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As MAC play rolls on, the Buffalo Bulls Men's Basketball team will be looking to improve on their 3-2 conference record this Saturday. The Bulls will be taking on a Western Michigan team that has dragged through conference play with a record of 1-4. UB is coming off of a great win versus Miami where they ran away in the second half thanks to triple-double threat Blake Hamilton.
Quick Facts
Opponent: Western Michigan
Head Coach: Steve Hawkins (231-180, 13th year with WMU)
Date/Time: 1/23/16, 4:30 PM
Home/Away: Away
Opponent's Mascot: A Bronco
Current Record: 6-11 (0-4 MAC)
2014-15 Season Record: 7-11 (1-4 MAC)
Postseason: CIT 1st round
All-Time Series: Directional Michigan #3 leads 12-10
Opponent's Roster and Stats
| Player | Position | Height | MIN | PPG | RPG | APG | FG% | FT% | 3P% |
| Thomas Wilder | G | 6'3" | 31.4 | 17.4 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 0.452 | 0.774 | 0.403 |
| Tucker Haymond | G | 6'6" | 31.7 | 16.6 | 5.3 | 1.8 | 0.431 | 0.743 | 0.267 |
| Kellen McCormick | F | 6'8" | 16.9 | 7.9 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.667 | 0.486 |
| Anthony Avery Jr. | F | 6'7" | 23.6 | 7.7 | 6.2 | 0.8 | 0.531 | 0.694 | 0.429 |
| Drake LaMont | C | 6'10" | 23.4 | 7.2 | 5.1 | 1.3 | 0.51 | 0.73 | 0 |
| Taylor Perry | G | 6'5" | 26.1 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 1.4 | 0.32 | 0.667 | 0.31 |
| Bryce Moore | G | 6'2" | 14.8 | 3.9 | 1.9 | 1 | 0.339 | 0.643 | 0.222 |
| Seth Dugan | C | 7'0" | 14.7 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 0.8 | 0.397 | 0.484 | 0 |
| Josh Davis | G | 6'5" | 13.8 | 3.4 | 2 | 0.3 | 0.22 | 0.593 | 0.154 |
| Jared Klein | G | 6'2" | 13 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.34 | 0.571 | 0.341 |
| Totals | -- | 73 | 38 | 12 | 0.429 | 0.702 | 0.336 |
WMU is a little dinged up this year because of the fact that their best forward in Connar Tava is out the entire season due to an injury. That doesn't mean they'll be easy to put away though. The Broncos have a one-two scoring threat with their guards. Thomas Wilder is having a great season putting up 17 points per game. If UB continues to do the Willie Conner-CJ Massinburg defense strategy on shutting down a team's top player, WMU will have a lot of problems.
Notable Opponents
- Lost to DePaul
- Lost to Vanderbilt
Can We Win?
I think this is a trap game. Buffalo should be the favorites in this one but one thing we haven't been is consistent in every game. It is getting better as of late but I'm not going to be surprised if Cable UB shows up and makes this one an ugly one to watch. I'm going 60-40 UB though because WMU is still struggling a lot.