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| Game 4: UB vs Montana State | ||
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| Date - November 18th, 2014 | Record: 0-3,0-0 | |
| Time - 7:00 PM |
League: Big Sky | |
| Venue - Alumni Arena | RPI - 201 | |
For those keeping track UB's game against the Montana State Bobcats will be the fourth game the men's team has played in the week since November 14th when the Bulls opened up their season with a home win against South Dakota State. Tipoff is tomorrow night, the Bobcats make it into Amherst. The Bulls have made it home from Arlington alread.
Buffalo is coming off of a 74-68 win on the road against the UT-Arlington Mustangs. Shannon Evans was the hero of the night, scoring a career-high 24 points. More importantly for Buffalo Will Regan emerged as the scoring threat the Bulls need, adding 15 points against UTA after netting only four through UB's first two games.
UB's main advantage in Tuesday's contest, as against South Dakota State, was solid free throw shooting versus an opponent who left a lot of points at the stripe. UB made 24 of 31 free throw attempts on Tuesday, with most of the misses coming when the game was well in hand. At the half UB was 13-14. The Mustangs on the other hand were just 7 of 15 for the whole game.
Montana lost last night to CSU Northridge but despite a terrible first 18 minutes of basketball the Bobcats managed to make it a close game.
Montana State found themselves in a 16-point hole with just over five minutes remaining, but the Bobcats pulled within six, 66-60, with 19 seconds to play. The comeback effort was led by Marcus Colbert who scored 15 points and Michael Dison 11 for Montana State (0-3), which shot just 22 of 64 for 34 percent from the floor.
By most measures Montana State is not a bad team but they are turning the ball over more than 20 times a game early in the season. They shoot well and rebound well enough but those turnovers are the reason that the Bobcats are 0-3. Let's hope the Bulls force Montana State in 20 or more turnovers so we can send them back out west with an 0-4 mark.
| Players to Watch | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Shannon Evans |
Evans became a starter this season after he played off the bench in every game of Coach Bobby Hurley's first season in Buffalo. The All-MAC Freshman and the Kyle Macey Freshman All-American Team member averaged 8.5 points per game including nine double-figure scoring games on the year. Kentucky held Evans pretty much in check but he dropped 17 on South Dakota State and 24 on Arlington. Against the Mavericks Evans played 38 minutes. |
Marcus Colbert |
The junior guard is starting for the second straight season with Montana State. He first became a starter in halfway through his freshman campaign at the point. Last season he was second on the team in three-point percentage (40.0%) and third in three-pointers made (30). He shoots a very solid 78.1% from the line. This season he is second on the team in points and rebounds, while leading the Bobcats in assists. |
| Category | Bulls | Bobcats |
|---|---|---|
| RPI Rank | 11 | 168 |
| SOS Rank | 26 | 106 |
| Projected SOS | 121 | 195 |
| Record | 2-1 | 0-3 |
| Home | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| Away | 1-1 | 0-3 |
| Neutral | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Conference | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Top 25 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| Blowout (+ 19) | 0-0 | 0-1 |
| Close (- 6) | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| Overtime | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| NCAA Tourney | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Pts Per Game | 65.0 | 62.7 |
| Poss Per Game | 72.0 | 71.3 |
| Pts Per Poss | 0.9 | 0.88 |
| Floor Pct | 45.0 | 44.5 |
| FG Made Per Game | 19.7 | 21.7 |
| FG Att Per Game | 56.0 | 55.3 |
| FG Pct | 35.1 | 39.2 |
| FT Made Per Game | 21.3 | 11.7 |
| FT Att Per Game | 27.3 | 16.7 |
| FT Pct | 78.0 | 70 |
| 3FG Made Per Game | 4.3 | 7.7 |
| 3FG Att Per Game | 14.7 | 22.7 |
| 3pt FG Pct | 29.5 | 33.8 |
| Effective FG Pct | 39.0 | 46.1 |
| True Shooting Pct | 47.1 | 49.5 |
| Free Throw Rate | 48.8 | 30.1 |
| 2pt FG Point Pct | 47.2 | 44.7 |
| 3pt FG Point Pct | 20.0 | 36.7 |
| FT Point Pct | 32.8 | 18.6 |
| RPG | 39.0 | 35.3 |
| Off Rebs Per Game | 12.0 | 12 |
| Off Reb Pct | 30.0 | 32.4 |
| Def Rebs Per Game | 27.0 | 23.3 |
| Def Reb Pct | 64.3 | 72.9 |
| Assists Per Game | 7.3 | 11.3 |
| Assist Pct | 37.3 | 52.3 |
| A/T Ratio | 0.51 | 0.56 |
| Steals Per Game | 6.3 | 5.7 |
| Steal Pct | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| Blocks Per Game | 5.3 | 2.3 |
| Block Pct | 8.5 | 4.3 |
| TOPG | 14.3 | 20.3 |
| Turnover Pct | 19.9 | 28.5 |
| Fouls Per Game | 21.3 | 24.3 |