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Bulls Welcome in #16 BYU Thursday Night
12/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo basketball team looks to continue its hot streak following the holiday break as it welcomes in Brigham Young University to Alumni Arena Thursday night. The game against the Cougars is the first between the two teams and it marks the first time that a Buffalo squad has hosted a Mountain West Conference school. BYU also comes in to Thursday's game ranked 16th in the nation with a 12-1 record.
The Bulls are riding a three-game winning streak, have won four of the past five games and are currently 5-0 at Alumni Arena, but it will take a team effort to down the Cougars. Most recently, Buffalo downed Houghton College 79-47 in a game that saw every active player see at least 12 minutes of playing time. Zach Filzen scored 21 points thanks to a 5-9 day from beyond the three-point arc. Mitchell Watt led the way on the glass, swiping nine rebounds.
For the season, Buffalo is averaging just over 73 points per game and almost 38 rebounds per game. Defense has been the real source of the team's success in the early going, as it has limited its opponents to 61.3 points per game on 38 percent field goal percentage allowed. Filzen leads the team with 16.3 points per game, but the scoring is evenly distributed, with every player in the main eight-man rotation averaging over four points per game. Freshman forward Javon McCrea has been the team's strongest player off the bench so far, averaging eight points and leading the team with 7.3 rebounds per game.
For BYU, it all begins with All-American guard Jimmer Fredette. The senior is averaging 24.2 points, 4.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game to go along with 1.5 steals. His production keys a Cougar offense that averages 82.7 points per game, eleventh highest in the nation. Brigham Young started the season with ten straight wins before losing to UCLA 86-79 Dec. 18.
The game will tip off at 7 pm Thursday. All current UB students (undergrad, grad, etc) with a proper UB ID can receive one free ticket and a free guest ticket to the game. More than one guest attending the game with a UB student can receive a discounted ticket at $10. Limited number of guests tickets are available for the BYU game. To receive the tickets visit the student ticket zone one hour before tip-off.
