 run to claim an 85-77 win.

"They were terrific in the last three minutes," Broncos coach Steve Hawkins said. "They didn't get rattled and our guys did a little bit. Our guys are battling their tails off. It's a play here, a play there, or a call here, a call there. Anything can matter when you're playing MAC games."

Sophomore guard Michael Flowers led Western Michigan with 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Senior center Seth Dugan collected his sixth double-double this season with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Among other things, Buffalo will challenge Western Michigan's depth.

"We have to play more guys in this game," Hawkins said. "If we stick with an eight-man rotation, Buffalo will wear us out."

--Field Level Media