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While everyone expected something of a fall off from last season few expected UB basketball to already be staring at a possible sixth loss. When Buffalo lost five of their top scorers the presumption was that the team had enough talent coming in to offset the losses and perhaps even make UB competitive.
That's simply not been the case. It's been so bad that UB dropped a contest to Canisius for the first time since 2009. Their 1-4 start is the worst beginning to a season since 2000, a year when the Bulls finished 4-24.
After bushing up against a surprisingly competitive division two Mansfield squad UB will host Temple. Behind Scootie Randall's 21 points per game the Owls are already 3-0, including an 80 to 66 thrashing of Kent State.
Despite dominating the scoring it's not all Scootie. Three other Owls are putting up more than ten points a game and as a team they shoot 53% from the floor, their true shooting percentage approaches 60%, putting them at 33rd in the nation.
They are also very good at taking the ball away,their steal the ball 12 times a game, that ranks them eighth in division one. Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson alone accounts for more than three steals per game. Randall and T.J. DiLeo also each contribute two or more a game.
For a Buffalo team that has been struggling with turnover this could be a back breakers. They Bulls are averaging 17 per game, including two dozen against the Griffs. Those numbers put the Bulls in the bottom 300 teams nationally.
Can Jarod Oldham and Javon McCrea rally the Bulls? or is this destined to be nothing but a rebuilding year?
By the Numbers
| Rank | Buffalo | Category | Temple | Rank | Rank | Buffalo | Category | Temple | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 270 | RPI Rank | 83 | (162) | 52.7 | True Shooting Pct | 57.8 | (33) | |||
| 2-5 | Overall | 3-0 | (183) | 35.1 | Free Throw Rate | 46.4 | (36) | |||
| 1-1 | Home | 2-0 | (105) | 55.8 | 2pt FG Point Pct | 47.3 | (273) | |||
| 1-2 | Away | 1-0 | (229) | 24.2 | 3pt FG Point Pct | 29.1 | (135) | |||
| 0-1 | Blowout (+ 19) | 0-0 | (174) | 20 | FT Point Pct | 23.6 | (74) | |||
| 0-2 | Close (- 6) | 1-0 | (165) | 35.7 | RPG | 34 | (221) | |||
| (271) | 62 | Pts Per Game | 79 | (40) | (169) | 11.4 | Off Rebs Per Game | 10 | (241) | |
| (269) | 64.9 | Poss Per Game | 71.7 | (73) | (88) | 36.7 | Off Reb Pct | 29.4 | (251) | |
| (222) | 0.96 | Pts Per Poss | 1.1 | (56) | (155) | 24.3 | Def Rebs Per Game | 24 | (167) | |
| (206) | 50 | Floor Pct | 52.4 | (132) | (114) | 70.5 | Def Reb Pct | 71.3 | (90) | |
| 22.3 | FG Made Per Game | 26.3 | (76) | 14.9 | Assists Per Game | 17.3 | (24) | |||
| 50.4 | FG Att Per Game | 56 | (16) | 66.7 | Assist Pct | 65.8 | (24) | |||
| (140) | 44.2 | FG Pct | 47 | (66) | (197) | 0.87 | A/T Ratio | 1.3 | (42) | |
| 12.4 | FT Made Per Game | 18.7 | (276) | 5.6 | Steals Per Game | 12 | (8) | |||
| 17.7 | FT Att Per Game | 26 | (263) | 8.6 | Steal Pct | 16.7 | (7) | |||
| (144) | 70.2 | FT Pct | 71.8 | (108) | (81) | 4.6 | Blocks Per Game | 3 | (207) | |
| 5 | 3FG Made Per Game | 7.7 | (80) | 8.3 | Block Pct | 5.3 | (223) | |||
| 14.6 | 3FG Att Per Game | 25.7 | (40) | 17 | TOPG | 13.3 | (218) | |||
| (150) | 34.3 | 3pt FG Pct | 29.9 | (270) | (21) | 26.2 | Turnover Pct | 18.6 | (254) | |
| (161) | 49.2 | Effective FG Pct | 53.9 | (44) | (142) | 18.6 | Fouls Per Game | 15.7 | (288) |