Following a road loss to Central Michigan on Saturday, Ohio has lost five straight games, and the path to a victory doesn’t get any easier Tuesday night when the Bobcats travel to No. 25 Buffalo.
The Bulls (22-3, 10-2 Mid-American Conference) have lost just three games all season, and one of them came on the road to No. 11 Marquette. They beat Syracuse and West Virginia both on the road, and they just beat Toledo at Savage Arena.
“You get so many opportunities to play a top-25 in your career,” Ohio coach Saul Phillips said. “This is exciting for us.”
The last time Ohio (11-13, 3-9 MAC) beat a ranked MAC team was on Jan. 31, 1996, when the Bobcats beat then-No. 23 Eastern Michigan in The Convo.
Game information
Opponent: No. 25 Buffalo
Game time: 7 p.m.
Venue: Alumni Arena (Buffalo, New York)
Watch: ESPN+/WatchESPN App
Listen: Ohio IMG Sports Network
Meet the opponent
Projected Starters
01 Montell McCray (6-feet-10, 198 pounds)
02 Jeremy Harris (6-feet-7, 185 pounds)
03 Jayvon Graves (6-feet-3, 193 pounds)
04 Davonta Jordan (6-feet-2, 187 pounds)
05 CJ Massinburg (6-feet-3, 194 pounds)
Reserves
22 Dontay Caruthers (6-feet-1, 191 pounds)
33 Nick Perkins (6-feet-8, 250 pounds)
11 Jeenathan Williams (6-feet-5, 203 pounds)
Individual Statistical Leaders:
Points: Massinburg (18.4 points per game)
Rebounds: Perkins (7.7 rebounds per game)
Assists: Jordan (3.6 assists per game)
Team statistical profile
Points per game: 84.8
Rebounds per game: 40.5
Assists per game: 16.64
Turnovers per game: 12.1
Field goal percentage: 46.4 percent
3-point percentage: 33.8 percent
Free-throw percentage: 69.8 percent
The series
This will be the 47th meeting between Ohio and Buffalo. The Bobcats lead the series 32-14, but Buffalo has won the last three matchups and four of the last five.
Phillips is 3-3 all-time against Buffalo coach Nate Oats.
Player to watch
Massinburg — The senior guard is averaging 18.3 points per game. He dropped 43 points in the Bulls’ coming out party against West Virginia and is a MAC Player of the Year Candidate. He’s a strong and veteran guard who will cause the Bobcats’ young guards problems.
