Ohio (15-8, 6-5 MAC) goes on the road to face Buffalo (14-10, 7-4 MAC) with the season winding down and the MAC East standing tight.
Ohio watched former Buffalo head coach Bobby Hurley cut off the netting of a Quicken Loans Arena hoop and thrust the mangled lacing into the air.
Former Buffalo forward Xavier Ford couldn’t fight back tears, crying into the arms of his teammate Will Regan after receiving a new official Mid-American Conference multicolored cap and black t-shirt. The Bulls were in the NCAA Tournament.
But that was last year.
This season, all the aforementioned members of the MAC Tournament champion team are gone and Ohio (15-8, 6-5 MAC) will face Buffalo (14-10, 7-4 MAC) for the first time this year Friday in Amherst, New York. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
“The faces are different, no question about that,” Ohio coach Saul Phillips said. “They have some serious different components, but that doesn’t make them worse.”
The Bulls also lost two of their top players from last season with the departure of 2015 first-team all-conference forward Justin Moss and second-team all-conference guard Shannon Evans.
But a change-up in personnel hasn't caused any shift in philosophy. Under coach Nate Oats, Buffalo still plays with agility, pressures teams defensively and takes advantage of running on the break.
Ohio guard Mike Laster said the Bobcats will have to handle the Bulls' four-guard set that tends to be effective in transition by finding open shooters.
A key component of that run-and-gun style is Buffalo senior guard Jarryn Skeete, especially with sophomore guard and leading scorer Lamonte Bearden out of the lineup due to a three-game suspension.
“I would say Skeete,” Phillips said on who his team will look to defend Friday. “He jumps off the page, because he’s done it for the last three years.”
With Ohio struggling more on the defensive end, this will be an opportunity for the Bobcats to show they can keep their opponents’ guards in check.
And although this Buffalo team has a few different faces from the 2014-15 group, which was the first in school history to make the NCAA tournament, it will still be an important game for the Bobcats.
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Especially with Ohio stuck in the middle of the MAC East standings as the season winds down.
“One team is gonna come out of here and go to the NCAA Tournament this year,” Phillips said. “If getting a better look at (Buffalo) twice a year makes us better, then I’m all for it.”
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