Men’s basketball team faces inconsistent Buffalo at Rose

Which Buffalo team will meet the CMU men’s basketball team at 7 p.m. Thursday at Rose Arena?

The Bulls, who have lost four of their past five games, are one of the most puzzling teams in the Mid-American Conference. They won their first three conference games to start 10-4, including wins against Akron and Miami, but since are 1-4 and have allowed an average of 86.2 points per game.

“Buffalo is such a good team that it’s sometimes surprising to see that they had that type of output in those situations,” said CMU coach Ernie Zeigler.

Thursday marks the start of a three-game homestand for CMU (10-9, 5-2 MAC), which remains atop the MAC West Division, a half-game ahead of Ball State.

Ups and downs

The Bulls lost 85-70 on Monday against Western Michigan, their second consecutive loss at home. Four days earlier, they lost 75-69 against Ball State, a team that averages 59.8 points per game, second-worst in the MAC.

Zeigler said CMU will make sure the game’s pace does not play into the hands of Buffalo, which scores 73.5 points per game to rank first in the MAC. CMU ranks third in points allowed per game at 62.3.

“We’ve got to control tempo, make them score in the halfcourt, and contest shots,” Zeigler said.

Senior guard Rodney Pierce is third in MAC scoring with 18.6 points per game. He had 29 against WMU on Monday. Senior forward Calvin Betts (6-foot-4) leads the team in rebounding with 7.5 rebounds per game. He had 10 against the Broncos.

“They rebound really well,” said senior forward Chris Kellermann. “Their offense seemed pretty simple, but they just run so hard — their cuts are so hard. That’s going to be a challenge for us — not to get lackadaisical on defense and let them get any second opportunities.”

Homestand

Meanwhile, CMU is off to its best start in the MAC since 2002-03, the last time it drew an NCAA Tournament berth. The Chippewas have won six of their past eight games, including six in a row at home.

Now, they get three home games in a row against the East’s top three teams. Central welcomes the top two teams in the MAC in Kent State on Saturday and Akron on Tuesday.

“They’re three of the toughest teams in the conference, and just being at home is not going to assure us success.”